Ole

I am glad the week is over - it's been a douzy. Ole tore his ACL yesterday and is scheduled for TPLO surgery next Thursday. I spent the entire afternoon and early evening at the emergency vet - it was a huge drag. He was drugged out last night, tongue lolling out and all. I slept downstairs with him since he seemed to prefer the couch over the crate. We were sure he would pee or poop in his condition, but he didn't. Rockin' dog. I hadn't been able to get his meds into him this morning so stopped off at Safeway on the way home from picking up the kids. A pre-cooked, microwaveable pot roast later, and the meds are safely in his tummy. We also got hot dogs, so a tupperware of carnivorous delights await him for the next few weeks.
We are still discussing the surgery. He is 12 years old, after all. X-rays show no arthritis, which is amazing, and the vet thinks he has at least 2 years left in him if not more. The recovery is 2 months, but he would regain full mobility. Ugh. If only we had buckets of money - we wouldn't think twice about it. We love him so much - he is such a fantastic dog. But ...

In other news, I've started a new blog chronicling my local eats (re-vamping my enthusiasm from a few years ago). While it is 50% green, the other 50% is purely financial. With the exception of fruits, veggies, soybeans & GF baking mix for the kids, we are trying to only eat from our CSA. Visit, if you like!

Hanukkah begins a week from tonight. Sam's blanket is limping along. I am almost finished with green; blue will be a tough one because it's in the stockinette stitch rather than just the knit stitch, purple will be fast and half a white too. Basically, I'm home free when the blue is finished.

I've also menu-planned through the end of the year, doubling and freezing batches of squash soup, stews and chilis. Between those and roasted root veggies, our dinners will be nourishing and free! I've scaled back our Hanukkah plans this year so we'll have more time together as a family and less party-hopping. Although I love a good party as much as anyone, the boys have school and we'll need to keep it mellow this year. Our chavurah meets tomorrow and will celebrate Hanukkah a week early together. This is my favorite chavurah of the year, perhaps because of the delicious food (we are always in charge of the jelly donuts. Heh.)

I'm hoping the remainder of 2009 will not be too crazy, but relaxed and focused on the family. And I still need to get the holiday letter written and a picture taken. Hmm. Too bad I deleted all the pictures from iPhoto - it will take forever to sift through all the random unnamed jpegs. *sigh*

GIving Thanks

Oh, the riches I have! I am feeling abundantly blessed and lucky tonight. What gorgeous weather we had today! We played basketball and soccer outside all day (when I wasn't inside basting something or other). What great kids I have! They spent much of yesterday creating placements for our guests, felting hearts, butterflies and turkeys (and a few snowmen) to decorate the house. What a great husband I have! He let me sleep in til 8am this morning! Since I was up with Ted most of the night (he had gluten and dairy yesterday with no enzymes), it felt heavenly!

And the food! So fresh, so delicious ... it's so special when a meal is prepared only once a year and enjoyed for all its uniqueness. The abundance of food in our lives makes me alternatively guilty and thrilled. Our CSA share (that the family picked up without me last week) yielded about 50% of our Thanksgiving meal. Were it not for the requisite Tofurkey (a tradition) and cornbread stuffing, it'd be almost 100%!

Tofurkey (from Oregon)
Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Stuffing (from Connecticut)
Lentil & Golden Squash Pot Pie (all but lentils from the CSA)
Glazed Turnips & Apples (all CSA)
Delicata Squash Soup (all CSA)
Hot Chai (Boulder Bahkti Chai, homemade soymilk)
Pumpkin Pie (all but the crust from CSA & local ingredients)
Red Wine & Beer (local Boulder Beer, Australian Merlot)

Our friends the Seigals brought the salad and fruit, as well as some Thanksgiving Blend coffee! Mmm!! It was a lovely day; the house is cleaned up and the kids in bed. And tomorrow is only Day 2 of the 4 day weekend! Ahh...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Dark Days Challenge has begun!

