A Day Off and Next Week's Plan

Today I have the day 'off'.  After a 55+ hour work week Duncan has decided to let me relax and do what i want this weekend.  He's wonderful like that.  So what am i doing with this time to relax?

At the moment cleaning.  So far this morning:

* Morning Routine (although i am dressed in hang around the house clothes)
* Folded and put away the laundry
* Upstairs trash & recycling emptied
* Kitchen trash & recycling emptied
* Dishwasher running (It's SO HOT today and i feel guilty not waiting until after 8 to run it, but the heat had made things start to mold, lesson learned)
* Pitched attempt at indoor herb garden.  The containers didn't allow for drainage and stuff just rotted.  I think i'll try something more creative next time.
* Lunch box hand washed, Lucky's waterbowl washed and sink returned to shiny.
* Kitchen trashcan hosed off and drying outside
* Under the bed storage purged of some junk
* Serious sweeping and dusting of bedroom, including under furniture
* Bedroom & Landing windows, mirrors and other glass cleaned
* Hung some new art and a set of shelves in the bedroom
* Organized the linen closet with labels and everything
* Swept the stairs

Now i'm tired and have decided i deserve something from Dunkin Donuts and to peruse the latest book i picked up: Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.  I'm hoping to make some pickles and maybe more things as i learn.

Here is my plan for next week, which, even with the holiday, will be a little challenging routine wise, but WAY closer to normal.

Not this week (Routines)

This week has been crazy town work-wise, with long days and field work every single day.  Field work means a different schedule (often coming in early and/or leaving late) as well as not necessarily being able to eat breakfast or lunch because of the environment.  That can create a tired, cranky, hungry girl at the end of the day!

So while i've been thinking about routines and systems, i've not been able to consistently implement anything yet.  I have been keeping my sink shiny, something Ian teased me for on Tuesday.

Since tomorrow begins around 4:15 AM, I'm hoping to spend some time in the afternoon working on some menu planning and scheduling from the comfort of my couch (potentially after a nap).  I promise i am working on this stuff though!

As for the blog, i've created a Twitter account, so you can follow along as i attempt to do my various projects.  You can find me there as DomestiGeeky!  I'd love some followers and folks to chat with and learn from!

Kitchens of the Future... Or Not

I just finished reading The Real Kitchen of the Future Won’t Involve Sous-Vide over on Slate, and it really made me think.  I'm a gadget loving girl, for sure, but what do i really use in my kitchen?  What do i wish i had for making some jobs easier or to improve the quality of my food?


* Knives (i'm slowly learning to use more than just a little paring knife, thanks to my friends and spouse)
* Cutting boards, both plastic and wood
* Basic Pots and pans
* The crockpot
* The mixer - SO MUCH LOVE for my Kitchen Aid!
* My breadmaker, though less with my current diet plan, because i'm eating less bread.
* Mixing bowls, mostly plastic or old Pyrex/FireKing
* Pyrex casserole dishes
* Baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper
* Mason jars

I infrequently use my blender, and have never used the pasta maker my spouse bought, though he has 2 or 3 times.  For special occasions we use the fondue set.  For a few recipes involving nuts i use the mini chopper thingy.  Once in a while i use the double boiler, and very rarely my dutch oven.

Some of this may be because i tend to cook simpler recipes.  I hope to continue learning new skills and adventuring more, but there is a balance between taking on those challenges and still needing dinner at the end of the day!

So what's essential in your kitchen?  What tools could you not survive without, and what gets dusty in the cabinets?

Salty Sweet

This weekend i must have had a particular craving for salty-sweet, as i tried out two new recipes.  I had to alter each to make things edible for my gluten-free and vegan friends, but they were still SO delicious, i have to share.

Chocolate Chip Potato Chip Cookies - i used regular old Lay's chips which came out fine.  I substituted Earth Balance for the butter and used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour for the flour.  I could of been braver on the salt application on top, but these were awesome and very easy to make.

