Mushroom and Barley Soup

I have decided that a good way this winter to eat whole foods is making crock pot meals! I am so excited to try different recipes. I made a Minnesota Wild Rice Soup and now Mushroom and Barley.  What I really loved about this soup is that it is about 80% local.

Mushroom and Barley Soup

• 1lb or more of Hazel Dell Mushrooms. I used a mix of cremini and baby shitake
• 1 sweet onion diced but I used cippolini onions (chopped equivalent to a small onion) which are smaller and sweet and it is the end of the season and Grant Family Farms had some left!
• 3 carrots peeled and diced from Cressent Farms
• 3 cloves of garlic pressed from local garlic growers at my farmers market. They don't have a website or I would post it for you.
• 3/4 cup of pearl barley from Harvest Share Organics
• 6 cups or a little more of vegetable stock
• 2tsp of Herbs de Provence from Old Town Spice Shop.
• 1tsp of crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• If you would like to make this more hearty I would suggest increasing the broth a little and throwing in some tempeh. Tempeh is my go to protein addition in veggie dishes. 

Throw all ingredients in your crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Then serve! Perfect Sunday evening meal.

Happy Eating!

Great Read!

I am not a big reader but between my husband and I we read some interesting books.  I thought I would start sharing books we have read and want to read with you. I recently came across this book and it holds very close to my heart.


"The Feast Nearby" was written by Robin Mather.  After searching online I found she has a blog too! Here is some information on Robin Mather. I can't WAIT to read her book! Here is a brief exert from an article I read about her.

Within a week in 2009, Mather lost her job as food writer for The Chicago Tribune and ended her marriage of twelve years. Depressed and lost, she retreated to a small summer home beside a lake in rural Michigan. Few people in the town were full-time residents; most came up on warm weekends, and in the winter the lake was quiet and peaceful. Mather saw this cottage as the perfect place to make a new home with her talkative parrot and playful dog.  With a very limited income, Mather knew that she had to watch her food bills. But she also knew she wanted to spend as much of her forty dollars a week in food expenses on local growers and businesses as she could. She lays down a few ground rules in the book's introduction, including allowances for coffee beans, sugar, and spices to be sourced from further away. But her weekly consumption of produce, meat, and grains would come from farmers within her immediate surroundings, and of course her diet would follow the schedule of the growing season. For more information, click on this link for more on Leah Douglas's article.

Here is Robin's blog too if you would like to continue to follow her, The Feast Nearby.

Sarah's A Fan!

I am seriously in LOVE with these Uggs!  They are the Women Bailey Button Triplet in Gray or the Bomber are pretty cool! Thanks to my co-worker Kristi for showing them me!







Here is the Ugg website if you want to buy them AND they offer free shipping!

Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Mini Line Coming To Target November 13th!

I have always loved Gwen's style and now she is bringing her trademark love of clothes to a children's line a Target!  Gwen stated in an article that I read she really loved the kids clothes in Japan and wanted to make an affordable and inexpensive kids line with a Japanese style!  Love it!

Click on this link Harajuku Mini to get a glimpse of what to expect! I can't wait to buy some clothes for Cy!

Madeira and Rosemary Steak

Okay so I seriously love this recipe. Normally on Monday's we do the whole meatless Monday but this Monday I was craving me some meat. I had purchased Madeira wine for another recipe and seriously need to get creative about recipes and food that I use with the Madeira.  So I hope you enjoy, here is my yummy recipe from yesterday.


Madeira and Rosemary Steak

2Tbsp of Butter/Margerine, etc
1 to 2 cups of Madeira
2 fresh springs of Rosemary
1 Tbsp of flour
1/4 cup of milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
2 filets or New York strips

Next sear your steaks for about 2 minutes on each side and set aside. 
Place sliced mushrooms in frying pan with 2 Tbsp of butter (I never said this was healthy). Saute up until golden brown, but not too done. Add the Madeira to the mushrooms with the rosemary, salt and pepper. Then add the flour and some milk to make it a little creamy. Whisk to make sure that the flour dissolves. Let simmer on Medium for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the steaks to the sauce and let simmer until desired cooked.


Pull the steak and plate and pour sauce on top!  Seriously so yummy!

Sarah's A Fan

I have always been a fan of Born shoes. Their quality is fantastic! I recently purchased a pair of the Born Dubliner shoes in a Merlot red....heaven. I am normally not a shoe fan but I love these shoes!

The only place that I have seen that carries them is Nordstroms!

Working 9 to 5...A way to Make a Living...

