update

Didn't have time to get my recipes up today, sorry!

My dad is in the hospital having some tests done.  He had some chest pains, but it wasn't a heart attack.  So far they aren't sure what it was.  He has some health issues, so they are taking this seriously.  Please send some positive thoughts and/or prayers his way.

And don't forget to check in tomorrow for a little something special!

Govt to Ban Organic Farms and Home Gardens???

Did you know that the US is trying to ban organic farms and family gardens?

Read about what's going on here.

Then write to your representatives and the President to stop bill HR 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.

We cannot allow the government to decide if we want chemicals on our food or not.  Nor can we let them take away our right to grow our own food!

You can start taking a stand here.

To add some info:

I just wanted to add some info here, because, as has been pointed out, the bill doesn't actually say it's "banning organic farms".  However consider some of the following:

While the bill doesn't mention organics or state that it will try to ban "organics", it does state the following:

(14) FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term ‘food production facility’ means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.

who will be required to

(2) require each food production facility to have a written food safety plan that describes the likely hazards and preventive controls implemented to address those hazards;

(3) include, with respect to growing, harvesting, sorting, and storage operations, minimum standards related to fertilizer use, nutrients, hygiene, packaging, temperature controls, animal encroachment, and water;

Essentially, this gives the government the right to order organic farmers on what to feed their animals, how to treat them medically and require them to use certain sprays on their crops.  In other words, not raise them organically. 

I'm not saying that the government is going to absolutely crack down on home gardens, but, like many other broad stated laws, there is that wiggle room that the could. There are NO exemptions listed. This bill could cover anything from fishing boats to your garden to the hot dog vendor on the corner.

Part of what the bill proposes to do will place a huge burden on any of these people by requiring them to have "food safety plans". This would a monetary drain and a lot of work for every farm, many fishing boats, slaughterhouses, processing plants, CO-OPs and anyone else associated with growing, storing, transporting or processing food. The bill authorizes fines of up to $1,000,000  dollars for "each act" and for "each day" of a violation.  That's one million dollars a day in fines.  Great for a slaughterhouse that isn't  up to standards.  A small organic farm that didn't reach the minimum fertilizer number?  Bang, out of business.

The fact that this is backed by Monsonto (you gotta read about this company!), a huge corporation that has very often used it's government connections to put small farms out of business (especially organic farms), is right off the top a red flag (BTW, they were also the makers of the lovely Agent Orange, sprayed on US military troops in Vietnam.  They still refuse to compensate vets for the negative health effects of that).

Only huge companies will have the funds to keep up with these new regulations.  And if a smaller company manages to do it, all it will take is one infraction to put them under.  Just the legal fees alone to defend themselves would be crushing.  

So to sum it up: required chemicals, required medical treatments for animals, required fees and payments, huge fines, no exemptions, sponsored by satan Monsanto.

Here is one video about the subject:

I think everyone should explore this bill.   Anyone with a vested interest in organics, homesteading, farming and the earth should educate themselves on what it means, and form their own opinions about it.  Then they should take a step toward making their feelings known to their representatives, and quickly.  This bill could be voted in as quickly as 2 weeks from now.

Tuesday Mutterings

First off:  It's Spread the Word to End the Word day.  Read more here.

What started out yesterday as just going in to putty the middle boy's room (how many freaking thumb tack holes can one kid have?  About a floppity-jillion), soon turned into spring cleaning his whole room.  Closet cleaned out and clothes sorted for keep, rags, or donations.  Everything dusted to within an inch of it's life.  Furniture moved and swept under.  Yeesh.  Ewww.  Ick.  I didn't think it was that bad until I started moving things around and found:  a glass behind his dresser ( I can't believe it hadn't broken!), half of a pop-tart under his desk (which the dog promptly ate out of the sweep pile) (did I men

tion ewwww?), and a book about bunnies circa 6 years old (

I know I've cleaned in the last 6 years, lol, where the heck did THAT come from??).  

When it was all cleaned and reasonably shiny, I did finally get to puttying the holes.  The walls are now more putty than wall.  I got done just in 

time to run out, clean the kitchen and do homework with the kids before starting dinner. Whew!  

Last night's dinner was a new Chicken Parmesan recipe:

Under that tasty marinara and drizzle of garlic-cream sauce is a tasty chicken cutlet.

 It was oh-so good!  Best part was, this recipe only took about 20 minutes!  No kidding!  I will have this, the cod and hushpuppies recipes up sometime today.

On today's schedule: run to the store to pick up contact solution and peanut butter, color my gray roots (pesky varmints!), start patching the walls in our tiny entry way.  

On the menu for today: Mustard Chicken and Veggie Salad

There is also a new journal prompt up today!  Make sure to let me know if you create a blog post using one of the prompt statements (or create an art journal page or anything else!).  I will link your post to the prompt so that others can visit and see what you created.

And make sure you tune in tomorrow, as I have a special review to share!  You won't want to miss this one!

Wow!  What a busy weekend.  Remember back when our water heater exploded and ruined our rug downstairs?  Well we'd had that rug since we'd moved in, so we had no idea what was under it.  unfortunately it was this:

This is the tiny, tiny "room" where our rabbit and litter box live.   Don't ask me why it's even there.  It's obviously not a closet, though it's the size of a large one.  It isn't big enough to be a small office, we tried that.  But, hey, it's just the size for a really huge rabbit cage and a cat litter box for three, so who am I to complain?

