She's a teenager!

 And it was time to do something about her room.  She used to have a blue room, so "once upon a time" the quilt went with her room.  Then we decided to switch her from the blue bedroom to the cream colored office.  It needs some attention, right?



She chose a gorgeous green called Awakening (Valspar) but I suggested that it was just too bright.  Luckily, she agreed and we went with Afternoon Delight.  The Valspar paint was fabulous!  It only took one coat to cover the walls and it just went on so smoothly.  Here's the same room now...

She loves it, I love it, it's all good!

She bought the new bedding from Kohl's with a gift card that was a Christmas present from her Uncle Terry.  We bought the desk a few years ago on craigslist.  I'm going to paint it white, but I think I'll wait until Spring when I can spray paint it outside.  The couch is from her Great Grandmother's.  It folds out into a double bed and is great to have in her room for sleepovers.

I covered both of her lampshades with some wrapping paper I picked up in the Target dollar bins.  It's a temporary fix, but we both love the look.  The cabinet/bookshelf is another craiglist purchase.

The dresser is a hand me down from friends, to her brothers, and now to her.

Even though I probably haven't spent even $200 over the years on her room, we both think it looks wonderful right now.  Just in time for her to turn into a teenager.  Yikes!

The cost of living

My husband and I work for the same church, and both get paid twice a month.  Since our income comes in on the 1st and 15th, I have our bills organized to pay twice monthly also.

While we don't make lots of money by some people's standards, we are very comfortable.  We are getting close to being debt free (other than our mortgage and paying for our son's college education), and we enjoy our life.  We are able to take vacations, go out for dinner sometimes, and purchase "things" that we want and/or need.  It's a really good life!

I like paying our bills.  I like seeing where our money goes.  I like being able to make a nice contribution to our church every month.  I like being able to support organization that I believe are working for the good of our community and our world.

But I've been bothered lately by my lack of engagement with some of the large issues that face our world.  Gun violence is at the top of my list.  I don't understand how we, how I, let this horrible tragedy happen without doing anything to lessen the possibility of it happening again.

I'm frightened by the environmental issues that we are not addressing, that we are putting off for our own comfort.  And I'm disgusted that I sit and don't take more action on these issues that speak to me.

I've decided that not only is there a cost for groceries, and gas, and housing expenses, and medical bills, and wifi, and tithing...  There is also a cost for being a member of the human race.  I've decided that I'm adding that "cost" to my twice monthly bill paying routine.

I've collected the mailing addresses of my state and federal legislators, my Governor, and the President.  I'm going to make myself more aware of the issues that call to me.  And each month as I write out my bills, I'm also going to write letters to my elected officials.  I'm going to share my concerns with them and ask for them to take action.  I'm going to keep at it, month in and month out.

I believe that this practice will do a number of things.  First, it will set an example for my daughter that we can act on our convictions.  Second, it will help to make me more aware of the issues that I care about.  I'll need to keep informed so that my letters reference current findings and current events.  Third, hand written letters matter to elected officials.  Fourth, I believe that persistence triumphs.

I cry every time I read about teachers who tried so desperately to protect their young students from gunfire at Sandy Hook.  Starting today, I'm not just going to cry.  I'm going to write that letter.  

Celebrating Advent

It seems that Christmas is starting earlier and earlier in the stores.  However, if you are part of a church that follows the liturgical seasons, Christmas is a 12 day season that starts on Christmas Day.  For us, this is the season of Advent--the four weeks leading up to Christmas.

I wanted our home decorations to be reminders of the season that we are celebrating.  The waiting, hoping and longing for that Advent represent.

The four candles are dark purple, dark blue, blue and pink.  They represent the coming of the dawn, the new day, that the birth of Jesus represents.  If you are up early, you can see the horizon turning these colors as the sun breaks forth!

A simple candle set atop a mason jar that I filled with cedar sprigs from the bushes in my front yard.







 I picked up these trees at a garage sale or thrift shop years ago!

One of my Isabel Bloom angels.  The mother of my college roommate was the manager of  Isabel Bloom 
in the Quad Cities.  I love her work, and these angels always come out as part of our winter decorations.


Blessings to you as you prepare for the new day coming!

From blah to Ba-Bam!

I want to be a seamstress.  I want to make my own curtains, pillowcases, and slipcovers.  I have a sewing machine, and I even got it out.  Unfortunately, I just don't know how to use it.

