Week 53, Day 1

LAST DAY!!!!!!!!

Breakfast: leftover oatmeal for Dai, Phyllis and I but it was all gone by the time Cress got up so she had fried eggs.

Lunch: Cress and Phyllis had the rest of the chicken salad on two of the remainng hambuirger buns.  Dai had the last of the turkey lunchmeat on the last hamburger bun.  I had leftover Garden of Eden salad, an atulfo mango (they looked good but probably need a couple days) and some (a lot) Cheez-its.

Dinner: Pot roast with carrots, onions and potatoes.  Salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber with feta and toasted pine nuts on the side.  Cream biscuits.  Martinelli's and blueberry ice-tea. Mini wienies with bacon and brown sugar as an appetizer.  The wienies were on sample at Costco and someone nearby suggested the bacon thing so we will try that.

Week 52, Day 7

Can you believe it?! Tomorrow is the last day of this!!  It was an interesting experience, but I am glad it is pretty much over.  I wonder if I will ever look back and find it fascinating.  Or maybe someone 100 years from now, "They ate what?!  Who in their  right mind would eat that?!"  What I am sure of is tat it is a good place to put a recipe that I want to hand on down or to which I want easy access, but I will just put them in my regular blog going forward.

Breakfast: oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins plus your choice of regular or almond milk.  Cress prefers almond milk.  I think the other two don't much care.  I definitely prefer cow milk, but almond is better than soy.

Lunch: Cressida and I had chicken salad.  Dai and Phyllis had BLTs.  Phyllis had a sliced apple.  The rest of us had a mandarin orange.  We all had a few Cheez-its.  (I am trying to go back to no sugar.)  I was planning to have a BLT, also, but I burned the last few pieces of bacon and it was already going to be light on the bacon so I had leftover chicken salad.  We used church sourdough bread.

As a kid I remember thinking that people who froze bread were even poorer than we.  Now, I love freezing bread.  My kids' sandwiches are thawed by lunchtime.  If we sandwiches eat at home they are just toasted, either lightly or a lot depending on the kid.  Cressida really prefers not toasted.  She reminded me, "Mom, next time can you remember I don't like toasted bread for my sandwiches?"  I told her it was either toasted or frozen.

I love freezing bread because it lasts forever.  Yesterday, Lucky had bread on clearance.  I am sure it was close to its expiry date.  It was a good brand and cracked wheat or wheat berry and white hamburger buns. We are having hamburger buns tonight since I think they probably need to be used quickly (which means beef two nights in a row plus I plan to do a roast tomorrow!) but I just tossed all the sandwich bread in the freezer and I know it will last until the day that it is pulled out to be used.

Dinner: Hamburgers, pan fried rather than grilled because we still need propane. Beans and cornbread.  I tried a different recipe and used bacon fat in it - fresh from lunch.  That means you really cut down the salt that goes in the beans, so they were a bit salty.  Cress and Phyllis didn't eat theirs.  We are letting the rest sit overnight with potatoes to remove the salt so Jason can take them and the rest of the cornbread for lunch tomorrow.  We also had canned green beans.

I made it without sugar.  I did have four dates after dinner.

Week 52, Day 6

Breakfast: eggs and toast.  Jason got up and left early so he had cereal at work like usual.

Lunch:  I made chicken salad sandwiches for Kaitlyn, Dai and I.  Phyllis had her Cup'o'Noodles from Heather Castro and Cress had her microwaveable mac'n'cheese, also from Heather.  we cut up some apples and had Cheez-its, too.

Dinner: Two New York steaks, total precooked weight 1.25 pounds.  We were out of propane so we did them on the stove top.  We also had roasted butternut squash, sautéed mushrooms and Garden of Eden salad with it.

Jason got a cookbook called "Eat the Bible" for Christmas.  It has some recipes and some questions and scriptures and other stuff.  He thought that would be a good ready made FHE.  So, tonight, with much pleasure, we chopped, diced and sauteed together.  I had pre-cooked the wheat.  Hopefully we will do that often and try some new foods.  It is almost enough to make me sad I won't be doing this anymore next year.  Almost, but not quite.  I can always reference anything particularly memorable.   

Week 52, Day 4

Breakfast: cold cereal and bananas at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Lunch: We ate at Del Taco in Sacarmento after attending my brother's ward before heading home.

Dinner: Eggs and toast for Dai, Phyllis and I.  Jason and Cress had bean and rice burritos.  

Week 52, day 4 - at Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's

breakfast: cold cereal with almond milk and hot chocolate for the girls. To be fair, I think grandma and grandpa have made them hot chocolate every day we have been here. I actually did not eat because it was almond or soy milk only. Well, I had some raisinettes and Pero.

Lunch: I realized it was lunch time and figured Granada was a bit frazzled so I made chicken noodle soup out of a can for phyllis and Kraft macaroni and cheese and green beans for lunch. I think Grandma Lisa didn't eat, but Larry did plus our family.

Dinner: hamburgers grilled by Larry. We had brought some produce that would have gone bad in our fridge if we had not brought it. One of these was Brussels sprouts and another was fresh cranberries. We made roasted Brussels sprouts that used the cranberries, maple syrup and some walnuts. The girls found walnut and pecan trees on our dog walk and cracked them for us when they got home. 

Week 52, day 3 - at Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's

Breakfast: Larry made pancakes because the girls requested it and we are the leftover egg muffins because Lisa didn't want pancakes to mean the leftovers stayed there.

Lunch: Jason, Daitarih, Phyllis and I ate at a taqueria in Yuba city after our movie. Then we went to a little homemade ice cream place for dessert. Cressida stayed here with grandpa and he took her to Jack in the Box for lunch.

Dinner: leftovers from the taqueria, Jack in the Box and what was in the fridge. Very unorganized and eating was done in their own schedule.

Week 52, Day 2 - Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's

Breakfast: egg, sausage and potatoes muffins. Basically it is breakfast casserole in muffin tins. She has made some variant of it before but it is never very good. Usually dry. This was the best yet. We also had mandarin oranges from gheir tree, bananas and apple slices. We finished the cranberry, pecan, rye bread that Michelle LaVanaway made us for Christmas.

Lunch: not a formal lunch. Olives. Chips and dip. Candy from stockings, etc. 

Dinner: pot roast with onions and carrots, garlic mashed potatoes wih heavy made from the pot roast juice, steamed broccoli and steamed beefs. Dessert was either Christmas candy or cinnamon apples. 

