Saturday, December 12, 2009
Snow Cakes!
My daughter came up with this idea of snow cakes. She started by shaping snow in a plastic container and came in asking for a candle. It was a few days past my birthday and she wanted to make me a cake! The best kind...no calories! So together we kept adding things she could experiment with, food coloring, whip cream, marshmallows and sprinkles. It was a great snow day activity and although we didn't really eat any of her snow cakes, we did save a few of her more elaborate creations in the freezer for fun.Monday, November 30, 2009
A time for everything.... even deep cleaning!
So, I recently decided that we needed to deep clean some parts of our house, one being behind the beds. Our master bed is a huge four poster solid cherry wood bed and moving it during the weekly bedroom vacuum time isn't practical. Nightstands are the same way. But I dropped something behind the nightstand and yikes!! it was dusty back there! So we picked a Saturday and decided deep clean our bedroom. I started by giving the whole room a good vacuum,and stripping the bed. Then I moved the night stands and vacuumed behind those. The next job was to tackle the bed. This took a lot of man power, but we were able to move the bed away from the wall a few feet, to vacuum and swiffer. The kids happily grabbed all the treasures under the bed, and helped sort through pictures and put away things that needed a better home.. David helped move some old paintings that were under our bed to a new safer location. Next I wiped down the bed frame. Then we pushed the bed back, the biggest part of the job done, and started working on putting the room back together. I cleaned out and dusted the nightstands and a bench at the end of our bed. Next I moved the dresser, cleaned behind it, cleared off the top and dusted it. Finally I gave one last vacuum to all exposed areas, wiped down the walls, made the bed and fluffed the pillows. Deep cleaned Ahhh!
What a great feeling during this busy time of the holiday to build momentum, doing one project, that improves your home and health.
One thing that was the most rewarding for me, was restocking my sick child kit. This is a small kit that I keep in my nightstand. It has a thermometer, Children's Motrin, Pepto Bismol tablets an inhaler for my son and a natural decongestant called Olbas Oil. That way when one of our children wakes me not feeling well, I can quickly and quietly tend to most of their needs without frantically searching all over the house for the thermometer. I keep a second set of medicines in the bathroom so no one is tempted to borrow my mommy set. It works equally well for sick husbands too!
Blessing for a wonderful morning and a great week.
So, I recently decided that we needed to deep clean some parts of our house, one being behind the beds. Our master bed is a huge four poster solid cherry wood bed and moving it during the weekly bedroom vacuum time isn't practical. Nightstands are the same way. But I dropped something behind the nightstand and yikes!! it was dusty back there! So we picked a Saturday and decided deep clean our bedroom. I started by giving the whole room a good vacuum,and stripping the bed. Then I moved the night stands and vacuumed behind those. The next job was to tackle the bed. This took a lot of man power, but we were able to move the bed away from the wall a few feet, to vacuum and swiffer. The kids happily grabbed all the treasures under the bed, and helped sort through pictures and put away things that needed a better home.. David helped move some old paintings that were under our bed to a new safer location. Next I wiped down the bed frame. Then we pushed the bed back, the biggest part of the job done, and started working on putting the room back together. I cleaned out and dusted the nightstands and a bench at the end of our bed. Next I moved the dresser, cleaned behind it, cleared off the top and dusted it. Finally I gave one last vacuum to all exposed areas, wiped down the walls, made the bed and fluffed the pillows. Deep cleaned Ahhh!
What a great feeling during this busy time of the holiday to build momentum, doing one project, that improves your home and health.
One thing that was the most rewarding for me, was restocking my sick child kit. This is a small kit that I keep in my nightstand. It has a thermometer, Children's Motrin, Pepto Bismol tablets an inhaler for my son and a natural decongestant called Olbas Oil. That way when one of our children wakes me not feeling well, I can quickly and quietly tend to most of their needs without frantically searching all over the house for the thermometer. I keep a second set of medicines in the bathroom so no one is tempted to borrow my mommy set. It works equally well for sick husbands too!
Blessing for a wonderful morning and a great week.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Faithful Provisions
This is one of my new favorite websites http://www.faithfulprovisions.com/. Worth checking out!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Kale Kale Everywhere!!