I have been working since I was 14 years old, through high school and college. When I was younger I just wanted to be out of the house as much as possible. Growing up you wouldn't necessarily call my family The Brady Bunch, more like a bad after school special.  Between sports and working I made sure that I was rarely home. Jeremy makes fun of me because I bring up this longevity of working from time to time and it drives him a little nuts. I enjoy working and enjoy the success that comes from it.  However, with our son coming home soon I wonder how will I be once he is home.  There are a few Sarahisms that I contemplate with transitioning to motherhood.

The working mother. Millions of women work full time jobs, raise their kids, volunteer, are in the PTA and even maybe are going back to school to further their education. My mother was a working mom.  I remember when we were little going into work with her on Saturdays. We are the children of the 60's feminist movement where women worked really hard to enter the workforce.  They fought for the luxuries that we have today, for without them we wouldn't be able to be a CEO.  Women stopped wanting to be Holly Housewife. They wanted to make a contribution, to be somebody to stand up and say...I do not just bake Apple Pie!  I always admired my mother and her career. When I was younger I never wanted the house with the white picket fence, married and 2.5 kids.  I wanted to be a CEO, I learned golf hoping someday that I would be hanging with the boys, learned to drink scotch...you get my point. I have been a working professional for close to 10 years now and as we get closer to our son coming home I think about what I want for me and our family.

By no means am I judgmental to how people choose to live their life, but for me I could never see myself as a stay at home mother.  As the time comes closer with our son coming home I ponder what I will do in terms of my career. Currently I work a minimum of 50 hours a week, sometimes exceeding those hours. When I look back at how I admired my mother I also felt that I missed out on having her go to my meets, games, competitions, etc... She worked really hard to provide a good life for my sister and I...but looking back I wish she was there to watch and to be a part of my life.  My mother in law told me once (because she left a wonderful job with Pan Am to raise her kids) that she felt that she lost her identity when she stopped working.  I can totally understand that feeling. You identify yourself as a certain person who does this or that and for some people...being a mom is a lot but isn't just about you. You are a mom to everyone. You cook, clean, care for the kids and your significant other and you don't get a raise, there is no review to give you kudos and sometimes what you do is looked in a way as "not work."

Being a Domestic Engineer is extremely hard work that challenges one's multitasking skills, time management, patience, problem solving...I could go on an on.  However, you do all this and sometimes to no recognition. Let's face it ladies and gentleman...we like recognition and if you say you don't, I call bullshit!  So as time comes closer to our son arriving I wonder what will become of Sarah DeBuse Nelson.  I have always seen myself as a working mother.  I believe in this day and age their are so many more options to be a provider than in the 60's, 80's and 90's. I am not worried about finding that job, I am worried how will I be able to "balance" wife, mother and work.

I think it takes a lot of balance  to make work and home life successful. I believe to each his own. You do what makes it work for you and your family.  I do though think it is important to gather information and adapt it to your own situation.  I personally am not into reading books about how to "balance" your life because everyone's life is different, every person is different and to me "balance" is a tricky and loaded word. We always look at others and think: how does she/he do it? Listen, I don't think anyone does it! They are just better at faking it then the rest of us. If you want "balance" my suggestion is take an acting class.



I know that I am not the only soon-to-be parent or parent out there that has had these thoughts or fears. I would love to hear what nerves other working mothers might of had while waiting for their child, thoughts once they had to go back to work, how you make it work.  I thrive on hearing information from others! Until next time...

Peace and Love

It is NOT Ghetto!

I have been a wine drinker and connoisseur pretty much since I graduated from college. I put the Rolling Rock down and moved on. Wine is such a beautiful process linked to our earth that is so much more than one sip.

Making wine you need to really pay attention to where you are planting your vines; what is the weather and climate like in that area. Vines love the struggle, the bigger the struggle...the better the wine.  It is important for the grapes to be harvested in peak condition for their particular variety. Several factors will be considered including sugar levels, color and taste.  Then there is the crush, fermentation, racking and then bottling and aging.  Wine is pretty much produced now all over the world in various levels and varieties.

In the early 2000's the largest producers of wine in the world were, Italy, France, Spain, US and Argentina. However, wine making is popping up all over in unexpected places. I read this great article a while back in Wine Enthusiast about undiscovered wine regions. I have attached the link for you to review. Wine doesn't have to be expensive, contrary to some people's opinion. I mean don't get me wrong I love a Del Dotto full body Cabernet, but I am not independently wealthy and can't afford to drink that way all the time. Recently Jeremy and I discovered...boxed wine!