It's November 15, which means the start of the winter challenge this year. This is our 3rd year of participating. The first year was fantastic - I was really on the ball. Last year I managed to prepare about 60% of our food from our CSA and stores. I am motivated again this year, since I am in the groove now and have been preparing. We've been feasting on CSA beans, greens & veggies for a few months now.

So, on to our very first meal! It was a simple one, and perfect for our snowy weather today: chili. I My exemptions are Italian seasoning and 1 can of tomato paste. The local CSA ingredients in this yummy chili are: chickpeas, red beans, yellow onion, garlic, (homemade!) veggie stock, and 2 jalapenos (from our hatch chilis). It's bubbling away in the crockpot right now, blending with the smells of more local roasted potatoes, beets & garlic. We devoured the potatoes and garlic at lunch but will enjoy the roasted beets with some sauteed CSA tut soi alongside our chili. Mmm...

back to our lovely Indian summer

This morning started out coolish but reached 72 this afternoon. I love Colorado. A quick recap for the non-Facebook peeps out there. On Wednesday of last week, I took Ted in to the doctor to take a look at the blisters on his hands. They suspected a virus, so not much to do about it but take Tylenol if it's a real pain. By Thursday both Ted and I weren't feeling very good. Ted developed a serious cold and I came down with, ultimately, Strep. I've never had strep before. I had a terrible sore throat, headache, body aches and swollen glands. It went on and on. By Monday, Paul convinced me to go in. It was either H1N1 or Strep. Happily, it was Strep! It's Day 1 on antibiotics and I feel sooo much better. Ahhh...

Now that I'm back up to snuff, I have to get going on food. Luckily I cooked up quite a collection of dinner-esque items last week, enough to hold us through the weekend. On Mondays I always try to prep a crock pot meal and that worked well. Now to turn the Kuri squash in a mashed potato-y concoction, the sugar pie pumpkin into black bean & pumpkin soup and the potatoes into our favorite roasted chunks of deliciousness. Oh yes. It will be a good end to the week.
Ole, btw, is a great compost bin. We had to get rid of ours while the basement was being fixed. We wondered, last season, if raccoons or some other creatures were helping themselves to dinner. Nope - it was Ole! He loves squash! Silly dog.

Roasting Season

We've had 3 snows already - all before Halloween! This one is a blizzard, closing down the schools, mail, work etc. The kids had fun playing in the snow all morning, drinking hot cocoa, watching Madagascar, playing Legos and doing some schoolwork. I've been busy roasting! The Dark Days Challenge officially starts on November 15, but we've been eating mostly local for a few months now. Lunch today included roasted potatoes & garlic with sauteed chard and sliced beets, all from the CSA last week. I plan to serve similar simple, yet absolutely bursting with flavor, meals all winter. For dinner tonight I roasted a kuri squash and an onion for a squash-apple soup (my MIL's recipe) that we all love. It's going to be a delicious day, with scrumptious appetizers! I may not enjoy snow, but I do appreciate the siren's call of the kitchen when the days are blustery. Stay warm, friends!

Dark Days Challenge Completed...this year

Well, March 31 has come and gone. The Dark Days Challenge is officially over, and fittingly, since the Farmer's Market starts up this Saturday. This was a really tough challenge ... mostly because it required advance planning, not my strong suit. But, I persevered. Throughout the Fall season, I put away meals as quickly as I prepared them. We feasted all winter on soups, stews and slow cooker meals from the deep freeze. My goal is to get through the remaining 11 (eleven!!) meals still left in the freezer before May, when the produce really starts rolling in. Our CSA will start up soon, and I've increased to a full share this year. I learned the hard way that putting up greens is just as essential as freezing those luscious berries. As my boys pined for strawberries, I missed my local kale, swiss chard and spinach. This year, thanks to the Dark Days Challenge, I will do more to keep us in berries and greens all winter. This was such a wonderful challenge. And life changing too.

Our meals for the past two weeks have included Spaghetti with Homemade Pesto, Baked Potatoes with Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy, Sloppy Lentil Stew, Lentil Buttercup Soup, Aloo Gobi and Slow Cooker Vindaloo. Mmm. This week we're finishing up the Pumpkin Black Bean Soup, Carrot Soup and Chickpea Turnip Stew. I figure 3 freezer meals a week are good. Really, these late winter meals have been easier than any other season, because they're ready to go!

