I'm rereading a wonderful book now called Mitten Strings For God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry. It's a quiet and inspirational book and I think will make a great new mother present. The author is Katrina Kenison. I'm also reading a book called Cape Wind which is really interesting and is about wind power.
Today is beautiful. I'm going to get some laundry done and hang it out on the line.
The end of my day, the beginning of my night (the witching hour between 5-6 pm) sounds something like,
" Pick up the elephant, and the ball, and the soccer ball, and the firetruck guy. Pick up the kitty and the sign and the don't pull the phone jack out of the wall, no you can't have more cake, stop, that's the vacuum plug, pick up the dry spaghetti on the rug, take it easy, just a minute I'm doing something, there's a net on the porch that needs to go back in the basket, no we're not going outside again because you're in your jammies, well, daddy shouldn't have let you use that Sharpie when you know darn well it's a grown -up pen, a few more things guys and we're done, who is ready to read a book, I've got to put your brother to bed, watch out for the vacuum cord, easy on the bookshelf, time to brush your teeth, settle down."
Ahhh, quiet. As hectic as all this sounds, I still actually enjoy it because I know in 20 years I probably won't be asking anyone to pick up the "firetruck guy."
Last night we went to our state park to see if we could see the seals. The seals are still out at low tide. We didn't see them
but it was still a wonderful evening here to be in such a serene, spiritual place. The water and the salt marshes are so peaceful. The birds call as the sun sets over the water. I don't see anyone but the sunlight profile of my little son who is grabbing at the phragmites as they sway in the wind. Such a wonderful memory.
Today began quitely and peacefully as well. As my post before indicates, I made cinnamon sugar doughnuts with my kids. Washed a load of laundry and hung it on the line to dry. Walked to the beach and played in the stream until the kids were thouroughly soaked and needed to head home to change. Played t-ball and kickball in the yard. Set out suntea on the big rock in front of our house. Tonight dinner's easy, salad, tuna sandwiches, and suntea. Doughnuts for dessert!
It's very warm here and the daffodils are looking like they want to come inside so I'll cut a bouquet and put some in the bathroom, some on the porch, and some in my bedroom.
I am also in the process of reclaiming my home! I have way too many kids' toys around the house and it's stressful!!
I'm currently re-reading Home Comforts and wow, do I have lot of work to do. She suggests all of these extra sheets and such. I have one set for each bed and 2 extra pillowcases!
I've been trying to organize my house and my kids are really wild with their toys lately. So I'm boxing up a bunch of things and putting them in the attic. Including the crayons! They dump the box of crayons all over the floor each day. Dump the scrabbe, dump the matchbox cars. It's all headed upstairs! They are going to have to use their imaginations, the outdoors, the library.
The clean-up aside, today's been a really nice day!!
Okay, this is not a health recipe by any means, but can doughnuts really be a health food anyway and they're sooo yummy! This is an easy, make with kids, recipe, not an old fashioned fried doughnut recipe, but my kids really enjoyed making them, they look really pretty, and are tasty too!
Easy, Kid-Friendly (to make), cinnamon sugar doughnuts
1 tube refridgerator biscuits (I used generic Jumbo butter flavored ones)
A pan of cinnamon sugar mixed together
A little 1/2 - 1inch cookie cutter to remove the center (I used a shape from my kids's shape sorter game)
Dip the doughnuts on both sides in the cinnamon sugar mixture, punch out the center with the cookie cutter - to make it look like a doughnut and then you get doughnut holes too. Place onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. You can dip them again in the cinnamon sugar once they're hot out of the oven!
My son and I just made this and it's delicious! It's more of a cake than a bread an it's on the menu for dessert tonight. Strawberries are in season next month for us, but I had some from last spring still in my freezer. You can use fresh or frozen. Makes two loaves.
