On the Agenda

At our next family meeting, we will discuss the following points:

• Someone is spitting all over the faucet when brushing teeth.  I've narrowed it down to one of the two oldest children.  Please stop or you will be the one cleaning the faucet every day.  
• If you finish off a food item, like a box of crackers, cereal, granola bars, yogurt, etc., please take the box out of the cupboard, pantry or fridge and put it in the garbage or recycling.  It is frustrating and dissappoining to reach for a snack and find an empty box.
• We will be continuing to eat brown rice, so quit whining about it.  Embrace its nutty flavor.  And no, we won't have it all the time.  We will still have basmati and jasmine with Indian and Thai dishes.  
• Good job on not using the "off limits" words we discussed.  Our daily conversations are much more pleasant.
• There is no reason to wake up early on Saturday mornings.  But if you do, feel free to take care of your own breakfast and your baby sister.
• Since Kate has decided that playing in toilet water is so much fun, please keep the bathroom doors closed.
• Since Kate has decided that removing all shoes from their proper place is so much fun, please keep all closet doors closed.
• Since Kate has decided that Squinkies are a new food group, please don't leave them lying around.  The same goes for Legos, Polly Pockets, and marbles.
• Please report promptly for your table setting duties.  
• Thanks for the good work with piano practice.  You are both sounding wonderful!  Recital is coming up in November.
• We still need to play our family swim outing.  And carve pumpkins.  Is it too late for that?

 Any of this sound familiar?  I am happiest when I am at home with my family, even if they are making messes. 

Diagnosis: Dizziness and Giddiness

That's what my referral to the physical therapist said.  Dizziness?  Most definitely.  Giddiness?  Not so much.  In fact, I've been feeling downright wilted since I hurt my neck last week (while getting my hair rinsed at the salon -- I know, pathetic).  Apparently my inner ear crystals are just fine, but my neck is a tight, knotted mess.  Now I get 6 sessions of physical therapy and strict orders to not look up for two weeks.  I also have to avoid running, swimming, and sit ups.  AUGH!  I am an ab strengthening fanatic.  I'll have to figure out if I can do plank positions without aggravating my neck muscles.  Not to mention running.  So long, half marathon on Saturday.  I'll be the one doing the elliptical every morning at the gym.  

The good news is that if I do my exercises and attend my sessions, I should be feeling better in about two weeks.  That is good news, because being dizzy is not so fun.  Makes me feel like I'm pregnant, which sends me into a panic attack.  

And here is a recipe for pumpkin muffins that are sure to please.  If you follow my healthy shortcuts, these are edible as a snack and not just a treat.  The recipe is adapted from one in the Ivory Family Favorites cookbook.  I love baking with pumpkin! This recipe makes a ton, but they freeze well, and they also share well.

Pumpkin cookies:

3 C canned pumpkin
2 eggs (or equivalent in egg beaters)
2 t vanilla
1 C vegetable oil (or 1/2 C oil and 1/2 C nonfat plain yogurt)
2 t nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
3 C sugar (I reduced to 2 cups)
1 t salt
5 cups flour (all purpose, Ultragrain, or white whole wheat)
1 1/2 C chocolate chips (I reduced to 1 1/4 C)

In large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, vegetable oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt and mix well.  Add flour and mix to combine.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

This new blogger format is giving me fits!  I can't get rid of all of these extra spaces.  And my headache is too bad to figure it out.  Ugh.

How about a rain check?

I wanted to do a post today on the tomato basil soup I got a lot of comments on last week.  But then I got vertigo after getting my hair cut.  I know, weird.  I sat up after having my hair rinsed and was so dizzy.  I lurched out of the salon and made it home, but spent most of the afternoon flat on my back.  And once I did feel better, I had to catch up on the things I didn't do earlier, including sewing snakes into a wig for Jillian's Medusa costume.  So, no Taste of Tuesday post.  And my highlights are too blond.  I'm going back to get them fixed tomorrow, and I'll get that soup posted soon.

So sorry!

Taste of Tuesday -- Fall Dinner Spinner

It's been a long time since I posted a "Taste of Tuesday" (or a "Fashion Friday"), but I want to get back into posting some of the things I'm doing in the kitchen. There are a zillion food blogs out there, I know, but I'm going to do it anyway.

Now that it's fall I get to rotate in my favorite soup recipes. I like soups for dinner for several reasons. You can prepare most well in advance and let them simmer all day, you can prepare some in 20 minutes for a quick hearty meal, it is very easy to adjust amounts for extra dinner guests, most soups have plenty of veggies and not very much meat, I usually have the ingredients for several soups on hand, soups are very inexpensive, and soup tastes wonderful on a cold evening. I have a system for going through them. Just for fun I named it the Dinner Spinner. I might have stolen that idea from somewhere else. Here's how it works:

Take a soup from Column A, add in a bread product from Column B (generally made from scratch at my house), and throw in a side from Column C if you're feeling adventurous. Easy peasy!

Column A:
(* marks a vegetarian soup)

Tortellini soup*
Tortilla soup
Cheeseburger soup
Baked potato soup*
Black bean chili*
White chicken chili
Bean and ham soup
Chicken noodle soup
Split pea soup
Vegetable beef stew
Zucchini soup*
Broccoli cheese soup*
Tomato basil soup*
Minestrone with pasta*

Column B:

Apple muffins
Cornbread
Pumpkin bread
Whole wheat bread
Tortilla chips
Zucchini bread
Homemade foccacia
Cranberry orange muffins
Rolls
Breadsticks
French bread
Blueberry muffins
Mini grilled cheese sandwiches

Column C:

Raw veggies and dip
Homemade applesauce
Fresh fruit
Green salad
Spinach salad
Canned pears
Apple cider
Fruit salad
Steamed vegetables
Crystal light drink

Of course, certain items from Columns A and B go better together than others, but they can also be combined in a lot of different ways. I use my dinner spinner two days a week in fall and winter, occasionally adding in a new soup or bread. I especially like to cook this way when we have late night soccer practice or early evening activities. Then I can prepare the soup and bread earlier in the day, but still have a nice meal when everyone comes home. Tonight the dinner spinner yielded cheeseburger soup (with ground turkey instead of beef), apple muffins, and raw veggies. Winner, winner, dinner spinner!

What's your favorite fall soup??

Should I post a fashion Friday post this week?

One Hot Photo Shoot

No, not the boudoir shots I was teasing you about. Rather, a family photo shoot we did in August when we were in Spokane. During the hottest week of the year. We stayed at my parents' house. They don't have air conditioning. I was sweating the whole time I was getting ready, and certainly during the shoot, but somehow it all worked out. We had to go to the mall afterward to cool down. Whew! Here are some faves ("some" meaning 20):


















I have the b/w ones of the kids laughing in black frames in the family room. They look so good, and they make me so happy. What attractive children I have. Not to mention my husband . . .