Tag Archives: Lent

Let’s kick off the week

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on the right foot!

Here are some recent ideas for deliciousness:

My genius sister-in-law told me she likes to use quinoa or couscous to make a cold salad – she cooks the grains in broth, cools them and then adds whatever a person might like in a pasta salad. I know! Genius!

Also, I’ve been using baked sweet potatoes in anything I think my daughter might eat. I steam carrots, cauliflower or other gently-colored veggies and puree them with the sweet potato. Little Cowgirl has never eaten so many vegetables disguised as sloppy joe and meatloaf. I’ve always hidden veggies in her food, but the sweet potato is so packed with nutrients and so SWEET it makes us both happy. (oh, and don’t tell her. She is very partial to a completely beige diet, and anything that crunches and isn’t from a chip bag might make her vomit.) I am on a mission to use this new idea for replacing anything calling for brown sugar – my original sloppy joe recipe (from my sweet mother-in-law) calls for it but the sweet potato was an easy swap.

Remember last year’s Lenten Miracle Soup? (Thank you for reminding me about it, Darlene.) This year I had another soup success – but more for ease than flavor. On Thursday I made chicken in a crock pot for lunch. I sliced potatoes, onions and carrots into the bottom of the crock, cranked a few turns of “zesty seasoning mix” into it and covered everything with a whole chicken and water. After we ate I boned the chicken and saved the small scraps. Then I chunked the veggies into smaller pieces and put then in the fridge with the little chicken scraps and the broth. On Friday, I took the dish out, skimmed the solidified fat off the top, heated it up and stirred in a bit of potato starch to thicken it up. We ate the soup with biscuits and shredded cheddar.

What’s been happening in your kitchens?

Why I guess gardening is something we love more as we age…and that it somehow makes me more religious

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I’ve darn near given up on having a garden this year.  It is themiddleofApril for the love of Maude (as they say over at rants from mommyland).

 

The latest I’ve ever put in peas and spinach was April 5th.  We are well past that, in case you had not noticed.

 

This may turn out to be a tomato-okra-bean-only kind of summer.

 

And honestly, it’s a crying shame, because Farmer Boy spent the end of the fall and the entire winter, any time it was dry enough (and even if it was mostly frozen) working that garden with the push-plow just because he loves the dirt SO much.  My garden has never been better prepared or looked as well-cared-for as it does this spring.

 

I don’t even have any pansies in my flower pots yet!  For SHAME!

 

However, this sinus infection (yes, it has been officially determined as the cause of my recent lost week) is not very helpful in terms of motivation for outdoor work.  In fact, I shut the house and turned the AC on this week in order to keep the pollen out of the immediate vicinity (I forget this every spring and remember after my allergies make me completely miserable).  It has helped (along with the drugs).

 

But, in order to remind myself that I am farther ahead than last year, the flower beds I expanded and transplanted bulbs to look great, the kids have spent several days picking up all the stray sticks in the yard and hauling them to the burn pile with their cool riding mower/yard wagon, so things are mowable. (YES goshdarnit, spellcheck, I *know* that “mowable” is not a word!!!)

 

I’ll get to the outside work when I can get to it.  In the meantime the inside of my house is working pretty well, and though I dropped the ball on my Lenten cleaning as far as the garage, I have nearly completed the filing/office work I’d hoped to work on a little here and there through the season.  As Easter gets closer, I’m really looking forward to Farmer Boy’s first Communion on May Day.  He has been practicing in his religious ed. classes with the host and wine.  He told me the wine tastes (insert disgusted face) and the host is (insert so-so hand gesture).  Then he said it would taste different on his first Eucharist because it would really be Jesus then.

 

I explained that, actually, it would not.  He said, “well, it will *feel* different then, right?”  I told him that maybe it would, that for some people it feels different right away, but for others (like me) it took a while to really feel the Grace that entered my life because of eucharist.