Fresh Strawberry Bread Recipe
3 cups strawberries, mashed and drained, reserve 1/2 cup of the juice
1 1/4 C Oil
4 eggs, beaten
Mix all this together and add to the dry ingredients which are:
3 C flour
2 C Sugar
1 1/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
Mix everything together well and pour into two loaf pans coated w/cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
Enjoy!
I haven't been able to post a narrative as to what I've been up to today. I've posted twice today, first a finance post (always a hot topic!) and second a recipe (cooking's always on my mind!) But, I haven't been able to post too much lately. In part, because I've been busy, but also because my computer doesn't always work!
Well, first, I'm pretty tired I have to say because yesterday I planted 10 4 foot tall privet trees at my house. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while and we finally sprung for it! We ended up getting a pretty good price for the privet (35.00 dollars apiece) and we planted ten so the total was around $365.00. We have waited three years to put them in. We are finishing a row that was removed before we moved in and they serve as a natural fence. Our neighbors next door rent their house out during the academic year to differnt families and we really needed the privacy. I'm so happy with the results!
I've also been working in the garden. Transplanted hostas, roses, trimmed, raked, edged, weeded etc. I've been spring cleaning too. Need to do some more clutter clearing in the bathroom and closets. Need to clean the vents and wash the windows too. I also need to wash parts of the outside of the house and clean the gutters! I still have some painting to do on the windowsills and baseboards and areas that are high in traffic. Yesterday we hooked up the hose, put up the clothesline, and caulked the tub. We still need to patch part of the drywall in the bathroom where the water escapes from the shower.
I've been able to stick with my cheap budget so far. I've changed a few items. I bought extra milk and 4.00$ worth of cheese since it was on sale and shredded that in my food processor, made mac n cheese and froze the rest. I was shocked when I went to a more expensive grocery store (for me it's called Stop n Shop) and they were selling shredded mozzerella cheese in a large bag for almost 8 bucks! I get more than that amount for half the price if I shred the cheese at home and less preservatives and better taste.
I had to buy some cleaning odds n ends this month which is why I'm trying to keep food costs low.
We planted our lettuce outside on Monday and it's looking good. Can't wait to eat homegrown lettuce again! Things here haven't bloomed yet. We have daffodils and the trees are on their way, but they are still bare limbed.
I've been reading some great books with my kids: One Morning In Maine by Robert McCloskey and Lentil also by him, although that wasn't as much of a hit. Stega Nona by Tomie dePaola We got Runaway Bunny from the library by Margaret Wise Brown and they loved that book!
I just read a wonderfully inspiring book called A Wing and A Prayer by Katharine Jefferts Schori who is the Bishop of the USA Episcopal church. It's a collection of sermons and it's powerful, thought provoking reading.
I read the book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and really didn't like it. I wouldn't have read it if it hadn't been a choice of a bookgroup. I wonder if anyone else on this board read it. I didn't think it was particularily thought provoking. I found A Wing and A Prayer to be really great, however!
Heading to bed early tonight to rest my weary body and read a bit.
Delicious Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Spray a 9 x 13" pyrex pan with cooking spray and cook in a 350 oven for about 25 minutes.
1 stick of butter
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream butter and sugars, add sour cream, add eggs, mix up dry ingredients separately and then add to the wet. Add vanilla at the end. Pour into prepared pan.
Crumb topping: Mix all of these together and when mixed, sprinkle on top of batter, swirl through batter with a fork.
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 t. cinnamon
Glaze:
1 cup of powdered sugar mixed with 2 T. melted butter and a few drops of vanilla and enough milk to make a nice, smooth glaze. Once cake has cooked and cooled a bit, por on top. Enjoy! MMMMMmmmm!
It's warm enough here to start hanging clothes out on the line again. I was shocked to find out that I'm paying about 18 cents per kilowatt hour!! So I figured out that I'm saving (conservatively) 27.00 - 30.00 a month by hanging out my clothes. So that's about $270.00 a year, but probably more.
I have to look into the cost of running my dishwasher. I do this once a day, but sometimes on the weekend, twice.
