Beef Alicha -- Beef Tibs -- yumminess

This is another one of my favorite Ethiopian dishes.  I start with this.

The spices are ginger, tumeric, and garlic.  I really tried to remember this time to go light on the ginger.  And it is important to remember that tumeric will stain -- I actually bought metal measuring spoons to prevent from getting the stains on my cooking supplies.  Start by cooking the onions -- plain, again.

While that is cooking I cut the meat.  I cheated a little.  I had bought stir fry beef so it was cut into strips already.  So I only had to cut some of the strips into the bite size pieces (some were already bite size).

Add the butter, spices, and meat to the onions.  Simmer.  And breathe deeply to enjoy the wonderful smells.

Then cut the anaheim.  Again, I opt to mince but you can quarter and remove once cooked.

I divided it into 1 cup containers and freeze -- I am so looking forward to eating it.  I am always surprised at how little of this dish there is when I start with so much meat (important to note that those are actually 2 cup containers since I ran out of 1 cup containers -- so each one is easily 2 meals for the 2 of us).

Yum!

Mean Mama

National Adoption Month

Just in case you didn't know yet...It is National Adoption Month!

And like everything else in the adoption world this too has caused controversy and arguments.  How can a celebration of adoption -- some near and dear to my heart -- cause arguments?  Celebrate.  Learn. 

Well apparently National Adoption Month is suppose to be about foster care adoption.  So when people started wanting to celebrate their international adoptions some people told them they couldn't.  Really?  We are creating a class ranking in adoption?  One adoption style is better than another? 

One person said that international adoption is well known enough that it doesn't really need to be promoted.  Foster adoption does. I will not judge anybody's choice in adoption.  I have friends who are adults from domestic infant adoption.  I have friends who have adopted through domestic infant adoption.  I know adult who were adopted internationally.  I adopted internationally.  I know people who adopted through the foster care system.  I was adopted out of the foster care system.

I have heard people take the approach that nobody should adopt internationally because there are children in America still waiting for homes.  Because American children deserve a home more then other countries?  I have heard people say that people should not adopt domestic infant because it is like waiting for a child to be born instead of caring for a child already here.  I have heard people say that people should not through the foster care system because all those kids are messed up.

I say, adopt a child.  But only if you want a child in your life.  Don't try to save a child.  Don't do it because the bible says so.  Don't do it to make yourself a hero.  Adopt because you want to parent.  Pick a country -- including, but not limited to, America.  Pick an age -- including, but not limited to infant.  And love a child.

Mean Mama

Chili

Winter is coming.  Chili is a perfect food to have stored in the freezer for quick dinners.  And I have a crock pot.  So I made some.

This is what I started with.

There are a ton of recipes for chili on the internet.  And I wanted to stay with as many whole foods as I could (found one recipe that required a can of tomato soup and a can of cream of mushroom soup and I wondered why you needed soup to make soup).  This is nice because I can tweak it to my liking.  Ladybug will likely never like it so I am not so worried about making it to her taste.

Start out by browning the beef.

A former vegetarians delight!  I still have issues with working with raw meat.

While that was browning I used my handy-dandy can opener to release the beans, tomatoes, and sauce into the crock pot.

Have I mentioned that Ladybug really hates beans and tomatoes?

And then I began chopping the veggies.  I started crying after the onions so I stopped handling the camera.  One would think I might have also stopped handling a sharp knife but -- no.  And then all the veggies were put into the crock pot.

And then the spices...

It was at about this point that I realized that I really needed a bigger crock pot.  The meat has finished cooking and I have no where to put it.  And I can't even stir what is already in the crock pot.  Maybe I only needed one can of beans?  Too late now.

So I decide to transfer the entire stew to a regular pot and cook it on the stove.  Ummmm.  One problem.  I used it last night to cook the previous cabbage dish.  I did the dishes this morning.  And it is in the dishwasher as we speak.

So I waited.

Once the dishwasher was done I started cooking again.

Everything transferred to the pot.  Added the beef.  And I cooked it.  The difference between using the crock pot and cooking on the stove was that when I left for an errand, I had to turn off the stove.  A crock would have been nice.

But in the end I got this lovely chili to freeze.

I am pretty sure Ladybug will hate it.  But with a little cheese sprinkled on top and served with a cornbread muffin...she might eat a little of it.

Mean Mama

it has begun

I was suppose to start yesterday.  One more step to the necessary changes in my life.  But I didn't.  But I will not beat myself up for it.

