FullOfStitches.com blog.A good laugh leaves me in stitches!

We’re back online again! Yay! The techy let me see what to do if it stops working again, so maybe I’ll be able to post semi-regularly!

It’s been persimmon month here. Two of our neighbors have Fuyu persimmon trees (the fruit are ripe & edible when still firm) and we have made several yummy treats.

What of the first ones we didn’t eat out of hand were made into jam. The next ones made it into a pie. And of the last batch, a couple made this yummy tart:

I’ve also put some pulp in the freezer for a more traditional persimmon pie for Christmas, at MissA’s request. I kept a couple back to either eat or make the tart again – it was fantastic!

Has it really been nearly 3 months since my last blog post? Sorry! I’ve had technical issues and didn’t take the time to fix it.

Most of February and March have been rainy and I’ve been getting a bit of cabin fever. So, yesterday I walked the children to the park: a nice two mile round trip.

Today, I tackled the weeds in the enclosed garden. Ben had made the right side (near the gate) into a potato patch last year, but I found the proximity to the hedge a continuing issue. Anything planted close to the fence gets major webbing, from the garden spiders, and the gardeners either trim the vegetables on accident or leave the hedges too bushy. So, I’m moving to a central garden with a walkway around it.

I don’t know what plant it is, but the weeds in there are basically a runner with tear drop leaves. It’s as bad as mint for its ability to take over (though my not weeding all the winter doesn’t help, we have a cool -not cold- wet winter here).

Yum. The children weren’t too keen on the radicchio, but best to get them started on bitter young, right?

‘Tis the season & all. MissA, especially, has been asking me for several weeks to make cookies. On Monday, I finally mixed the dough. A friend had mentioned Sunday that she’d like to make cookies with us -keeps the mess out of her house -so I called her up.

They had fun. I had the colored frosting already set aside in bags when they arrived. The children were put right to work rolling the dough and cutting cookies. As the trays were loaded, into the oven they went. Once the last tray was baked, we cleared and cleaned the table, and set it up for decorating. Each child had one cookie to decorate, and once that was done, it was exchanged for a new one until all the cookies were done.

Everyone had a nice time!

I woke about 2:30 this morning and haven’t been able to get back to sleep. I changed LG’s diaper and nursed him back to sleep, but just couldn’t get the zzz’s going for me.

The husband will need lunch. Visions of salad danced in my head. He’s generally a healthy eater, but I’m not sure how well just a big ole salad will satisfy him. After all, he likes his sandwiches. So, I grabbed the Laptop Lunchbox; the PB&J was made and boxed with some carrots & Craisins. There’s a cookie for good measure.. But, the salad sounds so good! I grabbed a slightly longer container, half filled it with the lettuce and moved his lunch over.

Lettuce (per cup): 4 Cal, 0.6 g carbs
Craisins (2 Tbsp): 49 Cal, 12.5g carbs
Pecans (2 Tbsp): 94 Cal, 1.9g carbs, 1.2g protein
Caesar Dressing (2 Tbsp): 160 Cal, 2g carbs, 1g prot
Tangerine: 50 Cal, 15g carbs, 1g
Carrot: 25 Cal, 5.8g carb, 0.6g prot
Sandwich:
Bread x2: 200 Cal, 40g carbs, 6g
Natural Peanut butter (1 Tbsp): 100Cal, 3.5g carbs, 3.5g prot
Preserves (1 Tbsp): 50 Cal, 13g carbs
And a cookie: 69 Calories, 8.9g carbs, 0.9g prot

To give a grand total of:
801 Calories, 98g carbohydrates, 13.6g protein
The sandwich alone carries 350 Cal, 56.5g carbs (!), and 9.5g prot. I recently read that high carb intake is a great part of what keeps fat on the body. I can eat a huge salad (2-3 cups of lettuce, a handful of nuts & cranberries, and a slosh of dressing) and still have less carbohydrates than that sandwich. And, it’d be fabulous with some roasted chicken on it.

So, here’s a start. I’m working on balancing the meals well. Maybe I’ll toss in some cheese, too!

What a lovely Thanksgiving!