I'm working to get some energy costs down. The thing is we have electric heat and that's on 6 months of the year. We are conservative with it, but it raises our monthly energy costs because we are on the budget plan which rations out the year in equal portions.
I'm working on a system and lists that I'll post so I can get a handle on saving some time, money, and energy. I will try to do that tonight.
I'm working even harder these days to trim my grocery budget. I spent $49.78 at the grocery store for this week's worth of groceries. This menu is for 10 days and it's using just about everything I have in my freezer. So that's about $5.00 a day. Here's the menu:
Wednesday : Stewed Tomatoes and Lentils, Aveline's Pot o' Rice, Salad, Rice Krispies Treats and tea
Thursday: Tuna sandwiches, carrot and celery sticks, fruit salad
Friday: Pizza, carrot sticks and dip, Rice Krispies Treats
Saturday: Red Beans and Rice, salad, iced carob brownies
Sunday: Roast Chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, apple crisp
Monday: Stewed Tomatoes and Lentils (from the freezer) homemade soft breadsticks, salad, fruit
Tuesday: Black bean and sweet potato burritos, leftovers
Wednesday: Red Beans and Rice (from the freezer) leftover frozen vegetables, iced carob brownies (from the freezer)
Thursday: Eggplant cutlets with brown rice, celery sticks, fruit
Friday: Chicken noodle soup (chicken from roast chicken that's been frozen) and oatmeal muffins, any leftovers
This recipe is very easy, very inexpensive, and very healthy! Don't know if anyone's tried their hand at making risotto, but it's very easy and you can add a variety of flavors once you have the process down.
It is made with a short, pearly grain called Arborio rice and you can get it most places. I buy mine at Trader Joe's because it's cheapest for me there. This recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups so you'll have plenty leftover if you buy TJ's box.
Butternut Squash Risotto
1 1/2 C minced onion, 4 T butter, 1 T minced garlic, 2 1/2 cups arborio rice, 2 large packages butternut squash cooked according to directions and mashed with a fork, 12 cups of chicken stock warmed on the stove, 3/4 cup parmesean cheese, pepper to taste.
In a large stockpot add:
1 1/2 cups minced onion
4 T butter
Sautee for about 10 min.
Add a scant T of minced garlic from a jar and cook for a minute
Add the rice and cook for a minute - this toasts the grain and makes it delicious!
Add the butternut squash
(2 large packages of frozen butternut squah prepared and mashed with a fork)
Cook, stirring for about 2 minutes.
Next ladle 1/2 C at a time, chicken broth (heated gently on the stove) to the stockpot. Continue doing this and stirring until all liquid is dissolved. You will need to set your kitchen timer for about 30 minutes. Once complete the dish will be creamy and the grain smooth, not hard at all. After this happens, remove from the heat and add the 3/4 C of parmesean cheese. Add pepper and a bit more cheese to taste and serve hot!
I am feeling pretty tired this evening since I was out in the garden cleaning, bagging leaves, edging! I have some new ideas for my back garden this year and I think it will be nice and shady if I reorient the focal point. I'm working on a back door kitchen garden that already has a lot in it, but I want to fill it with more useful herbs that will come back each year. It felt good to work outside again and I'd like to be out there still, but I have to go slowly so I don't hurt my back again. The compost is looking really good and some of my little plants are starting to surface. I have some little violets that most people consider weeds coming up under the privet hedges and they are very cheerful! March seemed like a very long, gray month and it's nice to see some green.