 

It’s like planting bulbs.  After the initial work, you have only bare earth.  The next year, if you wait and keep the weeds out, you have green.  The next year, if you’ve been patient and taken care to pay attention to that place, you will have a flower.  Each year the bulb will propogate and fill more space with color and joy.  Things that are inherently good usually require an investment of time and attention and are often something we might overlook unless we are tuned in.  And, as always, the more work we put into it ourselves, the more we get from it.  The older I get, the more I find this to be true in so many ways.  It applies to my relationships (especially within my marriage), my home, cooking, exercising, taking a trip, reading a book, writing this blog.

 

It makes me feel old, yet satisfied and appreciative to see that I’m growing in wisdom and maturity. (Also I may have thrown up a little in my mouth when I said that.)

The power of principle

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I’ve had a pretty packed last six months or year.  There have been many changes and different challenges.  There has been a lot on my plate, and even more on my husband’s.

 

At times, this year has put me in a place that has become completely overwhelming.  Too many things that need to be done all at one time.  For lots of people, it works to give a few things up in order to make life less complicated.  In some ways, I have done that.  But mostly I gave things up that I was already not doing (or at least not doing properly).  I resigned a volunteer job I’ve worked at for the last eight years, and though I’m really sad about it and loved (very much!) the organization and the work, I wasn’t. actually. doing. anything.  I was asked to be on a committee at the Parish to help with a process we are involved in.  I helped for the first stages of the committee’s work, but since spring hit I’ve missed everything and in two weeks the job is over.  Mostly I’ve given up things like keeping the house, van, or yard very nicely.

 

Then, I started Flying again.  And I came to terms with the fact that I am really not happy unless I am UP TO HERE in activity.  I’ve been that way since I was able to choose my own extracurricular stuff.  I really like it.  But I need to find balance.  Flylady has helped me stay more organized at home so I can be more efficient with my time, and though housework is the first thing I tend to let slide, it is the first thing that makes me grumpy and unfit-to-live-with.

 

Then, a couple of weeks ago, my BFF mentioned feeling like things were out of control in her world so she put a list of her priorities on the refrigerator.

 

KABLAMO!

 

Blew my mind.  It really helped me to figure out what I’m doing with trying to get things re-balanced.  This was one of the main reasons I began looking for an “all-in-one” curriculum that will require as little planning/legwork on my part as possible.  Money and control were less important to me than making school a pleasant and stream-lined activity that we can do well at home and still have plenty of time and energy for all the other things we want to and (I) have to do.

 

What I feed my family is very important to me.  I try to make different meals with as large a variety of foods in as close to their natural state as possible.  I’m going to allow myself to keep this as important and make time to cook meals from scratch and buy the expensive fresh produce without guilt.  This is one of my priorities.  And because I allow this to be a focus, I’m not going to worry about it when we ‘fall off the wagon’ for a time period or with a specific product that makes things much easier for us when things are especially busy.

 

Helping with the farm is very important to me.  I am going to work to streamline my other responsibilities (see curriculum comments above) in order to devote enough time (see remarks about giving things up) to stay involved and be dependable.  It brings My Farmer and I so much joy to work together, whether it is in the office or in the field.  It was always part of our vision and work is one way we both show our love and find personal reward.

 

Being a kind and fully-present parent is important to me.  I will apologize when I am not doing so.  I will continue to pray an act of contrition each night, and a self-offering prayer each morning.  This is a practice I began with Lent and it has helped me so much – I take time to think about my errors and forgive myself each night, then start fresh every morning with my priorities in mind.  I will work to stay organized so that I can be more focused and less pressured in my daily life.  (For my non- or less-religious readers, obviously this can be done without the praying part.  The forgiving and offering parts are the critical ones to include if you want to give it a try.)

 

God is important to me, and being a part of the community of Church.  This is one area in my life where I feel satisfied with the way things are working – probably because everything is easier when it takes the approach of “community.”  I don’t need to do it all – there are lots of us!  I just need to do what I can with the gifts that I have.  I will continue helping where I can, taking my children to weekly and holy day Masses, and incorporate faith into our regular, daily routines.