Week 52, day 1 - at Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's

Breakfast: French toast, Larry's specialty

Lunch: bean burritos for everyone except Dai who had oeNut butter and jelly. They only have chunky peanut butter but even forewarned, she chose it

Dinner: Papa Murphy's pizza. We really like Hawaiian in our house, buy apparently Larry doesn't do ham so we got half Hawaiin and the other half chicken garlic and a cowboy pizza.

Also much junk food. Almond rocha. Chips. See's candy. Popcorn. And do on. Before dinner though we did have cucumber stocks do that's something, i guess. 

week 51, day 7

Breakfast: the girls got processed foods from heather Castro. They were thrilled and I think it was easy for her. So this morning thy had instant oatmeal packets. She put in two. The maple and brown sugar variety. Phyllis didn't like it. She had only made one packet to start so she gave her other unopened packet to Dai. I didn't eat.

Lunch: dim sum with Jason and a co-worker and his daughter. The last couple years we have gone to dim sum over winter break at a place up in Sunnyvale. I think it is officially a tradition. The first time it was just us the next we went with one of Jason's co-workers from NetApp. This time his coworker was Chinese so we tried some new dishes. Whole baby octopuses and chicken feet and sticky rice. Crews liked the sticky rice but the other two weren't big hits with the girls or Jason. I ate three octopuses at least. Cresida's tentacles, Phyllis's head, I ate most of cressida's tentacles jn a spind one that her tried and I had two of my own. I actually thought the chicken feet were so much. Rotter than my last experience with them that I ate mine and most of Phyllis's and Cressida's. We had never had sticky rice before. It is really filling. I ate half of more of Phyllis's and one of my own and the last couple bites of cressida's. She did like it but was full.

Dinner: not much. We were packing and getting ready. Jason had two bean and rice burritos. I ate more homemade almond rocha than I should have. Cressida ate th rest of the leftover carrots.

Prep ahead: we packaged and froze the pumpkin purée from yesterday and the chunks from the second half that we did not get pureed. Actually letting it sit all day really dried it out. It is almost like the canned stuff! Last time we learned that trick only a few hours before we had to start the pie, so it drained off some liquid but not as much. We took most of our produce  and  some bread up with us to Larry and Lisa's house where we I'll spend Christmas and the weekend. 

Week 51, Day 6

Breakfast: Jason ate at work and we ate lazily over the morning.  We had oatmeal and persimmons and some of Aunt Michelle's Christmas bread she sent last night.  It is a cranberry, pecan, rye bread.  Dai and Cress didn't care for it.  Phyllis ate theirs, except the crusts.  I put cream cheese on the two toasted slices that I had.

Lunch: chicken salad sandwiches on regular store bought sandwich bread, leftover steamed carrots and/or Brussels sprouts and Cheez-its.  The girls had some of their ginger bread houses for dessert and I am having leftover pie.

Dinner: bean burritos. We didn't bother to season and refry the beans even. We just cool them in chicken broth and use whole. That sure makes it easier and faster. We had lettuce and tomaotes and rice, even, if you wanted it.

Prep ahead: we roasted the second pumpkin. Dai looked up different instructions on line. They had us cover it in tinfoil. Let me tell you- don't do it. Toasts muchich more quickly uncovered. We puteed one half of the pumpkin. It is over half a gallon of puree I bet. We put in the salad spinner with a cheese cloth  to let the water drank off. We poured off quite a bit of liquid even just in the few hours before we went to bed. We didn't have time to puree both and we don't have two salad spinners to let it drain so we just peeled the other half, cut it up a bit, put it in container and covered in it plastic in the fridge. 

Week 51, Day 5

Breakfast: oatmeal for the girls.  Fried eggs and toast for Jason and I.  Cress and I also had a persimmon.

Lunch: I had church baguette toasted with cream cheese and a persimmon (our neighbor gave us a bunch.) I had a bit of a headache, so I am not positive but I am pretty sure everyone else had turkey sandwiches on some sort of church bread.

Dinner: Christmas dinner at my dad and Susan's place.  My brother Sam also came.  It was traditional turkey, gravy, stuffing, rolls, cranberry jelly and we did roasted maple bacon Brussels sprouts (recommended by Susan) and steamed carrots.  Dessert was indulgent.  Black cherry pie with whipped cream, brownies, Ghiradelli chocolates and snicker doodles.  

Week 51, Day 4

Breakfast: rice cereal for the girls and an egg burrito for me and Jason

Lunch: Turkey sandwiches for lunch with persimmons for Cress and I

Dinner: Soup and corn bread at the Tervalons.  We brought stuff to make cream biscuits, which were a big hit.  Also, others brought various hors d'oevres.

Week 51, day 3

Breakfast: breakfast burritos

Lunch:Dai had left over combo pizza, pickles ,cucumber, carrot, and salt water taffy. Cress had left over combo pizza, pickles, cucumber, prunes, and cookies.  Phyllis had left over combo pizza, cucumber, carrot, and cookies - and a third produce that she cannot recall.

Dinner: Dai ate at Kaitlin's. Phyllis ate at Gillian's. Jason played volleyball in Sunnyvale with his brother after work so he didn't come hone until after 10 PM. So, cress and I didn't really have a plan. We ended up going to Heather Castro's and they were eating and we are some of their food. 

Week 52, Day 2

Breakfast: Cress and I had breakfast burritos and apple slices.

Lunch: The girls all had leftover pizza.  Jason had burritos using the last of the taco beans.  Cressida had a mandarin orange, a carrot and xxx.

Dinner: taco bell

Week 52, Day 1

Breakfast: Cress, Dai and I had fried eggs and toast.  Jason said the farm eggs that I got yesterday are bigger and the shells are harder.  Jason and Phyllis had breakfast burritos.

Lunch:  Dai and I had pizza.  She was home sick again, but she had no fever at lunch ,so I think she can go tomorrow.  Cress and Phyllis also had leftover pizza.  Phyllis had carrot sticks, an apple, and pickles.  Cressida had pickles, carrot sticks and a mandarin orange.  They also had a potluck at school, so I not sure if she ate it or not.

Dinner: Baked ziti, leftover cheesy bread, balsamic roasted brussel sprouts. 

Week 50, Day 7

Breakfast: the girls had rice cereal with almond milk.  I had a PBJ.  Jason ate at work, as usual.  He did get out early today though for a change.  That used to be his normal.

Lunch: Jason had leftover taco salad and carrot sticks.  Cressida had a half a turkey sandwich on church sourdough, a mandarin orange, pickles and some cucumber sticks.  Phyllis had a whole turkey sandwich on church sourdough, some pickles, some cucumber sticks and some carrot sticks.  Both girls got to take sugar cookies for dessert.  Dai and I had potato ham soup that Heather made for us.

