Cooking day

Today's the day!  It's cooking day!

I remember talking with a friend several years ago about the many jobs we do as mamas.  You know, like maid, chef, chauffeur, accountant, counselor, logistics, transportation, purchasing, nanny, assistant, communication coordinator, nurse.  My friend asked me which of the jobs is my favorite.  I think she actually asked which one I would do if I could only do one, but same dif.  I don't remember which one she said, but I said chef.

Even at the time, it surprised me a little bit that I said I would want to cook.  I mean, I agonize over those meal plans every week.  It's excruciating.  And cleaning up is a drag (I do remember prefacing my chef preference by saying, "as long as I don't have to clean up..." I guess I was planning to have staff for that). The logistics of cooking sometimes seem overwhelming--planning what to cook and making sure all of the ingredients are available (I guess I was planning to have staff for that, too)--but it's true: I love the process of taking separate ingredients, some most of which don't taste good by themselves, and combining them into something delicious and satisfying.  It's magical.  And that's probably why baking seemed as necessary as breathing a couple of months ago.

So yes.  It's cooking day.  You know already that there will be salsa today.  The tomatoes are thawing as we speak I type.  The first order of business was to get the machines working.

But then I realized that if I started the bread machine right then, the dough within would need attention when I wasn't around to give it.

Yeah.  Cooking day, interrupted by a darn orthodontist appointment.  Where's the chauffeur/transportation coordinator/health assistant when I need her?  Also, in the absence of all those, where's the logistics person to tell me that today is not the ideal day for a cooking day?

So I got one of the machines working and the other loaded, and then I decided to tell you about it.  Blogging used to be my very favorite method of procrastination (but that's a story for another day).

On the agenda today: buns, bacon ranch chicken, salsa, biscuits and gravy, and snickerdoodles.  If I'm not completely done by then, I might do muffins, too.

I know you're probably not having a cooking day today.  But whatever you're up to, I hope it's as satisfying as my day will be.

See ya later.

It's Salsa Time

 Hello, friends.

As you (may or may not) know, I'm growing roma tomatoes in the garden this year.  I wanted to grow paste (as opposed to slicing) tomatoes because they're supposedly better for canning, both because they are more meaty/less juicy, and because they tend to produce one big crop all at once rather than continuing to produce all summer long.  Which is what you want for canning.  I was hoping for Amish paste tomatoes, because, well, I like the name, and, um, really no other reason, but the only paste tomato that was available as starts at my garden center was roma.

Well, that one big crop thing isn't happening in the way that it seems to me one-big-crop should.  I feel like it should happen that I am able to pick all of the tomatoes in one day, and then be done.  Instead, they're dribbling in.  Faster than a slicing tomato would, yes, but not one-big-crop fast.  

A week or so ago, a storm decided to get the harvest started.  I did not agree that some of the tomatoes the storm harvested were ripe, but the storm didn't consult me (how rude).  The ones that weren't as ripe went into a paper bag, along with an apple (and then later, a pear, which became known as the tomato pear, but that's a story for another day), on my counter, and I cored and scored the rest and stuck them in the freezer for later.  I am assured by the internet at large that this is an easy and perfectly legitimate way to both store tomatoes until I'm ready to use them, and peel the tomatoes.  No blanching for me this year (I hope).

Anyway, the romas are ripening and now I've accumulated enough ripe tomatoes, through a combination of storm-harvest-and-ripen-in-a-paper-bag and actual harvesting-ripe-tomatoes-and-storing-them-in-the-freezer to make a batch of salsa.  Yay!  This is a very good thing, because we opened our second to last jar of salsa a couple of weeks ago.

In other roma tomato news, the blight has begun.  I think this is probably late blight. Because it's late in the season.  But I haven't taken the time to look it up.  Because honestly, who cares at this point?  It's here, it's affecting my tomatoes, and it's a race between blight and me to see who gets the best harvest.  Luckily for me, I have a secret weapon--that paper bag sitting on the counter with an apple (and a pear) in it.  I would say that I think I'm going to win this one, but I don't want to seem overconfident.

In other tomato news, the volunteer grape tomato plants--I've found five now--and the sun sweet cherry tomato sucker that I stuck in the ground earlier this year have set fruit are big enough that they require staking to avoid sprawling all over the ground like a teenager sprawling on the couch after a hard night of ... sleeping.  The volunteer plants are looking so much better than the on-purpose plants that I'm wondering how I can get all volunteer plants next year.  Maybe if I offer them a stipend?  The volunteers are extending the cherry tomato season, which is always a good thing.

So yeah.  Salsa is happening soon.  Stay tuned, my friends.

Menu plan for the week of August 3

Did you notice school supplies going on sale the first week of July?  It happens every year, and most years, I'm ready for it.  It seems awfully early, but school does start in early August for some people, so it's actually not all that early.  

But this year was something else.  I was so not in school supply buying mode at the beginning of July.  It hadn't even occurred to me that we would need supplies for this coming school year, because it felt as if this coming school year wasn't going to happen.  At the beginning of July, it felt like nothing normal was ever going to happen.

