Fall has arrived and now there's more time to devote to blogging and sharing some of my favorite foods, recipes and activities that make up my sense of home, family and good stuff!
There's been quite a bit of change since I last blogged here!
We welcomed baby Stevie to our family in August :) What a precious, precious baby :) He is happy, healthy and growing in leaps and bounds. I can honestly say that I never had a clue what being his grandma would mean to me. You can't possibly comprehend, prior to having your own children, just how much love you can have for another human being. Having a grandbaby is that PLUS! :) There is no feeling like it in the world. Just holding and cuddling that sweet little baby lets me know that all is right with the world, no matter what! I won't post any pics of him here to prevent the usual risk of internet fun and games. I believe that to alter others' photos, especially of their loved ones is virtually sacrilegious.
Another shift in the cosmos....
Fall signals the advent of comfort food cooking but with a twist here. In my ongoing and ever-present attention to health, I've been bumping up my low carb cooking and recipe research! There are thousands upon thousands of incredible recipes with carb counts that are low enough to help anyone not only manage their blood sugar but weight also. Most recipes can be "de-carbed" with very little effort and just a tad of expense. You can substitute white and wheat flour with almond, peanut and coconut flours. The choices for sugar free sweeteners is almost open ended!
I have some incredible friends who have shared their knowledge of alternative ingredients with me and I thank them wholeheartedly for their expertise!
Each time I post a recipe that is low carb, that will be clearly indicated. You'll see them interspersed with family favorites and those that make no attempt to cut the carb level whatsoever.
I've already started the interior Halloween decorating and have the outside to finish. I love, love, love Halloween! I like to celebrate it and it's theme all October long. The feel of the spooky holiday is one I adore!
I know that my Nanny was smiling at me yesterday :) It was a day of cooking down some neck pumpkins for the season! Here in Delaware, neck pumpkins are almost nonexistent! Most folks have no idea what they are, or else they refer you to butternut squash, which is a totally different item!
I was so, so lucky to find Fifer Orchards in the Wyoming area. Micheal is a pure treasure! I was able to buy quite a few there. I also got a call from Willey Farms in Townsend. They now have them too!
To avoid this scarcity situation next year, I'm saving the seeds! I'm not sure if I'll have the time for a garden next Spring, but I do know that I will, at the very least, have neck pumpkins! Pies made with the neck pumpkins are nothing like pies made with the rounder, dark orange variety. Back home, in Lancaster County, PA, we never, and I mean NEVER, used a standard pumpkin for pies. I recall them being earmarked only for carving into Jack O'Lanterns and then given to livestock as a type of feed.
I'll be posting a homemade crust and pumpkin pie recipe here as well as a low carb tweaked version. Pumpkin is so good for you and with the right substitutions, it fits perfectly with a low carb lifestyle!
It is finally raining here on Delmarva. It's way too late to help the farmers but homeowners are starting to worry about the water table. It was such an odd and unfamiliar sound this morning, to wake up to the sound of the rain! But it sure makes it feel like Fall. We've had some days with temps in the high nineties this past week, so this is a welcome change!
On a final note, I'm making a product recommendation. If you have never tried Greek-style yogurt, I suggest you do! And if you do, please try Fage brand. It's thicker, creamier and just delicious. In keeping with low carb intakes, which recommend a high fat intake in conjunction, try to find the full fat version of the unflavored Fage. The cultures actually eat the carbs for sustanence, so the carb level is low, but the taste is fantastic. Mixed with some flax (the praises for flax will be in an upcoming post!), fresh fruit, some sugar free flavoring syrup, it's absolutely delicious! Some of the local stores here carry Fage but in the lower fat versions. It's been a struggle to find the full fat version but we're constantly tracking it down and we've contacted Fage as well.
I've been resuming my auction lists as well lately. Fall is chock full of special activities that I don't do in the Summer months. So between work, auctions, family research, my work on the Marian Baker Story, traveling back home to Pennsylvania, visits to New Jersey and other areas, it's going to be a very, very busy season!