Saturday I went to the YMCA and signed up as a full member.  As posted earlier, the plan is to sweat for an hour each day.  I was suppose to start going yesterday after work.  But I had a last minute offer to go out and do something social.  Which is another one of my goals.  So I went.  Which means that today was my first workout.

I decided to walk the track.  One mile is 15 laps.  I counted.  Carefully.  I wanted to make sure I did a mile.  So around and around and around I went.

But it was not easy.  At about lap 2 my calves began to burn.  And I was going slow.  SLLLOOOOOWWWW.  Seriously.  I mean all the other people were lapping me -- smaller and bigger than me.  The little preteen teeny bopper that would stop at every reflective window to make sure her hair and shirt were just right was going faster than me.  But she only did one lap. 

At about lap 5 my shins began to hurt.  Really?  I must be walking wrong.  I can not possibly have shin splits.  Some people have started running.  One guy is zipping around me.  He is doing at least 3 laps for every 1 I am doing.  And I have started to slow down.  I start chanting in my head -- please don't let me give up.  It is day one.

At about 7 laps my lower back starts to hurt.  Come on!  Less than 1/2 mile and I am ready to give up?  Apparently I am way way way out of shape.  Not that that should be a shocker to me.  But I am walking.  And I begin to wonder how the contestants on the Biggest Loser do it.  It would kill me.

But I am not giving up.  I keep walking.  I set a goal of 1 mile for myself for the night.  I was going to make.  Slow as molasses in a Vermont winter but still moving.  And I did it.  In 28 minutes.  Seriously?  That has got to be the worst walking rate ever of an able bodied person.  But it will get better.  Right?

Ladybug was disappointed in me.  She wanted more time in the game room.  I promised her more time tomorrow.  Because I am going every day this week.  I just need to be creative -- because my orientation to learn how to use all the machines isn't until Saturday.  But as long as I am moving I will count it as a win.  For now.

Mean Mama

Ethiopian cabbage

While the yellow kik may be Ladybug's favorite dish.  Ethiopian cabbage is one of mine.  Not just one of the favorite ones I make.  Or a favorite Ethiopian dish.  But one of my favorite foods ever.  I don't eat cabbage any other way.  But I love this.  You will need a large pan for this dish.

Start with this.

Simple ingredients.  Again, I have used the spiced butter (that I made at an earlier date).  This time I used garlic, red onion, cabbage, anaheim pepper, and a small can of tomato paste.  The recipe calls for carrots.  I hate cooked carrots.  I love raw carrots but I don't think they should be cooked.  The recipe also calls for potatoes.  However, potatoes don't freeze well.  If I were to serve it fresh I might consider it.  But I love the cabbage alone so much I might not.

Cook the chopped onions and spiced butter together.  This is nice because it smells wonderful from the very beginning.

When the onions are cooked (but not burned) add the tomato paste (I forgot to take the photo before adding the paste).  Stir everything together.

Then cut the cabbage in bite size pieces and add to the sauce.

Stir and simmer.  Add the garlic.

Chop the anaheim pepper and add to the dish.  Again I mince and add but the recipe suggests cutting in quarters then removing before you eat.

I put it in one cup containers and stuck in the freezer.  Since I really love this dish one container is good as a second dish for 2 people.  I love the smell.  I love the taste.  I love that it's quick and healthy.  Serve with injera and enjoy.

Mean Mama

spots

I am fair skinned.  With freckles.  But after moving here nearly 7 years ago I noticed several large spots on my left cheek.  I think they are from the sun.  I had an hour commute every day each way.  The sun would hit my left cheek through the entire commute.

I don't worry about the spots.  There is skin cancer in my family (not bio) so I have an idea when to worry.  I asked my doctor.  She was not worried.  So lived with them.  I don't think anybody else really notices them.  They are just spots.  Pigment. 

Here is a few pics I took of them in the beginning of September.

So I saw a commercial for a lotion that is suppose to even out skin tone.  They prove this in the commercial by showing a series of eggs that go from brown spotted to even brown.  I know commercials are not fact.  But I decided to give it a shot.

I used the cream once a day for 2 months.  I had heard that when someone switches a lotion they must use the lotion for 6-8 weeks before they can see results.  So I decided to use it for 8 weeks.  I didn't use it every day.  I used it most days -- maybe 6 out of 7 days. 

I took this pic last night.

Do you see the difference?

Yeah, neither do I.  Imagine that, a commercial that did not live up to the promise.