Now, at the beginning of August, I still kind of can't believe the school year is going to happen.  I mean, I know the school district is making plans to open, but it just seems so impossible and strange.

I did manage to snap out of my stupor long enough to assess our personal school supply situation and order the things we were lacking (except sanitizing wipes.  Do they really expect us to be able to find sanitizing wipes right now?).  Bubby's supplies are sitting in a box all ready for him, and I feel like we probably have enough other stuff for whatever the high school teachers are going to require.

It still feels surreal.

What does not feel surreal is that people around here continue to want to eat.  So I will continue to feed them.

Here's what's on the menu this week.

Supper:

• Beef stroganoff, applesauce, green beans
• Tacos
• Fajita baked chicken, rice and cauliflower rice
• Bowtie pasta with Italian sausage and cream sauce, broccoli
• Pizza, salad
• Hamburgers, buns, chips, raw veggies
• Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, grilled veggie

Other:

• Blueberry muffins
• Big mac salad
• Hard boiled eggs

Menu plan for the week of July 27

Seems like just a couple of days ago that I was remarking on the end of June feeling like it should be closer to the end of July.  And now it is the end of July.  Huh.  Time seems more warped than usual this year.

We've recently learned more information about how our school district is expecting school to go this fall, as well as high and middle school sports info.  Neither is what I wanted, but it is so good to at least know what the plan is.  Yes, I know the plan could, and probably will, change at some point, but I feel so much better now that I can mentally prepare for the decision makers' best guess scenario.

Uncertainty is hard.  Which is probably why I depend on menu planning so much.  I know the plan could change, but at least there is a plan.

And now, I shall share it with you.  Here's what's on the menu this week:

Supper:

• Meat sauce, spaghetti, garlic bread, broccoli
• Tacos
• Cheesy mini burgers, rice, green beans
• Pasties (from the freezer.  Fake pigs in blankets for the pasty-haters), corn
• Hamburgers, buns, chips, raw veggies
• Hot dogs or brats, buns, jello, grilled veggie
• Grilled bone-in chicken breast, garlic toast, salad

Other:

I don't know.  I didn't know last week, either, and I spent two and a half days in the kitchen, so...

Menu plan for the week of July 20

It's hot, y'all.  Luckily, we have a pool.  Not so luckily, we discovered in June that our pump doesn't work.  Know what else we discovered?  Pool pumps are not available right now.  At least not for a reasonable price.  So we're making the kids filter and circulate the water.

Apparently, our pool is not fun.  I mean, it was super fun when the people were shorter, but now? Not so much.  In an effort to make it more fun, I went in search of pool floats (because we also discovered that none of the floats would hold air anymore).  Guess what I found?  One float, in the four stores that I visited.  Yup.  Four stores.  One float.

Anyway, now we have a giant inflatable popsicle in our pool.  Just one.  It's almost as tall as me.  I'm not sure if the pool is more fun now, but at least now the kiddos have something to jump on to.  Or attempt to jump on to, at least.

So yeah.  That's how our summer is going.  How about you?

Here's what's on the menu this week.

Supper:

• Pesto basil chicken bake, pasta, mixed veggies
• Tacos
• Spaghetti, green beans, garlic toast
• Inside out chicken pot pie, mirror glaze cake
• Stromboli
• Hamburgers, buns, chips, carrots
• Grilled ranch chicken skewers, salad, croutons

Other:

I don't know.  Probably muffins?  Maybe cookies?

Croutons: a "recipe"

Three things happened.

One. Bubby kept saying we should make croutons (and by we, he meant me).
Two. We ran out of croutons.
Three. No one ever wants to eat the heels of the bread, which means they leave the heels in the bread bag.  Forever.  Until I deal with them.  And by deal with them, I mean throw them away.

So I made croutons out of the bread heels, and now I will never have to feel guilty about throwing them away again.

If you also don't want to have to feel guilty about throwing away bread, whether it's the heels, stale French bread that your fantasy self urged you to buy, or that lone leftover hot dog bun, read on.

Croutons

To print this recipe, click here.

Ingredients

• Bread, cut into cubes 
• Olive oil 
• Spices and/or seasonings (I used Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (the parchment paper really isn't necessary, but it sounds fancy, right?)
2. Place cubed bread (I used 5 bread heels, that weighed 4.5 ounces) in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil (I used about 1.5 T).  Add seasonings (I used 1 t Italian seasoning, 1/2 t garlic powder, 1/4 t salt, and 1/8 t pepper).  Toss to coat.
3. Pour bread mixture onto prepared pan in a single layer.
4. Bake, flipping once (honestly, have you ever tried to flip a bunch of little things on a baking sheet?  How to you keep track of which ones have been flipped?  Just give it a good stir.  It'll be fine), until crispy--the amount of time will depend on the size of your cubes (mine took about 12 minutes).
5. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Menu plan for the week of July 13

Another week; another menu blog post.  I hope you find it inspiring.