But, that did not stop me!

I've been searching the internet for the perfect curtains for my kitchen.  My kitchen is currently a blank slate just waiting for some beautiful curtains to turn it from blah to Ba-Bam.  I've looked at all the usual culprits (Ikea, JC Penney, Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohls, Target, Etsy).  I just can't find what I'm looking for.



I realized that I was going to have to take matters into my own hands.


So, I went to Joann Fabrics, found a beautiful fabric from Waverly, talked to a awesome young woman who looked at my window measurements and figured out how much fabric I would need.  She also helped me find the Stitchery Glue that made this whole thing possible.  Ready.....?

Isn't it fun?  I love it so much.  It has the oranges and reds that I love, but also has bits of turquoise and pink.  Ok, so my husband thinks I'm crazy.  But I just love it.









I think you should be drooling by now it's so gorgeous!

I even made a valance for the kitchen window...

The whole project took me about an afternoon (with loads of laundry, phone calls and checking facebook in between).  I laid out the fabric on our ping pong table, used the stitchery glue to make an inch hem all around and then hung them with curtain clips.

Simple enough for me means you can do it too!

1 can of pumpkin + 1 box of choco cake mix = tons of delicousness!

My husband was recently diagnosed with Diabetes.  He's doing great with the changes that he's had to make in his diet!  Fortunately, we eat healthy meals so I haven't had to change our meal planning at all.  His downfall was snacking and sugary beverages.  He's eliminated the beverages, limited the snacking and is now doing great.

I've been trying to find some snacks and desserts that fit into his new restrictions.  Especially with the holidays coming, I don't want him to feel that he can't partake of anything.  I remembered a simple recipe that my Aunt Betty gave me some years ago.  Only 2 ingredients, but oh does it taste rich!

Take one can of pumpkin...not pumpkin pie filling, just pumpkin, and mix in one chocolate cake mix...

When you mix this together, you will think that you need to add egg, or water or something!  Resist.  Just keep mixing until you have incorporated all the pumpkin into the cake mix.  It will be stiff.  That's okay.  Now, fill your muffin cups...

Pop them in the oven and bake according to the box directions.  For mine, the box said to bake for 19-23 minutes at 350 degrees.  I set the timer for 20 minutes and checked them by inserting a tooth pick.  They weren't quite done so I added another 4 minutes to the timer.  Perfection!

My can of pumpkin had 38.5 grams of carbs, and my cake mix had 340 for a total of 378.5.  I made 12 muffins, so each muffin has 31.5 carbs.  For my husbands diabetic diet, he can have up to 60 carbs per meal, and he can have a 15 carb snack each morning, afternoon and evening.  While this muffin is higher in carbs than a normal snack, he could have it in evening if he has a lower carb meal.  This is also a great midmorning snack as his breakfast is always far less than 60 carbs.

A Recycled Home

I'm trying to fall back in love with my home.  Sometime, I only see what I wish were different about it (new flooring in the living room, adding dark stained butcher block counters in the kitchen, etc) instead of seeing how our home reflects our primary values.

So, here's my home and why I love it!

We live in a small, 3 bedroom ranch.  This style and floor plan are pretty common in the midwest.  I share my home with my husband, stepson, daughter and cat.  We have a living room, kitchen with eat in area, bathroom and 3 bedrooms on the main floor.  Our basement is partially finished with a large family room and an area that we've made into a bedroom for The Boy.

This is our living room.  The best part of it is the fireplace.  I love the smell of the wood burning!  The old wooden trunk was purchased at an antique barn when we lived in New Hampshire.  I recently purchased the leather sofas off craigslist.  I gained $50 when I bought them...I sold the old sofa for $250 and bought these for $200. This room is cozy (read small!) but I'm trying to be okay with that.

Next up...the kitchen

 Last year, we had the barstools, table and chairs refinished by a local woman.  The stools were purchased from the Habitat Restore and Target.  They were just blonde wood.  The table was a pedestal table set that we purchased from, you guessed it, Craigslist. 

I think we paid more to have it refinished than we did for the actual tables and chairs.  But it was worth it.  This kitchen/eating area is pretty small, and I think that having the tables and chairs "mimic" the antiqued finish on the cabinet helps to make the space feel more open. 

I like calming effect that the color palette has, however, in looking at these pictures, I think I need a few more pops of color!  I love the hits of orange from the print in the dining area and from the cookbook.  I think I need to extend those pops of orange to the corner near the stove.

