Creativity Is Overrated

Every now and again I get the urge to spice things up, mix it up, be what everyone deems as creative! So they can say wow those cookies were so good! Yes, I agree. Do you know why? Because she got creative with them...ooooohhhh. Yes, that was a conversation they would have had if my creativity burst had gone well. They did not say that though because well, my family is honest with me and let's just say my little spark of mixing things up didn't go as planned. Now with my current dietary changes, some things are left tasting a little plain. Extremely healthy and nutritious yes, but plain because I don't add as much of the sugar, butter, and no dairy like before I realized what it was all doing to my digestive system. SO...here I am being all good and healthy and it's delicious in a new way...but just a bit plain.

So here is what has happened this week. I made homemade applesauce and it went over big time. That dinner was delicious. I made pork loin with a delicious soy sauce/honey glaze, homemade applesauce for dipping, mashed potatoes(thanks to my mom), salad, asparagus and bread. It was quite the feast. The applesauce was SO delicious for lack of a better word that everyone ate it, one of my brothers practically licked the bowl. So yesterday I decided to use up all the apples in our fruit bin and make it again, but with a twist....oh yes, my very special twist. I added some orange zest and an array of spices. That part was good, smelled good, tasted...Bleh. It wasn't horrible and it's still getting consumed, but let's just say there is still a bunch left in the bowl. LESSON ABOUT APPLESAUCE: Use Mackintosh apples and Granny Smith apples. Really it's the only way to go no matter how much twisting and creativity you try to do with spices and zest of citrus fruits, it all goes flat without the right ratio of those 2 types of apples.

On to the next adventure. Right after the applesauce disappointment I decided to yet again change up another recipe. Pumpkin Spice Muffins. I had some leftover canned pumpkin from the previous batch(not quite enough, but I deemed it enough to make another batch). So there I am mixing and adding my own array of spices(deviating from the recipe...OH what a rebel!), and they are a little less orange than the first batch. Bummer, not enough pumpkin...but alas! My spice mixture will save the day. Once again they smell delicious as I am spooning them into the muffin pan. (Now remember that the first batch I made was awesome except lacked flavor..hence me adding new spices). So I'm about to put them in the oven and I say to myself: "Self wait! Let's spoon peanut butter on top and it will sink to the middle and add a protein kick to the muffins! Great idea self! Then top them with brown sugar for extra yummy factor! Self, you are too amazing!" It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Had I been using my brain properly I would have realized that the consistency of peanut butter is not made to sink to the bottom of a thick batter. Instead it melts all over the top and the brown sugar kind of looks weird like burnt peanut butter. Yay...ugh. Creativity fails, yet again. So I decide to let it go and try to reign in my perfectionist side, by not throwing them away. Then the darnedest thing happens. I'm taking them out of the pan and the peanut butter starts peeling off in sheets. Wow...this is ridiculous I laugh and keep going, and eating sheets of peanut butter that fall into the tin. Well, it didn't taste half bad. So they are not pumpkiny enough, and covered in shiny, peeling peanut butter. "It's okay self. Just let it go. Next time, don't be so darn creative!!!" So I'm not going to be The Next Food Network Star, whatever, I don't care...*sniff sniff*

Here are pictures of my latest creations. The pumpkin muffins are what's left of my PB Pumpkin Spice Muffins and the other dish is a Chicken, Spinach and Roasted Red Peppers pasta in Marsala Wine Sauce. Now that was a hit. The pictures really are the best camera phone quality aren't they? Oh well, even though I've taken photography and can take a decent picture, I'm lazy and pressed for time to pretend to be a food stylist and upload nice looking pictures. Maybe some day when it bothers me enough that I'm posting ugly pictures. For now, this is just another amateur cook, signing off! Bye!

Dietary Changes Lead to Ambitious Ideas

Today I received an amazing book: What to Eat with IBD-A Comprehensive Nutrition and Recipe Guide for Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. I have the latter. Most people think of dietary restrictions as an awful thing and let's face it, they can be. However, when you know that certain food can actually hurt or heal you, then I'd say your going for the healing foods. This book has been an amazing find. It is actually written by someone who deals with the disease and not just a doctor. Oh and she's a dietician! Jackpot! It is really about relearning how to eat and lo and behold!!! A big secret....eat healthy. Not that I wasn't already, unless you count the Taco Bell Potato Tacos and McDonald's Egg McMuffin(they aren't that bad!) now and then. But, really my doctors could never tell me what to cook, eat or really do with diet other than trial and error.
So back to my recent discovery. I start examining this book, like I'm back in high school biology. For those of you that don't know, this means I'm reading and re-reading and memorizing, like I'm trying to ace a test. I LOVED biology and I love food, so I've got to figure out how to eat well and heal my body.
I decide to make "Pumpkin Spice Muffins" from the recipe section of the book. I made them this evening so they would be ready for breakfast in the morning.
They were easy to prepare and after slyly taking a taste of batter, I knew they'd be delicious once baked! The house filled with the smell of cinnamon, spices and that undescribable baking smell. Yum...my mouth was watering as I washed up the dishes. Out of the oven they came and I popped one out and started breaking it up to have my taste-tester (Mom) try some as well. All I have to say is how can something low-sugar, lactose-free, and full of nutrients be so delicious!? The outside was just the right texture and the top with the sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar was perfect. Then there is the moist, melt-in-your-mouth inside, steaming as we broke it open. SUCCESSS!!! I can eat real food and enjoy it!
So here is where the ambitious ideas come in. I am always looking for ways to make a few extra dollars. I get to thinking that maybe just maybe I can start a business. Creat some recipes, bake some samples, get some input, website, and start selling baked goods out of my kitchen for those with dietary restrictions. I'm really inspired at the moment and even want to see if I can be a registered dietician because let's face it...I've never met someone with my condition, other than the books out there that knows what they are really talking about. And I've never met anyone selling actual baked goods like this....so yes, it is an idea for now, but hey, who knows what the future holds other than what's written in the Bible?