Dinner: Papa Murphy's pizza.  Abuela and her boyfriend, Bret Ray, were with us.  They actually paid and we cooked.  

Week 50, day 6

Breakfast: oatmeal and I ate the last egg on toast

Cressida had half a turkey sandwich, prunes, pickles and tomatoes.  Jason had some turkey sandwich and the last of the black beans. I junkfood at work. someone made this great cheese dip. Dai had a PBH on church sourdough, tomatoes, pickles and a carrot.  Phyllis had black beans, pickles, tomatoes and a carrot. Cress had sugar cookies and fudge and the other girls just had sugar cookies. The cookies were made with the babysitter last Friday.

dinner: taco salad. I cooked the beans before I left to go grocery shopping. Jason got home before I did. He called to ask what he could do to help with dinner. So when we got home dinner was ready and the table is set. I am so grateful for his help.

Prep ahead: cooked brown rice for breakfast tomorrow

Week 50, Day 5

Breakfast: oatmeal still with almond milk, but I had boiled eggs on toasted church sourdough.

Lunch: baked ziti, green beans and toasted church rye bread.

Dinner: Carrot sticks, string cheese, turkey sandwiches on church sourdough rolls, the last piece of leftover pizza, dates, prunes and hot chocolate in a thermos.  In the car or at the temple grounds since we will go up there today.  We will leave about 4:30 and be back about 9.  

Week 50, Day 4

Breakfast: oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar.  We used almond milk because we are out of milk and pay day isn't until Monday and I am trying to wait.  We have float that could cover it, but it is the principal.

Lunch:  chicken salad sandwiches on church bread or church croissants.

Dinner: Jack in the box because Phyllis was supposed to be picked up at 5 to go to Christmas in the Park with Gillian and we were on our way home from the play at after 4.  Then it turned out it got cancelled.  Otherwise we could have eaten at home.  

Week 50, Day 3

Breakfast: Cressida had two fried eggs.  She likes them in-between over hard and over medium.  I made crepes for the rest of us.  Jason works from home today, so even he got some.

Lunch: Dai had half an apple, grapes and some heirloom tomatoes.  Phyllis had grapes, a half an apple and tomatoes, too.  They both had leftover pizza, too.  Cressida had a dental appointment.  After that I gave her some leftover crepes on her way back to school.  After school she ate a piece of pizza and more crepes.  Jason and I went to California Pizza Kitchen since he was working from home today.

Dinner: Jason and I went to his company Christmas party.  The girls had pasta with jarred Alfredo sauce, frozen meatballs, and canned green beans with the sitter.  

Week 50, Day 2

Breakfast:  rice cereal for the girls.  I went to breakfast with Heather Castro and Jenn Zhang for Heather's birthday.

Lunch:  Cress took a boiled egg and some saltine crackers - the whole wheat kind.  She also had half an apple, the last mandarin orange and some small heirloom tomatoes.  Dai had peanut butter and crackers, a half an apple, some heirloom tomatoes and a carrot. Phyllis saltines, a boiled egg, half an apple, tomatoes and a carrot.

Dinner: Papa Murphy's pizza.

Week 50, Day 1

Breakfast: Rice cereal for the girls.  Eggs and toast for me.

Lunch: The girls took boiled eggs.  We also had apple halves for everyone.  Dai also took a carrot and pickles and two carrots for Phyllis.  Cress had pickles and tomatoes.  

Dinner: leftover hamburger soup before heading to Grandma Susan's to decorate ginger bread houses.

Prep ahead: I made a new batch of fudge today.  I did one that called for marshmallow creme.  (That stuff is so good!) But it was too crystalized, so I need to work on that.  

Week 49, Day 7

Woohoo! Only three weeks to go!

Breakfast: Cressida had brown rice cereal.  After we got Cressida off, Jason made sausage gravy, cream biscuits and scrambled eggs.  I love biscuits and gravy.  I would order it at various places and sometimes I would be happy with it and other times not so much.  Eventually, Jason suggested that I ask for a sample before ordering.  So, that is what I will often do now.  Not that we eat breakfast out as often as we used to do.  So, when Jason was just about done with the gravy, he asked me to tell him if it needed more pepper or salt (knowing pepper is key to me.)  How wonderful to have a man who knows me so well.  Dai, Jason and Phyllis had a church pastry.  Phyllis declined at first, because it is too much sugar.  Then she took part of one.  Then she had part of another - so basically she had a whole one but she in consciously aware a little better, which is good. We each had half a banana, too.  Phyllis had rooibos tea with half and half and I had Roma with half and half.  Now we are out of half and half.  We had a lot of half and half and cream leftover from Thanksgiving that we were trying to use up.

Lunch: Cressida has rice and beans, a mandarin orange (only about 7 or so left from what Grandpa Larry brought to us,) three pickles and half an apple.  Dai has two boiled eggs, a mandarin orange, the other half of the apple and some pickles.  Phyllis has rice and beans with an egg on top (please break it when you put it on top so it doesn't cook to hard,) two huge carrots and some pickles.  You can tell that summer and our CSA have ended.  Our produce options are much less interesting now.  Jason took leftover hamburger soup and the last two cream biscuits.  Cressida and Phyllis took sugar cookies and Dai took some of the first batch of fudge.  Jason took all but two pieces of the first batch of fudge to work with him because it was such a hit yesterday.  He also took about 3/4 of the new fudge with him to work today.  It is creamier than the first batch but the flavor is more artificial.

Dinner: Taco Bell

Week 49, day 6

Breakfast: the girls had brown rice cereal. I had eggs from Gillian, half a banana and sour dough toast from our church loaf.

Lunch: I had and apple and black beans and rice. I will miss the egg, but it beats buying lunch. Cressida had a peanut butter and jelly Sandwich, half an apple (they are huge!), pickles (the kind everyone likes again), and the other half of my banana from breakfast. Phyllis and Dai had black beans and rice with the egg since theirs was packed hot. Phyllis had a carrot, pickles and a banana. Dai has picked, a mandarin orange and the other half of cressida's apple. Each girl had fudge for dessert.  Jason took some fudge to work, too.  For lunch, Jason took the last of the pintos for a burrito.

Dinner: I made hamburger soup using the broth from the meat we did on Thursday and it had some beef left in it. Usually I do part barley and part brown ice in the soup but I was out of barley so I only used brown rice. Huge pot of soup with only about 2/3 cup grains. I love that soup! Jason made cream biscuits and we also had roared butternut squash. We had fudge for dessert.

