Week 39, Day 7

Breakfast: bagels and cream cheese and canned apricots

Lunch: the girls had ham and lettuce sandwiches.  Now they also all like mustard, so that is nice - it used to be that one, I think Phyllis?, didn't.  Cress had half a CSA sweet pepper, a CSA apple and pickles.  Dai had celery with peanut butter for dipping, half a CSA sweet pepper and a CSA apple. Phyllis had pickles, carrots and a CSA apple and the leftovers from last night.  Jason to a PBJ and carrot sticks - three carrots worth (his usual) and two CSA apples.

After school snack: bananas and corn dogs

Dinner: a crock pot pot roast.  Usually I do a simpler one on the stove top but because I couldn't be home to babysit it I tried this.  The meat was great - although not the cut I had been expecting but the gravy had a little much seasoning for my taste - so that you couldn't really enjoy the carrot flavor, for example.

Prep ahead: I made gringa beans.  Dai was typing when it started and she said, 'I love that smell."  I asked if she knew what it was and she did not.  I don't think of her as particularly loving bean burritos, but I guess the smell is still comforting and familiar.  She doesn't hate burritos, she just does not love them.  I had used up our wheat bread from the freezer so I am starting more of that, too. The yeast didn't seem to activate as  fully but it came out fine.

Week 39, Day 6

A total side effect of keeping this is the seeming nearness of the end of the year - 52 weeks when we are about done with 39!

Breakfast: canned apricots and bagels with cream cheese.  I really need to get eggs and milk.

Lunch: Jason made me a ham sandwich on sliced sourdough from the church.  It is the first time I have eaten a made-on-frozen-bread sandwich.  Jason had told me that he read about it and that it would thaw by lunch but I had never actually eaten one that way.  Today I did and it was thawed and good.  I also put arugula and tomatoes on it - man - I love arugula!  Cressida had a ham san ciwh made with yesterday's church roll, an apple, a carrot and pickles.  Phyllis had leftover meatballs, rice and gravy, three apples and half a CSA sweet pepper.  She ate her rice and meatballs at brunch so she also ate a burrito, cookies and three chocolate milks from the tray for lunch.  Dai had a tomato sandwich, half a CSA sweet pepper, an apple and a carrot.  We also all had one of the cookies Dai made.

After school snack: microwave popcorn

Dinner:  I saw some old frozen chicken pieces in the freezer yesterday and decided to try to use them today.  My cupboards are a little bare so it wasn't as easy as I had hoped.  I kind of stir-fried the chicken, some frozen but cooked bacon, some corn and some green onions with rice.  It was okay but not great.  Cress didn't finish.  Dai did and Phyllis said she liked it but she had an apple, cheese stick and ham sandwich for early dinner since she has volleyball and I wasn't done with the rice.  She only got a taste before leaving for volleyball.  I took the chicken out of the remainders and put it in the fridge.

Last night we used the last of our hamburger from our cow purchase and counted up that we have two or three roasts and some ribs left only.  Elise was here when I picked it up.  When was that - in January?  Two years ago maybe?  I just looked it up and I picked up our first one December 5, 2013. I will pick up our next December 3, 2014.   Only a year - I would have thought longer. 

Week 39, Day 5 - Jason's preferred meatball recipe

Breakfast: Jason, Cress and Phyllis had breakfast burritos (I am out of eggs!!) and Dai and I had fried eggs and toast.  We also had canned apricots with breakfast.

Lunch: I had a church bagel with cream cheese, tomatoes and capers.  Dai had a tomato sandwich on her church bread.  Phyllis had toast with peanut butter.

Dinner: Swedish meatballs and turkey gravy.  It has allspice and nutmeg in it.  I only had whole allspice so Phyllis used a pestle and mortar to grind it for me.  The recipe is the first meatball recipe Jason has actually liked - the others were fine, but this he liked quite well.  It has a recipe for gravy, but part of why I made the meatballs was specifically to use up a turkey gravy packet that Steve Arnold, the neighbor whose friend's wife died, gave me.  Maybe next time I will try the gravy - but it won't be anytime soon since I am out of hamburger.  I think the split cow part included 35 pounds of ground meat and today we ate the last two.  Phyllis had thirds on the meatballs and only left four behind so that she could take them for lunch tomorrow.  We also had brown rice.  Daitarih said she preferred brown rice to white.  I told how when I first decided that our family should eat brown rice that I actually had to not get white at all.  That sparked an interesting conversation.  Cressida said born proteins were healthier than white.  I asked where she got that because I was pretty sure she meant brown carbs (an indication of whole grains but not a guarantee) versus white carbs but she was sure it was protein.    Cress asked if vegetables were so good for us why didn't we eat them all the time.  Then we talked about how protein is how we and our brains grow and that we need it and meat is just an easy and complete protein.  Then we talked about meat versus all veggies and vegetarianism and why some people choose that and how those people can still get proteins.  We also had baked CSA sweet dumpling squash with butter and sugar in them.  Dai didn't like it and she usually loves squash.  Phyllis made us a green salad using a head of romaine, a CSA sweet pepper and some CSA tomatoes.  We had apple cider with dinner, too, since Jason had bought two quarts for my green bean recipe the other day and we only needed 1 or 2 tablespoons.