If you’ve never had kale this will give you a great reason to try it! Kale is a cool season crop, grows itself almost effortlessly and isn’t prone to pests or fungus so it’s easy to grow organically. This wonderful veggie is loaded with good for you stuff. Our family loves kale, especially my husband. So, here you go….
First if you are new to kale you will find it in the green section of the refrigerated produce isle, near the lettuce, turnip greens, beets, carrots ect. It should be dark green with broad healthy curly edge leaves. Buy a lot it’s cheap and cooks down! I usually fill a large size veggie bag completely full, I’ll walk you through freezing any extra.
When you get it home, you can prep it a few different ways. This is super easy, and my preferred way is to prep it all at once. The first thing you will want to do is wash whatever you plan to use or freeze. For Kale Chips don’t wash until right before you want to make them, you don’t want wet kale to sit in the fridge.
Okay, to prep the kale you need to remove the tough stalks from the leaves. Hold the leaf by the stem and using your thumb and index finger strip the leaf from the stem. The tough stems are inedible. For smaller leaves the finer stem will be tender and cook up with the leaf. This isn’t a daunting task, once you get the hang of it, you can prep a huge batch in just a few minutes.
Cooked Kale
Fill a wide flat pot with water and bring to a rolling boil (If you’re in a hurry a fast simmer will do…). Take freshly washed Kale leaves and blanch in whatever size batches your pot will hold. Make sure you get the kale in and out of the boiling water as quickly as possible. You want to put the leaves for each batch in at one time stir for 10-15 seconds or until bright green and then remove from water. I use a spaghetti spoon to lift the kale out of the boiling water transfer to a colander then run under cold water to keep from over cooking. Blanch next batch… and so on until you are finished blanching all the kale. You’ll notice that after the kale has been blanched its volume has decreased significantly.
To make Cooked Kale, you will need to top 2 cups of blanched kale with 1-2 tbs of honey (to taste), 1 tsp of sesame oil and sesame seeds or pine nuts (your choice).
Reheat kale, honey, and sesame oil in the emptied pot you used to blanch the kale or for 1 minute in a microwave safe dish. You are just heating the kale backup to distribute the honey and oil, give a quick stir top with sesame seeds and serve warm.
Whatever kale is left over can be frozen in quart size Ziploc freezer bags just be sure to pack loosely and remove excess air. I use the quart size bags of my food saver.
To use; thaw in microwave, drain excess water and add honey and sesame oil reheat for 1 minute add sesame seeds and enjoy! Two minutes from freezer to table!
It's super quick, simple and nutritious.
Kale Chips
These are a fun new recipe for us, I HAD to share. Warning these are addictive! Prep kale removing stems and rinsing. Blot dry and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Spray or brush with olive oil and top with finely shredded Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 until crispy, about 15 minutes, watch to make sure they don't burn. These can also be prepared with just sea salt, or any spices you like. My husband made some with chili powder and Parmesan yum!, and I plan to try them made with sesame oil and sesame seeds them.
Amazingly good!
First if you are new to kale you will find it in the green section of the refrigerated produce isle, near the lettuce, turnip greens, beets, carrots ect. It should be dark green with broad healthy curly edge leaves. Buy a lot it’s cheap and cooks down! I usually fill a large size veggie bag completely full, I’ll walk you through freezing any extra.
When you get it home, you can prep it a few different ways. This is super easy, and my preferred way is to prep it all at once. The first thing you will want to do is wash whatever you plan to use or freeze. For Kale Chips don’t wash until right before you want to make them, you don’t want wet kale to sit in the fridge.
Okay, to prep the kale you need to remove the tough stalks from the leaves. Hold the leaf by the stem and using your thumb and index finger strip the leaf from the stem. The tough stems are inedible. For smaller leaves the finer stem will be tender and cook up with the leaf. This isn’t a daunting task, once you get the hang of it, you can prep a huge batch in just a few minutes.
Cooked Kale
Fill a wide flat pot with water and bring to a rolling boil (If you’re in a hurry a fast simmer will do…). Take freshly washed Kale leaves and blanch in whatever size batches your pot will hold. Make sure you get the kale in and out of the boiling water as quickly as possible. You want to put the leaves for each batch in at one time stir for 10-15 seconds or until bright green and then remove from water. I use a spaghetti spoon to lift the kale out of the boiling water transfer to a colander then run under cold water to keep from over cooking. Blanch next batch… and so on until you are finished blanching all the kale. You’ll notice that after the kale has been blanched its volume has decreased significantly.
