just a little update

"Spring" gardening in DFW starts in january with another push in early february and then one last big one in march. oy. ive been busy and am soooo hoping to make back the money ive already invested. Time to start picking up more horse poop again, me thinks.

I'm crossing my fingers for potatoes, salad greens, spinach and two types of carrots. Next week i start with broccoli and some other stuff i cant think of off the top of my head. I've got seeds sitting on the top of my fridge that im fretting over like a methed out mother hen. And there's still more i need to do!! AAAAHHH! Not enough hours in the day!!! And when I have them, im puttering on the interweb!!

And now that im talking more food stuff, the google ads are finally getting away from binkie and formula adverts. hurray!

Week two and three

There was not much to report from the last two weeks. Dinner was made, groceries were bought, cookbooks were much perused with a serious desire to buy. We did eat lunch at a local hamburger eatery last week when husband was off, and mac and cheese and ramen noodles were made but they are gone. I can't recall anything particular i made, but have figured out:

• I need to seriously need to stock up on the basics. Besides running out this last week of just about every staple - ketchup, freezer bags, flour - I was honestly surprised by the variety of food I could make without going grocery shopping several times because of monetary restrictions. Captain Obvious, I know.
  
• I need (well, maybe more of a want but still a highly functional want) a food dehydrator. I borrowed two Raw cookbooks from the library and was intrigued by a few recipes. Plus, I would be able to preserve more food. Woot! for homemade fruit leather.
  
• a deep freezer would be awesome, if we could figure out a place to put it. But that is dreaming really, really big.
  

Week one of the new year

I semi-successfully negotiated my home-made resolution. With the exception of a single last minute trip to Chick-fil-a to meet friends and play, I managed to make breakfast, lunch and dinner this first week of the new year. Even the leftovers got eaten and only the barest of scraps were fed to the feral kittehs. The menu items included:

Meat-based

• turkey breast with collard greens and box potatoes found in the pantry
• meatloaf, garlic potatoes and broccoli
  
• pot roast, leftover garlic potatoes and corn
• ground turkey helper with corn
  

Veg*n

• black bean and polenta casserole
• Singapore Spicy Noodles with seitan (recipe below)
  

I'm adding some new recipes sites to my blog-roll so I can get away from expensive meat-intensive weekly meals. If there was one use of the money spent at Chick-fil-a, the restaurant we went to was right next to Central Market, a grocery store I've avoided based on financial necessity and anti-principals. But, I will have to admit, they do have a very nice produce and bulk food selection. I think I can afford it if I go once a month and stock up and not take the kids - Sulla had his eye on a 15dollar bottle of extra virgin olive oil. I don't care how tasty it might be, generic will do us just fine.

Singapore Spicy Noodles with Seitan
I found this recipe with some others I must have collected when I first went vegan and never actually made. The seitan was added to make it a more substantial meal. Meat and taters loving husband gave it a thumbs up. I found it a little bland, but will make it again since husband and the kids liked it so much and will fuddle with the spices. Here it is, as I made it.

• 1 1/4 cup water
• 2 TBSP ketchup
• 2 1/2 tsp packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh chopped cilantro (or like me, you can add as much as you have handy)
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 chopped green onions
• 3 TBSP chunky peanut butter, natural
• 8 oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
• 8oz seitan, thinly sliced
  
• 1 tsp minced garlic (or more, never can have too much garlic)

In medium saucepan, combine water, ketchup, sugar, cilanto, cornstarch and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; summer uncovered. Meanwhile cook pasta and sautee garlic and seitan. Add green onions and peanut butter to sauce. Mix well. Then toss seitan, sauce and noodles together and serve warm.