Meatball recipe here, for future reference.  http://damndelicious.net/2014/02/21/swedish-meatballs/

Prep ahead: Dai made some cookies from a picture we had seen.  It starts with crescent roll dough. We had a little extra so I made two and Jason and I ate them with butter and jelly.  These cookies aren't all that - so I wouldn't remake them.  Jason made the CSA chard, too.  

Week 39, Day 4

Breakfast: Breakfast burritos

Lunch: Dai and Cress and I had tomato sandwich on sliced church sourdough.  Because it is frozen, we toasted it.  Jason and Phyllis had ham sandwiches when they home.  I made smoothies using strawberries and a little vanilla ice-cream for everyone.

Dinner:  Jason had a burrito (he thinks the beans have turned but I just made them, right?) and Cressida  had leftover cabbage while the other two and I were at the General Women's Conference.   We had some pie there and ate when we got home.  I ate the last of the pizza and the last of the cabbage.  Dai and Phyllis had a ham sandwich.

Prep Ahead: I made two pints of grape jelly using CSA concord grapes and eight pints of strawberry jam using the CSA strawberries that we had frozen.  I also pressure cooked the beets.  

Week 39, Day 3

Breakfast: all over the board because Cress left early, Phyllis got distracted with reading and had Panther Patrol this morning (so she has to leave earlier than usual) and Dai spent most of the morning correcting her compare and contrast paragraph because Jason and I didn't have time to review it last night.  Jason had a breakfast burrito as did I.  I used the tortilla that Jason had smeared with goat cheese and then put in the fridge when I told him I did not need lunch Wednesday.  Goat cheese isn't a great cheese for breakfast burritos.  Phyllis had a peanut butter bagel while walking to school so that she wouldn't be late.  Cress had brown rice for cereal, but the milk had gone bad.  Dai had scrambled eggs while she worked.  Take a bite, type.  Take a bite, type.

Lunch:  Dai and Phyllis took leftover cheaty pasta.  Cressida had pizza.  All three had CSA apple smiles and CSA green beans.  Cress and Phyllis also took CSA raspberries.  Dai took CSA bell pepper.  I had a hot dog at work.

After school snack: cheese sticks

Dinner: Apricot chicken - a recipe I saw once and thought might have potential.  Apparently it is an old comfort food/potluck type meal.  I expected Jason wouldn't like it but wanted to try it anyway.  It called for chicken thighs but I mistakenly got boneless skinless thighs and that was not what was called for.  I reheated brown rice and made a salad with CSA sweet peppers, CSA tomatoes, CSA lettuce and a cucumber.  I also made a green bean recipe.  It had onions, CSA apples and CSA green beans and was flavored with maple syrup and apple cider.  Dai was not a fan of the chicken or the beans.  Phyllis and Cressida really liked the chicken.  Phyllis asked Jason if he liked it and he replied, "It's okay."  She interpreted that to mean he didn't like it, and he reiterated that it was okay.  He thought the beans were too fruity.  At the end, he said that he thought dinner was good.  I said, "Except the chicken and the beans, so then...the salad?"  He said, "Overall, (big hand motion to encompass the table,) it was good."  It was nice to have a real meal and all of us here - I think that was the best part.  The food was okay, otherwise.  With him working Monday and Wednesday evenings and me running around like a crazy person on Tuesday and Thursday, we don't get to eat together really often.  But only a few more weeks of volleyball and Tuesday and Thursday craziness.

Week 39, Day 2

Breakfast: Canned apricots and bagels with cream cheese, except Jason who ate the leftover cracked wheat (but he is out of almond milk.)

Lunch: All the girls had pizza and carrot coins.  Cressida also had pickles and beets.  Dai had a CSA tomato and celery.  Phyllis had celery and pickles.  Dai and Phyllis both took peanut butter for celery dipping.  Jason took the last of the pinto beans.  I ate pizza.

Dinner: cheaty pasta with CSA summer squash of different varieties.

Prep ahead: Beans made with CSA poblano chiles again (but this time I will not put in new contacts any time soon!)  Also brown rice.  I added some to the beans and some we will have for breakfast tomorrow.  

Week 39, Day 1

Breakfast: cracked wheat - not well received.  Generally it isn't but it didn't help that I forgot to salt it when I soaked it.

Lunch:  The girls all had margharita pizza.  Cressida had an apple, carrot sticks and beets.  Dai had a carrot, tomato and an apple.  Phyllis had two apples and a carrot.  I had an apple and a beet wrap that was made for me on Wednesday.  Jason had bean burritos.  I asked him if he was bummed not to have pizza and he said that both were good, but burritos beat margharita pizza.

After school snack: margharita pizza

Dinner: New England boiled dinner leftovers - even for Phyllis who I feed early for volleyball.  Now really there is only cabbage left.  

