Meal Plans - July Week 4 Review and July Week 5

More Nectarines From the Garden

This was my July Week 4 Meal Plan:

Brunches:  Toasted cheese sandwich (Monday), scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes; waffles/pancakes with blueberry compote and dhal; salad; uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat)  apple fritter, 

Dinners: Sauteed chicken with broccoli and microwave baked potato; Rice with dhal, sauteed okra, and hot dogs sauteed with onions and tomatoes (I have to finish that packet of hot dogs!); leftovers. 

Snacks/Desserts: Fruit/fruit salad, tuna salad or peanut butter on crackers, protein breakfast bars, apple juice, lemonade, cake

And here's how it worked out:

Monday:

Brunch: Toasted cheese sandwich

Monday Dinner

Dinner: Rice, dhal (lentils, curry leaves, onions, turmeric, raw curry powder, serrano chilies, garlic, tomato, coconut milk) with moringa leaves, sauteed okra (roasted curry powder, onions), sauteed hot dogs with onion and ketchup 

Snacks: Sliced apple

= 9 plant points (curry powder is a mixture of 12 spices), 2 servings of vegetables, 1 serving of fruit

Tuesday: 

Brunch: Apple fritter

 

Tuesday Dinner

Dinner: Leftovers: Rice, dhal, sauteed okra, sauteed hot dogs, leftover diced potatoes

Snacks: Another apple

= 1 plant point; 2 servings of vegetables (I am not counting the potato as a vegetable); 1 serving of fruit 


Wednesday:

Brunch: Fresh nectarine

Dinner: Leftover rice and curries

Snacks: Saltine crackers; pomegranate

= 2 plant points, 2 servings of vegetables (dhal and okra), 2 servings of fruit

Thursday: 

Brunch: Pancakes and leftover dhal

Thursday Brunch

Dinner: Sauteed chicken, broccoli, carrots, corn, black pepper, and fried potatoes

Thursday Dinner

Snacks: Nectarine

= 4.25 plant points; 3 servings vegetables, 1 serving fruit

Friday:

Brunch: Leftover pancakes with blueberry compote

Dinner: Leftover sauteed chicken, vegetables, and a freshly sauteed potato

Snacks: Nectarine, a piece of love cake, tortilla chips

= 1 plant point; 2 servings of vegetables, 2 servings fruit

Saturday:

Brunch: Yogurt flat bread, katta sambol (a mixture of onions, chilies, and powdered Maldive fish - a type of dried, cured tuna), a nectarine, and kotta kilengu (dried Palmyra palm sprouts)

Dinner: Leftover sauteed chicken and vegetables (there were three chicken thighs in the package of sauteed chicken, so Thursday, Friday, and Saturday)

Snacks: Strawberries, another piece of love cake

= 2 plant points, 3 servings of vegetables (counting the palmyra palm sprouts as a vegetable), 2 servings of fruit

Sunday:

Brunch: Tuna salad on crackers

Dinner:  Peanut butter and peach jam on crackers!  I had taken out a package of ground turkey to thaw in the fridge and it hadn't thawed; I didn't feel like cooking anything, so I sort of snacked.

Snacks: Spicy dried mango slices, two ginger biscuits/cookies, cereal

= 1 plant point; 1 serving of fruit, 0 servings vegetables

Weekly totals: 20.25 plant points and Saturday was the only day I had a full 5 servings of fruits & vegetables.  Well, that wasn't a stellar week, was it?

Never mind.  Moving on to this week, which I am calling July Week 5 (July 29 to August 4) . 

Treats Compliments of Neighbor S
(Rice Pudding, Almond Croissant, Yellow Cake)

On Monday, neighbor S brought me treats!  A container of rice pudding her sister-in-law had made, a type of yellow cake her mother had made, and an almond croissant purchased from a grocery store bakery!

