Memories & A Menu

 

Hiking at the park.  Miles of paths through shady woods, lined with blackberries and gooseberries everywhere the eye falls.  (No, the berries were not ripe yet, patience, patience! ) 

 

 We followed the creek through clearings of wildflowers, the creek calling to us for relief from the hot sun.  Only Millie gave in to the call.  I don't know if you can tell but she is lying down in the water.

 Eldest (Badger) was the dog walker.  He told me that if we were a pack of dogs, I'd be the Alpha female, he'd be the oldest offspring and Millie would be the least important dog.  Nice.  Cricket was the navigator.  He stopped frequently to check which direction we were going.  "We have been going South-west for a long, long time."

 The two littles got to ride (thank you, Papa) and it was fun for everyone.  (Except for the part where J had to push that stroller uphill through sand while watching for horse droppings)  He considered it exercise though, good natured as he is, said how good it was to feel oneself sweat.  Ha.

We've been making all kinds of memories these days.  We also went to the beach this weekend.  Hen flopped around like a little fish.  All the boys are growing in their ability in the water and J and I had our hands full just watching them.  (sorry no pictures!  I was too busy counting heads above the water) We had a picnic too and then came home to camp.  No we didn't sleep outside, but the boys put up their tents in Ravenwood and played among them all afternoon.  They are a regular pack of little Natives.  I love it!

We rested this afternoon and made a Flag Cake in honor of the day.  The boys made the "stars and stripes."  I used this recipe for whole wheat shortcake.  It was the first sponge cake I ever attempted and it was so worth the effort. Yum!

 (a moment of reflection? from this tired out camper)

 There were games of checkers tonight and then off to an early bedtime to help start the week off well.

And with that I'll leave you....with a Menu. (am I the only one who loves to read people's menus?)
At our house this week...

 M.....Spinach, green onion, and feta omelettes w/toast & jam

          Turkey, cheddar, and cucumber sandwiches and fresh veggies

          BBQ chicken, salad from the garden, and flag cake

T......Soaked oatmeal with raisins and nuts

         Black Bean Quesadillas, fresh veggies

         Beef & Pea Pod Stir Fry

W....Eggs in a nest w/ Nectarine slices

        PB & J, fresh veggies

        Felafel with cukes and toms and homemade flatbread

Th....Blueberry Pancakes

         Salad with cottage cheese and veggies

         Beef & Bean Tacos with fixin's and cornbread

F.....Soaked oatmeal with raisins or apples

        Nachos with beans and cheese and veggies

        Pesto Pasta with Broccoli and Grape Tomatoes

S....will be on the fly....just using up whatever we have in the garden and fridge! We are on a budget afterall, and I have found that instead of changing the variety or kinds of foods to save money it works best to just have a day of eating the random things that need to be used up.

What's cookin' at your place?

Lately

Our week was full. I love that we are learning, together, to use our time to do things that cultivate peace and fullness. It's definitely a learning process. Learning to let go of some things that fill up time that are actually good....like reading (for me! I could easily spend a day devouring information)....or cleaning (for J! it's therapeutic to him to spend time cleaning up)....and also learning to get rid of habitual things that take up time and are not so good...like t.v. and unfruitful computer time.....to make room for things like spending time playing, making music, reading together, going for walks......

This week we've been pretty successful at spending our time wisely. Surprisingly, having baseball three nights a week really helps, because we are forced to stay active later into the evening than we normally would be. I usually hit a wall at about 7pm and feel my pjs calling me. Oh, don't worry, I do stay up later than 7:00. It's just that I feel like I need my jammies on and some time to blog or knit, which usually means I get lost in a movie or the computer and then "Wooosh!" out the window went the whole night! This week though, with baseball we didn't get home until after 8pm and by then I've gotten a second wind. We come home and J gets the boys ready for bed (isn't he a gem?) while I tidy up and get ready for the next day. I've even been able to take Millie out for some fun backyard time by myself at night and had some time to tend the chickens too. (by the way....Millie loves fireflies!!! she thinks they are delicious. heh.)

It's been a good week. Here are some highlights....

Hen loves books. He loves to "read". He layed on the couch reading this book for over 15 minutes. :)

Today we had grandma and grandpa D over for supper. We spent the day cleaning and creating in the kitchen. Little Owl loves cleaning windows. Here's a little "how to" from him.....