Quick Dark Days Update

I haven't been posting much about our meals because we've been so crazy busy that I've just pulled things from the deep freeze in the morning and heated them up at night. Our local meals lately included Slow Cooker Vindaloo and Honey Baked Lentils. I've resorted to buying the big tub of spinach at Whole Foods (WHEN oh when will it be spring/CSA time, again?) so we are keeping our greens going. It is FABULOUS to have the freezer stocked. Although I am getting pretty lazy about cooking, so I hope having the fresh produce will give me a nudge when the time comes!

Dark Days Recap

I'm the Guest Writer this week for the West region of the Dark Days Challenge, and when I went to my own blog I hadn't tagged my posts! Geesh! I guess having kids with strep and a friend with a new baby make me forget the details. Tonight's dinner of VwaV's Chickpea and Spinach Curry was made with CSA Indian Woman beans, local spinach, CSA garlic and onion, and a local mercant's paratha. I LOVE this meal and hope my new mom friend enjoyed it too. Non local spices, but everything else was local. I'll have the post up Sunday night and will link to it here. It's a lot of work to review everyone, but a lot of fun too.
*Update* Here's the post.

Seeds are planted!

My seeds are planted! We moved into this house in the Fall of 1999 and in the early Spring of 2000 I started some cherry tomatoes inside in early March. By June, we had BUSHELS of them. I did it again the next year and we had a wonderful harvest again. Then Ted was born. And then Sam. And then Mae arrived. And every year since these energetic children have been with us, we've guiltily perused the young plants at Home Depot in early May and returned home with a few. Meager harvests follow in July, although August is usually a good month no matter what. This year, Mae is 2.5 and, in my opinion, old enough to understand to leave the plants alone. I'm excited for this year's harvest, although I may have overplanted. Our garden is quite small, but we'll see. The back row is home to (from left to right) Heirloom Mini Red and Yellow Pear Tomatoes, Red Cherry Tomatoes, and a hybrid variety known as Early Girl, a type of plum tomato, from the looks of it. In front in the yogurt containers (from left to right) are strawberries, golden chard, baby carrots and sugar snap peas. The two lonesome ones on the right are full size carrots and spinach. I plan to transplant the strawberries and golden chard to the big standing pots we have on the deck. I learned a nice trick from a website today: water the seeds with warm water and then cover them. This creates a nice greenhouse effect. I'm going to water them at night with warm water and help them through the chilly nights this way. Back in 2000, our little tomatoes did just fine without extra help from me, but boy would I love some homegrown spinach and strawberries!! Nothing quite heralds spring like the scent of baby tomato shoots! Can't wait.

much ado

We nixed the mountain plan and just met our friends at "Rocket Park." It was chilly but sunny and everyone enjoyed the morning. We stopped for bagels on the way home and everyone napped, even me! I love naps.

After nap, I baked 2 loaves each of zucchini bread (frozen shredded CSA zucchini dated 9/15) and Ted's bread while the kiddos played random loud games involving running and screaming. I used the Wendy Plan of Evening Entertainment (TM) and got them fed and bathed before Paul got home at 6. Much excitement heralded his return home, for tonight Paul and Ted were going to battle with their Pokemon! The game was fraught with confusion on everyone's part, but they both enjoyed it.

Pumpkin Saag

Don't skip the pumpkin! This was not very good and I can't blame Isa, so I think it was my lack of pumpkin. Heh. Pumpkin Saag from Veganomicon required 2 pumpkins. I only had one (freezer) so I subbed in a buttercup squash for the other. The result was not sweet enough and too squash-y. Still good, but not great. I'll try again with canned pumpkin (I'm officially out of pumpkin! I made it to mid-February! still lots of other squash left though..mmm) because it smelled like pumpkin pie while cooking. This was an all-local meal (CSA pumpkin, buttercup, onion and garlic). Locally brewed Fat Tire beer rounded out the meal! Our other local meal this week was my favorite Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup. This time I was even lazier (if that's possible for such an easy recipe) and just used water rather than veggie broth. Big mistake...the flavor was too onion-y and just not flavorful enough. Plus without the freshly toasted squash seeds, it was even duller than usual. Some (local) goat cheese helped perk it up. Next time, veggie broth all the way! This local meal used CSA kabocha, garlic, onion and local goat cheese.