Anyway, here's what it looks like now:

Obviously it still needs trim, and a new paint job, but man, is that floor better or what?  Can you imagine having to deal with that awful tile in your bedroom?  Yech.  Thank goodness Mr. B. is handy.  He put in all the flooring in the downstairs for just the cost of the flooring.  A little trim, a little paint, and we'll be good to go!

Oh, and we got the groceries delivered on Sunday!  It was fabulous!  We put the order in on Friday and on Sunday, bright and early,  they were delivered and brought straight to our table.  Even better, they were packed well.  I usually like to bag my own stuff, because I'm a little anal about not having my cookies sitting on top of my package of raw chicken. I'm judgmental like that (and yes, someone actually bagged those things together once.)  I will absolutely be doing this again!  For the $7 it cost, it was completely worth it (I would have paid $20!).

Menu for the week:

Trying lots of recipes this week!

Sunday:  Made fish and chips with hushpuppies (though the "chips" were frozen french fries, so I could spend time with the fish!) Recipes for this will be up this week, because it was really, really good!

Monday: Spaghetti with Chicken Parmesan with marinara and a drizzle of cream sauce.  Served with homemade Italian (if it turns out!) and a green salad.

Tuesday:  Lemon Fusili with Arugula - this is one of those fancy sounding titles.  It's just pasta, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and arugula tossed with a lemony sauce.  Tues. and Wed. Mr. B. is working late, so I'm trying 2 new recipes that I think will save well, so he can eat when he gets here.

Wednesday: Mustard Chicken Salad - Many of the same ingredients as the fusili recipe, which is what sold me.  I can use up all the ingredients that I bought, but make two meals with very different flavors.  The mustard chicken salad also has cherry tomatoes and broccoli, but it adds some great roasted chicken chunks and a tangy mustard sauce.

Thursday:  Roasting a chicken and a pan of roasted veggies.  Yum!

Friday is, of course, pizza night.

Today I am off to fill holes in the walls, so that we can get cracking on the painting this weekend!  Got a couple of places to patch (kids and doorknobs *sigh*).  

Have a great day!

Happy Friday!

Still the house of sickness, but everyone seems to be feeling better.  Hopefully by tomorrow they'll be up and running!

Signed up for grocery delivery!  All set to get them on Sunday.  I can't wait to see how it all goes!  Shopping online was kind of cool.

Sad news on the chicken fried steak recipe front.  The recipe I had sucked.  The meat wasn't horrible, but it wasn't what I wanted it to be.  The gravy was just gross.  Looks like I'll keep looking!

Update on the house repairs:  the pre-install guy for the siding came today.  He measured almost 100 more feet than the guy that did the estimate.  So they are crunching the numbers to see if the price will be more than we agreed on.  We'll see what they say.  If it's significantly more, we'll look elsewhere.   I really hope it doesn't, as I'm really happy with all the stuff we have picked out and I'd hate to have to start all over.

Good news for the day?  It's Friday!!  Have a great weekend!

Delivery? Heck Yes!!!

I just found out that my local Stop and Shop grocery store (and no, this isn't an add, haha!  I wish a major grocery store wanted to pay me!) freaking delivers groceries to your door for $7.oo.

Seven dollars.  Seven dollars to not have to drive around the store, dodging slow old folks.  Seven dollars to avoid kicking people who think it's okay to stop their cart in the middle of the isle while they see what kind of hemroid cream is the cheapest.  Seven dollars to not have to wait in line behind the kid who's parent really, really needs to wipe his nose.

Not only that, but it will certainly curb the "Oooh, look at that!" spending.  Despite the tiny $7 charge, I bet I will actually save money from all those impulse purchases that come up.  Especially when I take one or more kids with me (another bonus to delivery...not shopping with kids!).

I am so going to give it a try this week.

We'll see how this goes...

Well, I've taken the plunge. I've signed up for google adsense.  I know, I know, I'm a big 'ol sell-out, lol.  But, here's the thing... times are tough.  I spend a lot of time on this blog (and with generally messing around online).  So if I can make a couple of bucks from placing a couple of ads somewhere on the blog, I'm going to give it a shot.  

I will also be doing the occasional product review and links to businesses... you know, that sort of thing.  So if you see an unusual post, full of links to a company, it's probably some sort of ad thing.  I won't be going crazy with them, rest assured.   But if I can do one or two a month and make a couple of bucks, that would be pretty sweet.

And I have been known to review things just for fun in the past.  I will let you know if a post is really just because I love something, not because I made $12 to talk about it, lol.  And I will not review anything I haven't actually used, nor will I say something is good if it's not, just because I got paid for it.  

This will be the last time I blog about the ads.  I won't beg you to click on them to increase my earnings - if you are interested, give it a click, if not, just ignore those little suckers.  If I can make it somewhat successful, I'll put part of the money back into the blog, via give-aways and the like.

And, as always, if you are an Etsy dealer, or have a crafting/art business, I'd be happy to run a give-away for one of your items to help you advertise your shop for no charge.   I love supporting the handcrafted, handmade, artsy-craftsy community.  Just shoot me an email and we'll talk.

So that's it!  Back to your regularly scheduled blogging.

Wow!

