Patty Pan Squash

A vegetable that my mom introduced to me a year ago was Patty Pan Squash.  Since then, I've noticed that not many (younger) people have heard of them.  Probably because they are pretty expensive.

Patty pan squash is delicious! Tim and I are not big squash people, but we love these.  The best place to get them around here are at any market. We get ours at central market.  Though the picture below shows yellow ones, we always go for the green.  And the smaller, the better.

Health benefits?  Squash is not a well researched and studied vegetable as others have been.  But there are some things that they know for sure.  Squash is becoming more and more known as an antioxidant, surprisingly.  Helps maintain blood sugar, so a wonderful vegetable for diabetics.  Prostate benefits, contains Omega-3, contains anti-cancer properties.  So that's good.

But really, all I care about is finding a vegetable that I look forward to eating. And that Tim looks forward to eating and requests frequently during the summer months.

How to cook them?  Just boil them for a few minutes and then salt and pepper them.  Healthy goodness.

Cleaning Routine

Home Sweet Home ... right?  Not right, if your house is a mess!

Being home means I am becoming anal about keeping things tidy and clean.  As anal as I can be while pregnant, that is.

I've decided to pick a day to clean something on a certain floor of the house.  This is what I mean:

Monday - Second Floor - Kids Floor
     Tidy both rooms and bathroom
     Collect trash and empty diaper pails
     Put away clean laundry and collect dirty clothes
     Pick one extra thing to do (Ex. bathroom, vacuum, go through clothes etc.)

Tuesday - First Floor - Main Floor
     Tidy
     Pick one project (Organize a closet, clean windows, vacuum, etc.)

Wednesday - Basement - Where Small Group Meets
    Tidy
    Vacuum
    Bathrooms

Thursday, Friday, Saturday
     Anything that needs to be done
    Go back to first floor, work outside, etc.

Sunday - Relax

Then there is, of course, the everyday list of chores that need to be done such as ...
      Bathe the children
      Cook and clean up dinner
      Clean spills, messes, stains
      Etc, etc, etc, etc and ETC!!!

It never takes me more than an hour and a half to finish any of these things. So I am not over doing it. I've found by keeping a routine like this, keeps the house pretty tidy and clean all the time.  One day I hope to be at the point where things are clean, the house just needs a good tidying up.

To Market, To Market

I've started back on my Tuesday routine to head to Central Market.  The fruits and vegetables taste so much better and are much cheaper than the grocery store.  For example, last week it was $1.50 for 1 lemon at the store.  At market I got 4 lemons for $1.  Huge difference!

Disclaimer:  Not all items are cheaper at market.  It's good to have an idea of what the prices are at the store to compare.

Here are my favorite stands:

The Turkey Lady
My husband and I love this stand.  She makes wonderful turkey sausage.  My husbands favorite is the spinach and feta.  We also love her deli turkey.  Lots lots lots less fat than regular sausage and you can't tell the difference.

Ric's Bread
One day I hope to start making homemade bread, but for now, this stand is WONDERFUL.  We've been making grilled sandwiches with their bread and the turkey lady's deli turkey.  Amazing.  And to finish off the sandwich, a perfectly ripe juicy mango (also from market).  They also have a thin crust pizza crust, rolls, homemade english muffins and of course, different loaves of bread.  The bread does mold fast because there are no preservatives, but I prefer that.  Less chemicals the better!

Lemongrass
This is a fabulous Thai restaurant and as a treat for buying local, every tuesday I always buy us something for lunch.  Their curry's are delicious.  Can't wait for this tuesday!

Eat Fresh. Buy Local.

Big Grocery Trip is Better

My usual grocery shopping routine includes a few hours of creating a food menu for the week, a well thought out grocery list and clipping appropriate coupons.  When I am at the store, I usually check out the Redbox first, spend a couple bucks on a few dvds. Then I splurge on name brands and extra things I think would be fun to try or have in the house to throw away later down the road.


This month I changed things up and so far I am diggin' it.  I created a food menu for the entire month.  Created a long grocery list that included all non perishable and freezable items and things I would need for this week.  The I created a smaller list for each week that consisted only of perishable items like vegetables, fruit, dairy and bread.

How did this go for me? Super!  I hardly ever go to the store without my coupons, so I had those with me to save as much as I could.  But I found that by starting the month off with a super large grocery list changed my mind set to ... miser.  I didn't check out the Redbox, I bought cheaper brands and I did not stray from my list ... not one iota.

Overall I spent less money and time in the store.  That was the most surprising factor.  Instead of my usual hour and a half stroll through the store, I was in, out and leaving the parking lot in one hour!

Cross Stitching Fun

I finished my first cross stitch!  What an enjoyable project!

This was so much fun.  If you're looking for something creative to do with your hands that you can pick up while your husband's watching the game or you're looking for a quiet afternoon while the children nap, pick up your cross stitch and create a little!

Once I started this one, I could not put it down.  I just had to finish it and see what I could do.

I'm looking for hobbies like this that I can do with my hands and give away!  I'll have to keep some, of course, but I'd like to give most of them away.  We will most likely send our kids to a local private school where they hold an auction every year to raise money. I'm hoping that some of my finger skills will be good enough by them to donate some of my work.  I really have a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.  It's great!

For my next cross stitch I've been looking at the ones of famous paintings and a few by a European company called Vervaco.  But first, I need to figure out how to use my sewing machine!

This cross stitch took me about 2 weeks and I will be hanging it in the boys room.  Very proud of this one for being my first one since elementary school.