Fat and Fertile

 I've decided to blog my pregnancy journey. It's been a long journey be to this moment let me give you the background. I am a beautiful big black woman 5'2 276 lbs. I wasn't always this big but like most black women a doctor told me that the DEPO shot would only make me gain at most 14 lbs and instead I went from 114 to 189 the first time and 210 to 285 the second time. The weight comes on alot easier than it comes off. I always want to get it off but the motivation never matches the money. I ended my reign with DEPO on Nov 19 2019 and begin my journey to bring a life in this world. What I didn't know at that time was DEPO takes over a year to get out of your system. According to the great fertility OB I had it didn't leave my system til Feb 2021. Trust me she was the fourth OB I found. I decided to write all this to reflect on the fact that despite all craziness I am now four weeks pregnant and I have no idea how it will go but I've never been happier in all my life. 

Recent Dinners

Smile, Love, Blog

I heard once that if you were going to do anything in life make it something you love. It was freshman year in my biology class when my teacher told us that what you study in college and the career you pursue should be something that makes you happy when you wake up. I walked out of class that day and changed my major. I knew that I would never want to wake up every day and be a biologist, it just wasn’t in my heart. Anyway, I changed my major to English because I loved to read, and what better job is there than to read all day long. It wasn’t until my last fall semester in college that I actually found what I wanted to do with my life. Can you guess what that was? Yup, Write. The next problem I battled with was what do I write, and how do I reach my audience. I decided to write a blog and to use social media to reach audiences all over the world with my writing.

The web has several different types of blogging domains that are connected to social media platforms. There is tumblr, wordpress, blogger, blog.com, medium, etc.( tnw.co/1hwYVLF ). These websites all offer different advantages than the others. For example tumblr is both a social network and a blogging site giving it the versatility to be more wide spread, just from the fact that people are constantly reposting articles. I, however, chose Blogger because it easily connected to my google plus account, so when you google my name and click on my account and it would come up.

Once I choose my blog I then had to choose my topic. This was the easy part because my blog is an extension of me so it must feature things that I love such as: cooking, literature, party, and current campus events. I talked to a few of my classmates from my social media in journalism course about my topic and showed my teacher some sample articles to get their opinion. I then tested those sample articles to a bigger audience on my facebook page. Once I had enough feedback, I knew I wanted to pursue these topics, but not overwhelm my readers. Now I had a blog!

The great thing about Blogger was the step by step process they take you though when you first setup your blog. First you pick a domain name. Next you begin to design your page. As a cook who always documented my work it was easy for me to take pictures of things that I had already made and make them my page background. Then I choose my favorite colors and incorporated them into the page; this made my page feel more at home when I got on it everyday.

Finally the time had come when it was time for me to debut my blog. I posted several different articles, then begin to dispense it into the social media world, and it has been a blessing ever since. Not only have I grown as a writer, I was also able to land a great internship in the Social Media Dept on Frostburg’s Campus. Now I am writing this article about a dream coming true. I wake up every morning and I love what I do. So start a blog, make it something you love, let it grow through your social media, and then land a job that makes you wake with a smile.

http://sweetkarmacooking.blogspot.com/

Yummy for my tummy sweet potatoes

Sorry its been so long guys but the real world has invaded my world in the form of school. However I have not stopped cooking so here is a quick recipe for sweet potatoes or candied yams.

Brown Sugar
White Sugar
KING syrup
cinnamon
vanilla extract
6 Yams (you can change the amount depending on the size)

Boil the yams til soft enough to stick a knife completely through
After yams are boiled one at a time peel and then cut long ways
With each one cut layer the pan until completely covered
once layered add a thin layer or brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract
repeat this until pan is full
on top add king syrup half a bottle
then bake for 20-25 mins
Enjoy

Cool quick dessert from Facebook

Saw this dessert on Facebook and thought I would post it for the readers looking from a quick dessert that tastes great

Sigma Tau Delta: Raise Funds for Veterans

For the readers out there not only does Frostburgs English Dept feature some of the greatest writers, faculty,  and students, but we also have some amazing bakers. Recently the members of Sigma Tau Delta had a bake sale in Dunkle Hall raising money for the Veterans of the US Military. Here are some pictures of the great baked good featured.

Gobble,Gobble....Is that a Turkey I hear.

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching here is 3 turkey recipes for the season.