We had a deliciously lazy Saturday. Sam is sick so we indulged him with plenty of Pokemon movies, Vitamin Water and Popsicles. He seems about 90% tonight. He has a truly amazing immune system. He is hardly ever sick and when he does finally fall victim to something, he is usually over it in 48 hours. We all got good naps (Ted played by himself, a talent he has always had for which I am constantly grateful!) and plenty of book reading and computer gaming. Lazy day. Tomorrow should be more of the same. Ahhh...

Much baking!

Today was a lazy Thursday. The roads were terrible after our little snowfall last night and Ted was 40 minutes late to school. After slipping and sliding my way home, the kiddos and I started cooking. First on the list was Ted's bread. Next we made an obligatory batch of Vive's Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies. Again. Because on Tuesday we had to give most of them away so this time we got the whole batch! Mmm. While the cookies baked, I started roasting my last Blue Ballet squash for my long-ago-planned Hubbard Squash Pie w/ Gingersnap Pie Crust . I'll bake that soon! I pulled out a favorite meal for a warming local dinner tonight, individual pot pies. We loved this so much the first time. Mmm. It hadn't defrosted enough so it'll be Friday's local dinner; we had leftover CSA spaghetti squash, homemade marinara sauce and vegan meatballs. Yum. Even Mae liked it.

A group of fellow beginner skiing kindergarteners are heading up to Eldora this Sunday for a full day of ski school. I'm going to take advantage of the First Timer's deal and do the Adult version myself! Ted and I will meet up for lunch. We talked about it last night and again this morning, and Ted is gung ho to ski again and learn 'more cool ski stuff.' We went by Boulder Ski Deals this afternoon before TKD and picked up a pair of goggles for me and some hand and toe warmers for both of us. Bring it on! I also bought Ted his own helmet (on sale!) because his rental one was too tight for his big melon, but I may return it because now he says he just wants to rent again. Argh. My kids and their huge heads. Looking forward to a big weekend: ATA Tournament on Saturday and skiing on Sunday. Kewl.

yum

We're back to cold temps again. It was a warm weekend so this is a low blow! Tonight for our local dinner we're having a repeat of Mellow Lentil Sniffle Soup (EDBV) and cornbread with glazed Chipotle Onions from Veganomicon. And because half of this meal is going to a sick friend, we also felt the need to bake some Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vive!), because, it just seemed right! All that's missing is a side of spinach, which I'll pick up at Wild Oats (here is the "not available locally, so go organic" caveat that I can't STAND but have to do for greens. Next year, I vow to blanch and freeze more greens!!!!)
I'm tired. Ted had a hard day at TKD today and I'm frustrated for him. Tomorrow is skiing. Today's class was canceled because of the high winds (they closed the lifts). I hope our class can go tomorrow!

A Local Smorgasbord

Today was another cold one and all the kids were at school. So after Ole and I had our lovely hike I got cooking. Because I knew Paul was going to be out tonight, I decided to just do up a bunch of my favorite sides. I used all local onions, garlic, turnips, squash and apples. First up, the Beet Salad from the ashram. I had to buy beets because mine are GONE!!!! but they were Colorado-grown. Then my new favorite, Apple Glazed Turnips. I tried another ashram recipe for a Butternut Squash spread but I really didn't like it. Too garlicy and too raw (sharp?) for me. That was a bummer. I also drank copious amounts of the delicious CSA Holy Basil Tea. YUM! The boys and I made (not local) brownies for dessert. It was such a yummy meal. All I have left are 4 squash, potatoes and onions. I think I am going to reserve Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends for cooking and begin breaking out our freezer meals on Mon/Tue/Thu. I don't like to touch them ... they are my security blankets. But I think those meals will get us through February and March with at least 3 local meals a week and then... Then! The Farmer's Market and the CSA will start up again!
And a cute pic of Sam at preschool, just because. He is so funny. And so serious about his play. I absolutely LOVE these pics the school sends us. It's so nice to have a little glimpse into his day.