I know, I know what you are going to say! BOXED WINE...how ghetto! On the contrary! There is some really good boxed wine out there and there is pretty crappy boxed wine, so do your research! I would not trust the cashier because before you know it you will be coming home with a box of Fish Eye wine...no bueno! Here are some of our top pics that I have enjoyed and I hope you do too!

Reds:

• Bodegas Adria Val Montium Mencia
• CalNaturale Cabernet Sauvignon 
• Bota Box Malbec
• Big House Red 
• Maipe Malbec
• Domaine Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone

I don't drink white so unfortunately I can't help you there, but check some out. Make sure you do your research! What is great is when you want just a tiny glass in the evening you can just turn and close it back up. There is no pumping or wine wasted. There is a GREAT website where you can order boxed wine to try and it is quite spectacular, it is called newschoolwines.com! Check it out and start the box wine movement.


Peace and Love...and Happy Drinking!

The Stages of Adoption!

If you are following this blog closely or know me personally you know that my husband and I are adopting a baby boy from South Korea.  In the beginning you don't even contemplate how long the waiting period actually will be for you family.  You are told 10 month and believe it.  Our wait for our son will be closer to two years, which seems far off the original 10 month plan. In this time my boss has had 2 kids and an acquaintance of ours is bringing her second son home from Ethiopia and they started the process after us. So frustration begins to set in. You feel like the world is moving fast and you are just standing there, watching as it all passes you by.  However, I am a believer that everything happens for a reason and these tests will help to shape and define our character.  My friend Samira once told me that adoption goes through the same stages as a pregnancy...they are just different. I am finding out that she was right!

Here is my take on Adoption Stages:

First Stage: Choosing where to Adopt
Beginning or the adoption process was exciting. We were finally taking the steps to get our child!  We looked into Domestic Adoption, Ethiopia and Korea.  At the time we were limited because Russia had closed it's doors, Haiti had just had the earthquake and put a hold on for awhile and China was never an option.  After much consideration we went with South Korea because we liked the program.  We chose an agency in Berthoud, CO that specialized in South Korean adoption.

Second Stage: Submitting the Paperwork
This was exciting!! I never once felt uncomfortable with the home study process. I have heard from others they felt it was invasive. This to me was just something that had to be done and there was no way around the situation. Our social worker Maggie was great! Very knowledgeable and friendly and made us feel quite comfortable. We then moved on to submitting our financials,  FBI background checks, references, notarized forms, etc... We did all this in November of 2010 and we were on our way. I pushed Jeremy pretty hard to get this information completed.

Third Stage: Referral

On December 8th we received the call! Christy from the agency called and said, "Sarah, this is the call you have been waiting for. We have a referral!" I was at work when I got the call and extremely excited. So filled with joy! We made a few calls, but with little hesitation accepted our son!


Fourth Stage: Waiting

This is literally the hardest part. I didn't think it would be hard, seriously what is 10 months but as it has gotten pushed back it gets so much harder. I never fear that I will not love my son immediately. When I took care of my niece CoCo for awhile and that time made me realize that I could love someone so much that wasn't from my tummy.  That time in my life really opened my eyes up to adoption. I have different fears that have started to surface. Occasionally I get fears that something will happen and he won't come home. It seems like this unrealistic thing...unable to touch or see. I got worried early in the year when North Korea attacked South Korea that it would go into a full on war and something would happen to our child.  I get worried that South Korea will close their doors.  How does a country close it's doors you ask? It means that a country is no longer processing adoption applications.  If you are already matched you are usually grandfathered in. How will it be when our son wants to go searching for his birth family?  Will he love me as his mother? All these emotions run through your head. I want to tell you they are VERY normal. Whether you are pregnant or adopting everyone has fears.

After reading Rebecca Lyn Golds book; Til There Was You - An Adoption Expectancy Journal, she talks about writing a letter to the child and asking friends and family to write letter to your soon to be child. What a great idea! I think this would really help to make Cy coming home more real.

Fifth Stage: Still Pending

This stage to me will be when we get our travel call. I can only dream of that day and can't wait!!!

Yes...you can change a Man! Sarah's A Fan!

My husband has been a Mayo lover I think since he came out of the womb!  He will dip his broccoli in it, smear so much on his sandwich that it will over flow off the sides and can go through a jar pretty quickly.  I recently have had our family switch to Vegenaise because of the health benefits of the product...and it seriously taste so similar you barely know the difference!  If you don't think your family will ever ditch the mayo, the cover the label up and start supplementing it in place of mayo and see if they notice.  What is Vegenaise you ask? Just check read all about Vegenaise!  Click on the link and read all about it!