To make Cooked Kale, you will need to top 2 cups of blanched kale with 1-2 tbs of honey (to taste), 1 tsp of sesame oil and sesame seeds or pine nuts (your choice).
Reheat kale, honey, and sesame oil in the emptied pot you used to blanch the kale or for 1 minute in a microwave safe dish. You are just heating the kale backup to distribute the honey and oil, give a quick stir top with sesame seeds and serve warm.
Whatever kale is left over can be frozen in quart size Ziploc freezer bags just be sure to pack loosely and remove excess air. I use the quart size bags of my food saver.
To use; thaw in microwave, drain excess water and add honey and sesame oil reheat for 1 minute add sesame seeds and enjoy! Two minutes from freezer to table!
It's super quick, simple and nutritious.
Kale Chips
These are a fun new recipe for us, I HAD to share. Warning these are addictive! Prep kale removing stems and rinsing. Blot dry and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Spray or brush with olive oil and top with finely shredded Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 until crispy, about 15 minutes, watch to make sure they don't burn. These can also be prepared with just sea salt, or any spices you like. My husband made some with chili powder and Parmesan yum!, and I plan to try them made with sesame oil and sesame seeds them.
Amazingly good!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Happy Organized, Relaxed, Fun Thanksgiving!
I can't believe it's been July since I've last posted to this blog! It has been a busy and exciting fall for our family, hopefully yours too!
My mind has been buzzing with new blog ideas, it's just been a challenge to find time to sit down and share them. We just recently returned from a trip cross country and now that we are back and settled into daily life again I hope I'll have more time to write.
I wanted to share my shopping list with you for Thanksgiving. I typed my list this year so that I can keep it from year to year as a place to start. I play a game every year, and wonder what necessary item I've forgotten. One year it was eggs, another year it was trash bags and another time it was paper towels. So, I'm happy to share my Master shopping list, just in case you are doing some last minute shopping or all your shopping today.
Each year I get more organized and purposeful about the holidays, but I never seem to remember everything in one shopping trip!
We are celebrating Thanksgiving today, since tomorrow we will be volunteering at our local homeless shelter. So, I'm off to hit the treadmill this morning then spend the afternoon cooking. We decided to dress-up as Pilgrims and Indians this year (well we all decided to be Indians!) so I have few final adjustments to my costume. It's been great family fun making our costumes and preparing for our dress up dinner. I would much rather our children remember Thanksgivings filled with adventure and giving rather than big fancy dinners on fine china!
Hope you and your family have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving this year.
Brine
Sugar
Evans and Bell from Fresh Market (free range 2.49 lb)- per some recommendation keep bird around 16 pounds to keep it from drying out while cooking. Order 1-2nd week in Nov. Pick up Sunday before Thanksgiving- brine 24 hours ahead allowing 2 hours to rest before cooking and another 30 minutes to rest before carving and serving. Allow 30 minutes to carve unless carving on table.
One idea I'd like to try in the future is to see if I can substitute honey in my pumpkin pie for sugar. In the past I've tried using both natural sugar and sucanat with honey but I've found the size of the granule is an issue with the texture. The larger granules don't melt into the custard and leaves the pie grainy. This is the one recipe that I continue to use white sugar for, so I'm hoping I can experiment a little with honey. If you try it let me know how it works out. Nurtitionally I think it would be well worth the effort!
My mind has been buzzing with new blog ideas, it's just been a challenge to find time to sit down and share them. We just recently returned from a trip cross country and now that we are back and settled into daily life again I hope I'll have more time to write.
I wanted to share my shopping list with you for Thanksgiving. I typed my list this year so that I can keep it from year to year as a place to start. I play a game every year, and wonder what necessary item I've forgotten. One year it was eggs, another year it was trash bags and another time it was paper towels. So, I'm happy to share my Master shopping list, just in case you are doing some last minute shopping or all your shopping today.
Each year I get more organized and purposeful about the holidays, but I never seem to remember everything in one shopping trip!
