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Abra, we'll probably move in May at this point. I'm looking forward to spring cleaning in a new house . We just finished breakfast together. The boys opted for peanut butter sandwiches and juice. Dan and I had leftover roasted vegetables and soft scrambled eggs with tea - I think we made the far better choice . Sunday is usually when I shop for the rest of the week, but I'm meeting up with a bunch of knitting friends for lunch and won't have time until tommorow. I will be working on the weekly menu plan today, though, and I could use some creative input. I'm trying to use up whatever I can from the freezer and pantry both to cut down on things to move and so the kitchen shows better for potential buyers. I know what we're having tonight, but Monday through next Saturday are up in the air. Here's what I have on hand that needs using up: Freezer one whole chicken rib eye steak Chinese sausage cracklins pork stock with ginger ham - both in large slices and cubed peach puree peach slices Pantry canned tomatoes of all kinds various kinds of dal black beans dried garbanzo beans rice flour Nishiki rice basmati rice canned pineapple (not sure why I have this) ziti and spaghetti dried coconut rolled oats dried cranberries tamarind sauce home made chili sauce (this is an old, old family recipe)

Dinner tonight had to be something that I could start cooking and essentially forget about for a while while I painted and worked on the kitchen and bathroom. Roast chicken and vegetables seemed perfect. Orange zest and thyme tucked under the skin gave the chicken a lot of flavor, and the pan juices along with a bit of sherry and cream went into a fast sauce as the meat rested. Not the prettiest meal ever, but it was simple and tasted great after all that work. Oh, and I have to add that ripping out carpet is fun, fun, fun!!!

Sometimes he'll try things with other people that he won't try here, but only to a small extent. He has a hard time with new foods just about anywhere, and in general tries more new things with us than anywhere else.

This book goes into great detail on sensory and oral issues, and has a huge section on how to deal with limitations and feeding issues as well as a whole host of sensory therapies that you can do easily at home. This book has been a true godsend - I wish I'd gotten it years ago for both of the boys. Just finished dinner - roast chicken with orange and thyme and root vegetables. Had to be something easy to make while painting and pulling out carpet. Pictures in a few minutes.

It's a cast iron griddle pan. I'm confused as well, since cast iron usually heats so evenly, but it has really marked hot spots that make using it frustrating. There are some Lodge pans I've had my eye on for a while that I think would be perfect as a replacement. Housewarming gift to myself, maybe...

I wish something like that would have worked with the boys. My youngest would actually go hungry completely (and yes, we've tested this) if required to eat food that is uncomfortable for him. It goes far beyond simply being choosy, at least in their case. I don't think you're a mean mommy in the slightest - you are simply doing what works with your children, which is always the best choice .

My dad came over this afternoon, so I treated him to lunch. I grilled vegetables brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I added some garlic powder - one of the few times I prefer it, as minced garlic tends to burn at such high temperature. I'm not really happy with this pan. It heats unevenly, has one corner without ridges that ends up unusable, and is a royal pain to clean. Have to find a better one since in theory I love the concept of grilling that can be done indoors. Finished sandwich. I split crusty, soft rolls then brushed them with vinaigrette. Then I layered on the grilled zucchini, eggplant, red onion and red bell pepper (sliced thin) and topped each half with some Jack cheese (ran out of Havarti, sadly). The cheese browned under the broiler for a minute or so, then both halves put back together and sliced. Quick fruit salad of strawberries from breakfast, grapefruit, kiwi, and coconut on the side. Now, time to primer the kitchen door. Dan and my dad took the boys to evil Chuck E Cheese, so I'm all alone with my paintbrush for a few hours. I would much rather paint than go to Chuck E Cheese. Wouldn't you?

It doesn't dry out the bacon, at least not that I have noticed. You can pull it out at any degree of doneness, too. Makes breakfast preparation much, much simpler.

