Mixed Meaning

Last night, an almost embarrassing conversation took place.
We had brownies for dessert, and one of our guests said, "Well, if we color them blue, can they be bluies, or greenies, or what ever you might want to call them?"
Zac replied, "Hey does everyone here know what a weenie is?"
I say, "Yes, a type of hot dog."
Zac, "Noooope."
Stephen, "Zac, please don't. Go eat your dinner."
Zac, "c'mon! Don't any of you know what a weenie is?"

By now, my face is red, it's in my hands. I'm petrified at what he is going to say at the dinner table with my guests sitting there. I was already very tired, and so it was easy to get me worked up.

So, to end the guessing, I state, "OK, Zac, what is a weenie?"

And his reply? "A tiny brownie! Get it? A WEE nie? Just like he was saying BROW-nie, or Blue-ie, a Wee nie!! ha ha ha ha!"

The room broke out into laughter. whew.

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In the car, Chayce exclaimed on of her alphabetical discoveries: "There's a C! I start with C! I'm a Chayce."
Zac, "No, you start with H. Because you are a HUMAN. Your name is just Chayce. You really start with H."
Sigh.

Saturday Is A Special Day...

Not today!!
You know, I hate to admit this, but my favorite thing about General Conference is that church is done at home. Yes, it's 8 hours, but the kids can go play when they get too out of hand, and I can always go back and read what I miss...I can't do that on Sundays usually.

I must admit that today I didn't keep to my not shopping plan...I bought milk, eggs & oranges, because they were at a great price at Martins by my house. Plus, how am I supposed to make pancakes without eggs? I suppose I do have more of those powdered eggs, but I really don't like them.

Our menu today was really a free for all, because I left early to go plant starts for the CSA. (Out of the house by 7:30, that NEVER happens, right? It does for the farm--6:30 when summer actually gets here.)

Breakfast: I had canned peaches and WASA crackers. Zac did too, since he came with me...not sure about everyone else.

Lunch: I had PB&J, Zac & Chayce had hard boiled eggs, and Stephen ate a sandwich of some German bologna that we had only a slice or two left of.

Snacks: Nobody complained, so they must have found something. ha ha

Dinner: A potluck. We made a green salad (I am amazed at how long a prewashed salad can last in the fridge--is that a GOOD thing?). Zac declared his hatred of radishes (he always does). Friends brought over enchiladas (yum) and bread, and brownies and juice. Well rounded, no?

So, yeah, the fridge looks empty. But this is good. I have a tendency to go shopping each week even if we didn't use all of the previous weeks items, and then I eat my favorites from the new stuff and things tend to go to waste. At least now, I know that we used things up.

Tomorrow morning, I will take the rest of the salad, some blueberries, and an orange and make an awesome green smoothie. I might add some yogurt I found hiding in the back of the fridge.

Today's Menu is Easy Peasy

Breakfast: Grapenuts in milk. Did I mention I got these on an awesome sale about 6 months ago...$2 /box. That's good for Grapenuts, especially since it only takes a little to fill us all. Plus, I like to use them to bread chicken. (Rub chicken in mustard, roll in Grapenuts, bake til done.)

Lunch: Stephen took leftovers from last night. The kids and I found two almost too-far gone pears, sliced them and put them with some cheddar & crackers. The cheddar was a low fat one I thought I'd try, but we didn't really like, so it sat there. It's OK with pears.

Snacks: Granola bars. We are going to run out of these (or so the kids think...I've hidden some, and now that Zac is reading over my shoulder, he knows.) I stocked up when Target had them for $1.75/box. Oh, and you KNOW we'll be nibbling on those Magic Bars!! (good thing I've been running. Whew!)

Dinner: At a professor's home. We LOVE going to Mike & Suzy's. Stephen's program has a tradition where the first Friday of each month is dinner at a professor's home. For ever ago it was Professor Boker, but he moved to VA, so then Mike & Suzy took over. Other profs bring stuff, but Suzy is the hero with her bulk cooking (pastas, salads, dessert). Anyhow, we love it: every part of it--the company and food keep us going back.

Whole Wheat pancake mix

Tip: Keep in the fridge if you grind your own wheat, thus saving the nutrients--the oils in freshly ground grain will go rancid. If you buy whole wheat flour from the store, don't worry--there are no oils, therefore no vitamin e, and you won't have to worry about it.
Makes 4 Pounds--feel free to halve.

11 C Whole wheat flour
2 T salt
3/4 C baking powder
2 generous T baking soda*
1/2 C sugar*
4 C powdered milk

Whisk together, and label box with:
To make pancakes:
Whisk 1 egg, 1 C water, 2T oil, and 1.5 C mix.