We are celebrating Thanksgiving today, since tomorrow we will be volunteering at our local homeless shelter. So, I'm off to hit the treadmill this morning then spend the afternoon cooking. We decided to dress-up as Pilgrims and Indians this year (well we all decided to be Indians!) so I have few final adjustments to my costume. It's been great family fun making our costumes and preparing for our dress up dinner. I would much rather our children remember Thanksgivings filled with adventure and giving rather than big fancy dinners on fine china!
Hope you and your family have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving this year.
Thanksgiving Shopping List
(Basic list of things not to forget)
(Basic list of things not to forget)
Brine
Sugar
Coarse salt- Box of Kosher in Baking supplies cabinet (buy if needed)
Bay Leaves- buy fresh every Thanksgiving
Whole black peppercorns
Garlic – 6 cloves
2 Onions /plus 2 packs of Cipolline Onions for garnish
1 bunch of fresh Thyme (have never used it- but called for in recipe)
Cheese Cloth
Bay Leaves- buy fresh every Thanksgiving
Whole black peppercorns
Garlic – 6 cloves
2 Onions /plus 2 packs of Cipolline Onions for garnish
1 bunch of fresh Thyme (have never used it- but called for in recipe)
Cheese Cloth
Turkey Gravy -Boston market rated best for flavor in Consumer Reports/ always get it to have as a back up.
Turkey
Evans and Bell from Fresh Market (free range 2.49 lb)- per some recommendation keep bird around 16 pounds to keep it from drying out while cooking. Order 1-2nd week in Nov. Pick up Sunday before Thanksgiving- brine 24 hours ahead allowing 2 hours to rest before cooking and another 30 minutes to rest before carving and serving. Allow 30 minutes to carve unless carving on table.
Stuffing
Peppridge Farms / celery, onion
Pumpkin Pie
Graham crusts and pumpkin pie mix / or pure pack pumpkin
Evaporated Skim milk
Whip Cream/ cool whip
Peppridge Farms / celery, onion
Pumpkin Pie
Graham crusts and pumpkin pie mix / or pure pack pumpkin
Evaporated Skim milk
Whip Cream/ cool whip
Cranberry Relish
Fresh market’s is too good to miss!
Fresh market’s is too good to miss!
Canned Cranberry for kids to make cut outs
Green Bean Casserole (David’s Request)
Green Bean Casserole (David’s Request)
Hanover Canned Green Beans
Cream of Mushroom Soup (low Sodium)
French fried onions
Fresh/ jar of mushrooms
Sweet Potato Casserole
Cream of Mushroom Soup (low Sodium)
French fried onions
Fresh/ jar of mushrooms
Sweet Potato Casserole
2 cans of sweet potatoes
Pecans for topping
Brown sugar
Regular Grocery Items (Especially if having a house full)
Pecans for topping
Brown sugar
Regular Grocery Items (Especially if having a house full)
Milk/ OJ (need milk for many recipes plus drinking)
Eggs (pumpkin pie and sweet potato casserole and brownies)
Butter 2 – 1 lb baking packs and Promise tubs
Bacon
Yeast Rolls- Sister Shubert’s
Ham and Cheese/ slices and specialty cheeses for cheese tray
Misc and Paper Products
Eggs (pumpkin pie and sweet potato casserole and brownies)
Butter 2 – 1 lb baking packs and Promise tubs
Bacon
Yeast Rolls- Sister Shubert’s
Ham and Cheese/ slices and specialty cheeses for cheese tray
Misc and Paper Products
Trash Bags
Paper Towels
Paper plates/ napkins/ cups/ plastic silverware (found silver plastic at CVS in Christiansburg)
Ziploc Big Bags for brining
Ziploc gallon and quart size
Fire Logs
Bleach for spray bottle clean up
Paper Towels
Paper plates/ napkins/ cups/ plastic silverware (found silver plastic at CVS in Christiansburg)
Ziploc Big Bags for brining
Ziploc gallon and quart size
Fire Logs
Bleach for spray bottle clean up
One idea I'd like to try in the future is to see if I can substitute honey in my pumpkin pie for sugar. In the past I've tried using both natural sugar and sucanat with honey but I've found the size of the granule is an issue with the texture. The larger granules don't melt into the custard and leaves the pie grainy. This is the one recipe that I continue to use white sugar for, so I'm hoping I can experiment a little with honey. If you try it let me know how it works out. Nurtitionally I think it would be well worth the effort!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Dinner Tonight...
