Em+Possibility

Late in luck but tasty just the same

Emily — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Last week was Chinese New Years. What better time to eat for luck?

The courage to actually COOK (as opposed to ordering takeout) came from Jaden Hair. Her Mother’s Famous Chinese Egg Rolls is the most thorough (yet accessible) egg roll recipe I’ve seen. Jaden was kind enough to post an entire list of Chinese New Year’s recipes, so I decided to combine that with my need to get the boys to try new foods.

When I decided I wanted to cook, the menu was going to be: Egg Rolls, Beef & Broccoollii noodles, and the Pear & Shrimp Stirfry.

See? Shooting for balance here, people!

And then reality kicked in. On a day where I spent most of the morning at the gym, then took the boys for their therapies and THEN stopped by Mama’s for a quick visit…a whole lotta cookin’ wasn’t going to happen. A choice had to be made… and it was made based on the fact that shrimp thaw faster than beef (I’d put the meat in the freezer to help firm it up for slicing…and then left it there. OOPS!)

So. The Fresh pear and shrimp stirfry for me, and pizza for the boys.

It was….delicious. Amazing. I was SO afraid that the shrimp would be rubbery (I’m paranoid about overcooked shrimp, y’all.) but it.was.perfect.

There is just one problem. The recipe says “serves 4 as a side”.

There ain’t no way. I ate the whole thing.

*burp*

Next week I’ll do the beef & broccoli and egg rolls. I might even take pictures!

And even if it fails massively, at some point I *will* try this:

Doesn’t that look like FUN??!!??

Yeah. I know. A girl can dream though, right?

Goals and Resolutions, Checkin 2

Emily — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Diet and Exercise:
Went under the bus. My coworker went on vacation (too tired to eat, much less work out or cook) and then PMS reared its head and well….

This week the boys and I are going to be starting food diaries (Them to track variety in their diets, me to track trends) and I’m going to add in a yoga class.

I’ve stopped buying “family size” bags of chips.

Develop side business, track spending:

Two websites worked on, another in the works. Hopefully this is the start of a wonderful trend.

Tracking spending is easy when you have no money to spend. After careful examination, I’ve decided that taking a magnifying glass to my budget is the wrong approach. There simply are no more places to cut. There’s no less-expensive brand to buy, I’m not going to drop the thermostat any lower than it already is, and I’m (slowly) repairing All The Things instead of replacing them.

I *do* need to work on food waste. Food fatigue kicks in on about day 3 – I simply don’t want any more leftovers. I need to get better about freezing or otherwise using them up.

Uncluttering

This is becoming A Process. Take books off shelf, put toys on. Sort through the kids’ clothes for the resale shop. Clean out the pantry & donate to the food bank.

I’m taking this off the “30-day challenge”. There’s no way I can do this in 30 days.
______________________

I knew there would be challenges at the outset. I now know that when they say “She’s going on vacation” I need to lay in a supply of frozen meals and make a crockpot full of grits or oatmeal. (And that the week she’s on vacation is NOT the week to try a new crockpot oatmeal recipe.)

ONWARD!!!!

Planning Garden 2012

Emily — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

No, you haven’t lost your mind. Our family is down to one computer, and I was hoping to have mine fixed by now. Unfortunately, laptops are not too fond of mac & beef, so repair has been agonizingly slow. And when I only have a few minutes in an uncomfy chair right before bedtime, expounding upon the subject at hand is easily delayed/dismissed. I’m backdating the entries for the days they *should* have been published. Thanks for joining my time-travel team <3

I’m making a list of all the things I want to plant this year. And researching methods of automatic watering so the whole thing won’t get krispy before the end of the season.

Oh wait. I can’t do anything expensive or permanent¹. Crap. RETHINK!!!

And also? FOCUS!!! The list!!!

Carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes (mostly paste), beans (glorious beans), lettuces (Earthbox #1), garlic, corn, watermelon, canteloupe, beets, potatoes, radish, cilantro (maybe?), sugarsnaps, onions, and honestly. Who knows what else will tickle my fancy between now and then?

