. . . but for now, I work with what I've got.
We still have a few more weeks of cool, overnight temperatures, here in the PNW. Too cool for plants like tomato to be out in the garden without a cover.
On the deck and in the garden, I use gallon milk jugs, with the bottoms cut out, over single tomato plants.
For my basil starts, I use plastic clamshells that lettuce came in this past winter.
And in the garden, I use these row covers over a long stretch of small plants.
I planted out my tomato seedlings on the deck, around the first of April, which is about a month earlier than is recommended for our area. They're doing well, under their covers. And I hope to be slicing into a fresh tomato in July this year, which would be about 6 weeks earlier than planting into the bare ground in the garden, around the 6th of May.
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Monday, April 27, 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
Last week's lunch round-up: my grab-and-go lunch fixings
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left: garbanzo, celery, barley salad right: chunky tomato soup |
I haven't done one of these lunch posts in several weeks. For one thing, I was struggling just to keep a few things made each week. Life flows in spurts. Some months, there seems to be a spring melt and runoff of activity. Other months, just a trickle of activity to add to daily living.
And then there's my quest to get this grocery spending back in line with the budget. I've had a lot of things to talk about.
Anyways, I did keep track of what I made for last week's lunches. Here is/was last week's lunch round-up. Between Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, I prepared these grab-and-go items for our lunches:
- leftover hummus and fry bread (I intentionally made a huge batch of hummus, some for lunches and some for a meal later next week)
- garbanzo bean, celery, barley salad -- all marinated in a dressing of oil, rosemary-thyme vinegar and garlic (when I use celery in a salad, I use the entire rib, leaves and all, hence the "leafy" look, plus I think the leaves have a brighter flavor)
- homemade chunky tomato soup (I had to make 2 batches of this soup, as it was devoured quickly)
- another batch of pickle juice muffins. I added a bit more cinnamon this time. I kept thinking I was eating apple-cinnamon muffins. Just trying to use up the pickle juice before the next pickle-making season begins!
- and then later in the week some pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins. I actually made these for a little boy that I babysit on Thursdays. He loves pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins. So, sometimes I bake a batch to bring one to him. And my lucky family gets to eat the leftovers!
- home-dried prunes
- carrot sticks (I prepared a large container of carrot sticks on Monday and they were gone by Thursday)
- oranges
- pbj sandwiches
- hard boiled eggs
We are going through more food than usual, with our packed lunches. So, I did make extra for grab-and-go this past week.
I know a few of you work at home, and some of you work in education and so have summers at home. What sort of items do those of you who eat at home, prepare for your lunches? I'm looking for new ideas for things to fix, using fairly basic ingredients.
I know a few of you work at home, and some of you work in education and so have summers at home. What sort of items do those of you who eat at home, prepare for your lunches? I'm looking for new ideas for things to fix, using fairly basic ingredients.
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Thursday, April 23, 2015
So, you know I use tablecloths . . .
Organizing my linen closet
I inherited a large box of tablecloths when my parents passed away. These are cloths from my great grandparents, both sides of my family, as well as some of my grandmother's and mother's table linens.
There's everything from cloths large enough for a table set for 10 (our table only seats 8 at the max), down to tiny cocktail/beverage napkins (from the days of cocktail parties and bridge nights, I presume). There are doilies, lace placemats, and card-table toppers.
The other day I found myself motivated to organize the closet where all of these are stored. I pulled everything out and set myself to the task.
I sorted the linens according to size and item. Then I bagged them up, using those zippered, plastic bags that sheet sets and blankets come packaged in. I have just one shelf in a closet under the stairs to dedicate to linens. So, if I do this right, it all fits.
The extra large table cloths now have their own bag, and sit on the bottom of the stack, rarely used. The napkins are sorted into 3 smaller bags, the white monogrammed ones (both sides of the family had last names beginning with "M", lucky me), the ecru machine-embroidered ones (wedding gifts when my husband and I got married), and the assorted patterned and odd ones. Then there's the bag of medium sized table cloths, the bag of placemats, the bag of kitchen table cloths, and the bag of table toppers, squares, runners and dinner roll basket liners.
On the end of each bag is a list of the bag's contents. I include the number of the various types of napkins on these lists. As the trend seems to be to mix and match linens, I can quickly see if I have enough of any given color, pattern or design on the napkins for whatever holiday or event, to go with whatever cloth, runner, table topper combo that works on the table.
I didn't bother precisely measuring each table cloth, but simply stated on the label how many people could be accommodated at the table with that table cloth. For example, "seats 10", or "seats 6". In my own head, I know how many leaves/additions to make to the table for each cloth, with that notation.
I try to use these linens throughout the year, in place of buying any new linens, or paper napkins. When we've hosted large soup/bread gatherings, I've been able to dig into this stash of napkins for our guests, instead of buying paper napkins. I even have enough of those smaller beverage napkins to fill my small square napkin container, in place of buying paper beverage napkins for when a few friends are over. They don't all match, but that can be some of the charm of using heirloom linens.
I try to be careful with the oldest of these linens. But I've been known to take them outside for dinner al fresco. It's just such a nice touch, with no extra cost, to spread a tablecloth on the patio table and add a vase of flowers, for a dinner in the glow of the setting sun.
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