I wanted to share a great dinner idea that we use often. If you are like me I'm always looking for quick easy healthy ideas, especially for Sundays! I love using my crock pot but often those recipes are heavy hearty meals, and not so figure friendly. Also in the summer we use a lot of pasta so I also wanted to share one of my favorite low calorie pasta substitutes.
It's called Tofu Shirataki - angel hair shaped noodle substitute. It's only 20 calories per serving and can be used anyplace you would use regular angel hair pasta. There are 2 servings per a package, so you can have the whole 8oz package for 40 calories!
I have to admit I was a little nervous about trying tofu noodles because I thought they might have a soft, mushy texture. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they are almost identical in taste and texture to real "al dente" angel hair pasta. Give these a try, you'll love them.
Here's the link for product info then you can follow the link for "where to buy." http://www.house-foods.com/Tofu/tofu_shirataki.aspx
So here is a quick recipe we love! Open 2 cans of Progresso White Clam Sauce w/ garlic and herbs and two cans of drained minced clams (you'll find it near the tuna we use Snow's brand), pour into a saucepan and heat. Once heated pour clam sauce over prepared pasta or Tofu noodle substitute in bowl and top with real grated Parmesan cheese (in the deli or cheese isle, not powdered style). Pair with a spinach side salad. We use spinach, fresh blueberries or peaches, chopped apples and a few candied pecans and lightly top with Kens Light Raspberry walnut vinaigrette. yum! (My nine year old son asks for this salad often and my daughter independently makes it herself daily!)
This meal has huge elegant flavors, takes about 10 minutes to make and is loaded with fruits, and antioxidants and low in calories. This meal is a great one to try if you want to surprise your husband with a date night at home. It's quick and easy to throw together after the kids are in bed and elegant enough to eat by candlelight... Enjoy!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
I have had a dilemma all summer. I've been trying to find the perfect swim suit for my very less than perfect body. Over the winter I threw away my favorite bikini thinking that I had outgrown my bikini days. As summer approached I went looking for a replacement swim suit, and am still on that search. How I miss my old stand by...
As my daughter has gotten older I've also become more concerned with modesty. It is more important to me now, that I demonstrate modesty to my daughter Jessica as I ask her to be aware of dressing in a way that is stylish, comfortable, and modest. So I wanted to share this cute and modest swimsuit I found at J Crew. This swim suit is strapless (optional strap included) so if you have modesty issues with strapless styles this won't work for you, but my main concern is avoiding deep V necks and cleavage. I also liked that this style is a little looser through the torso and does a good job at blending the bust line into the rest of the suit. The top has enough coverage that it looks great paired with a skirt for walking on the beach or boardwalk. J Crew sells the top and bottoms and separately so you can create a suit custom fit to your body in a wide variety of colors. The matching bottoms come in a variety of styles but I ordered the briefs because of the ample back coverage. If you like this suit and want more info or to order follow the link below:
Friday, August 7, 2009
Permanent magic markers and white boards!
Today I finally got around to changing our dry erase calendar to August. My brain is still in June and I don't even know where July went. :) So I began erasing July's calendar and realized that my sweet husband had written "I love you" to each of us in a different day early in June. The only problem was that he had mistakenly used permanent marker instead of dry erase. I tried everything I could think of, Windex, dish soap, rubbing really hard with the rough side of a sponge, nothing worked. Finally I decided to try a magic eraser that I had bought on my grocery trip. I sprayed the writing with Windex while I went to get the magic eraser from under the sink then when I came back I gave it a try, and to my surprise it came right off. I couldn't believe it. I sprayed the rest of the writing and it all came clean, although letting the Windex sit on the marker for a few minutes definitely helped it come off more easily. It saved our Pottery Barn dry erase calender Yeah!! I also swiped it across the stove and was amazed how nicely it cleaned streak free without the need for Windex. I wonder if this might be a new way of cleaning our house chemical free.
I bought the Magic Eraser this week for the first time in several years and noticed that Food Lion carries a store brand version. The Mr. Clean brand was $2.97 for 2 heavy duty sponges, and the store brand similar to the heavy duty was only $1.90. I could not tell a difference! Try them, and see if you are convinced.
