Week 44, Day 3

Breakfast: jason, CressidA and I had oatmeal. I had no milk but sometimes the kids and jason have used the rice milk. Jason prefers almond milk but Costco hasnt been carrying it for awhile so I got rice milk. He doesn't love it but he will use it. The older two girls day it tastes like rice cereal when made with white rice. Phyllis and Dai shsred dai's cereal again. Dai had done well at sharing that.

Lunch: Dai had a tamato sandwich (she is sick of pizza) and let me me out the last single Alice of turkey in it. The other two had pizza as did Jason and I. Cress and Dai had CSA Romanesco, half CSA bell pepper and a CSA apple. Phyllis had CSA romanesco, half a CSA bell pepper, and a carrot coins. No dessert since they had halloween parties today.

Dinner: cress, Phyllis and jason had pizza for dinner. I had a tomato sandwich. Dai thinks she didn't eat. Phyllis ate again when Ryan yacono's family got McDonald's while she was there. I let eac kid have three Halloween candies. Phhyllis had a few more at Ryan's so I didn't let her have any. 

Week 44, Day 2

Breakfast: Jason is sick, so he had oatmeal and apricots when he got up (quite late.)  Phyllis, Cress and I had leftover pizza - all warmed.  Dai had oatmeal.

Lunch: Jason had pizza.  I had a tomato sandwich.  Each child had leftover pizza.  Cress had carrots sticks, prunes and romanesco.  Dai had three small CSA tomatoes, prunes and romanesco.  Phyllis had pickles, carrot coins and carrot sticks.

Dinner: leftover pizza

Prep ahead: chocolate chip cookies (mostly for Phyllis's class, but some for us, too.)

Week 44, Day 1

Breakfast: burritos

Lunch:  The girls all had PBH with carrots, Romanesco and prunes.  Convenient when Jason makes them all the same.  Jason had leftover pasta.  I had leftover salad with some turkey lunch meat tossed on top.

After school snack: Cheese sticks and Phyllis and Rachel Hoge also had canned apricots.

Dinner:  pizza, carrot sticks and grape tomatoes with ranch dressing for dipping, chicken wings, soda and candy corns.  All part of our carving party.

Week 43, Day 7

Breakfast: Cressida and I had oatmeal.  She had the rest of the old fashioned oats and some steel cut oats.  I ate the rest of the steel cut oats and the last persimmon.  Jason had a breakfast burrito.  Dai had the cereal that she bought at her birthday auction and shared with Phyllis.

Lunch:  Cressida had two turkey sanwiches on rolls. She also had the last CSA apple, half a CSA bell pepper, pickles and the last of her pumpkin seeds.  I don't think that they came out great so if I roast more I think I will look for a different recipe/technique.  Phyllis and Dai had whole carrots and half a CSA bell pepper.  Dai took three smallish CSA tomatoes for her third produce.  Phyllis took pickles for her third produce.  Dai and Phyllis took candy for dessert.  Jason had leftover salad and a turkey sandwich. I ate some leftover pasta. Jason and I had ice-cream: vanilla with chocolate sauce. (Jason stayed home sick. Poor guy!)

Dinner:  panzanella made by Jason and leftover delicate squash. The girls had ice-cream for dessert. 

Week 43, day 6

Breakfast: burritos. I actually wanted steel cut oats but Jason was already starting burritos and I didn't want to break his heart.

Lunch: I hadn't turkey sandwich and a CSA apple. Cressida had stuffed pizza, a CSA apple, carrot sticks and prunes. Also pumpkin seeds we roasted the night before.
Phyllis had stuffed pizza, CSA apple, pumpkin seeds, carrots
Daitarih had turkey sandwich, two carrots, a CSA apple and a CSA tomato. She also took Mike and Ike candies.

