September Meal Plans - Week 1 Review and Week 2 Options

 

Ala Thel Dala (Spicy Sauteed Potatoes)

My September Week 1 meal plan options were as follows:

Brunches:  Fresh fruit; Milkrice and seeni sambol (September 1); Scrambled eggs and fried potatoes; Pancakes and syrup; French toast, Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris, Protein shakes

Dinners:  Rice with leftover beef curry and/or chicken curry and vegetables; Sauteed spicy potatoes; Macaroni and cheese (boxed mix) with tuna;  Pork chops with vegetables and rice or baked potatoes or a boxed pasta mix; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, ice cream, protein drinks; peanut butter and bread; gelatin or pudding; fruit juice/ade.

Here's how that worked out:

Monday (August 31; dental appointment in the early afternoon):
Brunch: Protein drink (me); not sure what daughter had - a frozen burrito, maybe?
Dinner:  Ala thel dala (Spicy sauteed potatoes; me); rice and leftover curries (daughter)

Snacks/Dessert:  Slice of bread with peanut butter (me); bananas; hot cheetos (daughter)

Tuesday (September 1):
Brunch:  Milkrice and seeni sambol
Dinner: Tuna Mac & Cheese: boxed macaroni and cheese with a can of tuna, frozen green peas, chili powder, and ketchup  stirred into it

Snacks/Dessert: Protein drink (me); ice cream; tangerines

Omelet with Spicy Potato Filling

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Omelets with spicy potato filling

Omelet with Ala Thel Dala Filling

Dinner:  

Rice, Beef Curry, Sauteed Moringa Leaves, Cucumber

Snacks/Dessert: 

Thursday:

Brunch:  Pancakes and seeni sambol (me); pancakes and syrup (daughter)

Pancakes and Seeni Sambol

Dinner:  Leftover milkrice (me); rice and chicken curry (daughter)

Snacks/Dessert: Watermelon

Friday:
Brunch:  French toast
Dinner:  Pork chop and salad (daughter); ramen noodles with sliced pork chop added (me)

Homemade Potato Chips with Chili Powder & Salt

Snacks/Dessert: Homemade potato chips, chocolate cake and ice cream

Saturday:
Brunch:   Egg salad sandwich
Dinner:  More egg salad sandwiches, cheese, salami, & crackers (picnic meal at the park)

Snacks/Dessert:  Chocolate cake, calamondin-ade

Sunday:
Brunch:  Prayer gathering lunch at cousin's: Rice and an assortment of curries, salad; assorted desserts
Dinner:  Appa (hoppers) with chicken curry

Snacks/Dessert: Bread pudding, flan, jello, berries, watermelon

Appa/Hopper

I sort of followed my meal plan options during September Week 1 and it all worked out quite nicely.

Moving onto September Week 2, here are my meal plan options:

Brunches:  Eggs, sausages, and fried potatoes; French toast, Raisin buns with bananas, Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris, Fried rice, Tuna salad sandwiches, Congee

Sunday Afternoon Potluck (daughter & friends):  Pasta salad (daughter), whatever daughter's friends might bring!

Dinners:  Rice with sauteed salmon and cucumber salad; Rice with chicken curry, sauteed cabbage, beetroot curry, and eggplant curry; Pork chops with mashed potatoes and vegetables; Leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, ice cream, chocolate cake, smoothies, raisin buns

As always, I am grateful for the blessing of having plenty of food to eat, variety, and choice.

How about you?  Did you make a meal plan for the first week in September?  If so, did you follow the plan?  Are you making a meal plan for the second week in September?

Labor Day Monday

 

Rambutan

Monday was Labor Day and a holiday.  I woke up by 8:00 a.m. and fed the chickens.

Then, after a cup of tea, I drove the car to the nearby tire shop.  I was hoping that they would be open and they were!  They checked my tires and put air in them; such a blessing! I was told to come back if the light comes back on again.  There was no charge for checking the tires and putting air in them, but, I gave the technician a tip and he was very happy.  I was very happy, too, because the car was fine to drive and that meant I could still keep the appointment I had made to meet up with the lady who is helping us with trapping and neutering the garden cats.

After I came home, I made us a brunch of eggs, sausages, and fried potatoes.  We are starting to see yellower yolks in the newer eggs being laid by the chickens!

