Food Prep week of March 15, spring is in the air, and so is COVID-19

By Elizabeth Prata

Well here I am. At home on a Sunday. No church today and no school tomorrow, nor for the next two weeks. I sure do love to be at home, but not like this, with people sick, or people panicked and worried.

This too shall pass. Either with heavy impacts or light impacts. God is in control, and it is times like this where we can display the peace that passes all understanding. We Christians have the truth - the only truth - we have eternal life, and we have Jesus. He is our all in all. Or are we focused on circumstances and exuding fear? I hope not. I hope I'm not.

So here I am with time on my hands. I have some time right now to write a snacks review! How about that!

I have to be gluten free, dairy free, low carb, low FODMAP. I have a small budget. This means my food choices are very limited either through allergies or finances. Sigh.

I found these two bags of snax on sale at Kroger. Their normal prices are more than twice what is on the sticker. A crunchy G-F snack that wouldn't break my budget? Yes please. I bought them. I ate them. Were they any good?

The serving size for the pretzels is about 20 sticks. The serving size for the chips is about 10 chips. Not a lot. Just enough to make ya mad. OK, the carbs for the pretzels is over the pre-diabetes recommendations for a snack, or keto, which is 15 net carbs or as minimal carbs as possible.

Both snacks are gluten free.

The pretzels were pretty good. A slight sweetness and a lot of crunch. Of course those were the higher carb snack. Sigh. The green chips were less successful tasting. They were very crunchy but not totally tasty. I think kale was the tip-off it wasn't going to be - ahem- good.

Meanwhile, I did some food prep. No, I don't have school this week, but prepping isn't only for time. It's for money. If I'm going to turn on the stove (a big electricity eater) I want to stuff the oven and make use of the heat once for all.

Today I put in some breaded tofu slices, red and orange peppers, green peppers, and a G-F pizza.

I made a fruit salad and when I'm ready to eat some, I'll add some chili powder and lime juice. I also have 2 eggplants and some Bella mushrooms along with celery I'll saute.

I had seen a movie about a fruit stand owner's daughter who longed to be a chef, and was trying to pursue her dream. The movie showed her prepping the fruit for her dad's stand in the wee hours, and adding lime juice and chili powder. Hmmm, this was new. Here in Epicurious, we read of Three Ingredients That Instantly Turn Fruits and Veggies Into Addictive Snacks

We'd pulled over to one of those roadside fruit stands and I ate hunks of fresh coconut, doused in lime juice, and sprinkled with salt and chili powder. It was the simplest thing—served in a flimsy plastic bag—but it was everything I didn't know I wanted and needed. 

A fresh squeeze of lime or lemon juice does magic to a slice of raw fruit. That touch of acid brings out the natural sweetness, and intensifies all the flavors. This was something I'd known for years—something my mom used to do to all our fresh sliced fruit. But the addition of salt and chili powder was, I'm embarrassed to admit, completely foreign to this gal from New England. 

In Mexico, though, most fruits and many raw vegetables would be considered naked without the zing of lime, chili, and salt. But after that trip I never looked back. How to Make Fruta con Chile y Limón (see recipe at link above.)

By the way the third ingredient is salt.

So I thought hey, I'll try it. I bought some chili powder. The spice aisle as empty while the bagged and canned beans aisle next door was overflowing. Win.

It's spring here in the south. Meanwhile up north in Maine (my former abode) there is still snow in the woods. This is my yard today-

This was my morning:

This afternoon I'm going to read more of the book The Prince of Providence (about the ex-Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci), watch an episode of Highway to Heaven, and take a tutorial or two on my Logos software to learn it better.

Have a wonderful day and week ahead, whether you're 'out there' or social distancing. BTW thank you to clerks, law enforcement, garbage collectors, postal workers and others who due to their essential service must be in public or deal with the public.

Food Prep this week: Feb 24-28

By Elizabeth Prata

What a morning this has been! Cold and clear, fading stars twinkling their last as the sun comes up in a blaze of color. Pinks, lavender, reds, dandelion yellow raining down in the air as the street was awash with a riot of hues and the stars said goodbye while the birds and the sun sang hello.

I enjoyed the birdsong this morning as I strolled outside. Through the winter some birds stay around, which I love. The dearth of sounds in Maine winters, except for creaking branches and occasional branches breaking under strain of ice, and the scrape of plows, was something I never really got used to. I love that there is some birdsong all through the year in Georgia.

But in February all the migrating birds come back! When I opened the front door today to view the sunrise, the riot of sounds was a delightful wave of bird songs and calls. The rooster next door of course was doing his cock-a-doodle-doo thing, and in the trees, alive with movement in the gloaming, were birds singing and calling. When it lightened up enough, I spotted this cardinal having a party of one in the highest treetop, singing to whoever would listen:

Friday is payday. I have a good amount of food left so I'm not going to do a huge shopping today. I'll cook what I have. This includes:

Proteins/Dinners:

Frozen salmon
Frozen shrimp
Leftovers. We're having dinner after church today and they allow us to pack some leftovers to take home. Usually it's chicken.

Lunches

Lentil soup
Crudite: radishes, carrots, celery

Veggies/Sides

Spaghetti squash is in the crock pot. It comes out pillow soft. And I don't need to mess with it prior to cooking which is dangerous. The rind is thick and it's hard to cut. I just poke a few holes in it and pop it in as is, cover, and set the crock to high.

Peppers. I got a great deal on some colored peppers. Red/yellow/green in a bag for 99 cents. I bought two bags. One pepper went into the lentil soup. The others are being sauted and will be mixed with quinoa for salads or mixed with eggs for dinner or breakfast.

Eggplant. I also got a deal of two eggplants for 99 cents. I bought two bags. One became a caponata last week. This week I'll do the same, and mix in some quinoa for protein. I can also mix it with the spaghetti squash.

Greens. I still have some greens and will make salad to go with the salmon or the shrimp.

Dessert/Snacks

Fruit. Grapes and Strawberries. And whatever else is on sale this afternoon when I go to the store after church

Edamame nuts, a high fiber, low carb snack that is pretty crunchy (mouth feel) and pretty filling (stomach feel).

Popcorn. I don't have a microwave or popcorn machine. I just make it the old fashioned way on the stovetop.

I'm deliberately not buying potatoes or gluten free bread this week. We'll see how it goes.