Week 38, Day 7

Breakfast: Oatmeal.  The milk is technically over it's sell by date but it is still ok, so I need to get it used up.

Lunch: Phyllis had a ham sandwich, apple, carrots coins with Italian and beets.  Cressida had a PBH, apple, carrot coins, and beets.  Dai had a PBJ with apples, the last corn on the cob and prunes.  Jason has bean burritos stuff, and carrot and celery sticks.

I am making New England boiled dinner.  Today is a rough night with much extra-curricular activities.  I am hoping making it ahead will help.  I planned it awhile ago and so I bought a huge head of cabbage.  6 pounds!  Plus we are using the CSA savoy cabbage.  I didn't core the cabbage, but I see now that I should have - especially when it is that dense!  I used up the last of the potatoes - some CSA and some not.  I had to get carrots.  Usually I buy them in the 10-pound bag at Costco but I didn't want to go that far so I went to Nob Hill.  I must say - the carrots seem more bitter. That is my lunch today.  I used to add two meats - but mostly Phyllis and I like it - the other put up with or pick around it - so now just one, which makes it much cheaper.

Dinner: New England boiled dinner.  Phyllis's favorite part is the meat.  Dai gets no meat at all and her favorite part is the potatoes.  Phyllis didn't eat her cabbage - so I ate hers and mine - my favorite part.

Prep ahead: cracked wheat prepared and soaking on the stove.  I just realized that maybe it is the almost 24 hour soak versus 8-10 that resulted in the "bready" flavor that the kids didn't love in the past.Will have to bear that in mind tomorrow.

I made pizza dough using a pizza dough recipe that uses half fresh ground wheat flour.  Yes, in the bread machine, not by hand.  I had CSA tomatoes and fresh basil left.  I got the basil for the baked ziti but it was a lot and I do not want it to go to waste.  I think, it is for leftover lunches, though, rather than eating today.  Dai was bummed when I started dishing the New England boiled dinner because she saw the pizza and thought that was what we were having.  Lunches should be really easy though.

What Food Says About You

I am a yard duty at San Martin Gwinn, the school Cressida attends.  I started to help offset gas and because I couldn't stand driving there and back so often just stayed at the school volunteering on my carpool day.

We had some people who were there the first year (of which was about a month left when I started) who have quit.  But three were there then and are still - Toni, Melinda and Sue.  I liked Sue almost right off.  Toni and I took some time to warm up and Melinda is pleasant but our schedules rarely cross.  The next year two others started that are still there - Irene and Teresa.  We have a couple new hires this year, but we shall see.

Anyway, one lady, Sue has made comments several times when I get to go food with the others.  Toni used to always get lunch but now she is on a really strict diet and doesn't - which means actually everyone eats less of the fast food.  Interesting, huh?  But if she was driving, she'd take orders, or we'd go along with her for the company.

I always felt odd when she made those remarks.  It was something to the effect of, "What?! You always eat so healthy!"  It is one of the conundrums.  I do eat pretty healthy - though not exclusively.  I have an unhealthy sweet tooth and a soft spot for Dr. Pepper.  But, I do consciously try to feed my family healthy food and cook nutritious meals and have leftovers for Jason and sometimes me to take to lunch.  But, I am still overweight.  Therein is the rub, right?  It isn't just healthy - it is portion control and activity.  I think of that because I had New England Boiled dinner today.  Pretty healthy since I had only a small amount of meat and a large piece of cabbage - but I also had butter on potatoes and carrots.  Those two aren't the most healthy vegetables out there anyway and I had quite a bit of those.

It just struck me today.  It isn't that I am trying to put forth a specific image with my food, but apparently I do.  I have never made a huge deal of my lunch - except when I have something yummy that I want to share - which has only happened once or twice.  And that image is partially correct - it is certainly my ideal and we strive to eat healthily in my family.  But not all correct because I do not always eat ideally.  Which, if a woman who only sees me eat a few days a week thinks I am eating healthy, then what about my kids who eat with me almost every day, twice a day or mote?

Week 38, Day 6

Breakfast: Breakfast burritos - again hats off to Jason for his skills

Lunch: everyone had PBJ or PBH on homemade wheat bread.  Also, apples and carrots.  Phyllis and Cressida split the last CSA bell pepper and Dai took a CSA tomato.  Dai also took a square of her chili chocolate.  Jason took the leftover split pea soup and the chard greens.  I took an apple, a beet wrap and a bag of chips from yesterday's linger longer.

After school snack: String cheese for Dai and Phyllis.  Erin Hoge's case had an apple because she does not like cheese.  Erin Hoge came over to study for the science test that she and Dai have today. Cressida ate her Cheetos from yesterday's linger longer.

Dinner: Phyllis had peanut butter sandwiches - no jelly again since Lane's fig-berry jam is gone.  She also ate an apple, a corn cob and a string cheese before heading to volleyball.  Cress and Dai had bean burritos and I had a tomato sandwich on the last church croissant.  We had ice-cream for dessert - though Phyllis and I had it before she left.  The girls had chocolate on theirs.  Phyllis and I had strawberries blended with ours since all we have left is vanilla ice-cream - but it was bought for us, so I am not really complaining.