There are some books that I absolutely should not be touched by the hands of Hollywood.  I would have said this is one of them.  But, dang, the trailer looks kind of amazing!  I might actually have to see this one.  

Earth Hour is this Saturday!

This Saturday, at 8:30 local time, turn out your lights for one hour to support the earth!  

Learn more at http://www.earthhour.org/home/

We did this last year.   I read to the kids by candle light, and we had a blast!

Does life ever slow down?

Whew!  The past week or so has been a flurry of appointments and running around.  This week is shaping up to be the same!  On the bright side, we did schedule someone  to come in and put siding on our house.  Bad news.... it's going to cost more than we had expected.  Back to the good news, though, the company is one that is expanding into our area, and wants our house to be one of their "model homes", which basically means that they will put a sign in our yard and add before and after pictures of our house to their book of improvements.   What it means for us is that they are doing the work at a discount, and throwing in a new window and front door for free. If we were going to be paying the full price, there is no way on this earth we could have afforded to do all the things we'll be getting done -- a window, a new door, really nice siding in a "premium" color, gutters, decorative shutters for the windows,  and trim.  The house is really going to look brand new (and have a much better resale value down the line).  

On another note, tonight we have another appointment about my son's hearing aids.  I'm at the point now where I kind of wish we could hurry this up!  I think the doctor wants to ease everyone into it, get everyone adjusted to the idea.  What I keep telling him is that we've been "adjusted" to having a child with special needs long ago.  This is just another layer.  I want to get on with it, so my son can get used to them in school, not during summer vacation.  Adjusting them during the summer, when he is taking them in and out to get into the pool, or go to the beach will be WAY harder than doing it while he is in school.

Oh!  I've been on a winning streak lately!  I tell you, these people have really, really made this month much more bearable and exciting!

First I won (and received yesterday!) an amazing apron from Vixen over at Vixen's Den.  She sells her apron's at her Etsy shop, Apron Frenzy.  The Apron Goddess blog was giving it away, and I won!  It is such a beautiful and well-crafted apron.  Thank you to both The Apron Goddess blog and to Vixen!

Today I found out that I won a $50 gift certificate to fastgrowingtrees.com from Gardenpunks!  I love this blog, it always inspires me in my gardening - and now I'll be able to add something new to my landscape!  right now I am thinking of a blueberry bush!  Thank you so much, Katie!!

I also won a gorgeous pendant (along with carmel pecan soap and a home made card!) from Marsha at Living in Fairyland.  Wow, it's really been my month for contests!  Thanks, Marsha!

I have so many things to catch up with on the blog, and I'm going to try to get that done today.  I'll be adding some recipes (keep an eye out at the top of the blog, I'll put up a notice when they are added into the cooking section!).  I tried out two more awesome recipes last night: a cranberry-apple bread pudding and homemade potato chips with this awesome spice mix.  They'll be up by the end of the day, along with the salmon and the asparagus! Pinky swear!

This week, we were a little ahead, so we splurged a little on groceries.  Among other unnecessary purchases: grape seed oil (for cooking at high temps), and a  really good bottle of ground cinnamon (because I use it a lot).

Here's what's cooking this week:

Sunday: Hamburgers with an avocado/cilantro mayo, homemade potato chips

Monday: Got an evening appointment, so we'll be getting take out.  Between homework after school and the 1/2 hour drive to the audiologist, just not going to happen today!

Tuesday: I'm trying a recipe for chicken fried steak!  Hope it's good!  Also mashed potatoes, white gravy and corn (can you say "starch"?).

Wednesday:  A Mr. B. favorite, breakfast for dinner.  I'll be throwing in some sausage into left over white gravy  and making a batch of biscuits to go with it.  

Thursday is another new recipe: Lemon fusili with arugula.  A neat and easy way to use pasta.  Hope it tastes as good as the recipe sounds!

Hope everyone is off to a great start on their week!  And keep an eye out for recipes coming up!

Quick note

Stuck doing some personal things and trying to get life straightened back out.  What a hectic week!  Recipes are coming, promise!  Hope you are all well.

Best meal ever!

Last night I tried two new recipes:  Blackened Salmon  with Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce (from Big Daddy's House on Food Network) and a roasted asparagus with parmesan (from Barefoot Contessa).  When I was going through recipes, these two sounded like they would go really, really well together.

Man, was I right!  Mr. B. raved.  Said it was the best thing I've ever cooked.  Of course he really like salmon and he really likes asparagus!  But, I admit, this fish was insane.  Thanks to the recipe, it was perfectly cooked.  The seasoning was fabulous (though I did make a couple of modifications, of course.  I just can't leave stuff alone!).

Even better, these were really, really easy to make.  I'm not even kidding.  The whole meal took about 5 minutes of prep.  The asparagus cooked for 15 minutes, the fish a total of about 10.  The sauce maybe 5 minutes, and it only contains 3 ingredients.  Anyone can make this!

I will be posting the recipes later on.  Today I have my middle guy's IEP meeting.  For those that don't know, this is an Individualized Educational Plan for a student who needs special education or related services (for kids with disabilities or  a child who is typical, but just needs speech therapy).  We've been fighting over quite a few issues with the school all year.  Well, fighting isn't exactly the right word.  I try to get things done, and the school ignores me.  We'll see how this meeting goes.  This will set the basics for his education, therapies, and social skills program for the rest of this year and into the next.  It's really critical that we get things straightened out and fixed.  I've actually invited the director of special services to my meeting (which I've never done before) and he's supposed to be there.  