Dinner: Salad with CSA lettuce, English cucumbers, CSA tomatoes and a yellow CSA bell pepper.  Eat the rainbow, right?  I hadn't started dinner and then Penny Greathurst showed up to get James.  She was a little earlier than usual.  I think right about 5, maybe?  She asked what was for dinner because she couldn't smell anything.  I told her cheaty pasta (I had to explain that,) salad and squash.  I love visiting with her as I make dinner.  It is kind of our thing.  We did try once to go out to catch up, but something came up.  Her daughter, Izzy, laughed at some point and I asked, "What?"  Apparently every time that I turned around her mom snatched a piece out of the salad.  I think, honestly, that is great!  They don't eat a lot of vegetables.  I had Dai bring in the squash I bought today out at LJB Farms.  I went for pumpkins and bought a bunch more besides.  I got three spaghetti squash, a banana squash (new to me,) two delicata (we are cooking that for dinner tonight with garlic and butter) and a butternut squash.  She asked how we cooked it and if my kids didn't get sick of eating the same things.  I told her it wasn't the same.  Well, the banana squash will last a couple days, but I will break up the spaghetti squash with other squash in between and it will be fine. 

Week 43, day 5

Breakfast: breakfast burritos

Lunch: pizza except Dai who is sick of pizza so she had a tomato sandwich on church bread. Truthfully, I wish I had done, too. Getting sick of pizza. We had ice-cream for dessert.

Dinner: Phyllis, Cressida and Jason had bean burritos. Daitarih and I had leftover oatmeal. She had old fashioned and I had steel cut.

Prep ahead: Cressida got a pumpkin at her Pumpkin Fun Run at school on Friday. The cut it open and scooped out the guts and mostly cleaned the seeds and then put them in a baggie in the pumpkin which she brought home.  Her assignment was to count them.  To make it easier and because the girls always ask me to roast the pumpkin seeds and I always say "no." I did roast them.  She counted 513 (but we had already eaten half a dozen or so before.)  Now we have that as a snack.

Week 43, day 4

Breakfast: pancakes and bacon and grapes and pastries

Lunch: leftover pizza

Dinner: bean burritos or leftover pizza 

Week 43, day 3

Breakfast: Jason, Cressida and I had breakfast burritos, using the last of the eggs and the egg whites. Dai and Phyllis had oatmeal. I had set up steel cut oats in the crockpot (Bonnie Mancini gave me some new techniques to try) but apparently I forgot to turn it on so we could not eat that this morning.

Lunch: Dai and Cressida had PBH sandwiches. Phyllis had leftover chicken noodle soup. Everyone had CSA apples and CSA bell peppers. Cressida also had pickles. Dai had prunes. Phyllis had CSA celery sticks.

Dinner: pizza, green grapes, peanuts. Dessert was molten lava cake and vanilla ice-cream for Dai's birthday. They get to choose the cake type. 

Week 43, Day 2

Breakfast: Cressida, Phyllis and I had cheese omelets.  Dai had eggs over medium with toast.  I also cooked up the last of the tator tots.  I have no idea how long we have had them but they needed to get out of my freezer.

Lunch:  Cress and Phyllis took leftover chicken noodle soup.  Dai took a PBH on whole wheat bread. Cress took pickles, prunes and leftover cold butternut squash.  Dai had CSA celery sticks, prunes and heirloom cherry tomatoes.  Phyllis had CSA celery sticks, pickles and half a persimmon.  Jason took burritos using taco beans.

Dinner: bean burritos. I cooked beans in chicken broth and pulled some of those out plain for Cressida's burrito and seasoned the rest with chili, cumin and garlic powder. Although they all had seconds so one of Cressida's burritos was made with refried beans. Jason fed them after I made the beans. They could have sour cream, diced CSA tomatoes and Taco Bell sauce. 

Week 43, Day 1

Breakfast: breakfast burritos

Lunch: Leftover pizza for everyone. Cress had CSA celery, carrots and the last CSA apple. Phyllis had a carrot and a double helping of CSA celery. Daitarih had heirloom cherry tomatoes, a whole carrot and CSA celery sticks.

After school snack: string cheese

Dinner: Home made chicken noodle soup. I used up the last of the chicken thighs. I didn't shred the chicken quite a finely per Cressida's request and added frozen corn near the end and a little extra liquid. Pretty good stuff. I also roasted the CSA butternut squash for dinner.  Phyllis had cookies for dessert because she had to go before we were ready to have ice cream. Dai skipped dessert because I was only offering strawberry ice-cream tonight.  It is Tillamook ice-cream and it is so good.  The strawberry isn't artificial tasting or overly pink.  But that brand of ice-cream does seem to cause Jason's milk issues to flare up more than some others. 

Week 42, Day 7

breakfast: breakfast burritos. Thank goodness Jason is back to make them.

