Food and Home

Since I've been on break from school, I've been able to focus in a bit more on stuff around the house. New plans to clean out and reorganize the garage have emerged, as well as plans to clean out the office and do some major giving away/ebaying/trashing. I am finally ready to let go of some things that we have carted around with us, move after move, clear from the Tennessee days. I will no longer allow myself the reasoning of "but, someday maybe I will find myself in need of ____________." In the past, that line has been occupied with things such as "huge chunk of wax" or "plastic holder for a razor that I no longer own" or "broken curling iron". Even in the clothing department, I find myself hanging on to items in which I have not worn for years, but "someday when I have a real job and have to dress professionally, this will be just perfect." No more. It is time to cleanse. If it is not useful to me now and is not something that I love and admire, then to the curb (or Goodwill) it will go.

In other exciting news (probably only exciting to me), my step-mom passed along the name of a cookbook that she had heard about. I checked it out at Barnes and Noble and am sold, although I have not actually purchased it yet. It's put out by King Arthur Flours, and is a thick volume of whole wheat recipes - including things like cake, pastries, and cookies. Between this cookbook and Splenda, I might be able to enter the world of sweets again! The Christmas season sure made it difficult to stick to the hypoglycemic diet, but after endulging for a day, and being up the following night with my head over the toilet, I was quickly reminded that I shouldn't mess with my blood sugar.

I have been struggling to eat meat lately and am afraid I am bordering on becoming vegetarian. In fact, I don't know what has gotten into me, but uber-granola ways are creeping into my lifestyle. Everytime I pick up a piece of beef, cow's eyes flash into my head, and everytime I pick up a chicken finger, I feel a twinge of guilt that I didn't specifically seek out a free range product. Regardless, yesterday I tried a spinach lasagna recipe that is pretty good for a meatless meal. I have also been plotting ways to get more healthy stuff into Jesse's work snacks, and found this recipe for bird seed squares. It's not totally healthy, but it's a step up from the corn syrup world that the other snacks we make for him to take to work live in, plus I stirred in some wheat germ for good measure. It officially passed the Jesse taste test, so it is one small step in the right direction.

On the kitchen renovation front, here is a photo I snapped to serve as our official "before shot".