How to Tell if You Have the Greatest Husband Ever, or What I Am Most Thankful For This Year.

So, how can you tell if you are married to possibly the greatest man in the world? Well, you have to have a little back story. So let's go back to the 1970's. My mother was a recently divorced nurse trying to raise three feisty daughters on a farm with little money or hope of getting any child support.   Holidays pay better if you work, and Christmas was the most coveted in our very Christian home town. My mother worked pretty much every Christmas in order to be able to spend Thanksgiving at home with the family. It was her favorite holiday and never missed by anyone. 

Years later, after I had my son and my cousins had their kids and we had spread around the country, my beautiful mom, Gertrude, brought us together one last time when she passed away Thanksgiving morning. It was devastating to say the least for the entire family, and a few days away from my 40th birthday. Now I still celebrate the day, and this year am cooking for my mother's sister and her family and all the kids. I have prepped for years for this, and feel I know all the family's favorite recipes by heart. I am even ready to start teaching my almost four year old son so that someday, when I am gone, he will teach his kids. Recipes are one of the best ways to keep the ones we love alive. 

Now what does all this have to do with my husband? Well as you can imagine my birthday has gotten to be kind of a depressing time. Not because of my age, but because it made me so sad thinking about my mom and the holiday and all that sort of thing. The year Gert died, he threw me my first surprise party...ever. Actually it was really only one of a handful of birthday celebrations I had ever experienced. I think I had a sleepover when I was seven, and maybe one other, but it usually got mobbed into the Thanksgiving meal. 

This year, I know he went out of his way to make it special again. I have been trying to get this food blog up and running, money is tight because I am working from home, all of these things. I was once in Executive Level Management for a large company, I made male wages and worked hard to fight my way to the top. Now I am in charge of laundry and the household, as well as somehow making enough money to pay for my son's private pre-school. Having said all that, I wanted to add a new angle to the blog. I wanted to open up a whole new world of old school recipes by using a tool I didn't have the money to buy...A PRESSURE COOKER.

So my husband comes home yesterday and says he wants to give me my gift early. What could it be? Not just a regular old pressure cooker, but an automatic pressure cooker! Oh I love this man! According to the instructions, a pot roast can be cooked in 20 minutes, along with the potatoes and carrots! So my faithful readers, I foresee some new and exciting recipes in the future.

As I have been reading my mom's old recipes and dissecting her cookbooks and side notes, I have periodically come across items that require a pressure cooker. I am sure that this item will not only be awesome in helping me whip up dinner after working all day (hey, these things don't write themselves!), but also will help renew more old school cooking skills that we know create healthier meals.

From my research I know you can buy a regular pressure cooker for about $20-30 if money is tight. I was saving up for the super awesome model, which I got. I hesitate to look up what my husband spent because that's tacky but in the interest of information, it seems the ultra model costs around $80.  

In closing, this year I am thankful for having such an awesome husband who wants to support his wife during a weird time of career change, life change and household change. My mother has been gone for three years already, and it's been tough to get through the holidays and birthdays.  Many couples facing such hardship and loss (we lost his mother about six months after mine) while dealing with a new son, well, it doesn't usually go well. With my staying home our income has declined significantly, but together we are strong enough to make things work another way. And that is why I know I am married to the best husband in the world. Thankfully it is a class of man and not limited to just one. That means you too can be married to the most awesome man in the world as well. I can come from something as small as a pressure cooker, or even smaller like just knowing they support you. Be thankful. Love each other and enjoy your holidays.

 

The specific model I will be using from this point on is the Power Pressure Cooker XL.

I cannot WAIT to get to canning!

Its Almost Thanksgiving! Do You Have Your Turkey?

The Thanksgiving Holiday is upon us, and we are getting down the the wire on getting the turkey. So where will your turkey come from this year? Many shoppers will be hitting grocery stores and Target and Walmart to get their holiday meal and trimmings. So what precisely are you eating?

I am not making an argument for or against eating turkey on Thanksgiving, because that is your personal choice. If you are going to have a bird this year, from whence will it hail? A production farm and jammed full of chemicals, or farm fresh and free range?

Frozen turkey has added chemicals, water and if it is self-basting it has other chemicals added in for "flavor". Providing that you do your homework and purchase from a natural farm that does not use antibiotics in the feed, these turkeys are generally exactly what they say...Turkey.

Please check out the USDA guidelines on turkey for further review. Additionally we have recommended some farms in the Maryland Area on our Local Stuff page where you can find great fresh turkey with no weird additives.

Annie's Amazing Tomato Base

Yes, its finally done! My wonderful recipe for my tomato base. This takes some time, but the prep is minimal and the cooking process itself actually does the work. I am thinking that this can also be made in a crock pot, however that is not my particular cooking instrument of choice.

This amazing recipe takes nine pounds of fresh tomatoes (NINE POUNDS???) Yeah but it lasts for at least 6 meals. I make this regularly and from it we can make an amazing beans and rice, spaghetti sauce, lasagna, curry or whatever. I refer to this recipe a lot and so no worries, I will tell you how to use it!

For less than $25 you will have six quarts of amazing sauce. Its fresh, no corn syrup added and no funky chemicals. Tomatoes are full of lycopene which is great at fighting heart disease, Vitamins A & C, and Choline which is great in fighting inflammation. Tomatoes are purported to help fight cancer, heart disease and high blood pressure. I found this great info-graphic on tomatoes online:

So without further adieu, here is the recipe! 
Annie's Amazing Organic Tomato Base