Dealing With an Itchy Kitty

If you don't like cats, stop reading this post.

If you don't like reading about my cats, stop reading this post.

Our poor little girl, Bridget (bridgety-bobbity-boo) has terrible allergies. The homeopathic vet put her on a regular dose of fish oil (or as he said marine lipids) which has helped a great deal.

Except for one thing: We came home early last week to discover a Boo with a sore, red belly. She'd scratched, bit and licked her lower belly red-raw. It was pretty awful. Awful enough that I pinned her down to rub cortisone cream on her belly.

You can imagine how well that went over.

And, frustratingly, it was only marginally successful. That's why I found myself googling things like:

Cats with itchy bellies

Cat over-licks nipples

Cats raw red belly

Cat won't stop licking belly

I sorted through all sorts of recommended medications, behavior modification and natural remedies. I didn't want to take her to the vet - that's always an expensive and traumatic experience. I also didn't want to give her the most-frequently recommended treatment - a small dose of children's liquid Benadryl. We gave a former cat that treatment and I've still not recovered from the Exorcist-like projectile vomiting that followed.

One treatment that intrigued me was "ACV Spot Therapy."

ACV = Apple Cider Vinegar. I'm not kidding. Apparently apple cider vinegar is a pretty common natural treatment for itchy skin, for humans and pets alike.

So I mixed three parts water to one part apple cider vinegar, soaked a cotton ball with the mixture, trapped Bridget and dabbed it over the itchy spots.

After she finished crying and glaring at me reproachfully (that part lasted over an hour), she promptly ignored her belly. She didn't act like it smelled awful (though it did smell a little vinegary), nor did she act like it hurt. But she didn't lick - and that's what mattered.

Even better, the next morning most of the week-long redness and swelling was gone. I repeated the treatment, endured Bridget's repeated reproachful glares and noticed she was even better that evening.

We'll keep up the ACV Spot Therapy until her business down under looks like it's back to normal business. Definitely cheaper and easier than heading to the vet!

Rooting for Rutabaga

Rutabaga? What's that?


This is a rutabaga!

Thanks to our Greenling delivery, we had a couple rutabaga to enjoy. Rutabaga is a variety of turnip - a nice and tasty root vegetable.

I adapted a recipe from one of my veggie-focused cookbooks to create a tasty fix-it-and-forget-it crockpot meal. The following is my revised recipe.

Roasted Chicken and Rutabaga

• 1 fryer, skinned and cut into pieces
• 2 rutabaga, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
• 2 turnips, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces (I included turnips because I had them. If you don't have them, include another rutabaga)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Toss rutabaga and turnips in 1 T. olive oil, place in the bottom of the crockpot. Meanwhile, heat 1 T. olive oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken.

Note: You should always brown meat before cooking in the crockpot. It crisps the skin and gives a nice brown color that you'd expect to see from oven roasting.

Place the chicken in the crockpot, adjusting so it is one even layer over the vegetables. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 c. water. Cook at low heat for 5-6 hours.

Remove the chicken and rutabaga from the crockpot. The chicken will be so tender that it falls off the bone. (So be careful removing it from the crockpot!) Serve with green beans and a simple brown gravy.

Forget to take a photo at lunch, so take a photo of the ready-to-take-to-work-leftovers instead.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I was so happy to have a bag full of cremini mushrooms in our Greenling delivery - the perfect base ingredient for a Super Bowl appetizer!

Stuffed Mushrooms

• Cremini mushrooms
• Herbed cheese (we're partial to Alouette's low-fat garlic herb)
• Chipotle sauce
• Bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375F and line baking sheet with foil. Thoroughly wash and drain mushrooms. Remove stems to make mushroom caps. I found that using a small spoon made this a quick and easy process. Spoon cheese into mushrooms - just fill the cap, don't overfill or the cheese will melt out while baking. Sprinkle on a bit of chipotle sauce, then coat top with bread crumbs. Bake for 12-15 minutes and serve hot!

A Big Green Box O' Goodness

Friday night a big green box was waiting on our front porch for us.

It was chock full of seasonal, organic and locally grown (if possible) fruits and veggies.

Thank you, Greenling. The Hayleys are happy to have one less shopping task on the to-do list and can't wait to get cooking (or eating, if you're a Boy).

I Feel Badly, But...

