Sunday Musings

So, I wake up this morning and Nick (9) says, “I am not going to church, mom, I am feeling really sick.”

Marc has had a horrid cold, which he passed to Matthew (17) and Nick was sniffling and sounding stuffed up. I was not going to argue with him. I don’t like taking the kids out when they are sick, even a little. It exposes other people to what they have and, with their immune systems all ready compromised it adds to the likelihood that they will pick up something else.

My kids are a pretty healthy bunch, we get maybe a cold or stomach bug once or twice a year. I usually treat it with herbs and natural items, plenty of rest, and isolation from the germy public. Since I work at home, and we homeschool we don’t HAVE to be out and about the way others do..Just one more way that I am blessed.

Nick and Bella

Anyway, so Kyrie (5) decided since I was staying home she was going to stay home to “amuse Nicky because he is sick”. Matt had overslept and was still dealing with the residue of his cold..so he opted to just relax today, too.

I kissed Marc bye and headed into the sunroom to watch Maisie with the Bug (kyrie) and Matt. We heard the clamor of everyone leaving, Shiloh (who looks like a teen model, by the way) couldn’t find her BLACK flipflop to go with her pink gypsy skirt and black tank top..and was forced to wear blue flip flops. Ethan was trying to get her to go see UP with him today and was plying her with promises of cokes, popcorn, and even paying for her…It was the usual chaos getting out the door.

Then the house was totally quiet and Matt, Kyrie, and I were just kicked back, chatting and watching t.v. I was checking email and twitter and Facebook…you know, leisure time.

All of a sudden I said, “Hey, where’s Nick?”

We looked everywhere in the house for him, out in the barns, in his fort…No Nick.

You guessed it. HE decided at the last minute to go to church with the family.

So, having a few hours that are not accounted for I decided to work on a menu that I had been thinking about for awhile. It seems to me to be perfect for Father’s Day or 4th of July. I will be posting the recipes this week IF they work but here is what we are having for dinner today

• Spicy Apricot Glazed  Grilled Chicken
• Grilled corn on the cob with cumin butter
• Sliced locally grown tomatoes with a splash of balsamic
• Whole grain rolls with pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• Red Velvet and Cheesecake Cupcakes (am thinking about a nuance of citrus in these..not sure)

I briefly considered an apricot and white tea flavored muffin but since I am thinking of this for Father’s Day I want it to have a masculine feel. I plan on serving sweet tea, made from our custom blend (blackberry, rose, and lemon) and coffee with the dessert. I have some flavored Bourbon Pecan from my local roaster that I am eager to open up.

So, the other plan I have for today is to finally get back to writing menus rather than the Oh-My-Gosh-It’s-5:30-What’ll-I-Make? method. With food prices skyrocketing, and money tight it is important to keep a tight rein on the food budget. More so when you feed 8 people. And, when you are a food writer  you have an image to uphold, right? I mean, I can’t exactly blog hot dogs and boxed mac and cheese, can I? I might get into a legal battle with a certain Food Network star. (in case you didn’t recognize that as being snarky.. let me make that clear with a !Snark Alert!)

I am going to post my menu for the week tomorrow and I will post links to the online recipes I am using, as well as post the recipes that I use. We can be cooking buddies!

I don’t use coupons because most of what I buy does not come with coupons. Let’s face it, I don’t buy a lot of prepared and convenience foods. It try to pick up meat on clearance when I can, and I have had to scale back on organic meats because they are significantly more expensive. I do try to go with all- natural. I hate that I am, to a certain extent, supporting factory farming with my food dollars but in the area where I live, and with prices, locally raised, grass fed beef is out of my range. I am still looking though.

I will also update the menu post with the cost of my groceries. I am not going to list them individually because that would be long! Also, you have to figure that I use milk from our goats and eggs from our chickens so that is a savings. I think that I may have my writing account start buying the eggs from my farm account, but if I do that is it illegal to sell myself raw goat’s milk?  I buy organic white flour in 50 lb bags, and I buy wheat berries to grind, also in 50 lb bags.

I think that’s all. I will post my menu later today or tomorrow. Until then, have an awesome weekend!

Oh…Erin took that picture of Nick and her daughter Bella. Nick loves babies, and he is enraptured with Bells. In fact, when Erin walks in with the baby there is a melee surrounding her until one triumphant person walks away with Bella….usually Shiloh but not always.

Yes, he does need a hair cut. But he likes his hair long and I see no reason to force that issue when there are so many others that I could be focusing on. Matt also has long hair…obviously they get their hippy tendencies from their bohemian mother.

Erin is very talented photographer you can see more of her work at Mamas Castle. She also has work for sale at this online gallery Erin’s Images.

Images:Erin Audet Myers