Lunch: Phyllis had leftover soup. Cress and Daitarih had PBH on homemade wheat bread. Each girl had CSA apples. Cress had persimmons and baby CSA celery that I specifically saved from yesterday. Cressida and Daitarih had CSA celery, and CSA carrots.  I had leftover soup and Jason had bean burritos using taco beans.

Dinner: Migraine again so we got Mountain Mike's pizza and soda and ice-cream from the store. 

week 42, Day 6

Breakfast: breakfast burritos. But I bought one because I didn't make one for me because we were busy preparing the older two girls' campaign posters. I am sure glad that I didn't have to drive because we could not have done the posters.

Lunch: Cressida had a PBH on homemade wheat bread. She also had CSA bell peppers, CSA apples and a persimmon. Phyllis had leftover pasta. She also had leftover pancakes. She had a CSA Apple, CSA carrots and CSA celery.  Daitarih had a PBH on a church roll. She likes PBH on sourdough. Yuck! She also had CSA carrots, CSA apples and a CSA Bell pepper. I did not eat lunch. I ate junk food at work.

After school snack: apples and cheese sticks, but only Dai had any. Lucas, who was also here, had celery and peanut butter.

Dinner: I made homemade chicken noodle soup using the boneless skinless thighs. Jason isn't a huge fan of thighs but they went so well in the soup! I was not sure the soup would be done in time, so I made Jason and Phyllis turkey sandwiches on church bread. Turns out they had time so they also had soup. I also toasted a church bagel and cut into fourths to go with dinner.

The chicken soup recipe was surprisingly easy.  I was actually a little concerned with how little seasoning was in it.  I did increase the garlic to maybe five cloves and used Knorr chicken bouillon to make 8 cups of broth.

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-the-best-chicken-noodle-soup-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-178790

Week 42, day 5

Breakfast: pancakes made by Daitarih from her children's cookbook

Lunch: phyllis and Cressida had taco salads. I had a PBH. Daitarih had a burrito made with taco beans.

Dinner: cheaty pasta with canned chicken and frozen peas. The girls were so excited to have that. That's my equivalent of mac & cheese or Rice-A-Roni and they love it.

Week 42, Day 4

Breakfast: egg sandwiches


Lunch: Dai and Cress had PBH's.  Phyllis and I had ham sandwiches.  Everyone had cauliflower and then some of last night's dessert.  But Cressida and Phyllis didn't like it as well as they did last night.

Dinner: We ate at Heather Castro's.  She made a pasta and a salad.

Week 42, Day 3

Breakfast: The girls had fried eggs.  Dai and Phyllis had toast, too.  Cressida and Phyllis had cooked CSA cauliflower with breakfast.  Cressida also had the last of the pinto beans with breakfast.  Phyllis had apricots.  That is actually why she ate cauliflower.  She said she was still hungry and I offered cauliflower again and she declined.  She said that she wanted apricots and I told her after cauliflower. I had Roma and eggs and toast  cauliflower just before going to Phyllis's class.

Lunch: Cressida had a bean burrito with Taco Bell sauce and sour cream.  We are out of cheese.  Dai and Phyllis had ham sandwiches on church bread.  We only have one soup bowl sourdough round left of the church bread! Each girl had CSA bell pepper, CSA carrots and CSA celery.  Dai and Phyllis got peanut butter for their celery.  All the girls got two cookies.

Dinner: Chinese food at the Tervalons.  We brought dessert - a Pumkin Gingerbread Trifle.  Seemed appropriate for the season

Prep Ahead: Made two loaves of whole wheat bread

Week 42, Day 2

Breakfast: Cressida and Phyllis had oatmeal that I microwaved this morning.  Dai had rice cereal.  I had two fried eggs - the very last of the eggs.

Lunch: Cressida and Phyllis had beans and cheese in a thermos.  Dai had a ham sandwich on church bread.  All three girls had CSA beets - so we have finished those off before swe pick up the new CSA.  All three girls have carrots in their lunch, too.  Dai has celery for her third produce.  Cressida and Phyllis have pickles for their third produce and that finished up that jar of pickles.  I still have another of that variety but after that hopefully I can get ones that Dai likes.  Everyone got two cookies, too.

