Quick, Easy, and Healthy Eating

 by Jan Drexler

Like many of you, we here at the Cafe are busy people! I think you can see that from our posts - caring for grandchildren, cooking for our families, working day jobs, working at two or more businesses from our homes...and writing. 

Somewhere in there, we need to take care of ourselves, too. Right?

One of the things I've done, especially in the summer, is to collect some easy, quick, healthy recipes for meals and snacks that take almost no time to prepare. That leaves more time for writing!

Breakfast

One of my favorite quick and simple breakfasts can also be an anytime-snack or a dessert!

So easy:

1 cup (or so) plain Greek yogurt

1/3 cup (or so) frozen berries (I like raspberries)

Sweetener to taste. I use 1 1/2 teaspoons THM Super Sweet (nearly the same as two packets of Truvia)

Mix it all together, then let it sit for a few minutes to let the berries thaw a bit, then mix it again.

This is so cool, creamy and delicious! It's especially good when you eat it outside on the deck when the morning air is still fresh.

Icey Drink

This can be made with tea or coffee - whichever is your caffeine of choice. :-)

Brew the tea in a quart sized canning jar (or other quart sized container) and let it cool until it's warmish. Then add the fixings you usually put in your tea (or coffee.) I use THM super sweet (like Truvia,) collagen (to add protein,) sunflower lecithin (brain food,) and cream. Blend all the ingredients together with a hand-held stick blender or regular blender. 

Add ice until the jar is full, and you have a sipping drink that will last all day.

Lunch

I love this salad! It originated with fellow Seekerville blogger and author, Pam Hillman. She shared it on Facebook, then I added an ingredient or two to make it my own.

Quick and easy:

Mix together one can of tuna and one wedge Light Laughing Cow Cheese (or a Tablespoon of mayonnaise.) Then add a small squirt of mustard, a splash of Bragg's liquid aminos (or soy sauce,) salt and pepper to taste, a few shakes of paprika and a couple shakes of tumeric. Mix it all up well.

Then dice an apple and mix into the tuna mixture.

This makes a great light lunch to take on a picnic, which I did on Saturday! 

It was our church's annual picnic at the lake day, and we had a lot of fun.

One of my Sunday School students caught a fish!

Isn't that a great smile?

Another thing that happened last week is that we celebrated our first anniversary in our new home! I can't believe it's been a whole year - especially since we're still exploring our surroundings.

We found a new (to us) trail in the National Forest, only five miles away. It's close enough to take the puppies for a run in the morning, after breakfast and before my work day starts.

The dogs loved it!

And the trail was just long enough for a gentle morning hike - about a mile to the end and back.

That's how it's been this week here in the Black Hills! How has it been at your house?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

Zucchini Bread

Jan here, feeling loved.

 I remember back in the 70's when zucchini was a fairly new vegetable on the scene for backyard gardeners. It was different. Who knew how to use it?

Then people discovered how prolific it was.

 Old joke alert! "How can you tell if a person has no friends?" "They buy their zucchini at the grocery store."

 LOL! Up until my daughter's zucchini plants started producing, that was me!

But then she gave me a giant zucchini, and we're back in the zucchini bread business! My favorite recipe comes from this cookbook that I got for a wedding shower gift thirty eight years ago:

I've been making a version of the zucchini nut bread recipe in this book ever since!

You can tell this book is well-loved and well-used!

Here's the recipe:

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1 egg
1/4 cup cooking oil (I use coconut oil)

In a small mixing bowl, stir the first five ingredients together.

In a larger mixing bowl, whisk the egg, then add the sugar and zucchini and stir them in. Then add the oil and stir until everything is combined.

Add the flour mixture and stir until it's all mixed together. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan (8" works best.)

Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until done.

In other news, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was last week. The numbers were down, but I guess that's expected this year. Another change this year is that the bikers seemed to be taking more "long rides" to the Badlands, Devils Tower, etc. rather than hanging out in Sturgis all week.

But then on Wednesday, this happened (I chose the video without sound.)

According to witnesses, the woman tried to approach a baby bison and an adult attacked her. (I think I would say that according to the bison, the woman tried to attack a baby and the adult protected the the little one!)

The woman only had minor injuries, which was a miracle.

Just a reminder - bison are not fuzzy cows. And the signs that are scattered throughout the park are serious: "Bison are dangerous. Do not approach."

Whenever I take photos of wildlife, I always stay inside our vehicle...unless we're hiking.

And then I make sure we keep our distance, walk away, and let them have the right of way!

But with the end of the Rally comes the end of the summer. Starting this week our temperatures will be moderating toward fall, the bucks lose the velvet on their antlers, the fall wildflowers start blooming. Soon the aspens will turn to gold and the north wind will bring the promise of snow...