So if you are so inclined, send me some good thought, positive vibes, say a little prayer, light a candle, knock on some wood - whatever it is you might do, that everyone in the meeting will be working toward the greater good for my son, without any considerations but what is best for his education.  

Follow this blog on Facebook!

I just added this blog to Facebook, so you can follow there if you'd like!

You can go here to follow along, or go to the widget in my side bar.  

And don't forget to check out this week's pagan journal prompt!

Monday meal plan and what's up for the week

What a roller coaster of a weekend!  

Friday night was the usual.  I'm good with that.

Saturday, I took my daughter to get her hair cut.  Now, if you've seen pics (or the real thing, lol!) you know my daughter had hair almost to her hiney.  Just beautiful.  She rarely wore it down, because it bugged her to have it hanging in her face - it was mostly pulled back into one long braid.  Well, that braid is now sitting on a shelf in my kitchen, waiting to be mailed to Locks of Love.  12 1/2 inches of hair going to charity.  She picked a really cute hair cut and looks like a whole different kid!  It was a little sad to see that hair go, but man!  It sure is easier  to comb out!  Saturday, we also went with to a charity spaghetti dinner for one of the local Catholic church schools.  Mrs. Coffee and the Lunch Lady and their respective families all attend the church.    It was a great event - BYOB, so we brought a bottle of wine.  Salad, spaghetti, apple pie and zeppole.  Good food, great company, and there were something like 70 baskets created for a Chinese auction.  There were 2 awesome Halloween baskets that I tried for, but sadly did not win.  Miss M. did win a basket full of great girly things, though.  I figure her new haircut gave her luck!

Sunday.  Ugh.  Sunday was a pisser.  Had to finish homework, get the grocery shopping done, and we had some minor mishaps.  First off, Mr. B. put his pants in the laundry with a full pack of Trident gum in the pocket.  Apparently it stayed nicely in the pocket through the wash, because I didn't see it.  However, once it hit the dryer....  Have you ever seen what happens to gum in the dryer?  Large scale amounts of gum?  It's not pretty.  Somehow, the clothes came out just fine, but there were huge globs of gum everywhere.  I was scraping gum out of the dryer for over an hour.  I'd run it for a minute or two to soften it up, then scrape it out.  

While I was doing this, Mr. B. took Miss M. to get a milkshake.  He had promised her one the other day, cause she gave him a foot rub.  However, for some reason, they decided to ride their bikes to go get them.  Which is great, if you have a basket or something to bring home the milkshakes in (they were getting one for everyone).  Of course, they don't.  I still don't know how they were trying to bring them back, but there was, apparently a milkshake explosion that required Mr. B. to shower when he got home.....   

We ended up just throwing frozen chicken patties and French fries in the oven for dinner last night, lol!

Thankfully, we are getting caught up after the great water heater demise 2 weeks ago.  Good thing, too, because I was running out of freezer goodies to stretch the groceries.

This week's menu:

Monday:  Trying a new recipe, from Big Daddy's House on Food Network: Blackened Salmon with Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce.  The kids don't really eat fish, so it wasn't bad to buy just enough for Mr. B. and I.   I also got asparagus to go with it, and I'll make a nice salad.  The kids don't really love fish, so I'm baking up a family pack of chicken, and they'll each have a piece of that.  The rest I'll use through the week in other recipes.

Tuesday:  Lemony Pasta with grilled chicken.  This is an easy throw together recipe:  cooked pasta, leftover baked chicken cut into slices and grilled, with garlic, lemon juice and some parmesan.  Easy and super tasty.

Wednesday:  Spaghetti and meatballs.  I tried out a recipe a while back, but it was overly spicy.  I'm redoing it Wednesday, and throwing in the changes I made notes on last time.

Thursday:  Chicken salad (with the last of the leftover chicken from Monday)

This week will be a busy one.  I have an IEP meeting on Tuesday for my son.  We have  A LOT of things to discuss, so no telling how long that will take.  Wednesday, we go to talk to the audiologist about Mr. J's hearing aids.  Friday, though, I'll get to have my lunch with one of my internet friends.  We were going to do it last week, but it was postponed to this week.  Plus it is the Spring Equinox, so it I'll be doing something for that!  

Mafia cohorts?

Oh, and if anyone would like to join me in my new, insane addiction, Facebook Mafia Wars, let me know.  I'm tired of getting beat up and robbed, lol!

They searched for what?!

I, like many other bloggers, have that little invisible widget on my blog that lets me know how many people have visited my blog, how many were new, how many repeats.  It tells me where they came from (I've had a visitor from every state in the US!  And a ton of other countries.  I love seeing that!), how long they stayed, what website they came to the blog from...that sort of thing.

One really fun thing to look at in the results is what "key words" people used in a search engine that got my blog as a result.  In other words,  Jane Doe came to my blog because she googled "soccer mom" and got one of my blog posts as a result.

Here is a list of some of the terms that people searched for that brought them to this blog:

What goes well with fennel?

Make a Wiccan Dreamcatcher

Drying basil

Pagan Parenting

What can I make with taco meat

Well, heck!  I've covered all of those topics at some point!  That's pretty cool that people come looking to my blog for answers!

However, here are some of the other side....

