Meal plan for August 19th – 25th
Um, first off. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
Thank you for reading, and commenting, and emailing, and forwarding. THANK YOU!
Why my heartfelt appreciation?
Yesterday I hit 6 million pageviews.
Wow, I’m so in awe and love you for tuning in, even when I have nothing to talk about, but still have a sick desire to ramble on.
So, thank you. Again.
In other news, my son might be a psychopath. He is obsessed with the idea of Cupid right now and hates the idea that someone (something?) might make him love a gross and stupid girl. This was our conversation yesterday morning:
Jack: Mommy, can I have a real bow and arrow some day?
Me: Perhaps. Why?
Jack: Can it be an arrow with a sticky end, like Cupid?
Me: Um, what?
Jack: Ok, and instead of spreading love, I want to spread destruction.
I’m going to hide all the lotion and all the baskets in my house, lest he starts digging a hole in our backyard. Note to self: don’t buy a small white dog.
He used to be so sweet and innocent…
The time of the year has come when my home is invaded with fruit flies. It’s freaking nasty, and I can’t walk in to the kitchen without them swarming my face. My tried and trusted fruit fly trap (glass of water with pear vinegar in there, and a few drops of liquid dishsoap) is working hard, and I’m emptying two glasses a day full of death. Barf. I just downloaded the photos in my camera, and found that Troy had taken some artistic shots of the flies suspended in the liquid. It’s actually quite pretty in an artful way, but extremely disgusting.
No, I’m not going to post the photo.
Yes, you’re welcome.
Instead, here is what I picked from the garden on Friday:
The second crop of strawberries is ripening now, and they’re delicious! Much sweeter than the June crop, and since I increased our strawberry plant patch by 10, we’re getting a lovely haul. The raspberries are ripening their second crop as well, and Jack and I are eying them hungrily. Jack loves raspberries more than me, but I have a good 2.5 feet on the kid, and the fall crop tends to grow up high. Suck it kid.
Chicken update: we’ve now had two days in the last week where we’ve had TWO eggs in the nesting box! Whoa, production is really picking up…
In poor me/first world problems news, our first ever family camping trip which was scheduled to take place on Friday, has been cancelled. I’m so sad. Thank GOD we didn’t tell Jack, because homeboy would have been so disappointed. Troy got called for a last minute test at 7:30 am Saturday morning, over an hour away. Blerg.
If you’re not familiar with the process of trying to become a fire fighter, let me break it down for you. It’s quite similar to joining the mob or attempting to open up a unicorn meat ranch.
Step 1: Kiss your family good bye, because you’ll never see them again.
Step 2: Pay out the nose and ass for random tests. But wait, there’s more! Each department requires a different test, and you have to pay for every single one. And then, you have to take a physical fitness test that also costs money. Oh, and every department also requires a different physical fitness test, so you have to take multiple ones every six months. And to sweeten the pot, even if you do well on one of the written tests (which you can’t until you’ve taken multiple ones because they’re written to allow you to improve only if you have taken the same test over and over), the testing site won’t release your scores if your physical test scores are more than 5 months old.
Step 3: Finally get an interview, but realize that they only picked you because they need to fill an interview schedule, because surprise, they already had someone in mind for the position.
Step 4: Come home and have your wife give you the side eye and tell you for the hundredth time that “you know love, fire fighter interviewers are called “oral boards” for a reason. Clearly you’re not getting the hint, which is why you’re not getting the job”.
Multiple the four steps above by 3.5 years, and you too will know how to become a fire fighter!
Meal plan time! Reminder, I only plan dinners. My breakfast of choice has changed, and I’m now obsessed with homemade Greek yogurt with tons of cut up fresh fruit, and a homemade granola bar crumbled on top. It’s delicious and keeps me completely full and satisfied until lunch. Lunches are always leftovers. We rarely eat dessert during the week, and our dinner drink of choice is water kefir soda.
Monday:: I’m going for an eclectic mix of “what I need to use up in the fridge and the garden” and making bruschetta and quiche. Random? Yes. Delicious? Yes.
Tuesday:: Trader Joes hippy hot dogs, coleslaw, and grilled zukes with Walla Wall sweet onions.