Salted Oatmeal Cookies - Again, i swapped out Earth Balance for butter and used Gluten Free flour.  I also substituted a few tablespoons of applesauce instead of using eggs.  I added a little more cinnamon than the recipe called for, but also let the raw dough sit for longer in hopes of getting the oatmeal softer, which worked.  They didn't get too puffy, like sometimes dough does, but these were a huge hit.

When i asked my friends which they preferred, they all asked if i could just put potato chips in the oatmeal cookies.  I'm pretty proud of both sets, since i felt i was working without a net in making these GF and vegan.  I love when my experiments create tasty results!!!

Farm Share Week 1

So here's what i did with my delicious produce from the first week of my CSA through Fair Weather Acres, a beautiful and delicious haul!

Spinach (1 lb)

• Omelettes with spinach and swiss cheese and Farmer's Cow eggs (see picture).  Pretty proud of actually making an omelette that didn't turn into scrambled eggs, but could of been more patient and cooked it a tad longer.
• Cut up a ciabatta roll and layered herbed goat cheese, fresh spinach and roasted red pepper as a fancy late afternoon snack.
• Threw some in a salad for Saturday & Sunday dinners
• Cut some up and ate it with slices of turkey for a lunch on Monday & Tuesday.

Strawberries (1 qt)

• Ate some straight out of the container they were SO GOOD i snacked on them consistently.
• Strawberry shortcake for Father's Day using home made Cream Biscuits from the Fannie Farmer cookbook and whipped cream from scratch.  I wish i took a picture of these, they looked so pretty in my mom's blue bowls!

Parsley (1 bunch)

• Looking to use it soon, if not will dry it.

Rainbow chard (1 bunch) 

• Pickled the stems with a modified version of this recipe.  They are not kidding in calling this rainbow chard!  They are gorgeous!
• Going to sautee the greens with the beet leaves maybe?

Turnips (2)

• Cut 1/2 of the larger turnips into french fry shapes and roasted with some herbs in the oven.  Came out tasty, but could of cooked longer.  Amazingly low cal!

Beets (1 bunch)

• Tried to make beet chips with the actual beet part, but they all came out burnt.  Looks like i'll have a chance at redemption this week as we'll be getting more.  The ones i didn't burn came out tasty!
• Pickled the stalks using this recipe.  
• Saute the greens with the chard?  Or just combine this week's haul with the next for a larger serving?

Romaine lettuce (1 head)

• Saturday & Sunday dinner salad with tomatoes, spinach, cucumber, peas and chick peas.

Bok choy (1 head)

• Slow Cooker Chicken with Pineapple and Bok Choy

Tomatoes (2)

• Saturday & Sunday dinner salad, basic but tasty!

Getting back to routines, Creating a system

Previously, i have learned a lot from using modified versions of FlyLady.  Although the system is geared towards stay-at-home-moms, homemakers, there is a lot of unnecessary stuff, and a has a bit christian bent, i have found the core ideas to be very useful (for the record, i don't have kids, my spouse lives at home 3 days a week, i work a full time job plus a volunteer gig, and have a vague Catholic influenced but also nature based spirituality).

I'm once again finding myself with a focus on my home and have a desire to return to domesticity, and now am asking how i can accomplish ALL THE THINGS without sacrificing other important elements of my world (yes, that comic is terribly accurate).  So i come back to FlyLady, despite the sugar sweetness, silly acronyms and way WAY too many emails.

The dear FlyLady is all about routine.  There is a morning routine, an evening routine and others if you want them.  There is also routine tasks for each day, week, month and even seasonally.  This is probably the thing that has helped me the most, along with tackling things in small, manageable chunks.  

If you're like me, you succeed when you 1) know what needs to be done, 2) know how to do it, and 3) can make time for it.  Although routines can feel monotonous for some, for me this system meets those three needs.  It also helps prevents me from spending 3 days in a manic state trying to accomplish everything i truly meant to do over the last month.

