CSA is Ending Soon

Oh, man. I am going to miss getting fresh eggs and cheese and vegetables on a weekly basis.

I think next year I'm going to sign up for their meat share too. It's so easy and convenient to pick up our food in one spot...then go to Costco once a week. Ha! 

The kids are getting better at eating all the different vegetables and I'm getting better at cooking them how the family likes to eat them. For example, Chewie and I demolished a whole bag of brussel sprouts sauteed with bacon. THAT WAS DELICIOUS. With just a sprinkling of salt. The Monkey eats raw broccoli, I haven't been able to cook ANY of the broccoli because it disappears even before it gets home. The kids eat the tomatoes like apples. I am the only person in the house that likes beets - I like them roasted and then cut like matchsticks and mixed into quinoa bowls (just watch out for pink poop the day after!). The kids need to have their eggs every morning.

Oh, I will be so sad when the deliveries end. 

Book Review: This One Summer

Graphic novels. When I think of graphic novels I think of the old school comic books, where the illustrations are bright, and I'm not quite sure where to move my eyes so the story continues. And when I read I'm not sure if I should pay more attention to the artwork or the words. I've never really been drawn to comic books so I thought I might have to trudge through a graphic novel.

As it turns out, this was AMAZING.

The illustrations are beautiful. I love how I get to see what the authors are thinking and the emotions of the characters.

The story is beautifully written - the teen summer angst is real, the authors capture the selfishness of the teen plus the story of the parents from the teen perspective. It makes me (as a parent) so frustrated and angry but as an adult and remembering my teen years, this graphic novel fits my memories perfectly.

I think that now, as a child of the 80's, reading books by authors who are also children of the 80's makes reading a bit more fun and possibly more interesting. I get to read books that have more of a perspective on life that are a bit closer to my own and it's nice reading books that include that. This particular story never happened to me, but I can see how the teens/preteens are acting.

So, overall, give graphic novels another go. They're fast and easy reads, the illustrations let you see exactly what the author wants you to picture and I love that!

I Need My Caffeine

For the second time (and second coffee-maker!) this year...my coffee-maker broke.

I'm so sad.

I never really liked coffee until I realized that I was making it wrong. And then after I learned NOT to follow the directions to make sludge on the coffee instructions on the bag, I've been really happy with my weak coffee (with coconut creamer!). Two cups and I'm good...well, usually they've been microwaved a few times and the last half I drink around noon. What can I say? It takes me a long time to drink coffee. Busy people have shit to do.

I bought a Hamilton Beach Flex Brew to replace an old (10 year old) Krups. That Krups was AMAZING. It was so simple and easy.

This Hamilton Beach started taking 45 minutes to brew a pot of coffee. Then when I tried cleaning it out last night...and descaling it...it totally stopped working. Except for the single brew serve half. So now I'm stuck with K-cups until Tuesday (I think that's my delivery day). I ordered an old school hotel coffee maker that only makes 4 cups along with a Bodum french press.

I'll have to learn how to make coffee all over again.

AND I'M WHINING ABOUT IT.

Ugh, first world problems.

This Week's Food

Right. So I've got 5 Delicata squash on my counter, 4 Butternut squash, several cherry tomatoes, and it looks like parsley is about to take over my deck. I'm not quite sure what to do.

Last night I roasted Delicata squash (400 degrees for 30 minutes) topped with olive oil, salt, pepper, and ras el hanout seasoning. That was DELISH. I also threw in half a bag of brussel sprouts. They were pretty good too but my favorite way to cook brussel sprouts is in a large pan with BACON. YUM! I'm planning that for tonight. I will probably cut up another Delicata squash and try it mixed in with the brussel sprouts and bacon.

I'm also planning on black bean + butternut squash tacos - there's a recipe in one of my Thug Kitchen cook books but I'm not sure if I have all the ingredients. We don't eat soy so sometimes I have to sub in something else (like...chicken...because we eat meat! HA!).

Wednesday is soccer practice AND The MOnkey is supposed to have a playdate but I'm thinking her sniffles/cold will thwart those efforts for the playdate. We'll see how snotty she is tomorrow morning. On those days, I HAVE to start using the crockpot but I'm just not inspired. At least with the crockpot, the meat is finished and I just have to worry about veggies/starches. So uninspired this week. It's also a New Moon so that means my focus is elsewhere anyway - this moon I'm trying to encourage myself to make time to exercise. I have discovered that I can really only focus on one "extra" at a time because life with kids is ridiculous and their needs come before my own. It is what it is and that's why our house is extra dusty. I don't have time.

This means I'll be scouring Pinterest for good crockpot recipes.

One day will be pizza day.

One day will be soup day.

And chili. I'm craving a HUGE pot of chili with the delicious cheese we got from our CSA this week. Note on our CSA: next year I'm going to sign up for the meat too! All of the food and veggies have been so delicious, it'll be easy to eat more from the farm!

Happy Tuesday!

