Spaghetti squash and sausage

January 28, 2013 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in dinner, Main: poultry, Photography, Vegetables Tags: dinner, gluten free, Isernio's chicken sausage, Spaghetti squash 44 Comments

I’m rounding up January with one more healthy dish. I won’t even pretend to disguise the fact that I’ve been nibbling at the chocolate with virtual abandon but will also report, I’m starting my fourth week of regular exercise. Despite the scale’s refusal to acquiesce in a manner I’d prefer, there is just less meat to grab in the middle, if you know what I mean. I can work with that. Unfortunately, being on my own right now there is nobody to test my theory… but I’ll keep you posted 🙂

We’ve had a good couple weeks, striking through many items on our list(s) and feeling like we are moving forward in life. O, still in Germany, is back in the room where he grew up till he finishes the semester and homeland security gives us a green light. We are counting down the days till we can enjoy life as a non-commuter family, at least till October.

I also finally set up the Lowell Ego light I received as a Christmas gift from my mother. Thanks mom! Don’t take this the wrong way, but I was amazed at how such a flimsy, plastic, kind of crap light is so entirely perfect. Granted, I’ve nothing to compare it to, but so far it has proven far better than photos with overhead room lights. Leary about its quality after reading many reviews, I was prepared for the worst. It is a wee bit scary to put together. Simple, but you feel like you are going to break it before you even flip the switch. I did only buy one to try out and I’m not sure if I would buy a second. So here’s my first ever set of photos taken after dark. I’ll keep practicing.

On to some chow…I’ve got a simple dish here that will please your palette and your waistline. It is combined inspiration from Karen @ Backroad Journal’s spaghetti squash and Karista @ Karista’s kitchen’s meatballs. It is the lazy version.

The spaghetti squash is split in half and seeds are scooped out. I drizzle a little olive oil, salt and pepper and some herb- tonight it was thyme. Often it’s fresh rosemary. I love how these guys are starting to break a sweat under the light!

The squash was baked with a little water at the bottom of the pan (glass dish is fine) at 400°F for 45 minutes. You know it’s done when easily punctured with a knife. The inside is scraped up with a fork into strands… hence the name spaghetti squash.

Again, being the lazy road here, I used one 16oz package of Isernio’s breakfast chicken sausage.

All I added was a little fennel seed, oregano, thyme and sage and 1/2 cup of diced apples. We are still working off a few of our apples in cold storage from December.

And 1/3 cup diced onions…

The meatballs were a little sticky and rough around the edges because I skipped on the egg and breadcrumbs. I could lie and say it was to keep it GF. It was just due to the lazy part and frankly, being completely caught up with my new light. Honestly, there’s no need for the accurate measurements, it was just easier for photos!

I heated up a little olive oil and butter and plopped sticky balls in the pan to brown them. I finished them off in the oven at 400°F for about 10 minutes.

I steamed a little kale in the frying pan juices and had a little fun plating it up. I drizzled a tad more olive oil on the squash. Chloe was impressed with the presentation but not mad on the squash. I had to pull out these sweet Pillivuyt plates because our everyday dishes are fiestaware and I wanted a white plate. But I’ll say, it was a little more fun to eat like this.

I’m so looking forward to baking again.

Tschüß xo

And a little hello from Otis.. the days of rinsing him off in the sink with the sprayer are numbered…

One Year Ago: Espresso Cupcakes

Rice salad with spinach and pistachios

January 17, 2013 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in Fresh and healthy, Grain, Salad Tags: pistachios, Rice salad, Spinach 35 Comments

The sun shines today and 2013 is feeling good. We have a long to do list with our move back. Our Hamburg belongings are on a ship just coming up the coast of CA as I write. O is tracking it on an iphone app. Love that. We are also working on his USA visa and closing up shop in Hamburg. Well he is closing things up and still working a ton… he’s a champ.

On this side of the Atlantic, we are getting the house back in shape- things like the hands and knees tile floor scrubbing and re-sealing and dismantling and cleaning the six burner stove…

We are re-arranging rooms and painting walls that were begging to be refreshed with a new coat of paint. And then there’s the barn/greenhouse, landscape and garden- but I’ll save that for another post. We are planning a huge multi-family garage sale in the spring, passing on about twenty years of child-rearing goodies, clothes I’ve clung to far too long, random iron hooks, mop heads that never fit, multiple quantities of the same size tape measure, alarm clocks, no longer needed tools etc. Sound familiar? As I sort and separate, I am also consciously considering how I will not collect as many personal possessions in the next twenty-five years. This is how long I have lived on my own. Ok- twenty-seven to be exact. January is my spring cleaning.

It’s also the month I barely need to muster the willpower to eat clean nor do I need to clear the pantry of naughtiness, for I am superior at allowing myself to over-indulge in an extreme holiday way. I am brilliant. So come Jan 1st, I was so over it. And these first couple weeks have been a breeze. Now day seventeen. The chocolate covered expresso beans are making eyes at me. The sight of the left-over dough balls are once more appealing. And really isn’t there less calories in a little bit of dark chocolate than a rice cake with tahini and currants? But wait. This is for my health. As it was in this Jan 2012 post.

I will do my best to complete the month of January without refined sugar, processed foods or wheat. I’m no paleo so I will keep eating brown rice.

Loads of fresh veggies like spinach…

And nuts…

A lot of lemon. I’ve been adding zest to many many things. I have also started my day with a large glass of warm water and a squeeze of lemon. Google this and you will get loads of good reasons why to try this. But you can start here. A blogger who credited her sources. good girl. And this is not new info. Who remembers Jethro Kloss’, Back to Eden (I don’t have a kindle, this is just what my front cover from the 80’s looks like). I just upacked my copy of this and proudly placed it on the shelf. Too classic for the garage sale.

And really, I’ve been cooking and eating like a winner. Last week I made three salads. A red and white cabbage carrot salad that accompanied almost every lunch and dinner, our perennial lemony quinoa with cucs, tomatoes, peppers and capers…

And last but not least the rice salad with fresh spinach and pistachios, adapted from the Jan 2013 Oprah mag. I will admit too, I love this magazine. I love me and I love my body, my life and so on. And I am a self help junkie… but I think in a good, non-preachy way. I also love food and health stats.

This is a simple side dish and it is a great way to use up the leftover rice. You can add or subtract quantities to adjust to the amount of rice on hand or if you cook it fresh.

Print oh so simple recipe Rice with Spinach and Pistachios. The others are self explanatory… I think. If not, give me a shout.

2 cups cooked brown rice (basmati is nice)
2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
2 # spinach cut in strips
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 T juice
½ cup roasted and chopped pistachios
1 T dill (optional)
dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

For another healthy grain salad, check out this red quinoa with pistachios from The Bitten Word. I’d throw some spinach in that one, too.

So here’s to a fresh start in the new year and don’t worry, those sweets and treats will most certainly be sneaking back in through the cracks in no time and yell out to the world with glee… We’re back 🙂

Tschüß xx

One year Ago: Check out Granada, Spain

And Seville, Spain….

Polar Bear Plunge 2013, Orcas Island WA

January 7, 2013 By Wendy Ellen Thomas in breakfast, Brunch, Eggs, Orcas Island Tags: Cascade Lake, Moran State Park, Orcas Island, Polar Bear Plunge 28 Comments

Cascade Lake, Moran State Park, Orcas Island WA 1-1-13
Polar bear plunge. Three very descriptive words. I see a white polar bear in full throttle sinking into an exposed patch of the ice. It is an adrenaline rush that has yet to seduce me.
Polar plunge and egg basket-6-2