Resolved: container gardening is fun, but not all that successful for me. I’ll be turning the earthboxes into herb boxes and I’m not sure WHAT I’ll do with all the buckets and bins.

Beltway coming through toward the end of the year. Hopefully at the end of growing season

Good Luck Food Entry would be here

Emily — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

One of my co-workers was on vacation this week. My “day off” was spent keeping appointments and running errands. As you can imagine, there was no time for research OR cooking of a Good Luck meal.

Somehow I think I’ll be OK. And next week is Chinese New Years!!!!! Think of all the luck there!

Goals and Resolution: Checkin 1

Emily — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

So how am I doing, two weeks after I set myself up?

Resolution: Get Healthy. Goals: Diet and exercise

I’m still fighting the urge to eat potato chips and cottage cheese for breakfast, but not all that often. These days I’m fighting the urge for crunchy food with a small handful of mixed nuts. And I’ve pinpointed “eating more veggies” as a designated target while my body adjusts.

I’m not working out every day, but I’m making a conscious effort to move more than I was. The scale has moved a bit, but it’s too early to tell if it was water weight.

Resolution: Budget. Goals: Develop side business, track spending

I’ve already totally blown the “keep track of money” part. I’ll try to pick it up again at the next payday.

My work on the side business has dealt mostly with focus. Am I going to design? host? code? troubleshoot? (Most likely? Troubleshoot.) How much do I charge?(believe it or not, that *has* been a problem in the past)

30 day challenge resolution: Uncluttering

Not going according to schedule. At all. After pondering on my “moderate failure” post from Friday, I had a realization.

I’m ready to let go of these things, but I’m not necessarily ready for what (if anything) is going to replace them. And to be completely honest, I’ll probably need some time and help processing that little tidbit.

And that’s all the news that’s fit to print right now about my resolutions.

A moderate uncluttering failure

Emily — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I haven’t touched a single book on the bookshelf. Yes, I could make a really good case for myself, but I’m not going to. There ARE times when I could have taken 15 minutes and spent it on one shelf. I really wanted to be done with the whole thing by today.

But I’m driving myself slightly crazy. Here’s how the logic circuit/blowout works:

I should take the books off the shelf and put them in the box.

If I put them in the box, the box will be on the floor until I have the time/opportunity to go to the used bookstore.

I don’t want to make a special trip to the used bookstore for each and every box. The used bookstore is JUST far enough for it to truly be “a special trip” – it’s in the opposite direction of everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) else. There is no “combining trips to save gas”.

And, of course, there’s the possibility that the used bookstore will want one or two out of the entire box, thereby adding on to the special trip (because once the books leave, they are NOT coming back).

If I put the books in a box on the floor, the livingroom will look even MORE cluttery than it already does.

Leave the books on the shelf, and go do laundry. There’s always PLENTY of laundry.

[end]

I know. You wanna sign up to be my bestest friend rightthissecond!

The “good” news is that I really, legitimately have other housework to do. The bad news is that I keep on doing it and not “finding” time to take care of the bookshelves.

The time I spent writing this post? Coulda been spent on a shelf.

I don’t quite know how I’m going to get there…

Lenticchie di capodanno – Lentils for luck

Emily — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Lentils, oh how I love them. Small, simple, yet a nutritional powerhouse.

And inexpensive.

And tasty.

When I’m recovering from (whatever), lentils are the first thing I look for as comfort food. And after trying this recipe, I can understand why Esau sold his birthright for them.

Like the Southern New Year’s dinner, the lentils are supposed to remind you of coins. The sausages are for “plenty”.

2 C dried brown lentils (picked over, of course)
2 bay leaves
1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, smashed
2 celery stalks with leaves, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
3 tablespoons tomato paste

6 Italian-style sweet pork sausages

Put the lentils in a pot with the bay leaves and cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Skim off any foam that forms at the top. Turn off the heat, then drain the lentils and set them aside, reserving their liquid.