Supper:

• Pancakes, fruit
• Nachos with guacamole
• Meatballs, mashed potatoes, corn
• Italian sausage sheet pan meal, roasted cauliflower
• Pesto basil chicken bake, pasta, mixed veggies
• Hamburgers, buns, chips, carrots
• Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, grilled broccoli

Other:

• Beef stew
• Chicken Mexican soup
• Peanut butter
• Low carb peanut butter cookies
• purple pesto

Small Batch Strawberry Freezer Jam (no pectin)

Hubby likes strawberry jam.  He keeps saying that we should make some.  And by we, he means me.  He's the only person in our house who eats it, though, so if I made a regular size batch of strawberry jam, it would literally take years for our family to eat it all.  And by our family, I mean Hubby.

The reason it's hard to make a smaller batch of jam or jelly is because most of the recipes call for pectin.  And pectin is most readily available in premeasured boxes.  And the recipes are written to use a whole box.

So I've been on the hunt for a small batch strawberry jam recipe, and I finally got to try it last week.  This recipe takes advantage of the strawberries' natural pectin to thicken the jam, which means you can make as little or as much as you like.

Small Batch Strawberry Freezer Jam

Inspired by this recipe

Makes about 1 cup of jam--recipe can be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled. 

To print this recipe, click here.

1 c. crushed strawberries (measure after crushing)
2 T. bottled lemon juice
3/4 c. sugar

• In a small saucepan, mix together strawberries, lemon juice and sugar.
• Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for 20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.  It thicken as it cools, so don't think you have to cook it until it's the consistency of jam.  It should coat the spoon, though.
• Remove from heat; skim foam if desired. Pour into storage container(s).  If you're freezing the jam, use a jar with straight shoulders, and leave half an inch of headspace to allow for expansion.  Allow to cool; cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Let me know if you try it!

Menu plan for the week of July 6

I made sun tea.

I mean, for some of you, that's kind of a normal thing.  You like tea and you've made sun tea because it's easy and delicious.

For me, it's kind of strange to make sun tea.  I don't like tea.  Not really.  I want to like tea, but I don't.  So why would I made sun tea?

It's...complicated.  Like I said, I want to like tea for a few reasons, and it seems like tea is an acquired taste.  Which means that I can train myself to like it.  And over the past couple of weeks, I have said to myself several times, "self.  You should drink some tea.  You're not getting any closer to your ultimate goal of liking tea by ...not... drinking tea."  But then myself replies (in a whiny voice), "but it's so. Darn. Hot."

Yeah.  It is so. Darn. Hot, with no relief in sight.  So I made sun tea.  Mind you, I haven't actually consumed any of it yet. 

Here's what's on the menu this week:

Supper:

• Kielbasa and cauliflower stir fry/Kielbasa and potatoes, broccoli
• Tacos
• Smothered jalapeno popper chicken, mixed veggies
• Chicken Caesar pasta salad
• Pizza, salad
• Hot dogs/brats, buns, chips, carrots
• Grilled steak, Brussels sprouts, applesauce

Other:

• Crunchy granola bars
• Freezer sandwiches (turkey and possibly peanut butter and jelly)
• Biscuits and gravy 

Garden Update

Time for another garden update?  Yes.  Sure.  Let's do this.

 Flowers on the sugar snap peas.  After I took the picture, I noticed set fruit.  Yay!

 Set fruit on the roma tomatoes.  I haven't staked these yet, but they're still compact and standing strong.

 Coming soon to the zucchini plants: flowers.

 I think these are beets?  Maybe?  We also definitely have at least 3 volunteer tomato plants in this bed.  Who knows if they'll have enough time to produce, but I'm leaving them in the ground to do their thing.

 The corn is definitely knee high.

 A few of the purple basil plants are variegated.  So fun.  And nope, I haven't thinned these yet.  Haven't been able to bring myself to do it.  Soon.  Maybe. Also, who's eating my basil?  Hmph.

 Look at those radish seed pods.  So fun.  I tasted one, but I don't think it was quite ready yet.

Here's our first carrot.  They're supposed to be about 4" long when fully mature, which is why this particular variety is good for growing in containers.

That's it for now.  What's growing in your neck of the woods?

Shepherd's Pie: a Recipe

Shepherd's pie was the first food that AKD ate with us as a family, and it remains one of his favorites.  I like it, too, because it's pretty easy, and a complete meal in and of itself.  While technically, shepherd's pie is made with lamb, and the same recipe made with ground beef is cottage pie, to me and my family this will always be shepherd's pie.

I'm a little surprised that I haven't shared the recipe with you before now, but better late than never, right?  Also, AKD's going to be responsible for feeding himself starting in September, and he wanted the recipe.  In honor of AKD, I've included the ingredient amounts in the instructions.  So. much. easier.