Clean moldy basil (Ewww.  No.  Just throw that crap away!!)

World of Warcraft coloring pages (Okay, that's kinda close.  Ish.)

Girl Taco (What?!  They ended up looking at my taco meat page, but...I bet they got all kinds of weird results, lol!!)

The terms that brought the most people to the blog?

No knead rolls

Kitchen witchery

Pedro's special recipe

Really?  Pedro's?  How did people even know to search for this, lol? Apparently there is another recipe out there that uses rice and cheese.  Hope those who found mine (which prominently features the gourmet ingredient: doritos) were pleased.

HOW TO: Fennel

Oh, fennel! This is a veggie that I really just recently started using, and I loved it from day one! It's a weird looking little bugger, and it smells like licorice (or anise, if you want to sound fancy).

Fennel is also one of those seriously

versatile plants. You can eat it raw, roasted, fried baked, braised, grilled or sauted and added to a variety of dishes.

There are two kinds of fennel that are edible. The first is the one used as an herb. The leaves, stalks and seeds are used to

flavor foods, but not used to eat alone. The second type is what you will find in your grocer's produce section, usually called "Florence" fennel.

So what exactly is that weird looking vegetable? People refer to fennel as a "fennel bulb", but it isn't a bulb; it's actually the stem of the plant. It grows well in sandy soil and can actually sometimes be found growing wild on sea sides and river banks. It is a very leafy plant that sprouts yellow flowers. It has a history as a medicinal plant and is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Fennel thrives in cooler weather, so it's at it's peak in the spring and fall, though you can usually get it year round. Some people mistakenly call fennel "sweet anise" and it's often sold like that in the grocery store. Anise and fennel are two completely different plants - anise is grown almost exclusively for it's seeds and really isn't used in cooking. If you see "anise" in the grocery, it's fennel. If you see "anise" in a recipe, unless it's calling for "anise seeds" or "star anise", it's really asking for fennel.

So what do you do with it? Well, fennel is a natural with fish and seafood. You would never guess, with it's licorice scent that it would be a good pairing, but cooked, fennel has such a mild flavor that it's the perfect accent to seafood. It also goes well with pork, beef, lamb and most poultry. On the veggie side of things, fennel goes well with onions, scallions, leeks, artichokes, potatoes and tomatoes. When cooking with fennel, you'll want to reach for seasonings with a Mediterranean (where fennel comes from) flair: a good balsamic vinegar, lemon, anchovies, olive oil, olives and/or saffron. Another great ingredient to use with fennel is Pernod, an anise flavored liqueur.

One of the intimidating things about fennel (at least it was for me the first time I used it!), is knowing what parts to actually use, and how to cut it. The part you'll usually be using in recipes is the white, bulb-like part of the plant. The leafy greens and stems, however, you can save and use in stocks, or soups (especially seafood based).

For me, it's easier to watch someone do something instead of reading about it, so here is a little video I found of a cook cutting up fennel. Not completely sure what he's actually cooking, but this is the video I watched the first time I used fennel, and it's a pretty good explanation of how to chop it up:

Cutting Fennel for Assault -- powered by eHow.com

Now, if you are all set to try this plant out (and if you haven't already, do so! You'll love it!), I tried a recipe a while back  from the Barefoot Contessa show, called Lobster Pot Pie.  The sauce for the pot pie was flavored with fennel, and just delicious!  

Of course, I had to add my 2 cents about what I liked/didn't like about the recipe and how I would change it (because I'm pesky that way), but the recipe is completely yum, and a great way to try out fennel for the first time.

Wonderful Off Site Contest: Apron!

My friend Vixen who has the wonderful Etsy shop, Apron Frenzy, has one of her great aprons up for a give away at The Apron Goddess blog!  I've never checked out the TAG blog before, but man, is it cool!  Lots of aprons to check out, they have give aways, and all kinds of neat things.

To win Vixen's apron, go to her Etsy shop, find the apron you love, and then leave a message on the TAG blog.  

Cuz what's a kitchen witch without a great apron?!

How to buy, store and cook mussels

Couldn't tell it by today, but summer really is coming. And with the summer comes fresh veggies from the garden and the farmer's market and seafood! Yum!

I thought I'd share some info here and there on both. A little "How To" section.


We'll start out with mussels: how to pick them and how to store them until you use them.

For picking mussels, you best tools are your eyes and nose. The mussels should be tightly closed or just barely open. If they are wide open, they are dead or close to it. Pass those by. Ask to handle a couple and take a sniff. If they smell like the
sea they are nice and fresh. If they smell fishy, they're past their prime. Pass those by as well.

To store those nice fresh mussels, take them home and get them out of the bag they are packed in. Any live shellfish will suffocate in plastic. Just simply place them in a bowl and cover them with a damp towel then pop the bowl in the fridge. If they are fresh when you pick them, they will last for 2 days stored this way.

Of course you'll want to cook them as soon as possible to make sure you eat them at their peek.

To get mussels ready for cooking, place them in a colander and rinse them under cold water. You'll want to give them a good scrub with a brush to get all the sand and grit off. You might notice a weird wiry bit hanging out of or off the shell. This is the "beard". Remove that bit with a pair of scissors. If any of the mussels have opened wide, discard those.

When they are cooked, the mussels will open wide. If any are still closed when the dish is done, throw those out.