We went in with three other families to butcher a steer. For just $225 (including purchase, butchering and transportation costs), we have 63 lbs of grass-fed beef in a variety of cuts and our freezer looks like this:

We'll enjoy the beef for the next 12 months, but I feel very brokenhearted about the fate of the poor steer, Ribeye.

I don't think my mom sent me to a farm often enough.

Avoiding Frankenfood

Over the weekend, we were talking about our feelings regarding the over processed, genetically modified, hormone-filled foods that are prevalent in the United States.

Side note: I know that not everyone shares my views on this and I'm ok with that. I just know that I've always been healthier when living overseas where food isn't over processed, genetically modified and hormone-filled. Healthier while living there and significantly unhealthier while adjusting back to an American diet.

Anyway...the following is great information from a local expert in all things organic, Howard Garrett, the Dirt Doctor. It was so great that I had to share it with you:

Many consumers don’t realize that the FDA does not require genetically modified food to be labeled. That’s because the FDA has decided that you don’t care if the tomato you are eating has been cross bred with frog genes to render the tomato more resistant to cold weather. Some consumers may not be concerned with eating “Franken Food”, but for those who are, here is how to determine if the fruits and vegetables you’re buying are (GM) genetically modified.

For conventionally grown fruit (grown with chemicals inputs), the PLU code on the sticker consists of four numbers. Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9. Genetically engineered (GM) fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8. Example: A conventionally grown banana would be 4011. An organically grown banana would be 94011. A genetically engineered banana would be 84011.

Here are some guidelines for steering clear of GM foods in your diet:

Soybeans - Gene taken from bacteria (Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4) and inserted into soybeans to make them more resistant to herbicides. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean#Genetic_modification. See How to Live With a Soy Allergy for more information on avoiding soy products.

Corn - There are two main varieties of GE corn. One has a Gene from the lepidoptera pathogen microorganism Bacillus thuringiensis inserted to produce the Bt toxin, which poisons insect pests. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean#Genetic_modification. There are also several cases which are resistant to various herbicides. Present in high fructose corn syrup and glucose/fructose which is prevalent in a wide variety of foods in America.

Rapeseed/Canola - Gene added/transferred to make crop more resistant to herbicide.

Sugar beets - Gene added/transferred to make crop more resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.

Rice - Genetically modified to resist herbicides; not currently available for human consumption, but trace amounts of one GM long-grained variety may have entered the food supply in the USA and Europe. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/biorice.html

More recently, golden rice, a different strain of rice has been engineered to produce significantly higher levels of beta carotene, which the body uses to produce vitamin A. Golden rice is supposedly still undergoing testing to determine if it is safe for human consumption. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4386933.stm

Cotton - engineered to produce Bt toxin. The seeds are pressed into cottonseed oil, which is a common ingredient in vegetable oil and margarine. Both should be avoided.

Dairy - Cows injected with GE hormone rBGH/rBST; possibly fed GM grains and hay.

Aspartame/AminoSweet - Addictive and dangerous artificial sweetener commonly found in chewing gum and "diet" beverages. A building block of aspartame, the amino acid phenylalanine, is usually manufactured with the aid of genetically modified E. coli bacteria. This process has been used industrially in the USA for many years.

Papayas avoid.

Farm Raised Salmon avoid.

To learn more about organic eating, visit the Organic Guides section of the Dirt Doctor website.

Now For the Rest of the Story

Saturday's run around White Rock was a huge failure. We didn't meet up with the running group, so all we truly accomplished was a drive downtown and a drive back home. In the rain.

Kind of dampened the spirits, to be honest.

So we decided to be uber-productive around the house. Amongst the many projects languishing was addressing the horrid state of our ceramic tile.

We knew the grout was naturally a creamy light color. (How did we know? We could tell where the former owners had a rug...beautiful clean grout there. Elsewhere, not so much.) However, much of our grout in the living/dining area looked like this:

I researched the best way to clean grout using natural cleaning products. We knew, you see, that our furbabies were not going to stay out of the way during the project and we didn't want to use a product that might harm there. Or us, for that matter.

The final "sauce" that we created worked wonderfully. A mixture of baking soda, vinegar and salt, plus a healthy dose of hand-and-knee scrubbing, gave us this:

The only downside is that we both feel like very old people today - stiff in places we didn't realize could feel stiff! That didn't stop us from going - successfully - on Run Attempt #2.

