To explain this unheard of phenomenon, I guess I should back up to last week. A friend emailed me about setting up a play date for our children. I suggested that I host knowing that this would be a much needed kick in the behind to get the public parts of our home all cleaned up. I had been trying to do fifteen minutes here and there a la flylady but that has not helped to make significant progress and I became discouraged and gave up for a few weeks.
Fast forward to this week. Wednesday ended up being crazy and I was up very late but I managed to get the house clean and make some goodies for the play date. I spent the day trying to work and entertain DS the best I could. While he was awake I did tasks like sorting through mail/papers and putting things away in the living room/ dining room. He was not a cooperative nap taker so things like the bathroom and kitchen had to wait till after he went to bed for the night. My wonderful DH pitched in and we got it all done. The play date went over well and after they left I did do some basic straightening up and swept the crumbs off the floor. (It is amazing how many crumbs our sweet little one year old visitor was able to create. I'm in trouble 6 months down the road!)
Last night before bed I managed to get all the toys we had been playing with put away and the kitchen decently straightened up. This morning I wasn't feeling great (probably due to too many goodies from yesterday) so I decided we would not be able to attend the large group play date as we had planned. After nursing DS we came down stairs and I had breakfast,(some of my yummy baked oatmeal and homemade yogurt which are good foods for the unhappy but hungry tummy) and played with DS for a bit. I then decided that I should give the floors a basic sweep and vacuum the living room rug which gets dirty so fast! DS played in the exosaucer while I did this. It took next to no time and I think he was excited by the vacuum! Then we went to the kitchen, washed up the breakfast dishes, and made dinner with chicken in the crock pot and rice in my trusty rice cooker, ran the dishwasher, put in a load of laundry and cleaned up all of the mess there. This of course was all done while playing games of peakaboo with a kitchen towel and singing. I am amazed but DS did not get cranky till I was almost done with all of that. I put him down for a nap (Yes! He actually went down for a nap!) and now I hardly know what to do with myself!
So I know all of this probably seems pretty basic, but in our house since DS was born 6 months ago, productive days like this have been unheard of. It feels strange but exciting! Now if I can just keep it up! I think this is where I may turn back to flylady. Once things have been done well I can see the 15 minutes here and there actually working to keep things done.
Next big project will be the bedrooms! Maybe I can tackle one of them next week! The wonderful thing about having things done down here is that now I feel free to think about other projects (like bread baking) that I would like to pursue again!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
More Odds and Ends
So things have supposedly slowed down for the summer but with a baby who is now officially six months old, there is not any slowing down! This past week was pretty busy. We returned from visiting family in New Jersey on Tuesday. Wednesday DS nursed and clung to me literally all day. Thursday, we had La Leche League, Friday was our weekly Indian cooking lesson and Saturday, I tried to get some food made and do some things around the house.
La Leche League was wonderful on Thursday. I started attending meetings when I was pregnant with DS and they have seen me through so many of our nursing issues. Honestly, if it were not for the support that I have received there, I do not think DS would still be nursing at all. They helped with his early nursing issues and with his weight gain issues and these remarkable women are now helping to support us through our process of trying to wean DS from formula now that his weight is stable. I am so grateful to and for them. I really cherish all of the fellow attachment parenting friends I have made through them and through my natural and attachment parenting group. Sometimes it is difficult parenting when you believe what is best for your child is a challenge to the cultural norm.
Also, a big thing this week has been making some delicious whole foods. I cooked chickpeas and made the hummus I posted about before and have been giving DS a few little bites of mashed chickpeas with his lunch. So far he seems to like them.
Also, I made more of the yogurt that I posted about before. I can easily go through the whole half gallon I make of this a week. I have also found a new trick that helps quite a lot with the consistency of the yogurt. Previously I had been adding some gelatin to thicken it up a bit, but I have since found that adding some nonfat dry milk (about a cup to the 1/2 gallon of milk) when I add in the yogurt cultures does wonders for thickening it up.
I also learned to cook brown rice in the rice cooker by putting in 2 of the little cups of rice and filling the water up to the line for cooking three cups. The rice came out beautifully and tasted so good!
My last cooking adventure this week was making baked oatmeal. Someone on one of the message boards I belong to had posted the recipe and I have to say this stuff is incredible and I think it will probably be one of those things I make weekly. It is very custard like; almost like a moist bread pudding but with oats instead of the bread. It has lots of cinnamon in it and I put in some dried cherries. Baked oatmeal with homemade yogurt is possibly the best breakfast I can think of. Next time I have to make something for a brunch, this is quite possibly going to be what I make. It is yummy!
Food wise, my goals for this next week are to make some bread and to cook up some quinoa. Of course I will also have to make more yogurt and baked oats as well. I also may have to make more hummus because it is just so good. DS's latest food obsession is pita bread so I am thinking that I will have to either make that or some roti for him this week too.
Other goals for the week are to get the house cleaned up and to have dinner either ready to go on the grill or in the crock pot each day by the time DH gets home from work. It amazes me how difficult it is for me to get just some of the basics done each day. DS takes so much time and attention and always wants me to be holding him. Even with trying to wear him in the wrap or the sling it is a real challenge to get anything done. Still, we will keep trying!