In FlyLady land, you have all these routines written out in something called a Control Journal.  It's the magic binder with all your information.  In the world of service oriented individuals, there is also something often referred to as a Butler Book.  While there are different elements in each, the general concept is the same, a guide for how your (or someone else's) home runs.  I am also associating some GTD systems in with this concept as well, as lists and references are important tools.

My intention is to begin building my personal guidebook with my routines, references, calendar, and so on as i build my habits.  I'll try to find a way to share them here as well.   I will be calling it a Home Management Guide for now (a phrase i have seen used less often, but also contains the elements I'm hoping to create, and isn't as emotionally loaded as the other options).  So stay tuned!

Thoughts on an organized garage

I've been remiss in writing this, so here it is.  Some thoughts on organizing our garage.  Sorry it's a little stream-of-consciousness, but i wanted to write it before it disappeared.  Hopefully other folks will find it useful in changing their spaces around too.

1) Dividing the garage by space and use was helpful.  Duncan's tools & bike mean his bay isn't going to be used for parking, but mine could if enough stuff was removed.  The center line is where actively used equipment goes.  Since we live in New England, this means alternating the lawn mower and snow thrower.

2) Getting the space as empty as possible (and seeing what was actually in there) was a critical step, because i was able to get a realistic idea of what the space was.

3) Grouping like with like helped me see where we had unnecessary duplicate items, as well as get an idea of how much storage would be necessary for different sorts of items.  Yes, in CT we need 3 snow shovels (one will undoubtedly break during a major snowstorm), but not 2 mini ones for when you're trapped in the car (or something, Duncan likes them).  This also allowed me to pick up scattered lumber from various projects, which will hopefully mean we don't buy new if we don't need it, since it will be obvious what we have 'in stock'.

4) I ran into trouble with getting rid of items that are Duncan's, not mine.  I suggest any group of individuals do a project like this together, so that important things are not thrown away, and similarly, junk isn't kept indefinitely.

5) I also swept and cleaned as i went.  This made a huge visual difference.  I'm going to make it a rule that the garage is swept on a regular basis and after projects.  It will help with minimizing mice and tracking stuff around.  The problem is there is oil on the floor from the motorcycle, which i am not sure how to deal with properly.  Anyone with experience here?

6) Vertical storage!  Duncan and i purchased some shelves to aid in this, which i hope to install this weekend.    Garages are a great storage area, but we were not taking advantage of any vertical areas.  Some shelves will make things easier to see and create much needed space on the floor and tables, making access and projects easier.

Truth

Mini Pledge 1 from 100 Days of Real Food

So link hopping today took me to the 100 Days of Real Food blog, which is well worth a read if you're interested in food, what we eat and how to limit your intake of artificial ingredients.  I'm not sure i buy everything she says, but i've decided to participate, behind the schedule, in her 14 Mini Pledges.  Although they are not necessarily sustainable for me at this point, i will try to keep with the spirit of things.  I may modify as necessary, or fail, or whatever.

Week 1 is to eat a minimum of two different fruits or vegetables with every breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal.  I feel that this may be a challenge for breakfasts, as i usually only eat 1, but maybe i will alter my oatmeal a little.  Or alternatively, ensure one snack is a fruit or veggie.  Lunch and dinner should be relatively easy.

Although she suggests the fruit and vegetable be organic, i'm not going to hold myself to that.  In part just because i would rather use what i have available.  Also because today, after work, i sign us up for a half share in the Fair Weather Acres CSA!  This is a veggie & fruit CSA (the fruit will be coming from Belltown Hill Orchards and Dzen Farm).  I prefer local over organic, because it keeps money in my community, supports my neighbors, and Connecticut grows some delicious produce!  It also reduces the environmental impacts from shipping.  I'm not strict on either, but this is about new experiences, right?

Anyone want to join up with me starting Monday?

Garage Reorganization

Before you go thinking that this is a blog all about food and exercise, Friday night i decided to start the process of reorganizing the garage.  Sadly, this is a multi-step process and my pictures came out lousy, but i promise to write more about it soon.