That window is really clean. I think he sprayed it at least twenty times. :)

Badger found a recipe he wanted to try in a book he read (about tree nuts). It was for walnut brownies. He made dessert for our dinner tonight. They were awesome! He was so excited for the supper guests and decided to make a menu on our chalkboard for them.

This week has also been the start of "berry season". Remember Bramblewood? Yes, well, we didn't name it so for no reason! The black raspberries are full swing and they are delicious this year thanks to all the rain and sun. We are making jam (honey sweetened), freezing raw berries for smoothies and such, and dehydrating them too. I'm very thankful for the bounty given us.

One berry

Two berry

Pick me a blueberry

Hatberry, Shoeberry

In my canoeberry

Under the bridge and over the dam

Looking for berries

Berries for jam

Three berry

Four berry

Hayberry, Stawberry

Finger and pawberry

My berry, your berry

Strawberry ponies

Strawberry lambs

Dancing in meadows of strawberry jam

Quickberry! Quackberry!

Pick me a blackberry!

Trainberry Trackberry

Clickety-clackberry

Rumble and ramble in blackberry bramble

Billions of berries for blackberry jamble

Raspberry Jazzberry

Razzamatazzberry

Berryband Merryband

Jamming in Berryland

Raspberry rabbits

Brassberry band

Elephants skating on raspberry jam

Moonberry Starberry

Cloudberry sky

Boomberry Zoomberry

Rockets shoot by

Mountains and fountains

Rain down on me

Buried in berries

What a jam jamboree!

from "Jamberry" by Bruce Degen

Menu for the Week

Post #100 and it's a menu.  Ha.  That's how much my job of being a mama involves feeding this crew of little men.  :)

M - Eggs & Toast & Grapes

Impromptu out for sandwiches! (we had a baseball glove to buy today!)

Pasta w/marinara and Organic chicken sausage, spring onion & parmesan biscuits

T - Soaked oats breakfast cake, fresh blueberries

PB & J, fresh veggies and apple slices

Sloppy Joes (yes indeed!), salad from the garden

W - Waffles with berries & cream

BLTs (we have lots of lettuce right now)

Quiche (onions from the garden and cheddar and ??), salad, and banana bread

Th - Soaked oatmeal w/ raisins and nuts

Hummus, feta, tomato, cukes and pita, fresh fruit

Tuna melts, fresh veggies/salad

F -  Eggs in a nest, fresh fruit

Pigs in a blanket, carrots and red peppers

Roasted lemon chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie of some sort

S - Homemade whole wheat monkey bread, fresh fruit

Black bean & rice burritos with fixin's

Chicken artichoke & spinach calzones with marinara for dipping

S - Granola & yogurt & berries/bananas

Leftovers

White chicken chili (crockpot recipe), homemade beer bread

I also have a rather loosey goosey plan of making homemade whole wheat graham crackers, and whole wheat snickerdoodles.    And yes, the weeknight meals are a bit "sandwichey" but that's because it's teeball season and we have practice tuesday, wednesday, and thursday!  Oi!  The eldest boy got his new glove today and he is sooo keen on it.  We even bought a real aluminum bat and ball which was much needed because the plastic one is falling apart from much use.  I tried my hardest to convince J to get the padded foam bat, but it didn't work.  I have an irrational fear of someone becoming injured from an unintentional hard swing.  eek!  *Deep breath.*

Anyway........that's the plan for the week.  I've been realizing more and more how crazy, interrupted, and spontaneous life is these days.  I'm trying to just go with the flow a bit more and not worry about what the plan is so much.  Like Jesus said, "each day has enough trouble of it's own..."  I'm glad He knows how it is, so I don't need to worry.  :)  

Check in soon for some tee ball pics!

Menu for the Week!

We are all so very happy to have a working kitchen!  I have never been so excited to plan the weekly menu and list.  Here's what's cookin' at our house this week.

