Random Tuesday Things

Here’s a bunch of stuff that’s been going on in these parts:

#1: Our weekend was good! Between hot air balloons landing around us to having backyard bonfires to watching 20+ small aircraft take off/land during a delicious breakfast . . . well, I’d say our visit to Ada’s nanny and poppy’s house was loads of fun. We’re now on the hunt to check out more local airport cafes, and I think one of our friends shared that there’s one in Cape May that has a great breakfast for when we’re on vacation.

Too bad flying is like my biggest fear. I’ll just watch.

Exposure therapy, maybe?


#2: I’ve been wanting to get Ada a sandbox for a couple years now. I combed Craigslist and kept a close watch of yard sales, and I was unable to find one (which to me seems incredible -- there are so many other outdoor toys I’ve encountered in my search). Anyway, we just picked up this Step 2 Naturally Playful Sandbox. I’m not sure if I like where we put it, but our backyard gets a lot of sun, so I snugged it underneath the only large tree that covers the back corner in some shade.

So far, it’s the only toy in the yard that keeps her entertained for more than 20 minutes! Score.

#3: My day 3 blood work (FSH, LH, prolactin, etc.) came back completely, utterly normal. I can’t say I was entirely thrilled or -- conversely -- unhappy. I was more frustrated that nothing showed up. I was sure I’d have some elevated LH levels from how my OPKs always look, but I guess the ratio was fine. Tomorrow I will get the draw for the "day 21" test (progesterone), then I’ll have a chat with my doctor to find out the next steps.

Has anyone ever had a diagnosis of infertility but had the blood work not turn up anything? I know it’s definitely possible (male factor, etc.).


#4: I got a new bathing suit. I don’t think I’ve ever written much about this whole issue. I hate bathing suits and usually wear short shorts and an athletic tank to the beach -- even in my more fit days. I did get a yellow polka dot bikini a couple years ago from Albion that I enjoyed, but it doesn’t fit anymore. We were visiting my in-laws this weekend so I had the chance to stop into Marshall’s. I found this DKNY color block one-piece suit, tried it on, and fell in love. Only $35!

I may be a size bigger at the beach this year, but at least I’ll like slipping into this suit.


#5: On all our adventures over the weekend, Stephen and I somehow found ourselves in Emmaus, PA. I’ve had this weird desire to visit the town just south of Allentown for a few years since it’s where Runner’s World (and Rodale) is based. We hit up a local brewery (Funk Brewing), walked around town, and got a couple things at the local running shop before moving along our way. We don’t do enough random road trips, so I think I’d like to get into the habit more often.

It’s much more fun now that we’re in our van.

Hope you guys are all doing great. I’m getting caught up on some work this weekend, but I have big plans to do a whole week of weeknight grilling posts to share some of the foods we’ve been eating lately. It’s so easy to chop veggies and prepare foods for the grill. Healthy too. What’s your favorite quick + easy grilled dinner? So far, mine is the Grilled Veggie Quesadillas, but I have a few plans to top even that!

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Seasonable Beach Brew: Bud Light Lime

We recently embarked on our annual summer vacation to Diamond Beach, which is a quiet, sandy space near Wildwood Crest, NJ.

We go with Stephen's family each year the last week of July, and it's the sort of vacation where we all let loose and let go of plots and plans. You could say we're #upforwhatever life brings us for this single week -- looking for some spontaneous fun when our schedules are usually so horribly routinized.

We load up our beach carts, umbrellas, and coolers in the early AM and head down to the sand for the bulk of the day. Amidst all the trail mix, tortilla chips, sandwiches, and countless jugs of water, we always have a good stash of beer chilling for those hot afternoon hours. But instead of hauling heavy craft brews down the shore -- we prefer more seasonable, light beers for easy drinking. So, when BlogHer offered up an opportunity to try Bud Light Lime last week, I jumped on the chance.

I've sampled Bud Light Lime before. In fact, I had just purchased a case of its new sleek cans (we're getting more into cans these days!) to serve to our friends while they helped us move. Definitely a hit, especially when the temperatures soared well about 90 degrees and all those couches needed to go in and out of our moving truck. It seems people like the Bud Light Lime cans so much, they snagged all of them at the liquor store down in Wildwood.

