Daily: October 2005 Archives

I woke up in a fair mood this morning. Over the following hour my mood shifted and not for the better. I am in a hateful grouchy mood. Looking at me gets you a death ray stare. Speaking to me pegs my you-pissed-me-off meter. How easy it would be to unlatch my jaw and swallow people whole when they get near me. I am laying the blame on pregnancy hormones. I fear you think I am a Susie Homemaker and everything is to the standards of June Clever at my house. It is so not the case. My house gets messy. My hardwood floors show dust. I can see dust bunnies under the big TV armoire. Laudry piles up. I have a basket waiting to be folded. If I spend a day cooking alot nothing else will get done. And you know what? I doesn't bother me at all. Things out of order and out of place would send my mother and grandmother into a full fling tizzy. I mean they would need a valium if they didn't clean everything to perfection. Me? I am not so spastic. It will get done when I get to it. If not it will still be there in a day or three. I learned along time ago not to sweat the small stuff. Life is just to short to worry about everything. Does it nag me my house is not always spotless? Yes, it does, but I don't let it cause me stress. Which is why I am perfectly comfortable to show photos of my freezers and mudroom pantry. Several of you have requested these. Click on the thumbnails to see the larger image. I haven't had time or the energy to paint the inside closet and you will see the garish green and stained paint. When we first moved in this was a coat closet. I don't need the coat closet. I needed a place to store items that I keep on hand as extras. There isn't much I can't prepare with this pantry as my backup. Both freezers are full and ready for winter. We have two because when we lived at the townhouse there was only room for the small freezer. When we bought this house I wanted a giant freezer but I had trouble getting rid of the small freezer -no one wanted it. The cost of the giant freezer was $800. OUCH! I got the medium size freezer for $350 and the two of them have as large a capacity as the giant freezer, maybe larger. Things in the freezers include, fresh summer corn on the cob and creamed corn, fruits, lots of chicken stock, all sorts of meats, (including lamb, pork, beef, chicken, fish and shrimp), soups and stew I have made and put up, tomatoe sauces and whole tomatoes, any number of assorted vegetables, breads and muffins I keep to send with Steven to work daily for breakfast, cookie dough, cheeses, sandwich meats, ready to go meals, timtams :), ice cream, ready to heat and serve taco/fajita meats, premade BBQ, roasts and meat pies, -you name it, it is most likely in there. Inside my refrigerator where I have spent the week cooking, it is nearly empty save for fresh veggies and fruits, milk and other dairy products, luncheon items, butter, apple sauce, whipped cream for the kids hot chocolate, jasmine tea, eggs, made a couple leftovers and all of the condiments we love. Gracie loves egg nog. she always has. As soon as itbegins to appear in the grocery store I buy it for her. She looks forward to this time and year and is greatly disappointed when it leaves. I do keep an emergency can of bordens egg nog in the pantry for those emergency attacks that might occur in March. I told you before we are condiment people. all of us seem to have out favorites when it comes to condiments. Steven is a tobasco and hot pepper sauce guy. The kids love all varieties of jellies. I cook with alot of different things and I love mustards, expecially for really nice super sandwiches. The Sara Lee deli mustards are very good and very affordable. There is always at least 1 (or 3) of some kind in the frig and a brand new spare in the pantry. The spice cabinet is more than just spice. I have a lot of different herbs and things here but I also keep opened boxes of brown sugar, cornstarch, canisters of dried beans and fruits as well as things for baking. I have started collecting my nuts and food coloring and those tiny one shot bottles of liquer for baking during the holidays. I find it is much more economically friendly to my budget to buy a few things along starting in summer than to have to buy everything in November and December for special dishes. There are local wines in the rack that we have tried and like. As well as wines my mother likes that I keep on hand in preparation for her visits. She is able to come up only once or twice a year and I like her to have things she likes and to be very comfortable while with us. I strive very hard to be a prepared and gracious hostess, especially to my family. There are wines that I like and can't drink right now. The Australian marriage wines in red are yummy. I have a center island that I keep all of my day to day items in. open flour and sugar in canisters which when finished I use the flour and sugar in the pantry and buy fresh flour and sugar to replace it. I rotate stock so everything is fresh. Can goods and all sorts of pasta and things are kept in there as well. You might find quick baking mixes, instant oatmeal and cereal in there too. I love home cooked meals but I am not against taking a short or two when needed in a pinch or I don't feel like doing it the long way. In another cabinet by the stove I keep canisters of more dried beans and peas, as well as mixed beans for soups, grits, coffees, dried creamers and milk, canisters of pasta and various tall things that won't fit in other cabinets. The best revenge is living well. It takes a little effort but you can live very well on a budget. Just remember to use it up and wear it out. Try not to waste anything. And don't be so picky about what you eat. You don't need the best cuts of meat all the time. Cheaper cuts of meat are where the flavors are and you can really stretch your dollar if you learn to use everything and waste as little as possible. I always save meat scraps and vegetable scraps to make stocks with. Left over vegetables are used for delicious soups and stews that do not taste like a mish mash of left overs. The kids probably have no idea that much of the things served are leftovers in another form. I am so thankful I am not married to someone who refuses leftovers or is extremely picky about eating. I have only cooked onr thing he has stated he would rather not have to eat again, stewed tomatoes and rice. I have no idea what the big deal is with it. :-/ I'll tell you something though, as hard as I try, we do waste things, but not intentionally. I make mistakes and forget things are in the frig drawers and end having to through it out. I also have been known to cook things no one likes or wants to eat again -and it gets thrown out. Being prepared and ahead of the game where meals are concerned just takes practice and time. It is work but it's not that hard. Cooking for 8 is just as easy as cooking for four. If you plan to cook on a large scale get help. Round up kids or your husband and as you prepare let them wash the dishes or load the dishwasher. < segway into a rant>