Here it is:

Shepherd's Pie

(makes ...a lot... we like leftovers of this meal, but it's super easy to cut the recipe in half or freeze half)

(to print this recipe, click here)

2 lb ground beef (I use 93% lean)
1/2 c. flour, or proportional amount of another thickening agent
2 c. beef broth (or 2 c. water with 2 beef bullion cubes dissolved in it)
Two 16 oz bags of frozen mixed veggies (or equivalent amount of cooked veggies of choice)
About 4 c. mashed potatoes (I loosely follow this recipe, but instant works, too)

• In a large skillet, brown 2 lb ground beef.  Do not drain.
• Add 1/2 c. flour or equivalent amount of another thickening agent.  Stir to distribute, and cook over medium high heat, stirring, for a minute or so.
• Slowly add 2 c beef broth, stirring constantly until combined.  Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally until gravy is thick.
• Add two 16 oz bags of mixed veggies and stir to combine.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
• Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan, 2.5 qt dish, or two 8x8" pans.
• Top with about 4 c. mashed potatoes.  Some folks put the potatoes just around the outside edge, but we spread them over the entire surface.  
• Bake at 400°F for 40-45 min or until potatoes start to brown.  This almost always bubbles out of the pan, so place a large baking sheet under to catch drips.
• To freeze, prepare as listed, including baking.  Let cool completely, then wrap well and freeze.  To bake, cover with foil and reheat at 350°F for an hour, or until hot.

Menu plan for the week of June 29

Finally (finally), it's going to be July this week.  Anybody else feel like this summer is lasting for.ev.er?  Like seriously, it feels like it should be nearing the end of July, rather than the end of June.  I'm surprised every time I look at the calendar.  The fact that we're in for a solid two weeks (maybe longer) of decidedly late July/early August weather makes it seem even more so like we should be closer to the end of summer.

Although honestly, this year, the end of summer might just mean cooler weather, rather than the usual kids heading back to school.  I definitely do not envy our school district's decision makers right now (or ever, really).  No matter what they decide, there will be a significant portion of stakeholders not happy about it, and there will definitely be Monday morning quarterbacking on this decision.

Anyway, here's what we're eating this week.

Supper:

• Shepherd's pie, rolls, applesauce
• Nachos, guacamole, taco toppings
• Lemon butter steak and broccoli (probably with additional broccoli on the side)
• Kielbasa and cauliflower stir fry/Kielbasa and potatoes, mixed veggies
• Grilled pork chops, grilled Brussels sprouts, garlic toast
• Grilled bone-in chicken breast (if I can find any--I haven't actually seen any in stores in at least 6 months, maybe longer), corn on the cob, watermelon
• Hamburgers, buns, chips, carrots

Other:

• Italian cauliflower salad
• Italian pasta salad
• Muffins
• Biscuits and gravy (I'm hoping this stores and reheats well--I'm getting a little weary of my usual meal prep egg bake)

I'm done! 20 for 2020 update

Well hello there, friends.  Guess what?  Yup.  You read that right: I finished my 20 goals for 2020.  Now I can sit around doing nothing for the rest of the year.  

Kidding!  Mostly kidding.  

Here are the two goals I completed in June, bringing my total to 20 for the year:

1. Remove a popcorn ceiling.  Well, I did it.  It wasn't necessarily difficult...  OK, it actually was difficult.  Most of the removal went well and was easy, but there were lingering bits, and I found it impossible to actually get the ceiling smooth enough to paint.  Let's just say, I understand now why popcorn ceilings are so popular with builders--they cover up all imperfections, meaning the builder doesn't have to put much effort into finishing the ceilings.  I gave it a valiant effort.  There was so much sanding, and so much dust.  I couldn't see, and I was sweating in my dust mask.  But I did it.  And I am never going to do that again.
   
2. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  Oops.  I guess this goal is not fully complete, because the hooks have yet to be installed (pending painting of the bathroom), but I did make the shelf/towel hooks.  Finally.  I think this goal was on my to-be-completed list every month this year.  I was so intimidated for some reason.  Or maybe I wasn't really sure what I wanted.  Or possibly (probably) both.  It seems fitting that this would be the last goal completed for the year.

Here is the list of previously completed 2020 goals:

1. Make sauerkraut. 
2. Grow an amaryllis. 
3. Drink tea.
4. Make cloth napkins for more seasons.
5. Track something.
6. Buy a statement necklace.
7. Make a box to sit on our toilet tank.  
8. Make a particular wooden sign for a friend.
   
9. Make mayonnaise.
10. Make maple syrup.  
11. Watch the Star Wars movies in timeline order.  
12. Start seeds indoors. 
13. Make a reusable bag out of a chicken feed sack.  
14. Finish or decide to abandon that darn puzzle.  
15. Make a cast iron skillet handle cover.  
16. Plant something new. 
17. Wash outside windows.  
18. Log 50 activities on Strava.  

So.  Now what?  Well, I have a handy list of potential goals to choose from for next year and/or a handy list of projects to do if I feel like doing a project.  Conveniently, there are 21 of them, but I suspect some of the rest of these will still be completed this year.

