Snapshots: Acceptable Lights, Finally

As soon as the time changes in the fall, I put up my Time Change Lights. These are just white lights that I wrap around the decorative iron divider between the kitchen and dining room. I like having the extra light in what is a somewhat dark area of our house, and the glow is very comforting when it's dark by 5 p.m.

Except this year, I put up what I thought were the lights I had up last year and practically had to shield my eyes from the light. They were glaring, and blue-white, and pulsed just the littlest bit.

No. No way. I could not handle anything like that in the middle of my home. 

I took them down.

I rummaged around in the bin of Christmas things and pulled out all the lights, only to find that the single strand of warm white lights I had were only half working. Super.

So to Amazon I went, where I searched for incandescent warm white lights.

The ones I chose* are not actually incandescent--they don't make heat when they're on, anyway--but they are a warm-enough white.

They never look warm in photos, though, so you'll just have to trust me on this.

I put them up yesterday morning, and the children all cheered when they woke up and saw them. I just love an appreciative audience.

I haven't been starting the woodstove every morning yet, but most mornings I have. On school mornings when I start it, the sleepy scholars' clothing covers the entire top surface for pre-warming before they get dressed.

Some might say I spoil my children. I say those people aren't the ones trying to chivvy them out of bed and into a cold, dark morning to go to school. It's a thankless, irritating job, and warmed clothes help.

Our football player has completed his first season successfully. The team has an exit meeting tomorrow, and the coach requested that all their gear be washed and returned at this meeting. 

Somehow, my son ended up with an extra away jersey, which meant there were four jerseys to be washed, three pairs of pants (home, away, and practice), and a girdle (basically another pair of pants with pads sewn into them). Given the grass stains that adorn these uniforms, particularly the white ones, it's more a matter of scrubbing than washing.

Pre-soaking only does so much. Eventually, the scrub brush must be employed.

The football player offered to do it, but since the sunniest day happened to be a school day--and bleaching the uniforms in our strong sun is a key component of eradicating the grass stains--I did it.

Waiting on my trophy for that one.

And now for something someone did for me. 

Poppy realized that she hadn't yet made me her traditional garden salad for the year, and the time was rapidly approaching when there won't be anything left in the garden for a salad. I came in from an afternoon run yesterday to find this at my place at the table.

Collards, arugula, lettuce, parsley, carrot, and ranch dressing. I particularly appreciated the decorative frame of flowers.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

* If you are also in the market for white lights that don't induce migraines, the ones I got are a brand called TW Shine on Amazon.

Friday Food: Chili and Chowder

Friday 

Short version: Chili beans, rice

Long version: A very busy afternoon and evening. I went to the school at 3 p.m. for volleyball games and was home for about 45 minutes after those before leaving for a football game. I needed to make something ahead that could be eaten whenever.

So I cooked a whole pound of dried pinto beans and then made them into chili beans with chiles, onion, some of those banana peppers that were suprisingly spicy raw but not too hot cooked, some of the pureed squash from last year I took out of the freezer, garlic, tomato, and spices. Served over rice with chili toppings (cheese, sour cream, diced onion, hot sauce).

It was a little dicey with this pot until the liquid reduced a bit.

Saturday

Short version: Lamb and chickpea stew, bread with herb butter, giant oatmeal-raisin cookies

Long version: The few bags of lamb I still have in the freezer from last year are all stewing pieces. Good thing it's stewing season again! I used four shanks and a piece of stew meat to make stock and then pulled off the meat. I used both of those in this stew, which also had cooked chickpeas to supplement the lamb.

I went out to the garden to harvest the carrots, leeks, and parsley I used in the stew.

The leeks continue to be impressively large, and the carrots continue to be amusingly twisted.

The garlic in the stew came from the garden, too, although that was harvested awhile ago. And then I added tomato sauce, the leftover caramelized onions, the rest of the bag of pureed squash from the day before, potatoes, instant potato flakes to thicken, and yogurt at the end.

It ended up being very thick from the potato flakes, and very filling. Tasty, too.

Everyone loved the bread, too, which was just bread spread with the last of the herb butter from the steaks we had a few days previously. 

