DIY fruit and flower centerpiece

I like to decorate simply for holidays, and one way I often do that is to gather bit and pieces from my own yard to create centerpieces for tables, the mantle, etc.

Inspired by this lovely image at StyleMePretty, I decided to also incorporate some fruit for our Thanksgiving tables this year.

Here are some of the components I used...

Top left: twigs with berries off a flowering tree in our front yard, whose species I don't know. Hawthorne, possibly.

Top right: a $4.88 bunch of carnations. Small mums would be lovely, too. In retrospect, I wish I'd picked something more golden to help the color palette lean more toward autumnal colors, but oh well! Not a big deal.

Lower: greenery from my yard -- on the left, a small-leafed variety of trailing euonymus; tendrils of vinca minor on the right. If I were doing this for a Christmas table, I would definitely use some evergreen sprigs, too.

I also purchased some clementines and small Gala apples. I was hoping to get plums, since I loved the darker hues in my inspiration image, but alas, no plums at the store today. I would have liked to include pears as well, but they were too big for this arrangement. 

Now to the steps...

I started with a large pasta bowl, and placed in the center of it a votive candle holder, filled it 3/4 full with water, then arranged three apples and three clementines around it in an asymmetrical pattern. (Top left image.)

Next, I snipped the carnations down till they were just long enough to sit in the votive of water with their heads resting on the fruit, and tucked them into the votive holder until the blossoms filled the space. I used three or four, depending on how full they were. 

Then I pruned the euonymus down to just one or two bunches of leaves, so that they functioned more like a flower. I tucked a few of these in between the carnations, just barely peeking above them.

Then I tucked a few berry sprigs in around the perimeter, as well as a few pieces of vinca, then stepped back to assess (the lower right image in the montage above). Hmm... definitely needs more filling in around the perimeter.

So I kept adding things in. I tucked a couple flowers into the especially bare spots, and gathered some more and longer strands of vinca, and kept adding till I was happy with the fullness. The photo above shows it from directly overhead, so you can see how things are arranged. As you're making an arrangement, be sure to assess it from all angles that it will be seen from. A table centerpiece needs to look good from all sides, while something to go on a mantel, sideboard or buffet has a more limited view.

We have two tables, so two arrangements are needed. And because these arrangements are going on fairly narrow rectangular tables, I made the vinca only extend out on two sides of the bowl. 

Here are the finished pieces. I'm very happy with how they came out!

I also love the price! Here's how it breaks down...

• Bowls, votives, berries and greenery: Free; I already had them.
• Fruit: Total of about $4. The apples were three for $1, so two bucks there, and probably about the same for the clementines. I've tossed the package, but it was a two or three pound bag, and under $7. I only used about a quarter of the bag.
• Flowers: Less than $5.

So my two arrangements came in under $10. -- for both of them! Sweet!

Monte Cristo Sandwich - a twist on the usual turkey-and-cranberry-sauce sandwich

Looking for something to do with leftover turkey, ham, or cranberry sauce? Here's one of my favorite sandwiches, known as a Monte Cristo: turkey, ham, and Swiss (provolone or mozzarella would work, too), fixed grilled-cheese-style, but with a twist. You briefly dip the outside of the sandwich in an egg and milk mixture, like you would for French toast. Or if you happen to have leftover French toast, you could just assemble everything and heat it up in the over or microwave. Add a little bacon? Not traditional, but that would be good, too. (Duh! Everything's better with bacon!)

Traditionally served with a side of blackberry or raspberry jam, but I like it with cranberry sauce or orange marmalade!
.

Several Monte Cristo recipes:

• A simple version on AllRecipes (The image above is from this site.)
• A more high-maintenance version on Food Network
• This version from Tasty Kitchen has you make the French toast first, then grill everything together
• A high-falutin' version from Family Fresh Cooking, involving gluten-free bread, rosemary and roasted sweet potatoes!