I usually get to the preschool around lunchtime and sit with everyone while they eat. I was planning on getting a picture on Monday, so this is an easy request! It's always interesting to me to see what all the other children are eating every day. Ah, a subject I'm well acquainted with. Ryan has a lot of sensory issues that tend to go hand in hand with Autism, so he has difficulty with many new foods. Arden had chronic reflux for many years and somehow associated food with pain, so he tends to pick "safe" foods like crackers, bread, and cheese. Both are on the extreme end of picky, something that is especially hard because I love to cook so much. I struggled long and hard with this, getting so angry that they just wouldn't try anything. The typical wisdom of "if they get hungry enough, they'll eat" didn't work at all for either of them. Requiring a bite of each food was outright impossible - it would have involved holding the boys down and forcing food into them. Works well for many chlidren, but not these particular two. Alll along we have encouraged them both to try new foods, and have offered a wide variety of things to try with every meal. Finally, I came accross a book that has really helped called, "Just Take a Bite". It describes a whole therapeutic approach to helping children who are food averse branch out and eat new things. In a nutshell: have regularly scheduled meals and snacktimes each day, have no food or drink other than water available in between these mealtimes, don't push or require the children to try anything, take pains to show them how much you enjoy the food, make sure there is at least one food that you know they have eaten before at each meal, vary the presentation of any foods they prefer, work outside of mealtime on getting used to the taste, texture, smell, and even proximity of unfamiliar foods. The regular mealtimes and nothing in between makes sure that the children are actually hungry when food is set down, instead of grazing on preferred foods throughout the day. No pressure to try new foods takes away any power struggle, and we've found that the boys actually try a lot more now than they did before, perhaps because it just seems a more positive experience. Varying the presentations of foods they like (for instance, cutting cheese into different shapes or setting out different kinds of bread) helps build a comfort with food being different and helps prevent "food jags" where that's all they eat for weeks on end. We also added our own twist: the boys have a weekly competition to see who tries the most new things. Each gets a check mark for anything new, and on Sunday the winner gets a special treat. This puts a positive spin on eating something different. Gradually, they have both started eating much more variety and are now asking to try new things. It's been an uphill climb, but it's working really well.

The zucchini is steamed while the onions and garlic saute, then the mashed zucchini is added to the pan and sauteed as well. I added the recipe to RecipeGullet here. This would be a great way to use up older zucchini, since the texture isn't crucial. Just finished up breakfast. I made up bacon in the oven, which I find a lot easier than frying it all in a pan. The slices come out nice and flat, there's no draining needed, it doesn't require much attention, and it allows me more stovetop room to cook other things. The oven is set at 400 degrees, and most bacon takes around 12-15 minutes or so. I make pancakes and topped mine with some strawberries. The berries weren't the most ripe, so I mixed them with a bit of brown sugar to bring out the sweetness. I had some oranges that were getting a bit long in the tooth, so I juiced them and had that along with some rooibos tea. Added a tablecloth today, since even I was getting tired of all that white . Dan's off to the hardware store. Later today, we'll be pulling out the carpet in the upstairs bathroom (who puts carpet in a bathroom?) and installing tile. I'll do the last bit of painting in the kitchen later this afternoon. After that, all that's left in the kitchen is clearing off the counters. The microwave, KitchenAid and blender all have to go in storage, which will certainly make cooking a bit less convenient. Though I'd love to ditch the microwave altogether - it takes up a huge amount of room, and everything I use it for could be duplicated well enough some other way. Pictures of the kitchen a bit later.

Mashed Zucchini with Onions, Garlic, and Mint Serves 6 as Side. 2 lb zucchini, cut into 3 inch lengths 2 T olive oil 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, crushed 2 T mint, chopped salt and pepper, to taste Steam the zucchini until soft. Drain, then mash in the strainer to get out as much liquid as possible. In the meantime, saute onions in olive oil over moderate heat until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then add the zucchini and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the zucchini gives up most of its liquid, around 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Keywords: Side, Vegan, Easy, Vegetables, Lebanese ( RG1645 )

You know, I've never even thought of hot sauce on my falafel. Interesting. I'm sure it would be delicious, but I somehow it sounds wrong to me. I think it's because falafel is something I had so often when I was little, and obviously ate mild versions then. In my mind, it has a particular taste that is immensely comforting and that doesn't include hot sauce. I'll have to give it a try, though. The pot and frying set up were rather makeshift tonight. I couldn't find the pot I usually use for frying, so I subbed a much smaller one instead. Not the best idea, as the oil almost came to the top edge when I lowered the falafel down to cook it. The fry basket is something I got from my grandmother's kitchen when she moved to a small apartment. It's great for getting things in and out of hot oil easily, and pretty easy to clean up afterwards. Here's what the set up should look like: I tend to use safflower oil for frying. Canola has a fishy taste to me, and I like something light and tasteless. I fry these at around 375 degrees, using a thermometer occasionally to make sure the temperature stays even. When I'm done frying, I take a coffee filter and fit it into a funnel, then place that in the top of the now empty oil bottle. The filter cleans the oil well enough to use one or two times more for frying, though with something very strongly flavored like seafood I don't re-use it at all. Sorry it took so long to answer - I was in the middle of watching Battlestar Galactica . After that, it's bedtime.