Never cooked with mussels? Here is a quick, easy dish that can be used as an appetizer for up to 8 or a main dish for 4 (it's pretty easily doubled or halved).

Mussels with Cilantro Cream Sauce

4 lbs. mussels, cleaned and debearded
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small poblano pepper, diced (can substitute jalepeno for more spice)
3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
Zest and juice from 1 lime (can substitute with lemon)
1/2 cup white wine (can substitute with water, veggie or chicken stock)
1/2 cup heavy cream (can use whole milk in a pinch)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (no substitutes here :O)
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add poblano pepper and saute, stirring occasionally until it's soft (about 2 minutes or so). Add the garlic and zest and cook until you can smell the garlic (about 30 seconds or so). Pour the wine in and turn the heat up to high. As soon as it comes to a boil, add the mussels, cover and let steam for 5 minutes or so. You might want to give the pan a shake now and again.

Turn the heat off and use a slotted spoon to remove the mussels to a large bowl. Cover it with foil or a lid to keep them warm (discard any still closed mussels now).

Turn the heat back on to medium/medium high and add the cream to the pan juices. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce reduce for about 3 minutes.

Turn off the heat and quickly add about 1 Tbsp of lime juice, a pinch of salt and the cilantro. Try the sauce and adjust to taste, adding more salt or lime juice if needed. To add a bit more spice, you can throw in a dab of your favorite hot sauce here as well.

Place mussels in bowls (number depending on if you are serving as appetizer or main course) and ladle sauce over the top. Serve immediately. If serving as a main dish, serve plain or over a small serving of fettucine noodles with a slice of crusty Italian bread.

This dish also works well with littleneck clams, or a mixture of seafoods! Add the clams first, let steam for 3 minutes, add the mussels and let steam 3 more minutes (or until they are all opened up). Add large raw shrimp (deveined and peeled) in when the sauce is reducing. Add calamari rings after the heat is turned off, when you add the cilantro. Any combination is delicious!

It's Monday. Ugh.....

Ohhhh, where to start.  First off,  Miss M.'s 4th Grade Follies show went off on Friday without a hitch.  Her and her friends sang the theme song to Total Drama Island and it was freaking adorable!  Sitting through the other shows was interesting.  Some were really cute, some were surprisingly talented (one 4th grade girl had composed her own piano solo and it was really good!).  A couple of the acts were girls doing dance routines from their dance classes...and while they were good....WOW, a couple of them were NOT age appropriate!  Or maybe I'm a bit prudish?  Nawww.  Then came Miss M.'s Performing Arts Club rendition of "Ease On Down the Road" and the big finale, "Fame".  Amazing how smoothly it all went, considering the kids mostly created their own acts and the Performing Arts Club practiced only one hour a week for a few months. The teachers and the kids should all be wildly proud!

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Another week of playing "catch up" after the Great Water Heater Break Down.  It never fails that you get behind one week, it takes 3 or 4 weeks to catch back up, right?  So another week of super shopping, lol:

Sunday: Quesadillas, one of the ultimate cheap foods.  A bag of tortillas, shredded cheese and black beans.

Monday: Chabrocanoodle: Egg noodles, chunks of grilled chicken breast, broccoli florets, parmesan, garlic and olive oil.  Got a huge family pack of chicken on sale, so it will stretch through a few meals.

Tuesday: Tuna salad on homemade bread, fruit.

Wednesday: "Unstuffed" Peppers.  Basically stuffed peppers, but instead of stuffing the peppers,  I mix the ground beef, rice, spices and tomato juice, spread it in a pan and lay slices of bell pepper on top.  Another super cheap meal when we use the frozen sliced peppers left from last years garden.

Thursday: Leftover day (and payday, so we'll start again then.)

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On Friday, one of my internet friends is driving down to meet me for coffee!  How exciting is that!  It's someone who I have so much in common with and I can't wait to meet her!

Anyone have any exciting plans for this week?

Blog Give Away!

My friend Marsha, over at Living in Fairyland, is having a give away!

Marsha was one of the donors in last October's 31 Days of Halloween here on this blog.  She's is creative, talented, and just a wonderful person!

Here are the rules for the give away:  

Go to her Etsy shop, browse around and see what you like.  Come back to her post and tell her what your favorite item is.  For a bonus entry, you can peruse her blog and find this bit of info: how many kids does Marsha have?  Email that number to her at  iluvlucy8@bellsouth.net, and you'll get an extra entry!

What's the prize?  First up is the beautiful Geisha Pendant from her shop:

In addition you get a choice of Jasmine Sunshine or Clean Caramel Pecan soap and a greeting card from her shop.

Awesome prizes!   And I can guarantee that her products are amazing!  I own one of her Green Man pendants, and it is one of my favorite pieces of jewelry!  So be sure to check this one out!

TGIF ramblings....

So I went to the dress rehearsals for the 4th grade show yesterday.  I was assigned the really fun job of taking pictures of each act as they came off the stage.  I didn't get to see many of the acts as I was out in the hall (can't wait to see them all tonight!), but it was amazing how talented some of the kids are.  They all were having a TON of fun, which is the most important part!  I tried to get everyone to pose and not just do the mug shot photo, so I hope they all turned out great.