Natural Grout Cleaner

• 1/2 c. white vinegar
• 1/2 c. salt
• 1/2 c. baking soda

Mix ingredients together. Apply mixture to grout with a stiff bristled brush. Let sit for 1-2 minutes. Wash off with warm water.

Fruity and Fabulous

The cantaloupe we purchased at the farmer's stand was huge. One melon gave us enough meat for

• 3 breakfasts of fruit sprinkled with cereal
• 2 desserts of fresh fruit cubes
• a delicious Cantaloupe Agua Fresca

I'll confess I was a bit skeptical when I read the following recipe in my latest issue of Southern Living. I figured it would either be too sweet, or even worse, too cantaloupe-y in flavor. In fact, it was neither.

Warning: this is a bit of work but it's well worth it for a delicious and refreshing summer fruit drink.

Cantaloupe Agua Fresca

• 4 c. cubed seedless cantaloupe (you can also use watermelon or honeydew)
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 c. cold water

Process fruit and sugar in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Pour mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a pitcher, discarding solids. Stir in 2 cups cold water. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Serve over ice.

Enjoying the Summer Bounty

We are really enjoying this summer's fruits and vegetables. Nothing beats vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh Noonday onions. Or a fresh-fruit smoothie. Or a salad, chock-a-block full of crunchy goodness.

Delicious. (Posting this is making me hungry!)

Last weekend we stopped at a roadside farmer's stand on our way back to town. We stocked up on fresh corn, cantaloupe, watermelon, avocado and East Texas tomatoes. (The latter is simply wonderful...read this if you don't believe me.)

The only problem with stopping at a roadside stand is that you often buy more than you can easily eat. Come on...you know what I mean!

So, we've happily been near-vegetarians this past week. By far, our favorite meal has been a simple one:

• fresh tomatoes, diced
• fresh avocado, diced
• corn-on-the-cob, lightly steamed and shucked
• seafood

The vegetables taste wonderful with just a light sprinkling of Tony's Creole Seasoning.

To easily prepare steamed corn:

1. Wash to remove any dirt.
2. Remove loose corn husk.
3. Soak the corn for at least 15 minutes to plump the kernels. (This step is actually optional, but I think it makes for much better corn.)
4. Drain thoroughly.
5. Grill. Or, if you're in a hurry, microwave for 4-6 minutes (time may vary based on your microwave).
6. Strip off husk - silk will come off easily.
7. Allow corn to cool enough to handle, then strip the kernels from the cob (an easy task with this tool).

We had this meal with two different fish preparations. First up was perch, baked with Nando's Garlic Peri-Peri Sauce. I'd show you a photo, but it was so yummy that we ate it before I could take a photo!

For dinner #2, the side dish was shrimp, sauteed in the wok with lemon juice and diced fresh jalapeno.

Yum-yum.

Tomorrow, the perfect drink to cool the palette after eating spicy jalapeno shrimp and veggies!

Being Green Is Sooooo Trendy

How do you know if Green has gone from eco-conscious to just plain trendy?

When the term "green technology" ends up here.


Thanks, Mel, for sharing this!

Good Home Cooking Without Weeknight Stress

If you're willing to do about 15 minutes of preparation over the weekend, you can have a great home-cooked meal on the most stressful of week nights.

Kelly and I enjoyed a variation on a recipe I found in Real Simple earlier this year. I can think of lots of ways to change up the ingredients to take advantage of seasonal produce and interesting flavor combinations.

Fall has arrived in North Texas, so our meal this week featured an abundance of root vegetables and squash. It's delicious with fresh-baked rolls and a nice glass of Cabernet.

Make-Ahead Chicken and Vegetables

1 lb new potatoes

2 carrots

2 small zucchini

Olive oil

Whole-grain mustard

2 t. Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper

4-6 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 1-gallon resealable plastic freezer bags

Clean and quarter the potatoes. Peel the carrots. Cut carrots and zucchini into 2-inch sticks. Mix them in a bowl with 2 T. olive oil, 2 T. mustard, Italian seasoning, 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper.. Season chicken with 1 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper. Divide everything about the 2 freezer bags. Freeze until ready to cook, for up to 3 months.

Heat oven to 400F. Lightly coat baking dish with cooking spray. Remove the bags from the freezer (each bag is 2 servings). Empty the contents of the bag(s) into prepared dish. Roast for 25 minutes. Toss the vegetables, turn the chicken and continue roasting until the chicken is cooked through, 20-25 minutes more.