Whah happahned?

Wow, it's been a while. Saturday during TKD, the light was coming in through the blinds funny and I developed a (rare now) really severe migraine. I spent the day huddling under the covers in my darkened bedroom and actually kicked it by evening, allowing me to take Ted to Ninja Night/have dinner with Wendy. Yum, Indian. Sunday I still didn't feel 100% so we lay low and didn't do much. Monday Ole and I hiked and lots of cleaning and laundry finally got done! We had bookclub last night and talked about The History of Love. What a great book. I'm re-reading it to catch all the little details I missed.
Tonight for our local dinner we had the scrumptious Spinach Kabocha Squash Soup, with CSA kabocha, onion and garlic (the spinach wasn't CSA but it was from Colorado.) I LOVE this soup. I also love that it can be done in the crock pot. Just put the previously cooked squash in with the whole garlic cloves and chopped onion, add 4 cups of veggie broth and put on low til ready. A few minutes before serving, squash it all with a potato masher and add 2 cups of spinach. Stir to wilt spinach and serve. So delicious.

Shoshoni dinner

Last night, while enjoying VwaV's Carrot Soup, I missed the brown rice that accompanied the carrot soup at the ashram. So tonight, we're finishing up the soup with some brown basmati rice (and the Beet Salad. Mmmm. This is an excellent recipe. Email me if you want it ... not sure I wanted to just post a full recipe from a cookbook, but I'm happy to share with a few friends!) I'm not much of a carb girl ... I do love my bread but rice, couscous, grains in general ... not my thing. But at the ashram they served it with the soup and Beet Salad and it was perfect to stir into the warming soup. With a side of homemade challah, this was a lovely winter meal. Shabbat shalom!

Victory!

This is my beet basket. My carrot basket looks identical. My turnip one is not far behind ... I give it a day or two to catch up. We are having a Beet salad tonight from the ashram's cookbook that I KNOW is excellent and that will be the end of the beets. I will miss them, but will wait for the leafy-topped versions in the spring. Mmmm ... beets.

The success of turnip/beet/carrot consumption has been a relief. I HATE letting food spoil, although we do compost which helps but STILL! What a waste! This year was my first at the whole root cellar business and I learned quite a lot! We should have been having these food discoveries sometime back in November! Now I know. We've been keeping up with the potatoes easily with mashers. Potatoes are so forgiving. No fancy ice-water baths for them. They taste delicious even when they've sprouted. We still have a ways to go on the potato basket (which is about 3 times larger than this basket), but they're doing nicely enough as is.

Tonight's local dinner was planned for yesterday but we just had leftovers instead. I'm looking forward to this meal. I love carrot soup (CSA carrots, onion, garlic, potatoes). The beet salad (CSA beets, red onion, garlic) and mashed turnips (CSA turnips, potatoes, homemade soy milk) should be perfect accompaniments a la Shoshoni.

I had an extra cup of CSA Indian Woman beans left over from a recent meal and remembered Dreena's Roasted Chickpeas were a bit hit. These are just as good, if a bit crispier, which I like. (Have I mentioned recently how much I love that little flower on my camera? I take pictures of all the food I prepare now, just for fun.) I've also been drinking the CSA Holy Basil tea by the mug-ful! It is really delicious. I'm glad, because we have a significant amount left, even after the holiday gift giving. Mmm ... cold weather and tea just go together so well, it almost makes the plunging temps worth it! Almost.

Turnips for lunch!