So... I broke down and bought a stepstool. I can't reach the top of the shower curtain rings to change out the liner, and I can't reach the curtain tops to take them down and wash. The days of climbing precariously on some stack of books or a rolling chair are gone. The days of standing on tiptoe on the tub lip are gone too. I'm not limber, I'm too clumsy, and I live alone. It's foolish to take chances.

I guess I really am over the hill and picking up speed on the downslide!

Enjoy your week! Meanwhile enjoy these pics of fresh wildflowers, just starting to bloom in the yard

And this unknown guy, hundreds of feet away, he looked pretty sizable but I can't figure out what kind of bird it is

Food Prep: Week of Feb 10-15, & Daily Murray

By Elizabeth Prata

I didn't do food prep last week. That is, making food ahead for lunches, snacks, and dinners. I paid for that decision. By Friday lunch I was eating radishes and carrots, and I bought a sushi combo plate (on sale, of course) for Friday night's dinner so I didn't have to cook. I won't do that again!

I just didn't plan well, I didn't shop well, and I was out of ideas.

A week off helped, I survived, and I am now in the throes of making the following:

Meals:

Chicken and rice soup with a tomato base, turkey sausage, and corn. This is lunches.
2 Salmon fillets (marked down). This is 4 dinners.
Baked tofu and green beans. Add peanuts to final cook, rice or quinoa if I'm in the mood. 2 Dinners.

Sides:

Roasted mushrooms (marked down & on sale)
Roasted pepper and carrots
Potatoes in the crock pot when the squash is done

I have a spaghetti squash but I'll save it for next week. It'll keep.

In the fridge is a large container of greens for salads.

Fruit this week:

Strawberries were on sale. I like to cut off the green leafy tops and chip them into a container, and let the juices meld. This helps the sometimes dry mid-winter hard strawberries you sometimes get If you add a pinch of sugar this also draws out the juices. If still hard or not too sweet you can quickly stir them in warm balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar. It's a fantastic way to serve them. If hosting, a nice dessert is to top it with a small dollop of whipped cream or a small dollop of vanilla ice cream and a basil leaf. Here is a recipe for strawberries and balsamic vinegar.

Mandarin oranges (on sale)
Red grapes (on sale)

The best way I've found to prepare tofu is to buy the extra firm. Then cut the brick in half. I use half at a time. It keeps a long while, just replace the unused half brick in a container with fresh water, cover, and put back in the fridge. I wrap the half brick in paper towels, put on a cookie sheet, and lay something medium heavy on it, to squeeze out the moisture. I say medium heavy because you want to get the water out but not so heavy you crush the tofu.

When dried out a bit, I cut into cubes. At this point you can toss lightly with cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, or bread crumbs. It makes a nice coated crunch when you bake the tofu.

When I'm ready to eat the tofu with green beans. I toss it all with soy sauce, or lemon juice, salt and pepper, and eat cold as a salad or hot.

Having to be lactose free and gluten free, it's sometimes a struggle to make sure I have enough protein and healthy food. It's a struggle because food prices are going up and up. I really search out the coupons from my grocery store they send me, the online weekly sale sheet, and the in-store sales. The peppers were on sale for 69 cents and carrots are always a good buy. Tofu goes a long way.

Proteins this week:

-chicken (already cooked and picked, $3.50).
-turkey sausage (on sale for $2.50),
-salmon fillets, marked down $3.50 each, (I split them so it's 4 meals for $1.75 each).
-tofu, $1.75

Just the protein alone was $15.

Gluten free bread is $5, and a half gallon of lactose free milk is $3. Produce is off the charts expensive. You see how things add up quickly. I've had to raise my weekly budget goal from $40 to $60.

I rarely shop anything from the middle of the store but some things are necessary, like the diced tomatoes I put into the soup, chicken broth, and of course hard goods like paper products and soaps, which I buy at the Dollar Store. This week on the marked down section of the health food shelves was a box of Kashi cereal that usually goes for $3.50 but was marked down to $1.29. It is gluten free cereal so I bought it.

I just be diligent with the coupons, try to resist most temptations, and see where else I can cut back. There's not a lot of places but there's always somewhere I can save a buck or two.

Enjoy the day and the week ahead. We have a three-day weekend coming, our "winter break" is next weekend. Saturday our church is hosting a movie in the morning and lunch afterwards: Brandon Kimber's American Gospel. Should be fun. Then Sunday Services and next Monday while off school I plan to write a lot.

Here are some photos from my week:

Daily Murray. Where is he? Oh, there he is, with his head in the lamp. Oy what a cat.

I didn't take this picture through a window and it isn't raining. I stood on the step and aimed the camera toward the spotlight illuminating the driveway. It's the freezing fog in the air that the lens captured. The NWS has a freezing fog advisory in effect. You might not see the freezing droplets hanging in the air, but the lens does.

That's OK, the kitchen's warm & cozy!

It got warmer during food prep. That's OK, it's below freezing outside. Top left, carrots & peppers, tofu cubes and green beans under that. Middle is the salon filets and the pot of soup. Bottom is mushrooms.

Have a great week!

Food Prep January 20-25, 2020

By Elizabeth Prata

Winter is finally here. It was below freezing last night and it will take a long time to warm up today. So what to do on my day off from school but cook? Turning on the oven to warm the apartment and have some nourishing food ready for lunches and dinners for the week- double win.

Coming out of the oven today are two pieces of Cajun tilapia, a spicy piece of salmon, roasted carrots & peppers, and roasted yellow squash. On top of the stove is a big pot of chicken and rice soup with a tomato base. The fish will be split into 5 servings, and along with a spinach salad and a baked potato, will be dinners this week. The soup will be lunches.

I missed out on a lot of marked down specials at Kroger but still managed to come away with a few- the yellow squash was a 99-cent special. Some single serving hummus cups were spied out and tossed into my cart. And a large container of power greens will either be salads and/or cooked for a side dish. I found some bags of kettle corn marked down to 79 cents, and that was probably because they were flavored like gingerbread men. I can't taste that well, so a gluten free snack for 79 cents (even less because I could split that bag into 3 servings) was added to my cart without a second thought. Even if I didn't like it I'd make myself like it. (Conclusion: the popcorn was fine, spicy and lightly ginger-y). I win.