Then, shortly after noon, we drove to the appointment with D, who runs the cat rescue group.  We had arranged to meet in the parking lot of a diner type restaurant, about halfway between her place and ours, and she lent us three traps to trap the three kittens (who are now quite grown).  One of them, Mochi, is well on its way to being tamed, but, the other two, Mimi and Tora, are still quite feral and will come only when it's time for food.  

On our way home after collecting the traps, we stopped at an East Asian grocery store.  Primarily so daughter could stock up on the various condiments and sauces she wanted in order to make the Japanese and Korean dishes she likes to make and she insisted on paying for this grocery trip so it wouldn't come out of my regular grocery budget.  But, I also picked up a few other items such as a packet of rice sticks and Chinese style sausages:

Chinese Style Sausages

Daughter also treated me to a bag of fresh rambutan, one of my favorite tropical fruits:

Rambutan

The outer peel is removed and the fruit inside has one seed in the middle.  The edible part is the flesh covering the seed.  There was a rambutan tree in the garden in my childhood home and every year, during the rambutan season, there used to be bunches of rambutan hanging from the branches.  The fresh rambutan always tastes better than the canned or frozen rambutan.  At $3.99/lb., they were expensive and I told my daughter to put the bag down, but, she insisted on buying it for me.  Along with a package of my favorite raisin buns:

Raisin Buns

One of the other items she bought was canned congee (rice porridge):  

Canned Congee

This one was made with a variety of beans, coix seeds, and corn:

Canned Congee with Beans, Coix Seeds, and Corn

Daughter shared some of it with me and it was sweet and delicious.  Daughter also treated herself to a slice of taro cake and a taro latte!

About three quarters of the way through the grocery store, I began to feel tired, so, I left daughter to finish her shopping and went to the car to sit down and wait for her.  Then, we drove home and sampled some of the treats daughter bought.

Then, both daughter and I took naps!  She on the family room sofa and I in my bed!

After we woke up, we let the chickens out to run about in the garden and daughter cleaned the coop and enclosure.  Afterwards, I made us a cup of tea, cleaned out the vegetable drawer in the fridge (a couple of lemons and the last bit of a lettuce had to be composted) and ordered some groceries.  Daughter took the trash bins to the curb.

I texted with cousins V and N, exchanged emails with a friend, swept the kitchen, vacuumed the family room with the help of the robot, watched a few online videos and then, it was time to say my nightly prayers and go to bed.  I'd like to say that I am going to bed at a decent time now that I am waking up at 8:00 a.m. to feed the chickens, but, that only happened a couple of times.  I'm back to going to bed well after 3:00 a.m., probably closer to 4:00 a.m.

On Monday, I was grateful for:

- The tire place was open on Labor Day
- The tires only needed some air and it was an easy fix
- The lady from the cat rescue group lending us some traps for the kittens
- Ethnic grocery stores
- Daughter getting us some special treats

Monday's joyful activities included shopping at the ethnic grocery store and eating fresh rambutan!

How was your Monday?  Are there special treats from your childhood that you still enjoy?

Labor Day Weekend

 

At the Park: Waiting for the Play to Start

On Saturday, I got up at 8:00 a.m. (after going to bed around 4:00 a.m.) to feed the chickens.  I thought I'd go back to sleep for another couple of hours, but, then, I noticed that M had left behind a shovel and a rake on Friday evening, so I texted him to let him know that they were here.  He said he'll swing by to pick them up, so I didn't go back to sleep.  Instead, I stayed up so I could unlock the gate for M (he used to have a key to my gate, but, he lost the key and I haven't made another key to give him, yet).

While I waited for M, I juiced the rest of the calamondin fruit I had picked, earlier - I juice them by hand because they are too small to be juiced with the juicer.  I also put some eggs to boil to make egg salad sandwiches for later in the evening.  And I put away a load of laundry.

M arrived around 11:00 a.m. and collected his tools.  I offered him a piece of the chocolate cake I had made on Friday night and he enjoyed that before he left.

Later in the evening, I made egg salad sandwiches and calamondin-ade (like lemonade, but, made with calamondin juice) and packed a picnic meal to take with us to the park.  My late friend A's daughters had invited us to attend "Shakespeare in the Park" with them, which is something we had done when A had been alive.  A group of actors and performers team up with the City's Recreation and Parks Department, every summer, to perform Shakespeare plays at an outdoor venue in Griffith Park, which is one of the largest municipal parks in the US (4,300+ acres and includes the Griffith Observatory, the Hollywood Sign, the Los Angeles Zoo, etc.)  The performances are free of charge and people bring blankets and chairs and picnic meals to enjoy. 