I had a second biscuit. Cream biscuits go really well with my homemade orange marmalade.

Prep ahead: I made a different fudge tonight. It is called jello pudding fudge and yes, it has pudding in it. 

Week 49, day 5

Fast Sunday

Breakfast: Gillian McWilliams, who spent the night, and Cressida and Jason had oatmeal.

Lunch: Cressida, Jason and Gillian had bean burritos. I am so grateful that we usually have beans on hand.

Dinner: black bean layers. When we broke our fast, Dai and Phyllis had a bean burrito and a piece of toast from whatever their church bread was -Dai got a seed covered baguette and Phyllis got a raisin bagel. Phyllis had cream cheese on hers. They also had s bean burrito. Then we started making sugar cookies. I started black beans (we found some in the bucket into which we had been going to put the pinto beans) and rice w little after four, when we started the cookies. So dinner wasn't full easy until 7. It could have been ready by 6:30 but we were frosting cookies when the rice got done so we didn't stop to finish the beans right away. After I pressure cook the beans, I add all the spices and onions and such and set it for a stew cycle in the pressure cooker. So, Dai and Phyllis weren't hungry. Only Jason, cress and I ate. We had black bean layers. We used these eggs that Gillian's mom gave us. They had such lovely orange yolks! Store bought ones are more yellow than orange.

Prep ahead: We made sugar cookies and frosted them. It is Jenn Zhang's sugar cookie and cream cheese frosting recipe. We delivered 4 each to the following families: Kaitlin Schwab's family, Sister Marr (Phyllis's Primary teacher), Sister Rocks (cressida's Primary teacher), and Sister Rodriguez ( dai's Primary teacher.)  After we got home and put the kids to bed, I made a batch of dark chocolate fudge. It is firmer than I would expect but pretty tasty. Yes, I ate some sugar cookies and fudge. I have a couple oyher recipes that I want to try: one that uses chocolate pudding and another than uses marshmallow cream. 

Week 49, Day 4

Breakfast: All but Jason had croissanwiches - fried eggs and bacon (except Cress) on a croissant.  Yummy!  I got four croissants from Heather.  That is what I wanted to do with it.  Jason had a breakfast burrito - but it included bacon.

Lunch: Chicken salad sandwiches on church sandwich bread.

Dinner: Turkey dinner at the ward Christmas parry.  We took Gillian McWilliams with us.  

Week 49, Day 3

Breakfast: Leftover oatmeal.  Cressida doesn't like leftover because you have to "break it up."  I offered Cressida sugar and raisins and she said, "Only raisins."  Then she asked if raisins were basically just sugar.  So, we talked about it, because the answer is yes, but in a less refined form. Cressida had the last of the raisins.  Phyllis skipped sugar.  Dai had oatmeal with brown sugar.

She decided that she will go sugar free until winter break.  I reminded her that there would be a party at school and asked how she would handle that.  It didn't seem to phase her.  We shall see how it goes.  We talked about not being preachy - so hopefully it goes well.  I will ask her how she feels about day 10 (if I remember.)  That was the day I really noticed a difference.  Phyllis read the mini bagel bag and realized that it had sugar.  She asked me to make homemade bread since that has honey.  I will.  She read the box for the cream cheese and saw "xantham gum" and just about freaked out.  We talked about that I cannot make cheese, so she just had to eat store bought cheeses and that so many things have preservatives.  Let's just focus on sugar to begin with.  I pulled out some wheat bread from the freezer that may or may not have sugar - but it is from a bakery so has no ingredients list for her to inspect.  Have I created a monster?

Lunch: Cress and Dai had bagels and cream cheese.  We are getting low on produce.  Cressida had pickles, prunes and a mandarin orange.  Dai had a couple mandarin oranges and prunes.  Phyllis finished the pickles.  This is good because Dai didn't like that particular brand but Costco didn't have theirs. Recently they had theirs again so now we can open those. I ate Vietnamese food for lunch.

Dinner: bean burritos with all the trimmings.

Week 49, Day 2

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: Cressida had a mini bagel with cream cheese, a mandarin orange, a tomato and some carrots.  Dai had a mini bagel with cream cheese, another bagel with cream cheese and 12 chocolate chips for dessert, two mandarin oranges and a tomato.  Phyllis had the last of the onion bagels with cream cheese, pickles and mandarin oranges (under duress.)

Dinner: Cross cut beef shanks slow cooked with beef broth, herbs and tomatoes, spaghetti squash (prepared in the pressure cooker,) salad, but it turned out we were out of both tomatoes and cucumbers so it was just lettuce, and potatoes.

During dinner, Phyllis asked if I was moving them to a sugar-free diet.  I replied that I was not but it opened the door to talking about food.  We talked about grass fed meat, we talked about the Western pattern diet, preservatives, refined grains and such.  We talked about how to avoid falling victim to the Western pattern diet.  We talked about how much sugar the average American diet includes.  We talked about preparing our food from whole foods rather than from store canned or from boxes.  We talked about eating lots of vegetables.  I explained that we started doing a CSA because it isn't just the quantity of vegetables but also the variety that mattered.  We talked about diabetes and heart disease and tooth decay all being linked to the Western pattern diet.  It was fun because they brought it up, not me so I wasn't preaching but in some ways I was preaching to the choir because that is how they have grown up largely.  We read the labels on a few things.  We talked about rolled oats versus steel cut.  We talked about brown rice versus white - Dai definitely prefers brown but I explained that it was a conscious decision to change our eating habits when we had kids.  I am so grateful for their healthy attitudes about food and that I am not forcing it on them, they are thinking.  Of course, I am telling them what I think is important and because I am their mom, and they are still little they believe me, but it is still a good feeling.  

Week 49, Day 1

Breakfast: I had fried eggs and toast.  The girls had breakfast burritos and Jason, like usual, ate at work.

Lunch: I had a bagel with cream cheese, tomatoes and caper, some leftover butternut squash and fennel, and vienna sausages.  I ate at home after work - I was so hungry!  Cressida had a bagel with cream cheese, small tomato, mandarin orange and celery sticks.  That celery looks awful to be honest but we need to try to use it up.  Dai had a turkey sandwich on rye, a mandarin orange, a small tomato and cucumber.  Phyllis had baby carrots and some celery but she didn't think it looked good so she brought it home uneaten.  Can't really blame her.

Dinner: pinto beans and cornbread and a salad with only tomatoes, but cheese and toasted pine nuts as an option.  I also made balsamic because we were down to just the ranch and salsa ranch.  We also had steamed frozen corn.  