 

Exercise is important to me.  It keeps me healthy, and most importantly it keeps me sane.  I will give up other activities (like sleep) and bend my other priorities (for instance taking my children to the gym’s childcare area while I run or work-out) so that I can participate in this.  I will seek out opportunities to do so and not feel guilty about time away from my family so that I can take good care of my own body and mind.

 

Staying organized is important to me so I can accomplish all of these priorities.  I know this is just the tip of the iceburg as far as what is important – I don’t have anything in here about friends or extended family or time with my spouse (which are all critical priorities for me as well) but there’s only so much I can write before you all are going to get bored (you are already? Sorry – almost finished – just give me a few more minutes).  And these are the biggies that are currently front-and-center for me.  Any tips or suggestions would be most welcome – What do you keep on hand in the pantry for quick, healthy meals?  How do you maintain an uncluttered house?  How do you fit in a big project?  When do you make time for yourself?  Do you have a system for keeping lists, files, or items that would help me?

 

C’mon, people!  I know you are full of ideas so let’s share!

Another casserole

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From the same book – it’s Lent so we are enjoying fish at least once a week (or something else meatless) though I try to keep that practice up the rest of the year as well.  I made this casserole last week and it received a thumbs-up…even from my “no-mixing-food” kid.

 

Salmon and Shells

 

1 lb medium shell pasta (cooked al dente)

1 chopped onion

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

4 cups milk (I used almond milk)

6 Tbsp flour

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 bag (16 oz) frozen sweet peas

2 cups sliced baby portobello mushrooms

1-2 tsp chopped fresh dill or parsley

2 (8oz) cooked, flaked salmon steaks (I just used a can of salmon)

 

Saute onions in oil until translucent.  Add three cups of milk and heat over medium.  Put remaining cup with flour in screw-top jar and shake until dissolved.  Stir flour mix slowly into heated milk.  Add lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Continue to stir until sauce begins to thicken, then add pasta and stir.  Once coated, add the remaining ingredients.  Transfer to a 3 qt baking dish (greased) and bake, uncovered, at 350 for 45 minutes.  Let stand 5 min before serving.

Every year

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I am reminded just how much I love the season of  Lent.  It is a preparation, a time of examination, an opportunity to turn within – which encourages us to look beyond ourselves to the needs of others.

 

My absolute favorite thing about Lent is the scripture reading from the Ash Wednesday Mass this morning:

Rend your hearts, not your garments.

 

I love the idea of Lent being about changes INSIDE, which manifest as a change in our actions toward others.

 

I was listening closely this morning when Father was talking about fasting.  He proposed the idea that, for those who were struggling with the idea of what to “give up,” (yeah, totally me) to consider the idea of deciding not what we should NOT do, but what we SHOULD do instead; to replace our Lenten Fasting with the sacrificial discipline of facing something we are avoiding.

 

Hello.  So me.

 

I am also fortunate to live with the Lenten Secret Police (my kids).  So I make sure to announce my Lenten intentions to them, as they are a great help in enforcing my self-discipline. 

 

I have been working on cleaning our garage.  This is a job I have been avoiding since the day we moved into this house - it came “as is” with a mess of its very own.  I have given a generous number of excuses over the past nine years as to why I do not go in there and clean it up.  No more!  I started working on it a few weeks ago, cleaned it enough to have the worst parts over with, and promptly went back to avoiding it again.

 

I also have a problem with my filing system.  Like anyone on Earth, I dislike paperwork and keeping track of it.  When we moved, I had a pretty good system set up.  However, like I mentioned before, that was nine years ago.  We have since grown far out of that system.  I have (yes, count them) three unused filing cabinets strung about the house (yes, mostly in the garage) that I need to get cleaned out and set up.  I am so over-run with papers now that we have been homeschooling for two years (holy cow) that I’m afraid I’ll lose Little Cowgirl if she ever wades into them.