My late friend A's younger daughter (also named A, whose bridal shower we attended in mid-August) gave us a ride there and back.  She dropped us off as close to the venue as she could and then, went to park the car and meet up with her sister C, who had driven herself separately.  There was a bit of a walk up hill, including three flights of stairs, to where the play was to be performed, but, I managed it.  

Saturday's performance was A Comedy of Errors and we enjoyed the performance.  C had brought a charcuterie board, popcorn, and cans of flavored sparkling water to share and we enjoyed some of that with the sandwiches and calamondinade I had brought.

We left the venue just before the play ended, in order to make it back to the car park before the rest of the audience left and the path down (and the three flights of stairs) got too crowded.  

After we came home, daughter and I relaxed while the last load of laundry dried.  I really enjoyed Saturday's outing and Shakespeare in the Park performance.

On Sunday, I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to the sound of rain!  How wonderful!  It rarely rains before October over here, but, this time, it rained practically all day!  Light rain for the most part, but, we received about one inch of rain, which is quite a lot for us; the garden got a thorough soaking!

Daughter woke up early and tended to the chickens around 7:30 a.m. and I slept in.  After I woke up, I made a bread pudding to take to my cousin's house.  Cousin V was hosting a Rosary prayer gathering in memory of our cousin P who passed away seven days ago, and a lunch.  I had asked her if she wanted me to bring anything and she asked me to bring a dessert if I could.  I know that V likes my bread pudding, so, I made one.  She was so happy when she saw that I had made a bread pudding.  She said she didn't want to ask me to make one, but, was hoping that I would!  LOL.  Cousin P's daughter S who is in Florida and Cousin R who is currently in Scotland joined us over the phone and an app during the prayers.  

Afterwards, S thanked everyone for praying for her mother and told us that, since her mother had loved to dance and we were all there together, to  dance in her memory.  So, all of us got up and did a line dance in Cousin P's honor and had a good laugh because the majority of us didn't know the right sequence of steps and at least some of us, including me, were a bit off the beat!  

Then, we had the delicious lunch that Cousin V had prepared - savory rice, beef curry, sauteed chicken, spicy shrimp, sauteed green beans, dhal, spicy sauteed potatoes, and a salad of cucumber, tomato, onions, and beets.  Others had brought desserts, too, so, in addition to the bread pudding, there was flan, jello in custard, fresh fruit, and yogurt.

Cousin V asked us to stay to dinner, saying she was going to make hoppers, but, we declined as we wanted to get home before it got too dark to tend to the chickens.  But, I told her that I'd love to have some of the hopper batter, so she poured some into a container for me to bring home.  It was still raining when we left and some of the roads and intersections were flooded, and the tire pressure light came on when I started the car, but, we made it home safely.  

Daughter let the chickens out, but, they decided that they didn't like being out in the rain and went back to their enclosure almost immediately.  I picked a few more calamondin to juice and made us some tea. 

Later, I made us hoppers for dinner.  The Sinhala word for them is Appa; the Tamil word is Appam.  They are called hoppers in English.  Hoppers are like bowl-shaped pancakes with crispy edges and a soft spongy center.  The batter is a mixture of fermented rice flour and coconut milk, which gives the hoppers a slightly sour taste.  They are made in small wok-shaped pans which give them the bowl shapes. We ate them with chicken curry and lunu miris (sambol).  

A Hopper (Appa)

We had chocolate cake for dessert.

Plans for Monday (Labor Day) include taking the car to a nearby tire place (if they are open on Labor Day, it being a holiday) to have the tire checked and repaired if there is a puncture.  We also have an appointment to pick up two cat traps to trap the kittens so we can get them fixed.  Hopefully, the tire can be fixed so I can drive to collect the traps.  If not, we'll have to reschedule that.

This Labor Day weekend, I am grateful for:

- Being able to attend a Shakespeare in the Park performance of A Comedy of Errors
- Being given a ride to the performance and back
- Being able to attend the prayer gathering in memory of Cousin P at Cousin V's
- Spending time with family and friends, sharing food and laughter
- A safe drive home in the rain with the low tire pressure light on

Joyful activities this weekend included spending time with family and friends.