...all in the next four weeks.

I'm looking forward to it!

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

Salad Season is Anytime of Year

by Jan Drexler

We live in a beautiful place.

I know I say that often - probably too often for our regular readers - but it's true. We have mountains, vast valleys, and gorgeous skies.

One wonderful thing about living in the Black Hills is that we're an island in the prairie. Look on a map:

Satellite view of the Black Hills!

We're surrounded on all sides by National Grasslands - Thunder Basin, Oglala, and Badlands. They have a beauty all their own.

Last week, we drove to Wall, South Dakota, to pick up our side of beef. (When you live in ranch country, you buy yourself a freezer and purchase your grass-fed beef from your favorite rancher!) The drive was absolutely breathtaking.

We drove home on the back roads through Badlands National Park. We hadn't been to this end of the park before, and were amazed. We'll have to take this route again.

One reason we took the opportunity to drive the back roads is because we've been enjoying a mild winter for the past six weeks. After a few promising snow storms in November and early December, we've had weeks of 40° degree weather, sunshine/clouds/sunshine, and very little snow.

With spring-like weather, my appetite turns to salads!

I know I've mentioned that we have trouble getting fresh produce here in the winter, but that's one perk of the mild weather. The romaine in the stores has been in great condition, and I've been enjoying it!

I wrote about these Salads in a Jar nearly five years ago, and I felt it was time to revisit them...and get out my canning jars to prep for the coming week of lunches!

Salad in a Jar

We writers never stop writing. So every shortcut we can find is like gold.

Less time cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. means more time to write. More time to write means more books. More books = happy readers.

Yay for shortcuts!

Writers also spend WAY too much time sitting (or standing) in one place. We all know what happens to sedentary people, and we want to be happy, healthy writers.

One solution? Salad in a jar!

This is an easy-peasy way to make sure you're getting your veggies, even when the rest of your life is crazy busy.

So what do you need?

First, your favorite veggies - -

And did you notice there are some protein sources among the veggies? Protein is what turns your rabbit food into a powerhouse complete meal that sticks to your ribs well into the afternoon.

Second, some one quart canning jars. Five is a good number - the salad will stay fresh in your jar for about five days, so five jars will give you an entire week of salads.

Those plastic reusable lids are perfect for things like this!

Next, sort your ingredients by weight. You want the heaviest and wettest ingredients in the bottom of your jar, and the lightest at the top. Think of the salad we made in the cafe a couple months ago- Ginger's Salad - where we layered the ingredients in the bowl. With the jar, we're going to layer ingredients in the opposite order. So your dressing and toppings go first, and the lettuce or slaw last.

One note before we begin - since I work at home, I opted to leave a few ingredients out of the jars. I'll add them in on the day I eat the salad. The ingredients that will wait until later are salad dressing, slivered almonds, cheese, avocados, and chopped apples. They'll be better fresh.

Let's start assembling our salads!


This one is a Chef-style salad, without the lettuce.

The layers are:
sliced boiled egg
sliced black olives
chopped mushrooms
cooked, diced chicken breast
chopped broccoli/cauliflower mix
shredded cabbage (I use the cole slaw mix)


Here we have a classic salad:

1/4 cup canned garbanzo beans (chick peas)
cooked, diced chicken breast
sliced carrots
sliced radishes
chopped mushrooms
diced red onion
sliced pickled beets
chopped broccoli/cauliflower mix
chopped lettuce



This low-fat salad is going to be filling:

1/4 cup canned garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1/4 cup cooked, diced chicken breast
1-2 Tablespoons dried cranberries
cabbage slaw to the top of the jar


This one is also low-fat:

1/2 cup canned garbanzo beans (chick peas)
sliced carrots
sliced radishes
chopped broccoli/cauliflower mix
cabbage slaw to the top of the jar


And this last one:

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
sliced carrots
sliced radishes
chopped mushrooms
chopped red onion
chopped broccoli/cauliflower mix
chopped lettuce to the top of the jar


Remember: If you're taking your salads with you to work or school, you'll want to put your favorite salad dressing in the bottom of the jars before layering in the other ingredients.

Stick the jars in the fridge, and you have a week's worth of salads to eat at home or to go!

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

There's nothing like a salad to make a writer lean and healthy, is there? What is your favorite salad combo?

Jan Drexler is an author by day who is addicted to counted cross stitch and sauntering through the Hills with her dear husband and their goofy corgi puppy, Jack. You can find Jan's books and other fun things on her website: www.JanDrexler.com.

Wintertime Surprises and Peanut Butter Fudge

One thing about living with a puppy is that they need to go outside. A lot.

Don't let that sweet face fool you. He eats, drinks, and sleeps...and then the inevitable happens!