Today I finally got around to changing our dry erase calendar to August. My brain is still in June and I don't even know where July went. :) So I began erasing July's calendar and realized that my sweet husband had written "I love you" to each of us in a different day early in June. The only problem was that he had mistakenly used permanent marker instead of dry erase. I tried everything I could think of, Windex, dish soap, rubbing really hard with the rough side of a sponge, nothing worked. Finally I decided to try a magic eraser that I had bought on my grocery trip. I sprayed the writing with Windex while I went to get the magic eraser from under the sink then when I came back I gave it a try, and to my surprise it came right off. I couldn't believe it. I sprayed the rest of the writing and it all came clean, although letting the Windex sit on the marker for a few minutes definitely helped it come off more easily. It saved our Pottery Barn dry erase calender Yeah!! I also swiped it across the stove and was amazed how nicely it cleaned streak free without the need for Windex. I wonder if this might be a new way of cleaning our house chemical free.
I bought the Magic Eraser this week for the first time in several years and noticed that Food Lion carries a store brand version. The Mr. Clean brand was $2.97 for 2 heavy duty sponges, and the store brand similar to the heavy duty was only $1.90. I could not tell a difference! Try them, and see if you are convinced.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Stock your pantry....
After being out of town for several days, we returned home to a pretty bare house. The next day my daughter left for church camp and we were again away from home for the day. The next day my husband had a dental appointment 2 hours away, followed by an unexpected oral surgery consult, followed by the next day of oral surgery. Before I knew it I was heading home with a husband under anesthesia and orders that he needed to eat only soft food. hmmmm.... I still hadn't had a chance to go grocery shopping and life happened. So... I stopped at Sheetz on the way home to buy as many soft items as I could find... this is what my stash looked like 1 milkshake, 2 honeybuns, a bag of jello cubes, and a cup of donut holes. I can only imagine what the cashier must have been thinking. That initial stash got us through the afternoon, but then what to feed him for dinner? He was asking for mashed potatoes, and everything he'd been through that day I really wanted to be able to give him whatever sounded good. But no potatoes unless and went and dug them out of the garden, in the pouring rain. Believe me I considered it, but then I found some leftover potatoes that I had boiled a few nights ago and we hadn't finished.. I was in luck. I mashed them skins on added some warm milk and butter and heated and we had beautiful tasty mashed potatoes. But then yesterday passed and I still couldn't leave him to go grocery shopping. No milk now for 3 days. We were desperate!
So I finally got to go grocery shopping today and just as I was checking out the power went out in the grocery store, my groceries were loaded in the buggy in my reusable bags I swipe my card to pay and whammo ... powers out. I'm thinking there is no way I can go home without these groceries, I at least need the Advil! The manager was very sweet and let me go home with the groceries and we agreed I stop back by when the power was restored to settle up. Thank goodness!
So this is what I've learned. Why not keep our pantry stocked with at least basic sick day foods. Most of us probably keep Gatorade or something similar for the stomach flu but what about strep throat, or unexpected oral surgery, where eating is difficult? I started thinking about a list... this is what ours might look like:
Applesauce
pudding
Jello
chicken noodle soup
tomato soup
instant mashed potatoes / or mashed potatoes made ahead and frozen
yogurt
makings for milkshakes and smoothies (frozen is easiest)
soft cheeses
I wonder what you might add?
After being out of town for several days, we returned home to a pretty bare house. The next day my daughter left for church camp and we were again away from home for the day. The next day my husband had a dental appointment 2 hours away, followed by an unexpected oral surgery consult, followed by the next day of oral surgery. Before I knew it I was heading home with a husband under anesthesia and orders that he needed to eat only soft food. hmmmm.... I still hadn't had a chance to go grocery shopping and life happened. So... I stopped at Sheetz on the way home to buy as many soft items as I could find... this is what my stash looked like 1 milkshake, 2 honeybuns, a bag of jello cubes, and a cup of donut holes. I can only imagine what the cashier must have been thinking. That initial stash got us through the afternoon, but then what to feed him for dinner? He was asking for mashed potatoes, and everything he'd been through that day I really wanted to be able to give him whatever sounded good. But no potatoes unless and went and dug them out of the garden, in the pouring rain. Believe me I considered it, but then I found some leftover potatoes that I had boiled a few nights ago and we hadn't finished.. I was in luck. I mashed them skins on added some warm milk and butter and heated and we had beautiful tasty mashed potatoes. But then yesterday passed and I still couldn't leave him to go grocery shopping. No milk now for 3 days. We were desperate!