La Leche League was wonderful on Thursday. I started attending meetings when I was pregnant with DS and they have seen me through so many of our nursing issues. Honestly, if it were not for the support that I have received there, I do not think DS would still be nursing at all. They helped with his early nursing issues and with his weight gain issues and these remarkable women are now helping to support us through our process of trying to wean DS from formula now that his weight is stable. I am so grateful to and for them. I really cherish all of the fellow attachment parenting friends I have made through them and through my natural and attachment parenting group. Sometimes it is difficult parenting when you believe what is best for your child is a challenge to the cultural norm.
Also, a big thing this week has been making some delicious whole foods. I cooked chickpeas and made the hummus I posted about before and have been giving DS a few little bites of mashed chickpeas with his lunch. So far he seems to like them.
Also, I made more of the yogurt that I posted about before. I can easily go through the whole half gallon I make of this a week. I have also found a new trick that helps quite a lot with the consistency of the yogurt. Previously I had been adding some gelatin to thicken it up a bit, but I have since found that adding some nonfat dry milk (about a cup to the 1/2 gallon of milk) when I add in the yogurt cultures does wonders for thickening it up.
I also learned to cook brown rice in the rice cooker by putting in 2 of the little cups of rice and filling the water up to the line for cooking three cups. The rice came out beautifully and tasted so good!
My last cooking adventure this week was making baked oatmeal. Someone on one of the message boards I belong to had posted the recipe and I have to say this stuff is incredible and I think it will probably be one of those things I make weekly. It is very custard like; almost like a moist bread pudding but with oats instead of the bread. It has lots of cinnamon in it and I put in some dried cherries. Baked oatmeal with homemade yogurt is possibly the best breakfast I can think of. Next time I have to make something for a brunch, this is quite possibly going to be what I make. It is yummy!
Food wise, my goals for this next week are to make some bread and to cook up some quinoa. Of course I will also have to make more yogurt and baked oats as well. I also may have to make more hummus because it is just so good. DS's latest food obsession is pita bread so I am thinking that I will have to either make that or some roti for him this week too.
Other goals for the week are to get the house cleaned up and to have dinner either ready to go on the grill or in the crock pot each day by the time DH gets home from work. It amazes me how difficult it is for me to get just some of the basics done each day. DS takes so much time and attention and always wants me to be holding him. Even with trying to wear him in the wrap or the sling it is a real challenge to get anything done. Still, we will keep trying!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Hummus!!!!
Today, I finally got around to cooking chickpeas and making some hummus! All I can say is yum! My mom first made this for me after I became a vegetarian my freshman year of college. She took a vegetarian cooking class so she would have some foods to make for me and this was one of our favorites. Over the years my recipe changed a bit. I met Leslie McEachern of the Angelica Kitchen in New York City who inspired me to add a bit of cumin and cayenne pepper to the mix. Also, I learned to cook my own chickpeas with a cinnamon stick and some bay leaves.
The following is my hummus recipe that I followed today:
1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
8 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 cup tahini
about 1/2 cup reserved chickpea cooking liquid (or enough to achieve desired consistency)
Soak the chickpeas in water over night.
Drain.
Place in slow cooker with 8 cups water, the cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until chickpeas are very soft.
Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
Drain chickpeas, reserving cooking liquid.
Place chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, cayenne pepper and tahini in food processor and pulse.
With food processor running drizzle in cooking liquid until reaching desired consistency. (I like my hummus on the thick side so I only use about 1/2 cup but the measurement on this is not exact).
Enjoy! I like to eat this with pita bread or as a dip for veggies such as sweet red pepper strips or celery. I am really looking forward to my lunches for this next week.
The following is my hummus recipe that I followed today:
1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
8 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
juice of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 cup tahini
about 1/2 cup reserved chickpea cooking liquid (or enough to achieve desired consistency)
Soak the chickpeas in water over night.
Drain.
Place in slow cooker with 8 cups water, the cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until chickpeas are very soft.
Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
Drain chickpeas, reserving cooking liquid.
Place chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, cayenne pepper and tahini in food processor and pulse.
With food processor running drizzle in cooking liquid until reaching desired consistency. (I like my hummus on the thick side so I only use about 1/2 cup but the measurement on this is not exact).
Enjoy! I like to eat this with pita bread or as a dip for veggies such as sweet red pepper strips or celery. I am really looking forward to my lunches for this next week.
First items from my little garden
I am happy to report that I this week, I had a first meal including items from my little garden. I was able to pick enough spinach, malabar spinach, lettuce, basil and radishes to have a lovely salad for lunch the other day. It may be a while before there is enough to do this again, but I certainly did enjoy it! There is just something about being able to grow food and then harvest it and eat it.
The garden is looking wonderful and everything is growing like crazy! Now the biggest challenge is to keep up with the watering as we do not have a hose or a place to attach one. This means multiple trips from the sink to the garden with the watering can. This is a hot dry week in Virginia so watering is proving to be very important.
Now I just need to take care of planting some pots for my front porch. I have one with a geranium ready to go and I have some marigolds to plant in another. I already planted marigolds and red petunias in the ground in front of the bushes and they seem to be thriving.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