Divide among individual plates. Full recipe serves 4-5.

Notes:

• Substitute fresh rosemary for the Italian seasoning.
• Change up the vegetables with what is in season. Adjust the seasonings to blend. What about this? Veggies: onion and carrots. Add bok choy at the end of cooking. Marinade with teriaki sauce.
• Save money by buying frozen chicken breasts in bulk. A 3-lb bag of boneless, skinless chicken breasts normally retails for less than $10 at Kroger. Thaw the portions needed; one bag will serve several recipes.

Woman with a Plan

Eating 20-30 lbs of organic fruits and vegetables every two weeks takes some planning. However, just like scrapbooking, I am the woman with a plan when it comes to meals.

I grew up watching my mom make a list on Saturday morning of all of the meals she planned to prepare for the following week. That meal plan led to a grocery list which then accompanied us to the store.

When I left for university, I tossed the meal plan, um, plan out the window and shopped for whatever I felt like buying at the time.

Lots of money and even more spoiled food later, I realized that perhaps my mom was on to something!!! By thinking through what you intend to make, and to a certain extent when you intend to make it, you can take control at the grocery store. Buy what you need! Buy when you need it! Ignore the over-marketed products and overcome impulse shopping!!

I actually plan for two weeks worth of meals because 1. our co-op provides us with veggies and fruit every two weeks and 2. I hate grocery shopping. I wish that meant I went to the grocery store once every two weeks, but I still average about once a week as I run to pick up supplemental (or "buy it later") items that we would prefer to have fresh. 

The co-op facilitates my planning by emailing an upcoming delivery notice on off-weeks so we know what will be in our next pick-up. I plan what we will eat around this list. I also keep a set of staple items on hand for meals when nothing on the list sounds good at dinner time. These items include:

• Rice
  
• Pasta
  
• Frozen shrimp
  
• Frozen chicken
  
• Various marinades
  
• Canned tuna
  

From these items I can make everything from a simple salad to a stir fry to a grilled main dish. Delicious!

So what's for dinner on co-op day? We have a lot of fresh and tasty items in this week's delivery, plus it is extraordinarily hot outside, so I opted to make Taco Salad.

The Hayley's Taco Salad

• Azteca taco salad shells
  
• 1 lb. lean ground beef, seasoned with taco seasoning
  
• 1 can fat-free refried beans
  
• 2 ears of organic corn on the cob, steamed and stripped
  
• Chopped organic lettuce
  
• 1 organic tomato, chopped
  
• 1/2 organic red onion, chopped
• Black olives, to taste
  
• Organic cilantro, to taste
  
• Pickled jalapenos, to taste
  
• Mexi-cheese blend, to taste
  

Bake the salad shells according to package instructions. Fill with beans, meat, corn and a hint of cheese. Add lettuce, tomato, olives, cilantro, jalapenos and cheese. Enjoy! (Serves 4)

What Often Follows An Organic Meal

A spicy grilled chicken sandwich with avocado and a hint of melted cheese, plus a side of perfectly fried onion rings. Not greasy, not overly breaded. Delicious.

Not healthy. Certainly not organic. But definitely what I wanted.

Thank you Two Rows for a wonderful end-of-the-week get together.

Miracle Food

Let's make this clear: I hate being sick. 

I do not count having a cold, the sniffles, body aches as being sick. That's simply not feeling well. 

Sick = can't get out of bed, don't want to get out of bed, only get out of bed when you absolutely must (for reasons that can't be mentioned in a public forum of polite readers!).

I don't know if I have a touch of a stomach bug or if I had food poisoning, but the last 36 hours have not been my best. I'm going back to work today thanks to God's miracle food: bananas.

I love bananas on cereal, blended into chocolate milk (try it Tammy - really, it's great!), in fruit smoothies, on peanut butter or just by themselves. And when I'm really sick, it's about the only thing I want, and am able, to eat.

I suppose it's the smoothness of the fruit's flesh, plus the high levels of potassium that are so restorative.

Here's to the banana!

The Coop

I feel equal parts evangelist and broken record these days when it comes to our organic coop. I can't stop talking about how great it is, which inevitably leads to discussions of price, pickup locations, delivery contents and recipe ideas (my answer to the latter: read my blog).

