Cinnamon Rolls

 This past weekend I attended a ladies' brunch at my church. Everyone was to bring a small breakfast item to share. I'm newer to the whole gluten-free/dairy-free lifestyle so all of my "go to" recipes were a no go as I no longer even had the ingredients in the house for them. So I scoured the internet and finally decided on a tasty looking recipe for gluten-free/dairy-free cinnamon rolls. 

I made a test batch the day before just in case it didn't turn out well (I never fully trust gluten-free foods to be any good). And to my delight they turned out so good! Not as good a regular full-gluten cinnamon rolls but they did taste good to the point that my whole family couldn't stop eating them! This is definitely a recipe I will be making again and again in the future. I really liked making them smaller too as they were much more fun to eat that way. I also didn't even bother making an icing for them as I felt like they really didn't need it (although people who are used to sweeter desserts would probably say otherwise).

Cloth Products

 At the beginning of all the craziness that 2020 brought I determined that I did not want to be one of those people who had to go to multiple stores just to get toilet paper or any other paper product out there. I also determined that I would not be the person who hoarded all the paper products so nobody else could have them (not like I had storage for that anyway). 

So instead, 2020 has brought me on a journey I only casually thought about in the past (but never expected to do). And that journey is going cloth/reusable verses paper/disposable. It started with making cloth toilet paper that we would use for #1 and used paper for #2. Although by Christmas I had bought a bidet attachment for the toilet and now never use paper. Not everyone in my family is on board with this concept yet so we still do buy some toilet paper but the amount has dramatically decreased. It now feels like a downgrade anytime I use the bathroom anywhere but home. 

I then decided cloth napkins were next on my list. With little kids they are always making messes that need to be wiped up and I hated how much money we were throwing in the trash. Not to mention the fact that paper napkins weren't always in stock in the stores when we needed them. My husband wasn't sure how he'd like using cloth to clean everyday messes (it feels too fancy) but now I have a small stack of paper napkins sitting next to the cloth and he always reaches for the cloth as do I. 

In the past I had been intimidated with the thought of using cloth menstrual pads, or rather, the thought of cleaning them. At the beginning of 2020 I ended up getting a menstrual cup and, although I liked it, I still didn't like wasting so much money on disposable liners and pads. But then I found my way into a social media page that revolved around this topic and I was sold. I was too intimidated to make this product myself nor did I have the correct tools to do the snaps so I ended up waiting for a Black Friday sale on them and bought several packs of them. Let me tell you, they were well worth the money. I now use cloth and my cup completely and I couldn't be happier with this investment.

My latest project has been cloth facial tissues. Two weeks ago my boys came down with head colds and I realize just how much disposable tissues we use. I don't get out to the store as often as I used to so we used nearly all that we had on hand. I didn't like this scenario not to mention, again, the amount of wasted money on these products that we literally throw in the trash. A month or two ago I had seen this fun panda bear fabric at the fabric store and bought a yard of it even though I had no specific plans for it (something I pretty much never do). So when I determined I wanted to make facial tissues this fun flannel fabric came to mind and instantly began it's transformation into tissues. 

I feel confident now that even if the store shelves are empty we will have reusable products at home that we can use. We still have disposable as backups but the longer time goes on I wonder if we even need that. We still use paper towels in the kitchen (I just don't like the thought of using cloth to dry off raw meat that has been defrosted and rinsed) but I am quite pleased with how far we have come in only a year and that my family has taken to the changes so naturally with minimum hesitation and how often they reach for the reusable instead of disposable even when they have a choice not to.

Tacos and Homemade Tortillas

 The other day I defrosted some taco meat I had stored in the freezer and decided to try my hand at homemade tortillas simply for the fact that it is much cheaper. To my delight they were delicious! I absolutely could not stop eating them! I might have gorged myself a little bit (I ate 3 tacos and one tortilla by itself) but this is literally the first time I have had something gluten-free that tasted so good I liked it better than the gluten version. Granted, I haven't had homemade tortillas much (and I've had some not good recipes in the past) so I am comparing these to the gluten-filled store-bought tortillas. But still! So stinkin' yummy! I will definitely be making these bad boys again.