But don't fret -- if you can't find them either, the bottles contain the same crisp and light beverage that's perfect for whatever you happen to be doing this season. It's also a general crowd pleaser, which is nice since cramming into shore houses often brings up lots of decisions and opinions that just don't belong on vacation. Vacation is for fun.

This choice is quite easy!

This summer, Bud Light Lime is bringing you the flavorful, refreshing twist of lime that will keep you ready for spontaneous fun all summer long. And now, the perfect beer for whatever happens invites you to click here to prove that you’re #upforwhatever. Yes! Bud Light is creating its own town -- Whatever, USA -- and you can win a ticket for three days of fun by submitting a 10 second audition video (you can also browse videos on the site).

I hope you guys are all having a great summer, and please remember to drink responsibly.

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A Cool Day

Yesterday's temperatures didn't rise much above 70 degrees and the weather featured thick cloud cover, a steady wind + occasional spitting rain. I thought it was absolutely perfect -- and it's the kind of day I secretly wish for whenever I'm at the shore. I'm not one to lounge on the beach all day -- I'd rather be out exploring, which is harder to do when it's hot, humid, and super sunny.

After a cool 6-mile run followed by a peanut butter pancake breakfast, I did some research and found Higbee Beach near West Cape May. It's a bit off the beaten path, but well worth the trip. The preservation area includes a few miles of sandy trails that wind through dense vegetation and a semi-secluded beach where dogs are welcome + gigantic ferry boats pass by every once in a while.

A toddler's heaven.

It's sometimes always more fun to go beyond the usual attractions while on vacation. After Ada's nap yesterday, we got some local flavor by heading to the Cape May Brewing Company in North Cape May. Again, a bit of a drive . . . but when we got there, it was packed with people.

Good beer -- and on the way we saw a couple wineries in the area, too!


We'll definitely be back to Higbee and the brewery before the vacation is over. And I'd love to book a trip on the ferry and head over to nearby Delaware. Possibly even to Dogfish Head for a brew. Fares are a bit steep, though, and we're hitting the half-way point on our trip, so time will be limited and I'm sure we won't be able to hit everything we want to see. One day at a time.

Onto Friday! Hope you all have a great weekend. I'll be celebrating my 30th birthday on Sunday and I hear another stormy day is in the forecast!

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Crock Pot Veggie Stew

Remember all that progress I wanted to make in the kitchen last weekend? Well . . . we didn't cross a single thing off our to-do list.

But we did add something: A cabinet over the stove.


We use it to store the millions of mixing bowls that I just can't get rid of. Don't get me wrong, I've purged a lot of unnecessary things -- but my mixing bowls all have different purposes!

I feel really thankful to finally be able to do something in our kitchen. But I can't help saying "is it OVER yet?" pretty much any chance I get. One reason I'm so irked is that cooking is impossible. I've read a lot of great things about how you should do kitchen remodels -- and almost all involve setting up a makeshift kitchen elsewhere in the home.

We have no space for that, so I've decided our "mini-kitchen" is the crock pot.


(BOOZY) CROCK POT VEGGIE STEW

I don't need to explain how to make stew in the crock pot. But I'll tell you what we put in our most recent go at it, and maybe you can share some of your own favorite combos with me!

• 2 cooking onions, chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chopped delicata squash (skinned and seeded)
• 2 cups canned kidney beans, rinsed
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 2 cups frozen green beans (chopped into smaller bits)
• 1 zucchini (chopped)
• 28 ounces tomato puree
• 12 ounces winter beer (or veggie broth!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper to taste
• Smoked paprika, oregano, and thyme -- all to taste

I cooked the onions and garlic in a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium heat on the stove. Then I put everything into the pot -- stirred -- and cooked on high for 3 hours. I seasoned more till I got it just right (read: I dumped in half a jar of smoked paprika -- hahaha).

Serve with crusty bread + cheese + another brew for good measure. Delicious. And lots of leftovers for lunch.


As I mentioned in the ingredient list, you can certainly substitute veggie broth for beer. I use beer when I'm being lazy/don't have broth/and want to add a variety of flavors. In this case, we used a Sam Adam's Winter Lager -- lots of orange peel, ginger, and cinnamon flavors.