It feels good to be home. My cat is glad I'm home. I am happy to have been away and happy to be back. Isn't it good to be content?

Oh wait, I have all these baking and cooking pots and pans to wash...

Food Prep Dec 1-6: The crunchy part of the lasagna

By Elizabeth Prata

We've been blessed by warm temps and sunny skies, making it a bit hard to concentrate on the kitchen! But I persevered and came up with a penne-chicken casserole, roasted rainbow peppers, baked potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, and baked salmon. I'll also make chicken veggie soup for lunches at work.

I'd mentioned that at my favorite vintage store I found a brand new small casserole dish. It's pretty, hadn't been used, thick, and a good size. Today I made penne-chicken casserole to go in it. I didn't make the roux as advised in the recipe which of course would make the whole thing yummy and creamy, because:

I've never been successful making a roux,
I am leery of using lactose free milk in recipes
I'm leery of even the small amount of flour needed to make a roux since I'm gluten-free
I was at the tail end and more than likely ruin the whole dish

So I just poured some chicken broth in it and stuck it in the oven. I used less cheese than called for due to the lactose intolerance thing, just adding some on top and not making layers of it. I'd also added spinach because I had a mountain of spinach to use up and besides, I like spinach. The penne is gluten free penne, corn based. It came out good, see:

I love the crunchy part at the edge. Who doesn't? Every Italian kid ever served a lasagna or a pasta casserole went for the crunchy part.

Massimo Bottura, acknowledged at the world's best chef, was featured on a Netflix anthology documentary of the world's greatest and most innovative chefs. "Chef's Table". His was the first episode in the first volume and I was spoiled after that. His meals were the only ones to ever bring both tears to my eyes and laughter to my lips. His deconstruction of the crunchy part of the Lasagna, called, "The Crunchy Part of the Lasagna," delighted me to no end. He is brilliant.

Anyway, back to my kitchen, utilitarian and clumsy as it is, produced some good looking food for my meals next week.

Baked Salmon (dinners)
Penne-chicken casserole (dinner or side)
Chicken-Veggie Soup (lunches)
Turkey sandwiches (lunches)

Rainbow Peppers (yellow, green, red)
Roasted green beans (can be eaten as is or added to a stir fry with tofu and sweet and sour sauce, or to quinoa I already cooked for a cold salad)
Baked potatoes (as is with milk free sour cream, or made into home fries for a side)
Roasted sweet potatoes (side dish or make eggs N hash and throw in some peppers)

Orange-kiwi fruit salad (dessert/snack)

I also bought peanuts, edamame nuts, and soy nuts for snacks and fiber.

There were some excellent sales going on at the grocery store, digital coupons. It takes some time Thursday night or during my Friday lunch to scour them in the online circular, but the savings can be good. I saved over $8 this grocery trip, but I ended up spending a little more at the outset to do so, that's the downside. For example, buy two 12-pack of seltzers, save 75 cents. I drink a lot of seltzer waters, my new choice for cold beverage, and usually only buy 1 12-pak, but since I regularly drink it and buy it each week, I got two.

Also, gluten free crackers were on sale. Normally massively expensive, they were half off at $1.99. So I bought three boxes.

The hard part about a limited budget is buying when the sales are going on to stock up for later. Making a larger outlay up front is sometimes not doable, but you do save in the long run. To make up for it I am going to try not food shopping next week, halving what I spent this week. We'll see.

Ok, the laundry's done and I have to make sure to go out to the garage and get it before dark. Household chores never end, do thy? I dislike them but to get through I try to make a game out of it and have fun. What do you do to get through the regularly occurring, mundane chores you have to do? :)

Food Prep Nov 10-15: Peppers, peppers, peppers, and soup

By Elizabeth Prata

I got lucky and happened to hit the mark-down section in the produce area just right, and came away with a 99-cent bag of red peppers and a 99-cent bag of small variously colored peppers, also a 99-cent papaya.

I'm roasting all the peppers. The colored small peppers will be put into a vegetable soup. The red peppers will become part of a salad I've been enjoying lately: tomato, mushrooms, and Italian dressing. Adding the red peppers will make it like an antipasto. I might get some olives to put in, too.

The veggie soup will have some quinoa in it for the protein, also carrots, celery, and broccoli. Chick peas for fiber.

I obtained a marked-down bag of broccoli slaw, and that will be turned into a stir-fry with tofu and sweet and sour sauce. And that's plenty for the week!

Breakfast: Oatmeal, fried egg on 5" hard taco chip

Lunches: Soup, turkey sandwiches. Fruit: grapes, papaya, banana.

Dinner: salmon with baked potato and broccoli; stir fry, refried bean taco salad with avocado. Scrambled eggs with veggies; thawed lentil burgers I'd put in the freezer at last week's food prep.

Snacks/Dessert: peanuts, pumpkin pie.

As far as I know this is all FODMAP friendly and should present no issues upon consumption!

Have a good week everyone :)

Food prep: Week of October 28, Hippeas, baba ganouj, reading

By Elizabeth Prata

I didn't do any food prep last week. Sometimes you just get tired of it, you know? I also had a temporary crown on my broken molar and it hurt. I didn't feel like eating much.

This week will be a bit different than usual because we have a Fall Break from school starting on Thursday. I'll only be at work for 3 days. This week I did some cooking on Saturday and I'll finish the rest today.

Baked fish. Some white sole was on sale for 97 cents. Three fillets, so, 33 cents each. I baked them along with other stuff I was putting in the oven. Remember, the oven takes a lot of electricity, so if it's on, don't use it for just one thing. Stuff the oven with all ya got.

I roasted some butternut squash. I halved them, scooped out the seeds and strings, brushed each side with oil, sprinkled salt and pepper and cut side down, roasted them till soft. When cooled, I peeled and put into a container for later. They will be a nice side dish. Or, I might try making butternut squash pancakes.

I poked three small eggplants and put them in the oven whole. They are the last 3 my friend at church gave me from his and his wife's garden. When a knife goes through them easily, they are done. I let them cool and peeled the skin. Later I'll make baba ganouj, a Middle Eastern eggplant dip.

I also put in a gluten free pizza and ate that for breakfast and for lunch yesterday. :)

Later I'll make chicken salad. Kroger has picked, roasted chicken for sale in tubs, and I like that it's clean and I don't have to mess with cleaning a whole chicken or handling a raw one to cook. I'll also make chicken and vegetable soup for lunches.