Here is the handy list of remaining possible activities:

1. Crochet a cowl
2. Crochet a poncho
3. Make reusable food wrap
4. Make a pretty apron (I would have to find a pattern I like first.  Also, a sewing machine)
5. Make lip balm
6. Make soap
7. Make a console table/thing to keep the step stool from dinging our wall.
8. Make a frame for the B
9. String art
10. Install pallet wall
11. Install gallery wall (we had a gallery wall, but there was just something off about it.  I was never happy with it.  Too symmetrical, maybe.  Or the frames were too close together.  Or maybe too big or too small in scale for the wall.  So I'm afraid to try again, lest I not like it again.  I think a gallery would look better on the wall we're intending to palletisize (absolutely a word), but I don't know if I will want to cover up so much of that wall).
12. Light an outdoor tree (there is a sledding hill between our house and the tree I want to light, so I'm not sure it'll work.  Either there will be an extension cord that we will have to avoid while sledding, or the lights will have to be solar or battery powered, which, of course, would drive up the cost of this project).
13. Go to a movie by myself (not sure what's coming in 2020, but there's bound to be at least one movie that I want to see, but no one else in my family wants to see).
14. Hang the W (MC made a beautiful wooden W sign that needs hanging).
15. Repair moose pillows
16. Can apple pie filling
17. Grow and can pickles
18. Obtain a working sewing machine
19. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I have the hooks.  I think I probably have the wood (I need to go through the stack of pallet wood to see if I have a combination of sizes that will add up to the size I want).  It needs to happen.  Now it's just a question of how long it'll take for me to actually take action.
20. New floor.  It's time.  It's past time.
21. Stencil a welcome mat.  Because our storm door opens outward and is very close to the porch surface, we won't be able to actually use the welcome mat at our own house, but I really want to try the technique.

Menu plan for the week of June 22

Today, as I'm writing this, I am tired.  I find myself longing for "before."  Before I had to wear a mask to leave the house.  Before I carried hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes in my car.  Before I had to wonder and worry about whether my kiddos will be able to meet their new teachers in person in the fall, and whether there will be a football season for my rising senior.  Before everyone was home all the time.  Before I was hearing daily updates of how many are sick, how many are hospitalized, how many have died.

It hasn't been all bad, not by a long shot.  There are definitely positive things that have come from pandemic and staying at home.  But it's not all good, either.

I suppose, with time, the longing for before will fade.  I remember feeling like life would never return to normal after the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001, and it hasn't.  But it has, too.  It's a new normal--the post 9/11 normal.  I am longing for before, but will settle for post pandemic normal.  Because I kind of have to.

One thing that remains the same, regardless, is that we have to eat.  So here's what's on the menu this week:

Supper:

• Sheet pan chicken fajitas, tortillas, guacamole
• Walking tacos
• Beef stroganoff, mixed veggies, applesauce
• Italian sausage sheet pan meal
• Pizza, salad
• Hot dogs or brats, buns, grilled asparagus
• Grilled chicken, salad, carrots

Other:

• Italian cauliflower salad
• Cookies?

(Not) Empty Garden Tour

Welp.  I was planning on doing an empty garden tour for y'all this year.

That didn't happen.

So, here's how it looks this week.

 I have eight Roma tomato plants in one of the raised beds.  I was wanting Amish paste tomatoes, but couldn't find them.  Romas are determinate tomatoes, which means they will pretty much produce all of their fruits at one time, which makes them perfect for canning.  I'm not pruning these tomatoes this year, hoping for more fruits.

 Here are some sugar snap peas.  Only about half of them came up, so I replanted, and I don't think any of the replanted peas came up.  Hmph.  We love sugar snap peas around here, so I'm kind of sad about that.  No blooms yet.

I planted some Sakata's Sweet Melon (above) and Otome Watermelon (below) near the trellis on which the peas are growing.  The peas will probably be done by the time these melons begin climbing.

 I've got four strong zucchini plants growing.  I'm planning on eating some fresh, of course, and also freezing spirals.

 I've got about 10 sweet corn plants, and I planted an asparagus bean in each of the six corn squares in my raised bed.

I think I probably have beets growing in one of the raised beds.  Having never grown beets before, I'm not sure what they're supposed to look like, and only one of three squares in which I planted beet seeds actually has anything in it.  I also planted a dozen beet seeds in an egg carton inside, partly so that I could have more beets, and partly so I would know what they looked like, and none of them have germinated.  Hmph.  Well, hopefully we'll get at least one beet to show for my efforts.

The strawberries continue, and the little green worms are back.  I've been hand-picking them and feeding the worms to the chickens, and I think I must have started earlier in the infestation this year, because now I'm only finding about 5-10 worms per day on the strawberries.  Unfortunately, most of the strawberry leaves are damaged, and I think that's why the strawberries we're getting are small.  I've eaten a few strawberries, but most of them are going to the chickens this year.

 The carrot jungle is doing really well.  I really should do some more thinning, but it's really difficult, emotionally, to pull perfectly good food plants out of the ground.

