Spare the meat

Many of you know that in recent years, our family has made it a priority to eat meat sparingly. To us, this has meant that we have meat meals less often, and when we do, we use less meat in them. While we make no claims of being any variety of vegetarian or models of healthy living, we have really enjoyed the less-weighed-down feeling of eating less meat. (I like killing fewer animals, too.)

When I discuss this with friends, many of them ask how we have balanced, filling family meals that do not include meat. Again, I make no claims of being a health expert or dietitian, but our family has been satisfied with our diet, so I thought I'd share this week's dinner menu as an example:

Potato and chickpea curry with naan
Butternut squash soup, rolls, salad and asparagus
Eggplant parmigiana with garlic bread
Clam chowder
Baked tilapia, artichokes, garlic bread, and patatas bravas
Paella
Spaghetti

Breakdown:
1 features meat (paella)
1 has cheese (eggplant parmigiana)
2 have seafood (clam chowder and tilapia)
2 have meat flavoring (squash soup: chicken bouillon; clam chowder: bacon grease in which to saute onions)

For me, the secret to meatless meal planning has been to emphasize what you CAN eat, rather than what you can't. We don't substitute tofu or soy or anything like that. We figure out what non-meat foods we like - vegetables, grains, legumes - and build meals that revolve around those things. One reason meat is so popular is because it has strong, delicious flavor. There are other foods that also have strong, delicious flavors, so when we make those the focal part of the meal, we honestly don't feel like we're missing anything (because we aren't).

Reyes Magos and a Mystical Visitation

Every year we celebrate January 6th (Reyes Magos, or 3 Kings Day) with a traditional Spanish meal. This year we had paella, grapes, manchego cheese (salivates), pseudo-baguettes, and of course, the lovely Roscon de Reyes.

Traditionally, the Roscon is supposed to have candied fruit on top and some fruity flavor inside that comes from brandy. I hate candied fruit and the fruity brandy flavor. But I like pecans (and we live in the South anyway). Also please note (I say with a self-satisfied jiggle of my head and a rakish expression) that the Roscon is made entirely of flour I ground myself with a hand-operated wheat grinder. Que rustico! We have yet to see who gets the coin, and therefore luck for a year, and who gets the rock, and is therefore the bozo who has to buy the Roscon next year.



Also, yesterday when preheated my pizza stone in preparation for making naan (which was also quite yummy and also made with hand-ground flour), the head of an Easter Island statue mystically appeared on the stone.


Please take a moment to vote on the new poll at the top of my blog on what this remarkable image means for me in the coming year!

Pickled Greens

Last night I counted 10 jars of pickled green foods in our fridge. And yes, all of them are desirable and in the process of being eaten.

Can anyone beat that?

Thoughts

Books

I just bought a bunch of books online. Olivia somehow stuck several of the pages of My First Animal Book - one of her favorites - together, and after trying to steam them apart, I realized that 1) it was taking a long time, 2) I would not be satisfied with the end result, and 3) my hourly rate for freelance work is several times the price of a new book, especially if I can find it online. Which I did, along with several other goodies that I've been wanting for a while: Crictor, Space Witch, and My First Body Book. Actually, that last one isn't something I've craved, but it looks good. The other two are some I remember from my childhood, and I'm excited to have them again. Yesterday at Goodwill I also found a Syd Hoff collection for $2 that included Stanley, Sammy the Seal, and Grizzwold. I don't remember the first two, but I have fond memories of Grizzwold. Now I'm on the lookout for Danny and the Dinosaur, or in fact a complete Syd Hoff collection. I'm not one of those people who can buy (or do much of anything) without guilt, but I feel good about today's purchases.

Friends

Yesterday we had our friend Kimberly and her daughter Rachel over for dinner. Kimberly's husband is out of town for a couple of weeks. We keep meaning to invite them over, but having extended visitors has put a little bit of a damper on many of our social plans. Since Dan and Hyde took the kids to San Antonio for a couple of days, and since I know how hard it is to motivate yourself to cook for one, or one and a half, it was a good time to have them over. Every time I talk to Kimberly I think afterwards how much I like her. It's nice to mutually want to be friends with someone, not out of obligation, but just because you like talking with them.

Heritage

A few days ago Steven was showing me some of his foreign money that he collected as a kid. It was interesting to look at. One thing that struck me was a Brazilian bill - the picture on the back depicted the conquest of native peoples by the Europeans. I thought it was interesting because often today, the offspring of a conquered people feel a kind of resentment toward those ancient conquerers who raped and enslaved their ancestors. The fact is, though, that, like it or not, the conquerers are as much their ancestors and the conquered. You may not approve of what one side of your ancestry did to the other, but they are both equally a part of you. To me, it seemed that this Brazilian currency demonstrated their understanding and acceptance of this.

Pregnant

I am! My due date is February 15th - which also happens to be my birthday. I haven't been sick, which is nice; just tired. And emotional. It's hard to imagine sharing maternal love and care with someone besides Olivia, but I'm also excited. Having a baby grow inside of you is absolutely miraculous, and seeing in Olivia what that baby will grow into - a little person who thinks and reasons and has ideas all their own - is mind-boggling.

Garlic-Stuffed Green Olives

I love them. Love them. Oooooh, man.

The Pot of My Pie

Banquet pot pies are now microwaveable! Hooray, hooray!

I love their golden, crispy crusts - which are surprisingly golden and crispy even when cooked in the microwave. I love their savory innards, made with naturally artificial ingredients. I love their turkey, chicken, and beef. But most of all, I love their price: less than fiddy cent. Could anything be more delicious than cheap food?

And yes, I do know about the recall. That's all been resolved.

Today

Today was pretty hard for me. But good.

I found us a house for the next 4 months, and signed a contract for it.
I got a cookbook laid out and printed.
I started cleaning the living room.
I did 4 days' worth of dishes.
I emptied all the trash cans.
I went grocery shopping.
I took care of my baby.

I did all this while trying simultaneously to perform a full-time job. And being sick.

And lest anyone think that I am trying to paint myself as a superwoman, or even one who aspires to be so, let me emphasize the word "trying."

The best thing that happened today was that, while I was driving home from the printer's, I had to stop in the middle of the road for a duck. He was waddling straight across the road to his pond, and his little steps seemed so purposeful and, although I couldn't hear him, I could see his beak moving as he pleasantly quacked along his way.

Oh, and artichokes were 89 cents each at the grocery store. That was a good thing.

You know, altogether, it's a good day when you can look back and see the sparkling embellishments of ducks and artichokes.

Tropicanalicious

A couple of weeks ago, I was at Wal-mart to pick up some chocolate milk for lunch (yes, lunch was to be just that: some thick, creamy, exploding-with-calories chocolate milk). This choco-blast was all husband wanted, and while I like chocolate milk, I wanted something more along smoothie lines. But maybe not a smoothie.

I discovered this:

Yup, nothing says "Pure" like "flavored blend of 5 juices from concentrate with other natural flavors and ingredients."

In spite of this, I really liked it. I bought the pomegranate blueberry flavor. I will list its virtues here:

1) I could taste both the pomegranate and the blueberry juice (in spite of there probably being minimal amounts of each...pure pomegranate juice is the price of liquid gold)

2) The juice was really thick, so it is satisfying - more so than regular apple juice, and certainly more so than soda (or worse, diet soda)

3) The 33.8 oz. bottle cost less than $3 (I have since discovered that this may only be at Wal-Mart, as Smith's prices it at over $4)

4) Because of how thick the juice is, the 33.8 oz. bottle is actually enough for several servings - even 4, as the bottle indicates

In short, Tropicana Pure (TM) is a good buy.