 Our basement has a huge finished area.  When we moved here 5 years ago, The Boy wanted a basement bedroom, so we sectioned off a portion of this space for his room.  Somehow over the years, this whole area became his Bachelor Pad!  It was kind of nice to be The Place that his friends chose as their hang out.  We had many a weekend movie night down here.

Now that The Boy is off at college, we are reclaiming this as family space again.  It's a great place for watching our beloved Illini play football and basketball.  We like to lounge down here and watch netflix.  And The Tween recently said that she would like to take on the tradition of Movie Night with her friends.  I believe a Dr Who marathon is in the works.

So that's my recycled, recovered, craigslist home.  It's smaller than what I sometime wish for, but I'm gonna hold on to this thought, "May our home always be too small to hold all our friends."

Are you in love with your less-than-perfect home?

Mantel progression

I really don't decorate that much.  I don't have a closet with seasonal items that I bring out each year; I don't allot a certain amount monthly to purchase new and interesting "pretties".  I have some framed pieces that I've had for years that are meaningful to me that I switch out seasonally.  And I try to make do with what I have to change up my fireplace periodically.

So, this is what it's looked like for late summer, early fall.  The pastor that I worked with in Tulsa, OK gave me this monarch print when I was ordained.  I love the print, but I mostly love the the incredible man who gave it to me.  He died shortly after he retired.  I still think about the impact he had on me and many, many others in his ministry in Tulsa.  The print has some hints of green that I tried to pick up with the candles and the plant.  There is a small vase that I made with my step-mother, as well as the cute bird clock that was a clearance item on MarketDay of all places!

Well, now it's October and my tween-age daughter says Halloween is her most favorite holiday.  So, I needed to make the mantel a bit "creepier".  I kept most of what I had, but added her favorite skeleton candle holder.  I covered some of my old "Happy Hollister" books (did anyone else read them as a child?  I loved them and pick them up at garage sales whenever I see them) to add some height to this great pottery piece that my mom made.  When we find cool hawk feathers, we add them to the vase.

We may write some spooky titles on the covered books.  She wants "Book of Death" on one of them.  My husband says "Sleepy Hollow" and I'm thinking "The Tell Tale Heart".  For now, they're just plain.  But I thought it needed a bit more color and so...Two little pumpkin candle holders.  We made these for a classroom party when the daughter was in 1st grade!  They are just baby food jars covered in orange, brown and  yellow tissue paper.  We added construction paper "jack-o-lantern" eyes and mouth and mod-podged the whole thing.  Added a little pipe cleaner stem and you have a pumpkin!

So, that's my fireplace mantel progression.  What does yours look like?

It's pretty bad, right?  This bench used to be on my mother's patio...about 20 years ago!  We inherited it when we moved to Urbana, IL and she was downsizing.  It sat on our covered front porch for about 3 years.  Then we moved to Northern, IL and it's been in our backyard through the beating sun, snowstorms and rain.  It's a little worse for wear, I know.  I've been thinking about fixing it for years (procrastination is kind of a problem for me!)

Well, no more.  I finally spent about 4 hours and this old, beaten up bench that looked like it needed to go to the dump now looks like this

All it took was a little sanding, some new screws to tighten it up, and some leftover trim paint for the house.  I think she looks gorgeous now!  Once she's dried I'll add a few pillows and a blanket.  I plan to enjoy a glass of wine and my book on that spot this evening. 

I spent about 4 years procrastinating this little project that really didn't even take a full 4 hours to complete.  That's crazy, and it's inspired me to get busy on some other painting projects.  Coming soon, repainted antique apple boxes from my grandfather's grocery store, and an updated marble top table that really needs something!

I've been trying to get things done around the house.  First on my list was switching out our family room furniture (from the basement) to our living room (main floor).  I don't know why I didn't think of this before! Our family room downstairs is very large, but I had our smaller, sleeker furniture placed there.  Our living room, as you can see above, is quite small, but I had an overstuffed chair, rolled arm sofa and wing back recliner stuffed in the room!

The furniture switch has worked well.  We use the living room more in the winter (enjoying the fireplace) and the family room more in the summer (it's in the basement, so it's the coolest place in the house).  The family room has the overstuffed chair, wing back recliner, sofa, day bed and another chair, as well as the flat screen tv and the wii so we can watch movies and netflix.  We've been enjoying it on Friday evenings as we all just get comfy and relax!

