Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Aug. 23, 2013

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

This Week's Food Waste

Nothing

We saved a few tomatoes by roasting them. This was the first time we had roasted tomatoes and they were delicious. We ate them as snacks.

This Week's True Food Confessions

A sampling of our menu this week.

 
Well, I think it's time for a review of this experiment. We all like eating out. And sometimes, the food is nutritious and sometimes it's not. And most of the time it tastes good but occasionally it doesn't.  And sometimes I like spending time in the kitchen, but mostly I don't. And sometimes Theo likes to cook, but usually he doesn't. And Ward and Wally never like to cook, but are okay with cleaning up. And we're lucky to have enough money to eat out within reason. So when I consider all of that, I think it's a miracle that we stay home for meals at all. :) But we will keep trudging on with the goal of eating more at home for both economical and nutritional reasons.

So how did we do this week? The carnivores were happy because Wally took us to a pit beef place that literally was a hole in the wall, but had very good meat. Another night, Theo took us to the local biker bar/family restaurant that had good food, but an even more interesting crowd. Ward got to have his turn when he brought home food from his favorite Chinese restaurant.

Did we eat at home? Well a few times with chicken soup, spinach pie, pizza, roasted tomatoes, and an omelet. And even though it wasn't an official meal, we also really enjoyed fresh bread with strawberry freezer jam. Not a stellar week, but still better than before we started these weekly reports. Once again, public accountability has its benefits.

Until next time...

Today...

Today I am going to step back and look at things from a distance.

Sometimes I get too caught up in the details and forget the big picture. Today I am going to look from a distance so I can get a new perspective on things.

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A Second Look--August 20, 2013

Here are some of the things I found this week during a Second Look.

Balloon flower

Every year the story's the same. Insects invade the peaches and then a few weeks later the all of the fruit seems to have disappeared. That is unless you look really closely in the grass underneath the tree. Then you find the pits. Some year I am going to spray and net the tree to see if I can compete with the critters.

Hosta blooms

Resting insects on the celosia. Saturday morning I found several insects very still on these plants until the dew had lifted and the temperatures warmed up. Then they were all as busy as bees.

This squirrel provided some up close and personal entertainment for the cats.

The hibiscus have started to bloom in the last week.

The bald cardinal has been visiting the feeder regularly.

Monday Morning

It's Monday morning and I am awoken by the sun coming through the light blocking blinds.( They never did live up to their name). I check the clock and realize that I don't have to get up yet, so I snuggle close to Ward to sleep some more. However, sleep doesn't return because my mind is busy with the activities of the day. And soon Leo joins us to let us know that the cats have gone all night without food and they are STARVING!  I decide to get up. I gather a load of laundry and take it to the basement to wash as I feed the cats. They are very grateful.

I turn on the news to see what happened while I was sleeping and check the weather. It should be cool with rain, and even though I know it's very important, I can't concentrate on the troubles of Egypt. My mind is filled with what we might have for dinner tonight. Quiche is on the menu, but it seems too soon to have an egg dish after the omelets we had yesterday. I won't be home until late today, so the chicken soup in the freezer seems like a good choice.

After a bowl of Cheerios, I check the bird feeder on the way to the shower. I see a cardinal and a finch this morning. Soon I leave for work. My timing is good today, so I won't have to get annoyed when I get behind a really slow car. (We'll see how that works.) Another day, another dollar.

Thankful Sunday--August 18, 2013

I am thankful for fresh eggs.

My friend's chickens are laying well these days, so I got a dozen and a half of fresh eggs yesterday. This morning we are having omelets for breakfast and tomorrow we are having quiche for dinner. Fresh really does taste best.