Dinners: Baked fish fillets, butternut squash, baked potatoes. Also, I picked up some seafood salad and that will go on toast with a side salad. So this week proteins are the usual eggs, and chicken, fish, seafood salad, and one serving of leftover tofu (I'll stir fry with rice sticks and broccoli). I put a fried egg on top of a spaghetti squash with tomatoes and it was good. I think a fried egg goes good on anything.

Lunches: chicken salad, soup, fruit. I have strawberries and kiwis and some mandarin oranges this week.

Snacks: fruit, pumpkin seeds (loaded with protein and good for low FODMAP), Hippeas which are chick pea puffs I found on reduced sale, soy nuts.

Speaking of Hippeas, a bag containing 12 snack sized bags was on sale for $2.49. That brings each bag to 20 cents. That is a great price for a snack item. I like to spend no more than $1 for a protein serving,20-30 cents on a piece of fruit, and about 20-25 cents per snack. If you break it down like that I find it helps manage the budget.

I bought two bags of Hippeas. I brought one to school and left one at home.

I liked them, and they are gluten free and low FODMAP. Only 12 net carbs and 6 grams protein. Win! I never find gluten free stuff this inexpensive. So I looked them up online and they are massively expensive. The same bag of 12 on Amazon sells for $20. Kroger sells it for $16.

This week I see the bags are on reduced sale again, BUT, it was a bag of 6, not 2, for $3.50, not $2.50, bringing each small snack portion from 20 cents to 58 cents. Someone got wise. I am glad I bought the two bags when I did. Lesson: when you see an item you suspect to be normally expensive (like GF products always are), buy them and buy a stockpile there and then.

For my 4-day school break I plan to read. I got Beautiful Swimmers from the library. When I was living aboard our sailboat and cruising through the Chesapeake, the book was recommended. It's about the Chesapeake watermen, as the oyster and crab fishermen of that region are called. I guess since I've waited 20 years to fulfill that recommendation, it's time to actually read the book! I got it from the library on inter-library loan. (free!)

I noticed I had slowed down on reading so I made another reading schedule. It is so easy to come home and veg out, watching mindless TV (Current fave: Flipping Boston, a home renovation show). My schedule isn't as demanding as in the summer, obviously, since I am working now and am legit tired when I arrive home. So I eased up my normally aggressive reading schedule a bit but did put a schedule on the fridge, minus a page number count, just as a reminder of which book I want to read more of that day.

Saving Cinderella by Faith Moore
The Believer's Joy, M'Cheyne
Margaret Paton Letters
Selina Duchess of Huntingdon
Biblical Doctrine, JMac
Idols of a Mother’s Heart by Christina Fox
Internet Inferno by Michael John Beasley
The Vanishing Conscience, JMac
Beautiful Swimmers: The Chesapeake Watermen

Some of these are books from summer I have not finished. Time to get them read, and not let 20 years go by! For I do not know what tomorrow holds!

Here are the winners of the The Winners Of 2019's Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Competition Have Been Revealedcontest, they are cute and funny!

And the winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography competition

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone!

My week, and food prep for Oct 14-18

By Elizabeth Prata

Happy Fall!

Last school week as a weird one. We had teacher workday on Monday which I look a sick day, and Tues-Wed were half days for the kids. I took a personal day Tuesday to get my gas heat turned on for the winter. The rule is now that you have to be at home to let the guy in. No more leaving the key under the mat and let the guy come do it alone.

So I didn't really do food prep because I knew I'd be home two days. I made a lentil soup on Tuesday to get me thru on Wednesday and Thursday and on Friday I go do new grocery shopping anyway. I'm usually so glad it's Friday I don't care what I eat by then, lol.

This week I've got scallops which I'll saute up in butter and lemon. I'll serve that with a green protein leaf salad: this mixture of greens at Kroger is made with organic sweet pea leaves, baby spinach, baby bok choy leaves, baby kale, mizuna. I really like the pea leaves. I score some orange cherry tomatoes which will go into the salad.

In my continuing bonanza of lentils my friend gave me I'll try to make some lentil burgers this week instead of soup. I've never been successful with making bean burgers except with this one recipe for black bean burgers. But I'm gonna try!

I also got a load of fruit: a bag of clementines, some trays of blackberries for 99 cents, yay, and strawberries. Hummus will figure into the mix, with gluten free crackers.

Last week there was a marked down case of seltzer water for $1.59. I have been getting into liters of carbonated water, but it goes flat before I drink it. So I took a chance on the case and boy, I really like the fizzy water. I like sour too, so the seltzer doesn't bother me. There aren't any extra ingredients, no sodium or anything, so this week I bought the case at the full price. I'm constantly drinking it. I'm going to have to budget an extra $2.79 per week for this seltzer water.

Turkey slices were also on sale so I got some for lunch sandwiches. That's about it for food prep. I'll let you know how the hunt for the holy grail of edible bean burger recipes goes.

There are a number of things that make me happy, small things. But I live a small life in a small apartment, so it matches.

My landlord is thoughtful. When he swapped out the garage doors for new ones, he realized the location of the handle would make it unreachable for me when raised. So he added a short rope. After a number of years of pulling, last week the rope finally wore through and broke off. Forgetting this, I came home, raised up the door, drove the car in, and turned to reach for the rope. Oops, the door handle was out of reach. Looking around the garage, I found a half of a curtain rod, you remember, the metal ones with the curve on the side. I used that for a week but it was unwieldy to pull when you're carrying things, and I'm always carrying things. So I put on my thinking cap. I did not want to buy a whole length of rope for only one foot. But I do have zip ties! I strung together a few of those and voila. Solving my little issue made me happy.

I love a full fruit bowl. I love fruit so it feel good to have a bounty. It makes me feel rich. Fruit makes me happy

Mid-century mod Ben Siebel Iroquois pottery Harvest Time serving pieces

During the 1950s, Iroquois introduced a line called Informal by industrial designer Ben Seibel that had a round shape with "a stretched look." Each piece was decorated in either a two-tone white with solid color (with or without design decals) or in plain white with decals. The set consisted of approximately 25 pieces and included patterns such as Blue Diamonds, Sleepy Hollow, Steller, Teuton, Tiara, Rosemary, Lazy Daisy, Harvest Time, Old Orchard and Bombay-Green. The colors in the collection were earthy and bright and included mustard, apricot, avocado yellow, blue, bean brown, nutmeg, cantaloupe, charcoal, dark-green, lemon, lettuce green, oyster, pink, red, turquoise and white. The ware was "flameproof for cooking," a new concept in dinnerware.