Switching the furniture cost us $0, but it's really made the house feel new and fresh.

A quick before and after of an old craigslist table and chair set.  I knew that I wanted to have it redone, but finally realized that it would never happen if I did it myself.  Luckily, we have a wonderful woman in town who does great furniture refinishing:  Refabulous!  This is what she did.

Duty and Hopelessness

I just finished reading Kent Haruf's "The Tie that Binds". I've read his other novels and loved them. He writes of simple, everyday people who make the kinds of decisions we all have to make. Decisions that look all wrong on the outside, but that bring about hope. He writes about old men, young women, children, fathers, wives who live far away in the flat lands of Colorado.

"The tie that binds" is the kind of book that I usually don't like. It has very little conversation, with page after page of description. It moves slowly. Very slowly. But the emotion that his writing calls forth from me is overwhelming. This book is, at the very base, about a mean old man who is a father to a beautiful daughter and a simple son. It is also about duty, and the consequences and love and honor and dignity of living a life of duty. In the end, it is about hopelessness. And somehow, it is also about love.

I should have seen it coming

But I didn't.

Another Meatless Monday

Meal times at our home went much more smoothly since I took the time on Sunday to plan out the menus for the week. I did notice, however, that I only made menus for the weekdays, not the weekend. And we ended up totally blowing it on the weekend. So, this week I've got to plan the meals for the weekend also!

My meatless Monday recipe is again from Moosewood. It's a simple tamale pie. I'm going to shorten up the recipe a bit...

heat up a couple T of olive oil. Add 1 C chopped onion and 2T of diced garlic. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Add 1Tground cumin, 2t ground coriander and 1t dried oregano. Add enough water to keep it from sticking. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1C diced carrots and 1C diced green (or any color) pepper and 1 C diced zuchini. (you can also add a small green chile). Cover and cook 4 minutes. Stir in 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes and 1 15 ounce can of drained black beans. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; salt and pepper to taste. (I didn't use any)

Next, mix up the cornbread topping. Mix 3/4 C cornmeal, 1T white flour, 1/2 t salt, 1t baking powder and 1/4 t baking soda.

In another bowl, beat 2 egg whites, add 1/2 cup buttermilk (I didn't have any so I add 1/2T white vinegar to 1/2 C milk and let it set for 5 minutes. Buttermilk!) and 2t canola oil. Mix.

Fold wet ingredients into dry, stirring just until mixed.

Pour vegetable mixture into a lightly oiled 2 qt casserole pan. Add a bit of shredded cheddar if you like. Pour the cornbread mixture over the top.

Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes.

Everyone liked it! I would double the cornbread if I made it again. I liked the mix of veggies in this, but I think fresh corn would have been good.

Try it and tell me what you think.

Meatless Monday

I have a really great work schedule. I work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, plus Sundays. On Tuesday and Thursday, I work while the kids are at school. I work late on Wednesday, but I think the whole family benefits from the Dad taking over once a week!

I am using Sundays and Mondays to get ready for the week. Between the kids activities (Speech, track, band, basketball, piano, Mad Science, and Brownies) it can sometimes be tempting to just grad Subway for dinner. But, my new method is to plan our meals and do the shopping on Sunday afternoon. Then, on Monday I can do any prepping for the week. For the week ahead, here's the plan: Sunday-porkchops, corn casserole, pears and salad. Monday: Black Bean Chilaquile, fruit and salad. Tuesday: Spaghetti pie, french bread, fruit and salad. Wednesday: Chilli. Thursday: Tilapia, fried rice, roasted veggies and salad. Friday: no school!

An added benefit of this planning is that I am able to prepare meals that fit with our goals. We eat organic and local as much as possible, and we consider our selves to be flexitarians (vegetarian meals, but not strictly vegetarian. Small meat portions when we eat meat. fish and poultry). I've decided that we will go with Meatless Monday each week. To kick it off, Black Bean Chilaquile (a Moosewood recipe)

1 cup chopped onion
1 T olive oil
1C chopped tomatoes
1.5 C frozen corn kernals
1.5 cups black beans (15 oz drained)
2T fresh lime juice
1t salt
.5t ground black pepper
2 cups rinsed, stemmed and chipped Swiss Chard or Spinach (we're using spinach)
2 C crushed baked tortilla chips
8 oz grated fat free sharp Cheddar (we're using regular, not fat free)
2 c salsa

preheat oven to 350 Saute onions until translucent, stir in the tomatoes, corn, black beans, lime juice, salt and pepper and continue to saute for about 5-10 minutes. blanch the green until just wilted but still bright green. Drain and set aside. prepare an 8 x8 casserole dish with a very light coating of oil. spread 1/2 the chips on the bottom. spoon the sauted veggies over the chips and sprinkle on 2/3 of the cheese. arrange the greens evenly over the cheese and spoon on 1/2 the salsa. Finish with the rest of the chips, top with the remaining salsa and cheese. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.