Prep ahead: blueberry iced-tea.  

Week 38, Day 5

Breakfast: Everyone has breakfast burritos except me.  We woke after 8:30 and had to be at church by 9:50 because today was our Primary program.  No kidding - burritos is our fast 9and it travels well) breakfast.  Everyone finished at home, though, thankfully.  I had fried eggs with sourdough toast.

Lunch: linger longer at church - ate way too much.  Then we stayed after to do the bread but due to the linger longer we had fewer takers.  I actively flagged people down to get some and we still took home a ton.

Dinner: Split pea soup that Dai made last night.  In the middle of the night when I woke, it smelled so good!  I did add water and reheat though because it was too thick for my taste.  I think I need to get a smoked ham hock though to try it with. We had toasted church bagels, too.  I had intentions to do a salad, but we were toy sorting until 7 PM when Jason reminded us to stop to eat.   

Week 38, Day 4

Breakfast: Jason, Cressida and Phyllis had breakfast burritos.  Dai and I had egg sandwiches on croissants (courtesy of the church bread pick up.)  Gillian McWilliams stayed the night but she doesn't like eggs, so she had microwaved oatmeal.

Lunch: I made chicken salad sandwiches.  I made it the normal way I do.  Lane really likes it.  We ate all of it which is unusual, but we had everyone plus Gillian and Lane.  We used up the last of the store bought wheat bread and started into the homemade wheat bread.

Dinner:  Baked ziti and salad and toasted sourdough and blueberry iced-tea.  Dai made the salad.  Phyllis made the balsamic.  Steve Arnold, our neighbor, had a friends whose wife died and he gave Steve most of his seasonings.  Steve then gave them to us and it included three dressing packets - two Italian and one balsamic.  Both were well received - it was Good Season brand.  So that seems to be a good brand.

Prep Ahead: Split pea soup.  I am trying a slow cooker recipe and Dai did most of it.  I diced the carrots, onions, celery and ham.  I also showed her how to use the fish timer to set it cooking overnight without having to worry that it will cook too long.  Crockpot cooking is a good skill to learn.  Also, I let her read the recipe herself and kind of direct the process.  She gathered all of her supplies first.  She even found the half onion in the fridge rather than cutting a new one - even I have messed that up sometimes and used a new one when a partial was in the fridge.

Cressida also made the cinnamon sugar mix.  When I was a kid we just used them separately and I remember seeing the mix in the store and thinking that was a waste of funds.  But it is a time saver and neater, so I have a large-ish spice container that has our personal recipe on it.  It is the amount that fits in the specific container.  It was hard for Cress and we had some spilled sugar but the difficulty was in pouring not in following the directions.  I love that they are learning many aspects of cooking and maintaining a kitchen.  

Week 38, Day 3

Breakfast: Oatmeal for Cressida.  Peanut butter and jelly for Dai, Phyllis and I.  Jason will eat at work, I guess.

We also had to revisit the kale chips.  Dai put them in a ziplock last night, which she has done before, but they didn't stay crispy.  I  think too much oil this time maybe?  But we didn't have to cook from scratch, just a little bit to re-crisp.

I also cooked down the beans a bit that I cooked last night.  I added cumin, too, because they were a bit bland per Jason.

Lunch:  Cress took a PBH on the last homemade hamburger bun.  Phyllis and Dai had ham sandwiches. They all took CSA apples, CSA bell peppers and CSA strawberries.  Dai and Phyllis also took some kale chips.  They totally munched on them all morning, too.

Dai says she will make cookies because her sisters have candy often for dessert but somehow she does not have candy very often, so then she gets no dessert.

Jason and Lane both took leftover potato leek soup and CSA bell peppers.  Jason also took carrot sticks that I prepared for him.  

Dinner: Pancakes.  We used a recipe that we have used for a while now that we got off allrecipes.com.  It is called Dad's Double Whole Grain Pancakes.  We found it years ago.  We used fresh ground wheat flour.

Prep ahead: I made wheat bread dough.  I put it in the fridge to finish tomorrow morning.   

Week 38, Day 2

breakfast: oatmeal

lunch: I had a beet wrap but it was skimpy - using up the tail end of the beets and arugula - not quite enough.  Cressida had a turkey sandwich - she made it herself.  She also had some grape tomatoes, some pickles and some carrots sticks.  She stayed home ill today so we had lunch together.  Phyllis had peanut butter on saltines, carrot sticks, pickles and grape tomatoes.  Dai had cream cheese on saltines, carrot sticks, prunes and grape tomatoes.  She isn't a fan of this brand of pickles.

After school snack:

Dinner: Potato leek soup.  My girls love potato leek soup.  Phyllis told me to make sure I used cream in it this time.  I am actually using a recipe that is supposed to be like California Pizza Kitchen's leek soup which was the first ever potato leek soup I had.  It was back when I worked for PwC in Palo Alto.  I loved it right away.