Wednesday:: Tomato soup (trying to use up last year’s jars before this year’s crop is coming out of my ears) and more bruschetta.
Thursday:: Whole wheat pasta with diced garlicky zucchini, tomato, onion, and eggplant. Recipe courtesy of Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Cookbook. I’ve had this book for years, after my aunt gave it to me for Christmas after she found me reading her copy from cover to cover.
Friday:: Popcorn dinner. Yes, seriously we eat popcorn for dinner. It’s popcorn, leftovers, cheese slices, fruit, and cut up veggies. Everyone gets as much as they want, and no one leaves hungry. I adore Fridays because it is the easiest night of the week for making everyone happy!
Saturday:: Our little niece is turning one, and the party is late in the day, so we’re chowing down there!
Sunday:: Family dinner at my parent’s. I’ll either bring apps or dessert.
This week I spent $3.50 on raw milk, $9.50 at the fruit stand, $8 ish at the local butcher (the bill was much higher, but I was actually purchasing additional chicken for my coworker), and I have no idea how much at the grocery store, as I’m going today after church. There is little on my list, but we’ll see.
What is on your menu plan this week?
Have you tried the paper funnel/jar/cider vinegar/chunk o’ banana setup? I’m sure it’s on Pinterest somewhere – worked like a charm for us. Several days before I had to dump and start over with two in the kitchen. I used glass juice carafes instead since I have the manual dexterity of a 4 yr old and making a funnel to fit any of the jars I had proved to be embarrassingly difficult. 🙂
What we’re using is working great, it’s just the sheer number of them that is overwhelming us!
We finally put all the fruit in the fridge, and they’re finally gone. Phew!
Congrats on the page views! And congrats(?) on the disturbing sentiments from Jack. Keep talking about all that funny shit – that’s why your blog is so popular!
Wow, fruit flies are early this year. We used to have them big time at the hotel I work in, especially when people insist we work outside. Ugh, impossible to get rid of. They come from nowhere.
I had to laugh outloud, though. Artistic photos of glasses full of death? Wonder where the little boy is picking up that destructive side… 😉
You are awesome. Was wondering if you could tell me were in the Seattle area you get raw milk? My sister just moved over there and she is thinking she would like to try it.
Email me her location and how far she’d like to travel, and I’ll let you know if my location makes sense for her. We’re pretty far outside the metro area.
She is in Tukwila. And she willing to drive a fair distance. Thank you for your help.
My five-year-old Daddy’s Girl was talking with my husband about heaven. She told him that if he died, “I’d put my face in the water so I could come with you.” So yes, a little sweet and a LOT DISTURBING. They do it to freak us out. I hope.
My normal meal plans are shot all to hell for the next couple of weeks because my in-laws are coming to visit from England. She doesn’t eat poultry or fish. He’s not happy about vegetarian and doesn’t like pasta. At home, she cooks them two different meals pretty much all the time. No way am I working all day and then cooking a bunch of different things. So I end up doing things like making vegetarian curry, cooking chicken on the side and then adding it after I serve hers. It’s nonstop fun.
Monday: Chicken fajitas (because they’re not coming until Tuesday)
Tuesday: We’ll eat out on the way home from the airport
Wednesday: Chili con carne
Thursday: Gnocchi (chicken cooked on the side so MIL can have hers first and a baked potato cooked for FIL since he doesn’t eat pasta) (Non. Stop. Fun.)
Friday: The boys are going out of town for a bike race, so I’m making homemade pizza for a girls only pizza party.
Saturday: I’m thinking broccoli quiche since FIL will still be out of town.
Sunday: Burgers? I don’t know.
Whoa, pretty intense!
Your in-law’s food preferences sound like hell!
Love the comment about being taller and getting more raspberries. Made me laugh.
I am so tempted to try to grow some raspberries and blueberries in some sort of container in my parking spot. I know blueberries do well in containers, but I am not so sure about raspberries.
No clue what I am making this week. I have ground beef and ground lamb thawing, and a ton of yummy veggies from our share.
You are so funny!!! I’m sure your little Jack is just going through a stage….but glad you are taking precautions!! I really like your Popcorn Dinners and may start doing that myself! Sometimes we have ‘Every man for himself’ where we just eat what we can find! Love those, too!