After school snack: bars from Steve, still

Dinner: Taco salad with black beans.  We had no tomatoes, though, because I assumed we would get some in the CSA so I did not buy them but we did not.

Prep Ahead: Cut of the top of the CSA celery so that it will fit in our celery bag and prepared stick out of it.  Pressure cooked the beets.  Steamed the Cauliflower.

Week 42, Day 1

Breakfast: two fried eggs ands toast.  We used church bread for toast.  Dai made the eggs.  She did a great job and Cressida's over hard were not overcooked.  Even still, Cressida's tooth hurt so much she didn't eat hers.  I shoved a few in my mouth before leaving since I had not had time for breakfast.  Phyllis ate the rest.  I did get a pastry at work to go with the Roma I did manage to get made at home.

Lunch:  Cress , Dai and I had leftover potato soup.  Phyllis had a ham sandwich on church bread.  Everyone had beets.  Phyllis and Cress had pickles.  Dai and Phyllis had a carrot. Dai also had other stuff but I don't remember what.  Everyone got two cookies, too.

After school snacks: bars from Steve Arnold

Dinner: Phyllis had volleyball so she ate before us.  She had two little ham sandwiches on church bread, two cheese sticks and two bars from Steve Arnold.  We had bean burritos.  I pressure cooked some pinto beans in just chicken broth.  Jason always likes gringa beans, but the girls aren't as big of fans.  I thought I might make it into more basic refried beans but by the time we were actually eating, there was no time, so we just had the beans, as is, and cheese.  Taco bell sauce and sour cream were optional.  We had Erin Hoge for dinner and she ate two so I figure they were pretty good!  I think that way worked okay and was really easy.  Cressida ate her beets from lunch.  The girls had two cookies for dessert.  

Week 41, Day 7

Breakfast: we had the steel cut oats and none of the kids liked it.  I didn't like it particularly but I will eat what is left for breakfast tomorrow.  I made them eat a few bites so that they would have something in their bellies.  Dai said she thinks it is the dates - so we will try it again but the kids aren't too thrilled about it.  Also, it was too dry and even burned around the edges.  I think it needed more water.

Lunch: Cress had a PBH on homemade bread - the last heel that I found tucked in with the church bread.  Thank goodness for rubber spatulas - we are now totally out of peanut butter.  Dai and Phyllis had ham sandwiches on church bread.  All three girls had CSA green beans.  Cress and Dai had CSA bell pepper - half each.  Cress also had pickles.  Phyllis had a CSA apple and a carrot - half coined, half sticks.  Dai had a CSA apple.  Each girl got two cookies - they are pretty small.  I ate at McDonald's when Toni Langley, a co-worker, went since I had not packed myself anything.

I really need to go to Costco, but I work four days this week and have no Jason to stray home if I go out in the evening - so we are doing our best to make it through.  But I think I will have to go before Jason returns.  I am out of peanut butter, very low on eggs and lunch meat, out of cream cheese (which is truly optional) and we were out of milk until I bought some last night.

After school snack: bars from the bag of stuff Steve gave us

Dinner: Toast from church bread and potato soup.  It is the kind I used to make a lot, my mom's soup.  Cress was disappointed that it wasn't potato leek, but there you go.  I used cream rather than milk (as my mom did) because I had some that is getting a bit old.  

Week 41, Day 6

Breakfast:  Today I had to drive and had no Jason so the kids had to be ready entirely by 7:20.  Cressida had toast with butter made from church bread - I thought we had gotten through it all last week and was amazzed becuase there had been a lot even with all the giving away that we did.  I had a toasted church bagel.  The cream cheese had gone bad, so we bothjust had butter.  Cressida only ever wanted butter anyway.

Daitarih and Phyllis were supposed to have leftover oatmeal or leftover rice.  Phyllis had a couple bites and said, "The oatmeal tastes funny."  Dai had just poured milk on her rice cereal, so I scooped a little in a spoon and gagged when I tasted it.  It is one of those things that make you keep gagging even after you have spit it out, too.  So they had rice cereal with butter and cinnamon and sugar, instead.  The "best by" date was still two days away, but clearly it was not good anymore.