Recipe review: Pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting

This recipe came up on AllRecipes when I was looking for a sheet cake to make for a potluck, but it's actually for a 10x15 cake pan. Maybe "sheet cake" means different things in different parts of the country, but here in Kansas, it means a very thin cake -- about 1" deep -- baked in a rimmed cookie pan. This time, though, I made it in two 8" x 8" foil cake pans, so as to not have to retrieve my pan. It worked for that, too.

Several reviewers commented that the cinnamon was too weak in its given amount and that it needed other spices; others opined that the frosting needed more cream cheese flavor. So I made some tweaks, and it turned out perfect!

Here is the original recipe, and here is my edited version...

Pumpkin Cake

1 (15 oz.) can canned pumpkin puree
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
cream cheese frosting (see below)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour (or spray) a 10 x 15" cake pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar, and oil. Add eggs, and mix well.

In small mixing bowl (a 4-cup measuring cup works nicely), combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and stir till well combined. Add these dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture: pour in a third, and stir a bit; a third and stir a bit; the rest, and stir gently until well blended. Do not overstir.

Pour batter into a greased 15 x 10 inch baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool completely before frosting.

Spread frosting on top, then sprinkle with nuts, if desired.
---

Cream cheese frosting

 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
 1/2 cup butter, softened
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 - 3 cups powdered sugar

Using a mixer, blend the cream cheese, butter and vanilla; mix well. Add in powdered sugar gradually. At about 1.5 cups of sugar, taste test, and continue gradually adding and tasting until it's to your desired sweetness.

*Note: If made in a full-size cookie pan -- also called a jelly roll pan -- this could be used to make a pumpkin roll. Once baked, the semi-cooled cake is turned out onto a clean, flat dish towel, then gently rolled up while it cools. Once cooled, you would unroll it, spread it with cream cheese frosting, then roll it back up, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour or more. To serve, cut in 1" slices. See Libby's website for how-to details.
.
.
The sheet cake image is from AllRecipes. The pumpkin roll image is from Libby's website.
.
.
.
.

Three weeks of week-night menus

I've assembled three weeks' worth of mostly-healthy main dish recipes. When my kids were still living at home and evenings were crazy-busy, I used a three-week rotation to save me the trouble of having to figure out day-by-day what we were having for dinner. I resisted this level of planning for a long time, but once I started using it, it freed up SO much brain-space and simplified life so much, I loved it.

Most of these are my recipes; some are not. Most of these I've tried and tested. The asterisked ones I have not.* Most of them are pretty healthy.

A few notes:

Every Monday is a salmon dish; I try to eat salmon at least once a week for health reasons. I like to do it on Monday, because I'm usually not on top of things most Mondays, and salmon cooks in 10 minutes! If fish on Friday is part of your routine, feel free to switch it up.

Every Tuesday, you make extra chicken to be used later in the week.

Once you've tested these recipes and decided which are keepers, you can make up the seasoning mixes in bulk to streamline that part of weeknight cooking.

Note that some recipes can have part of the prep work done the night before, or earlier in the day, to further simplify your evening prep time.

Many of my recipes incorporate vegetables so I don't have to make a side dish, but for those that do need one, my side dish usually consists of this: pulling a bag of frozen vegetables (green beans, cauliflower, mixed veggies) or pre-sliced carrots out of the fridge, steaming them, and adding some butter and salt. Other possible additions: cheese, for broccoli or cauliflower; pine-nuts, almonds or pecans for green beans; orange marmalade or cinnamon for carrots.

Week 1:

Asian lettuce wraps

Mon: Brown sugar glazed salmon* (lots of sugar in this one; sorry!)
Tues: Super easy shredded chicken tacos  (start early; uses a slow-cooker. make extra for tomorrow's salad)
Wed: Tex-Mex salad 
Thurs: 10-Minute French dip
Fri: Asian lettuce wraps





--------------------------------------------------------------------

Week 2:

Almost-Panera's Asian salad

Mon: Ancho-crusted salmon (Substitute an off-the-shelf BBQ dry rub if you don't want to make your own)
Tues: Honey-mustard grilled chicken * (make extra for tomorrow's salad)