Breakfast, lunch and a snack!

Breakfast - maple blueberry refrigerator oatmeal! (small jar)

Lunch - blueberries (the dark spot in the center top), half an apple, cucumber slices, 2 hard boiled eggs, salt, cherry tomatoes, strawberries

Snack - lifesaver and wasabi & soy sauce almonds

Beverage - lemon ginger refrigerator iced tea

It's all delicious!  And happy!  And easy!

Sorry it's not the greatest picture.  I was very tired last night and not so enthused about making things.  Making things in bulk seems to be the way to go (like boiling the eggs and making several jars of oatmeal).

Bruschetta

Another non-recipe recipe for summer.  This is one of my go-to favorite dishes to bring to a party or potluck in the summer, and tastes delicious even a day or three after making it.

So first off you need some tomatoes.  In years past i've used plum tomatoes, because you don't want this to be too watery.  Having now made it with heirloom cherry tomatoes, i'm not going back.  The smaller tomatoes were easier to work with, and having a variety of color and taste was awesome.  But really, you just need tomatoes, cut into small pieces and thrown in a bowl.  Leave out the watery goop if you use full size tomatoes.  SUPER EASY, right?

Mince up some garlic.  My tomato averse spouse has explained to me that this really is simply a carrier for garlic and basil, but i actually enjoy the taste of tomatoes, so however much is up to you.  For this much i used about 8 cloves.

Take that garlic and a little extra virgin olive oil (a tablespoon-ish) and heat it up in a skillet.  Just get the garlic golden brown so it's not overpowering.  5 minutes maybe.  Let it sit off the heat while you do the next step.  No stove?  It'll taste fine with raw garlic.  Be sure to really mince it fine is all.

Cut up some basil.  Do fresh, none of that dried nonsense.  It'll look prettier and taste better.  I like to roll up a pile of leaves inside each other and then slice, to make thin ribbons without bruising the leaves.  Throw that in the bowl with your tomatoes.

Remember the garlic and olive oil?  Into the bowl.

Next add a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar to that bowl.  Gently mix.

You can add salt & pepper.  I tend to skip that because of the dietary needs of my family.

You can make it the night before, covered and refrigerated to really let the flavors mix, but if you're rushing it'll still be awesome so long as you use good ingredients.

Serve with sliced up french bread (toasted or plain), on top of salad greens, on top of chicken, on top of pasta... really, it goes good with a lot of things.  Add a little mozzarella cheese if you like.  

Today's Breakfast/Lunch/Snack

Today's breakfast/lunch/snack.  Wasabi almonds, hardboiled egg (with salt), raspberries & blueberries, salad (lettuce, tomato, broccoli & cucumber), babybel cheese, strawberries, salad dressing & lifesaver in Planetbox. Strawberry vanilla refrigerator oatmeal in jar.  Freeze dried peaches in tin.

I may not eat it all, but for 2.5 meals, 725 calories isn't bad.  Still leaves more than half of my budget for dinner!

FitBit

I am in love with my FitBit Ultra.  A FitBit is a teeny tiny pedometer, but calling it just a pedometer is like calling Romeo & Juliet a play.  It is, but also much more.

The happy little black gizmo is about the size of my finger, and can be clipped onto your waistband, or stuck in a pocket or even a bra.  It's much less conspicuous than any other pedometer i've ever tried, which i admit, was a concern.  I may be geeky and overweight, but i try to draw attention to neither of those things!  It tracks your steps, flights of stairs (and hills), calories burned, distance traveled and gives you the time.  All of this you can see by pressing the little button on the unit itself, or when it syncs to the website via wireless connection when it is 15' or less from the base station.