Lunch: I made all three lunches before I went which made me proud.  All three had ham sandwiches on church bread.  All three also had CSA bell peppers (Phyllis and Cress split one and Dai had a whole)  and CSA green beans.  Cressida had CSA beets.  Phyllis had some leftover pineapple from the can we used for the cookies yesterday.  Dai had a CSA apple.  I didn't pack a lunch for me.  I just ate stuff there - but it was all sugary and not good for me.  I had pineapple when I got home.

After school snack: Cressida had pineapple.  I offered the girls string cheese but they passed.

Dinner: We had tomato sandwiches on toasted church bread.  We needed to use up the CSA tomatoes (two had gone south already) and it helped us use up more church bread.

Prep ahead:  I made steel cuts oats in the crock pot.  The recipes called for various dried fruits - we did diced dates and diced apricots.  We shall see.  I hope the girls like it.  

Week 41, Day 5

Breakfast: Fast Sunday and Jason isn't home, so Cressida had leftover oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins.  I found more raisins - too bad because I would have made oatmeal raisin cookies had I known.

Lunch: fast Sunday so Cressida had a PBH on her church sourdough roll and a CSA apple

Dinner: Boneless skinless chicken thighs baked in the chili sauce I canned with Eva Patterson a long time ago - 2006, but I think it is still okay.  We also had brown rice and butternut squash with cookies for dessert.  I had raspberry iced tea but my kids haven't been drinking it.

Prep Ahead: Dai and I made pineapple-coconut drop cookies.  Lot more use of water when you are fasting - no licking that off your finger, etc.  This is a recipe we have never made before but they seem brown around the edges and maybe not totally cooked in the center.  But, we cannot test it.  

Week 41, Day 4

Breakfast: We had two fried eggs each.  Cressida likes them over hard.  Dai and I like them over medium.  Usually Phyllis also does over hard but today she asked if she could have one of each, so I did that.  The girls had the last of the church baguettes for toast with breakfast and I had the last piece of homemade bread for the my toast.  I also had Roma and cream.  I love that stuff.

Lunch: Baked ziti.  I didn't have fresh basil, so I considered sending Phyllis to the store.  She was excited but when she went to get cash out of my wallet, I would have had to take it from the gas money part so I decided to use dried basil.  it is okay, but not quite as good.  We also had a salad made with CSA lettuce, CSA tomatoes and CSA bell pepper.  I sliced the rest of the CSA bell pepper to go with lunch.  We also had raspberry iced-tea or water with lunch.  Then the girls asked if they could have "some of that tea stuff."  At first I thought they meant the iced tea but they meant this Rooibos Vanilla Latte.  It is rooibos tea with peach and apple juices and you mix it with an equal amount milk.  It is very good.  I got it on  whim at Ross - Tazo brand.  Dai and Cress didn't finish their.

Dinner:  Steve Arnold, our next door neighbor, owns a shop where he works on trucks.  Some of his customers bring in non-cash goods.  One brings in expired snacks like from a vending machine. Steve always lets us pick through and get some.  At first I got quite a few, but I found that my girls didn't always like them.  Sometimes because they just don't like and maybe sometimes just because it is stale.  So, I got less today, but we still got some.  We ate a popcorn, a carmel popcorn and a TGIF potato skins thing.  We also had ramen - except Dai who detests the stuff and ate leftover baked ziti - all of it!  It was maybe two servings I thought, though Jason would have taken it all for a lunch. Cress must have filled up on snacks because she only ate a couple bites of her ramen.  Today we ate in the living room so that we could start "Fiddler on the Roof," which is pretty long.

Prep ahead:  Phyllis and I made oatmeal cookies, with chocolate chips.  It seemed that all the recipes I looked up on line called for quick oats, but good old red and white Betty Crocker cookbook uses rolled oats.  We also added chocolate chips.  I actually prefer raisins but we don't have that.  Pressure cooked the butternut squash but we did not eat it.

Week 41, Day 3

Breakfast: oatmeal with brown sugar, raisins and milk.  Dai and I also had a CSA carrot.

Lunch: Phyllis had a PBH on the rolls we used last night.  Cressida had two.  Two!? We shall see if she actually finishes them.  Cress and Phyllis took CSA green beans and CSA apples.  Cressida took prunes and Phyllis took a CSA carrot - the last.  Nine or ten carrots since last night!  Granted not large, but still.  Cress and Phyllis both have those crescent roll cookies.  Dai took an apple for snack but she is the lunch helper today so she will eat hot lunch today.

