Rhythm and Routine

I am definitely a person who thrives on routine. If I deviate from the plan it could mean trouble for my diet, budget or any other thing in my life that does better with structure.  For the past couple of months or so Ryan and I have used two tools to really help us stay on target with meal planning.

  The first one is using a weekly meal planner. I print mine from this website. It has a place to write down what food you already have and what you need to buy. I print and plan for about three weeks at a time, going through the recipes and writing down the ingredients in one sitting. Then, the week before I check what I need and have my grocery items bought well ahead of the day of the meal. 

Another thing that has been very helpful is creating a grocery checklist. As soon as we run out of something, we check it off. I also (yes, I'm a dork!) arranged all of the categories by how I walk through the store, so the checklist is like my efficient map- no more running back and forth. Here is an image of mine below.  I leave spaces to write more specific needs, can change it at any time, and left three boxes at the bottom for other food places I'll go to maybe only once or twice a month. 

Restaurant Imitation- Fast Food (Gluten-free)

Random thoughts tonight as I sit here eating the leftover vanilla ice cream from Saturday's birthday dessert. I think paleo can mean lots of different things, depending on who's defining it. I know the chefs from long ago didn't have access to ice cream makers or freezers or cans of coconut milk conveniently stored away. Heck, even if they had, who knows if they'd have had spoons to eat the ice cream with? It's a somewhat loose term, I guess. Not a literal interpretation of yestermillenium's menu, but rather a lifestyle consisting of eating clean foods, whole foods. 

Tonight I made chicken tenders and mashed potatoes for a "fast" food imitation dinner- "paleo style." (The meal wasn't fast at all, but one could contend that fast food isn't really food, so it all equals out). The chicken was breaded with almond meal and flaxseed meal versus the original breadcrumbs. And they were baked, not fried. 

Ryan and I have had this idea for a while, to home make versions of fast-food staples. Verdict- they were tasty, but you wouldn't be fooled into thinking it was fast food. The chicken nuggets we've made in the past are much better, but we can't find organic ground chicken at our local grocery store anymore.

This fizzy beverage was just right to give the meal more of a treat feel- sparkling mineral water with fresh squeezed lemon and orange juices. And the potatoes are the perfect side dish, especially if you're trying to imitate fast food. 

I'm really rambling. Last tangent- please watch Food, Inc if you have not yet seen it! (Many libraries have it.)

Ryan's Recent Projects

Really "our" only major project this summer was our back steps. Notice the ugliness they were before:

I guess I did contribute to this project in that I said I would like an extended bench for extra seating and so I could lay out on a sunny days :) Here's Ryan's model:

Steps in progress:

Final product:

Last week Ryan busied himself with this little project.  What was once a failed attempt at modern 3-D art has now turned a message board for our entry. 

I am biased, but he's so talented. He reused the piece of wood which was free from my parents, the cork board was from college, the hooks were given to us from our friend, so this project was pretty much free. 

Reason to Celebrate- In-Laws' Birthday

 Today we celebrated both of Ryan's parents birthdays at our house. This is the third year we've hosted and we absolutely love doing so. Being the first official day of autumn, we planned a seasonal dinner and tried several new recipes that were excellent. 

We started off the morning going to the public market and bought some of our main ingredients there (grass-fed beef, vanilla beans, zucchini).

Ryan took on the dinner, while I did drinks and dessert. He made a veggie-filled autumn meatloaf and mashed potatoes, while his sister brought two side dishes and Nonny brought salad. Silly me, or maybe silly Ryan, but we didn't get any pictures of the main meal...

But here's how my dishes turned out :) 

                

Top: Homemade vanilla ice cream to pair with apple crumbles in mini oven dishes.

Bottom: Inverted "Reese's cups"- SO good! 

I would recommend all three! And I followed all of the recipes to a T.

This was pear vanilla martini, also a good new recipe. Only three ingredients. That's my favorite kind of recipe. 

I love fall, especially the changing colors in the landscape. Typically, the reds, oranges, yellows, golds and browns are characteristic. But I have these really pretty, thrift-store blue glasses that I wanted to work into the table decor somehow. And conveniently enough, Nonny had gifted me some cream and blue fabric napkins. And, also convenient, while helping my parents clean their house to get it market ready, my mom found napkin rings that she was going to donate. I graciously took them off her hands :) Silver is again not a traditionally fall color, but I love mixing metallic colors. 

To wrap my mother-in-law's gift, which consisted of an assortment of small gifts, I opted to not make a gift basket, but rather arrange the items in brown paper lunch bags cut with scalloped scissors and attaching cards with clothespins. 

Sunflowers for the birthday girl.

Happy Birthday!!

Roll with It

Church was on fire today! Literally, but not that literally. The fire alarm went off and we all had to evacuate. I guess as a teacher I'm so used to fire drills, that I exited with no real sense of panic. We spent about thirty minutes outside while the firemen and church leaders worked to resolve the problem. They ended up canceling the service. So bizarre! 

So Ryan and I drove home.

And as we did, we passed a row of buildings that have been vacant in our neighborhood since we moved in. Except today we noticed people dining in the window. We turned around and decided to check the local eatery out.

 

After I ordered tea and saw the cool mug and the organic offerings I grew more excited! Yay for a new restaurant within walking distance that serves an exciting menu packed with quality, internationally-inspired food! 

High on enthusiasm, I ordered off the menu without thinking. I didn't stop to ask if the meal had gluten in it. I didn't question whether or not the eggs were free range. I held my tongue and pushed my wonderings aside on whether they used canola or olive oil. I just ate (though the mention of fermented cabbage did get me rather excited). Kimchi pancakes with dragon sauce and a poached egg. Delish! 

On the way out, I did ask if they serve gluten-free or vegetarian options, and the answer to both was yes! Such a strange morning, but with a full tummy and happy ending :) 

Reaping Time

 Our garden has been a success this year, so much so that we've been able to share the bounty. 

Ryan canned peaches from Nonny's yard. She had over four grocery bags full!

Making pesto minestrone soup- tomatoes, peppers and basil from our garden.

Prepped it the night before so I could toss everything in the pot in the morning. Love coming home to a hot, ready-to-eat dinner. 

Even though September is here and school has started, the weather still says summer:

So we played along, grilled and ate outside :)

Recent Events- Beginning of Fall

Classroom is unpacked and back in action. It was great to see so many smiling faces this first week!

I sure do love mocha paleo cookies and tried this scone version instead. They were a hit with my family.

My little sister had her first bridal shower on Labor Day, so that meant another trip home for my older sister :) My aunts hosted a beautiful event.

They had cute favors- labels printed from VistaPrint. 

With an overabundance of hydrangeas in our yard, the centerpieces were a cinch!