Brunches: Cheese and crackers (Monday), almond croissant (Tuesday), scrambled eggs and bacon with toast or fried potatoes, salad, milk rice with seeni sambol and mackerel curry; cerea

Dinners: Rice with green peas and grated carrots added to it and sauteed cabbage with roasted cashews (Monday and Tuesday); ground turkey keema curry with rice and vegetables; spaghetti with ground turkey and pasta sauce;  gyoza/pot stickers; leftovers  

Snacks/Desserts: Rice pudding, cake, fresh fruit, smoothies, yogurt

We shall see how that works out!

Are you getting your five a day?

The Front Garden in July

The Front Garden in July

The front garden is mostly parched, as I have been watering the back and not the front.  However, I did water it, today.  
 

Looking Down the Sidewalk

I've left the old osteospermum plants in place, but, they are mostly dead.  

A Lot of Cleaning Up Needed

The lantana plants are not flowering, but, they are still mostly green.

Parched by the Sun

This plant (above), which had silver-grey foliage, indicating it is drought tolerant, has dropped most of its leaves.  I still don't know what type of plant it is and neither does M, who gave it to me, but, M said it has blue flowers.  

The Succulents in the Circle

The succulents are, for the most part, doing very well.  Except for the aeoniums, which get scorched, every year.

Scorched Aeonium

The stumpery doesn't care how hot or dry it gets.

The Stumpery

The mixed border along the front of the house, with the pomegranate tree at one end and the climbing red rose at the other end, with a mixture of asparagus ferns, osteospermum, Peruvian lilies, and gladioli in between, remains green, for the most part.  It looks untidy, but, the plants are doing well.

Mixed Border with Asparagus Ferns

Another plant that is doing well in the summer heat is the rosemary bush.  This is the one that is growing in the front garden, not the one with the twisted stems that is growing in the back garden.

Rosemary Bush

That is the front garden at the end of July.  A bit sad looking, I know, but, I've cut back on the watering to twice a week because I'm focusing on the fruits and vegetables in the back garden.

Strawberries on Saturday

Ripening Strawberries

We had a sunny, but, cooler day on Saturday, with a high of 87F.  That was very much within my comfort zone and I didn't put the fan on until about 3:00 p.m.

I did a load of laundry and hung it up to dry.  Later, I video chatted with my step-aunt (stepfather's sister).  Still later, I watered the houseplants and a few of the plants in the garden.  I checked to see if there were any ears of corn ready for picking, but, they all needed more time.  I am impatient to try my homegrown corn!  However, there were a few ripe strawberries and I picked them before the birds could eat them.

Strawberries

They were very small, but, very sweet.

I watched some of the Olympics coverage, with the TV playing in the background while I went about my day's activities.

Brunch was a piece of yogurt flat bread with katta sambol (a spicy mixture of onions, chilies, and pieces of a type of dried fish called Maldive fish), an apricot a nectarine, and kotta kilengu (dried Palmyra palm sprouts).  Dinner was leftover chicken and vegetables.  Snacks included the strawberries I picked and another piece of love cake.

On Saturday, I was grateful for:

- Fresh strawberries from the garden
- Video chatting with my step-aunt
- Working appliances
- Being able to order things (Dancer's cat food) online and have them delivered to the house
- A cooler day

Saturday's joyful activity was video chatting with my aunt.

No special plans for Sunday.  It's supposed to be another cooler day with a high in the mid-80s.  How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?

 

Opening Ceremonies on Friday

 

Evening Clouds

The 2024 Olympics Games Opening Ceremonies were held on Friday.  Due to the time difference, live coverage of the Opening Ceremonies began at 10:30 a.m., with a repeat broadcast during prime time, starting at 7:30 p.m.  When possible, I like to watch live coverage of such events, so, although I had stayed up till 6:00 a.m., I woke up early to watch the live coverage.  I enjoyed watching it, but, felt sorry for everyone getting rained on!

A couple of days ago, when I was walking in the driveway, I saw the grey clouds pictured above, and I wondered if we might get some rain, but, we didn't.  Some rain would have been welcome because then, I wouldn't have had to water the garden!  Homegrown fruits and vegetables are lovely, but, they require regular watering!  Currently, I am watering the garden three times a week and my most recent water bill shows it!  So, on Friday, when M was here to tend to the garden, I told him to skip watering the front garden.  I will cut back to watering it twice a week.   