It was a bit thin - so I would do less liquid next time but the flavor was very good.

Prep ahead: Pressure cooked the CSA beets.  Dai made kale chips using this week's and last week's kale bunches from the CSA. Cooked some pinto beans.  I was going to do gringa beans, but I got more poblano chiles.  I have been roasting them but we didn't use up last week's, so this time I diced some and made a new pinto beans recipe using those.  I love my pressure cooker.  It did my beets.  Then before heading to bed, I started the pintos which will be done in the morning.  Steam the three corn on the cobs from the CSA.

Shopping

You will notice that I do not record about my shopping anymore.  I thought that would be interesting but really it was tedious and not that much more informative.  If one knows what I eat, one has a good idea of what I buy.

Part of what I thought might be interesting about it would be a comparison of prices, but without it all in one spreadsheet, it isn't visible that way.  I do have a pretty good idea of what things cost even without that.  today I went shopping.  I had a small list (there were a few things that were not on the list) and I had approximate prices on it.  I was pretty close.

A new thing I have added to our list, thought of it a week or so ago and actually bought it today, was oyster crackers.  We eat a lot of soup.  We often have toast with it but now always.  I recall crunching up saltines in my soup when I was a kid, but they get soggier much more quickly than in the oyster cracker format (otherwise they are basically the same as far as I can tell.)  I would not imagine that I would use it in cream soups - more then tomato based ones, but I got it today when I expect we will have potato leek soup for dinner.  Will I even offer it?  I am not quite sure.  

Soda

I used to drink my "one" soda a day.  Usually sometime between 3 and 6 PM.  Ice, Diet Dr. Pepper and leave me alone for a few minutes while I drink this.  

But, then it became two on some days - then two on many days - one with a meal and one leave-me-alone drink.  It isn't cheap and doesn't set a great example for my kids.  So I would do it occasionally and not other times because I do love the bubbly feeling and all.

When I was really struggling with depression, I read that this can be a side effect of artificial sweeteners (along with a host of other side effects) and so I switched to doing regular Dr. Pepper, but way less often.  Recently, I really wanted a soda, so Jason went to get me one.  He came home with three 12 packs of Dr. Pepper (they were on sale.)  It feels splurgy but I do love it.  I am much better about water in general but now I am also enjoying a couple sodas a day.  I know it will run out and I don't intend to repeat it, but it was sweet of him.

Heather asked once, when I was jonesing for a soda, if my parents drank a lot of soda when I was a kid.  I told her my dad did sometimes, but not a ton.  Of course, he probably drank more at work, but that would have been invisible to me.  Later, I realized that my mom drank a lot of Diet Dr. Pepper, except she bought it in 2-liter bottles.  I wondered than how much that influenced me.  It made me rethink about my influence on my kids and if it will be an issue for them as adults (or teens) when I am not (or less) in control of their eating and drinking?

Week 38, Day 1

Breakfast: breakfast burritos.  I am so grateful for Jason's help with breakfast on days that I drive.

Lunch: Everyone had turkey sandwiches on church sourdough.  Everyone had carrot sticks and prunes and the last of the CSA apples.  We are running low on produce so I got a jar of pickles out for tomorrow.  I had a beet wrap. Jason ate the last of the gringa beans on his burrito.

Dinner: Ramen and the last of the church sourdough - toasted.  Jason and Phyllis were at volleyball.  Phyllis gets fed before she goes so it is just the three of us - plus Lane tonight.  She got a cheese stick, carrot sticks and a turkey sandwich.  I am never as inclined to cook when he isn't here to enjoy it with us.  We ate while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Kind of fun little night off.

Week 37, Day 7

breakfast: fried eggs with sour dough toast

Lunch: Cressida had a lunchable, but because she was hungry on the way home yesterday, she also brought a CSA bell pepper for her snack.  Dai took two peanut butter and honey sandwiches on church rolls. Phyllis made one on one of the leftover homemade hamburger buns.  Phyllis also took an apple and two bell peppers.  Dai took a bell pepper and

Dinner:  Tomato or turkey and sandwiches on sourdough becuse we had back to school night. Everyone also got a string cheese and CSA apple slices.  The girls said they were still hungry later - so apprently this did not cut it but it seemed sufficient to me.  TRhe bread we got from Csotco was so thick - but luckily, the church bread we slcied oursleves.

Week 37, Day 6

Breakfast: Cressida had oatmeal.  I had eggs with peppers but because I am recovering from a cold, only ate a couple of bites.  Jason and Phyllis and Dai had breakfast burritos.

Lunch: Cressida took a Lunchable.  She bought two with her own birthday money.  I don't think it was the wisest purchase, but they need to experience it to learn, right?  Phyllis took ...  Dai took PBH on a church roll.

After school snack: rolls with butter and jelly and CSA bell peppers. Lane's friend, Dr. Vyke, sent him home Saturday with two little jars of homemade fig and berry jam.  The girls love it!!