Tonight's dinner was falafel. Hadn't made any in a few months and needed to fix that. I started the garbanzo beans soaking last night, then whirled them in the food processor with onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, and seasonings. Then I use a one ounce scoop and press the mixture into balls. This part is tricky since there isn't a lot holding it all together, but I don't like them as much with bulger or other binders. Then I fry in hot oil until golden and crisp on the outside. I added some pita bread, chopped radish and onion and cucumber, lettuce leaves, and tehini sauce (tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt and water blended together). Mashed zucchini with onion, garlic, and mint rounded out the meal nicely. Here's what dinner looked like once we made up the sandwiches. This is one meal we all love, so there's nothing left except a bit of tahini sauce that I'll use for salads next week. This is my plate - I wasn't very hungry after such a large lunch, so I only had 3 falafel in a pita with some of the zucchini on the side.

I know, I know. There are so few people actually from California here that we should try to protect the remaining herd . No time for family excursions, really. My dad and sister are both in the L.A. area, so we'll come back and visit regularly and catch up on the places we miss. Not really sure what I'll miss - it's so hard to know until you're in a new place and really find out the things that are different. In-N-Out fries Animal style = must try. I never really liked their fries, finding them a bit lacking in flavor and crispness. Adding cheese and onions and sauce transforms them into something I'll happily order again.

Lunch was In-N-Out, that California burger mecca. Note that contrary to popular belief, it does rain here occasionally. The usual result is confused drivers, a plethora of down jackets and mittens (it's 60 degrees and I swear I saw someone with mittens this afternoon), and hysteria on the part of local weatherfolk. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the chain, In-N-Out is dedicated to making quality burgers, fries, and shakes. Nothing frozen, nothing mass produced, each order made one at a time by well-paid employees who usually do a great job. Here's the menu, in it's entirety: We ordered a Double-Double Animal Style for Dan, a cheeseburger with grilled onions for me, a chocolate shake for Arden (he'd already had lunch earlier), and a french fries Animal style to share. This was the first time I've ordered french fries any way other than plain, and they were good. Animal style for the burger meant a mustard-cooked beef patty, additional pickles, extra secret sauce with grilled onions. Animal style fries includes cheese, grilled onions, and sauce on top. The fries were incredible this way, and we polished off every bite. Now I'm really going to miss In-N-Out! I tried to get a picture of Dan's Double-Double as he was eating, but he scarfed it down in no time flat. Later, he admitted that he hoped the pictures wouldn't come out and we'd have to order again . Did get a good shot of my cheeseburger, though. Juicy, a tiny bit rare (perfect!), full of flavor, and all around delicious. Arden felt Dan really needed more french fries.

Oh, I know it's very different now! I've peeked at the Pennsylvania forum now and then and have been caught between marveling at how good things have gotten and asking why it wasn't that way when I was there . Mostly just showing that I understand scarcity of ingredients and how that affects cooking. I think I'd be pretty happy out your way now .

I'll listen right along with you, since that's my cooking magazine list as well .

I'll make eating good Indian fare a priority, then. I do make some pretty fine Indian food on my own, so at least I won't go hungry .

Your best bets are almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds (REALLY high in protein!). Perhaps a trail mix made up of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit would be portable and great before working out.

The boys had "Os" and milk for breakfast and I packed lunches remarkably similar to yesterday's fare. Dropped Ryan off at school, then came back and helped Arden get ready as his preschool starts a bit later. Time for my pre-workout breakfast: yogurt, chopped apple, walnuts, and a sprinkle of Korinje cinnamon. Black tea to sip and give me some needed caffeine. After I drop Arden off I'll drive to yoga class. I know, yoga sounds relaxing and soothing and hardly like a workout, right? Not this class. One of the regular students nicknamed the teacher "Hitler's wife", if that gives you any idea of how hard she works us. I will be working up quite a sweat, which is perfect to work off what I have planned for lunch .

Have you tried lentils or beans? Nuts? Lentils especially are more of a carb food, but they have a lot of good protein as well (and taste just plain delicious when done right). Dairy of all sorts would be good, too - yogurt, cheese, a big glass of milk.

FabulousFoodBabe - these are the jars Dan gave me for my birthday. I smile every time I see them, and can't wait for everything to be in nice rows of bottles. LouisaWhite - I lived outside of Philadelphia for a few years almost two decades ago and remember the frustration of being able to find NOTHING that I wanted cooking-wise. Once I had to go to five different stores to find fresh cilantro, and tortillas were purchased in cans. MAkes me appreciate the bounty here all the more. I think Dan may be able to accomodate that Animal-style request

I hadn't thought of that, but it's an important point. Ryan is just starting to really get into reading, so it hadn't occured to me before that the boys will need labels when they cook. I'll be sure to fix that soon.

Ahem. It seems like my sense of time is all screwed up (I blame this on the children). My food blog was the summer *before* last, though it feels like it was just yesterday

That tart is simply gorgeous, Ling! Now if only the computer screen allowed a taste .