Mean Mama

Yellow Kik

The cooking began this weekend.  I must stock my freezer with lots of quick and easy healthy foods.  I went to a little Indian market in town to get some fresh injera.  Don't ask me why I go to an Indian market to buy an African bread.  I can't make injera so I buy it where it is available.

I started by making Kik Alicha -- also known as yellow kik by Ladybug.  It is her absolutely favorite dish.  When we go out to an Ethiopian restaurant she refuses to share it with me.  But if you were to tell her that this is what the dish is made of she would likely never touch it.

Yellow split peas, spiced butter, red onion, anaheim pepper, garlic, and ginger.  The spiced butter I make myself, too.  And then I freeze it.  This allows me to grab and cook quickly.  I need to remember to use less ginger than it asks for or the dish takes on a flavor I don't really like.

First think is to use 2 cups of peas and 4 cups of water.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.  Then drain the water but keep it for later use.

Chop the onion -- feel free to use more than one if you like the flavor.  I use a chopper for quick and easy chopping.  I cry when chopping onions.

Then cook them.  Plain.  Until they sweat (that is a term I heard on Food Network recently).  Do not burn them (like I did).  I will warn you, plain onions cooking in nothing is nasty.  I hate the smell.  I count down the time until I can add the rest of the ingredients and it begins to smell better.

After they begin to sweat (and I have held my breath until I am blue) you can add the butter.  It will begin to smell better almost instantly.

Add the split peas, the spices, and the reserved water.

Stir and simmer. The whole kitchen (or in my case the entire house because I have a small house) will smell wonderful. Simmer.  Stir.

Chop the anaheim peppers.  Do not -- let me repeat that, DO NOT, touch the seeds.  Someone told me that once.  I didn't listen.  I handled the seeds.  Then scratched my eyes.  BURNING.  And anaheim's are suppose to be one of the most mild of all hot peppers.  Some people quarter the pepper then put it in the dish to simmer.  They then remove the pepper before eating.  I mince the pepper and stir it in.

My recipes says to simmer for about 20 minutes and then serve.  I simmer longer -- an hour or more.  Let the peas soften.

I then put about 1 cup in a freezer container, let cool, and freeze.  Less ginger (and not burning the onions) would give more of a yellow color.

Serve with injera.  Ladybug will love it.  One container is good for 2 meals for 2 people (with a second dish).  I have 5 containers in the freezer now.  Enough yellow kik until the new year begins.

Mean Mama

cankles

Do you want to see one of the reasons why I am changing my life? 

I no longer have ankles!

It is not an every day occurrence -- which in some ways makes it scarier.  My doctor is not concerned.  But I am beginning to realize that most doctors just think I am insane.  

Sometimes I think it is the heat that makes my ankles swell.  But they tend not to swell in the summer.  They swell when I use the space heater at work because my office is freeeeeeezing.

Maybe it is because I don't take my medication (thyroid issue) as religiously as I should.  I promise to be better about that.

They definitely swell on days I have to do Ladybug's hair.  Guaranteed.  I think it is because I sit for long stretches of time without moving.

Sometimes the swelling goes down when I exercise.  It definitely goes down when I am horizontal (sleeping).  Which makes me a little scared since it is my understanding that my bio mom died of congestive heart failure.

Maybe the swell because I am fat.  But the reality is if it were fat they would always be fat.  It is fluid retention.  But I am sure being fat doesn't help the situation.

Diabetes?  I don't have it.  Yet.  But it does run in the bio family.  So it may be possible soon.  And I have had strange things with blood sugar  for years (hypoglycemic).  

I have a little girl who will be 7 in about a month.  I need to get this resolved so that I don't make her an orphan the second time in her life.

Mean Mama 

taking control

As a frequent flyer on the "depression" train, I am aware that nothing gets better until I do something different.  I can not just wait it out.  It will not magically get better.  I must do something.  Sometimes it is small.  Sometimes it is a few things.  This time, I am turning my life upside down.  Well, as much as I can without moving and getting a new job.

This is going to be hard for me.  For the most part, I am fairly anti-social.  So that means, I need to become social.  UGH!  It is hard for an introvert to be social. 