 

I am going to spend at least ten minutes for each of the forty days of Lent working on one of these areas of clutter and distress in my home.  I will be patient and inclusive of all my shorter-in-stature but bigger-in-intentions helpers during this time.  I will focus on teaching about working together and doing a job right, rather than insisting on doing it myself so it can be done quickly and correctly.

A complete side note, but I notice each year that Ash Wednesday has some of my favorite hymns all packed together.  These include ”Change Our Hearts,” “With These Ashes,” and especially “You Alone.”  As a humorous aside, I just asked the kids which songs we sang during Mass (two hours ago) and Shooter listed not only the songs, but the page number in the book where they could be found.  Freaky!

What are you doing this year for Lent? 

Not from a can…

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I mentioned something to a friend the other day about making soup from stock (we were actually discussing whether or not it’s okay to make soup from a meat-based, although meatless, stock for Lent.  I vote yes.) and she asked me how I find time to make stock.  It is really such a cinch, so I wanted to share with you how I keep stock available.

I like to make chicken stock, beef stock and vegetable stock.  Whenever I cook a chicken or a roast, the first thing I do after eating is to start the stock (this way it can make while I’m doing the dishes).  I bone the chicken or cut up the roast, then place the bones and scraps in a big pot with whatever kind of spices I’m feeling like.  It’s even better if the meat was cooked in a big pot in the first place, so then I’m not dirtying another dish AND it will be full of the richest drippings already. 

I run the pot 2/3 full of water and turn it on high until it boils, then let it simmer for an hour or so.  I let it cool for awhile on the countertop, then I pour it into jars with screw-top lids (like empty spaghetti sauce jars – I know, why don’t I make my own marinara too? IDK!).  I put them in the fridge.  Overnight, the fat will separate, raise to the top and solidify.  I scoop it out with a spoon the next day, label it with masking tape and stick it in the freezer.  Whenever I want to use it I can take it out and pop it right into the microwave if I’m in a hurry.

The only difference with vegetable stock it how I prep for it.  I keep a ziplock bag in the freezer, in which I throw scraps wether they come off the cutting board or a plate after a meal is finished.

These stocks make delicious rice and soups.  Plus they are a heck of a lot cheaper (and healthier) than anything you can buy to use in it’s place.  It’s not gourmet, but close enough!

Confession…

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I have an announcement to make.  Remember when I posted about my Lenten fast from shopping? 

Well, I kind of fell off the wagon.  Even though mud boots were on my list (we call them irrigation boots back home), this wasn’t what I had in mind…and they did cost $5 more than their utilitarian black counterparts.  But gosh, just look at them!  And Cowgirl asked so sweetly, “Mommy, could I please have the pink ones with Hello Kitty instead?”  How could I resist?!

Lenten Miracle Soup

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If you follow me on twitter, you know that last Friday I did a bit of textual bemoaning that my Lenten meals are not always received with excitement.  However, I was surprised and heartened at the sound of the spoon hitting the empty dish of this soup I made in less than 30 minutes, so thought I would share it with you all in case you want to use it in some form this coming Friday.

Creamy Soup

Saute’ a few TBSP onions and celery (chopped) in a bit of butter in a medium saucepan.  Add 3 cups milk.

Mix 1/2 cup milk with 1 TBSP cornstarch or 2 TBSP flour (TIP:  I put them in a washed out jar, screw on the lid and shake for a minute).

Stir into saucepan.  Heat to a slow boil, stirring constantly.  continue to cook over med-low heat, stirring to thicken.

Meanwhile, boil about 1 cup of noodles (I had bow tie on hand).  Drain.

Five minutes before serving, stir in leftover salmon (or a package of it would probably be equivalent), about 1/2 cup of frozen peas, and about 4 oz of neufchatel cheese.  Stir until heated through.  Add noodles and serve with freshly grated parmesan.  We also had fresh spinach salad with this.