I made the cookies for Poppy's school snacks this week and, as is my custom when making these cookies, I made one giant cookie for everyone.

Sunday

Short version: Chili beans+meat, cornbread, brownies with vanilla ice cream

Long version: I added a couple of pounds of ground beef to the chili beans to make, well, chili. It's better with the meat.

Monday

Short version: Chicken fried rice or chili

Long version: I used the leftover rice from Friday to make the fried rice, adding a couple of cans of white chicken to the eggs, etc. There wouldn't have been enough of that, so I let everyone choose if they'd rather have the fried rice or leftover chili. There was about an even split, which worked out.

Tuesday

Short version: Infuriating beef ribs, rice, cabbage, commodities baked fruit with cream

Long version: I had taken a few packages of beef ribs out to thaw and when A. saw them, he mentioned how much he liked the beef ribs he got at a Chinese restaurant in New York City years ago. Hint hint.

So I baked them in a sauce of brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, some already-cooked leeks, and garlic. Unfortunately, the same thing happened with them that ALWAYS happens when I need to braise anything that's too big to fit in a pot with a tight-fitting lid and use aluminum foil to cover: The foil never gets tight enough, the liquid dries out, and whatever is in there burns.

This sauce REALLY burns, thanks to the sugar. Luckily, I caught it before it was inedible and added more water. A few times. But the sauce still tasted a bit charred. And it was an unfortunate color.

One son looked at this and said politely, "I'm sorry to say, Mom, that that does not look appetizing." I KNOW.

The general consensus was that they were pretty good, despite their unprepossessing appearance. A. was happy with them.

I needed to use up half a cabbage, which I did by making something like Holy's cabbage, but with a lot less butter. The ribs were plenty fatty enough (another reason I hate dealing with them). I saved a couple of chunks of raw cabbage for the two kids who prefer it raw.

The baked fruit was two cans of commodities peaches, one can of commodities pears, one can of commodities unsweetened applesauce, plus sugar and spices. This was very popular. Unsurprisingly. All those unsweetened canned fruits need is sugar and spices. And cream.

Wednesday

Short version: Roasted chicken and potatoes, corn, rice pudding

Long version: I had two whole chickens in the freezer, one of which I roasted this night. I salted it heavily for an hour or so, and then drizzled olive oil and lemon juice over it, plus garlic powder and thyme, before putting it in a  400 degree oven to roast until it was done. Potato cubes in with it, in a separate pan, because I can't fit all the potatoes I need in the pan with the chicken.

Pleasingly, I had beef tallow to roast the potatoes in, because I had rendered a pot of tallow the day before. The same day I was dealing with the greasy ribs. There was entirely too much fat in my kitchen on Tuesday, but I was pleased to have the tallow this day.

I had made the rice pudding the day before while the ribs were in. And there was happiness in the house. One child was saying that I should make double the amount of rice pudding I typically make. I told him I make a triple recipe as it is, and then showed him what an actual serving of rice pudding would be for a normal person. He was aghast.

This is what a triple batch looks like once my family gets to it.

Thursday

Short version: Chicken corn chowder, biscuits, lemon jello

Long version: I used the chicken carcass, which still had some meat on it, to make the chowder, of course. Just put it in a pot covered with water, throw in a few onion tops (I save these in the freezer whenever I chop an onion), and simmer until tender. 

Bones, meat, broth, and dog scraps.

I used one leek from the garden, two big carrots from the garden, onion, garlic, potatoes, tomato sauce, basil, and corn in this. I took the opportunity to use one of the cans of corn we keep getting from commodities. I could have used two cans, but frozen corn is better, so I used some frozen, too. And then some sour cream at the end.

Standard baking powder biscuits. And jello made with lemonade and gelatin that was mostly for the child whose stomach was iffy, but there was enough for everyone else to have some, too.

Refrigerator check:

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

A Little Thing

The other morning, I was sitting in the living room and noticed this:

Anything look . . . off to you in this photo?

If you're anything like me, you saw that photo and immediately thought, "WHY ISN'T THE OTHER LAMP ON?!"

