I am new at this. I am too old to be new at this. Old dogs, new tricks, all that :-) Yet, here I am. At this age, blogging. At this time in my life, blogging. More about that later ... I believe I'll be saying that a lot. Why that name -hairygreenbeans - for this blog? More about that later. Single mom of three kids. More about that later. All three now adults, so empty nesting has been taken to a new level. More about that later. Changes, big and small in my life. More about that ... you get the idea. The impetus of this particular blog is the Recipe Book from The Well of Mercy. I went to The Well recently, in order to rest and discern and rest some more. While there, I decided to take better care of myself. OK - I decided to try to take better care of myself. Physically - that means a better diet and increased exercise. Simple, huh? Ask any physician, counselor, well meaning friend, or ill willed enemy, and you'll hear that advice or criticsim depending on how it's dealt. Eat less, exercise more. Eat healthier food, get off the couch. So, I bought one of the recipe books published as a fundraiser for The Well. I had intended to go to the book's issue party, but I was ... on the couch. I brought the book home. I took it out of the suitcase. I sat it on the kitchen counter. I moved it to the table beside the couch. After two weeks, I succumbed to its mocking. I picked it up. I read the blessings, the introductions, and the reflections. And I decided to be grateful, to respond, and ... to cook. It's not that I haven't cooked - it's not that I don't cook - it's that ... more about that later. So I thought I'd pick the first thing out of each section, cook those things, and that would be my meal to eat for the week, or to share, or who knows what this might lead to?!
First section - Soups & Stews. Are you kidding me? We're having a series of 100+ degree days. Soups are to warm you from the inside - stews are for heartiness and strength. I do not need to be warmed from the inside, and I'll get my strength from another section, thank you very much. Revision to the plan. I can't leave the Soups & Stews section without a comment, though. I don't think it's an accident that the staff member introduced in this section is The Well's spiritual director. Warm, hearty, strong - that's Peg.
So on to the Second section - Salads, the Third - Side Dishes, and the Fourth - Main Dishes. I'll admit I skipped the Fifth section - Desserts - more about that later. But I delved into the Sixth section - Other Goodies - to make the Almonnaise that is part of the Artichoke Rice Salad recipe. Also on the menu, Baked Pineapple, and Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Tomatoes. Sounds good, right? We'll see! First, I need to survive the grocery store.
A list is an important tool for survival. For surviving trips to grocery stores and other life events. A list is also important to the realization that my pantry is even more empty than I realized. Brown rice - did you know that three cups empties almost an entire small box? Marinated artichokes - love them - don't stock them. Yellow curry - ?. Green onions - how can the grocer be out of these? "They just didn't come in on the truck this week. I don't know why." Thank you, sir. I'll substitute my vidalia. Green olives. Aforementioned almonnaise - 'a healthy alternative to mayonnaise' - which needs to be blended except that I don't have a blender so I mixed it and I'm not sure how that's going to affect the outcome. Pineapple, sugar, flour, cheddar cheese, butter - how could I be out of every one of those things I use so often? I did have the Ritz crackers - but only because I'd bought them on a whim. More about that later. Chicken - which I got to pound, and I found pounding the hell out of that chicken to be very good exercise. Grape tomatoes - I hope these are the same as Cherry tomatoes - and think this is okay ... grapes, cherries, tomatoes ... all fruit which still comes as quite a shock to me. Salt, pepper, olive oil - how could I be out of these, also. Oh yeah - left my supply at one of those adult kids' houses when I went to cook for her. More about that later. Honey and balsamic vinagrette salad spritzer. Honey - reminds me of my childhood. My childhood reminds me that I will not pay that much money for something called spritzer. So I hope that pomegranate vinagrette is an okay substitution.
Discernment. Blessings. Reflections. Plan Bs. Survival. Memories. For now, the salad is in the refridgerator. The casserole has come out of the oven. And the chicken is going in. Sounds good, right? We'll see! For now, thanks for listening. More . . later.
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