I have always had my girls in the kitchen from an early age. By the age of 15 Colby could put a meal on the table as well I can. She loves to cook, to experiement and loves a wide range of foods she may not have been willing to eat if she had not helped to prepare them. Whoever said it is not your children's responsibility to help out with kitchen work and other smaller siblings have their head up their butt and more time on their hands than they know what to do with. My girls are expected to help cook as needed, for example when we are running late or have a big dinner for guests or just when we want to bake cookies or make something special. They are in charge of cleaning the kitchen after supper. Everyone helps for the betterment of the entire family. They are also responsible for cleaning their rooms and bringing down all of their laundry. They are also responsisble for the condition of their bathroom. They live here, too. We all have a job to perform. Chores have never hurt a child. I find it makes a better adult. Girls cannot become great mothers and wives without being taught how. I do not want to see my girls struggle with trying to figure out how to cope with a home and family to raise when they get older. Things learned now will come naturally and they too will have children to teach how to care for themselves and a family. I was raised to be a damn good wife and mother. I think I live up to that expectation and want no less for my own daughters. When this baby boy is born I have the exact same high expectations for him as well. Boys can cook, help with laundry, take out garbage and help clean the yards. I am an equal opportunity mother.

< /end rant> What's in your pantry? *****Updated to add this photo for Judy***** This past weekend at the pumpkin patch Judy, I would have to guess he has gained at least 30 lbs. When we met he was skin and bones, yellow tinted skin, ulcers, literally almost a skeleton. His eye were dark and slightly sucken. He did not eat well at all and did not try to take care of himself. He was on the tail end of years of negelect in a bad marriage and even worse nasty divorce, followed by a realaitonship with a woman who lied to him and he found out was married. He had really given up and thought he would be lucky to live another year. Seriously, he will tell you he expected maybe to live one more year or be in the hospital in severe care for system failure. He intended to never have anything to do with women again. He was finished and would be a bachelor till the end. I guess someone had other plans for him. :-) I put him on vitamins, all sorts of heavy herbal treatments and whole natural foods to heal his body and those damn stomach ulcers. It has taken a year and a half to get him to this point now. He weighs 155lbs @ 6'2". He is still quite thin. His skin is tanned from working in the sun. His eyes are sparkling and full of mischief. He laughs often and loudly. His waist is now 32 inches. And OMG is he handsome!! Photos always come out badly because he doesn't like photos taken. :-/