Brunch was leftover pancakes with blueberry compote.  Dinner was leftover chicken and vegetables, with a newly sauteed potato.  Snacks included nectarines, a piece of love cake (made around Christmas/New Year's and frozen), and tortilla chips.

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Being able to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremonies on TV
- M's help with the garden
- Garden produce (even with high water bills to pay)
- Working appliances
- Being able to borrow books from the library

Friday's joyful activity was watching the Opening Ceremonies.  

No big plans for Saturday.  I'll probably watch some of the Olympics, do laundry and some house cleaning.  

Did you watch the Olympics Opening Ceremonies?  What are your plans for Saturday?

On Thursday

Black Tomato Slices

I sliced the two black tomatoes and they were this gorgeous red color, inside!  Very juicy and the taste was not bad at all (considering I don't like the taste of raw tomatoes); a lot milder than the Berkeley Tie Dye tomatoes.  I imagine they would be good sprinkled with some salt and maybe dressed in a vinaigrette.  However, I just froze them to be added to curries or turned into tomato soup, later.  I also froze the cherry tomatoes.

It was another hot day and, I think the air quality might not have been too good because my asthma was bothering me.  I take a daily inhaler and I have a 'rescue' inhaler, too, if needed.  I also turned on one of the air purifiers and that helped.  I will keep it running during the night, too, I think.  Because of the asthma flare up, I took it relatively easy, today, too.

For brunch, I made pancakes and ate them with the last of the dhal:

Thursday Brunch: Pancakes and Dhal

In the evening, after I watched the evening news and it had cooled down quite a bit, I walked for about 15 minutes.  

For dinner, I had sauteed chicken (previously cooked and frozen), with vegetables (broccoli, carrots, corn) and a potato:

Thursday Dinner

For dessert, I had one of the nectarines we picked on Wednesday.

On Thursday, I was grateful for:

- Asthma inhalers and air purifiers
- Electricity to run the fans and air purifiers
- Garden produce
- Conversations with my daughter

- Being able to take it easy when needed

Thursday's joyful activity was reading.

Plans for Friday include tending to the garden with M and watching the Olympics Opening Ceremonies.

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?

 

On Wednesday

Nectarines from the Garden

On Wednesday, M and I picked the first, ripe nectarines from the garden!  They are of a good size (they are photographed on a dinner plate).  I cut one of them and shared it with M.  We both agreed that it was very sweet.

M brought me an assortment of tomatoes from his garden:

Tomatoes from M's Garden

The two large dark red tomatoes are an heirloom variety of black tomatoes.  The others are red cherry tomatoes and yellow cherry tomatoes.  I've never seen a black tomato prior to this.

I wasn't very productive on Wednesday.  I checked on the garden, made sure Chicken Little had fresh water and some food when she took a break from sitting on her eggs (she announces the fact that she's at the back steps for a snack with some clucking and a flapping of wings; she also scratched around in the planter where M and I planted some moringa seeds, earlier in the day!), watched some online videos and TV programs, called my half-sister and chatted with her for a bit, borrowed another ebook from the library, and walked for 15 minutes or so.  

Brunch was half a nectarine.  I had some saltine crackers with my evening cup of tea.  Dinner was leftover rice and curries.  

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:

- M's help with the garden
- M sharing tomatoes from his garden
- Home grown nectarines
- A chat with my half-sister
- Being able to borrow ebooks from the library

Wednesday's joyful activities included picking and enjoying freshly picked nectarines from the garden!

Plans for Thursday includes doing some cooking and a bit of tidying.

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

Ten Years and Counting

 

Monday's Pickings

When I wrote my first blog post on July 20, 2014, stating that it would be a blog about "this and that", I really had no idea that I would still be writing about "this and that" ten years later!  Thank you to all of you who read and comment on my blog.