Week 48, Day 7

Breakfast: breakfast burritos made by Jason. We had to leave early because we had a dentist appointment for the girls. Out dentist is in Sunnyvale very near to Jason's work. Since it is raining pretty good, Jason rode in with us. He will ride home will a co-worker. We left an hour early due to commute hour traffic but compounded by the rain, it might not be enough.

Lunch: Jason took leftover soup and salad. Cressida has two mini bagels with cream cheese, Dai had a ham on the and Phyllis had a PBH on the last two leftover pumpkin pancakes. Dai and cress had a mandarin orange, some grape tomatoes and a third of an English cucumber. Phyllis had English cucumber, grape tomatoes and carrots.

Dinner: Oatmeal.  When I told the older two that we would have oatmeal for dinner (Cress was still at gym), they actually cheered.  Thank you for their enthusiasm.  It make oatmeal feel like less of a cop out - and I did make it on the stove.  But 3 cups of dry outs is only four bowls of oatmeal.  Need to make more in future.  I made this cream cheese mix to go in it.  Brown sugar, almonds, vanilla, cream cheese.  The recipe called for too much vanilla but it was OK.  Cress mixed it in to hers.  Dai just had raisins and milk.  Phyllis liked it, mixed it in and then decided it was a no go so she didn't eat.  

Week 48, day 6

Breakfast: Breakfast burritos.

Lunch: I had leftovers: baked ziti, creamed leeks and and green beans. Jason had leftover baked ziti, too. Cressida had half a peanut butter sandwich on church bread, a Mandarine oranges, a banana, and grape tomatoes.  Dai had a ham sandwich,  some mushrooms, a mandarin orange and grape
tomatoes.  Phyllis had a ham sandwich on church bread and half an english cucumber, half a CSA bell pepper and three mushrooms.

Dinner:  We had the missionaries over today.  We had turkey soup that I made yesterday, a green salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and mushrooms made by Dai and crescent rolls from a store bought roll.  Totally cheating, but I had a headache and was glad of the ease.  I could have had cream biscuits as quickly and easily if I had asked Jason, but I did not think of it. 

Week 48, day 5

Breakfast: fried eggs and toast for most of us but Phyllis, who was throwing up in the middle of the night, had leftover oatmeal

Lunch: leftovers after church. Dai got a cinnamon roll from the church breed and the girls split it for dessert. Jason and I split the last piece of black bottom banan cream pie. It was so much better! We learned that is definitely something that you want to make ahead of time.

Dinner: baked ziti and canned green beans.

Prep ahead: Turkey soup with carrots, onions, celery, fresh parsley and potatoes.  We used the last of the leftover turkey in the soup.

Week 48, Day 4

Breakfast: fried eggs and toasted onion bagle halves - except Dai didn't want her half so Phyllis had it and Dai had rye toast.  Dai also had canned apricots.  The girls have consumed a number of mandarin oranges, too, this morning.

Lunch: leftovers - again

Dinner: split pea soup and corn bread at The Tervalons. 

Week 48, Day 3

Breakfast: Pumpkin pie as is tradition, but I did not have any because I actually felt sluggish after eating dessert yesterday.  We also had oatmeal.  We still let the girls have sugar and riasins but I just had raisins.

Lunch: leftovers, but to be honest the girls hardly ate.  They have been filling up on mandarin oranges though.

Dinner: leftovers at the Tervalon's

Week 48, Day 2 - THANKSGIVING

Breakfast: we woke and started preparing food for dinner the  took a break to have eggs and sausage for breakfast.  Dai actually cooked the sausage and when that was done, Jason cooked fried eggs to order.  Dai also had rye toast and Phyllis and I split the last CSA apple.

Lunch: We had orange juice (because we forgot it at breakfast)  Triscuits, saltines, summer sausage, Dubliner cheese, olives and an Oreo for lunch.

Dinner: We made caramelized onions (Phyllis's request,) creamed leeks to use up the CSA leeks, butternut and fennel roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams with marshmallows on top, cranberry jelly (Dai's request but I know that Larry loves it, too,) stuffing (a lot of mushrooms, so we shall see how that comes out,) the rolls Jason made last night, pumpkin pie, a green salad, black bottom banana cream pie and, of course, turkey.  We did our turkey a little differently - we cut out the back bone and thus it laid more flat and then we added a cranberry glaze at the end.  He used the drippings and some reserved glaze to make a wonderful sauce.  This helped if the meat was a little dry.  It is from Cook's Kitchen, so it is good if not traditional.  The black bottom pie was a huge hit.  We still have so much leftovers!

It was truly enjoyable cooking with the girls and Jason.  

Week 48, Day 1

Breakfast: I made breakfast burritos for Jason and I.  I  forgot salsa on mine so used mild Taco Bell sauce as I ate.  I also ate a CSA apple.  I am going to miss those.  The girls toasted leftover pancakes.  We had a can of whip cream left from when the Mancini's came over so I let them have some of that.

Lunch: cheaty pasta with meatballs using spaghetti noodles

Dinner: peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam sandwiches on homemade wheat bread for Jason, Dai and Cress.  Phyllis had a peanut butter and banana sandwich on a church baguette.  I had an onion bagel with cream cheese, tomatoes and capers.

Prep ahead: two pumpkin pies and honey wheat rolls. 

Week 47, Day 7

Breakfast: Dai is making pumpkin pancakes.  The recipe calls for baking powder, which we always have to grind because we bought it in bulk and it clumps and few things are grosser than a bite of baking powder.  This was fortunate since she also has to grind the whole allspice.  I will have leftover oatmeal because it has 3T of brown sugar in it.

Sugarless is getting easier.  Yesterday, Dai bought a churro at Costco with her own money.  She ripped off a piece for Cress, then a piece for Phyllis then I asked for one, "but smaller than Phyllis's pice."  She ripped it off, I was reaching for it when Phyllis reminded me that it has sugar.  I passed without a great deal of regret or pangs and genuinely thanked her for the reminder.  On Sunday I had a mint - only later realizing that probably had sugar in it, but otherwise I am doing really well, I think. But Thursday, I will blow it.  And Friday.  It is my goal to only do sugary foods for special occasions - birthdays, holidays, camping trips - as a habit.

Lunch:  Dai had a ham on church rye and half a CSA bell pepper.  Cressida had a ham on homemade wheat.  I had chicken salad on homemade wheat.  I also made lemonade for lunch.  Only Cressida drank some.