I'll admit it. I hadn't touched the turnips. I have a recipe I'm going to try that is a type of mashed potatoes with turnips. Not too inspiring. However! One of the blogs I love, Straight From the Farm, had a recipe a few days back for Caramelized Apples and Turnips. Intriguing. Anything with caramelized in it is bound to catch my eye. With 10+ pounds of turnips wilting in the basement, the least I could do was try! They are FANTASTIC. The apples mush into a sort of applesauce at the bottom of the pan. The maple syrup lends a sweetness to the otherwise bitter turnips, yet the dish isn't overly sweet. The turnips stay crisp and yet not crunchy. It is also easy and takes all of 5 minutes. YUM. Since I ate the entire bowl for lunch today, I think we've found a real winner. YUM!

Mae had another good day at preschool today. No crying and apparently even spoke a few words! She was very happy to see Eve and Nathalie and played with them all day (they weren't there on Monday). She hadn't touched her lunch, which sounds more normal to me! After picking up Ted, we took her to the doctor to check out the cough she's had for 3+ weeks now. Turns out she has a (rather severe, been there awhile) double ear infection. Her lungs are clear and her throat isn't overly red, so the cough is a mystery, perhaps the start of a viral thing that led to the ear infection. She's on Amoxycillin (the only antibiotic we know of that she isn't allergic to) and we have a recheck in 2 weeks. Apparently Ted was thrilled to be back in school; his teacher told me he was SO HAPPY all day long. I'm so glad! When I picked Sam up, he was dressed up like a king with a red cape and king's crown on. He is suddenly into dress up (at school) and takes it very seriously. hee.

Tonight we had the leftover (fabulous) Lentil Buttercup Soup, with homemade samosas and Paratha from our local Indian grocery. Mmmm...

Big Girl Update

So, at pick up today, Mae was "hiding" just like the other Caterpillars. SOOO cute! According to her teachers, she didn't speak at all but didn't seem sad, just reserved. She pooped on the potty, so I guess no worries there. hee. She was so proud of herself.
After a quick nap, all 3 kids had the dentist, and Mae had Big Girl Moment #2: going into the dentist's back room by herself! (6 months ago she screamed bloody murder while getting a little exam on my lap.) She did great! No cavities, still has the severe underbite and the worry that 1 of her 4 2-year molars seems stuck (puffy gums but still not through.) Otherwise, she looks good! Cutie. She was pretty excited about her new toothbrush too.
Sam looks fine and Ted has 3 new cavities in between his teeth (read: bad parental flossing ... oy, the guilt). I sure wish we had Dental Insurance!!

Tonight I'm cooking a delicious-looking (CSA beans, buttercup, onions & garlic) Lentil Buttercup soup with some Paratha (naan-esque). It smells heavenly. **Update to say, this soup is fantastic! I swore up and down while peeling and dicing this squash (WAY more labor-intensive than just roasting the darn thing for an hour!) but I wanted to follow the recipe first. I think in the future I'll just roast it after all, but this is an exquisite soup. I used her suggested spices of ginger, coriander, cumin and cardamom. This soup is the clincher: buttercup is officially my favorite squash. It's just so sweet and rich on its own ... mmm! While chopping (and muttering), I managed to end up with 8 extra cups of chopped buttercup, so we can have this delicious gem of a soup 3 more times. YUM!!

Lots of cooking

Today was a good day. Sam and I started our day baking banana muffins (sprinkled with flaxseeds) for breakfast. Then for dinner I really wanted to try Veganomicon's renowned Chickpea Cutlets, using our CSA Indian Woman Beans. I actually FORGOT to add in any spices! Duh! And it is tribute to the recipe that they were fantastic anyway! Amazing. I baked them and topped them with the Mustard Sauce ... equally stellar. Paul really liked that sauce. Mmm. We also had steamed broccoli and EDBV's Potato Squashers (CSA potatoes). Another yum there. It's like mashed potatoes only easier. Mmm. In the oven are Granola Bars by the Dozen. I'm hoping the boys will like those as much as the Z-bars.

Today Ted and I went to Boondocks to check out Laser Tag for his birthday. It was a hit. Invitations will go out soon. I can't believe he's almost six years old!

Tomorrow is Mae's first day of preschool!! She is excited and made sure to remind me to pack her "hewwo kwitty wunch box." My camera is all charged! My baby is going to school! (Hooray! hee hee.)