Kitchen meme

I got this off of Donna's blog.

1. How many meals does most of your family eat at home each week? How many are in your family?

We eat most of our meals at home. Occasionally, we eat at Chik-fil-A for either lunch or supper, but that is fairly rare. There are 5 of us, but Short Stuff is still really attached to mommy milk, so he doesn't eat a lot yet.

2. How many cookbooks do you own?

I can't remember, but I think it's around 8-10.

3. How often do you refer to a cookbook each week?

Depends on the week, sometimes only once, sometimes none, and sometimes several times.

4. Do you collect recipes from other sources?

Most of my recipes are from websites, my mom, or friends.

5. How do you store those recipes?

I have one small binder filled with recipes, and I have 2 folders crammed with recipes. I really need to organize them, throw away all the ones I can't convert to dairy-free, and make them more accessible.

6. When you cook, do you follow the recipe pretty closely, or do you use recipes primarily to give you ideas?

It depends on the recipe. A lot of my cooking is "30-minute seat-of-the-pants gourmet." Some recipes I follow very strictly, and others are used for their ideas only.

7. Is there a particular ethnic style or flavor that predominates in your cooking? If so, what is it?

Nothing predominates. We eat such a wide variety of food - Middle Eastern, Mexican, Italian, French, Indian, Chinese, and southern American (aka down home).

8. What's your favorite kitchen task related to meal planning and preparation?

Whacking the garlic cloves with the blade of my chef's knife & then mincing.

9. What's your least favorite part?

Putting the leftovers away.

10. Do you plan menus before you shop?

Yes! Back when I started staying at home with Bubba, we were really really really poor. We had a very strict grocery budget, and I found that planning meals helped me stay within that budget very well. Even though we're not in that same financial position, I use a weekly menu to help me keep from overspending on groceries. I usually only plan dinner, unless HOH is going to be home for lunch. Breakfasts are traditional, so I just make sure I have Trader Joe's O's, rice milk, eggs, and bread on hand.

11. What are your three favorite kitchen tools or appliances?

Fridge
Dishwasher
Chest Freezer

12. If you could buy one new thing for your kitchen, money was no object, and space not an issue, what would you most like to have?

A gourmet gas stovetop like MIL's, only with an indoor grill

13. Since money and space probably are objects, what are you most likely to buy next?

A milk frother or an espresso machine. MIL introduced me to a Starbucks' latte with cinnamon and brown sugar. I'm addicted, but too cheap to go to Starbucks and get one when I could buy a frother and make them to my heart's content!

If I don't get that, I really really want a programmable pressure cooker. My brother has one, and it rocks! Imagine the beans I could cook!

14. Do you have a separate freezer for storage?

Yes. It has been so nice. We put produce in it (vegetables from my parents' garden and fruits), chicken that I get on sale, and also a quarter of a beef, not to mention a few freezer meals for those times when I don't feel like cooking.

15. Grocery shop alone or with others?

Almost always with Bubba, Timex, and Short Stuff. Until you've been grocery shopping with 3 active boys under the age of 5, you don't know the meaning of fun. :-P In reality, they are normally exceptionally well-behaved throughout the trip, and we have a lot of fun. We go to Trader Joe's and Meijer (a department store with a great grocery) at the end of every week.

16. How many meatless main dish meals do you fix in a week?

I strive for one or two, but usually only do a meatless dish once every few weeks. Back when we still ate dairy, we had meatless dishes more often, sometimes 4-5 times a week.

17. If you have a decorating theme in your kitchen, what is it? Favorite kitchen colors?

No theme yet. We do have black appliances, reddish oak cabinets, and dark gray countertops. I haven't really decided on colors yet.

18. What's the first thing you ever learned to cook, and how old were you?

Cookies. I think I was 8 or 9.

19. How did you learn to cook?

I watched my mom, who is an excellent cook. I don't know that she specifically showed me anything, but she cooks so much that I just absorbed it from watching her. I also love watching cooking shows whenever we're near a TV that has the Food Network on it. I learned a lot from Alton Brown when we had cable.

20. Tag two other people to play.

Not sure. If you want to play along, just leave me a comment!

Getting Real

This is for Randi. I don't know how to post pics yet, and DH has promised a tutorial this evening, so maybe I'll get pics up by then, but here is a word picture about my life and house.

I am somewhat messy, and am comfortable with the level of messiness that I usually keep. HOH (head of household) is also messy, but he desires tidiness to a degree that I don't. We won't go into that, but let's just say that the only times the house is as tidy as he likes is when he does it. Because cleaning up after 3 children and myself is enough tidying for me. I do desire a somewhat tidier house, especially before homeschooling hits full swing, but I do what I can.

I am, however, organizing a slacker challenge. I did one in the past, and it helped. Neatniks need not apply. The premise is that you start out and try to improve one part of your life that you really slack on per time period (usually a week or two), and it is cumulative. By the end of the challenge, you should have some really good habits down! :) So, I'm thinking 2 week time periods are good, and we'll start out slow and easy. Anyone in with me?