I'll be cranking up the heat in the pot again tonight. What is your favorite crock pot meal? I need ideas beyond our usual Pumpkin Chili!

Pssst: Check out Writing Chapter Three for part II of our quest for a simple holiday. Ada's Christmas list.

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Cheesy Beer Biscuits

Bread. Cheese. Beer. I feel like everywhere I look, people are avoiding this triple-threat like it's the plague. Now, back up. I'm not meaning to diminish how gluten, alcohol, and dairy can pose problems for some. There are legitimate, serious medical and/or dietary/ethical issues tied to each. (And I am editing this to add that those people who made educated choices about staying away from these foods aren't lumped in with what I explain next.)

I know many, however, who blindly refuse to acknowledge these foods simply to lose weight. (Whether or not they admit that motivation is another matter entirely. For another day.)

I just . . . can't. Well. WON'T cut out these foods for that reason alone. They're too delicious. Especially at this time of year. And this mini-biscuit has them all up in its business.

Bread. Cheese. Beer. BISCUITS!

What you'll need . . . 

• 1 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1 cup unbleached bread flour 
• Pinch salt 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance or butter, cold and chopped into small pieces 
• 3/4 cup dark beer (I used an oatmeal stout from a local brewer) 
• 1/2 (or more) cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese 

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Spritz the cups of a mini muffin tin with olive oil. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, and baking powder.
3. Then add in your bits of butter or Earth Balance. Mix together the dry ingredients and butter with your fingertips (or pulse in a food processor, if you wish) until it resembles coarse meal.
4. Then add in the cheese. Pour in the beer and mix together until everything is just moistened. Do not over-mix.
5. Portion out the batter into all the cups of the mini muffin tin. Then bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

I'll save you a double-take. This is the same photo as above, just without the text. It's the best one I got of the bunch, so there! Anyway, I understand if you aren't into bread, cheese, and/or beer. It's OK.

You can use dairy-free cheese.
You can sub in almond milk/soy milk/regular milk for beer.
You can experiment with your favorite wheat-free/gluten-free flours.
You may also replace the butter with olive oil.

And if you make any of these modifications and like what you make, let me know!

On the other hand, if you'd like to make these straight-up -- I hope they turn out well for you. We served them with a heaping helping of roasted butternut squash, onions, green peppers, and garlic.


Did you all do your homework this weekend? How did it turn out? And here's some snapshots of our weekend over on Writing Chapter Three.

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Michelob ULTRA Light Cider Review

By now you all know that we’re big beer fans. Light, dark, hoppy, bitter -- you name it, we’ve tried it all and (with the exception of most wheat beers) love it all. But did you know I also enjoy hard ciders? I definitely do, especially in summer.

I was psyched when I was given the opportunity to review Anheuser-Busch’s newest addition to the Michelob ULTRA family -- Light Cider -- which was placed on store shelves nationwide in early May.


The past six months, I’ve been avoiding heavy, high alcohol content beers or other adult beverages due to breastfeeding and watching my weight. For these reasons, the bottle’s 120 calories (which is 1/3 fewer calories than most ciders on the market) and 4% alcohol is certainly appealing to me. Too, with the warm temperatures here to stay, I’m retiring my oatmeal stouts and smoky porters in exchange for more seasonal appropriate drinks with the occasional ice cube (anyone else do that?).

You also know that we brew our own beer. One cool thing about hard cider is the brewing process. Whereas barley is used traditionally during beer-making, apples are used in their place for cider. The result is an adult beverage that is naturally gluten-free, which I know some of you can appreciate if gluten isn’t a regular part of your diets.


Overall, I like the cider’s light, crisp mouthfeel. It’s far less sugary sweet than other varieties, which—at least in my opinion—reminds me almost of my favorite champagne poured into a 12-ounce bottle. It might be because the drink is naturally sweetened with Stevia. I’m still new to Stevia, but so far, I’m in love. The apples are hand-picked, too, which is definitely a plus.

If you’d like more information on Michelob ULTRA Light Cider, you can check out your local grocery store, visit the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com, or click over to the sponsor's site.

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Random Thursday

#1: Sometime late in my pregnancy, Stephen brewed a special Nut Brown beer for me (my favorite). I've been enjoying it all week.