It took a little adjusting to get my mileage more accurate to my runs, initially it was overestimating my stride, and i still would like to go to the track to get some more accurate measurements, but in due time.  I've now used it for several walks, walk/runs and even a hike and found it was quite accurate.  It's been a great motivation to do a little more throughout the day, and even helped me do my chores!  If i am 'short' on my daily goals, i will walk around the house putting things away to collect steps and flights of stairs.  It's amazing how sedentary i am during the day at the office and how active i can be by just simple things like cooking, cleaning and having fun!  Even shopping suddenly turns into a mental game of how i can get in a few more steps.

For years i've heard the lines about park further away from your destination, use the further copier, and other little tricks to get more activity in your day, but never really thought hard about how they actually have an effect.  It's 20 seconds, right?  Wearing a pedometer has turned those little things into something numeric, and therefore more real for me.  Because i have a goal to work towards each day, i am inspired to try those small changes, rather than see them as something nice, but not important.

I also feel that by using the fitbit i am more accurately tracking my calories, because some days i am very active at work and other days not so much.  It's helpful for me to know what an office day looks like so i can find other ways to be active.  Similarly, when i am more active, i can balance that with a lighter workout for balance.

Although i don't know how accurate it really is, you can also use it to track your sleep.  By wearing it on your wrist (it comes with a wristband), it will track your movement and create a report of how long it took you to fall asleep and how often you woke up.  This has been very helpful for nights where i have had trouble sleeping and noticing patterns in my sleep habits.

Because it syncs with tools i am already using, primarily LoseIt and RunKeeper, it also is particularly useful.  Unlike a traditional pedometer, i don't have to enter anything.  Each time i sync, Lose It adjusts my exercise calories and tells FitBit what i've eaten.  There is a huge list of apps and sites that work with FitBit's API, and i suspect it'll keep growing.

Overall, i love this little gadget and think it will continue to be a great tool on my weight loss journey!

Saw this on Pintrest and thought it was cute.  Although not all of these are true for me, a bunch are.  

Compost!

I am, at heart, a dirty tree hugging kind of girl.  Despite my love of technology, efficiency and comfort, i really do care about the environment and love my garden.  Although i am insanely in love with my town's single stream recycling policy, we still generate 2-3 bags of trash per week when we're not being careful or do a real clean of things.  I try to buy recycled products, and pay attention to the Reduce & Reuse parts too, but there are always spots we can improve on.

So this weekend, after wanting an fancy and expensive composter for several years, i said screw it.

Thanks to Pintrest, we followed this method, and for the price of a plastic tote, now have a compost bin ready to take our food scraps and turn them into happy dirt.

We also now have an airtight plastic bin labelled 'compost' on the kitchen counter as well.  I'm hoping with it in eyesight we'll be good about using (and emptying) it.  So far we've added a banana peel, some tomato scraps, kale stems and the ends to some asparagus.

This weekend we also picked up a recycle bucket for the dear husband's office, to encourage him to recycle paper from bills and and the like, but also the plastic italian ice cups he loves during the summer months and other things that can be recycled.  I think one of the most important steps in greening your life is creating systems that make it easy.  If it means more buckets than so be it!

Refrigerator Tea

It's summer.  OK, maybe technically not for a few more weeks, but it's summer here in Connecticut.  And in the summer, i love iced tea.  Lately especially, as i've been looking to drink more water, drink less soda and not add calories.  Unsweetened iced tea has become my go-to for dining out, but making it at home is a time consuming process (although VERY delicious!) and heats up our kitchen.

Enter Refrigerator Tea!  The actual time involved is mere minutes (filling a mason jar and adding tea bags), although the wait time is 6-12 hours.  It's really, really easy and very good.

Step 1.  Grab a mason jar and fill it with water.
Step 2.  Add some teabags.  Let the tabs dangle outside the jar, don't stick them in the water.
Step 3.  Close the lid.
Step 4.  Stick it in the fridge and wait 6-12 hours.
Step 5.  Enjoy!

I suggest using 1-2 teabags per cup of tea, depending on the strength you enjoy and how long it sits.  I plan on experimenting soon with adding some flavors for even more delicious soon!