How is your Labor Day weekend?  Are you planning anything special for Labor Day Monday?

On Friday

 

Kale

The kale we planted as a cool weather crop is thriving in the summer heat and we've been harvesting the leaves and eating or freezing them.  We;ve offered them to the chickens, but, they only like them if they are chopped up into small pieces.  They seem uninterested in pecking at them when a whole leaf is offered or a bunch of leaves are tied up in the coop for them to peck at.  They are equally uninterested in watermelon rind!  But, they seem to enjoy moringa leaves.

On Friday, September 4, I had some lab work done in preparation for an upcoming doctor's visit.  On the way back, I put gas to the car.  Gas at the cheapest station in my neighborhood was $5.66 per gallon.  I put $50 worth of gas (which is what I budget for gas for a month) and that amounted to just about 8.8 gallons of gas.  

After I came home, I made French toast for brunch.  I made a few extra pieces and they will be kept in the fridge to be warmed up and eaten over the weekend.

I tried to comment on a few blogs in the afternoon, but, I was unable to post my comments.  I think it is another issue with Blogger.  I didn't receive any new comments on my blog, either.

Cousin V texted me to say that she was planning to have a prayer meeting and lunch at her house in memory of Cousin P who passed away on Monday and inviting me and my daughter to attend.  I accepted the invitation and asked her if she'd like me to bring a dish.  She said she'll let me know.  I also chatted with Cousin P's daughter.  

In the evening, daughter and I spent a pleasant hour or so in the garden, watching over the chickens as they roamed in the garden.  They were still exploring the garden when M arrived to tend to the garden.  

In the evening, I made us some potato chips for a snack.  Two medium potatoes, sliced thinly, deep fried, and sprinkled with salt and chili powder.  We shared them with M and he thought they were some of the best potato chips he's eaten.  

Daughter had a pork chop and salad for dinner; I had half a packet of ramen noodles with thin slices of pork added to it.  Afterwards, for dessert, I baked a chocolate cake as the last box of "brownie" mix I had in the pantry turned out to be a box of fudge chocolate cake!  It is finally cool enough to turn the oven on to bake something in the evenings.  Daughter and I enjoyed a slice of cake, each, with a scoop of ice cream.  It was a nice way to end our Friday.

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Access to health care and health screening checks
- Medical insurance
- The availability of gas for the car
- M's help with the garden
- A safe drive to the clinic and back

My joyful activity for the day was sitting in the garden watching the chickens.

Plans for Saturday include laundry, house cleaning, and maybe going to the park in the evening with a friend.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?  Are you able to comment on blogs?

September Goals

 

Bare Branches on the Curry Leaf Tree

It looks like the older of the two curry leaf trees has died.  My mother bought it as a tiny plant back in the late 1980s, when we were living in an apartment and she had it growing in a pot on our balcony.  It was one of the first plants we planted in the garden when I bought the house, 35 years ago.  The main tree seems to have died, but, there are plenty of daughter plants growing around it.  Cutting down the dead plant and thinning out the daughter plants is one of my goals for September.  

Other September goals for the garden include getting the eucalyptus tree trimmed (or, even, cut down and removed), removing all the asparagus ferns growing in the backyard as they are toxic to the chickens and ours keep wanting to eat them. and planting winter vegetables.

September health goals include medical and dental appointments.  I've a lab test scheduled for this week, a doctor's appointment scheduled for next week, a bone density scan scheduled for the following week, and a dental appointment scheduled for the week after that!  The focus is to improve my overall health through diet, exercise, and medications as needed.

September goals regarding the house include getting some plumbing work done to address leaky faucets and slow drains, some repairs done, and continuing with the decluttering.  

Other goals for September include getting the kittens trapped and fixed, sewing my hexagon quilt, and sewing myself a sari blouse.

How about you?  Are you making any goals for September?