Dinner: Cress and Dai had PBH.  Phyllis had a ham sandwich.  They actually made their own tonight.  I ate a microwaved potato while they watched a movie.  I did feel a little guilty since I think they would have preferred that to sandwiches.  We are almost out of bread, though so I feel good about that effort.  

Week 41, Day 2

Breakfast: breakfast burritos made by Jason

Lunches: Turkey sandwiches for all three girls using church bread again.  Cressida got an apple, prunes and a beet.  Dai and Phyllis got carrots sticks, CSA celery sticks and cucumbers sticks.  I ate McD's because I thought today was my lunch with Fiona Hyde at Deloitte, and it was not and I was out and hungry and with another errand to do.  Still, not the wisest lunch choice.  I actually was gone from 9:20 when I took Jason to work (he actually drove,) I went to Ross, then downtown, then back to Ross to meet heather Castro (she tried on dresses and I tried on tops) and then to get the CSA.  Jason took a banana nut muffin and a turkey sandwich and carrot sticks.  He took extra carrots to have for the plane ride.

Dinner:  No Jason for 11 nights of dinners because he is traveling for work.  I asked Dai, "How well do I cook when dad is gone?" And she replied, "Great!"  Obviously they have not connected how often I do leftovers, have oatmeal or sandwiches for dinner when Jason is not home.  Of course, this week sandwiches was the plan even when Jason was here - and sometimes, we do one of those short cuts when he is here.  Maybe it isn't that obvious to them.  Or maybe I feel there is a connection but it isn't really there.

We had sandwiches on church rolls.  Cress and Dai had two PBH sandwiches each.  Phyllis had two turkey sandwiches.  Dai and Phyllis had two CSA carrots.  Cressida had one CSA carrot and one CSA apples - CSA extra fruit option is over for the year.  I had a PBJ on a roll and a CSA carrot.  I also made raspberry ice tea but the kids didn't drink it.

Week 41, Day 1

Breakfast: Breakfast burritos

Lunch:  Turkey sandwiches, carrots, celery and CSA apples.  Except Cress had beets instead of carrots. They had some pumpkin and cranberry cookies, too, that Steve Arnold gave us.  I ate an egg salad sandwich, apple and cookies.  Jason had a turkey sandwich, too.

After school snack: cheese sticks

Dinner: turkey sandwiches and cheese sticks followed by banana nut muffins from Steve Arnold

Week 40, Day 7

breakfast: fried eggs and toast - need to use up the church bread we have left.  We used mostly Dutch crunch for toast today - little baguette size rounds.

Lunch:  Cressida had the last of the chicken salad with some Dutch crunch rounds.  I usually leave them separate and let her put it together there.  Dai and Phyllis had turkey sandwiches.  Everyone had CSA apples, carrots and celery, too.  Phyllis also has her PBH from yesterday.  She ate her apples from yesterday's lunch with breakfast.  Every girl got a cupcake.

Dinner:  egg salad sandwiches.  CSA apples.  

Week 40, Day 6

Breakfast: I had an egg sandwich on  church croissant.  Jason had a egg, cheese and bacon scramble on a croissant.  The girls had eggs and church sourdough toast.  We still have much church bread - so we will continue this general sandwich and toast idea.

Lunch:  PBH on homemade bread.  CSA bell peppers, CSA apples, and CSA carrots.;  Phyllis had a doctor's appointment so she and I went to Vietnamese.  I hope she eats her lunch (what she didn't eat for "snack) for after school snack.  Jason had a rice burrito

After school snack: apples

Dinner:  Turkey sandwiches with lettuce and CSA tomatoes.  We still have so much bread so it is going to be sandwiches for dinner every day this week.  I was able to give some to other people today - the most to Kim McWilliams, Gilly's mom.  Apparently her mom like rye bread and I had a whole loaf.  She was very excited about that.  I asked if she had freezer space because otherwise it doesn't last.  She said that she had some freezer space, and otherwise she could use it to offset the costs of feeding her chickens and turkey.  We also sent her home with eight apples.  Also with dinner we had CSA apples and CSA beets that we cooked earlier.  We did not reheat them or anything.  I let the girls have cupcakes for dessert.  Jason had to come pretty close to home to fill a prescription before his trip to India so he stopped in here to eat before leaving to coach at City Beach, his second job to which he usually goes directly from Riverbed.  Jason also had jalapeños on his sandwich and two apples but no beets because I hadn't figured that part out that early.