 We have two cherry tomato plants this year.  Well, maybe three.  This one is a grape tomato.  It's flowering (obviously), and there are even a few tiny fruits.  Because cherry tomatoes are indeterminate, I am pruning these plants to encourage strong fruits on the main stem.  The other cherry tomato we're growing is a yellow cherry called Sun Sugar.  This is where the maybe three plants comes in.  I was pruning the sun sugar and came across a bigger sucker, so I cut it off and stuck it in the dirt.  While it's by no means fail-proof, I've had success propagating tomatoes this way in the past.

 One of the fun things about ordering seeds from Baker Creek is that they include a free surprise seed in each order.  This year, I received a packet of purple basil seeds.  So fun!  I definitely need to thin these as well, and will be adding the thinned seedlings to a salad.

And finally, here's what the radishes are looking like.  Whoops.  They bolted, so I guess we're letting them go to seed.  In my research, I discovered that the seed pods are edible, in the same way that pea or bean seed pods are edible, so my plan is to add a few to salads, and possibly save some seeds as well.

That's it for now.  Are you growing a garden?  How's it going?

Menu plan for the week of June 15

This never happens, y'all.  Our bananas almost never get to the point of becoming more ripe than the ripeness at which people want to eat them.  In fact, I buy bananas every Tuesday, and they're usually gone by Saturday.  But the little person, who is the most prolific banana eater, got braces, and decided it was too hard to eat bananas.

I don't know.  I feel like bananas are pretty easy to eat, even with braces.

Regardless, we have four bananas that are almost too ripe for anything other than baking or smoothies.  Whatever shall we do?

In other banana news, the big person bought a bread machine, because he's an adult and adults do things like buy bread machines.  And one of the suggested recipes in the owner's manual (which may or may not be the correct manual* for his particular machine, because he never got around to comparing model numbers) is banana bread.  But it's not banana bread as I have always made it, as a quick bread.  It is banana bread with yeast.  It's a yeast banana bread.  Have you ever heard of a banana bread recipe that uses yeast?  So strange, but also, why not?  People use mashed bananas to substitute for fat in baking sometimes, so...

Anyway, AKD decided that was the recipe he wanted to make to test the machine and it turned out really good.  It looked good.  It smelled good.  It tasted good.  He was so tickled, and has proceeded to eat it for just about every meal since.

Here's what's on the menu this week:

Supper:

• Grilled chicken with Caesar salad
• Tacos, taco toppings
• Pasties (from the freezer), beef gravy
• Leftovers
• Hamburgers, buns, chips, corn or carrots
• Grilled pizza, salad
• Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, grilled green veggie

Other:

• Something with bananas

* He bought the bread machine used, and found the manual online.

Taco pasta salad: a recipe

I've been making batch lunches for my two oldest boys, since everyone's home, and leftovers don't last very long around here.  And they're hungry!  Everyone insists on eating every 5 hours or so.  A couple of weeks ago, I made taco pasta salad, and they liked it.  This salad can be served warm or cold, and it's a fun salad to bring on a picnic.  Here's the recipe.

Taco Pasta Salad

(adapted from here)

1 lb pasta (I used rotini, but use what you like)
1/3 c. olive oil
3 T. lime juice
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 lb meat, taco seasoned (I used ground beef, but feel free to use what you like)
1 (15-oz.) can corn, drained
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c. halved or quartered cherry tomatoes
1 c. diced bell peppers (I used yellow and red)
1 c. sliced black olives
2 c. shredded or cubed cheese (optional--I used sharp cheddar)
4 green onions, thinly sliced and/or 1/2 medium red onion, diced

1. Cook and drain the pasta according to package directions.  Cool if you're serving this salad cold.  Place pasta in a large serving bowl.
2. Whisk together 1/3 c. olive oil, 3 T lime juice, and 1/2 t. ground cumin.  Pour over the pasta and toss to coat.  Alternately, use about 1/2 c. of your favorite prepared salad dressing.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the pasta and gently stir (I left out the cheese since one of the people who were going to eat this don't like cheese.  The other person just added some to his portions)

The Taco Pasta Salad will keep for about a week in the fridge.  Individual portions can be heated up if desired.

Let me know what you think if you try it!

Quarantine Quotes

*Disclaimer: what our family is experiencing is not quarantine.  It's just that Quarantine Quotes sounds a little snappier than Safer-at-Home Quotes, so that's what we're going with.

We decided fairly early on in our state's Safer at Home initiative that we needed to keep track of the funny things we said.  And now, since school is done for the summer, and most of us who are spending time at home would have been spending time at home anyway at this point, we're done keeping track.  We needed to immortalize them somehow, and saving pieces of paper makes me itchy, so I'm putting them out into the world electronically, for all time.

For your reading pleasure, I present: Bluefield Family Quarantine (Safer at Home) Quotes.

