I don’t recommend

I don’t recommend making pumpkin pancakes when there’s only one cup of flour in the house. At least not a full recipe. Or if you insist on making a full recipe, soak the rolled oats (the cup full you’re subbing for the missing second cup of flour) in the milk for a nice long time before baking. Or if you are hungry and can’t wait, be prepared to eat pumpkin pancake mush, hacked and mixed and mushed, burnt here and there, still nearly liquid in other places. Who knows if soaking would actually do any better.

On the other hand, they tasted good.

The closet

Before:

After:

Food adventures

I’ve been thinking lately about vegetables. Part of it was the health screening — said I need to eat more fruits and vegetables and I realized I really don’t get as many servings as I’m supposed to. Part of it is Amy’s changing tastes, and frequent rejection of vegetables. I’m thinking variety — in kinds of vegetables and in recipes and presentation — will help both of us.

For example — she will eat her veggies if I give them to her first while I finish making the rest of the lunch.

Also, I should put some on her plate whether she wants them or not, and not bug her about eating them or not. Calm persistence is more persuasive than irritated insistence, and if I don’t give them to her because she says she doesn’t like them, she’ll never change her mind and try them anyway.

On Friday, I made tomato green bean couscous. Sauteed garden green beans in minced garlic and butter. Cooked couscous according to package directions, in water with a slice of butter. Cut up garden tomatoes and drizzled them with olive oil and basil. Mixed it all together — easy and delicious.

Today I made this lentil soup — yes, I even bought saffron. I made it with spinach. The soup is interesting — much more bright / tart than I usually care for. Some of that is likely the yogurt, and a lot of that is probably that I used frozen garden tomatoes, rather than canned — garden tomatoes seem more tart and bright tasting than store canned tomatoes. I think crumbled bacon and beef broth would improve the recipe, but then again it wouldn’t count as meatless then.

Saffron is interesting. I’m not sure yet that it’s a flavor fabulous enough for the price, but now that I’ve got some I’ll try some other recipes here and there.

Amy ate her soup and asked for more. Mark didn’t care for it but ate it.

We had it with the egg bread from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook — with 3/4 whole wheat flour, 1/4 white. First time I’ve used the dough hooks on my hand mixer, and they did quite nicely until the last bit of flour, and by then it was ready to knead.

Another one I want to try is this corn pudding in acorn squash.

That’s all, folks

Well, if it’s Saturday and I haven’t posted any food since Monday, I guess I must be done with the food log.

Monday

Breakfast: Oatmeal Squares with skim milk.

Lunch: Grilled cheddar on wheat with garden tomato. Grapes.

Dinner: Penne with meatballs and marinara.

Dessert: Oops again, another cookie.

Sunday

Breakfast: Oatmeal Squares with skim milk.

Lunch: Church potluck — homemade sloppy joe, asian chicken salad with cashews and celery, a few Doritos, raw broccoli, carrots, tomato, and cucumber slices.

Dessert: Three of our homemade oatmeal cookies. Oops. And another after dinner. Oops oops.

Dinner: Leftover tomato and sausage pizza.

Saturday

Breakfast: Oatmeal Squares with skim milk.

Lunch: Trail of Courage festival — ribs.

Dinner: Mark’s homemade pizza with whole wheat crust, a jar of sauce, a block of mozzarella, garden tomatoes, and Italian sausage.

Dessert: Two homemade oatmeal cookies with milk for dipping.

Friday

Breakfast: Blueberry pancakes, at Amy’s request. With butter and maple syrup. Half white, half whole wheat flour.

Lunch: Scrambled eggs. Pretzels with french onion dip. Mango.

Dinner: Dining hall — A sorry excuse for sausage pizza. We finally figured out they used sausage gravy for the sauce. Yeah, the stuff you put on biscuits in the South. A decent salad of romaine, sunflower seeds, carrots, croutons, and ranch. Some chips.

Thursday

Breakfast: Oatmeal Squares with blueberries and skim milk.

Lunch: Buttered sourdough toast, mango.

Dinner: Kroger three-cheese mac-n-cheese, last of the leftover grilled chicken, broccoli.

A selection of thoughts

1. I registered for BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) yesterday. Will be going with two ladies from playgroup, along with our kids, who have a parallel class. Did my first daily lesson today, reading a handout of notes. Some familiar, some possible tiny red-tinged flags. The whole year we’ll be studying John — looking forward to getting into the book.

2. We continue to go to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Walkerton. In Sunday School, Glenn (the pastor) is leading us through the Westminster Confession of Faith. So far the weeks we’ve been attending have all been about baptism. It’s good to be refreshed on the rationale for infant baptism, something we both grew up with, grew out of, and hesitatingly returned to.

This week we talked about the perspective or attitude with which we look at, interact with, consider, our children — as already, in a sense, children of God, children of the covenant — not as heathen to be converted, but children to be raised up.

I find this idea challenging both to my old evangelical-fundie roots (gotta have a concrete, distinct experience of making faith one’s own) and my modern sensibilities (gotta respect and encourage the child’s right and responsibility to test ideas, explore, and choose).

I also find this idea beautifully inclusive and appealing.

3. Playgroup was at the park today. There were moments of clinging and moments of roaming and even some moments of direct interaction with other children. Normally I’ve required her to stay in the old-tire-mulched area where we are, but this time let her roam, within sight, to the pavilion, the other tire-mulched area, and in the grassy places in between and all around. It was fine.

4. The closet is progressing. All the contents are piled in the room. The new shelves are in the car along with their hardware. I’ve cleaned, patched, sanded, and painted. Tomorrow I hope to cut the hang rails to length, and perhaps start hanging.

5. I’m going to do a hammered dulcimer concert, Saturday October 24, at 7pm, on campus. Looking forward to it, mostly, but also dealing with the usual nerves, insecurities, etc. Gotta get the closet done so I can get the dulcimer out and start planning and practicing.