Dinner: The girls had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on church rolls, cheese sticks and apples.  I had a tomato sandwich.  Jason ate at work, but I am not sure what.  We had ice-cream for dessert - except Phyllis because she ate early and left early to go to volleyball.  Jason had his when he got home.  

Week 37, Day 5

Breakfast: Oatmeal.  Phyllis wanted crepes but we didn't have time so she went out and made an egg for herself - but I told her she should ask.  She had told us, she said, but we had not heard.  But, I am glad they are confident to cook at least.  So, Phyllis made the oatmeal on the stovetop today - her first time.

Lunch:  Dai and Cress had turkey and swiss sandwiches on church bread.  Jason had salad and two rolls (church bread.)  Phyllis got a bagel at church and had that with cream cheese for lunch.

Dinner: We had hamburgers today.  We had thawed two pounds last night.  Jason made a dozen homemade hamburger buns today.  I was sick so I wasn't much help but I heard Jason's phone and him saying, "Sure, we'll just throw a couple more burgers on."  Apparently his dad and Lisa were in the area so they came down.  Lane worked this morning so he was here, too.  A full table.  Jason asked if he should re-portion the 7 burgers he had made but I said he should just thaw another pound.  He didn't think there was time, but we just tossed it in the microwave.  Not ideal because it cooks the edges and doesn't fully thaw the center, but it works in a pinch.  We also had salad (from the bag with no additions) and they brought potato chips and ice-cream.  It was a very pleasant dinner though and I am so glad that we were able to accommodate our drop-in guests.  In some ways, they are the best kind!

Week 37, Day 4

breakfast: breakfast burritos

Lunch: I had a beet wrap.  Dai and Cress had a tomato sandwich.  Phyllis was at Happy Hollows with her friend, Gilly, and Jason had two bowls of salad.  Thursday I had signed up to make salad for the shelter as part of the RS team.  I could not recall what the drop off time was, so called the lady in charge and she informed me that the other salad lady had done two shares.  Well, Jason had already bought two bags of basic salad (iceburg lettuce, shredded purple cabbage and shredded carrot) and a bag of baby kale.  That was thoughtful of him to make it that much more interesting because our taste is like that.  Then I learned that we didn;'t need ut and said that he could return it but he didn';t want to, so bag of salad started yesterday and today we wipe out one big bag, ex cept maybe a bowl's worth.  They are the big ones, too.  It isn;t the most delviious salad but it is easy.

Dinner: potatoes done in the microwave with topping choices of shredded cheese, sour cream, butter and salt and pepper and a bowl of salad for each.  Cress and Dai did no dressing - my funny kids.

Prep ahead: gringa beans and hambiurger buns.  Jason did the buns.  He made dough in the bread makwer though,  

Week 37, Day 3

Breakfast: Cressida had oatmeal - luckily I bought raisins yesterday becuase we had run out!  I had eggs and roasted peppers.  The rest of them had breakfast burritos.

Lunch:  Cress took soup, a CSA apples, CSA strawberries and a CSA beet.  Dai and Phyllis had peanut butter crackers.  They had CSA apples.

Dinner:  Leftover soup and toast and salad.

Prep ahead: roasted the peppers

Week 37, Day 2 (I can hardly wait for this to end!)

Breakfast: mushroom and bacon omelettes.  I bought the mushrooms awhile ago so they were getting really old and kind of icky.  I had cooked the bacon up for camping and then froze it.  Except Cress had a breakfast burrito because she had to eat before we were finished with mushrooms and she doesn't like bacon anyway.  I also had a roma and then decided to do a carrot apple juice to see if my energy levels don't improve - I have been so tired for days now.

Lunch: Phyllis took the rest of the sauteed mushrooms tossed in with the tiny bit of leftover cheaty pasta in one thermos and last night's soup in another.  I asked her - are you really going to eat both of these?  She says she is.  Phyllis has a whole apple, a whole carrot and prunes.  Dai has a sliced apple, carrots sticks and a tomato.  Cressida has carrots, apples and prunes.  Jason has whatever he packed yesterday because he ended up going out to lunch with a co-worker yesterday and it was enough for lunch and dinner before coaching.

Dinner: tonight was rough. Dai had swim. I had been feeling sick so I asked Jason to come home and help me. Lucky because it was back to school night for Los Paseos. I had not written it down, nor apparently registered it until heather reminded me. Phyllis gets a homework pass fore going so she was distraught when I was not sure ucoukd go since I had Dai's swim at the same time. But Jason was home because I had been feeling ill so it all worked out. We had tomato sandwiches before heading to our different events.  I have Phyllis and Cressida with me and they whined that they were still hungry. When  we got home, they had some salad made of CSA sweet
peppers, CSA lettuce, CSA zucchini and CSA tomatoes.

Prep ahead: pressure cooked beets

Week 37, Day 1

Breakfast: oatmeal.  I really need rasiins - we are really low.

Lunch: Jason made me a beet wrap with two apples.  The girls had carrots, apples, prines and chicken salad sandwiches. Cress didn't finish becuase she didn't like the poppy seed bread - frozen church bread.  Also, she and Dai took cherry tomaortes becuase I needed to use them up - but maybe they had already gone - Cress said they tasted funny and Dai didn't finish hers, either.