Hubby and I take turns with the first walk of the morning. You know, the quick outside-to-do-the-business-before-breakfast walk. But it isn't a hardship. Just look at what greeted me on Saturday morning!

We woke up to freezing fog. And when fog freezes, it covers everything with hoarfrost.

Every surface is covered with delicate crystals of icy frost.

Each individual pine needle coated with white.

And the fog! When the fog is this thick, every familiar pathway is a mysterious road into an unknown world of fairy dust and unimaginable beauty.

Neighbors' houses disappear, and the mountains? They're gone.

But the birds appreciated our island of shelter and food in this sea of white! This goldfinch is a frequent visitor.

Doesn't this fog remind you of that Christmas Eve several years ago? The foggy Christmas Eve when Santa came to say, "Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Rudolph's redeeming moment! And his shiny nose has been glowing ever since!

Which brings me to the rest of this post. I shared this recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge a few years ago, and I'll be making this year's batch soon.

The best part about making Christmas goodies are the memories they bring to mind. Don't you think so? If we don't have memories of our own, we make some every time we share the sweets with our friends and neighbors.

Grandma's Peanut Butter Fudge

The recipe I'm going to share with you is one that I make every year, my Grandma's Peanut Butter Fudge.

Okay, okay. I have a confession to make. This isn't Grandma's Fudge. Her recipe is from the Great Depression era, and lacks.... um.... richness.

I learned a lot from Grandma.

1) She could get more pies out of a batch of piecrust than was strictly legal, rolling the dough so thin it was nearly transparent.

2) She knew how to stretch leftovers to get three meals where anyone else would get two.

3) She knew how to lay out pattern pieces to use every inch of fabric when she made a dress.

Grandma (standing in the center) with her sisters and mother, 1964.

But when it comes to fudge...sorry, Grandma, but I had to fool with your recipe.

Even though I have changed this recipe enough to be unrecognizable, I still call it Grandma's. :)

Grandma's Peanut Butter Fudge

ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 5-oz can evaporated milk
1 7-oz jar marshmallow cream
1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy - your choice)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lightly grease a 9" x 9" baking dish and set aside.

Heat sugar, butter, milk and marshmallow cream in a heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium heat until the mixture comes to a full boil, stirring constantly.

And yes, you read that right. In this recipe, the marshmallow cream goes in the first step, not the last.

Once the mixture comes to a full boil, continue cooking and stirring for five minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract, stirring until smooth and creamy.

Pour the fudge into the prepared dish. Cool, then cut into squares.

Peanut Butter Fudge and Chocolate Fudge...yum!

Back to the hoarfrost: We've lived in a lot of different places, and I've had people tell me that there is no such thing as hoarfrost. It's just something you read about in fairy tales. (I've learned to just smile and nod when someone insists that they're right about certain things...)

And then I offer proof... Hoarfrost Explained

How about you? Have you ever experienced or heard of hoarfrost before?

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt and Chili Supper 2019

Jan here, sharing one of our favorite Black Hills traditions - our church's annual Tree Hunt and Chili Supper.

Would you believe I forgot to take my camera this year? But I did have my phone and remembered to take a picture of the intrepid hunters taking their captured trees back to the truck for the ride home!

It was a successful afternoon all around, complete with snowball fights, sledding, snow fort building (I wish I had taken a picture of the snow fort!) and a lot of visiting with friends and family. The temperatures were in the upper 30's, so we lingered in the forest while the children played. But as the sun made it's way toward the western hills, we knew it was time to make the journey back down the mountains. After all, the chili supper was waiting for us!

I've made a lot of different chili recipes for this special event over the years, but I don't think I've ever shared this one.

Chili, the healthy way

with vegetarian options!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (optional - this chili has enough protein without the beef)
1/2 onion
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
4 cups (cooked) small red beans or kidney beans
4 cups beef stock or vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt

I cook the beans in my instant pot the day before I make the chili, or you can soak and cook them the more conventional way - whichever works for you. Start with 2 cups dried beans to yield 4 cups cooked beans. (Or you can use 3 cans of beans...)

For my beef broth, I used some of the beef bone stock I made last winter. (See my post on making beef stock here!)

For the ground beef, I usually use a pound of the grass-fed beef we get from our friends, the ranchers. But I don't have any on hand right now, so I just used ground beef from the store.

Are these special ingredients? Not really - but you need to plan ahead to use them. Of course, you can always buy these ingredients at the grocery store!

Brown the meat and onion together. Put all ingredients together in a crock pot. Cook on low for about 9-10 hours.

Serve with any toppings you like. A dollop of sour cream is particularly tasty.

This chili isn't hot and spicy - there are just enough of the spices to give it a warm, savory flavor. If you like your chili with a bit of a kick, add some hot chili peppers or more cayenne pepper!