#2: Only a couple weeks into my Postpartum Fitness Challenge, and I can already do 2 chin-ups! Once I was able to turn that half of one into a whole one, getting to two wasn't half bad. Truth be told, I can't do two each time I approach the bar. With some practice, I know it'll get easier.


(It's crazy that two years ago, doing a chin-up was only a lofty goal of mine. If you want to learn how you can get started for yourself, check out this post about How to Rock a Chin-Up.)

#3: (From Stephen) Want to incorporate more speedwork into your running routine? Try this workout:

Warmup 1 mile at an easy pace.
Then alternate running 30 seconds HARD (20 seconds or so faster than 5K pace) with 30 seconds EASY for 10 minutes.
Cool down with 1 mile.
Work up to doing 20 minutes of the intervals.


#4: Need to take a photo, but have strange shadows and/or general poor lighting? You can't always take the time to build a light box. So, take a lesson from Ashley and use a roll of paper towels to bounce light.


#5: REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES (Recipe on Writing Chapter Three). They don't just have peanut butter cups in them. Their base is entirely made of peanut butter cups mashed up to perfection.

Make them. Now.


And head over to Writing Chapter Three if you have some tips for us on how to get stuff done during the day while toting a baby around the house. I can use all the help I can get!

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Tuesday

We're having a cranky week over here. But at last! Here is the recipe for Stephen's fabulous birthday cake. It might not look like much. Don't be fooled -- it's a keeper. The cake is dense and moist, decedent but, here's that word again, h.e.a.l.t.h.y . . . and there's no need for frosting. A dusting of confectioners' sugar would be nice. Even naked, though, it's one of the best cakes I've ever made.

Reminiscent of banana bread, but with some extra sweetness for when celebration calls . . .

CHOCOLATE-BANANA BEER CAKE

What you'll need . . .

• 2 large bananas
• 3/4 cup yogurt (or your favorite non-dairy sub)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup nut brown beer (or stout, porter, other dark ale)
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance (or butter)
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9" x 13" cake pan (I used a glass one).
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the bananas until they are smooth.
3. Whisk in the yogurt.
4. In a medium saucepan, heat the beer over medium-high heat. Add in the vanilla, Earth Balance, cocoa powder, and brown sugar.
5. Add this mixture to the banana-yogurt mixture. Combine until well incorporated.
6. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until there are no clumps.
7. Pour cake batter into your prepared pan and place in the oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean.

In other news: That incredible pizza we told you about on Friday? Yeah. The method of baking works well with almost all doughs. We tried it (preheating the oven to 500 degrees F with the pizza stone inside, cranking it to broil at bake-time) with our Pumpkin Pizza Dough. Fantastic.

And if you're catching up on (never home)maker, baby! -- we posted a cute photo series with Ada and her first pair of flats. The new family blog should be live by tomorrow. Can't wait!

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Chili Beer Bread

Seems I only like bread baking if I'm going with an extreme. No-knead varieties (like the pumpkin loaf, white-whole wheat loaf, and crusty garlic-Tuscan herb loaf) take over a day to rise. On the other hand, some of my recent favorites (like our pumpkin dinner rolls and wasabi dinner rolls) require only little rising time.

Today's beer bread recipe is also extreme. Indeed. Extremely EASY. You should have most ingredients on hand. And there's absolutely no time at all that you must wait for the dough to puff.

Just mix and bake. That's all it takes.


CHILI BEER BREAD

What you'll need . . .

• 2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 12 ounces beer (we like fall varieties best for this recipe)
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. You'll need to lightly grease an 8 or 9 inch bread pan.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the bread flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and chili powder.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the beer and olive oil.
4. Using the paddle attachment, stir on low speed and slowly pour in the beer/oil mixture. Once combined, remove from bowl and knead with your hands until well incorporated. The dough should be somewhat sticky, not too dry. If it is too dry, consider adding a bit of water -- 1 tablespoon at a time. If it's too wet, add a bit of flour. You want an elastic ball.
5. Put dough into bread pan and flatten just a bit to fill the pan.
6. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then turn over onto a wire rack.

What results is a hearty, dense loaf. But not dense in a bad way. Just substantial. Filling. Delicious. And I can't wait to try this recipe with other beers (hello, stouts and porters!) and spices (maybe dill, curry, cloves, etc.). That's what I love about bread and cooking/baking in general.