Dinner: leftover soup and I pressure cooked some CSA cabbage.  It was weeks old, but cabbage holds up well.  Dai ate at a friends' house, but Phyllis and Cress and I all loved it and we ate it with vinegar.  My pressure cooker is dying though, sometimes it wastes all it's water instead of sealing.  It lost most of its water this time, too, so it smelled burned but luckily it tasted fine.  

Week 47, Day 6

Breakfast: We had oatmeal with dates.  Cress loves it but Phyllis detests it so much that she would rather go without breakfast.  Dai thinks it is ok, but not her favorite.  I think it is fine.  I was reading about how much added sugar Americans consume and it is more than 130 pounds per year per person, a third of which comes from soda.  That is absurd.  I had all the family guess and Jason guessed 20 pounds and thought that was likely way too high.  So, I think beginning in January, we will have no sugar on our oatmeal - only dried or fresh fruit with our oatmeal.  Today we had no sugar but I think that wasn't the main complaint.

Lunch:  The girls all had a tomato sandwich and then Dai and Cress had a second and Phyllis's second was chicken salad.  I had a chicken salad sandwich.  We all had some summer sausage to finish up the remnant.

Dinner:  We had whit bean and kale soup.  Not the girls' favorite, so much so that Cressida didn't eat any.  We also had Chinese chicken napa cabbage salad.  I know these may not seem to match but I had a CSA head of lettuce to use up.  It wasn't too big and we have no leftovers.  We also had no sesame seeds so we did not have those as called for in the salad.

Prep Ahead: Daitarih pureed her pumpkin in batches.  We got at least 32 cups.  

Week 47, Day 5

Breakfast: the girls and Jason had breakfast burritos.  I had some leftover squash and fennel stuff.

Lunch: Jason, Dai and I had chicken salad sandwiches.  They used church rolls and I used homemade bread.  Phyllis ate leftover mashed potatoes and gravy in  her church bread bowl.  Cressida did not eat as usual.  As snacks, though, even she had a mandarin orange.  Dessert was a cookie from Abuela's.

Dinner: Bean burritos with cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa or Taco Bell sauce and sour cream to customize it.  We also finished off the mandarin oranges with dinner. Cookie for dessert.

Prep ahead: I started another batch of beans since we didn't have much leftover.  Daitarih roasted her pumpkin.  She got this very large pumpkin from school last Wednesday.  Actually she and Phyllis both did and they carried them most of the way home from school.  Near the end, Dai enlisted the help of the UPS man.  

Week 47, Day 4

Breakfast: Crispix. Dai was still hungry so she had leftover oatmeal.  I also had a bagel with cream cheese and I gave her a quarter of it.  When we got home from Chinese, Cress was hungry.  Jason said that Phyllis was, too, so he made burritos for the girls.

Lunch: grilling at Abuela's house - hamburgers and hot dogs.  A really nice afternoon.

Dinner: Dai had leftover oatmeal.  Phyllis and I had leftover mashed potatoes and gravy.  Cress had a leftover chicken cutlet.  Jason is still stuffed so he didn't eat.   I finished the Crispix after dinner because I had the munchies but did not want to eat the cookies Abuela sent us home with.

Prep ahead: beets have been cooked

Week 47, Day 3

Breakfast: Cold cereal.  I got Crispix and Golden Grahams yesterday on a whim.  They were on sale.  I ate some cereal yesterday when I was seriously craving munchies/sugar.  I ate Crispix which isn't too sugary.  Jason like Golden Grahams but I do not.  This morning all the girls and Jason had Golden Grahams.  I only let them have one bowl of "breakfast candy" as I called it, but I made (well Dai finished it, I just started the water) oatmeal for if they were still hungry.  Cress and Dai both had oatmeal.  I ate oatmeal for breakfast but with no sugar or anything.  Still trying to avoid candy, desserts, etc until Thanksgiving.

Last night, when I told the girls that they could have cold cereal for breakfast, Phyllis asked, "And a burrito, right?"  She knows cold cereal doesn't last, but this morning she only ate cold cereal.

Lunch:  I made lunches.  Everyone got a ham sandwich.  Jason's was on church sourdough with smoked Czech cheese, Dubliner cheese, jalapeños, mustard and lettuce.  Cressida's was a half a sandwich on church sourdough.  Phyllis's was on church baguette piece.  She doesn't love that bread, but we have it, so we used it.  Dai had hers on church rye bread.  Cress and Dai each took half a CSA bell pepper and Phyllis took a whole one.  Each girls had a CSA apple.  Dai had a banana, too.

Dinner: breaded chicken made by Heather Castro. She was going to have it for dinner yesterday but then her sister in law wanted to take them to chinese for dinner. Since she was leaving this afternoon for Utah, she gave us her mashed potatoes, breaded chicken and gravy. Since I had mear already in the crockpot, I put it in the fridge for dinner today. Today I peeled some old CSA celery root (I had two unused) and added that to the mashed potatoes (much to dai's chagrin.)  I also made this recipe Jason got last week or so in his email from America's Test Kitchen: winter squash and fennel roast. I had to get dried cranberries and granny apples specifically for it, and peel a butternut squash but it was well worth it. So good! We used three fennel bulbs from the CSA, two from this week and one from a while ago. We also had a salad with CSA lettuce, half an english cucumber, half a CSA bell pepper, a carrot, tomatoes and the shredded broccoli slaw on top. I felt good about all that CSA stuff tonight.

 Prep ahead: I made homemade wheat bread today. I am so glad to have an electric mill. I could buy wheat flour but I like that the wheat is fresh ground and I think that stays good longer. 

Week 47, Day 2

Breakfast: burritos.  We aren't terribly creative here, but it works for us.

Lunch: Cress is having a pizza party at school so no lunch for her.  I had a chicken salad sandwich and two CSA apples.  Those are good, whatever variety it is.  Dai and Phyllis packed their own lunches and I forgot to ask them what they packed - again.

Dinner: Osso Busco (apparently the schmancy name for beef crosscut shanks) cooked in a slow cooker with spices, garlic, beef broth and tomatoes after being seared.  I also made roasted vegetables, carrots, potatoes and parsnips but I had take Dai to swim, so I needed Phyllis to take them out of the oven.  She was scared about that, so I said that she could just turn the oven off and leave them in there, but they were really overcooked when I got home 20 minutes later.  I was so bummed and I just could not let it go.  Phyllis kept telling me, "This part is good.  That one isn't very burned. I still like them."  I know she was trying to make me feel better but it didn't.  When I told her so, then she burst into tears and said that she felt like it was her fault.  I think I had been earlier clear that she had followed instructions but I had given poor instructions so it was not her fault.  But, I restated again.  She also made a salad for dinner and we had feta on the side.