Wed:  Almost-Panera's Asian salad
Thurs:  Chipotle pork tacos
Fri: Salsa verde chicken



--------------------------------------------------------------------

Week 3:

Herb-crusted salmon

Mon: Herb-crusted salmon
Tues: Easy roasted chicken breasts (make extra for tomorrow's and Friday's salad)
Wed: Caesar salad; here's a recipe for easy homemade Caesar dressing without raw or coddled eggs.
Thurs:  Herb-roasted pork tenderloin
Fri: Orange-cranberry chicken salad (Try it with the small amount of curry, then adjust or omit to your liking)




--------------------------------------------------------------------

For Fall and Winter meals, I would substitute the following soups for the Wednesday night salads:

• Low(er) carb chili
• Easy chicken noodle soup *
• White bean chicken chili

--------------------------------------------------------------------

*These recipes have not been tested by me, but they're all highly rated on AllRecipes.com.

Bread. Pudding. Cupcakes.

There's not a whole lot I can control in this life, but here's one thing I can: This recipe is going to be made in this kitchen, some time in the not-too-distant future.

Bread Pudding Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing, by Sugar Derby. (I'll skip the raisins, but everything else? Oh, baby!)

It will need to be a day when we're having lots of people over; otherwise, we might just eat ourselves into a sugar coma. But there are worse ways to go!

Your diet soda may be making you fat.

Studies from multiple sources are discovering that diet soft drinks may not be the healthy choice that most people think they are.

Source of weight gain?

For one study, researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio followed 474 diet soda drinkers for almost 10 years. They found that diet soda drinkers’ waists grew 70 percent more than non-drinkers. Even more shocking was their discovery that drinking two or more diet sodas a day increased waist sizes 500 percent more as compared to people who avoided the stuff entirely.
A few other reasons why diet pop may not be as good a friend as you think it is.

Greater risk for diabetes:

Drinking one diet soda a day was associated with a 36 percent increased risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in a University of Minnesota study. Metabolic syndrome is a condition that includes increased waist size, and puts people at high risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

And it may not just be making you fatter, but sadder, too...

Possible link with depression:

A study presented at a the American Academy of Neurology meeting found that over the course of 10 years, people who drank more than four cups or cans of soda a day were 30 percent more likely to develop depression than those who steered clear of sugary drinks. The correlation held true for both regular and diet drinks, but researchers noted that the risk appeared to be greater for those who primarily drank diet sodas.

Possible factor in strokes and heart attacks:

Just one diet soft drink a day could boost your risk of having a vascular event such as stroke, heart attack or vascular death, according to researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University. Their study found that diet soda devotees were 43 percent more likely to have experienced a vascular event than those who drank none. 

But how?

Other studies suggest a clue: "Artificial sweeteners could have the effect of triggering appetite but, unlike regular sugars, they don't deliver something that will squelch the appetite," says Sharon Fowler, obesity researcher at UT Health Science Center at San Diego.

Wikipedia weighs in:

(pun intended!)

The effectiveness of diet soda as a weight loss tool has been called into question. 

Changing the food energy intake from one food will not necessarily change a person's overall food energy intake or cause a person to lose weight. One study at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, reported by Sharon Fowler at the ADA annual meeting, actually suggested the opposite, where consumption of diet soda correlated with weight gain. While Fowler did suggest that the undelivered expected calories from diet soda may stimulate the appetite, the correlation does not prove that consumption of diet soda caused the weight gain. The ADA has yet to issue an updated policy concerning diet soda. 

In an independent study by researchers with the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts, soda consumption correlated with increased incidence of metabolic syndrome. Of the 9,000 males and females studied, soda drinkers were at 48% higher risk for metabolic syndrome, which involves weight gain and elevated blood sugar. No significant difference in these findings was observed between sugary sodas and diet drinks. The researchers noted that diet soda drinkers were less likely to consume healthy foods, and that drinking diet soda flavored with artificial sweeteners more than likely increases cravings for sugar-flavored sweets.

Learn more...

Sources:

YMCA of Niagara

Daily Health Post

Wikipedia