The combinations you can create are endless!

How does the chili taste in the bread? Think of it this way: If you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't know that the flavor you're tasting is chili powder. It just adds some flair to the mix. The fall beer, too, gives the loaf a nice spice. However, none of these flavors are overpowering. While this bread is great served with dinner, I also toasted and spread with peanut butter for breakfast before my long run.


What do you prefer: The satisfaction of waiting or instant gratification? Of course, for this question, I'm asking specifically about cooking and baking . . . but you can take it as generally as you'd like! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hope you all had a great weekend, we'll be posting our recap soon!

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Home Brewing, Part IV: Primary and Secondary Fermentation

For those of you following our home brewing series: We've covered a basic list of the things you need to get started . . . how to build your very own wort chiller, saving you a ton of cash . . . and -- the biggie -- how to actually BREW YOUR OWN BEER.

Now, for the final steps of last week’s post (How to Brew Beer) you poured five gallons of wort into the 6.5 gallon bucket, sprinkled in and stirred the yeast, closed the lid, secured the air lock, and placed the bucket on your cool basement floor. So, what do you do next? Absolutely nothing . . . for at least 7-10 days. Time to begin the most difficult step, the waiting game.

At this point, you might have some questions:

Q: How does the wort actually become beer?

A: Over the next 7-10 days, primary fermentation, the yeast will react with the wort by fermenting the malt sugar into alcohol. Yum!


Q: How do I know if it’s working?

A: The byproduct of sugar turning into alcohol is carbon dioxide, CO2, so for the first 5 (or so) days of primary fermentation, you’ll notice CO2 bubbles escaping from the airlock - about 1 bubble every 4-6 seconds. As you approach 7-10 days, the bubbling should taper to about 1 bubble per 30-45 seconds, or no bubbles at all.

Once you’ve been patient for 7-10 days, you can finally open the lid and take a hydrometer reading. Keep in mind, what you will see is not pretty. Frothy foam, or krausen, will be clinging to the sides of the bucket. Don’t worry! This foamy head naturally forms in these initial stages of fermentation and has no harmful effects.



Q: How do I take a hydrometer reading and what is the purpose?

A: A hydrometer measures the relative density, or specific gravity, of a substance in relation to water. As the yeast consumes the wort sugar, ethanol is produced. Since alcohol is less dense than water, the gravity will lower. My oatmeal stout, for example, had a starting gravity of 1.04 and finishing gravity of 1.01. And since it’s difficult to create and recreate same conditions on such a small scale, 5 gallons, the gravity and finished product may vary by batch. In other words, you’re always in for a surprise!


Carefully place the hydrometer in the wort and record where on the scale the wort reads. If the reading is within a few measurements of what’s printed on the kit instructions, you can move on. If you are reading too high, you should close the lid, wait a few days, and take another reading; the yeast may still be active.

Now it’s time to transfer the wort into your secondary fermenter, the 5-gallon glass carboy. The objective here is to clarify and purify the beer by separating it from the sediment and “dead” byproducts. Fermenting in the glass carboy also gives the flavors a chance to develop and mature.

1. Carefully position the two containers so that the 6.5 gallon bucket is higher than the 5-gallon carboy.
2. Prepare the auto siphon by snaking the exit tube into the glass carboy and submerging the siphon head into the wort.
3. Gently pump the siphon and let gravity do its work.
4. As you approach the bottom of the bucket, be careful not to disturb the cloudy sediment. It’s okay if you leave an inch or two of liquid behind.
5. Secure the rubber stopper into the glass carboy, fill a plastic airlock halfway with water, and firmly and snugly fit it into the stopper hole.
6. Carefully place the container on the floor and let rest for another 7-10 days.
7. You should observe air bubbles releasing anywhere from 1 per minute to 1 per 30 seconds. for a few days.

How long you keep your beer in secondary fermentation is really up to you. Because of my anticipation and excitement, I followed the minimum requirements for my first two batches. When I brew my next batch in a few weeks, I will definitely be patient and let the flavors fully develop.


Be sure to check back next week for Part V: How to Build a Kegerator! And if you're just joining us, here's a list of what you need to get started . . . instructions on how to build a wort chiller . . . and how to brew beer.


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