Bone Broth

 I've been making bone broth for a while now but have only made chicken bone broth as I've never had access to any other bones and haven't wanted to go out of my way to actually purchase the bones separately (I usually just roast a whole chicken and then use the carcass for the broth). So when my cousin asked if I would be interested in some cow bones I jumped at the chance.

There is a bit more of a process to prep the cow bones verses the chicken bones as the chicken bones are already cooked but the cow bones aren't. However it is quite simple and easy to do. Basically, lay them out on a pan, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the over for 30 minutes each side (1 hour total). 

I then let them cook a little to make it easier to handle, filled my instant pot about half full of bones (I ended up filling a little fuller than that because I wanted to make only 2 batches instead of 2 1/2). Add in some veg and spices, a splash of apple cider vinegar to help the minerals leech out of the bones and then top off with water. 

And then it's just waiting 3 hours for it to do it's thing, strain the chunks out and voila! You've got some amazing bone broth to throw into just about any recipe! I like to freeze at least part of the batch I make in ice cube size to make them easy to pop out and add to any dish. I also portion some out in one cup and two cup portions to make it easy when I need a bit more for a recipe.

One-Pan Turmeric Chicken

 I have held off on making this chicken dish for nearly half a week. I had bought all the ingredients for it but I just wasn't feeling it. Tonight I finally buckled down and made it and boy am I glad! It surpassed my (low) expectations and blew them out of the water. 

The dish was super easy to make - although I did have to ask my good friend google how to cut a fennel bulb (it was so foreign I didn't even know what end to use or how to cut it). Basically you just chop a few things, toss it all in a pan, pop it into the oven and let it cook. Super easy and it came out super tasty. I especially loved the extra flavor that the fennel bulb added to the overall dish.

5/5 definitely make again!!

Dreaming of Spring

 We are currently in the midst of some potential record-setting weather and it is COLD! I haven't felt like doing much around the house (and the house bears evidence that not much has been done). I literally just want to curl up in blankets in my fuzzy pants and not do anything. The thermometer has been reading close to 0* and that's about 30 decrease colder than I'd like. Our lows have been in the negatives and our highs have had trouble reaching double digits. I know after this week there is hope for it to start warming back up to normal temperatures but it can't come soon enough. I forgot to insulate my poor garlic before all this cold hit (although I did place it down next to the building instead of up on the ledge). I'm hoping it survives this brutal cold and I'll actually have a harvest this summer.

I have been doing much thinking on how I want to do my garden once it starts to warm. I keep going back and forth whether I want to start my seeds indoors or not. I think I might (once this cold lets up a little) and if it doesn't work out I can direct sow them in my pots once outdoors is a thing. I think this year will be a bit of an experiment and I need to not have too much expectations. I really want a good harvest but I don't want those desires to hinder me from trying new things.

But in the meantime, while I wait for the land to thaw a bit, I will continue to wrap up in my blankets and look out my frost covered window and be thankful that I have a warm and dry place to reside while I want for spring to come.

Battered Shrimp Tacos

 The other day I needed to finish up my package of tortillas and what better way but to make shrimp tacos! I had never used tallow to fry foods before so it was a fun new experience. The only weird thing to me was how much tallow when tallow cools it acts like candle wax. I dripped a little on the stove during the frying process and it didn't wipe up the same way normal grease or fat does.

The tortillas were the perfect size for shrimp tacos. We topped them with mango, avocado, onion, red cabbage, chipotle mayo and a nice squeeze of lime juice. They were a little messy but definitely worth it. I look forward to making these again some day in the future. On the food scale I rate these 4/5 definitely make these again. I have since found a homemade recipe for tortillas so maybe next time I will do that to make the experience even better.