I also LOVE my Iroquois mid-century bowl and I love to actually use it. Mine is Harvest Time pattern. Mid-century pottery and design makes me happy.

Regular readers know I love hot tea. In the cool fall and winter months I drink lots. I like a variety. My acquisitions this week included Honey Lavender which I got for way reduced price on Amazon warehouse deals. The Warehouse is damaged but still usable items, like the box the item was in is dented, or something minor, not affecting the actual item. But the slight damage means the store can't sell it as "new," so they mark it down and put it in the warehouse. Look for "Warehouse Deals" at the very bottom of the landing page at Amazon. That's why the tea has a sticker on it that it has been inspected.

I also got the ginger turmeric for free using my accumulated points. The Throat Coat is delicious and really smooth on the sore throat. I picked that up this summer when it was on sale at Kroger, knowing I'd need it this fall when the inevitable sinus infection arrives with the kids at school.

Getting deals on tea makes me happy.

As for my tea selection, well...nuff said!

I love tea, lol. A stocked tea bar is a pleasure to me.

I cant say the following exactly makes me unhappy, but it certainly makes me sad for the person. Seen at the grocery store last week:

This person had as many liberal bumper stickers as you could find on any car. Liberal candidates, liberal icons, liberal slogans from liberal fake news...but the one about Jesus caught me the most.

"Do you honestly think Jesus would own a gun and be a Republican?" Well, in one sense no. He was above political parties. He was not of this world. On the other, He certainly would not be a Democrat, all for killing babies. As for the gun, the disciples always carried weapons. We know that Peter did, he lopped off Malchus' ear in the Garden of Gethsemane. They weren't to use them as weapons as a default, but to have them was normal. Swords could be used for cutting wood, cutting food, or brandishing for self-defense, but certainly Jesus would not contradict His stance on the heinousness of offering babies to Molech as a Democrat.

Oh well, people are funny. They hold funny notions.

How was your week?

All the prep

By Elizabeth Prata

Things are so much easier when it's cool out. Happy Fall.

I had energy this morning and decided to do all the prep at once. Here's what I did and why.

Broccaflower: was on the mark down shelf for 99 cents. The stem was a bit iffy and a couple of the points had dark spots. I just shave them off and cut the stem away. Voila, a $4 veg for 99-cents.

Chicken: also on markdown. Kroger has roasted chicken they pick and package I hate picking chicken, or even handling meat. It's a texture and gross-out thing. So when they mark down the clean chicken I'm all in. I just dump the chicken into the pot of sauteing veggies and I'm done.

Quinoa: Whenever I cook something I make extra. It saves time and electricity. I put some of the cooked quinoa in the soup. Although it's a grain (actually a seed) that packs a protein punch, it also packs a carb punch. Don't overdo. I saved aside the rest of the quinoa to have as morning cereal with fruit.

Greens: I can't resist a deal can I? The greens in the tub are chard, spinach, mizuna, and kale. It's a lot. But then again, if you cook them, they saute down to nothing. I ate some in salads, but then after a few days I needed to cook them before they went over. So I did, with on-sale mushrooms, salt, and a bit of lemon. I can add a scrambled egg to it, add some to the soup, or just have as a side dish at dinner.

Ocean Perch: This was a gamble. It was marked down (of course). No other fish available at the time I shopped was marked down. Shrimp and salmon are so expensive to buy not on sale, and the Kroger prepared crabcakes and stuffed scallops have bread crumbs in them. I'm not much of a fan of any other seafood So when the perch presented itself, several clean white looking fillets, I said what the hey, I'll try.

I dredged them in egg and gluten free flour and baked them alongside the broccaflower. They came out looking terrible. I almost threw them out. But then I tried a nibble on the end of one of the small filets. YUM. It is a delicate and tasty fish.

Carrots and Celery: I get home from school having carefully consumed my wonderful breakfasts, snacks, and lunch and I want to eat every carb in sight. Popcorn! Crackers! Peanut butter toast! Anything! Anything! So...I cut up celery and carrots to snack on. It will fill me up more and I do like the crunch.

Strawberries: On sale for $1.77. So I bought 2. I washed and cut them up for the week. I like to just dump some in my tupperware and go in the morning. I don't like preparing anything in the AM before work. Same for the Mandarin oranges. They are easy to peel but I still don't enjoy peeling. I peeled a few and along with the remainder of last week's grapes and this week's strawberries, made a fruit salad. I'll eat this first, because the grapes are the oldest fruit in the fridge.

Snacks at school: I caved in and got an Amazon Subscribe and Save Pantry. I'll have delivered each month, this 24-pack of nuts. I need to much on some proteins during the day because it's along time since breakfast at 6 am and lunch at noon. I can't have cheese sticks any more because of the lactose. I can't have boiled eggs any more (don't ask), I can have some fruits but they're limited due to FODMAP issues and not portable, meaning, I need to sit down and eat them with a spoon or fork, not always feasible in school. So, what snack? Nuts. They end up being about 31 cents per snack. 24 means one per day for the school month.

Planters Variety Pack 24 ct, Salted Peanuts, Honey Roasted Peanuts & Salted Cashews Ready-to-Go Sleeves, Multi-Pack Box

So, proteins: perch, eggs, chicken soup, tofu (since it keeps the longest it's on standby), quinoa, deli turkey.

Lunches: soup and turkey sandwiches on gluten free bread. I do put together the sandwich each morning, otherwise they get soggy. You do need a moisture barrier and the ingredients in the proper order. Also, soup.

Sides: broccaflower, greens

Dessert/Snacks: nuts, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, fruit. Also lactose free vanilla ice cream.

Healthy eating takes a lot of work and preparation. Also money, ergo my attention to sales. With my gluten, lactose, and Fodmap issues I need to ensure I do it right. If not, I'll get sick, and that is no fun!

Have a great week everyone. What's in your fridge this week?