So, to continue with posting about "this and that", on Sunday evening, after I had posted my blog post about the warm weekend and how grateful I was for electricity to run the fans and appliances, around 9:00 p.m., the power went off!  My block was completely without power.  Fortunately, I keep a flashlight (or torch as I grew up calling them) near me and plenty of candles.  I lit several candles and there was sufficient light to see to clean the litter box and do the dishes, but, I couldn't do much else!  I didn't want to strain my eyes to try and read or sew by candlelight and while I crocheted a bit, I wasn't that interested in it.  Fortunately, it had started to cool off a bit, so, the lack of working fans didn't bother me too much.  Neighbor S called to say that her electric gate was not working and her daughters, who were coming home after having gone out earlier, couldn't find street parking.  Before she could even ask, I told her that they could park in my driveway and she thanked me.  I was glad I was able to help.  I Facetimed with my daughter because we couldn't video chat as usual.  Then, around 12:15 a.m., just as I was thinking that I might as well go to bed, the power came back on and, of course, I stayed up till past 3:00 a.m.!  LOL.

On Monday morning, I called in Dancer's medication refill to the pharmacy.  Then, I took the car in for a smog check to see if the exhaust emissions meet air quality standards; the smog check was required for renewing my car registration which is coming due.  There was no one else ahead of me, so, the mechanic was able to check my car right away.  My car passed the smog check, so now, I can go ahead and send in my renewal fees.  I relaxed during the afternoon and read.  

In the evening, when it had cooled off a bit, I took the trash cans to the curb for pick up in the morning, put water to the back garden, and picked some Meyer lemons, red Serrano chilies, a handful of okra, and a sprig of moringa leaves.  Then, I cooked dinner - rice, dhal with moringa leaves, sauteed okra, and sliced, sauteed hot dogs with onions, chili powder, and ketchup.  Brunch had been a cheese sandwich.

I also cleaned and polished a brass candle holder, a small, round brass tray, and another metal candle holder with a glass globe.  I had used both candle holders on Sunday night and they were full of melted wax which needed to be scraped out.   

On Monday, I was grateful for:

- The car passing the smog check
- The produce I was able to pick from the garden
- Water for the garden
- Being able to help neighbor S with the parking for her daughters the night before
- Power being restored

Monday's joyful activity was picking the lemons and vegetables from the garden.

On Tuesday, I  drove to the pharmacy to pick up Dancer's medication refill.  This is the pharmacy located next to the doughnut shop.  I bought an apple fritter, this time, instead of a doughnut.  It was delicious!  

In the afternoon, I made the appointment for my blood test prior to my next doctor's appointment.  It's not until mid-August, but, I wanted to make sure I booked a spot, without procrastinating like the last time.  I also checked the grocery ads for the week, although I haven't decided if I'll buy groceries this week.

In the evening, I walked for a little bit, chatted with friend R, watched some online videos, cleaned the kitchen a bit, and relaxed.  Dinner was leftovers from Monday.

Tuesday's Dinner

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- Dancer's medication was available without any problems
- A safe drive to the pharmacy and back
- Being able to make my blood test appointment
- Access to medical care
- Power to run the fans, etc.

Tuesday's joyful activities included enjoying an apple fritter for brunch and keeping in contact with friends through emails and phone calls.

Which brings us to Wednesday.  Plans for Wednesday include tending to the garden with M.   

What are your plans for Wednesday?

July Week 3 Meal Plan Review and July Week 4 Plan

Thursday's Dinner

Last week's meal plan was based on what I had on hand.  I wanted to see how well I would do with trying to have 30 different plant based foods in the week's meals.  But, more than 30 plant based foods, I wanted to see if I could get in my 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

This was my July Week 3 Meal Plan:

Brunches: Hot dogs on buns with condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish), scrambled eggs or omelets (compliments of Chicken Little!), waffles with blueberry compote; salad

Dinners:  Rice with leftover beef curry, sauteed cabbage curry, and tomato curry (Monday and Tuesday); rice with sauteed okra, leftover beef curry, cabbage, and tomato curry; ground turkey curry patties; leftovers, Yellow rice, salted dried fish, pappadum

Snacks/desserts: Plums, pomegranate, grapes, apples, ice cream, bread pudding (maybe)

And here is how that turned out:

Monday:

