Made Over Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin bread in May? Yes! I'm getting ready to move so I'm clearing out my pantry. I had accidentally purchased a can of pumpkin pie mix instead of straight up pumpkin and it has been sitting unused. I found this recipe and immediately saw an opportunity for a healthy make over. Three cups of sugar!? Not in my kitchen on an ordinary day. I halved the sugar, switched out quite a bit of the white flour, and used unsweetened applesauce for half of the oil. The result was tender, moist, and delicious. Next time I might add some nuts or chocolate chips.

I took two of the mini loaves over for yoga and tea with my friend Johanna. She's going to have a baby any minute so it was nice to get in one more yoga practice with her before the little man arrives. The funny thing was she made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for me. Her mom will have some treats to enjoy when she arrives tomorrow.

Made Over Pumpkin Bread

Makes: 16

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups + 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 (18-ounce) can pumpkin pie mix
• 1/2 cup canola oil,
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2/3 cup water
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• Optional: Top with cream cheese.
• Chocolate chips and/or nuts would make great add-ins.

Directions:

Combine first eight ingredients (through ginger), stirring well. Add remaining ingredients. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for two minutes.

Spoon batter into 4 greased and floured mini loaf pans. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Then place on wire racks until completely cool. Slice with a serrated knife.

Nutritional Info:

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 170.2
Total Fat 3.7 g
Saturated Fat 0.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.5 g
Cholesterol 53.8 mg
Sodium 109.3 mg
Potassium 0.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 21.5 g
Dietary Fiber 3.2 g
Sugars 9.2 g
Protein 4.9 g
Vitamin A 1.5 %
Vitamin C 3.1 %
Vitamin E 3.8 %
Calcium 1.4 %
Folate 3.8 %
Iron 6.9 %
Niacin 3.0 %
Thiamin 3.8 %

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To the Heidelberg Marriott from the Ugly Vegetarians

Dear Marriott Heidelberg,

I'm sorry for the inconvenience we caused your waitstaff last night at the JAG Prom.

We are lifelong vegetarians so of course we ordered the vegetarian option. Being experienced with this sort of thing, we didn't have high expectations so we ate a beautiful late lunch at Red down the street. You might want to stop in sometime to get some ideas of what to offer for the vegetarian option. Their spätzle with lentils and smoked tofu was a standout example of something that is hearty and delicious.

Your polenta with roasted cherry tomatoes and sautéed mushrooms was somewhat inadequate as a main course but it tasted fine. And it was vegetarian. Your first course, the asparagus soup, came with bacon. Your second course, the salad, had anchovies in the dressing.

The waitstaff was lovely and brought us substitutes. But, we shouldn't have had to ask. We ordered the vegetarian option. That option should extend to all courses. I was glad we were at a table of good-natured, sympathetic folks so we didn't have to be embarrassed at our formal event about sending back two courses.




Dessert was the highlight of the meal. Thank goodness it was adequate so we didn't have to leave hungry.

Sincerely,
The Ugly Vegetarians

Location:Iqbal-Ufer,Heidelberg,Germany

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3 Reasons to Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. My friend Johanna came over for yoga and tea. She's expecting a baby any minute now and she's happy to have something nice to go with her tea.
2. Our movers come in about a month to move us back over the ocean and I need to use up pantry items.
3. I found this recipe for healthier chocolate chip cookies from Eating Well.

Making healthier cookies is tricky business. This recipe required chilling the dough for at least an hour which is a little bit inconvenient. These cookies are described as lacy which is code for flat. Don't expect a cakey, fat Toll House cookie. They get browner than regular chocolate chip cookies. I pulled them out of the oven after the minimum baking time because the edges were brown. We enjoyed somewhat raw cookies and I risked putting the rest back in the oven for five more minutes. They were really brown but not overdone. They were crunchy around the edges and soft in the middle. A nice treat! One last thing to look out for is that this recipe only made one sheet of cookies using half of a small bag of chocolate chips. I'll definitely double the recipe next time.

 

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Spring Baby Shower

When you're living a military lifestyle, friends substitute for family in a lot of ways. My friend Johanna is expecting her second little boy and her family lives across the ocean. So, I teamed up with Mary, another friend to throw her a spring baby shower using "Grow" as a theme and incorporating a yellow and green color scheme.

Invitations and Thank You Notes

We made these clean and simple cards using Close to My Heart paper and stamps that I had on hand. I sewed the banners on with a zig zag stitch. The guests addressed their own envelopes for the thank you cards and we drew a name to receive a cherry tomato growing kit.

Decorations and Party Favors

The decorations simply involved lots of fresh flowers and herbs. Mary found yellow tulips at the farmer's market and I happened upon a crate of unpotted narcissus at the grocery store. We filled crystal vases and mason jars with our arm loads of fresh flowers.
I wanted the party favors to be something people would actually use so we got herbs and pots for everyone, embellishing with a mini chalkboard and yellow ribbon.

We decorated the gift table with a potted plant that Johanna could take home.

The absolute best decoration of the day was sunshine. Spring was late to come this year and we were all desperate for sun. We even had some sprinkles the morning of the shower. I waited until the last minute to set the table outside and was rewarded with brilliant, lasting sunshine.