Today was pick-up day. My large Rubbermaid tote bin contained all of the items you see in this photo:

This stock should keep us going for the next two weeks:

• 3 onions
• 3 cucumbers
• 3 lb potatoes
• 2 lb yams
• 2 lb apples
• 2 lb oranges
• 3 beets
• 1 lb carrots
• 2 heads lettuce
• 1 bunch broccoli
• 2 avocados
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 bunch celery
• 2 8 oz pints strawberries
• 2.5 lb bananas

Really, we'll be able to eat all of this in two weeks - though the potatoes and yams will be more challenging than the rest.

Tonight we finished our dinner with one of our favorites fruit-infused desserts: Chocolate Banana Milkshakes.

Chocolate Banana Milkshake

12 oz milk

2-3 bananas, chopped and frozen

Chocolate to taste

Combine in blender. Add more milk or bananas to get desired consistency. Makes 2 servings. (Note: A splash of rum is a tasty addition.)

If you want to learn more about our coop, please visit: http://www.yourhealthsource.org/

Bierocks

Our organic vegetable bin last week also included a head of cabbage. Aside from making some of my various slaws (my traditional and spicy versions are particularly good!), long-forgotten recipes also came to mind.

Last weekend I prepared a common dish that I grew to love while living in Kenya – sukuma wiki. I used to make the dish with greens, but thought it might be tasty with cabbage. It was.

This week, I dusted off a recipe my mom used to make all the time – Bierocks. These are meat-filled pocket pastries, brought to Kansas by German and Russian settlers. I haven’t had them in years. They were as good as I remembered, especially with a healthy dash of Tabasco!

I prepared the bierocks Sunday evening, and baked them last night. I spent about 20-25 minutes preparing the dish, and another 20 minutes baking them 2 nights later. While the bierocks baked, I tossed a quick garden salad for a starter. It was a perfect meal for an evening when we got home at 7 pm from the gym!

The following is my version of the recipe, with notes on shortcuts to make it quickly during a busy workweek.

Beirock

• 1 lb ground beef, lean
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cups cabbage, shredded
• Frozen bread dough (1 16 oz loaf)
  

Thaw bread dough.

Brown the beef and onion until thoroughly cooked and the onions are transparent. Drain. Add cabbage and cook for approximately 10 minutes until the cabbage is thoroughly wilted.

Roll dough to ½” thick. Cut into 5x5” squares. Place scant ¼ cup of beef filling in each. Fold edges in and pinch to seal.

Place on greased baking sheet. Let rise for 15 minutes. Bake in 350F oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Using frozen bread dough helps speed the preparation time – and it’s also possible to do most of the preparation on the weekend when you have a little more time. After placing the bierocks on the baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Place the pan in the refrigerator. This will slow the bread’s rising process, allowing you to pull the bierocks out of the fridge a day later to bake. Simply uncover the bierocks and let them sit at room temperature while the oven preheats, then bake as directed. You may need to add a few minutes to the bake time.

Another yummy variation is to add a pinch of nutmeg while cooking the beef and onion. Try it!

Tarte aux Pommes

We recently joined a local organic fruit and vegetable coop in an effort to eat healthier and save money. Every two weeks we receive 15-30 pounds of locally grown, organic seasonal fruits and vegetables.

You read correctly: 15-30 pounds.

So we've had to adapt our meal style, making vegetables the main dish and meat the side dish. Definitely a healthier approach, just not an easy switch initially.

Last week we received 3 pounds of Gala apples. After eating an apple-a-day for 4 days, I decided that I didn't care what the doctor said: I don't want to eat an apple a day until 3 pounds are gone and next week's shipment of 3 more pounds arrives.

Solution: Tarte aux Pommes (Apple Tart)

The recipe is one of many in a lovely French cookbook I picked up in Paris a couple of years ago.

Tarte aux Pommes

• 2 lb apples (small to medium), cored, peeled and quartered
• 4 T. butter
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 T. lemon juice
• Shortcrust pastry (for one pie crust)

Cut the apple quarters into 2-3 slices and combine with lemon juice and sugar. Melt butter over medium-high heat; add apples and cook for approx 12 minutes until the apples are soft and golden brown.

Preheat oven to 375F. Roll pastry into a 12-inch round, cutting off any uneven pieces. Carefully place pastry on a greased baking sheet. (Note: I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper instead.)

Pile cooked apples in the center of the pastry, leaving a 2-inch outside edge. Bring the pastry edge over the apples, folding where necessary. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.