Just Me & The Kiddos in Duluth!

The first thing we did was see the Lift Bridge. Parking early in the morning is super easy - we got there about 9:45, there were TONS of spots left in the lot. Stores and restaurants also open about 10/11am so it wasn't too crowded. 

This little thingy is right by the Lift Bridge. 

We stopped at the Great Lakes Aquarium. It wasn't exactly the best spot for my children. This is where they learned that I mean business when I tell them directions. And it wasn't very pretty. Both ended up in time out. Several times. Chewie was covered in water. Vacations with kids are not all fun. Sometimes it takes a few "breaks" and time outs to really let kids know that they're not in charge and that poor behavior isn't tolerated. In general my kids are really awesome but the excitement of a new place and being with just me was a bit more than they could take. 

So they learned how to throw rocks. 

Fish at the aquarium.

Kitchi Gammi State Park. This was an awesome place. We spent 2 hours here on the beach - looking for rocks and throwing whatever we could find. 

Scootering on the boardwalk in Duluth.

It's custom to bring a lock for your love for one another. I didn't bring one - I had one with me but it was the second lock that I'd bought in a month for the YMCA. Oh, well! Next time!!

Scootering for hours. That seemed to be the highlight of the weekend.

Looking at a cargo ship in the harbor. Those bitches are HUGE!!

You can walk out to the lighthouse and stand by it watching the ships come in. You can see the Lift Bridge is part-way up in this photo of The Monkey.

So many anchors! The city is filled with old shipping remnants and parts. They're just begging to be climbed on. 

Rock picking.

The city sign over the harbor. 

Chewie's dreams came true. He got to ride a train!

And I mean a real train. The Soo Line engine is right in front of us. We got to watch them hook up the engine to the cars. It was super cool!

Overall - Duluth is great for kids. We did skip going on the Vista Fleet harbor cruise because I didn't want to be stuck on a boat with a screaming 2 year old. but I knew with a train we could move around the train cars and see different areas, plus it was 1.5 hours long, not too long and just enough to entertain! We stayed at the Canal Park Lodge - great location! We walked/scootered everywhere and it was really easy to get to off of I35. 

If you have kids and are looking for an awesome place to explore for a weekend - go! You won't regret it and it's pretty budget friendly too! Happy exploring!

Meal Plan 8/21-8/24

I have none. We were in Duluth. I didn't have time to think of one. HA!!

I do know that I didn't freeze sweet corn in time from last week's CSA so that needs to be composted. I've got a few overripe tomatoes that I can make a small batch of tomato-basil soup.

I also have a bunch of Mint-Basil. I think I'm going to harvest that and freeze it in water so I can mix it into my smoothies in the morning. And I don't like kale in smoothies, I think it tastes weird but I know I have to mix up the greens - to give my body enough variety of minerals and vitamins so I don't get an overload of a single mineral/vitamin.

In the freezer I have both beef AND pork roasts - I also have a lot of Adobo seasoning which is currently the favorite of the kids and mine. I think that would be really good with the pork roast - along with some grilled corn and some sort of tomato/cucumber salad.

The carrots from the CSA this year are AMAZING. I need to shred some up to make some carrot muffins and also for a pasta salad. The princess pasta salad from the Disney cookbook is amazingly delicious and easy - I can make that for dinner on Friday to leave with the sitter (because I GET TO WATCH A BOXING MATCH! I'M SO EXCITED!).

And then we got a new delicious quark cheese in the CSA box too, spread over an english muffin is SO GOOD.

Oh, man. I definitely don't want summer food to end!

Husband Stresses Wife More Than Kids...

After reading this article (which is YEARS old, btw), I have to think...do wives just wait for their husbands to die so they can stop taking care of someone else?

From the article, when wives die first, the husband's health deteriorates whereas when the man dies first, the wife's health drastically improves. So really, are we just waiting for them to die so we can be healthier?

Ironically enough the most stressful thing happened to me yesterday. Bimmer Man got home from his vacation about an hour and a half before the kids and I did. But somehow...he couldn't take 30 seconds out of his time to order a pizza for dinner for the family - but he could browse Instagram which led to me getting frustrated and quite frankly, I didn't fucking make him dinner. He was acting like a child, which totally proves the point of the article. My husband stresses me out more than my children.

I know this has happened to so many women, probably all, and not just once in awhile, every fucking day - and it's because of the patriarchal society. When men think they're better than women, they think that their PARTNER should cater to them. I think that's bullshit. In no way do I want my daughter to marry someone that thinks she should cater to him (or her! Whomever she loves!). So no, I'm not going to make dinner for someone that thinks it's ONLY MY JOB to feed the family. It's his fucking job too.