So, for the first two weeks, I'm going to focus on the bedrooms. Easy, I think... I just need to make sure the beds are made and the laundry in the baskets in my closet, everyday.

The next two weeks, I think I'll try to tackle laundry. I am terrible at getting the job completely done. Sometimes we run out of underwear, and sometimes it just sits in baskets for weeks before getting folded. This is not even touching the diaper laundry or jeans.

The third two weeks should probably be the kitchen, as it's another place where I slack so badly. The floors are almost always crumby, unless Short Stuff has been on a feeding frenzy & has cleaned up the worst of the cheerio mess. The counters are piled with junk - mostly from HOH, but since it is in the kitchen, I think he thinks that I am the one that needs to clean it up?

Maybe this is bad, but I am going to save up vacuuming and dusting for the fourth two-week period. This is an area in which I fail miserably. I don't like to vacuum because the 3 boys hate it, and I don't like to deal with the crying and constant "Are you done yet?" questions.

So, that is a "real" picture of my house, and how I'm trying to improve.

As far as my life, I'm trying really hard to keep up every day with our ladies' Bible study. Sometimes, though, I end up doing 4 pages on Wednesday night because I get caught up in other stuff during the week. I don't really do anything else, devotionally, because I just don't seem to have the time. I do try to pray when I have to get up and nurse Short Stuff in the night, but sometimes I fall asleep.

More Lessons in Quietude

Today, as I read momrn2's My Quiet Corner, I was both blessed and challenged by her post and Shannon's Rocks In My Dryer post. What powerful lessons in quietude! How much have I missed because I was too busy complaining about the wilderness instead of focusing on the journey? I cannot express this any better than these two wonderful ladies have.

Thank you Lord for carrying us through the wilderness!

On Knitting Gifts

I have finally finished the gusset decreases on the second of my sister's belated birthday socks. These are only the second pair of socks I have knitted, and a different heel method than the first, so we'll see how they turn out. So far, though, I am liking the traditional heel flap really well, and my only problems are the tiny holes from picking up the gusset stitches. So, it's about 5 inches of straight stockinette before I can decrease. Then, I get to kitchener again!!!! Yippee!!!!

I think I have finally discovered the outlet to needing to knit so much - gifts. I'm really liking the fact that I'm making something that my sister will like and use. Bubba and Timex picked out the yarn. It's Lion Brand Magic Stripes in the Jelly Bean colorway. It's fun, funky, and very suited to Umbrella (my sister) and her personality. So far, the process has been very rewarding. Maybe it is just that I know it will be appreciated. Maybe it is because it is for my dear sister. Maybe it is just that I am knitting socks, which are easy, quick, and very addictive.

God's sovereign work in our lives

I'm constantly amazed at how God works. He never ceases to amaze me. The way He works things together, the various threads of our lives that don't seem to have anything in common with one another intertwined in amazing ways.

To look back on things in the past and see how, at the time, it was nearly unbearable. Yet, if those things had not happened, our lives wouldn't have been shaped into where they are today. All that maturity and growth would be missing. It is awesome to ponder the marvelous works of our heavenly Father. Praise the Lord for His tender care!!!

Keeping a Quiet Heart

Well, I think I've finally learned the lesson that the Lord has been trying to teach me this week. I don't think my week could've gone any less the way I planned it if I had tried. Monday, I was really peevish and grumpy about it, not enjoying it at all. Tuesday, I decided to make the best of it, especially so I didn't take it out on Bubba, Timex, and Short Stuff, when it definitely wasn't their fault. So, I relaxed. I changed my attitude. I actually enjoyed it! I saw my wonderful mother-in-law every single day this week, and we visited a lot. Even though my in-laws live only 10-15 minutes away from us, it seems like we're both so busy going our separate ways that we see them even less than we see my parents who live 3 hours away. Other positives from my disjointed week are that my bed finally looks finished with the new quilt and bed skirt I bought. My van has new tires, and I got to do my weekly grocery shopping with only Short Stuff.

I feel like I missed out on Monday's unexpected blessing because my heart was not quiet. I was agitated, irritated, and focused on myself. I was able to listen to Revive Our Hearts today. Nancy was wrapping up a series about how to have a quiet heart. I'm going to be reading the transcripts, and possibly getting the whole message series. As always, it hit home for me. Such excellent suggestions. Something I've been missing. It also ties into other things I've been hearing/reading/discussing. Another thing that jumped out at me, was, as I was meditating on Jer 29:13, I was thinking. The Lord knows the plans He has for us. They are good plans, and will benefit us. Even if they aren't the plans that we have for ourselves. It is so tempting to complain about our plans being thwarted, even if we remember that the Lord works good for all those who trust Him. Part of my journey to keeping a quiet heart is to remember this truth and be Christ-centered. I hope you'll join me.

Introducing Ezekiel's Garden

I'm Amy, a stay-at-home mom to 3 boys - Bubba, Timex, and Short Stuff (aka Timex 2). We live in the Midwest. Besides spending time with my family, I also like to knit, sew, and read. The boys are looking forward to being homeschooled in the next few years, too, so that will add to our busy schedule. We attend church at a Reformed Baptist church, and love to serve the Lord there.