Dinner: Made a white bean vegetable soup.  I used a recipe (mostly.)  It called for marinara sauce and I didn't have that so I used two cans of Italian seasoned tomatoes - admittedly marinara would have been better.  I used a CSA leek rather than the onion for which the recipe called.  I used carrots, CSA spinach and CSA chard, too.  It also had garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and broth.  Fairly basic.  Not great - not horrid - though Cress and Dai didn't eat much of it.  That means I should probably buy dessert tomorrow as an enticement.  We also had a salad made by Dai with the last head of romaine (yes it was a small salad,) a grated carrot, grape tomatoes and mushrooms.  I have only one beet and carrots and apples left for produce.  Tomorrow is CSA day and I feel pleased to have used most of it.  I did end up tossing the mustard greens.  We toasted the rest of Phyllis's church bread (it had not been frozen and had a couple spots that we had to remove) and much of the frozen church bread from past weeks.  It was less than fresh tasting - but c'est la vie, I guess.  

Week 36, Day 7

breakfast: rice cereal from leftover brown rice for Dai and Cress, Jason and I had eggs and tomatoes and pepper and oatmeal for Phyllis (because she was dragging her feet when Jason was doing eggs.)

Lunch: Chicken salad and crackers.  I didn't have celery so I put in onions and diced kohlrabi along with mandarin oranges.  Each girl had kohlrabi and apples.  Phyllis had carrot coins with Italian dressing.  Dai had cherry tomatoes.  Cress had a beet.  Jason had a chicken salad sandwich, too.  I ate a bagel with cream cheese, tomatoes and capers and then a bowl of Ramen.  And I could tell it wasn't healthy - my body was suffering for it.

Dinner: Cheaty pasta with the rest of the CSA summer squash and shell noodles.  Lane was amused by the name.  I explained it is because it is cheating - not really cooking from scratch but he said that was how he cooked.  For a bachelor that seems fine, but for a family, I feel better when I feed them less processed, more home cooked meals.  

Week 36, Day 6

Breakfast: oatmeal for Cressida and eggs with peppers for me.  Unfortuantely, I am recovering from a cold, so I only ate a few bites.  Cress and Dai and Jason had breakfast burritos.

Lunch:  Phyllis had a peanut butter jelly on a church bread roll.  Cressida had a lunchable - which she bought with her birthday money.  Not the wisest purchase in my mind, but you have to let them spend and learn, right?

After school snack: jelly and butter and rolls.  Lane brought home a nice fig and berry jam from his friend Dr, Vyke that he let us use.

Dinner: We had peanut butter and jelly on church rolls, cheese sticks, apples and ice-cream for dessert.

Week 36, Day 6

Breakfast: Rice cereal using leftover brown rice.  I had a beet wrap and have no idea if Jason even ate here.  Lane had fried eggs and toast after we left - like my brother, Sam, he isn't an early eater.

Lunches: Chicken salad sandwiches using the chicken from Friday.  I rinsed off as much sauce as I could then added mayo, mandarin oranges and onions.  It was received with mixed reviews.  All the girls had beets and kohlrabi.  Cressida had a pretty small beet and said, "Next time if it is small, pack me two."  Dai said, "I don't want beets again."  I told her too bad.  It isn't like she doesn't like them - I guess we have just been having them too often for her taste lately.  Cressida had a whole carrot.  Phyllis had carrot coins with Italian.  Dai had sliced apples.  I had a beet wrap with two apples.  We all had cookies in the packed lunches.  Lane ate a chicken salad sandwich before going to work and took two apples, too.

Dinner: Phyllis had two bowls of rice cereal, an apple and a cheese stick before Heather Castro picked her up for volleyball.  After she left, Cress, Dai and I had tomato sandwiches and bananas for dinner.  We also were scheduled to have the missionaries over, but I forgot Jason would not be here. So, we packed them a lunch bag.  Two chicken salad sandwiches with lettuce, two apples, two cheese sticks and four cookies.  I had to hand it to them out the door.  I suggested maybe they could picnic at the park.  I hope they liked it.

Pre ahead: pressure cooked white beans

Week 36, Day 5

FAST SUNDAY

Breakfast: Cressida had leftover oatmeal and Jason had a burrito

Lunch: Cressida had a sandwich and Jason had a burritos with taco beans

Dinner: I ate a bagel with cream cheese and tomatoes and capers.  Phyllis, Cress and Jason had burritos with taco beans - all used up from that pre-cook for a big camping trip that got cancelled.  Dai had a PBH on church sourdough.

Week 36, Day 4

Breakfast: french toast - I recently saw the little bits of open home-canned syrups in the fridge and wanted to get them used up.  The pluot had grown mold.  The apricot seemed okay.

