Scattered Sundays and Meal Plan
It seems like my internal “care about the garden” finally switch went from “meh” to “yeaaaaaaah” this week. I got almost everything for summer planted. Late. Again. But it’s planted and that is what matters the most.
Our homemade strawberry towers are going freaking bonkers and I’m starting to see some blush on a few of the berries. The wild peacocks in our neighborhood were helping themselves the other day, so I’m going to need to add some netting. Or an electric fence.
I feel like the strawberries are on track with where they have been in previous years, but the berries are huge and look so clean. Before when our strawbs were on the ground they were always getting a little grody and the size of the berry was usually odd or misshapen. Please note: odd and misshapen strawberries are still delicious.
When your front yard is your garden, and your garden is your front yard, you want to make it look a nice as possible. Our largest planting area is made from pavers and has always been a source of frustration for me.
When we first moved in there was just one layer of pavers and they were laid all janky-like. I eventually evened out some of the paver stones and added a second layer. It has been on my to-do list (but not my budget) to add another layer for years.
Bennett and I finally got around to this week.
Bennett adds so much value in the garden, let me tell you. Yeesh. It takes about 28 times as long to accomplish anything with a toddler tagging along. But I know it’s important to get him involved and blah, blah, blah.
I asked him to bring me my little blue hand shovel the other day and it was like that scene in Guardians of the Galaxy II when they are trying to get Baby Groot to bring them something. At one point he brought me the ice pack from our milkman porch box.
Regardless, I’m loving how this space looks finally and am looking forward to seeing it filled out and pumping out produce this summer. Do you think there is a produce gym called “Pumping Out Produce”?
Troy also put together some cattle panel tomato cages this week. They are made from the same material as our trellises. We’re trying out two of them this year and may build more next year if they work well. I have a love-hate with traditional tomato cages and our garden storage space is quite small. The cages Troy built this week will at least be easy to store during the offseason.
How is your garden growing this year? Are you planting anything new or exciting? Do you want to come weed mine?
Jack ran for Vice President this week at school. He didn’t make it to round two (appears to be mostly fourth graders who moved on), but he seems really ok with it. He said he was glad he ran and isn’t too bummed. They made posters, he had to write a campaign speech and gave it in front of the whole school. All good learning experiences!
We officially wrapped up our first Whole30 at 11:59 pm on Wednesday. I plan to do a separate “how did it go” post this week, but overall it was a fun experiment and I’m glad we did it. I’m hoping to have other readers who participated weigh in on my post later this week. I’m so excited to hear about your experiences!
Preschool field trip this week. Clearly, he hated being on a farm.
Something (work related) super exciting happened this week. I can’t tell you what it is yet (I’m a giant tease) but let’s just say I called Troy screaming in my car.
I have decided that I don’t understand the appeal of Looney Tunes. I was never into them as a kid, and I am further perplexed by adults being so enamored by them that they wear Looney Tunes clothing and get tattoos.
I recently saw an adult wearing what I’m sure was an expensive leather Looney Tunes letterman jacket. Clearly, I am missing something. Can anyone fill me in?
I don’t have the original source for this, but it’s not mine!
A preview of what is coming up in the next couple of weeks: summer drinks, simple homemade jam recipes (that’s my jam. Sorry. Not sorry for that pun), side dishes that keep you cool and take less than 15 minutes, and a delicious and healthy weeknight dinner.
As I finalize my editorial calendar for the next few months I would love to hear what sort of posts you’re interested in reading about!
Here is what I have observed about you, my dear readers. This is based on post traffic, comments, Facebook and Instagram activity, and the rate posts get saved to Pinterest.
- You love healthy and straight-forward main dishes that can be repurposed (like How to Make a Perfect Roasted Chicken Every Time) or are one pot/pan (like Crispy Oven-Fried Gnocchi With Veggies).
- You have a soft spot in your heart for side dishes that put a spin on a classic (like Air Fryer French Fries With Roasted Garlic and Parmesan).
- You crave lifestyle posts where I share how I have solved problems but accept and admit I don’t have all the answers (like Linen Closet Organization and The Cleaning Schedule of a Working Mom).
- Purely silly posts are your jam (like Confessions or What’s in My Fridge).
- But this is what I don’t understand. You don’t engage with dessert recipes. At all. I mean, what is wrong with you? Hee hee. In the last three months, only one dessert post (Homemade Creamy Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream) cracked the top 30 and it is way up there at #28.
- You rarely react to gardening posts, and yet How to Plant Garlic has received 2,000 more pageviews than the #2 post (Real Food Healthy Sweet Tea) in the last three months.
Tell me your secrets my friends because at times you have me stumped!
On Sustainable Cooks This Week
How to Make Chicken Stock – Three Ways – The flavor and health benefits of homemade chicken stock can’t be beat! Once you learn how to make Homemade Chicken Stock, you’ll be hooked for life. This easy to follow tutorial teaches you three different ways to make delicious, nourishing and affordable chicken stock at home.
Make Ahead Smoky Pea Salad With Greek Yogurt – A delicious make-ahead veggie side dish that uses frozen peas, this Smoky Pea Salad couldn’t be any easier! Packed full of veggies and flavor, this salad is also Whole30 compliant, dairy-free, Paleo, and gluten-free. Make it ahead of a BBQ or party and watch your guests gobble it up.
