Scattered Sundays
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I truly hope that our post office lobby has a security camera in it because I know I made someone’s day on Thursday. I walked in to check our PO box and grabbed my key out of my safety vest’s pocket (don’t be jealous of my sweet safety vest I wear when I walk).
I saw someone coming in the door, so I went to open it for them and ploop, the key fell out of my hand. It never hit the floor and I couldn’t feel it hit my body.
Right there in the lobby, I start shimmering, shaking, and flopping around trying to get this key out of my tank top. And when I couldn’t find it anywhere, I had to do the obvious and stick my hand down my sports bra.
After a solid 5 minutes of digging around in my own clothes, and sweating because I’m wearing a mask, I find the stupid key back in the pocket of my safety vest. Mocking me like a brass jerk.
Hey, guess what? You all are AMAZING!!!! On Thursday, the Sustainable Cooks family of readers (that’s you!) fully-funded Tarra’s Alinker mobility bike. By 7:48 am Pacific time. Um, hello!
It felt silly to stop spreading joy so early in the day, so we went and finished up the funding for John’s Alinker too! And after that, there were ZERO people left who were requesting funding. All done. Wowser!!
There are a lot of really crappy things happening in the world right now. And a lot of real turds out there. Days like this remind me that we must never stop believing in the collective power of people doing good things.
Four new chickens joined us this week! They are stunning and seem to be holding their own joining our existing flock. They’re pretty large birds, so I think size is part of it.
Also part of it? I think our other girls are just too old to care too much anymore. I feel them. That has been my pandemic parenting motto: “I should care. But do I…?”
Introducing new birds can be precarious. In most cases, we have always kept new chickens isolated for 1-3 days until the older ones get used to their presence. That was the plan with these new ladies. WAS.
After about two hours I went to open the door to the nesting boxes to check for eggs and found one of the newbies chilling in the nesting box with two others. For the recond, we have four nesting boxes, but just like my children, they all want the same one.
The new lady had dug a hole and made her way under the fence to check out the new digs. At that point, I realized it was pointless to keep them apart and just opened the gates and merged the flock. There was a bit of pecking and puffery, but overall it was fine.
Our older girls are trained to go into the coop around 4:30 when we round them up. That’s to keep them safe from the trash pandas. The new girls did NOT get the memo and it took 30 minutes and three of us to round them up. Chicken-related boob sweat was high that first day.
The morning after the first night I went to let them out and was pleasantly surprised to find them all roosting together. So far so good. And the new girls are laying tiny pullet eggs. They’re like the training bras of eggs.
My farm boots are BOGS and they’re THE BEST ever!
To keep with our Star Wars theme I had been planning for months to name one after Lando because I love Lando. But Troy brought them home and I realized that it absolutely would not be appropriate to name mine Lando. Naming an all-black chicken after a Black Star Wars character would have made me a giant ahole.
Instead, I reused a name we gave an (accidental) rooster last summer and named mine Kylo Hen. Bennett named his Shadow, and Jack went cerebral (as he always does) and named his Obsidi-Hen. Troy is TBD with his name.
The friend who raised them for us rounded them up into a big dog crate for transport. By the time it got to our house, it was a hot mess. Bennett and I deep cleaned it before returning it. And by “Bennett and I”, I mean I cleaned it and he sprayed me with a hose like a jerk.
He couldn’t figure out why we were cleaning something that was already dirty when we got it. I explained to him that anytime you borrow something, you always return it in better condition than how you got it. I’m sure my parents had this discussion with me at some point, and it was Bennett’s turn.
It took me an hour and two Mr. Clean Magic Erasers to get that thing cleaned up. I’m sure more animals will be put in it soon, but at least I know that they will remember that the Cook family returns things CLEAN.
The boys planned for a whole summer of sleepovers. They lasted 2 days.
We’re headed to the ocean for a few days this week. We have a free place to stay and bring all the food we need. We keep it low-key and do our social distancing thing.
It means an excessive amount of bike rides (no hills!!!!), kayaking, and the boys playing in the ocean while my butthole puckers so tightly because I’m terrified of them in open water. Good times.
In the Garden This Week
Lots and lots of berries this week! Tomatoes are lovely and being enjoyed with burrata, balsamic (I use Nonna Pia’s – you can find it at Costco), and lots of flaky Maldon salt.
The garlic really really needs to be pulled but it’s been hot and I’m a giant wimp and don’t want to be out where that shiny orb can burn my delicate skin. Actually, I’m just lazy.
We also have yellow squash growing but I’m not 100% on board with it. It was a free start from a farm vendor I buy from, so it’s a mystery squash. It looks like a yellow zucchini but has a HARD exterior. I’m very confused about it.