Brunch: Hot dog and bun, with condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish - I don't think they count towards plant based points, although they are plant based!); plums = 1 point; 1 serving of fruit

Dinner: Rice, leftover beef curry (7 points), sauteed cabbage curry (1 point), and tomato curry (1 point)' = 9 points; 2 servings of vegetables

Desserts/Snacks: More plums, pomegranate seeds (1 point); 2 more servings of fruit

Daily Total: 11 points for plant based foods; 3 servings of fruits and 2 servings of vegetables (= 5/5 per day)

Tuesday:

Brunch: Same as Monday (hot dog and bun; plums) = 0 points; 1 serving of fruit

Dinner: Same as Tuesday = 0 points; 2 servings of vegetables

Snacks: More plums, pomegranate seeds, a KIND protein bar (list of ingredients include oats, tapioca syrup, soy protein isolate, semi-sweet chocolate, bananas, canola oil, cane sugar, peanut butter and peanuts, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa obviously in small quantities, but, maybe I can claim 0.25 points each for the bolded items? = 1.75 points; 2 servings of fruit

Daily Total: 1.75 points; 3 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables (= 5/5 per day)

Wednesday:

Brunch: Toast with peanut butter and peach jam = 0 points  (Does peanut butter count?)

Dinner: Leftover rice, the last of the beef curry, leftover cabbage, leftover tomato curry, and a pappadum; 0 points, 2 servings of vegetables

Snacks: Plums, the last piece of pecan candy that my daughter brought me from her visit to New Orleans (yes, it had pecan halves in it, but, I don't think I should count it! LOL).

Daily Total: 0 points, 2 servings vegetables, 1 serving fruit (=3/5 per day)

Thursday:

Brunch: Tuna salad sandwich, with shredded lettuce = 1 point; 0.5 servings of vegetables

Dinner: Yellow rice (cooked with spices such as whole cloves, cardamom pods, pepper corns, curry leaves, pieces of cinnamon and pandan leaves, turmeric powder = 1.75 points and coconut milk = 1 point), fried dry fish (a salted and dried fish), freshly cooked okra (1 point), leftover tomato curry, leftover cabbage = 3.75 points; 3 servings vegetable

Snacks: Pomegranates, mixed nuts and seeds (pistachio, almonds, sesame, sunflower)  = 1 point

Daily Total: 4.75 points; 3.5 servings vegetables, 1 serving fruit (=4.5/5 per day; I didn't count the mixed nuts)

Friday:

Brunch: tuna salad sandwich; tortilla chips; 

Dinner: Leftover yellow rice, leftover cabbage, leftover tomato curry, fried dry fish, pappadum  (0 points; 2 servings vegetables).

Snacks/ Desserts: Grapes, pistachio ice cream (1 point, 1 serving fruit)

Daily Total: 1 point, 2 servings vegetables, 1 serving fruit (= 3/5 per day)

Saturday:

Brunch: Salad - lettuce, 1 carrot, 1/2 apple, cashews = 3 points; 2 servings veg; 1 serving fruit

Dinner: Leftover Yellow Rice, fried breaded shrimp, cabbage, tomato chutney = 1 serving veg.

Snacks/Desserts: The last of this year's Plums, cereal = 1 fruit

Daily Total: 3 points, 3 serving vegetables, 2 servings fruit (= 5/5 per day)

Sunday:

Brunch: Hot dogs and buns

Dinner: Peanut butter and crackers (power went off before I could cook dinner)

Snacks/Desserts: Spicy dried mango = 1 point; 1 serving fruit

Daily Total: 1 point; 1/5 per day

Plus, 1 point for a cup of tea, which I drink daily.

23.5 points of plant based food for the week, which was just half a point more than what it was the previous week, which isn't bad, I guess.  Not ideal, but, it leaves room for improvement.

As for the 5 a day, on three of the days, I met that goal, on one other day, I almost met the goal with 4.5 servings, on two other days, I had 3/5 servings and one day, I only had 1 serving, which was very sad!

My conclusion is, I repeat a lot of the same plant based items during the week, which can't be counted after the first time.