Prep ahead: banana bread for Phyllis's party tomorrow.  She needs 28 pieces of a finger food so Jason cut into 14 slices and then cut those in half.  Even if she brings some home, I will not get any because I am avoiding sugars.  

Week 47, Day 1

Breakfast: breakfast burritos

Lunch: Jason and I had leftover soup.  Cressida had a turkey sanwich and the other two had ham sandwiches on sourdough.  Technically, Cress only had a half, which she does often.  Cress's produce was pickles, prunes and a carrot.  Phyllis and Dai had ham sadnwiches on church bread.  Phyllis had a carrot

Dinner: I made cheaty pasts but with Costco frozen meatballs.  There is none leftover.  I made three meatballs per person but I think I should do four or five next time.  We also had a salad with lettuce, tomatoes and carrots.  On the side options were toasted pine nuts and feta.  

Week 46, Day 7

Breakfast: breakfast burritos and I had the last pear and Roma with cream

Lunch: Cressida had a raisin bagel with cream cheese, a guava, half a CSA bell pepper, and the last of the heirloom cherry tomatoes and cookies from Holden Mancini.  Dai had a turkey sandwich on a church roll, a banana (pretty ripe and brown - which is because I taught them "banana sugar" not "banana  bruise"), a guava and an apple and candy from Halloween.  Phyllis had pinto bean casserole, leftover banana squash (so two hot containers), two CSA carrots and an apple and a Halloween candy.  Actually, three hot containers because she took hot tea in a thermos.  Unfortunately, putting the lid on it got cross threaded and she was trying with all her might to unscrew it and holding it to her when the lid did come of and tea splashed all over her.  Poor girls got quite a bad burn on her chest.

I had a kind of late/lazy morning.  I asked Cressida if it would be okay if she bought lunch.  She said it was okay if it wasn't fish.  I mentioned that they were obligated to have a vegetarian option even if the non vegetarian option was fish (usually a grilled cheese or a bean burrito) which got her to talking about hot lunch and she said, "I do it like when I pack a lunch. I get a meat and three produce." I am unsure if she actually has time to eat all three, but am glad to hear that she thinks like that.

I made short ribs but I can't remember how I made them last time and the procedure I found this time was too long and they got really overcooked.

Dinner: sourdough toast and curried squash soup.  Dai, Jason and I liked it well enough.  Phyllis and Cress not so much.  Phyllis did eat hers so that she could have dessert.  

Week 46, Day 6

Breakfast: I had a breakfast burrito and Roma with creamer.  The others had oatmeal cooked by Dai.  I have been having a lot of headaches and am pretty sure that sugar is a factor, so I am avoiding it.  Oatmeal doesn't work well with that.

Lunches: The girls and I had turkey sandwiches on church rolls.  The girls all had CSA bell peppers.  Cressida and I had apples and I had broccoli, too. Phyllis had the last pomegranate and an apple.  Dai had apple and a whole carrot. I had a baked potato for snack.  Jason took leftover pinto bean casserole.

Dinner:  We shopped in the evening and so we did not get home until after 6 so I sliced up some summer sausage, some Dubliner cheese, some smoked Czech cheese, a can of Vienna sausages and quartered some Bartlett pears.  We quartered some church rolls (mustard optional) and had saltines, too.  All those items (except the bread and crackers) were splurge items at Grocery Outlet.  Then we just kind of put little sandwiches together and ate that with water to drink.  It was pretty good.

Week 46, day 5

Breakfast: crepes with powdered sugar and lemon juice basin still does powdered sugar and butter which my kids did when they were little but they have seen the light.

Lunch: Jason made pinto bean casserole. It is nice to have him cook and have it ready for us when we get home. When I thought that today, it made me think about Esau selling his birthright for a pot of lentils.  But cress didn't est which is pretty normal for her after primary; sister rocks must give the a lot of snacks. Phyllis had some casserole but not much and Dai had a sandwich on a church roll. I had a bagel and a half with cream chees, tomatoes and capers.

Dinner: pinto bean casserole again. Jason made it for lunch but he thought maybe he added too much corn. He eyeballed it. Ice cream for dessert.

Prep ahead: Jason cooked the chard

Week 46, Day 4

Breakfast: Burritos

Lunch: Dai and Phyllis were at the Stake Activity Days event and they ate there.  Jason, Cress and I had burgers and fries at Five Guys.

Dinner: leftover pinto bean casserole.  We started cooking new beans but our pressure cooker has been having issues with sealing, so we had to restart it and so we couldn't use them for dinner tonight. Ice cream for dessert.  

Week 46, Day 3

Breakfaast: breakfast burritos (yes, we eat a lot of eggs.)

Lunch:  Cressida had a PBH on a church roll.  She also had a CSA apple, CSA broccoli, and CSA radishes (but she decided they were too spicy.)  Dai and Phyllis packed their own lunches and I forgot to ask what they packed.  I imagine it was pretty similar to what Cressida had but I am not positive.

Dinner: I made pinto bean casserole tonight  It had pintos, tomatoes, corn and taco seasoning all mixed together and poured it over tortilla chips and then cheese on top of it all.  Served with sour cream, jalapeños and sour cream.  It was fine.  But Cress, Dai and Phyllis had parties so they ate pizza at the parties and thus did not eat at home.  

Week 46, day 2

breakfast: oatmeal made by Dai

Lunch: Dai and I had chicken salad sandwiches at home.  Dai had hers on rye bread and I had mine on the last of the store bought sourdough.  Cressida had cucumbers, apples, broccoli and PBH on homemade bread.  Phyllis took leftover spaghetti, carrots, apple and a pomegranate.

Dinner: Turkey sandwiches. Dai's and Jason's on church rye and the other two on homemade bread.  I didn't have a salad but I did have ice-cream.  Thursday's are crazy with math club, Seim and Jason's saxophone lessons. We had some crackers and chicken salad and apples and persimmons before went to swim. Cressida wa

Week 46 day 1

Breakfast: Breakfast burritos

Lunch: Jason took care of lunches for the girls and i forgot to ask what was packed for them.

Dinner: Spaghetti with canned sauce and fresh basil.  Totally cheating.  Dai was sick and threw up a lot all night.  Phyllis didn't feel great.  So we did have leftovers but we had to toss two plates of spaghetti.

Week 45, Day 7

Breakfast: Phyllis mad breakfast burritos for Cressida and herself.  Dai fried two eggs for herself and I had leftover stroganoff.