Prep Ahead: boiled eggs and sliced and froze church bread remainder

Week 40, Day 5

breakfast: eggs, cheese and bacon on a church croissant

Lunch: Cress and Phyllis had ramen.  Dai and I had leftover baked ziti.  Jason had a rice burrito.

Dinner: PBJ's

Prep ahead: Dai made vanilla cupcakes from scratch and frosting.

Week 40, Day 4

Breakfast: yogurt pancakes.  Lane stayed over and ate with use.

Lunch: Chicken salad sandwiches on homemade bread, kale chips and apples.  Lane joined us for lunch, too.

Dinner: I had bought an artichoke tapenade a few days before.  It is good on crackers but quite a large jar.  It had a recipe for a pasta using it and I made that last night - Gertie's Buttery Artichoke Tapenade Pasta.  I would have doubled the sauce but I didn't know that then.  (Phyllis said ti was dry and Jason said it reminded him of our pasta with butter and parmesan from when were "kids."  Yes, he actually said "kids.")  I used curly noodles.  I had pesto in the fridge from so long ago I don't recall ever but luckily it was still good.  Salad made by Phyllis with lettuce, cucumber, CSA bell pepper and CSA tomatoes.  Dessert was pineapple milk shakes.  We used frozen pineapple.  The shake was a bit stringy.  I am guessing due to freezing?

Week 40, Day 3

Breakfast: Jason and Cressida had egg burritos.  Dai, Phyllis and I had egg sandwiches.  Phyllis also had canned apricots.  I had Roma.  I don't always record when I do - but mostly I just have it ion my driving days.

Lunch: Jason had a bean and rice burrito and three carrots worth of carrot sticks.  This is what finally got me up this morning.  After I got back from running with Dai, I laid down.  Yes, my sweaty self on our clean sheets.  I actually managed to fall asleep after the alarm went off and Jason got up. About 7:20 he came in and said something and I asked if he was ready to go and he said that he was except for lunch.  I asked what he was having and if he would like me to peel some carrots.  He said yes. I said thanks for letting me sleep, because I actually did sleep for a bit.  He said it was a begrudging act, but he was glad I slept.  So, I got up to peel carrots.

Cressida had a PBH, half a CSA bell pepper, one of the partial CSA corn cobs (there were three total,) some CSA strawberries, a CSA apple and some CSA carrots.  They are tiny but sweet.  He was telling me what she had and I was so glad that my kids actually consider that a treat.  She couldn't decide which three she most wanted so she took five produce.  Go for it, girl.  We haven't had to convince them of fruits and veggies wonders - they own that all themselves.  Phyllis and Dai both took bean burritos wrapped in tinfoil.  I am not sure how hot they will be by the time they eat them.  I am now out of beans so need to make a new batch.  Dai took CSA strawberries, CSA corn and CSA carrots.  Phyllis took a CSA apple, CSA strawberries, a CSA carrot and the last of the CSA corn.  Dai took a lollipop for her dessert and Phyllis and Cress took the cookies that Dai made this past weekend.  I had a beet wrap with cream cheese instead of goat cheese and also added five sliced strawberries to it.  It worked well.

After school snack: microwave popcorn

Dinner: Baked ziti - I did two batches because we had guests for dinner.  One had hot link and one was meatless.  Our guests were the Tervalons, my brother, Lane, and Jason's brother, Jereme.  We also had a salad using the CSA lettuce, three CSA kale leaves, a head of romaine, CSA beets from last week, CSA bell pepper, CSA tomatoes and a cucumber.  Our dressings are diminished a bit - South of the Border Ranch, the homemade green cilantro dressing, a homemade balsamic and the Blue Cheese.  We also had garlic bread - store bought variety.  I cooked the remaining three sweet dumpling squashes (we got eight between my brother, Lane, and the CSA and had three left) and the CSA butternut squash.  I cut the butternut into fourths.  I did two just plain per Dai's request as she prefers butter and salt and pepper to sweet squash.  The sweet dumpling and the two butternut quarters with the cavity I did with brown sugar, apples, nutmeg and butter in the cavity.  I think they came out nicely and I got to use up some of our many apples.  Jason made a toffee pudding cake for dinner and we had vanilla ice-cream with that.  We also used some of the CSA limes to make margaritas.  

