I’ve learned that when you are making new friends, it’s better not to show all your Pioneer Woman skills at once, because before people know about the cancer and the anxiety and the other reasons we eat like this, they may get intimidated. Or it may feel pretentious or mompetition-y and goodness knows we are not about that.

We had some new friends over for dinner Saturday night and since Shea is going to be gone tonight, I made a St. Paddy’s day dinner. It was simple and easy, and who doesn’t love that, so I’m sharing.

I got my corned beef at Trader Joe’s and was surprised at how lean it was. But corned beef can be bought at any meat counter today and for super cheap.

I boil my corned beef. I pop it all into a big pot, cover with water and dump the spice packet in. Then I add the secret ingredient: one beer.

Now, I will admit to using Coors Light in years past.

I know. But I was young and stupid.

These days I try to use something hearty and maybe even Irish. Shea had Mississippi Mud in the fridge, but he told me I couldn’t use it. So I went with a local micro-brew.

Bring the pot to a boil and then lower to a hard simmer. I go with a 2 ½ hour boil, but that can change with the size of the beef. They usually come with directions.

The last 30 minutes, I quarter a full head of cabbage and float it on top of the simmering beef.

I never boil potatoes or carrots in the pot, because I hate mushy veggies. Usually, I make garlic mashies, but this year I found a recipe in Family Circle for red roasted potatoes. It was a huge hit and instantly went into the dinner rotation.

Take good sized red potatoes (one per person)

Cut slices across the top of each potato, leaving a quarter inch base at the bottom.

Stuff fresh garlic slices into the vents (you could use crushed but that’s going to be a much stronger garlic flavor. The slices add a delicate flavor to the potato)

Drizzle with olive oil, lightly salt and pepper and roast at 375 degrees for 65 minutes.

Optional (but delicious): crisp chopped shallots in olive oil to sprinkle over the potatoes before serving.

Shea is half Irish and I am an eighth. Or sixteenth. I’m not really sure, but Kennedy is a family name so there’s Irish blood back there somewhere, which qualifies me to say:

May God give you…
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

A very good friend of mine is a transplant from Ireland.  She and her husband have lived in the States for over 30 years, but I imagine that they miss some of the comforts of home.  Last year, my daughters and I wanted to do something special for them for St. Patrick’s Day, so I decided that we would make them some Irish Soda Bread and take them a potted shamrock plant.  Super cute, right?  The thing about it is, though, that I have NO IDEA what a traditional Irish Soda Bread should taste like, and when I looked on the internet, there were about a bazillion different recipes, all claiming to be “just like grandma used to make.”

From what I could gather, soda breads vary from family to family.  Some recipes use caraway seeds.  Some recipes call for raisins, others for golden raisins.  After about 15 minutes of searching, I wasn’t any closer to finding the “perfect” soda bread recipe.  So I did what any good cook would do… I blindly chose one.  It seemed easy and didn’t have any caraway seeds, which have a strong flavor, but it did call for golden raisins, which seemed a little more exotic than just plain purple ones.  During Violet’s nap, Mazie and I set up a bread-making station in the kitchen and went to work.  It’s great cooking with a 3-year-old.  No, really. But after the flour incident that left the kitchen dusted in soft, white powder, we threw our loaf in the oven and waited.  It plumped up nicely and cooked to a golden brown, and while it was still warm, we wrapped it in a tea towel, woke up the baby, and headed over to Gemma and Ed’s.

I was so pleased with myself until about half way over to their house.  Then, I was seized with panic.  I remembered that I have NO IDEA what soda bread is.  What if I had made this one completely wrong?  I only made one loaf so I didn’t even taste it.  What was I thinking?!  I was instantly transported back to my first year living in Austria, when friends of mine took me out for “Mexican” food.  After a long winter away from Southern California, the idea of Mexican food literally brought tears to my eyes.  I needed a burrito.  My soul was calling out for some beans.  And salsa.  When the waitress brought my chicken burrito with beans, on my plate sat a cold flour tortilla, open, with strips of grilled chicken and green beans.  Green.  Beans.  No salsa.  No refried beans.  Cold tortilla.  What if my little warm bundle of soda bread was just like that cold un-burrito?  Well, I thought, at least my kids are cute and wearing green shirts.  That has to count for something, right?