• I could lick the condensation; maybe it tastes like chicken. --Bubby
• I'm older than the Hubble Space Telescope. --Bubby
• You couldn't bike away from an armadillo.  --Bubby
• That's why we need a complicated latch: so the octopii can't get in. --Scarlet
• Cody's not going to lay an egg. --Scarlet
• Scarlet: Did you change your underwear? Unnamed child: I didn't know you wanted it done right away!
• I usually like throwing up. --Sawblock
• I need a ... grass chunk. --AKD
• How am I supposed to go poop without making loud noises? --Bubby
• I can get naked all day long! --Sawblock
• I can store more hair on my head. --Bubby
• Are you ok? Avocados are dangerous! --Scarlet
• He's preheating his rock! --AKD
• Sawblock: Ooooh.  I just thought of an idea. Scarlet: Does it involve chickens?  AKD: And a zipline!
• Don't point the strawberry at your mother's eye. --Sawblock
• Is she ... touching ... the avocados? --Bubby
• No.  If you walk up to somebody, they're going to notice you have three legs. --Bubby
• Do our shoes like alcohol? --Bubby

I feel like most of these definitely fall under the you-had-to-be-there category, but anyway, hope you got at least one chuckle out of our list.

Menu plan for the week of June 8

Hi, friends.  Our kids' last day of school would have been this week.  It's a bit surreal.  So I guess now we can move on with our "summer."  It is what it is, and we'll get through, but it's just so strange. 

In the meantime, there is food.  Here's what's on the menu this week:

Supper:

• Crock pot creamy Italian chicken & cauliflower, Brussels sprouts
• Mac-n-cheese with smoked sausage, broccoli
• French toast, sausage patties, fruit
• Hot dogs, buns, carrots, chips
• Hamburgers, buns, grilled broccoli, salad
• Sunday night stew, mashed potatoes
• Leftovers

Other:

• Again, not sure, but there will probably be something.

18/20 for 2020

Yup.  Just two more goals to go for 2020.  And then maybe I'll get a head-start on 2021.

Just kidding.  That's probably cheating.

*****

Here are the goals I accomplished this month:

1. Plant something new.  Imagine a fruit that looks like, and has the texture of, a granny smith apple, but tastes like honeydew.  That's what I'm growing!  I'm also growing a new-to-me (and smaller, which increases the likelihood that it'll mature during our growing season) variety of watermelon, and yellow beets (along with a lot of things I have grown before).  The beets are already in the ground, and the melons will be there soon.

   

   These are my Sakata sweet melon starts!  They should be going in the ground soon.

2. Wash outside windows.  Oh, this was a saga, as my friend KT can attest (everyone needs a friend who will listen patiently to the latest window washing update).  But it is done for the year.  Feel free to judge me for only washing windows once a year.  Because actually, it's more like once every five years.
3. Log 50 activities on Strava.  This happened by accident.  When I envisioned the goal, I was thinking 50 outdoor activities.  But I joined some Strava challenges that were specifically for indoor, solo activities, and it just happened--I logged over 50 activities in Strava.  I'll take it.

*****

Here are the previously accomplished 2020 goals:

1. Make sauerkraut. 
2. Grow an amaryllis. 
3. Drink tea.
4. Make cloth napkins for more seasons.
5. Track something.
6. Buy a statement necklace.
7. Make a box to sit on our toilet tank.  
8. Make a particular wooden sign for a friend.
   
9. Make mayonnaise.
10. Make maple syrup.  
11. Watch the Star Wars movies in timeline order.  
12. Start seeds indoors. 
13. Make a reusable bag out of a chicken feed sack.  
14. Finish or decide to abandon that darn puzzle.  
15. Make a cast iron skillet handle cover.  

*****

Here is a goal I plan to work on in June (ha! I am determined to make this happen this year, but at this point, it's kind of a joke to put it on the to-be-worked-on-this-month list, since it's been there so many times):

• Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom. I actually cut the wood, y'all, which means this project is moving right along!  At turtle speed!  The current hold-up is I can't wrap my mind around how to clamp my shiny new pocket hole jig to the wood so I can drill the pocket holes safely.  I need to just do it, because my mind is not going to be able to picture the correct configuration--I'll need to try something, then adjust accordingly.  The chick-brooding is coming to an end, which means soon I'll be able to clean, take down wallpaper, repair walls, and paint, which means that sometime the shelf can go up.

I only have one goal that I plan to work on in June, because if I work on more than one, I'll be done for the year.  Which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing?  But it seems wrong.

*****

Here is the list of remaining potential goals:

1. Crochet a cowl
2. Crochet a poncho
3. Make reusable food wrap
4. Make a pretty apron (I would have to find a pattern I like first.  Also, a sewing machine)
5. Make lip balm
6. Make soap
7. Make a console table/thing to keep the step stool from dinging our wall.
8. Make a frame for the B
9. String art
10. Install pallet wall
11. Install gallery wall (we had a gallery wall, but there was just something off about it.  I was never happy with it.  Too symmetrical, maybe.  Or the frames were too close together.  Or maybe too big or too small in scale for the wall.  So I'm afraid to try again, lest I not like it again.  I think a gallery would look better on the wall we're intending to palletisize (absolutely a word), but I don't know if I will want to cover up so much of that wall).
12. Light an outdoor tree (there is a sledding hill between our house and the tree I want to light, so I'm not sure it'll work.  Either there will be an extension cord that we will have to avoid while sledding, or the lights will have to be solar or battery powered, which, of course, would drive up the cost of this project).
13. Go to a movie by myself (not sure what's coming in 2020, but there's bound to be at least one movie that I want to see, but no one else in my family wants to see).
14. Hang the W (MC made a beautiful wooden W sign that needs hanging).
15. Repair moose pillows
16. Can apple pie filling
17. Remove a popcorn ceiling
18. Grow and can pickles
19. Obtain a working sewing machine
20. Make and install towel hooks/shelf in the bathroom.  I have the hooks.  I think I probably have the wood (I need to go through the stack of pallet wood to see if I have a combination of sizes that will add up to the size I want).  It needs to happen.  Now it's just a question of how long it'll take for me to actually take action.
21. New floor.  It's time.  It's past time.
22. Stencil a welcome mat.  Because our storm door opens outward and is very close to the porch surface, we won't be able to actually use the welcome mat at our own house, but I really want to try the technique.