We used a fest table with neutral colored cushions and table runner. Mason jars of shortly cut tulips and narcissus lined the middle. Silverware wrapped in green and yellow napkins and tied with a white ribbon sat on white plates. Crystal iced beverage glasses waited for lemonade, lemon cucumber infused water, or mint iced tea. Yellow and white straws added a trendy touch. The pots of herbs and extra flower filled mason jars joined pots of pansies on the patio wall.

Menu and Recipes

Mary did the cooking and I did the baking. It was nice to team up. We tried to stick with the yellow and green theme.

• Water with Cucumber and Lemon
• Mint Iced Tea
• Lemonade
• Giada's White Bean Dip with pita chips and veggies
• Fruit Skewers with Pineapple and Grapes
• Green Salad with veggies and lots of yellow peppers
• Bread and Butter
• Spinach Lasagna (recipe follows)
• Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting - I used dark chocolate cocoa powder and buttermilk in the frosting recipe.
• Lemon Squares

Just a caveat about Mary's lasagna recipe...she doesn't use a recipe so this is transcribed from what she told me. Play with it and use your best judgement!

Mary's Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1 package lasagna
• 2 large bags baby spinach or 2 packages frozen, chopped spinach
• 10 tbsp butter
• 10 tbsp flour
• 5 cups milk
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• Salt
• White pepper
• 2 cups mozzarella, shredded
• 2 1/2 cups lowfat cottage cheese

Directions:

Boil pasta for about 7 minutes until not quite cooked.

Sauté spinach with water and some salt.

Add butter to a pan over medium heat. Gradually add flour whisking continuously for about four minutes or until flour is golden. Remove from heat. Whisk in 2 cups milk until smooth. Heat over high heat and add remaining milk. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring frequently so it doesn't scald, until thickened. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350° .

Pour 1/2 cup sauce in glass or ceramic 9x13 baking dish. Add 3 noodles, dot with cottage cheese and spinach. Sprinkle with mozzarella and some sauce. Repeat for 3 layers total. Sprinkle with mozzarella.

Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.

Activities

We ate and opened gifts and talked and ate again. We basked in the sunshine and enjoyed each other's company. Johanna had guests from three different Army posts in Germany come to share her day as well as a German friend who had never been to a baby shower before. Now we're just waiting for the baby to make his debut!

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5 Things I Loved About Yoga Class

 

1. Bird of Paradise - Still a challenge to straighten top leg.

2. New to Me Pose - Nilamba Baddha Parsvakonasana

3. Move hands further down the back in standing backbend to move beyond first edge.

4. 3 Part Breath - Helps me focus when my mind is going non-stop.

5. Inversion Discussion - Engage core like a brake to stop momentum.

 

 

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Bad time? Run anyway.

When we were stationed in Germany the first time 12 years ago, our friends Jen and James joked that if they didn't leave fat and broke they didn't do it right. The joke is funny when you're in your 20s. When you're in your late 30s it's more of an unpleasant reality than a joke. My body is less forgiving of indulgences now.

We've been traveling quite a bit and enjoying good food along the way because we know that this is probably our last time living in Europe. The result is that my dress for the ball barely zips. It's time to pull it together.

I had just eaten two bowls of lentil soup when Kenny got home from work. Running on a full stomach is unpleasant but if I waited it would get too dark. So I trudged out more out of duty than pleasure.

It looked fairly dark already when I started but soon the setting sun broke free in the west and cast a magic glow against the dark clouds in the east. Spring has finally arrived in Bavaria and everything is leafing and budding.

It turned out to be a perfect time for a run. My heart was light even if my belly was heavy.

 

 

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Wrapped Up Yoga Teaching in Bamberg - Now What?

I don't have a job to go to tomorrow. Friday was my last day teaching yoga at the Freedom Fitness Facility. My German insurance expired and we have lots of trips planned between now and when we move back to the States. It's time to start focusing on the transition.

 

It's a bittersweet time. I really enjoyed the people who came to class and I'll miss helping them grow in their practice. But, as always, as one thing ends, I have other things to fill my time. I think always being able to productively entertain myself is one of the qualities that makes me a very resilient Army wife.

 

Here's what I'm looking forward to doing between now and the first week in July:

• Trips to England, Armenia, Sardinia, and maybe Norway.
• Deepening my personal yoga practice through study, meditation, and the physical practice.
• Teaching yoga to my husband and daughter.
• Rededicating myself to strength training and cardio work.
• Finishing up some sewing projects.
• Gardening.
• And, one big, hairy, audacious project that has the potential to be amazing. I can't spill the beans yet, so hang in there for the big reveal.

Sometimes it's easy to nestle in and get comfortable with life and routine and the result is very ordinary. To really achieve something great you have to branch out of your comfort zone and expect growing pains and maybe a little fear.

I expect our move to America will bring lots of familiar things...finding a yoga studio where I can teach and practice, darkening the door of the quilt shop, setting up the comforts of our home in a new house, joining a book club, etc. but this time, there might be something new just to keep me on my toes.

So tomorrow I'll attend my yoga class with a different teacher and meet a friend for lunch and begin this time of transition.

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