So I finally got to go grocery shopping today and just as I was checking out the power went out in the grocery store, my groceries were loaded in the buggy in my reusable bags I swipe my card to pay and whammo ... powers out. I'm thinking there is no way I can go home without these groceries, I at least need the Advil! The manager was very sweet and let me go home with the groceries and we agreed I stop back by when the power was restored to settle up. Thank goodness!
So this is what I've learned. Why not keep our pantry stocked with at least basic sick day foods. Most of us probably keep Gatorade or something similar for the stomach flu but what about strep throat, or unexpected oral surgery, where eating is difficult? I started thinking about a list... this is what ours might look like:
Applesauce
pudding
Jello
chicken noodle soup
tomato soup
instant mashed potatoes / or mashed potatoes made ahead and frozen
yogurt
makings for milkshakes and smoothies (frozen is easiest)
soft cheeses
I wonder what you might add?
Friday, July 17, 2009
Snow in July!
I figured out a good reason to clean out your freezer .... to make it snow in July! Last night David brought home a new mixer for me and we needed to make room for it. So out went the freezer to the garage. I had spent the day vacuum sealing berries in the freezer, so it was organized and easy to unpack. Once we had it in the garage we decided to scrape the ice that had built up over the last few years, with a small hammer and an ice scrapper. It wasn't a lot or a very tedious job, but we felt like we should scrape what little was there while it was empty. We ended up with a mop bucket half full of "snow"! We had a very funny moment when Jessica came out to the garage and put her hand in the bucket, David said "DON'T EAT IT!!" in a very panicked tone. We both looked at him like he was crazy and laughed and I said "DON'T EAT IT??? what would make you think of eating it?" He said "Well, that's the first thing I would have done when I was little..." I laughed a little and went back to wiping down the freezer. A few minutes later, Ryan bounded out to the garage and saw the "snow" and the next second I turned around he had a huge piece of snow in his mouth! David and I both yelled at the same time "DON'T EAT IT!" David turned to me and said "SEE?!!! I guess it's a boy thing", and we all laughed so hard , I thought I would cry. It was one of my favorite moments of our family. I'll remember that story when I'm 99 and telling our great grand children.
Luckily Ryan didn't get sick and we decided to save the "snow" in the freezer for a really hot summer afternoon to have a snowball fight!
Luckily Ryan didn't get sick and we decided to save the "snow" in the freezer for a really hot summer afternoon to have a snowball fight!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Summer's Bounty
We spent the first part of the day today working out in the garden. We've been having some problems with crows sharing our blueberries, so we put bird netting over our bushes to help discourage them. After finishing up we decided to dig up some of our potatoes to enjoy tonight for dinner. This is our bounty, our beautiful Easter egg colored potatoes and some small onions that we will saute. We also picked some big fluffy leaves of kale to have with our potatoes. A few weeks ago a friend from church gave me a great recipe for salt potatoes ...Put potatoes (any kind or color, I like a variety!) in a pot and cover with water. Add 1 cup of salt and boil until fork tender, then drain. Place on a plate and slice. Dip in fresh melted garlic butter and enjoy!!
We love this recipe... give it a try for a fresh way to enjoy those summer potatoes. This is really fun with the tiny new potatoes that you can dip and eat whole!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Searching for Pearls
After a long break from blogging, I decided to start again as summer arrives. Our schedule is slower now with our first homeschool year finished and another year of softball and baseball finished. As all those things were wrapping up we headed off for the beach for a week to unwind have fun in the sun sand and surf. This morning Jessica and I went "looking for pearls"... or seashells, but because we are girls we think it's more fun to look for pearls. As we were walking and talking next to the ocean Jessica said "Mommy is that a pearl?!!" Upon closer inspection it wasn't a pearl, but a shell where a pearl had grown and forced an indentation in the shell. As we kept walking I began thinking about our morning together. Walking along exploring, enjoying the ocean, laughing, hugging... and the Lord reminded me that the real gift was the time we had to spend together making memories. So we will keep "searching for pearls" knowing that if we never find a real pearl tossed up on the sea...we have "found" something far more precious.
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