Menu plan for the week of June 1

I'm a day late on the menu plan, friends, because, well, you know why.  If not, go ahead and click "previous post" down there at the bottom of the page.  I'll wait.

School ended, without a lot of fanfare.  I did make an ice cream dessert to mark the occasion, but even with a special dessert, the school year just sort of fizzled out into nothing.  I've never really enjoyed the end of the school year celebrations because I don't like being around a lot of people, and also, I don't like being hot, but this way, with no fanfare, just seemed a little not-right.

And now what do we do, right?  I mean, most of the attractions that the kids and I would normally visit during the summer are closed right now.  State parks, which we enjoy, are open, but super crowded.  I feel like the summer is going to proceed in the same way that the end of the school year did.  Day will blur into day, and the summer will eventually fizzle to an end.

And now, please join me in praying that in-person school can happen in some sort of way in the fall.  I mean, yes, it would be nice for these people who are here all the time to leave sometimes so they're not constantly a part of my mental load, but even more than that, I just can't even imagine how difficult it would be for a teacher to teach students online that they've never met in person.  Or for students to learn from a teacher they've never met.  It would be so very strange.

I know that this pandemic is not going away anytime soon, but I am fervently hoping for enough of a reprieve to at least get the school year underway in person.

Anyway, here's this week's menu plan.

Supper:

• Pasties (hot dogs for the pasty haters), broccoli
• Grilled chicken skewers with Caesar salad
• Omelets, fresh fruit (hope I can find a good watermelon this week--it'll be my fourth try)
• Crock pot sausage with peppers and onions
• Take-out
• Pizza, salad
• Hot dogs or brats, buns, grilled veggie, chips

Other:

I don't know.  Probably something for lunch.  Maybe some cookies or muffins.

No title

I have never claimed to be perfect, friends.  I have hesitated to speak my heart on this matter, because I wasn't sure I'd be able to put the right words together.  But I realized that I have to try. 

As violence creeps closer to my side of the river, I am fearful.  I am afraid that the riots will reach my town, and I'm not really reassured by the mayor putting the National Guard on stand-by or the sheriff's department saying they have extra precautions in place and are cooperating with their law enforcement partners.  I do not like this feeling that I may not be safe.  I'm supposed to be doing a job over there today, close to where there has been some property damage, where stores have been closed and boarded up as a precaution, and I don't really want to.  Why should I put myself into potential danger?

But y'all, I am a white woman living in rural America.  I have the privilege of living in a place where I feel safe, almost all the time.  I have the privilege of not putting myself in unnecessary danger.  I have the privilege of knowing that my local police force won't assume that I'm up to no good.  I can go for a walk around the "block," and not be afraid.  For me, being home equals being safe, and to be honest, it is unlikely that the riots will come here.

For so many, being afraid is a daily occurrence.  For black men living in America, feeling unsafe is a way of life.  Black men don't feel safe in their own neighborhoods, friends.  They don't feel safe jogging around the block.  They don't feel safe walking down the street.  They don't feel safe at the dog park.  Even if they happen to live in an affluent suburb or in a "safe" rural area.  For them, it isn't even a question of whether they will be in danger--it is a question of when.  And unfortunately, they're afraid, for good reason, of those who are sworn to protect them.

That is just wrong.

We are broken, friends.  I don't see a solution, but I do see hope.  Let's keep talking about this.  Let's listen to each other, because it seems to me, relationship is the only way through.  Let's be good humans.  Let's love each other.  Fiercely. 

One more thing: don't mistake violence for protest.  The rioters don't care about George Floyd or institutional racism--all they care about is stirring up trouble, and they are doing an excellent job at that.  The rioters are making racial disparity in Minneapolis worse, by scaring and displacing residents who have nowhere else to go, by burning down grocery stores, by causing public transit to be shut down. 

In this epicenter of the storm, the protesters are peaceful, just wanting to be heard, and stirring up trouble of a different kind.  The protesters are stirring up heart trouble for all of those of us who didn't realize this problem exists, or those of us who have become complacent, or those of us who don't think they can be a part of a solution.  Oppression is only possible if those who are not oppressed won't stand for those who are.