I thought that, anyway. Caps and all. And then I got up and turned the other lamp on.

I reeaallly dislike asymmetry. It bugs me. I know it's a personal preference and many people prefer the look of things that aren't symmetrical, but that is definitely not me. 

How about you? Are you a symmetry person, or do you find asymmetry interesting?

Snapshots: Churchy Things

Let's start with our gloomy church a couple of Sundays ago, when we were in a cloud for several hours.

A change from our typical crazy-blue skies.

After church, since we're already in the village where our school is, we stop by the very nice weight room there so A. can put the children through their routine of dips, pull-ups, and squats. Then they usually want to get on one of the cardio machines. 

Poppy insists on doing all of this with her brothers. Her church clothes are quite a bit more elegant than her brothers', which looks pretty funny when she gets on the stair stepper.

Floofy dresses and sparkly shoes should be no hindrance to fitness.

I wore my new shoes to church this same day. I already had some very practical square-toed black pumps that I used to wear when I worked in an office. They look like office shoes, though, so I was looking for something a bit more fun.

Very pointy.

I like them, but they are definitely not as comfortable as my square-toed ones, so I suspect I'll only wear them for church. I can manage an hour in them, but not much more before my toes start to protest.

In non-church news, I saw this very interesting set-up in the parking lot of the school during a volleyball game.

Never seen this before.

Based on the "Team New Mexico Rodeo" emblem, I guess they travel to rodeos in this, using the semi to sleep in and haul their horse trailers, and then the tiny car to drive around when they're staying somewhere for awhile. Clever.

And last, flowers. Or rather, no flowers.

Back to the dried arrangement on the living room bookcase.

We'll be putting the metal turkey on the dining room table today.

There you have it! My life, snapshotted.

Friday Food: Commodities Cans

Friday

Short version: Tuna patties, mashed potatoes, creamy stewed leeks, garden salad, cookies

Long version: I was very amused, as well as pleased, to see tiny lettuce plants popping up in the most random places. The wind did its work in distributing the seeds of the lettuce plants in the garden. Many of them were outside the garden fence, near where A. parks the school bus.

I pulled one or two leaves off all these tiny lettuce plants, and then supplemented that with the arugula which also self-seeded, and some collards, to make a salad. I also put in shaved Parmesan cheese and toasted pecans. It was delicious.

Saturday

Short version: Leftovers

Long version: The kids had leftover cheeseburger casserole before we went trick or treating. I had leftover chicken soup.

And then there was candy. Of course.

Sunday

Short version: Commodities casserole, baby carrots

Long version: My goal with this casserole was to use as many things from commodities in it as possible, without making it gross. In addition to the regular commodities program that we've been getting things from for years, someone has been donating food for school kids in northeastern New Mexico. This means that the last week of every month sees an avalanche of cans coming into my kitchen. Some of it that's too gross to even eat (fake grape jelly, for instance) or just too overwhelmingly numerous (cream of wheat and beans) goes to the chickens. But I do try to use most of it.

This casserole had broken-up spaghetti, a small can of cream of mushroom soup, another of cream of chicken soup, the last bit of a can of spaghetti sauce, and several small cans of white chicken. All from commodities. To that I added some heavy cream, leftover stewed leeks, shredded cheddar cheese, garlic powder, pepper, and frozen corn and peas. We are getting canned corn and peas from commodities, but that would not have been good in the casserole, I didn't think.

Somewhat anemic-looking, but tasty.

This was actually quite popular with the children. I didn't add any salt to the water when I cooked the pasta, and to my surprise actually needed to add a bit to the casserole itself. I thought it would be way too salty with all those cans of things, but it wasn't.

I did not make a dessert. For obvious reasons of Halloween.

Monday

Short version: Leftovers+

Long version: The kids had leftover pasta. I made A. an omelet with feta, leftover stewed leeks, and parsley in it. And I had a salad with canned chicken.

Tuesday

Short version: Real Taco Tuesday

Long version: Someone gave us a big box of taco shells left from a party, which I used this night to make, um, tacos. I didn't realize I was having a Taco Tuesday until I was dishing up dinner. 