August Week 4 Meal Plan Review and September Week 1 Options

Saturday Dinner: Rice and Curries
(chicken curry, moringa curry, cucumber salad,
 peach chutney)

These were my August Week 4 meal plan options:  

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs and fried potatoes or toast; Egg salad sandwiches; Hamburgers;  Waffles  Peanut butter sandwiches

Dinners:  Tortillas with beef curry and cucumber salad; Rice with beef curry, sauteed kale, moringa curry, and cucumber salad; Pork chops with rice and green peas; Rice with chicken curry and spicy sauteed potatoes; Pizza; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, bread pudding, ice cream, yogurt, maybe a fruit smoothie, honey roasted peanuts, homemade potato chips

Here's how that turned out:

Monday:
Brunch:  Half a homemade hamburger (me); orange juice & watermelon (daughter; she had a migraine)
Dinner:  Chicken curry, rice, sauteed kale, cucumber salad, peach chutney

Snacks/Dessert: Bread pudding, mandarin oranges, watermelon, yogurt, garlic bread bites

Tuesday:
Brunch: Other half of the hamburger (me); pizza (daughter)
Dinner:  Pizza

Snacks/Dessert:  Galic bread bites, bread pudding, ice cream, banana 

Wednesday Brunch: Egg Salad Sandwichs, Almonds

Wednesday:
Brunch: Egg salad sandwiches and almonds
Dinner:  Beef curry with rice, sauteed kale, and peach chutney (daughter); beef curry and tortilla (me)

Snacks/Dessert: Bread pudding, almonds with herbes de Provence seasoning (gift from M), cantaloupe, dates with peanut butter, banana

Thursday:

Brunch: Egg salad sandwiches
Dinner:  Scrambled eggs & homemade fries

Snacks/Dessert: Honey roasted peanuts, 

Friday Breakfast: Banana/Blueberries/Peach Smoothie

Friday:
Breakfast: Smoothie (banana, blueberries, peaches)

Lunch: Sandwiches with pork filling, cucumber salad
Dinner:  Tortillas and curry (chicken curry - daughter; beef curry - me)

Snacks/Dessert: Dates, Asian pears

Saturday Brunch: Scrambled Eggs and Fried Potatoes

Saturday:
Brunch:  Scrambled eggs and fried potatoes

Dinner:  Rice, beef curry (daughter), chicken curry (me), moringa curry, cucumber salad, peach chutney

Snacks/Dessert: Almonds, honey roasted peanuts, tangerines, ice cream

Sunday Brunch: Pork Fried Rice

Sunday:

Brunch: Pork fried rice

Dinner: Rice, sauteed moringa leaves, chicken curry, moringa curry, cucumber salad, peach chutney

Snacks/Dessert:  Bananas, tangerines, ice cream, wafers 

I didn't follow the meal plan options to the letter, but, then again, I rarely ever do, so that was nothing new!  The important thing is neither my daughter nor I went hungry.

Moving on to September Week 1 (which includes Monday, August 31 since my week is from Monday to Sunday).  I had some dental work done on Monday and I was told to eat mostly soft foods for a few days.  My September Week 1 meal plan options are as follows:

Brunches:  Fresh fruit; Milkrice and seeni sambol (September 1); Scrambled eggs and fried potatoes; Pancakes and syrup; French toast, Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris, Protein shakes

Dinners:  Rice with leftover beef curry and/or chicken curry and vegetables; Sauteed spicy potatoes; Macaroni and cheese (boxed mix) with tuna;  Pork chops with vegetables and rice or baked potatoes or a boxed pasta mix; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, ice cream, protein drinks; peanut butter and bread; gelatin or pudding; fruit juice/ade.

How about you?  Are you making a meal plan for the first week in September?

Dinner:  

Snacks/Dessert: 

August Monthly Photo Challenge: Begins with B

The monthly photo challenge is hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days and the theme for August was "Begins with B". 

I had a lot of fun with this theme and took far too many photos!  I had to cull them quite a bit, but, here are the ones that I selected to post (there might be a theme within a theme, here!)

Starting with the backyard:

Backyard

Which, these day,s means these birds:

Backyard Chickens

"Brown" Hen 
 (Breed is Rhode Island Red)

Barred (Plymouth Rock) Hen

Bare Spot on the Back Slowly Filling In

Beak Wide Open

 

Beak Open Wider

Birds of a Feather?

Bossom Buddies

Besties who Bicker
(especially when they vie for the upper perch)

Balancing Act

Best Perch!

Thank you, Eileen, for hosting the monthly photo challenge.  I really enjoyed participating.

If anyone else is interested in joining the monthly photo challenge, the theme for September is "Measuring/Measurements".  The rules are posted on Eileen's website and are simple: photos must be taken during the month (no archive photos) and a minimum of five (no upper limit).