Rend your hearts, not your garments.

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Like most people in my age group, I’ve a healthy appreciation of the “self-help” industry.  When I wanted to (cook something new, learn to knit or crochet, make a home repair, lose a few pounds, eat more nutritious foods) I turned to the Internet and library to read about how other people have done these things before I tried it.

Now it is Lent, the big daddy of do-it-yourself personal improvement.

Let me explain something…I am an adult convert to Catholicism.  As a girl, I envied the Catholics I knew two things:  Confession (actually called reconciliation) and Lent.  I didn’t have a very thorough understanding of Lent, but I knew it must feel good to examine your behaviors, find an area you would like to change and make a concentrated effort to do so.  I like it that the period of lent is actually a good length of time for creating new habits – experts say is takes 30 days to form a new habit or break an old one, so Lenten season gives us enough time to make our efforts last.

Disclaimer – one does not have to be Catholic or religious to apply these principles, and I am not saying that people who are not Catholic or religious do not have their own terrific ways of doing the same things.  I am also not saying that people who are of different religions or no religion at all are not doing the same things under a different name.

 

Stepping

                       Off

                                       Soap

                                                          Box.  

I grew up in a house that valued self-examination and betterment.  It is something I was thinking about for as long as I can remember – the idea that we all make mistakes and by being conscious of our actions we can make less of them.  I am trying very hard to assimilate the same idea in my home as my children grow.

As I grew to understand Lent better, I came to appreciate it even more.  There is a great deal of depth in the practices of Lent.  There are three main aspects:  Prayer - to bring you closer to God, Fasting – denying yourself something that in some way hinders your relationship with God (and usually others ), and Charity – giving in a purposeful and generous way to our fellow mankind.

It is a great time to pick three ways to change.  We are incorporating the Rosary this Lenten season for prayer.  I am working to be openly giving when my children are asking for attention or time and leaving my work or chores as second in order of importance for charity. 

I am fasting from shopping.

Let me clarify something – I am not a shopaholic.  I do not shop for therapy.  I don’t live outside of our budget.  I don’t really spend all that much.  But it is more than we really need to be spending.  I hit the clearance racks during seasonal sales as religiously as I attend mass every week. 

 Not long ago my daughter, when my Mom complimented her outfit, smiled, struck a pose and sang “Clearance!”  

I am a good deal junkie. 

I love to cook new and interesting things and soooo often unpack my groceries to reveal expensive new varieties of nuts or cheese, and fresh foods I bought just because they looked good without thinking about how much they cost or where they came from, and even something as random as (another) bottle of nail polish.

I am going to be fully aware of every penny we spend for the next 40 days and I will only purchase things if I determine that we actually need them.  If there is something else I can make do with or another way to accomplish the goal (reusing, thrifting, going without, replacing, borrowing or just waiting) then I will do so. 

Of course, there may be some things I determine we actually need (like razors, vinegar or school supplies) that we could live without but I’m counting them as necessary because of their importance in our family life – don’t laugh!  I also am not going to sacrifice our nutritional standards for the sake of saving a few bucks.  There is no way I am buying the General Mills cereals when they contain three times the sugar, half as much protein and no fiber compared to the nutrient-rich but more expensive kinds my family will eat.

But I’m not buying the cereal, razors or vinegar unless we are out.  Time to let the cupboards clean themselves a bit and get a leaner lifestyle going.

Today is my first real test.  Not only is today Friday, a day of abstaining when I will eat two small meals, one full meal and no meat but I promised Little Cowgirl I would take her to Target to spend some of her Valentine money from Granparents, Aunties and Great-Great-Aunties.  She wants a stuffed jaguar.  I want to pick over every 80% off rack in the store and exult over my incredible buys all week enjoy helping her shop in the toy section.  That will be close enough, right?!