This was great. The daughter called out, "It's delicious." I thought so too. I forgot to add the salt and pepper, but it really didn't need it. I think this would be even better in the summer when fresh tomatoes and corn are available. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

A new year...

We had a wonderfully busy and full Christmas time here. Mike had special services at his church, I had them at mine. We haven't been serving different churches since we were first married. I still remember driving to my church in Hampstead, NH, pregnant with Sophia, for Christmas Eve services. Sweet memories, but I much prefer to be together. I miss being in worship with my family.

So, I've really been struggling with my current job. I love serving this large congregation as Director of Children's Ministry. I am truly working with the best group of volunteers I've ever had the pleasure to work. Dedicated, respectful, people of integrity. But, I miss my family and I especially miss being the one who teaches Sophia the stories of our faith.

However, while the house in Urbana is still on the market, we don't have much of a choice. And, for 2010, I am okay with that. I'm going to love all that I can about the job. I'm going to include Sophia in as much of our programming as I can. I'm going to trust the community of Byron to teach her and care for her in my absence. I know that they will care for Abe.

I feel as though a weight has been lifted just by accepting our reality.

Now, I can work toward making our home life calm! Our schedules can get crazy if we let them. I'm working on making our dinner menu over the weekend so that I know what I need from the store. We'll continue a mostly organic diet. We'll continue to be "flexitarians". Not exclusively vegetarian, but we eat at least one vegetarian meal a week, and at least one fish meal per week. The other meals are typically chicken or turkey with pork occasionally. I'm going to commit to local meats for 2010! I'm hoping to go to the meat processor on Friday to start stocking up.

I hope you are entering 2010 with a feeling of hope and of calm.

Food and a story

I just made the best Macaroni and Cheese ever! (if I do say so myself.)

My kids love mac and cheese, but the best I usually do is purchase Annie's organic brand for them. However, I recently saw a recipe online that looked easy enough and that I was almost certain the family would love. I was correct. I made a few changes to the recipe (enough to call the end result my own!)

4 pieces of bacon, crumbled (I cooked the full pound in the oven at about 375 for 20 minutes)
1/2 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
about 5 or 6 ounces of elbow macaroni (next time I may try bowtie)
2 cups of shredded mozzarella
4 ounces of blue cheese (I don't even really like blue cheese, but it's great in this recipe)
1 cup of skim milk.

cook the bacon, use a bit of the grease to saute the onion.
cook the macaroni according to directions
in a bowl, mix the bacon, the onion, the blue cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the mozz, and the milk. Add the cooked macaroni and stir. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, add the remaining 1/2 cup of mozz to the top and continue cooking for about 10 minutes.

We had this for supper with a tossed green salad and clementines. It was delicious! Sophie just suggested more bacon next time.

Now, for the story. I recently finished reading "Her fearful symmetry" by Audrey Neif..... the author of "The Time Traveler's Wife." Now, I found the time travelers wife to be surprisinly good. When I began, I thought "I know just how this is going to end." Well, I was right, but that didn't diminish the pleasure of reading it. It was just such an enjoyable story and a well told story.

So, I looked forward to reading her next novel. It could not have been more different than her previous! After reading about 1/3 of the book, I was well acquainted with the characters in the apartment. Each was a bit quirky or just plain certifiable. Then, in entered a couple more characters and the book begins to be more about them. Okay, I was fine with that as the 2 new characters were equally as interesting as strange as the first set. Then, a conflict arose. Oh wait, another conflict. At one point I told my husband that every time I turned the page I had no idea which characters were going to be on the page. I guess I would say that the auth0r kept me on my toes throughout the whole book. This is a book I would highly recommend for a dreary week (think cold outside, blanket, hot tea or cider, and a good book inside).

So, finally living up to the name of my blog, some food and some story!

