Family Food

A couple of things I've wanted to write about and they tie together nicely.

Today we signed up for a farm share from a local Amish Farmer.
200 lbs of veggies from this list of what he's growing...
Lettuce, Radishes, Beets, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Broccoli, Squash, Carrots, Tomatoes, Cukes, Beans, Peppers, Sweet corn, Canning tomatoes, cabbage, pickles, cauliflower and garlic.
Plus strawberries and 15 lbs of chicken.

We stopped by today to pay $250.00 for the season. Mr. Yoder was fairly young, with 4 kids from infant to five years old. They showed Claire the baby chicks that will be food or egg producers in a few weeks. And the greenhouse is full of sets, we may get some tomato or pepper plants for the garden once the frost threat is past. He'll write me when the first produce is ready, maybe some asparagus, and then we'll go by weekly to pick up our share. Find a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) near you!

The next trick is actually figuring out how to cook all of it. Because I can't cook, or shop, or plan menus.

The problem is that I'm married to a man who is never home for dinner. I spent years working odd shifts where either I wasn't home for dinner, or dinner was really breakfast. And in the last years before the kids were needing to be cooked for, I had a free lunch at work so I lived on sandwiches at home. But I've had at least four years now where I should have been preparing full meals for me and Nathan, and there's no excuse for the amount of times the meal has been McDonalds, Mac & cheese or a PB&J.

A few weeks ago, I found Menus for Moms, and I've really loving it. I NEED someone to spell out exactly what should be served each day and what groceries I need, and this does it. The kids aren't eating everything on their plate, but just exposing them to the variety is a big deal, and will help in the long run. And a few things that I never would have thought they'd like have been big hits. (Couscous, enchiladas, pesto chicken) Some of the items are on the wrong side of the healthy/fattening scale, but there's always veg and fruit on the side. And a lot of the planning includes bulk cooking and freezing, so that the meal can be pulled together quickly when I get home from work.

I'm hoping that a few months of this will give the skill and confidence to do more on my own. And also help build up the pantry and freezer so when I don't want to go shopping, I'll be able to find something to make instead of calling Dominos.

Easter 2009

Easter usually pretty low key, but now that Claire is getting older we can get into it some more. They had fun coloring eggs yesterday, although three of the eggs landed on the floor and got cracked. Unfortunately, I wiped the card while uploading photos and deleted all but this one shot of Claire.


I got a little stressed as the evening wore on. I wanted to send the kids on a scavenger hunt for their baskets, and tape it so Dan could see it. But I couldn't bear to have the house looking like a disaster area for all to see, so I had to struggle to get everything tidy after they went to bed, even though my arthritis is not being kind to me this week. And then I still had to make the clues. Knowing that they were probably going to wake me up at 6:30 too. (Dan worked 10-9 yesterday, and was up at 2:00 am for brunch today!)

Claire's was easy. I planted a few eggs around the house and took pictures of them. Then I printed the photos and put them in other eggs to lead her from one to another For Nathan, I wanted him to be able to read his clues. He's getting much better at reading books at night, so I wanted to reinforce the fun of reading. Each of his clues also went in an egg. They were.....

Follow my clues
And you’ll see
The Easter Basket
Hidden by me

Where’s the first clue
Where is the place
Go get something
To wash your face

Clue number 2
Is so easy
Go get your favorite
Game for Wii

Find number 3
Don’t be a fool
Get your backpack
And go to school

The fourth clue
Is the best
You’ll find your basket
Under mommy’s desk!!

Here's the video of the search. Nathan's goes on for awhile as he tries to sound out words. And Claire's gets pretty dark, should have turned on more lights. ON my dark monitor it goes completely black, let me know if that's true for everyone else too. Oh well.