As luck (of the Irish?) would have it though, Gemma said that our soda bread was great and very authentic. She made us tea and shared the bread, and even brought out the good Irish butter.  So this year, again, we’ll make our little bread and deliver it to our friends.  If you’re a fan of a good, homemade bread, try it this St. Patrick’s Day.  Set your Pandora station to Irish music, and enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread

1 package (1/4 oz) dry yeast

3 Tablespoons sugar, divided

1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 cup warm buttermilk

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 1/2 – 4 cups flour

3/4 cup golden raisins

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 tablespoon sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Beat in the buttermilk, butter, salt, baking soda, 1 cup flour and remaining sugar until smooth. Stir in raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead for 2 minutes. Shape into a round loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. With a sharp knife, cut a 1/4-in.-deep cross on top of loaf.
4. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool on a wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf (12 slices).

So, if you are an anxiety sister or brother, there’s kind of a lot out there right now could twist you up.

Dana and I have talked about the various ways we are working to limit our internet driven anxieties. She spends less time on the internet period and I served up notice on my Facebook feed that election related instigation posts would be cause for time out.

Neither one of us follow “news” sites. You know why I used the quotation marks. Because it’s not really news as much as it is personal interest stories served up via data mining. They show you what you want to see. That’s not news.

A few of my friends have turned off their TV service in an effort to avoid the effect of the media. I admire them, even though we would never make this choice because, well…football. And Food Network. And Paw Patrol.

Here’s the thing, though: I don’t think TV news is the problem. Since anyone could be watching a TV channel, it’s hard for the powers that be to narrow the bias.

But on the internet, they know who we are.

Not just by what we click on. Every quiz, surveymonkey and poll we interact with generates data about what we like, hate, worry about.

Then they feed us what we’re hungry for.

I see what my anxiety mama friends post on my Facebook and Twitter. Sometimes it’s a constant stream of death and destruction, fed to them by the websites they have come to trust.

And yes, I do it too. Yesterday I contributed posts about cancer causing chemicals in feminine products and the black tire infill that goes on artificial turf. Although I believe that #saveourgirlparts is a necessary campaign and not fear-mongering.

But I saw a “news” story on Facebook that did not make the national news for the simple reason that it wasn’t news. There was an Ebola scare at a local school. The school went on lock-down and the student was quarantined. Why? The student mentioned that they had come into contact with someone who may have come been on the plane or in the same airport with the sick nurse who flew last weekend.

Boom. People’s head’s exploded. Over 200 comments on the article in the first 20 minutes it was up, everything from blaming the President to blaming illegal immigrants. People were actually gleeful about the fact that Ebola was possible in So Cal so they could crow their political “I told you so!”

Facts? Overrated. Reason? Unnecessary. Mentioning a little thing called an “incubation period” A hanging offense. Panic, conspiracy theories and prejudice ruled the discussion.

Within the hour, the lockdown lifted and weary public officials were standing in front of cameras reminding people that we have to keep our wits about us. The student only came in contact with someone who flew last weekend. Not with the nurse. And not from Cleveland to Dallas.

In my opinion, it was unethical reporting. But it was unethical reporting with a huge audience. The website knows its readers.

It used to be that sex sold things. But fear is a much more powerful motivator. And the internet has made us eminently trackable. Perhaps we know that personal privacy is over.

But how many of us realize we are being fed a narrative on the internet disguised as “news”? As a result, too many of us believe that the world is having a permanent very bad day.

This is a false reflection.  And it’s stealing our joy.

Let’s #BeReal and take back our clicks. Turn off CNN.com, Foxnews.com, HuffPo, MSNBC.com, and any other forces for fear on your computer. You know who they are. Get your news at 4 and 5 and 6 pm from your local and national anchors who have to be more precise in what they say in order to keep their viewers.

Keep your wits about you. And think before you click. Because the way technology is moving, your click may be all you have.

 

 

I don’t like feeling clueless…

When it comes to the health of myself and my family. Yet every time we came down with an ailment or affliction, that’s exactly how I would feel.

Helpless. Stuck. And frustrated.

Our modern healthcare system is broken folks…

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of modern medicine in certain cases. If I’m ever in a car accident or have a broken leg, I’ll be pleased-as-punch to be in the hospital. I’m very thankful to live in a era where we have access to knowledgeable doctors and nurses.

But what about preventing some of the horrible diseases that afflict our society? Or helping my body heal itself? Or fighting infection without wiping out all the good bacteria in my gut? Those were the questions that weren’t getting answers.

Did you know…

• A whopping $45 trillion per year is spent on health care world-wide, yet our culture is sicker than ever.
• The USA is one of the biggest spenders on the entire globe when it comes to healthcare, yet it ranks 37th on the list of the world’s best healthcare systems.
• More than a quarter of the children and teenagers who live in the US take regular medication

Enter the Miracle of Essential Oils

It’s hard to deny the power of plants, and humans have been using plants as medicine for thousands and thousands of years. Clove oil & rosemary oil were the most popular essential oil produced during the middle ages.

