Feed Your Soul: find your light

Something I have been doing with our two youngest children to calm down a tantrum or meltdown is telling them to “find your light.”

We put both hands over our hearts and take a deep breath: in through the nose: 1, 2, 3, 4, and out through the mouth: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Most of the time, it works (they are four and two, after all).

But it is also calming for us parents.

It’s a good thing to do under the sun if you’re a morning person, or under the moon if you’re a night owl.

Or, if you’re a two-year-old, you can take a breath and point at the nearest lamp — because you indeed found a light!

Our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky, posts
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.

Feed Your Body: chocolate cake and a good romance novel

[Enjoy this guest post from Mrs. Swanky]

This month I am listening to the graphic audios of the ACOTAR series in preparation for the upcoming two books later in October and January.

In honor of the complex and wonderful (and sometimes misunderstood) Nesta Archeron, and of course our lovely Queen of Terrasen, Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius (I know, different series, but same author, so she counts), we have chocolate cake!

Important Note: I may be Mrs. Swanky, but I am definitely not a chef like Chef Swanky, so Duncan Hines it is.

* Obligatory disclaimer: We are not paid to promote these items. We just happen to like them.

Our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky, posts
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.

Feed Your Mind: reading and cooking, what could be better?

[Enjoy this guest post from Mrs. Swanky]

Something I would like to start doing is making a dish from a book I’ve been reading. Whether it’s a full meal or snack, it is very interesting when books highlight their cuisine.

This month I have been reading the Fey Spy Academy series by C.N. Crawford, starting with Avalon Tower. It is about a girl who goes on vacation in France and is swept up in a war between fey and humans.

It is a completed trilogy, a fun read, low/medium spicy, and the graphic audio books make it even more fun!

They talk a lot about the fey food in these books being better than anything she has ever eaten before. One thing that stood out to me was a chutney and cheese sandwich.

There wasn’t any more detail given than that, so here is my version: mango chutney with gouda on French bread. I also found port wine cheese and gave it a try.

* Obligatory disclaimer: We are not paid to promote these items. We just happen to like them.

Our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky, posts
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.

A most swanky (and historical) fruit

Ever wondered about the origins of the swanky pineapple in the most historic city in America? Of course you have. Chef Swanky explains what’s up with all the displays of the magnificent pineapple in Charleston.

Got a question for the great Chef? Drop us a comment below, and we’ll pester Chef Swanky to impart some more wisdom.

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.

Feed Your Soul: get a hobby

[Enjoy this guest post from Mrs. Swanky]

One way to feed your soul is to find a hobby and dig into it. Give it your all, as often as you can. It can be a great refresher in the midst of a busy, sometimes hectic lifestyle.

One hobby I have picked up in the last couple of years is reading. It’s pretty much exclusively fantasy, high fantasy, and romantasy. Basically, if there are creatures you’d find in a dungeons and dragons game and/or pointed ears, I am all over it.

Another hobby I have had for much of my life is gaming. It’s mostly video games: looter shooters, MMORPG, and more recently Survival, but I am also a big fan of Magic: the Gathering.

These are two hobbies that can be very time-consuming in a world with not a lot of time to oneself. And if that’s the case, sometimes one just needs to multi-task!

* Obligatory disclaimer: We are not paid to promote these items. We just happen to like them.

Our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky, posts
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.

Feed Your Body: get outside

[Enjoy this guest post from Mrs. Swanky]

With Summer just a few days away, I think it’s so important that we get outside more. Even just for 10 to 20 minutes to put your bare feet in the grass.

This is Grounding (also called Earthing): your skin directly touching the Earth’s surface. The easiest way is to just take a little walk in your yard. There have been studies that suggest it can affect and reduce inflammation, stress hormones, blood flow, and other health issues.

It’s a good thing to do, if for no other reason than that it reminds me of simpler times. It takes me back to my childhood: running around outside barefoot all day with my sisters and cousins, not a care in the world. Except for running into stickers.

So go on, go outside (bubbles optional). Touch some grass. And watch out for stickers.

Welcome to our guest blogger,
Mrs. Swanky. She will be posting
on ways to Feed Yourself
— in body, mind, and spirit.

Chef Swanky answers some mail

It’s mailbag time! Chef Swanky has some followers with a few questions, and he agreed to take time out from creating delicious food to respond to them.

We picked three for him. Here he is, enlightening us on the mysteries of the culinary world.

What is a disher? It looks like a scoop. Is it the same thing or are they two different utensils?

A disher is a half-spherical kitchen tool with a mechanical leveler inside the bowl in which you either squeeze the handle or push the thumb trigger to release evenly whatever product was contained inside.

It’s an essential tool for making sure the same and equal portions of food, cookies, etc. come out the same size.

An ice cream scoop has a half spherical bowl as well, but is designed specifically to carve and portion in to frozen desserts such as ice cream, gelato, or sorbet.

Yes, you can use a disher for scooping out ice cream, but the reverse of using an ice cream scoop to portion out equally shaped cookies may not be feasible.

You had a recipe (the coconut macaroons) that called for cane syrup. Can I use the same syrup that I put on my pancakes or is cane syrup something different?

Cane syrup comes from evaporated sugarcane juice. (Note: the image here is sugarcane juice.)

It’s sometimes used to replace maple syrup, and it has a rich, robust, almost caramel flavor.

Usually macaroons use corn syrup, which comes from cornstarch and which is used to hold moisture in the product or to prevent crystallization of sugar, but I wanted the macaroons to have a type of caramelized flavor.

What is your favorite dish to make?

My favorite dessert to make is the Banana Foster, hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana.

It is a dessert in which you brown butter and saute a banana with brown sugar and cinnamon, then flambé it using rum, turning the buttery brown sugar rum into a sauce.

It is then topped with Vanilla Ice Cream drizzles with the sauce.

It’s a nice, delightful warming and cooling treat.

Got a question for the great Chef? Drop us a comment below, and we’ll pester Chef Swanky to impart some more wisdom.

Follow Chef Swanky here and on Instagram at chefswankyhw.

(All images from Dreamstime.com. Used with permission.)

Feed Your Body: best cookbook EVER!

The publication date on this cookbook is 1960, but the advice is timeless. And Peg Bracken’s delivery is hilarious.

Just the introduction had me giggling:

Some women, it is said, like to cook.

This book is not for them.

This book is for those of us who hate to, who have learned, through hard experience, that some activities become no less painful through repetition: childbearing, paying taxes, cooking. This book is for those of us who want to fold out big dishwater hands around a dry Martini instead of a wet flounder, come the end of a long day.

With the one exception being that I want to fold my hands around a flute or coupe of bubbly instead of anything that I’d have to cook, she’s spot on.

The book is filled with recipes that are both easy and tasty, all told in her witty and insightful style.

I don’t think it’s still in print, but you can find copies in thrift stores or on Amazon. That’s where I found mine, and I don’t care that it’s used. The seller who decided to part with it must have come into some money, at least enough to hire someone to come in and do the cooking.