Housekeeping
Naked Bacon (the name always makes me giggle) is offering free bacon with any order August 7-10th. Their bacon is fantastic and free of nitrates, sugar (Whole30/paleo/Keto compliant), or chemical solutions. Get your free bacon from Naked Bacon here.
What I’m Listening To This Week
Ever wondered what it is like to be a food blogger/freelancer/work from home parent? One of my readers has started a podcast all about freelancing called The Kenza Pod.
And this week’s guest is yours truly! We talk all about the journey to becoming a profitable blogger, the 65,289 mistakes I made along the way, how to deal with jerkfaces, and why blogging can be a wonderful (but challenging) career option for work at home parents.
This is the course I wish I had taken when I was first starting out. I can’t help but think that it wouldn’t have taken me nine years to become profitable had I started out on the right foot.
What I’m Reading This Week
This week I finished The Hate U Give (fantastic!) and watched the movie (so well done. Free on Hulu).
I started Tell Me Who You Are. I’m not 100% sure how I feel about it yet. Because it contains interviews with multiple people and definitions sprinkled throughout, I’m finding it a bit disjointed. But very interesting! You can see all the books I have read in 2020 here.
Reader Spotlight of the Week
Robin left this five-star review on our 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough {Pin this recipe}:
I’ve made your dough recipe 2x now and there was not a slice left either time, even my B-I-L went back for seconds and he almost never does. The crust has that perfect blend of “pull-y-chewy” and”crispy-crusty” and it will now be my go-to crust mix. I lurved it and so did my sister.
On Sustainable Cooks This Week
Air Fryer Biscuits With Green Chile – These Air Fryer Biscuits With Green Chile are a delicious addition to any meal! This easy one-bowl recipe with incredible New Mexico green chile beats boxed mix every time. {Pin this week}
How to Freeze Pesto – Learn all the tips and tricks for Freezing Pesto to save money and prevent food waste. A freezer stash of frozen pesto opens the door to amazing meals packed with flavor. {Pin this week}
Air Fryer French Bread Pizzas – This incredible Air Fryer French Bread Pizza recipe comes together in just minutes with only a few ingredients. Perfect for fast dinners or snacks, they’re even easy enough for kids to make their own. {Pin this recipe}
The Five Most Popular Posts This Week
Yeppers, the Mojito Mocktail was on top again, so let’s take a little look-see at the other top posts of the week.
- Canning Peaches {Pin this tutorial}
- Dill Pickle Relish – because sweet relish is the devil’s condiment. {Pin this tutorial}
- Air Fryer Zucchini Chips! As always, you’ll find non-air fryer baking instructions in the post. {Pin this recipe}
- Parmesan Garlic Rice – happiness in a dish. {Pin this recipe}
- How to Can Pears – welcome to the leaderboard for 2020! I’m shocked pears are ripening in places already. That’s a September/October crop here in Seattle. {Pin this tutorial}
Meal Plan
Monday:: A new recipe that I’ll be publishing soon. It’s SO easy but I need easy that day because I’m canning a bunch of peaches in the afternoon. I don’t really want to, but who wants to can?
Tuesday:: Takeout to support a local small business
Wednesday:: Instant Pot Potato Soup (didn’t happen last week) and salad.
Thursday:: Hot dogs on the fire pit, fries, and salad.
Friday:: Popcorn, leftovers, and movie night.
Saturday:: Takeout to support a local small business
Sunday:: Pasta and salad
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I was talking with a friend of mine and was lamenting the fact of school right now. I said it wasn’t bad that we made it over two months without a quarantine and our littles weren’t actually even exposed, the daycare closed out of an abundance of caution. My son was on a real quarantine due to asymptomatic exposure. She said, “I love your chill attitude about this. How our goalposts have shifted.” A lot of people hate the term “new normal” but we have to live. Just as safely as possible. And I’ve been totally confident until my oldest wiped his nose (allergies) with his flip flop for some unknown reason. I guess his shirt didn’t enter into the equation.
Hi Sarah. I’m wondering if your mystery squash is a butternut, or perhaps a spaghetti squash?
The inside is definitely zucchini-like!
How are you finding the movie the hate u give on Hulu? I looooooved the book and look for the movie constantly and checked the second I read your blog post and it’s not there. Does my Hulu hate me? Do you have fancy Hulu?Â
We have HBO with Hulu, so perhaps it is on that service, AKA “fancy hulu”. 🙂
Your new girls are so beautiful! Love the iridescent black.Â
Aren’t the gorgeous? The boys keep saying “they’re green”!