So this article is seriously still relevant YEARS after it's publishing and I feel like when it was published it seemed to be a running joke. But now I can honestly say...it's true...and that's pretty sad. I'm not sure what it takes to change someone's mind or turn the tide or anything that can change the patriarchal society other than raising boys to be humble as hell. To teach them how to cook, clean, freeze fresh corn, scramble eggs, do laundry, grow flowers, and clean toilets. Chewie will ABSOLUTELY know what his children's clothing and shoe sizes are, he will know how to buy tampons for his partner. I think this is really the only way to change the sexism in America. Both of my children will be sent to college with my recipe cards, know how to do laundry and how to hand wash dishes. They'll get cleaning supplies and I will hold them to high standards. And any roommate of theirs that doesn't know how to do these things...I will fucking teach them because knowing how to live and take care of yourself is basic living and any parent that doesn't teach these things is leaving their child with a disadvantage.

UGH. So I'm leaving you with a photo of my vegetables. Some day Chewie is going to know how to grow some fucking vegetables.

Obsessed

Kinetic Sand. It's entertainment for more than a few minutes in this house!

Find it on Amazon HERE

We have these sand molds.

These construction vehicles.

If you need some kid entertainment, this should certainly help you out to at least go to the bathroom alone for a few minutes!

CSA Meal/Food Planning

This year I've made super random stuff for the fridge and freezer -

I pickled some jalapenos which I thought sugar would take some of the heat out of... NOPE. Still super spicy! Delicious though.

Refrigerator Bread & Butter Pickles are always a hit.

Tortilla Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

Herb Pesto (made mostly with Sage, Parsley, and a little Basil)

Up next on my list - I planted multiple kinds of Basil so I need a few minutes to myself to gather up all the different Basil leaves, sort them and then make the pesto. I have a Ninja Bullet, so I'm thinking making 4 different pestos in an afternoon will be fairly easy (as long as I don't have to referee children!).

I also need to make another batch of Chimichurri - my jalapeno plant has EXPLODED. I need to find ways to use it up! I was thinking about doing a batch of cornbread with jalapenos too.

My Butternut Squash plants are doing excellent so I'll make a batch of soup and then probably some squash and black bean breakfast burritos too.

I've been going through a phase of getting make-ahead cookbooks from the library but I haven't really been too impressed. One from America's Test Kitchen had mostly meals and dishes that you made 3-4 days in advance and kept in the fridge. I need more freezer meal options - I feel like I need to do this before school starts so I can get back into the swing of things a bit easier. I've found transitions are pretty difficult in this house and everyone takes a few weeks to get used to changes. I do have a freezer meal cookbook, but that calls for bulk items and I'm thinking I just want a few meals instead of 30+ like I usually do. Or now that I type that, maybe I do want to do 30+ meals! That does make dinner and lunch super easy.

My herb plants have held up really well, but I have been consistently watering this year too (which children that love playing with the hose, I can usually bribe them to water!) but my little square foot garden I completely over (or possibly under) estimated - the brussel sprout plants took over and crowded out a yellow pepper and broccoli plants so...now that I know how big those brussel sprout plants get, I'll move those next year to over by the composter and keep the smaller veggies in the square foot garden - the peppers, two tomato plants, a foot of spinach, I'll route a butternut squash plant to go over the rabbit fence, and then I can grow garlic too. That should be a good little easy garden to water, pick weeds, etc...

That's all for now, friends! Have a great rest of your week!

This Summer Sucks

Oh, man. Summer has seriously kicked my ass.

Having two kids home at the same time is crazy. There's always someone talking AT me...not to me. There's always someone crying, screaming my name, or telling me they want a "SNACK." There are days when I threaten to go back to work.

Next year there will be way more summer camps.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my kids but entertaining toddlers versus older children is freaking insane. I can send one kid outside but then the other one wants to follow and the house is a disaster. Summer parenting is absolutely no joke.

To top it all off I found out that I'm anemic, I'm severely deficient in Vitamin D and my Ferritin levels are below normal. So no wonder why I've been freaking exhausted for MONTHS. And I don't mean just tired, I mean 6-week-post-baby-worse-than-tired EXHAUSTED and I haven't had a baby in over two years. This has lasted for MONTHS. Bimmer Man pretty much has been non-existent in this house working on cars that are not in the garage located in our backyard so that means most things around home are left up to me. So I've been feeling pretty much run ragged. It hasn't been easy. It's to the point where I hired a cleaning lady because I just can't do it anymore. The next person on my list is to hire lawn/garden people because I can't even mow the lawn without taking a break, my body is just tired. There, that was a bit of truth for you.

So this summer sucks, much like the summer that Chewie was born.

On the other hand, The MONKEY is riding a fat bike and we've been mountain biking. Chewie has been scootering like a master. My flowers are doing freaking amazing and I've only had to water the pots and random veggies. We took a trip to Colorado that was fun. Bimmer Man and I went to France for 8 days - that was awesome. I'll share pictures at some point.

So not everything has been terrible. It's been fun, but I'm ready for school to get us back into a normal routine and not just me having to come up with ideas for things to do on a daily basis. I can only search Pinterest for so long before I want to stab my eyes out.