In a large skillet warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté over low heat until it is nicely colored but not brown. Add the celery, carrot, and onion and sauté over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until softened.

Stir in the drained lentils. Dilute the tomato paste in a few tablespoons of some of the lentil cooking liquid and stir it into the onion/carrot/celery.

Add enough of the lentil cooking liquid to cover by about an inch. Simmer until the lentils are tender but not mushy, adding more of the lentil cooking liquid as necessary to keep the lentils moist.

When the lentils are cooked, take out the bay leaves and turn off the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste¹. Cover and let stand while you cook the sausages.

Looks good, doesn’t it?

Ordinarily this would be the part where a bowl full of steaming deliciousness gets placed. Unfortunately, I was too busy eating it to take a picture. The next time I make it (next week, probably), I’ll post one. Until next time!

I didn’t add salt. The salt in the sausages was enough for me. But also? I’m salt-sensitive. YMMV

30 day challenge: Uncluttering

Emily — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I have a problem. I quite willingly admit that I have a really superhard time letting go of some things.

No, really.

The Hungry Caterpillar (age appropriate for preschoolers) is still on the kids’ bookshelf. As are all the Dr. Seuss books. Two shelves of mostly age-inappropriate books.

Boxes and boxes of…misc stuff… that Mama left are in my bathroom closet.

Boxes of books that Mama left are in my living room.

There is a non-functioning REFRIGERATOR in my livingroom. (If I were a REAL redneck, that thang would be out on the front porch!)

There is a broken, out of tune, rarely-played (because of said broken and out-of-tunedness) piano by my front door.

My Daddy’s suits are still hanging in my closet.

Yeaaaaaaah. And? We’re moving this year. Sometime.

So, in addition to “get healthy” and “MONEY!!!!”, I’m adding “get ready to move house” to the list.

What needs to be done:

Books: sell/trash/donate
Photos: scan and toss
Mama’s stuff: to the barn!!!!!

I’ll be posting as regularly as I usually do (heh) in an effort to be somewhat accountable.

Good Luck Meals

Emily — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

psst. Pretend like this posted yesterday. I’ll pretend like I hit “publish” instead of “save draft”. mkay?

While I was cooking my New Year’s Dinner of collards and blackeyed peas, I wondered about other “good luck dinners” being served at the same time.

And let’s face it – I need all the luck I can get.

So an idea was born. I’m going to cook and eat and share a whole lot of “good luck meals” with y’all.

Hopefully, it’ll work!

Goals and Resolutions oh my!

Emily — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:31:41 +0000

If I set goals and made resolutions for 2011, I certainly didn’t blog about them. SO! New year, new stuff.

Resolution: Get healthy
My diet is slowly improving, and (y’all can tell) I’m cooking more. But I need to do more. Therefore:

Goal: exercise more. There for the longest time I made the excuse that I’m getting enough exercise at work. Yes, I’m moving a lot at work, but it’s not enough. I have an exercise bike, hand weights, and children to chase.

Goal: Be more in control of my diet.¹

I’m sure it doesn’t help that I work in a grocery store. Positive, actually. But I bring a lunch to work and then decide I don’t want it. Or skip packing a lunch at all and end up buying a bag of chips, a candy bar, a soda, and fried chicken. Or a corndog. Or chicken salad.

Time to change that.

Resolution: Budget.

There’s no way I could’ve planned for all the financial chaos that ensued in 2011. And to be completely honest, I don’t know that I could’ve saved enough money to handle everything. Therefore:

Goal: Develop a side business. I’m not making enough money. That needs to change.

Goal: Track spending. I need to know where what little bit of money I’ve got is going. It’s not enough to check the bank account to see if I’ve got it before I spend.

I think that’s enough for now, don’t you? We’ll have a periodic check-in on what’s happening.

This is a dual goal, dealing with both budget and diet