Enjoy!

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com

Country Livin' and Homemade Yogurt

Jan here, still enjoying country life.

Sometimes I feel like Eddie Arnold from Green Acres! Without the farm, of course.

There have been some expected adjustments to country living. We anticipated the quiet and the open horizons. We were looking forward to seeing multitudes of stars at night and counting the passing of time by the phases of the moon. And we weren't surprised by the coyotes and other wildlife...

But one thing that we weren't certain about was the distance from amenities like grocery stores and gas stations. As we looked for our home in the Hills, that was an unknown until we actually found our place!

When we take a walk in our neighborhood,
we take the road that curves up the hill
into the trees. A beautiful, peaceful route.

It turns out that we don't live close to groceries. It's seven miles to the nearest convenience store/gas station, and thirty miles to the supermarket.

That means planning and learning to make do. Because if I want to make hamburgers for supper, I had better have the ingredients on hand...or else fix something different!

But we also planned ahead for that. For more than ten years we have maintained an emergency food pantry. You can read about our pantry here: Living Out of Your Pantry

As we get closer to winter, our pantry has become even more important. It takes planning to store the staples we use and rotate the stock so we're always using it up. There's a saying that's true: "Store what you eat and eat what you store."

But what about the fresh foods? The perishables?

That's where I bring out the recipes from back when we rarely bought prepared foods out of necessity - we needed to live within our budget! So I've started making bread again (not nearly often enough for my dear husband) and other foods from scratch.

When I first thought about making my own yogurt, I had flashbacks to the 70's (that's the 1970's for you youngsters!) Do you remember cookbooks like "Laurel's Kitchen?" *shaking my head at how long ago that was*

But with my Instant Pot, making yogurt is a snap. It's also a money-saver, and a way to keep a supply of yogurt on hand.

Yogurt in the Instant Pot
(This may be your excuse to put an Instant Pot on your wish list!)

ingredients:

1/2 gallon 2% milk (or use whole milk if you want full-fat yogurt)
2 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (make sure it has live cultures and no added anything)

Note: I've heard that you can't use your homemade yogurt to provide the live cultures, so I buy a small container of store-bought and use a couple Tablespoons at a time. But I've also heard that the longer your yogurt ferments, the more live cultures you get. So this might call for some experimentation!

Anyway, on to the yogurt.

This is easy-peasy.

If you don't have an Instant Pot with a yogurt setting, you can use your oven to make this. Search on-line for cooking directions. :-)

If you do have an Instant Pot with a yogurt setting, you're all set.

First, pour the 1/2 gallon milk into your Instant Pot. You can also use a whole gallon, but the 1/2 gallon makes enough to last a week in our house.

IMPORTANT! Don't add the yogurt yet!

Set your pot to "yogurt," and press the button until it says "boil." The cycle lasts about 1/2 hour.

When the boil cycle is done, remove your Instant Pot liner and set it aside to let the milk cool - about another 1/2 hour.

Use your thermometer to check the temperature - you want the milk to cool to 95-105°. If you don't have a thermometer, it should be lukewarm. If it's too hot, it will kill your yogurt cultures.

There might be a "skin" on top of the milk - just skim it off and throw it away. Add about 2 Tablespoons of yogurt per 1/2 gallon of milk and whisk in.

Put the liner back in the pot again, and press "yogurt" until your timer says 24 hours. Put on the lid and leave it for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

Note: the longer you leave it, the more "yogurty" it will taste. I like to go between 8 and 10 hours.

After the time is up, your yogurt is done! There will be some whey, but your yogurt should be fairly solid. You can store it in your refrigerator now, or you can strain it to make Greek yogurt.

If you're making Greek yogurt, set a colander over a large, deep bowl. Line the colander with several layers of clean cheese cloth, and pour in your yogurt. Cover the colander with plastic wrap and put the whole thing in the refrigerator.

You'll want to check it every couple hours - the whey drains off pretty quickly. Let it drain overnight, but less than 12 hours. You can save the whey and use it in smoothies or add it to your dog's food. It's full of protein and carbs!

And that brings me to the advantage of Greek yogurt: because the whey is strained off, the resulting yogurt still retains a lot of protein and the other good stuff you find in milk...but without the carbs.

I use the yogurt for smoothies (see my Quick and Healthy Smoothie recipe here) or a favorite super-quick snack, Raspberry-Yogurt Swirl (recipe here.)

Do you think you might try making homemade yogurt? Or do you already make your own?

Jan Drexler spent her childhood dreaming of living in the Wild West and is now thrilled to call the Black Hills of South Dakota her home. When she isn’t writing she spends much of her time satisfying her cross-stitch addiction or hiking and enjoying the Black Hills with her husband of more than thirty-seven years.