Week 40, Day 2

Breakfast: oatmeal with all the fixings and toast.  We had church bread sliced and in the freezer but invarious bags - so I got them out today and made toast with breakfast to help it get used up.

Lunch:  Cress had a PBJ on a church wheat roll, a CSA apple, carrots and CSA beets.  Two because they were small.  Dai had a PBJ on a church sourdough roll, a CSA apple, a carrot and a banana.  Phyllis had a PBH on a church sourdough roll, a CSA apple, a carrot and a banana.  Jason had a burrito with beans and the new rice and I had a bean burrito with Mexican rice.

I had four poblanos.  Small ones that I needed to use up from last week's CSA.  I found this recipe.  It called for half a poblano.  Mine were small, but still, using all four was likely more than intended.  I was going to double it, but I ended up only having one cup of brown rice left anyway.  I also used a whole onion.  Other than that, I think I stuck to the recipe.  It was pretty tasty.  One of the better ones I have made.

http://batterlicker.com/2010/11/mexican-rice-and-fajita-spiced-steak-poblano-peppers-and-onions/

After school snack: toast in the car on the way to gym and math

Dinner: Chaos.  Thursdays are normally hard and today was brutal.  So, Dai, Cressida and I had egg sandwiches.  Jason and Phyllis had burritos.  We all ate apples and strawberries, too.  We have a few apples eft from last week's CSA and because we got shorted a couple weeks ago, we got extra this week, so we are rolling in apples.

Prep ahead we steamed the three ears of corn and pressure cooked the beets.

Amusing Discussion with Jason About Cooking for Two

Today Jason worked from home for the first half of the day. He rode up to San Francisco to pick up his work visa for his trip to India after.  Hopefully it is done.  The status yesterday said "Ready for pick up in one business day."  This morning, the status had not changed, but he is assuming that means that it will be ready today.  They also said that they would send him an email when it was ready, but he hadn't received that when he left here for there.

We had lunch together.  I made some Mexican rice today and we had burritos.  I commented that the other day I was thinking about learning to cook only for two when all the kids are gone.  I asked him he had heard about the idea of cooking only once a week.  He said he had but had no idea why that would appeal to anyone.  I told him that I certainly did because some days I have tons of time to cook and other days I have none, so it would be great on those days to pull something out of the freezer and put it in the crock pot to reheat while I was out and about and still have dinner at ready at home. (Last Tuesday, for example.) I was telling him that I realized that I could probably just make beans once and be mostly done when the kids are gone.

This didn't please him, which surprised me.  He said, "I think we just learn to cook for two and then cook fresh food every night - like Indian and stuff."  I said it made no sense to make beans in small batches for only two.  He clarified.  He said that he would be happy eating burritos every day but he knew that I wouldn't.  I told him that I didn't really think learning to cook for two would be so hard.  I imagined it is hard if you make a lot of casseroles - which we don't.  So then we started talking about some of our dishes and how we could downsize them or if we would just plan to have leftovers.  He said, "You start with a few leaves of lettuce, and a half a cucumber and a tomato instead of a head of lettuce and a whole cucumber and several tomatoes."  I said that I didn't think a few leaves would be enough and maybe he should just eat more salad.  I told him that I didn't think half a head of lettuce was an unreasonable amount of salad.  He said, "But compared to now when you start with a head of lettuce."  I held up two fingers.  He said, "Really? Now I don't know how much we eat or how much I make!"  (Referring to his drastically understating his current wage when interviewing last year.)

This was very funny to me.  He used to do a lot of cooking, but mostly I do it now.  We also used to have the girls pack their own lunches, but mostly I have done it this year.  Jason usually does on my driving mornings, at least for the older two.

Week 40, Day 1

Breakfast: breakfast burritos

Lunch: Phyllis and Jason took leftover pot roast.  Phyllis and Cressida had a PBH, a CSA apple, celery and carrot.   Dai had a PBJ, a CSA apple, a banana and a carrot.  Phyllis and Dai had Swedish fish for dessert.  Jason made me a beet wrap, but the cheese had gone south, so I had ramen when I got home.

Dinner: rice cereal using leftover rice