The Five Most Popular Posts This Week
- Real Food Healthy Sweet Tea
- The Cleaning Schedule of a Working Mom
- How to Make Chicken Stock – Three Ways
- Make Ahead Smoky Pea Salad With Greek Yogurt
- DIY Insulated Blackout Curtains
Meal Plan
Monday:: Crispy Oven-Fried Gnocchi and Veggies, and salad.
Tuesday:: Asparagus Ravioli with Roasted Garlicky Cream Sauce, and a giant salad. This ravioli is back in stock with Smith Brother’s Farms and is a seasonal item so we’re taking advantage.
Wednesday:: New recipe I’m working on!
Thursday:: Perfect Roasted chicken, roasted asparagus, and Air Fryer French Fries.
Friday:: Popcorn, leftovers, and movie night
Saturday:: T-Roy’s birthday! In-laws are keeping our brats overnight and we’re going to dinner and to see Deadpool 2 (II?).
Sunday:: Family dinner
What We Bought This Week
Costco: $133.18 (the milk was for our church. They provide a free meal to low-income families at least once a month and we like to donate when there is a need for supplies).
Have you ever tried Spindrift? I’ve seen it around and it is expensive! Costco had 30 cans for $11.49 so I got some to try. It’s pretty good. Jack and I prefer the raspberry lemon to the other flavors.
Fred Meyer: $43.19
Farmer’s Market: $18 (picture doesn’t show the two giant apples that were eaten at the market)
What are you having this week?
 Can you expand on how Troy built the tomato cages?  I need help!  My tomatoes are growing too big/ quickly that they are starting to fall over.  The traditional cages are just not cutting it.  What did Troy use along the sides?  Pvc pipe?
Bree, they’re these things: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-3-in-x-1-3-in-x-5-ft-14-Gauge-Powder-Coated-Steel-Fence-U-Post-901155EB/205960883 and then cattle panel fencing cut in half.
Are you on Instagram? If you follow me and send me a DM I can send you a video of them.
Just started reading your blog. It’s great reading about all the goings on in your house, kitchen, and garden. I plant a garden every year. Tried growing angle loofa once for eating, pretty good but the vines try to take over the world. The new thing we’re trying this year is ground cherries.
Phuong, I have never heard of angle loofa before so I googled it. I know those as bath/shower scrubbers but I didn’t realize you could also eat them. How absolutely interesting!
Ha! I don’t really cook. I don’t garden. I started reading your blog years ago because you are so funny. Cussing Christian! Like me:)
I love reading your confession posts the most. Also, any stories you have about trying to live life with patience, kindness, etc, but also letting us know it is extremely hard sometimes. Keeping it real. I know there are people out there that think if you walk with the Lord you should be ( or think you are ) practically perfect in every way. You show what it means to be a Christian. Love above all else. But certainly not perfect. We are always growing. Thank you for that.
Cussing Christians unite! I figure if we’re meant to be perfect then we would have been made that way. Trying to hide flaws or make it seem like our shit doesn’t stink just exacerbates that issue.
I don’t garden so I’m mainly here for the food and the honest opinions 🙂 I really want to hear your overnight oats recipe that you said tasted like cookie dough, you said it was coming but I did a search a couple of days ago and couldn’t find it.
I tend to look for dinner recipes that are quick and easy so desserts don’t really fall into that. I admit to skipping over the instant pot stuff because I don’t have one and my slow cooker doesn’t have a saute function so I only use it for things that don’t need prepping. I have zero space in my kitchen so anything that requires special gadgets get a skip from me (air fryer, ice cream maker even kilner/canning jars). I’m also unimaginative so I like whole meals rather than sides recipes.
I do occasionally fall foul of ingredients not being available/named differently in the UK (this is another reason for not going for dessert recipes). I only just realised that the sausage in the gnocchi recipe isn’t raw sausage like I’ve been using (still tastes good).
Yes, the oats recipe will be coming soon. We couldn’t have oats on the whole30 and I wasn’t going to make the recipe just for photos and then toss it.
If you like the name/idea of the instant pot/air fryer/slow cooker recipes take a closer look because I always include conventional ways to make them even without the appliance. I never saute food before I put it in the slow cooker so no worries about not having that function on yours.
Another UK reader likes to tease me about the different names for things in our different countries. She likes to say “separated by a common language”.
Hmm . . . I think for me personally, the dessert posts on your site often don’t pull me in because 1) they sometimes skew toward being overly complicated (like the mint chocolate chip ice cream that calls for steeping fresh mint leaves, for example–homemade ice cream is already a ton of work so it’s rarely made at my house and adding in other steps like washing mint and then steeping it and straining comes across as overly fussy), or 2) the dessert recipes seem to me to be “overly healthy”, such as 100% whole wheat flour items or vegan/dairy free desserts. Â If I’m going to take the time to make a dessert, I’m okay with it having typical, full-fat ingredients so it tastes like a decadent treat. Â Just my two cents, though!
Thanks for the feedback Dori! Making ice cream is such a pain in the ass and I’m so used to all the extra steps in all recipes I’ve ever made. I guess I expect ice cream to be cumbersome for the most part.