Lunch: leftover pizza

Dinner: at the Mancini's for our first game night with them.  We brought a garden salad with romaine lettuce, CSA kohlrabi, CSA cucumbers and CSA cherry tomatoes.  We also brought our green dressing, Italian and a store-bought blue cheese.  Bonnie Mancini requested the green dressing recipe. Yay!!  She made chili (my girls dug it!), cornbread and we had ice-cream and her homemade apple pie for dessert.  

Week 36, Day 3

Breakfast: oatmeal - we have too much milk in the fridge since we had a touch left and then I bought new milk (2 gallons) at Costco

Lunch:  Jason took a burritos and carrots and CSA celery and CSA bell peppers.  The girls had chicken salad from yesterday with wheat saltine crackers.  We have like two or three of those then it is on to the white ones.  Cress had snap peas, CSA kohlrabi and CSA cucumber. Dai had CSA celery, CSA kohlrabi, CSA orange bell peppers and the leftover CSA cauliflower. Phyllis had snap peas, leftover CSA cauliflower and CSA orange bell pepper.  Cress took a fruit snack for dessert and the other two took chocolate chip cookies.

Dai made then this morning because she wanted a dessert in her lunch so she took things into her own hands.  I helped but she mostly did it alone except she only had time to bake the first batch - I did the three after that because she had to go to school.  She still did her morning stuff and even unloaded for me this morning!

Dinner: Dai and Phyllis had tacos at Activity Days where they fed the missionaries.  Jason, Phyllis and James Greathurst went out for pizza for her birthday dinner.  They went to Mountain Mike's. Yes, that was two dinners for Phyllis.  Cressida and I ate this orange BBQ chicken that I got from a recipe online with brown rice and CSA summer squash.  It was not good!  I will not make it again.  I can use the rice for breakfasts - I kept them chicken but without the sauce - I hope we can salvage it somehow.  

Week 36, Day 2

Breakfast: Breakfast burritos.  Jason and I added tomatoes and peppers to ours and he did his in a tortilla.  He made the girls but I did ours and I added the eggs before the pan was hot enough, I think, The texture was a little off.

Lunch: I made chicken salad today.  I made the Craisins, apple and celery kind that Cress adores to use up the last of the Craisins.  It requires more mayo since it doesn't get the moisture from the mandarin oranges like my usual.  Everyone had that with saltine crackers.  Last time I bought saltines they had wheat and regular and I got one of each and today we are almost out of the wheat ones so I asked the girls what they thought.  They said they noticed no real difference, except Cress who thought wheat was better.  Phyllis aid, "The same so get whichever is cheaper."  They are essentially the same as far as nutrients go and the cost was the same so we will probably do wheat since one kid had a preference. I also did the rest of the CSA cauliflower, CSA beets and some snap peas in their lunches.  Snap peas always seem to turn after a few days in the bag - I should ask Nicole Tervalon how she stores hers since she gets them more often than I do.

After school snack: bell peppers sliced from our CSA

Dinner: Burritos using taco beans again.  We also had CSA cauliflower -steamed.  We had CSA strawberries with whipped cream for dessert.

Prep ahead: roasted the CSA peppers

Week 36, Day 1

Breakfast: egg burritos but I had eggs with roasted peppers - not the spicy ones though

Lunch: Cress had chicken salad (the apples one from before) and crackers.  Phyllis and Dai had peanut butter and crackers.  Everyone had CSA kohlrabi.  Cress also had CSA cucumbers.  Dai had a CSA tomato and and CSA apple.  Phyllis had a CSA apple and CSA cauliflower.  I had goat cheese and beets on a tortillas and an apple.  Jason had lunch at work.

After school snack: cheese sticks

Dinner: Phyllis started volleyball today (Jason coaches.)  So, I fed her early some ramen and tomato salad - but it was spicy because I put taco seasoning into it rather than the taco beans that I was also making at that time.  I was on the phone with Nila and I guess that I was distracted and not paying it the attention that I should have.  I scooped out most of the tomatoes with taco seasoning but still it was spicy.  Phyllis ate some and the rest is in a container for Jason tomorrow to take to lunch.  Then I got the taco salad done before she had to go - so she had some of that, too.  I made a burrito for her to take to Jason.  Dai, Cress and I had graham crackers and milk for dessert.

Week 35, Day 7

Breakfast: egg burritos and I had egg and roasted peppers - Jason had the same but in a burrito (he used the roasted peppers - hot and not hot both and it was really quite spicy. I ate it but don't want the hot ones in mine again.)

Lunch: for the kids - tomato sandwiches (tomatoes sliced but on the side to avoid soggy bread), kohlrabi, apples and cucumbers.  For Jason he had a burrito and kohlrabi and cucumbers.  He doesn't like kohlrabi though he decided - the kids love it so no biggie not to waste it on him.

After school snack: string cheese - and Dai ate a pint of CSA cherry tomatoes

Dinner: Burritos using taco beans and canned pears for dessert.  My home teacher's wife canned them and so he gave us a jar.  

Week 35, Day 6

breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: microwave "baked" potatoes

Dinner: Jason wasn't home all day (on a three day weekend) and I wasn't really in a mood to cook, so we just kind of scavenged.