As an Army brat in my younger days, we moved several times.  Though by the time I was 11 or so, we stayed in the same place and I bonded with some great people in middle school and high school, it's not quite the same thing as the childhood my kids are having (not saying at all that the way I was raised wasn't good, or fun - just different :O)

I know I had a blast yesterday seeing kids that my daughter went to pre-school with on stage, half grown.  It's amazing.  I love the idea that she will have the chance to be best friends in high school with  the kids that she went to preschool or kindergarten with.

On another note, next weekend I am going with Mrs. Coffee and The Lunch Lady (and all our families) to their  Catholic church's Crosses and Sauces spaghetti dinner.  Last night after rehearsals (and a glass of wine),  we decided that we'd call it "Hexes and Hotdogs" for my sake.

Man, I love my friends!

Have a great weekend, people!

Sample Chapter of Wicca Primer Book

Thanks to everyone who recommended A Witch's Primer: Grade One by Lorin Manderly. Though it looks a little young for my 10 year old, I think I might get it anyway, just as a reference for learning.

And to anyone who is interested in check it out more closely, there is a sample chapter here:
http://awitchsprimer.com/index.html that deals with the sabbats.

Thanks again!

New Beginnings?

I've tried, over the years, to keep from influencing my children too much on their religious choices. My oldest has no real interest in religion of any kind. At almost 17, he's just a little too cynical for it all (and he's been that way for years, lol!). My middle guy...well, I think religion is just a little too abstract for him to "get". My daughter has shown some interest in religion the last couple of years. She's one of those kids who is really interested in everything - wants to know what it's all about.

Well, this morning she asked me if Wiccan's had a bible (her Catholic friends were talking about Lent and everything that goes along with it recently). I explained to her that no, there is no central book that tells us what we have to do and be - and that was part of what I liked about this religion, that we can choose our own path, and as long as we are doing good things, and not hurting ourselves, the Earth or others, our choices are fine. Of course I also made sure she understood that everyone's religious choices are the right ones for them, and that I believe that all Gods are really one, and that we all just worship him in our own ways.

Long story short, she has (for now, she's 10, lol!) decided that she wants to be a Wiccan. So I pulled out my copy of Circle Round and gave it to her. I think there could be no better way to introduce her at this age to studying the basics of the religion. She knows a lot already, just by living with me as I go about my business, and has participated in some things (and knows what Goddess to pray to for a school snow day!), but we've never set down a path for actually actively learning. Not that I am going to go all crazy gung-ho trying to teach her everything at once. I think just learning a bit more about the seasons, the sabbats and why/how we celebrate them will be a good start.

I have to say, I am a little excited that she's interested in this path. As well I know that she could change her mind anywhere down the line and go a different way, and I'll be fine with that. But the idea of being able to pass down something so important to me, something that is just at the core of my being...that my BOS might actually be able to pass through the family, be a family tradition....well, I have to admit, it's a really amazing feeling.

Oh, and I almost forgot: Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Morning update....

Yep, kids got the day off! We are about to get a hot game of Cooking Momma going! It hasn't stopped snowing yet, and it doesn't look like the plows have reached our neighborhood yet. Good day to stay in and be lazy!

Oh, and for those who were impressed by my grocery bill, that is TOTALLY just a "we're poor/desperation/$1300 water heater" grocery shopping day! It's usually much more. I am pretty good at slimming it down for emergencies, though. Keeping the freezer stocked with with those "cook once, eat twice" kind of meals helps A LOT!

Have a great day!

It's 10:51 and it's snowing like crazy. They are saying anywhere from 6-15 inches (way to narrow it down!). The kids are dying for a snow day to make it a 4 day weekend. I wouldn't complain, either. I promised to make them pancakes if there is no school.

We pulled all the carpeting up from the downstairs over the weekend. Ugh. At least it's not a soggy, smelly mess anymore. The downside? The 1970's yellow school lunch room tile that was underneath! Holy Moses! Time to invest in some nice new bamboo flooring.....as soon as those lottery numbers come in! Ha!

After the expense of the new water heater, I shopped from the freezer for this weeks meal menu.

Today was a frozen meatloaf, baked potato wedges, and rye bread

Monday will be a huge batch of tuna salad on baguettes (that 5 minute bread book will be really handy this week!)

Tuesday will be Chabrocanoodle - our family fave of cubed chicken breast, broccoli, egg noodles, garlic, olive oil and parmesan. Yummmm.

Wednesday is a frozen lasagna (thank heavens for cooking big and freezing half!)

Thursday is back to pay day, so we'll start over then. Between making all my own bread, eating meals that I had frozen previously, and shopping out of what we had canned and/or frozen from our garden over the summer, we slashed our grocery bill this week to a measly $91. Considering that's 3 meals for 5 people, paper products, food and what-nots for 5 animals, and cleaning stuff....not bad. I have enough staples to make a pan of brownies for the week, got a bag of apples, a bag of oranges and stuff for fresh salads through the week. Let me just say that sales and coupons ROCK!

Oh! I forgot to mention that my daughter is going to be doing the "Fourth Grade Follies" this week! All the kids from her grade can sign up to do an act, plus her performing arts club is doing a song from The Wiz. She'll be with her friends doing the theme song from Total Drama Island, and then do Ease on Down the Road. The kids in the club had to put together a costume to go with the song. We totally did Dorothy. I actually bought her a costume, because I would have sucked at trying to put something together otherwise. I can do a mean zombie, but not so good on the Tin Man, lol. She would have looked more like a baked potato, I'm sure. I get to be the official photographer during dress rehearsals on Wednesday. I can't wait to see them all do their stuff! The end of the show will be all the kids doing "Fame". I think the shows eventually end up on the districts cable access channel, so I will try to record it for family to see later. She's going to be awesome!