From allrecipes.com

• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
  2 tablespoons ground dried rosemary
  2 tablespoons rubbed dried sage
  2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
  1 tablespoon lemon pepper
  1 tablespoon salt
  1 (15 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
  2 stalks celery, chopped
  1 orange, cut into wedges
  1 onion, chopped
  1 carrot, chopped
  1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
  1 (750 milliliter) bottlechampagne
  
  

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a turkey roaster with long sheets of aluminum foil that will be long enough to wrap over the turkey.
2. Stir together the parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, lemon pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Rub the herb mixture into the cavity of the turkey, then stuff with the celery, orange, onion, and carrot. Truss if desired, and place the turkey into the roasting pan. Pour the chicken broth and champagne over the turkey, making sure to get some champagne in the cavity. Bring the aluminum foil over the top of the turkey, and seal. Try to keep the foil from touching the skin of the turkey breast or legs.
3. Bake the turkey in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear. Uncover the turkey, and continue baking until the skin turns golden brown, 30 minutes to 1 hour longer. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

From Food Network 

Ingredients
2 gallons water
2 cups apple juice
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
2 cups brown sugar
5 cloves garlic, crushed
5 bay leaves
4 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
3 oranges, peeled, white pith removed, skin roughly chopped
1 (20-pound) fresh turkey
1 1/2 sticks softened butter
3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
3 tablespoons chopped orange zest
Directions
Combine the water, apple juice, salt, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, dried rosemary, and orange peel in a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat immediately, cover, and allow mixture to come to room temperature. Cool mixture in the fridge until you're ready.

To brine the turkey, remove the turkey from wrapper, remove interior bags (set aside; refrigerate), and rinse turkey thoroughly under cool water.

Place the turkey into a plastic brining bag or a very large pot.

Pour the cooled brine mixture over the top, adding extra cold water if you need more to completely cover the turkey. Seal the bag or cover the pot and allow the turkey to brine in the refrigerator for 16 to 24 hours before roasting.

Before roasting, remove the turkey from brine and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Then soak in a sink full of fresh water for 15 to 20 minutes. Pat dry. Discard brine. (This soaking process will decrease the likelihood of too-salty gravy).

Preheat the oven 275 degrees F.

Truss the bird and place it breast side up on a rack in a large roasting pan. Cover the turkey tightly with heavy-duty foil. Make sure it's entirely covered (cover over the bottom edges of the pan). Place in the oven and roast for about 10 minutes per pound (a 20 pound turkey will roast for about 3 1/2 hours).

Remove the turkey from the oven and increase the temperature to 375 degrees F. Remove the aluminum foil and set aside. Mix the softened butter with the rosemary and orange peel and rub all over the skin of the turkey, covering every single inch of the skin. Insert a meat thermometer into the thigh, near the hip joint. Place the turkey, uncovered, back into the oven. Continue roasting the turkey, basting with butter every 30 minutes, until the thermometer registers 170 degrees F and until the juices are no longer pink.

Remove from the oven and cover with foil until you are ready to carve and serve. Reserve pan juices to make gravy.

Cook's Note: This is enough for a 20 pound fresh turkey. You can decrease the quantity for a smaller bird.

A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

The last one is from Martha Stewart and is actually a fried turkey

Ingredients

• • Fresh turkey (15 pounds)
  • 25 medium dried bay leaves
  • 3 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 3 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
  • 3 tablespoons Konriko brand, or other hot Creole seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 4 gallons peanut oil

Directions

1. Wash turkey inside and out under cold running water; pat dry. Finely grind bay leaves in spice grinder; transfer to small bowl. Finely grind thyme, oregano, and peppercorns separately; add to bay leaves. Mix in Creole seasoning and garlic powder.
2. Rub 1/3 spice mixture on inside of turkey, 1/3 under skin of breast, and 1/3 on outside of turkey; place in roasting pan. Cover; marinate overnight in refrigerator or up to 24 hours.
3. Bring turkey to room temperate. Using a wooden skewer, thread neck flap securely to bottom of turkey. Fold wing tips under. Using steel or aluminum wire, truss legs and tail's nose together securely; form a handle with wire. This will enable you to hold turkey while submerging in hot oil.
4. Heat oil in 10-gallon pot with liner basket over high heat until temperature registers 360 degrees. Holding turkey by handle, immerse in oil. Maintain temperature at 360 degrees.while frying. Fry until golden brown, about 45 minutes, or 3 minutes per pound.
5. Lift turkey from oil; transfer to a wire rack over a roasting pan. Drain for 15 minutes. Serve.