Here are the changes I am making:

1. I joined a gym.  Actually it is the YMCA.  I wasn't sure how to afford another $60 out of pocket every month but I need it.  For mind body and soul.  Then I found out that joining the gym reduces Ladybug's afterschool program cost by about $35 per month.  And I just reduced my cable bill by $40 by going in and complaining how expensive it was (I think they were afraid I was going to cancel).  So I start the gym on Monday.  Oh, and here is another beautiful thing -- they have a game room for elementary age kids.  She can be in there for up to 2 hours a day.  For free!!!!  And on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday they have a kid fitness class that she can take.  So while I work out she is having fun and doing healthy things that does not include begging to watch TV.  The goal is to do 1 hour of sweating every day.
2. I have given up drinking anything but water on a regular basis.  Okay, I will give up drinking anything but water on a regular basis starting on Monday.  Really. there is no need for anything but water.  Water does a body good.  Okay, I am willing to add teas (that I brew) to the list since today I was so cold while out and about that I would have killed for a warm mug of tea.
3. The junk food is gone.  No really.  We are finishing it up this week.  And we went shopping today and no new junk entered the house.  I remember a simpler time when I cooked all weekend and then froze the food for easy lunches and dinners.  It was before I had a kid.  But it can be done.  I have a crock pot.  I make a mean spaghetti sauce.  I can cook Ethiopian food.  And frankly, Ladybug needs to learn to like things that are not hotdogs, chocolate or pizza.  My freezer will be stocked with healthy options.  That I can pop in the microwave (or put in a pot to warm up).  This will be really helpful given the fact that I get out of work at 5, pick up Ladybug at 5:30, will be going to the gym to sweat for 1 hour (read above) and then home.  We will need quick and easy dinners if I have any hope of getting her in bed on time.  And we will be eating at the kitchen table every night!  I will be sharing some of my cooking here.
4. I have given up SOME TV.  I love TV.  I really do.  I know it rots my brain.  But I like it.  And I refuse to give it up.  But I did decide to give up my beloved soapnet.  It is an evil thing.  I wasn't sure I could do it on my own.  So I decided to give up the cable package I had that allowed me to have that channel.  I went in and asked them to cut about 1/2 the channels from my cable package.  I think that was about 100 channels or so.  It dropped my $140 per month cable bill by $13.  $13!  How is that possible?  Shouldn't 1/2 the channels cost about 1/2 the price?  I think that is when they thought I was going to drop cable all together.  So the offered me a deal.  I got to keep all my channels but they dropped the price to $99 per month.  That helped financially.  It didn't help with the TV issue.  So here, I had to draw on my own strength.  It has been about 3 weeks and I am happy to report that I have not been on soapnet once.  I can do this!  I am discovery channels like HGTV (okay that is another one of my obsessions but I am not giving it up), discovery, Food network, A&E, and science TV.  Otherwise, I pretty much stick with the basic channels.  And Ladybug got to keep her channels too.  But she will not get any TV during the week.  NONE!  And now that I will be at the gym on the weekends, her TV viewing hours will be cut on the weekends too.
5. I will be getting more sleep.  I HAVE to be out of bed by 8am in order to make it to work on time.  This may not sound early to some but I hate mornings.  I usually go to bed about 11 or 12.  It is usually closer to 12, if I was going to be honest with you.  I remember a time, not too many years ago, that I believed I must be in bed no later than 11pm.  Some how I don't believe that now.  So I have decided on 10pm.  With the working out I am hoping I will be physically tired enough to make it happen.  And frankly, who wouldn't kill for 10 hours of sleep a night?  I have a feeling this will be the hard one for me.
6. I know I haven't addressed the whole "social" aspect of this transformation.  I have no comfort zone with it.  I can not come up with a plan.  I can't seem to make a commitment to making a change.  I will think about it.  And I will have to wait and see what I come up with.

So that is it.  My new life.  New and improved.  Hopefully.

Mean Mama

menu planning

Last year for Thanksgiving I was the hostess.  My sister, niece, dad and step mom came.  And since they all live out of state, they stayed in my 900 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom apartment.  It was a success.  I cooked, played, entertained.  And when everybody left I swore I would never do it again.  WAAAAAAAY too much work.

So you might (or might not) be surprised that just one year later, I am hosting Thanksgiving again.  This time my sister, niece, mother, and mother's cousin will be joining me.  And my mom's dog.  The cousin will be driving in for the day but the rest are staying with me.  And nobody is helping me with the menu.  So I need your help.  This is what I have so far:

Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Yam and apple casserole (which I hate but my sister loves)
Gravy
Rolls
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Cranberry sauce

I need veggies and a grown up dessert.  I need drinks.  Or am I being too boring.  I will not do green bean casserole -- I hate it.  I will not make it.  I will likely buy the grown up dessert.  I am not super woman. What else do I need to plan on?

Mean Mama