On that note, I'm off to bed. It's too freaking late for me to still be up (I can't believe I'm saying that!)

Mrs. B. Cooks...Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken

All I can say is thank goodness for the Food Network, lol!  I've really expanded my repertoire of recipes, ingredients and tools since I've become obsessed with started watching it.  This is another super simple recipe, and it can be made even simpler.  More on that after the recipe, though.

Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pound dried penne

2 chicken cutlets, cut into fingers

salt and pepper to taste

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh parsley

2 lemons, juiced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Cook pasta to package directions and drain well.  Meanwhile,  season chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat and add chicken.  Grill until golden and completely cooked.  Remove to plate and slice.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to a saute pan with 3 Tbsp of olive oil and saute until fragrant (just about 30 seconds; you don't want to brown it).  Add the cooked pasta and turn off heat.  Mix all together.

Remove pasta to large bowl.  Add chicken to the warm pasta and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle in chopped parsley.  Add the juice of 2 lemons and mix.  Before serving, top with Parmesan.

This is a really fresh tasting dish.  I have no changes what-so-ever to suggest, besides a couple of things that can make it a real throw together meal.  I almost always make this with leftover cooked chicken.  Either with baked chicken that I throw on the grill pan to warm up, or if I'm planning grilled chicken, I just cook a couple extra to put up for this recipe later in the week.  In that case, I just slice it and throw it in with the garlic when I saute it, just to warm it up a bit.

Also, if you don't happen to have fresh parsley sitting around go get a pot for your window sill! you really can use a sprinkle of dried.  No one's going to yell at you for it.

Mrs. B. Cooks...Blackened Salmon with Blue Cheese Sauce

This recipe is from Aaron McCargo Jr. aka Big Daddy on the Food Network.  I have never gone wrong with one of his recipes!  You do, however want to watch the amount of salt and hot ingredients with him.  More on that after the recipe.  This is one of those dishes that looks and tastes like you must be a gourmet - but is really super easy to cook!

Blackened Salmon with Blue Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp cracked black pepper

2 Tbsp paprika

2 Tbsp salt

1 1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp grapeseed oil, for frying

4 (6 oz.) portions skinless and boneless salmon fillets

Blue Cheese Sauce:

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup blue cheese crumbles

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a small bowl, combine the Italian seasoning, black pepper, paprika, slat and cayenne.  Season each piece of fish with the rub.  

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter and oil.  Once the butter has melted, add the fish and cook about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer the

 whole pan to the oven and cook for another 4-6 minutes.

For the sauce: Place the white wine in a medium saucepan and reduce by half.  Add the heavy cream and allow to reduce.  Add the blue cheese and whisk until smooth.  Serve on top of the salmon.

First of all, unless you want to set your mouth on FIRE, reduce the cayenne.  Mr. B. really loves spicy food, but I reduced this to 1/2 Tbsp, and it was plenty spicy enough.  And as with the cayenne, the chef who wrote this tends to, in my humble, untrained opinion, have a heavy hand with the salt.  The blue cheese sauce adds a bit of salty flavor (I used Stilton), and I think next time I make this, I will reduce the salt in the rub to 1 Tbsp.

And just to note, fresh salmon is not cheap.    I made this just for Mr. B. and I (the kids won't touch fish yet), so 2 fillets were enough.  I went ahead and made the entire batch of rub, and just put the leftover in an empty spice bottle I had handy.  It will definitely get used!  

Luckily, salmon is one of the few fish that you can buy frozen and it doesn't make much difference in the flavor or texture.  Plus, the frozen tends to be a bit cheaper on average.

Browning this on the stove, then finishing it off in the oven gets the salmon perfectly cooked.  It had a gorgeous color, very flavorful, and, of course, it's really healthy!  Serve this over the Parmesan Roasted Asparagus, and you have a really easy, quick and healthy dinner!

Oh, and if you don't have Italian seasoning at hand, you can substitue the 1 Tbsp of it for:

1/2 teaspoon EACH dried oregano leaves, dried marjoram leaves and dried basil leaves plus 1/4 teaspoon  dried sage.

Mrs. B. Cooks....Roasted Asparagus

This is such an easy recipe, but so tasty!  And, of course, asparagus makes any meal look a little fancy!  This one is by Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa.  Mr. B. has taken to calling me "The Barefoot Kristina", with all my new recipes, lol!

Parmesan Roasted Asparagus by Ina Garten

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds of fresh asparagus (roughly 30 stalks or so)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp of salt 

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

2 lemons, cut in wedges

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  If the stalks of asparagus are thick, peel the bottom 1/2 inch of each.  Lay them in a single layer on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 15-20 minutes, until tender.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and return to the oven for another minute.  Serve w

ith lemon wedges.

 The only issue I had with the recipe was that after 15 minutes, my asparagus was just hovering at the point of almost over cooked.  I think it may have to do with the fact that the asparagus was really thin-stalked.  So if you buy it thin, you may want to check it at 10 minutes.

This dish goes really well with Blackened Salmon.