Onwards and upwards, as they say!

Week 4 Meal Plan:

I probably should go grocery shopping this week, but, assuming I don't, this week's meal plan is also based on what I have on hand:

Brunches:  Toasted cheese sandwich (Monday), scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes; waffles/pancakes with blueberry compote; salad; uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat)

Dinners: Sauteed chicken with broccoli and microwave baked potato; Rice with dhal, sauteed okra, and hot dogs sauteed with onions and tomatoes (I have to finish that packet of hot dogs!); leftovers. 

Snacks/Desserts: Fruit/fruit salad, tuna salad or peanut butter on crackers, protein breakfast bars, apple juice, lemonade

I will keep track of my plant based food points for this week, too, but, the focus is on getting my 5/day.

What do you think?

A Warm Weekend

The Corn Patch

It has been a rather warm weekend with the daytime highs being in the upper 90s (around 95F/35C).  I've been using the fans to keep cool, but, I've been tempted to turn the A/C on in the bedroom during the afternoons.  I think I am feeling the heat a bit more because I am wearing my knee high compression socks all day.  

Saturday was the 61st anniversary of my father's death.  I spent a quiet day, remembering him, and wondering how my life would have turned out if he had lived longer.  

I also started on the process of taking the slipcovers off my family room sofas to wash them.  They are two IKEA 3-seater sofas and have white denim covers; there is one big cover for the entire sofa and individual covers for the six cushions that form the seats and the back.  They are machine washable, but, have to be air dried.  When I removed the cover of one of the cushions, I found that the inner lining had torn and the filling was coming out.  So, now, I need to sew a new inner cover.  That happened with one of the other cushions, too, earlier.  

Torn Cushion

I washed the individual cushion covers on Saturday.

Today, Sunday, I washed the bigger sofa cover and it is air drying as I type this.  I also checked on the chicken eggs and Chicken Little was sitting on them when I checked, so I didn't disturb her.  I gave the plants a quick drink of water to help them cope with the heat.  I saw that there might be three more okra ready to be picked, although I didn't pick them when I watered the garden.

This weekend, I am grateful for:

- Electricity to run the fans and other appliances
- Working appliances 
- Water for the garden
- Emails from friends
- Memories of my father

The weekend's joyful activities have included blogging and reading.

Plans for Monday include taking the car in for a smog check and meal planning.

How is your weekend coming along?  What are your plans for Monday? 

Warm on Friday

Friday's Tomato Harvest

Friday's high was 95F (35C).  The house stayed relatively cool and comfortable with a fan on, but, by about 4:30 p.m., it became rather stuffy.  I waited till 5:30 p.m., however, to open the windows and doors.  By which time, it had cooled down to 91F, outside.  It's 11:15 p.m. as I type this and outside has cooled down to 75F.  Saturday's high is also supposed to be 95F.  It has been so warm that I've been hearing small "pop" "pop" noises as the empty canning jars seal themselves in the box!  

I checked on Chicken Little's nest, this morning, and she wasn't sitting on her eggs.  There was a new egg, however, and I went ahead and collected it.  She has five eggs in her nest to hatch, assuming they are fertilized eggs.  Later in the evening, when M was here, he said he saw her sitting on her eggs again, so, maybe she only sits on them in the evenings?  I asked him about his chicken coop building skills, if we get any chicks, and he said we can figure something out!  LOL.  

I took it easy, today, and spent a relaxed day.  Later in the evening, M arrived to tend to the garden. He picked the tomatoes and the rest of the plums for me. We are now anticipating the nectarines that are slowly ripening.  After that, there won't be any garden fruits until the Asian pears and the Fuyu persimmons ripen, later in the fall.

Later in the evening, a little after 8:00 p.m., when it was cooler, I walked for 15 minutes, up and down the driveway and in front of the house.  

Brunch was a tuna salad sandwich and dinner was Sri Lankan style yellow rice, which I cooked on Thursday, with leftover cabbage, tomato curry, fried dry fish (a salted and dried fish), and pappadum (lentil wafers).  I had the last of the grapes and some pistachio ice cream for dessert.