M - Homemade whole wheat cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit

       Pigs in a blanket (made with organic chicken sausage), raw veggies

BBQ chicken and roasted veggies

T -  Oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts

Homemade mac n cheese, raw veggies

Felafel in pitas with cukes, toms, and wicked garlic dip

W - Eggs and Biscuits

Salad greens with cottage cheese & other fixin's

Homemade pizza, salad, and homemade chocolate pudding (friends over for dinner)

Th - Whole Wheat Sourdough Pancakes with berries from the garden

Lentil & Rice salad, with fresh herbs and feta

Leftovers

F-  Granola, homemade yogurt and berries

PB & J on homemade bread, apples and raw veggies

Meatloaf (a new recipe from a friend), garlic mashed potatoes, some other kind of veggie

S -   Oatmeal with fixin's

Roast lemon chicken, rice pilaf, spinach salad, and homemade bread (company for lunch)

Leftovers

There are also plans to fill the cookie jar.  Which was the boy's first request after the kitchen became functional.  ha ha.  And I hope to make blueberry muffins as I have some fresh blueberries in the fridge.  We are very excited to go to the local market this week!  Our first time of the season.  I wonder what treats await us there!

What's on the menu at your house this week?

Menu for the Week

Here's what's cookin' at our house....

M - Sloppy Lentils on whole wheat buns, fresh veggies & strawberry peach crisp

T - Quiche (scallion, spinach, mushroom & cheddar) w/ biscuits & the last jar of homemade grape jam!

W - Black Bean & Rice Burritos w/ fixin's

Th - Ginger Marinated Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

F -  Vegetable Soup w/ homemade Beer Bread 

S - Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken w/ some kind of spuds and salad or asparagus (if enough is up by then...it's starting!)

S - homemade BBQ chicken pizza with salad

I'm also finishing the emptying of the kitchen for the remodel this week.  That means this is my last week to try to do some extra cooking or baking for the freezer.  I hope to make a couple of batches of bread and muffins and waffles and perhaps also some extra soup or chili to be reheated at a later date.  The ceiling and walls are coming down! Whoot!

Menu for the Week

M - Pesto Pasta w/ broccoli & grape tomatoes

T - Homemade Chicken vegetable soup & biscuits

W - Black Bean Tacos w/ fixin's

Th - Chicken Artichoke Calzones w/ salad

F - Fish (whatever I can find at market that's healthy) & some kind of spuds & salad

S - Spaghetti w/bolognese & homemade garlic bread

Lunches this week....

homemade pizza pockets (double batch to stock up the freezer)

Salad w/ lovely fixin's of some sort

Berry smoothies

Peanut Butter and Jam (to use up the plethora of homemade grape jam still left....)

Homemade mac n cheese (for our guest tomorrow)

We are firming up the plans for the big remodel!  As soon as we have a start date I will begin making stuff for the freezer to help keep us eating healthy during our time without a kitchen.  Any ideas of what I should make?  What is your favorite "dish" that can be frozen and reheated easily?  Leave a comment!

On the menu this week....

This week we are just going to have a supper menu.  I am trying to focus more time on the boys and finding time to knit so breakfast and lunch will be all the delicious, healthy things we usually have just on the fly.

S - homemade pizza

M- chicken florentine pasta

T- sloppy lentils on homemade whole wheat buns

W- potato soup a la crock pot w/salad and homemade soft pretzels

Th- Nachos w/beans and rice and fixin's

F- Roast chicken, mashed taters, and a veggie (this never got made last week...)

S- Chicken soup with rice (chicken soup, chicken soup, chicken soup with Ri-ice!)

S- Something with chickpeas and rice or lentils and rice....

and I'm going to try this fabulous chocolate cake recipe from my friend M.E. because I'm thinking of entering our local Death by Chocolate baking contest.  sounds fun, right?

What's cookin' at your house this week? I'd like to know! Leave a comment!

This week in the kitchen...

M- Soaked Oatmeal w/ Raisins & nuts

Salad w/ cottage cheese & veggies

BBQ Beef Sandwiches & red peppers & oranges

T- Snowflake Pancakes (whole wheat)

Hummus & Pita w/ feta, veggies & olives

Black Bean Chili & cornbread

W- Granola w/ Yogurt & berries

Hummus Sandwiches & oranges

BLTs & sweet potato fries

Th- Eggs & Sourdough biscuits

Homemade mac n cheese & apples

Roasted Chicken, mashed potatoes & sweet corn

F- Granola w/fruit & yogurt

Black Bean Quesadillas

Chicken veggie soup w/ rice

S-  Waffles w/ berries n cream

Leftovers

Eggrolls and veggie fried rice

Healthy Treat for the week....Chocolate Chic Pea Brownies. yum!

I am trying to find some new dishes to add into our meals.  Especially looking for some new Vegetarian meals that the kids may dig.  If you have something to share please leave a comment! I'd love to hear what you are up to in your kitchen!