Fall is the most wonderful time of the year

Mean people suck

I'm not going to say much more, but I'm sick of dealing with people who are just mean down deep in their souls. These are people who delight in being mean and find value in teaching their kids to be mean.

I can almost deal with their meanness, and find that I can mostly just pity the miserable lives they must lead. But when it spills over into my home, and into my family, it just makes me angry. So, I'm angry and I'm hurt.

Little Sister, Facebook, and Home Alone

I love my family. And today, I am loving them all just a little bit more.

My mother and my mother-in-law, along with my husband's grandmother, drove over to our place to see the daughter in her first ever play. She was one of 83 Munchkins in Byron's production of "The Wizard of Oz." The boy joined us, and was excited to see all the grandmas, which says alot for the boy and the grandmas!

During intermission, a woman struck up a conversation with the boy. He happily talked to her for a bit, and then I heard him say "my little sister is in the play." It was music to my ears!

You see, technically, they are half siblings, and there was a time when they made that distinction. But, as he enters his 2nd year of living with us during the school year and his mother in the summer, our sense of "family" feels stronger every day.

On Saturday, he asked if we would consider getting him a "real phone" rather than the pay as you go that he currently has. He had some good points, and we asked him to check out the pricing of some family plans. Later I saw on Facebook that he posted that his "parental units" are considering getting him a real cell phone. Yes, he referred to me as his "parental unit!" Okay, that may not be all that touching to some, but it totally melted my heart.

We had a guest coming for dinner yesterday. I needed to run to the store, so I asked the boy if he would watch the daughter while I ran uptown. He agreed, and both kids were told to stay inside until I got home in 20 minutes. When I arrived, the kids and the guest (who had arrived a bit early) were all sitting at the table talking. We had a lovely visit, a delicious dinner (local potato and local, organic and biodynamic leek soup) and then the guest, husband and daughter went to the theater. The boy said he had to tell me something. He related that when I left, he went downstairs and the daughter was upstairs. All of a sudden, he heard a man saying, "are you home alone?" to the daughter. He grabbed a baseball bat and came running up the stairs to save his sister! Then, he saw that it was the expected guest, so he put the bat down and they all sat down to talk. But he was prepared to protect her.

I love my family, and the four of us are really becoming a family.


ps. I've talked to the daughter about the fact that even though she knew the guest, she should not have answered the door. She can never answer the door when Mommy and Daddy are gone. She should always let the babysitter or brother answer the door.

Fast food -- Slow food

One of my favorite books is Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle. In one chapter, she talks about the convenience of home canned tomatoes. It's a fair amount of work in late August, but pulling out a mason jar of locally grown tomatoes in the midst of a busy winter day sure makes dinner time quick and simple. That idea has stuck with me. What is convenience?

While our family tries to eat healthy (Oberweis Milk, organic produce, whole grains, etc.) I also enjoy a fast food burger sometimes. In fact, our local Burger King has $1 Double Cheeseburgers right now, which are my favorite. I have to fight off not pulling in every time I drive past! But, eating healthy and eating local is very important to me. I enjoy fixing dinner for my family and lunch for whichever neighborhood kids are over at the time. But I don't want to spend all day in the kitchen. I want the convenience of fast food with the ethics of slow food!

But, how to do it? Some of it is pretty easy. On Thursdays when we get our share in from Angelic Organics, I clean and prep the vegetables. This makes them easy to grab for quick snacks, plus they are in my mind as I plan our meals for the week.

I'm trying to also keep a few quick and simple recipes ready to go on the days when time has gotten away from me. Recipes that can include whatever local, seasonal ingredients that I have on hand. Last week, I had organic strawberries,Phil's eggs, some tomatoes and cucumbers in olive oil, and summer squash. So, I threw together an easy quiche, a salad and the strawberries. It took about 10 minutes to put together, and then 45 minutes to bake. The perfect amount of time to enjoy a glass of wine while I read! The quiche is perfect because it's so forgiving and you can add whatever you want. Include meat if you have it, or make it vegetarian. You can also double the recipe to make 2, and then you have an easy breakfast ready to go.


The easy quiche recipe is from an old friend of my mom's. I've changed it up, but basically it's:

4 eggs, 1/2 cup of Bisquick, 1 cup of milk, 1 onion, 1/2 cup of cheese. Mix together.
Add whatever seasonal ingredients you want. I added summer squash.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour into an oiled quiche pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Slice and serve.