Lunch: Cressida and Phyllis had being burritos using homemade refried beans. They were season only with chicken broth that they were cooked in, which is how Cressida likes them. Cressida had Taco Bell sauce on hers. Phyllis had sour cream on hers. Daitarih and I had leftover beef stroganoff. I also let the girls have a "Candy day" and they really ate a lot of candy.

Dinner: Homemade potato leek soup. I used the California pizza kitchen recipe again, but tweaked it because it was so thin last time. We shall see. Phyllis and Daitarih peeled potatoes for me, while I cut up the leaks.I actually had to go pick up Cressida from gymnastics before the soup is ready. I left the girls to cut up the last two potatoes after they finished peeling them and add them to the soup. It's fun to cook with my daughters. Ice cream for dessert.

Week 45, Day 6

Breakfast: Jason and Phyllis had breakfast burritos.  Dai and Cressida had fried eggs.  I had fried eggs and toast.  I was going to get out a jar of apricots but the girls all had toast, so I didn't.

Lunch: Taco bell.  Jason took burrito stuff to work.

Dinner: Beef stroganoff with banana squash and a salad with romaine lettuce, CSA radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes and a CSA yellow bell pepper.  The Mancini family joined us for dinner and games tonight and they brought a homemade pumpkin pie made from a pumpkin that Bonnie baked down herself.

I was able to work with my children on the meal.  Phyllis washed the mushrooms, made beef broth from bouillion and mixed the flour and bouillon.  Cressida sliced mushrooms.  Dai made the salad.  Dai said, "I think cooking is going to be a major hobby."  Score! I hope that my kids do cook.  Cressida said, "I love when we are all working together as a family."  I have heard that sentiment before - be it cooking, yard work or housecleaning.  If only I could use that enthusiasm better. 

Week 45, day 5

Breakfast: breakfast burritos and larry's home canned apricots

Lunch: Dai and Phyllis had a turkey sandwich on her church roll. Tobreth have left over but not squash and ice cream. Jason had quesadillas.

Dinner: pot roast with potatoes onions and carrots. Followed by ice cream for dessert.

Week 45, Day 4

Breakfast: burritos. Jason made hours before Chinese class. He and Phyllis have bears after cleaning the chapel.

Lunch: turkey sandwiches. Jason and daitarih had it on church rye bread. The rest of us on sourdough. We also had CSA bell peppers.

Dinner: leftover pasta

Week 45, Day 3

Breakfast: I let the girls have Honeycomb cereal again today.

Lunch:  Dai had a turkey sandwich on rye.  Cress's turkey sandwich was on sourdough (from the store!) and Phyllis's was on church baguette.  When we get a baguette, we cut it into sandwich size pieces and freeze it.  All three had a CSA bell pepper, CSA broccoli and CSA carrots.  I had cold cereal.  Not wise, but so good!  Jason took the greens and the last of the white bean soup.

Dinner:  Cheaty pasta with shells and frozen spinach.  Honestly, not the best batch ever.  I think I overcooked the noodles a little.  We also had a roast CSA butternut squash and a salad made from CSA lettuce, CSA bell peppers, CSA radishes, heirloom tomatoes, a diced CSA golden beet and CSA broccoli.  I forgot cucumber even though I had them.

Prep ahead: I cooked the pinto beans in chicken broth.  

Week 45, Day 2

Breakfast: I let the girls have Honeycomb cereal, but only one bowl.  Then they could have fruit or something.  Phyllis chose oatmeal.  At least when they are hungry they are willing to eat real food.

Lunch:  Cressida had a turkey sandwich with apples, persimmons and prunes.  Phyllis and Dai had a turkey sandwich on a church roll with apples, carrots, a bell pepper, and had pumpkin seeds.

Dinner: Leftover soup and toast and the rest of the spaghetti squash.

Prep ahead: Jason cooked the chard and made kale chips.  He steamed the golden beets.  I cut up the broccoli for lunches.  I started beans soaking and rinsed them and resoled them.  

Week 45, Day 1

Breakfast: breakfast burritos

Lunch: Elise and I had soup and panzanella and persimmons.  Cressida and Dai also took panzanella.  Phyllis took stuffing.  Cressida has been getting some of her own produce ready in the morning the last couple days.  Today she picked prunes, a CSA apple and a persimmon.  Phyllis had an apple, a CSA beet and a carrot. Dai had an apple, a persimmon and a CSA beet.  Jason ate stuffing.

Dinner: Sourdough toast and soup.  Cress and Dai also had spaghetti squash.  

Week 44, Day 7

Breakfast: Oatmeal for the girls but I had toast.

Lunch: Cressida had a PBH, a CSA apple, half a CSA bell pepper and a CSA apple.  Phyllis and Dai packed their lunches after I left and I don't know what and I forgot to ask them. Everyone took some Halloween candy for dessert.

Dinner:  White bean and kale soup with sourdough toast.  

Week 44, day 6

Breakfast: stove cooked oatmeal. It was nice of Jason to do it stove top but I was only able to get a few bites of cressida's. Cressida had a guava with breakfast. 

Lunch: Cressida used her own money to get hot Lunch and she took CSA Romanesco for snack. I took a ham sandwich on church rolls with lettuce and tomatoes and guavas. Dai and Phyllis had ham sandwiches on church rolls. Dai had carrots, CSA ranesco and a CSA apple. Phyllis had three carrots. 

Dinner: we had Elise and the missionaries for dinner. We did a cross run roat in the crockpot. I was grateful Elsie was here to start it. She put in a lot of carrots. We also used celery root from the last three weeks (yes, one each week for a total of three) and mashed it with potatoes. It isnt mashed potatoes but it was petty good, but Dai and cress didn't dig it. We also had a salad with romaine and CSA tomatoes and half an english cucumber. 

Week 44, day 5

Breakfast: oatmeal for Jason and Cressida. Fat Sunday for the rest of us.

Lunch: jason had leftover pizza and a ham sandwich. No one else are

Dinner: we ate at dad's and Susan's place. Jason was working so it was just the girls and I. There was a HUGE surprise: Elise was there and coming home with me for three nights!  Susan made a chicken in mushroom sauce that was really good. She also had veggie sticks before hand with a homemade dip. I brought butternut squash and Elise made s'mores brownies for dessert. Once we wanted to get together once a month but it hasn't panned out to be as regular as I had once hoped.

Prep ahead: I made a white bean and kale soup.  I need to add the tomatoes and sausage when I rewarm it for dinner.

Week 44, day 4

Breakfast: breakfast burritos for cress and I. Completely out of eggs now. Oatmeal for the others.

Lunch: jack in the box

Dinner: spaghetti squash and can while watching movies as a family.

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.