If you’ve ever opened the lid of a bottle of essential oil, then you are well acquainted with the powerful aroma that they carry. But don’t let the tantalizing scents fool you—these little brown bottles are much more than mere perfume.

Essential oils are powerful and have a mind-boggling array of uses. They provide have many natural properties that can benefit the body in many different ways. Herbal essential oils have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-tumoral, anti-parasitic & anti-septic properties. They are unique in that they can cross the cellular membrane because their molecules are lipophilic, which is pretty amazing since anti-biotics cannot do this and therefore, have no effect on viruses.

Try this at home: Squeeze the peel of a ripe orange. The fragrant residue on your hand is full of essential oils.

 

Essential Oils Have Changed My Life…

For a long time, I used essential oils as all-natural perfume or to make my home smell pretty, but I now use essential oils on a daily basis in every area of my home. My medicine cabinet has been completely transformed, and I am now empowered with the tools and knowledge to care for my family.

If you have been a long-time follower of our blog, you know that we don’t like to be extreme in ANYTHING. We believe that eating real food is the best thing for our bodies, but we also believe in traditional medicine, and that includes essential oils.

And They Can Change Your Life Too

There is a lot of discussion about different essential oil companies, and I’ve spent hours researching all the different options. But I have come to the conclusion time and time again that doTERRA is the company for me. They are outrageously committed to sourcing the best oils in the world and providing us with top-of-the-line quality. doTERRA essential oils are unadulterated, chemical-free, and incredibly effective.

How do I get started?

The best way to get started with essential oils is to SIMPLY START USING THEM!  We here at Full of Graces use doTERRA essential oils.  In fact, we are both Wellness Advocates with the company.  Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting our favorite essential oils and give you the low down on their many, many uses.  We are so excited to share them with you!

I’d like to learn more about essential oils!

Dude. You should totally join our essential oils facebook group. We are just starting, but we will have all sorts of fun in there! 

 

 

I don’t care what the thermometer says (forecasting 105 for this weekend…again), the calendar says it’s Fall.

If you were here last year, you might remember all the fun things I like to do with apples and pumpkins.

Last week, we went apple picking at Riley’s Farm in Oak Glen, Ca. Then Shea made this apple pie. The man knows his way around a crust.

Today I made applesauce with the leftover apples. I’m sharing the recipe again because it is SO STINKING EASY and it tastes MUCH BETTER than the shelf-stable kind. I promise it is worth the work, which isn’t even that much.

Start with 5-6 lbs of apples. NOT red delicious. They are too mushy, have been overbred and have no flavor. You can use Granny Smiths, which yields a (tarter? More tart?) sauce that doesn’t take well to spicing.

Skin and core those suckers. I let my kids do this part because they love it. I have two twisty apple machine-y things that skin and core and slice at the turn of a handle. You will end up with nicely skinned apples and a pile of twirly apple skins. That’s right, I said twirly.

Throw the cored and sliced apples into a heavy bottomed pot. Add a cup of water or apple juice. That’s the only ingredient I measure. If I am making plain apple sauce to use as an oil replacement in baking recipes, I stop here.

If I am making a side dish-, ice cream topping-, oatmeal add-in-, toast topper-applesauce, I spice it up: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger. All are fair game. Sometimes I add sugar, but not always.

Today I added brown sugar, because we are shaking off strep in this house and Miss Annie needs to eat.

Let that all come to a boil, stirring to evenly coat the apples. Then turn it down, pop a top on and let it cook for 15 minutes. Remove the top, and mash the apples. If there’s an excess of fluid, leave the top off and cook for 15 more minutes. If not, cover it back up for the last 15.

Applesauce can be canned, but it holds for about two weeks in the fridge. Mine never lasts that long.

While the sauce was cooking, I was drunk on the cinnamon smell and almost got all the October decorations out of the garage. Even though Shea and I have a firm agreement that we do not decorate until October 1.

One. More. Day.

Instead I settled for hanging my new wreath in different fun places all over the house.

I know, huh? Suuuper cute.

I got it from Woulf’s Creations. Sara is a local mom putting her God-given gifts to great use. I love this one so much I just ordered a Christmas wreath too. And even though she doesn’t have them up yet, she worked with me to design one early so I can have it before we move.

Man, there is nothing like an Etsy shop for great customer service!

The next three months are going to be crazy. Crazy good, crazy fast and just plain crazy crazy. So, do like we do: ignore the temps, dig out your jeans and warm boots, light the cinnamon candles, order the Fall coffee, put the comforters back on the beds.

And get ready: 100 Days of Holidays starts tomorrow!