Lactose free, flour free, milk-based soup isn't as good as it sounds

By Elizabeth Prata

This busy school year it kickin' my behind. But I have also been tempted to grumble, and had to repent of that several times. So, a learning test. Always good.

I had a bunch of mushrooms about to go over, so I cooked them down and decided to make, what else, a soup. It was going to be a cream of mushroom soup, white, thick, creamy...yum. Except I've never gotten the knack of making any milk-based soup, nor a roux. Also I can't have dairy or flour, therefore, making a milk-based soup thickened with flour was going to be rough. But ahead I persevered.

I had lactose free milk and non-flour flour. I had the chicken broth and the mushrooms. I had the time. I only lacked the skill, but hey, I had most of the ingredients, right? When the mushrooms cooked down I added the non-flour and made sure they were all coated. I added the milk and brought it to a boil, waiting for it to thicken. This is about when it doesn't thicken and the whole soup turns gray. True to form, it did this time also. But ahead I persevered.

I tasted the gray and unappealing soup. It did not taste all that great. So, success! I'm consistent.

My books I'd bought on half-off sale came in the mail today, and I'm so excited. I also re-started John MacArthur's The Vanishing Conscience. Why are there so many books? I'd gotten interested in studying the theology of the conscience, sparked by a pastor friend's Facebook post on the subject. I had also started the book The Hard Way about a small town newspaper editor that grew a failing paper he bought and eventually won awards. So many books, so little time...

I got up early (5:00 am) and worked on Bible study and reading, my photos and some blogging until noon, then made the soup, and watched a movie: Keep the Change on Amazon Prime.

Keep the Change is a first, I believe, having actors with autism play people with autism as the main characters. David is 30, living with his wealthy (but bigoted) parents in NYC and at a Jewish Community Center meets 24-year-old buoyant Sarah, living with her alcoholic grandmother. Their romance blossoms, in typical autistic way which mirrors neuro-typical folks: their relationship has its quirks, ups and downs, compassion, anger, irritation, big fun, and all the rest.

Here is a review I enjoyed. The film is rated 16+, contains some f-words (in one scene David got angry) and one sex scene which I don't know how involved it got because I skipped it. The film is a rare and compassionately honest look at adults with autism.

Food prep this week will be bay scallops with greens, (dinner), stuffed crab with greens, (dinner), mushroom soup, and probably the lentil soup again as I made last week but this time with red lentils, (lunches). Also brown lentil salad with a huge bag of cherry tomatoes I scored at Kroger for 99 cents. Fruit will be strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and grapes.

Some photos of the walk down the driveway and up the road this humid, stormy morning.

Have a good week ahead everyone.

Food Prep 9/9-13, plus, cool vintage item found

By Elizabeth Prata

I just saw the National Weather Service come out with a warning for predicted high heat over the next week. Highs will be in the upper 90s, reaching 100 in some areas. I feel deflated by this. By this time of year I've really run out of patience with the sticky humid heat and I am longing for the expected break that used to come by mid-September but now is often delayed into October.

Oh well, it will eventually break and when it does I will probably be one of the happiest people in the county. This Yankee has never gotten used to the heat or the humidity!

I went to my favorite Vintage Store on Friday to find some necklaces for two friends whom were thrown a birthday brunch event to celebrate their birthdays. They are young moms, both minister's wives, so I wanted to get something feminine and not related to their kids, lol. I knew the store would have a LOT to choose from, and they sure did. The lady there helped me pick out some necklaces that were more on trend for the younger ladies than the ole fuddy duddies like me.

While I was poring over the jewelry counter I saw a double clip thingie. I learned that it was a vintage sweater clip. In the 1950's the ladies used to wear a cardigan draped over their shoulders and the clip would prevent it from sliding off. That doesn't sound appealing to me. I mean, wearing a sweater meant to have your arms in the sleeves but wear it precariously over the shoulders instead, requiring an unnecessary accessory to prevent the sweater from doing what it naturally wants to do and likely sliding off anyway and making the clip a choking chain around your neck. Phew.

What does sound appealing is using the clip for a cardigan and another light jacket I have that has no buttons or zipper and needs a clip to keep it closed. Ever practical, I used an office binder clip at school the first time I wore my jacket and it kept sliding open. Of course, a vintage clip that's prettier and actually designed for that purpose will suffice all the more. Here it is:

Jennifer Hayslip  gives a short history of these clips in her post about Vintage Glamour and Sweater Guards

Sweater guards are a fashion relic! They were introduced in the 50’s as an accessory to help “hold” and secure cardigans on a ladies shoulders. Whether wearing a cardigan or a caplet these little chain accessories became all the rave!

They are also called sweater clips or cardigan clips.

At only $4 I consider it a treat to have acquired such a classic and classy vintage item and also to have learned about a fashion rage of the 1950s!

Food this week will be:

Dinners: spinach salad, green salad, and salmon. I bought two filets on markdown, which will become four dinners. I also bought a salmon burger. Kroger makes them and they are so large I halve it and reshape into the burger circle, so that will be two more helpings of salmon. I might change one of the filets into a salmon salad to eat with crackers. Good thing I like salmon! Rounding out the dinners will be green beans for the veg and an occasional 1/2 potato.

Lunches will be lentil & chickpea soup. I'll use this recipe. I will use up the 1/4 cup of red lentils I have left and will fill in the rest with the brown lentils I have on hand. "Use what you have." No need to run to the store to buy more red lentils (even though I prefer them and enjoy them in soups more). If I have stuff on hand, I use that first. #FrugalCook. I actually have all the ingredients the recipe calls for (except smoked paprika. Come on, I'm a normal person. I'll use black pepper instead!) I also don't have a chili pepper but I do have sriracha sauce so that will bring the heat.

Fruit this week will be strawberries. They were on sale. What can I say?

Have a great week everyone!

Food Prep: September 2-6- more eggplants

By Elizabeth Prata

I needed this long weekend. I'll say it again, I neeeeeeeded this long weekend. I took two two-hour naps hallelujah. One on Saturday and one on Sunday.

The nights have been cool, down in the low 60s, so I turn off the AC and lift up the windows. I enjoy hearing the night birds and feeling the cool, if still damp, air. The cat likes it too. He puts his kitty nose against the screen and sniffs and sniffs. I wonder what he smells out there.

Today, Labor Day Monday, I am making some food for the rest of the week. I already did 3 loads of laundry AND put them away. I'm so adulting right now.