I felt very hip and with it. Ahem.

Anyway.

I just made pretty standard taco meat that I put in the shells and topped with shredded cheese before baking them. I also made a Mexican slaw that most people put on top of their tacos. That was just cabbage, onion, vinegar, spices, and this time a bit of sour cream, which made it much better.

These were a fun novelty, but most of the kids said they prefer soft tacos.

Wednesday

Short version: Sausage and potato casserole, green salad, garlic bread, apple and peach crisp with ice cream

Long version: I used one two-pound package of mild Italian sausage in the casserole, along with potatoes, collard greens, the rest of the leftover stewed leeks, spaghetti sauce, garlic, the very last of the basil from the garden, heavy cream, and a random cup or so of grated asadero cheese that had been in the refrigerator who knows how long.

The green salad was the last few leaves of store romaine, plus arugula, collards, and carrots from the garden.

A. had been to the store this day and brought home a tub of vanilla "frozen dairy dessert." That's what they call ice cream when it doesn't have enough milkfat to be true ice cream. It's good for topping a crisp, though, so I made one. 

That had the last quart jar of apples I canned last year (no apples this year, sadness), three cans of the peach slices in pear juice that we get from commodities, and a can of unsweetened applesauce I also got from commodities and couldn't figure out what to do with. And then brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves. Then the topping was just butter, flour, oats, pecans, and more brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. 

A. asked me what was in it, and then remarked he couldn't even tell it was just a bunch of things I threw together and wanted to use up. Good. That was the idea.

Thursday

Short version: Steaks with caramelized onions and herb butter, roasted potatoes, green peas

Long version: I think these were the last steaks in the freezer. I took out the last of the caramelized onions from the freezer, too, and then made herb butter as well. This is one boy's favorite way to eat steak, and everyone else likes it too.

Herby butter. In this case, green onions and parsley, because that's all that's left in the garden.

I barely fit all the steaks on the pan.

Refrigerator check:

Blurry, but I'm too lazy to take another.

Okay, your turn! What'd you eat this week?

A Skittles Quirk

I'm not much of a non-chocolate-candy kind of person, but I do ocassionally like citrus-flavored candy. I was subbing yesterday in the classroom of the teacher who keeps a bucket of candy by her door, and I was struck with the desire to eat a small package of Skittles.  

My children think the way I do this is weird. I eat the flavors separately, starting with the ones I like least and ending with my favorite. In the case of Skittles, that means that I eat all the purple ones first, then orange, then green, then yellow, and red is last. 

There are never as many of the red as there are of the others, but this was a particularly disappointing bag.

I am told that it's weird to separate the colors/flavors, but I prefer to be able to taste each one individually. But I guess most people just throw them all in their mouths, all willy nilly.

Is that you? Or do you separate flavors, too?

Snapshots: Boo!

All about Halloween . . .

Our trip last week sort of messed up our Halloween preparations. We didn't get any decorations up before we left for Vermont, and I probably wouldn't have bothered putting them up if Poppy hadn't asked about them. So we did it . . . the day before Halloween.

All the seasonal window things.

I was extremely amused when a real spider appeared on the other side of that window later in the day.

Purple bat lights.

Friendly ghost lights.

This year we had Westley from The Princess Bride, who went to spend Halloween with his girlfriend in her town. She, of course, was Buttercup.

At home, we had a Navy seaman, an Irish shepherd, and a Chinese empress. The only thing I bought for these costumes were the ornamental chopsticks for Poppy's hair.

Dangly.

Poppy graciously allowed her brother the shepherd to use her stuffed border collie. I laughed way too hard at this.

First, as always, I took the kids to our neighbor Miss Amelia's so she could see the costumes and give them candy that she gets just for them.

Then on to the village to meet up with friends. We had eleven trick or treaters pile into the back of Adventure Van this year. All the older kids came with us, so it was mostly teenagers or almost-teenagers.

The best house on the route, which this year gave out candy AND Oreos AND mini sodas.

As usual, we finished up around 8 p.m. and headed home for the sorting and trading of candy.

Sorted and ready to trade.

There you have it! My Halloween life, snapshotted.