Might need a bit more water--depends on how you like your pancakes. Experiment. I've been known to throw in some cinnamon & pumpkin, or apple sauce, or vanilla, or beet puree (makes them HOT PINK!).
*Recipe from More-With-Less Cookbook does not contain baking soda, but calls for all white flour, so I add it to make them fluffy--whole wheat needs more help. Recipe also calls for 3/4 C sugar, but I add less.

Another Day, Another Dollar--not spent.

Ahhh, food storage. I love stocking up on things (that we will use). For example, 2 weeks ago Meijer was clearing out all their natural peanut butter for $1.07/jar! So, duh, I bought 15, because otherwise, I would have only gotten 4 for the same amount of $$$. Funny aside here--carrying Payge (my currently 26 pound, not walking yet, one-year old) around has obviously given me some arm strength. I didn't really think of it until I picked up the case of PB, set it on the conveyor belt & went to pay for it. The cashier went to lift it to put it in my cart for me & couldn't get it off the counter! So, I walked around, picked it up, and set it gently in (glass jars, you know). She just stared at me. ha ha. Thanks baby Payge!

Anyhow, back to my goal here: eating from the pantry--recipes included today!

Breakfast
Pancakes (see this post for mix recipe)
Choice of syrup: peach pit or red grape.

Peach pit syrup recipe:
After getting as much peach off the pit as possible (when canning or making jam), soak the pits in a big bucket of water (clean bucket, clean water) for about 24 hours in thet fridge. Overnight works pretty well. This will give you a bitter, but slightly peachy tasting water.
Then take:
7 Cups of the liquid
1/4 C lemon juice
1 box pectin (or 1/2 C clear gel--available at many bulk food places)
7 C sugar--this is how much my mother-in-law uses...I am more apt to stick my finger in and taste before I add this much.

Mix the clear gel with 2 C sugar very well first, if using clear gel. It'll help it not be lumpy.

1. Bring the liquid & lemon juice to a high boil before adding sugar and thickener.
2. Add sugar and thickener. Bring to a boil again til thick. Stir, stir, stir!
3. Fill pint jars (I think I got about 7 per batch)
4. Process in hot water bath (see canning book for instructions) for 10 minutes.
DONE! Keeps well for over a year in the cupboard...if you can get it to last that long.

Red grape syrup
Take a bunch of red grapes that don't seem to be liked by the family. In this case, one bag was really great, and the other was too tart, so I used the too tart ones. Stick in the blender. Pour puree in a pot.
Boil with juice of 1/2 a lemon (hmmm, 1 T bottled?) and a cup of sugar. Simmer til thick...put in a jar (you'll only get one) and stick it in the fridge to be eaten that week.

Lunch
Pizza with veggies from freezer: bell peppers, onions, diced tomatoes.

Dinner
Whole wheat pasta tossed with sauteed mushrooms, onions, and dried tomatoes.
Magic bars: made with my "free" chocolate chips. I chose this recipe because we are running low on eggs.

Cauliflower's Revenge (or Mom's)

No, not like that.
Actually, we did really well today with the pantry eating.

Breakfast
We all had whole-wheat pancakes with blueberries on top. Our favorite way to do that is to fill a quart jar with blueberries, dump it in a frying pan with a little butter & vanilla, & saute them til they are soft. Mmmmm. We have a lot of blueberries still. We got 40 pounds last summer (all in a big bucket in the deep freeze, blueberries are cool that way, easy to store), and are down to about hmmm--15? I'm not worried that we won't use those. We like them WAY too much! Plus, if there are any left when it's time to pick again, I'll just make jam, as my kids' favorite jam to put on their yogurt is a blueberry/strawberry blend. I got raspberries from the farm last year and added those as well. It was soooo good.

I found a homemade whole wheat pancake mix I think I'll post later. It calls for powdered milk, and after talking to a friend I realized that I store it but don't use it. As often as we make pancakes and waffles, this would be a good way to use it up and justify keeping it on hand.

Lunch
Stephen took leftovers, I think Lentil Lasagna & the last piece of that Gorgonzola pizza. He said the pizza didn't reheat well. Again, another reason not to buy it.

For the kids and I: Egg salad--for them on whole wheat bread, for me on the last 2 Ryvita crackers...couldn't let them go to waste! Cauliflower for all of us. But, the kids claimed they didn't like it, sooooo....

Dinner
French bread dipped in (ahem) cheese. Ingredients?
Boiled head of cauliflower & one carrot (for color, really), pureed in it's water, add 2 C chicken stock, a dash or two of Worcestershire, and a cup of milk. Enough flour to make thick (after simmering)--about 1/3 Cup, then 2 Cups of sharp cheddar, shredded. Ha ha. They ate the cauliflower anyway.

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