Eggplant stew. Or hash? It's just a mix of eggplant and veggies I throw in there. This week I am still working off the plethora of garden eggplants kind friends have given me. I will make a stew of eggplant, green pepper, mushrooms, and tomatoes. I got shaved Pecorino Romano to go on top when I serve it.

Lentil salad. Brown lentils hold together pretty well and retain a bit of hardness so they will withstand themselves in salad with dressing. I'm adding green peppers and carrots. The recipe calls for a lot of other ingredients, but I don't have them, so oh, well. I never let the fact that I lack most of the ingredients in a recipe stop me from making it, or adapting it. The only time it really matters is in baking, because, chemistry. This i a high protein low carb salad, that will also be filling! I know that "salad" and "filling" don't usually go together, but when you make it from pluses or beans, it is.

Baked tofu. I marinated it in Teriyaki sauce and baked them sliced into slabs. I'll use them in a sandwich or just eat on the side for a protein. Hey, it's a cheap protein, what can I say?

Roasted broccoli. It was on sale and I love roasted broccoli. It's so yummy. I'll eat as is, mix in with scrambled egg, eat it cold in a salad with other stuff...its versatile.

Chicken. I bought Kroger's picked, roasted chicken, intending to make a soup. But even though I've had naps and rested, I'm tired. My sleep has been lengthy, but it hasn't been refreshing. I don't know exactly what I will wind up doing with it. Maybe chicken salad, or the soup after all, with quinoa, carrots, and mushrooms, probably.

Fruit. I bought blueberries this week. They were on sale Sales are my friend. I also bought mandarin oranges and strawberries. These will be snacks and desserts.

I started the book The Hard Way: The Odyssey of a Weekly Newspaper Editor by Alexander Bacon Brook. I am enjoying it. He is a good writer. Having been editor of a small town weekly myself, I understand a lot of his trials, and I am impressed with the way he captures the place of a weekly in small town citizenry and government.

I watched some Hurricane Dorian videos and tweets yesterday and the storm is terrifying. I was in Hurricane Beth as a child when vacationing on Cape Cod, a Category 1 that barely grazed Hyannis. I was also in 1991's Hurricane Bob, a category 2 that made landfall in Newport RI. I was in RI at the time. Those were frightening enough, but I can't imagine a Cat 5 storm, and this one is hovering for hours over the Bahamian Islands. God's strength is surely powerful.

I'll watch a movie later, something light on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Read some more. Then it will be back to the kids tomorrow.

Have a good week!

Look at how that little bud pops out that huge berry.

Food Prep this week: August 26-30

By Elizabeth Prata

How has your weekend been? Busy? I use the weekend to prepare for the week, so it's not really two days off, except for church. It's still a treadmill. If I let go for a moment, I'm behind all week. Do you feel that way?

Friday nights I'm pretty tired. At the beginning of the school year, coming off 8-9 weeks of straight rest, it's a Mt. Everest of a climb to get back into routine. On Friday nights I'm good for nothing, except staring numbly out the window, uncomprehending and body aching as if I have the flu.

Saturdays at the beginning of the year take me usually until 3:00 in the afternoon or so to 'come to'. That's not to say that I do nothing. Indeed, I get up between 5:30 and 6:00 am and get to work writing 5 blogs for the week and creating 5 scripture pictures for the week. I like to have them ready to publish when I arise on weekday mornings at 5:00.

As I study the Bible during the week, or listen to lessons or sermons, I plop ideas, verses, and information & links into drafts. Saturday mornings are when I flesh these out into completed essays. My goal is to encourage and to teach women, and to keep myself in the word, since I process things by writing.

I usually work on this until I get mentally tired, about 1:00 or 2:00. Then I take a nap. When I awaken at 3:00, I feel like myself again. I usually study my lessons from The Master's Seminary. I'm working toward a certificate in Sound Doctrine. I might feel like myself (body aches gone), mentally more alert. But I'm still way physically tired and don't do many chores.

This leaves laundry, vacuuming, change sheets, and food prep to Sunday...so it becomes not a day of rest. But that will happen soon, as I move more chores to Saturday when I'm feeling less tired and gain equilibrium again.

Food prep this week!

Red lentil soup with mushrooms, carrots, and tomatoes. This will be lunch every day.

Types of lentils. Photo The Kitchn, link to article below

Last week I had brown lentil soup. What's the difference between the types of lentils? The folks at The Kitchn explain, sharing some recipes too. Lentils are actually not a bean, or a pea, but are a pulse. Pulses are related to beans and peas. I prefer the red lentil because they have just as much protein and fiber, are a bit sweeter than the brown, and they turn to mush and thus, thicken the soup. I like thick soups.

• Blackened Tilapia (2 servings). I bought one large, seasoned piece and cut it in half to make 2 servings
• Turkey sandwiches
• Green Beans with tofu and peanuts sauted in soy sauce.
• Eggplant-mushroom saute
• Kale with mushrooms (cold and hot; salad, and sauted)
• Hummus with veggies.
• Strawberries. LOL, I bought 3 pounds so that will be my main fruit for dessert and snacks

I hope you all have a great Sunday, hopefully worshiping the Lord. Our church begins at 3:00 (a new Sunday School series begins next week, so that will be moved back to 2:00). I enjoy the mornings preparing for church and usually like to keep the morning clear to do just that. Have a super week ahead!

Food Prep this week

By Elizabeth Prata

Good morning! I've got some cooking going on. People tell me they really enjoy the Facebook posts on food prep and the blog essays on cooking. Thank you! I decided to expand it a little and share my reasoning for why I cook the things I do. :)

This is the last week I'm on the elimination FODMAP diet to see what is causing the IBS. Monash University in Australia has made a scientific breakthrough regarding foods that give people trouble who suffer from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I've given up gluten, having become intolerant to it. The doctor told me that there are 3 levels of food issues, sensitive, intolerant, and allergic. I have a family member with Celiac disease (allergic to gluten) and over the years I've developed an intolerance to gluten myself. So I gave up all gluten/wheat food items.

I am also intolerant of lactose. So I gave that up too. No more yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit for dessert, just fruit. I can get lactose-free milk at my regular grocery store. I can get lactose free yogurt too, but it's prohibitively expensive  and a lower cost than l-f yogurt. There is no l-f cottage cheese where I shop so that's that. I was still having issues adn I was really stumped. My doctor put me onto this Monash-FODMAP issue and it seems to be the answer for me.