With the news talking about how the economy is suffering I feel compelled to write a bit about saving money. The truth is, saving money is best done on the small things. A few years ago I was determined to save as much money from my salary as I could. My salary was only $20,000.00 a year as a nursery school teacher. I was in school too and took lots of little odds jobs and just pretended I was volunteering those days and put the money in the bank. I would add 30 dollars here 15 there, I'd plan to spend 50 at the grocery store, spend 41 and put 9 in the bank. I did this religiously and you know what, it paid off! In only 7 months I had saved over five thousand dollars and this was from a twenty thousand dollar salary. It really does work. Now, saving money in this way is easy if you're single or you don't have kids, but bring kids into the mix and it's just not that simple. Over the years I have relied on very simple measures and implemented those measures consistently and have really seen results. First off, I watch my energy consumption. Lights, heat, air conditioning, all off if not necessary, cool water to wash clothes, stacking errands or making due without until I have to go out in order to save gas. Cutting entertainment, free movies, books, CDs from the library, taking advantage of discounts, gift cards, gift certificates. Inviting friends for dinner instead of going out. Taking the kids to a playground for free instead of a pay for playspace. We can get free museum passes at our library too! Next there's buying things like clothes, shoes, haircuts, etc. We buy our clothes seldom and either buy discounted stuff at Wal-mart or invest in something that will last until it wears out. I buy a lot of our clothes at thrift stores too. My kids only get one good pair of shoes at a time and they wear them until they don't fit. Haircuts for me are two times a year, for my kids I do the haircuts, and my husband has to go every few months. Groceries is a big one! Research the sales and buy only what you need. I usually spend about 100 every time I go to the store because it's just the nature of what things cost, but I don't go every week. In fact, I shopped this week and only expect to go back for milk until the end of the month. It's amazing how many meals you can make with 100 dollars worth of groceries: healthy, creative, and delicious! I rely on soups and breads, beans and rice for the bulk of my meals. This winter I used a lot of root vegetables - potatoes, carrots, etc. and I use virtually no meat. This is a big money saver. We've also really cut down on coffee consumption - plain old Lipton tea is much more cost effective! Processed foods are a big no no - for health and budget reasons and we don't buy soda.
My favorite Easter children's book is The Country Bunny and the Golden Shoes:
Today we're boiling the eggs to dye and decorating our Easter Tree outside.
I had a spring-like urge the other day to spruce up my house. I scrubbed our screened in porch which is either my most, or, least favorite room in the house. It's my most favorite when it's beautiful and spring-like outside, or, on cool, summer evenings when the air feels perfect. It's my least favorite in the dead of winter when it becomes neglected; a mud room of sorts with discarded coats, tracked in mud, and leaves, or, in the thick humidity of summer when it smells damp and feels muggy. Luckily, it's more nice than not, and with the addition of electric heat, I can warm it up on milder days and enjoy the views. So, this week I cleaned it, set up a stereo, moved a comfy, padded rocking chair out there, a few pieces of old furniture and my kids' toys. They have loved playing and listening to music in their new "playroom!" I was also inspired to check out my local thrift store, and, although I can't say I could afford it, I spent 85 bucks on a beautiful antique tablecloth from India, a new (at one point very expensive) duvet cover and a new maple chest of drawers for my porch that I am planning to paint and use to store my art supplies and odds and ends that aid me on my creative pursuits. Things like ribbon, fabric, dress patterns, pens, and scissors I don't like to share. I've since been storing my art supplies in a mesh bag and in part of our inacessable attic so it hasn't helped me get much done. Now, I hope to accomplish more. All for now.
http://www.mercybythesea.org/CourseCatalog/classView.asp?id=708
Above are two links to interesting organizations near me. First is the link to the Equinox Festival and there are some very interesting classes listed on herbs and making pine needle baskets. You may just be able to learn a bit from viewing the site and writing down any sort of craft or class that sounds interesting and look for books at your library on these topics. The second is the link to The Mercy Center which is in Madison, CT. It's a former Abbey and was once owned by Yale University and has two of every tree planted on the grounds that is native to Connecticut. The site is located right on the water and is famous for its many speakers, events, and spiritual retreats. It's a very spiritual place and I think anyone would really enjoy looking around the website. Enjoy!
This is a super easy, super eye cream that you make with the basic cold cream (see my last post.)
All you do is take 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil or break open 3-4 capsules and mix it into 2 Tablespoons of the basic cold cream.