Our families are out of town, and the closest set of grandparents were unable to have us over this year. We were hoping to host and have them over, but the drive will be too much this year (hoping she heals well). So, we invited friends who also have no local family.

Monday, I was up early and did most of the shopping.
Tuesday, Ben had the car.
Wednesday, I did a quick trip for the last few items and took the children to piano class. I figured that I could get to the mall, pick up some dishes, and be back in two hours. The drive was great, I parked really close, I found the dishes we liked (yes, I was SMSing pictures to Ben to be sure), then I got in line. I think I moved 10 feet in 30 minutes. And I waited till the last minute, and my phone died. Then, I set my boxes on the closest shelf and left. We were 10 minutes late from the traffic on the way back.. And then I was reminded we had scheduled 90 minutes, not two hours. So, I was 40 minutes late picking up the older two.

From lessons, we picked up Ben. Earlier, we had discussed going to pick up flatware he liked at a store nearer work, so we headed there. We didn’t find enough of the one he liked best (brushed steel, for the matte finish), but they had a similar one in regular stainless (polished look) that he liked. From there, we went to the mall. Again.

I got in line and pointed out where I’d left the plates. Ben brought them over and then took the children to eat while I waited in line. By the time they finished and were back, I was third in line!

I had been hoping to do the prep work on Wednesday, but all we got done at home was to brine the bird and wash the dishes.

Thursday was actually calm and fun. Ben was up before I was. He was a huge help with prep work, moving tables, chairs, children. He practically took over the kitchen.

We used the Alton Brown recipe (Food Network), starting the bird at 500F, and cooking at 350F, but we cooked it breast-down. After the bird was in, I started the rolls, prepped the stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, all those lovelies. We made our candied yams with orange slices. So good. So, so good. All but the stuffing were dairy-free, one of our friends is allergic to milk. The potatoes were of the Gold variety, boiled in water, then mixed with roasted garlic, chicken stock, olive oil and some salt. I really liked them.

The children enjoyed a big meal and lots of gaming time. Mr and Mrs S- taught us a card game: Shanghai. They brought dessert and Mr C- brought the drinks.

All in all, a day of blessings to end another year to thank our Good Lord for so much that we don’t deserve.

Cooking up some lunch for the children and myself. I put on some rice and saw I had some chicken thighs that needed cooking. I drafted MissA to wash & peel the rest of the sweet potatoes. While she finished, I gathered a few leaves of sage & Rosemary & chopped them up. Those & a sprinkling of chopped onion went into the frying pan with some butter.

Apparently, the photos aren’t working still!!!

I think the picture speaks for itself. Pea Puree Lasagnette from Poor Girl Gourmet is a winner. We made the noodles from scratch, so it did take that extra 1/2 hour (~15 to mix & knead, then the time to roll the noodles out). Oh, & I did add an extra layer of noodles. Beyond that, the recipe itself went together quickly.

The bacon & butter won over my picky 3 year old and she ate her whole piece. TJ gave it rave reviews & asked for more tomorrow. The older girls ate theirs without fuss. LX was the only one to abstain & that’s because he’s not to the age to appreciate gooey fillings yet (he’s a finger food man). Definitely a recipe to make again!

Remember that fantastic bounty my little garden gave me? I plucked some red chard (front, right) and pan fried it with a little onion, then tossed it with pasta, Parmesan & a little EVOO. Yum!
On the side are the neighbor’s lemon cucumbers. They were soaked in oil & vinegar, then egged & breaded, & pan-fried. I’ve never been a fan of cucumber, but these I enjoyed. TJ likes the seeds!

Took a peek in the garden.. It’s a mess!

See that lovely chard? And the Romaine lettuce is getting too big!

A lovely mess that needs weeding!

The basil & parsley are huge. I’ve got to get the basil processed before I lose it to the winter chill.. Of course, it was mid to high 90s this weekend, so I’ve got a couple days.

See this lovely? I’d forgotten I planted it. When it came up I was a little lost. I thought at first it was summer squash, which didn’t make as much sense with the planting time. Then I saw these lovelies:

That jarred the old memory a bit: butternut squash.

Now, I’ve got to decide what goes in the patch where the potatoes were.