Finally....

I think I've gotten the major kinks worked out and my recipes transferred so please check out my new blog over at learningtoeatjourney.com.

See ya there!

Honey-Sweetened Ice Cream

I'm experiencing technical problems with the new blog so I'll keep posting here until those are worked out.

My parents came over for the 4th of July and I really wanted to make homemade ice cream for everyone. Since my dad is diabetic, I needed a recipe with no refined sugar. He can tolerate honey in moderate amounts so I made the recipe below.

To my great surprise, it was the hands-down favorite of the two kinds I made. If you're not a honey-flavor fan, fear not. This is vanilla ice cream. So delicious!!

1 c milk
1/2 c honey
2 c heavy whipping cream
1 t vanilla extract

Mix honey and milk together until honey is completely dissolved. Stir in vanilla and cream. Pour into ice cream maker and mix 20-25 minutes or according to manufacturer's directions.

Coming Soon...

...to the computer screen in front of you is a new, completely redesigned blog.

See you soon!

Local Food

We've made some new friends this year who grow their produce much closer to home than many of the sellers at the farmers' market. I love that I can order produce mid-week and pick it up at the farm (which ensures a continual supply of freshly made salsa!)

The girls and I drove over yesterday to pick up our order. We enjoyed chatting with Will and Keli who offered to let us drive around the farm. Well...I wasn't going to let such a generous offer pass me by. :)

Farmer's Market Finds

We've hit that part of the summer where the kids are scattered to the four winds. Not my favorite part of the season, for sure, but I know they have fun at camps and on other trips.

With all the chaos, I've taken a little breather on cooking. My menu plan, if you can call it that, for the last two weeks has been mostly pulling things from the freezer and sporadic cooking of 'planned overs'.

I had a stash of black bean burgers in the freezer which we all love. Coupled with the homemade buns, they're a winner around here.

Also in the freezer were some black beans and brown rice leftover from the making of the burgers so I thawed those and added some frozen corn. I made a big bowl of yummy salsa. I think one combination or another of those things was our lunch every day last week. (And, oh, how I looked forward to it!)

Another easy but delicious option for us is omelettes. I throw in whatever I bought at the farmer's market - mushrooms, tomatoes, onion, spinach - as well as some herbs from my beds outside for a nutritious, comforting meal.

Tonight, the girls and I made a pot of hummus soup. The recipe showed promise but didn't quite live up to my hopes. I'll post it after I've tinkered with it a bit.

I know this is a less-than-inspired meal plan but the break from a batch of new recipes has given me time to complete some other projects around the house. Getting things in order always leaves me feeling creative so I'll show more of that soon!

(Remember to click on the EAT page above for recipes mentioned here.)

Set Point

In last night's class, I talked a bit about set point and how real food can play into finding yours. This is something I believe in so strongly that I thought I'd write about it here as well.

If you've never heard that term before, the quick explanation is that everyone's body has a weight/body-fat ratio that is most desirable for optimal functioning. It is the point at which we feel our best, look our best, are most fertile, etc. (Read more here or here.)

It is not the point at which you are the thinnest you've ever been. If you've ever been so lean or thin that people said you should gain a little weight back, you were likely below your set point. The set point is where your genetics lead you to be, or more simply, the way God made you to look.

Chocolate Cake

If there's one thing we take seriously around here, it's chocolate cake. This is our current favorite. We all like it's rich, almost brownie-like consistency. I like that I can use such a high ratio of whole grain flour.