How I Menu Plan

A few months ago I started menu planning and it has made such a huge difference around here. I started when I was searching for something to make these people for dinner and pulled out a few heads of rotten broccoli and a bag of rotten green beans from the refrigerator. It was late, I had no idea what we were eating, and we were wasting food. That night, after we ate Top Ramen for dinner, I sat down and worked out the rest of the week and haven’t looked back since.

I know a lot of people plan breakfast, lunch and dinner. Around here, as it’s just Little and I during the day (and she’s still mostly on a liquid diet) I only plan dinner. As big is getting out of school next week that may change. I’ll update this if and when we do.

First thing I do is check the fridge. Did you know if you have stainless steel appliances you can write on them with dry erase markers? The front of the fridge is where I write our calendar. If there’s girl scouts, an activity at school, a night out or whatever, I need to plan around that. No big, labor intensive meals when we have to be somewhere at 6:30. After that, I open the door. Did something not get eaten from last week’s menu? Any produce hanging around that needs to be eaten? Plan your meals accordingly.

We have certain nights that we have certain things. I would die of taste bud boredom if we had, for example, spaghetti every Monday. What we do instead is a flexible day. Tuesday is something from another culture. Think Taco Tuesday, but with more options. Wednesday is beans. From Red Beans and Rice to Falafel. Friday is homemade pizza day (try this dough recipe, it’s perfect!) but that could be BBQ chicken pizza or Margherita pizza or Chicken Ceasar Salad pizza.

I try to do a big something on Sunday or Monday that we can use to make other meals. Extra points if it goes in the crock pot.

This is this week:

Monday – Crockpot chicken, asparagus, sweet potatoes

Tuesday – Taco Bowl

Wednesday - Egg Roll in a Bowl – Made from leftover chicken.

Thursday – ‘Brats and Sauerkraut (and broccoli)

Friday – Margherita Pizza

Saturday – Birthday Celebration!

Sunday – Sloppy lentils, broccoli cakes from leftover broccoli, homemade fries

I was too lazy forgot to go to the store so Monday and Tuesday got switched. No biggie. Be flexible. Life happens. Sometimes your crying baby lets you know that the grocery store is NOT happening that day. Sometimes your couch is super comfortable. Whatevs.

Do you menu plan? Any great recipes to share?

Just Another Day in Paradise

We’re getting into a kind of routine around the Brown-stead. Get up with Little and wake up Big. Let the chickens out and do their chores with Big and with Little on my back. Send Big in to get ready for school while I weed the garden and stand around looking at things and breathing.

Like my boots?

During the day I play with Little, bother the chickens, clean, cook, all that fun stuff.

Take pictures of our shoes…you know, the normal.

We eat dinner, I get Little to bed, Mr. Farmer Brown and I go close up chicken shop and watch something stupid on TV.
Big plays outside with her friends.
It’s simple. It’s suburban. It’s mundane and boring.
It’s paradise.

There are eggs in paradise, right?

The Necessity of Anonymity

The Necessity of Anonymity

They’re running from me.

Our chickens are here! My ladies are lovely, although terrified of us. We have 4 laying hens that are about 1 year old. Two Buff Orpingtons and Two Easter Eggers. It’s funny that the two pairs seem to follow each other around.

Buff Orpington

Unfortunately, the town that I live in does not share my infatuation with small scale homesteading or, specifically, chickens. When I inquired as to why, I was told noise. BOOOOO stupid town that I live in. Unfortunately, the town is run by elderly busy bodies with very little imagination that are pretty set in their ways. It’s unlikely that by going to the town I would change their mind, instead it would put their beady little eyes on me and everything I want to do. So, instead of going before the town saying pretty pretty please, we decided to do what we wanted on the land that we own. (Insert further rant about “THE MAN” here)

Big feeds a chicken

All of this hopefully explains my “Farmer Brown” alias and why my beautiful girls are called Big and Little. I know some bloggers make up names but I find it confusing, especially as a new reader.  I understand that this by now way guarantees anonymity and that anyone who truly wanted to know who I was could easily find out. However, it makes me feel better. Seems foolish to do something not allowed and then go on the internet spelling it out, right?
So please, if you know me, please refrain from using my name on here or my girls’ names. Also, my picture was drawn by a good friend, Christine DeRosa who is ridiculously talented, right?
My ladies need names. Any suggestions? Whenever I think of them I hear Beastie Boys in my head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Naf5uJYGoiU

Garden Walk Through the Eyes of a 10 Year Old.

Last week we went on a garden walk at the Museum Garden at the Accokeek Foundation. The Accokeek Foundation is 200 acres of park on the Potomac River that, “serves as an outdoor classroom for educational programs about land conservation, historic preservation, sustainable agriculture, and environmental stewardship.” It’s open dusk to dawn 365 days a year. They have a colonial farm, heritage livestock, an organic Ecosystem Farm, walking trails, cool activities – it’s a pretty interesting place.

We went for a Garden Walk of their Museum Garden which holds a variety of plants – native beds, a small permaculture bed, sundries, medicinal and culinary herbs etc. The idea is that each bed is supposed to convey an idea in gardening – an exhibit if you will. Farmer Dan led us around, explaining everything well with the help of Molly, The Community Outreach and Education Coordinator. Molly is amazing. I need her to come to my wild backyard and tell me what all the things growing back there are and how I can use them. I’m afraid to get rid of anything because I’m pretty sure everything is SOMETHING and I’d hate to find out too late I ripped out something incredibly useful!

So we’re walking, we’re learning. Ten minutes in I’m wishing I’d brought something to take notes on because there’s so much to learn. First off, I’m doing the three sisters thing all wrong. I planted everything at once. You’re supposed to plant the corn, then the squash, then the beans. Oh well, we’ll see how it goes. Also, comfrey. Need to grow the comfrey. It’s BEAUTIFUL!

Isn’t it pretty!

So anyway, we’re walking, we’re learning. We’re ooing and aahing and sniffing and tasting and asking. It’s awesome. But then Little decides she’s DONE. So, while trying (unsuccessfully) to calm her, I handed the camera to Big. She took some nice pictures. Enjoy and let me know if you spot anything familiar!

For more information about the Accokeek Foundation visit http://www.accokeekfoundation.org