I'll be excited to see which foods will be added back into my diet now that the elimination of foods containing FODMAPs have been taken out. And yes, when I took out the gluten it helped, and the elimination of lactose helped. But I wasn't completely free of bowel issues, and the FODMAP elimination helped resolve it.

But FODMAPs cover such a wide range of foods that it's not wise nor practical to eliminate all of them from one's diet forever. So there's an important step 2: after a suitable time on the eliiation diet to let the bowel and digestive system rest, now add back in small groups of FODMAP foods under controlled conditions to see what is causing the irritation in the digestive system. Click on the link above to learn about foods containing FODMAPs.

 Meanwhile, this week's food prep-

MAIN DISHES/PROTEINS

-Lentil soup with mustard greens, carrots, garden green peppers, and celery. Curry spices. This'll be for lunch every day.

-Fresh green beans with tofu cubes, teriyaki sauce and crushed peanuts on top. Tofu is a versatile and inexpensive protein. It also has the advantage of keeping longer uncooked than seafood or meat.

-Shrimp was on sale at Kroger so I bought half a pound, about 20 medium-large shrimp. This yields 4 servings, or about 50 cents per protein meal. I try to keep my protein servings under $1 each. I'll eat them cold with spinach salad.

--Crabcake with mustard greens and a potato on the side. A prepared stuffed crab at Kroger is $1. I cooked a bunch of potatoes in the crock pot yesterday. Add some potatoes to the crock with a half cup of water, turn on high, and they cook pillow soft in about two hours. You don't even have to spear them, just wash and put in. Now I have potatoes for the week without having to heat up the kitchen boiling them for a long time. Forget about baking them, it's too hot to turn on the oven in GA in August.

SIDES/VEGGIES

--I've been gifted 3 garden eggplants. I'll saute them with mushrooms and a can of tomatoes for a kind of hash. You can add this to spaghetti (or spaghetti squash), add rice, put on crusty bread with mozzarella, throw some greens in it (I prefer spinach with eggplant) or just eat as a side dish.

--Homemade hummus*. Chick peas are low FODMAP friendly! Cut up carrots & celery for dipping. Or rice crackers.

-Groats for breakfast. These are the whole oat. They are chewy and filling. Think the consistency of wild rice. I add strawberries or blueberries with lactose free milk. I love it cold! But you can heat it too for a healthy low carb, low fat, no-gluten breakfast! (1/2 cup serving of groats is 15 carbs, milk is 15 more).

FRUIT/DESSERT

-Notwithstanding the illegal donut I had on Friday, my desserts are usually fruit. This week I have strawberries, blueberries, grapes, a few mandarin oranges left from last week, and pineapple.

SNACKS

Popcorn, almonds, peanuts, slice of turkey, rice crackers with peanut butter, cheese (cheddar or other aged cheeses are more easily tolerated for lactose sensitive or intolerant folks than fresh cheeses). Drinks: Fizzy water, cold hibiscus tea, hot peppermint tea, coffee.

*Lower FODMAP Hummus recipe:

1 14.5 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 TB water
4 TB lemon juice
2 TB peanut butter (this substitutes for Tahini)
2TB garlic infused olive oil (I dont' have this so I skipped it. DOn't be afraid to skip or change the recipe to your preference)
1 teasp sesame oil (I didn't have this either. No worries)
1/2 teas salt (I like less salt).

Measure ingredients into a bowl of a blender or food processor. Process till smooth, adding a little extra oil if necessary. Chill until serving. Servings: 8 (Sorry, I can't find how big 1 serving is...:(

By Elizabeth Prata

This morning is the true first morning of Spring Break. I am at home, not at school. I am not hurrying to the copy room to copy the day's papers. I am not on the walkie calling for cleanup of the puke in the hall. I am not on duty in the loud lunchroom. I am not at my desk quickly reading the day's Memo of events. I am at home, even this hour at 10:30 am, in my pj's. I drank lovely coffee slowly, not gulped. I wrote a blog on The End Time about music. I have been listening to the Gaither channel on Pandora. I am content.

This is the scene:

Start the day off right, not just with coffee, but make it 'weekend special' by adding whipped cream.

My table/desk. Coffee, laptop, book in progress, and notes for next blog:

My constant companion while I write (only in the morning, in the afternoon he goes and climbs under the covers and stays in bed the rest of the day) Murray-

My afternoon plans. I'll get dressed and put away the laundry, also make the bed (hard to do with Murray in it) and then spend the afternoon reading. I have a lot of books on deck.

In case you can't see the titles on a small phone screen, they are:

• Lit! Tony Reinke
• Visual Guide to the Bible, Challies & Byers
• In a Different Key: The Story of Autism, Donvan & Zucker
• The Believer's Joy, M'Cheyne
• It Can't Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis
• Valley of Vision, Abbott, editor
• Work & our Labor in the Lord, Hamilton
• Idols of a Mother's Heart, Fox
• Internet Inferno, Beasley
• Banner of Truth Magazine
• Southern Living

My food prep this week will still continue. I need to eat stuff and since I am the only one here, I have to cook it. I am working very hard not to have any processed food or any junk food etc. Meals to come:

Dinners:
Rice noodles with tofu and green beans
Baked spaghetti with spinach and mushrooms
Enchiladas with fresh cheese and avocado on top

Lunches:
Crabcake sandwich
Turkey sandwich
Green salads

Sides:
Fruit (bananas, grapes, peaches, ugli fruit, plums)
Nuts

I bought several gluten-free items Friday, which KILLED my budget, but I figured I'd try a few items and then frugally seed them into the occasional weekly menu. I got:

Freschetta pizza
Ezekiel sprouted grain bread
Bagels
Waffles
Base Camp blonde brownie
G-F spaghetti

That's $30 right there. Each gluten free item generally costs at minimum, $5. The pizza was $10. The spaghetti was on sale as was the brownie. Still. I cannot forsee buying all of these each week. Maybe one of them, once per month. But I am trying them and then keeping track of how I like them so I can make a mindful choice as to how to enhance my menus without getting sick all the time. I'll review them at some point soon.

OK I better get moving if I am to get on my schedule for reading by noon!