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Another new egg from Chicken Little
- Tomatoes and plums from the garden
- M helping me with the garden
- Finding that I can fit into two items of clothing (a blouse I had sewn and a dress) in my closet which had been tight!
- Cool evenings

Today's joyful activity was spending time in the garden.

Plans for tomorrow include tidying the family room, just a bit.  

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for Saturday and the weekend? 

 

This is Eggciting!

Do You See Her?

On Wednesday, when M was here to tend to the garden, he picked up the one egg that was still outside the nest and placed it in the nest.  On Thursday morning, when I checked the nest, there were no new eggs and Chicken Little was walking around the garden, quite unconcerned with her eggs.

 

How About Now?

On Thursday evening, however, when I took the kitchen composting stuff out to the backyard, I looked towards the nest and something red caught my eyes!  It was her comb!  She is very well camouflaged but, she was looking directly at me!  I took the picture from afar as I didn't want to disturb her.

I have no idea if she has been sitting on her eggs in the evening or if this is something new!  I always thought she flew over the wall and went to the neighbors' to roost at night!  I've no idea if the eggs are fertilized or not (I don't hear any rooster crowing from next door, although, I do hear a rooster crowing from further up the block from time to time.  If the eggs are not fertilized, then, she could just be broody.  But, if the eggs are fertilized, we might have some chicks hatching at the end of the month or beginning of August!  (I read that they take about 20 to 21 days to hatch, if fertilized).  Wouldn't that be exciting?  Or, should I say, "eggciting"? 

Actually, if there are baby chicks, I will let the neighbors know (they were very helpful to me when I had some plumbing issues on Saturday). 

Now I feel guilty that I took away those other eggs!  The two I ate, earlier, and the two that are in the fridge!  Sorry, Chicken Little!  But, if nothing has happened by mid August, then, I suppose I will have to get rid of the eggs.    

It was a warm day on Thursday, with a high of 91F, but, Friday is supposed to be hot with a high of 95F.  In anticipation of Friday's heat, in addition to Thursday's kitchen cleaning (wiped down the counter tops, behind and under the toaster and microwave, etc., and swept and mopped the floor), I did Friday's bathroom cleaning, too, and washed all the bathmats, kitchen rug, etc.  Now I won't feel guilty if I spend the day reading or crafting on Friday.

I am grateful for:

- The eggs I have received from Chicken Little
- Knowing that Chicken Little is sitting on her eggs
- Sunny, warm days
- Water for the garden

Thursday's joyful activity was watering the front garden.

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?  What do you think will happen with Chicken Little's eggs?  Do you think they will hatch?  Or, is she being broody?

Meal Planning: July Week 2 Review and July Week 3

This was the meal plan for July Week 2:

Leftovers! 

I started out the week with a fridge full of leftovers from the previous Friday's dinner that needed to be finished!

I had also been reading, on a couple of other blogs, about striving to have a variety of plant based foods in ones diet.  Eileen at A Bracelet of Days had mentioned it, a few years ago, when she was taking a nutrition class online.  Angela at Tracing Rainbows did a very informative blog post, here earlier in the year, and I was intrigued. More recently, Fat Dormouse at View from the Teapot posted about trying it. 

Both Angela and FD have posted a lot of details about it, but, basically, the concept is to consume a variety of plant based foods (including whole grains, tea, and coffee), at least 30 a week, to encourage the friendly gut bacteria to thrive and do what they do to help us obtain the nutrients from the food we eat.  According to this concept, the amounts of the plant based food we eat is not as important as the variety.  Each different plant based food, regardless of quantity, gets one point, and herbs and spices count as 0.25 point.  However, there has to be 30 different plant based foods, each week.  So, if you eat a plum one day and another plum the next day, only the first day's plum gets counted as one of your 30 per week.  The focus is on variety. 

Now, I am someone who struggles to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  I can easily have three servings of fruit, but, I struggle with the vegetables.   However, since one of my goals this month was to focus on improving my health and a better, healthier diet is part of that, I thought that it would be fun to see how much variety I get on a weekly basis.  And July Week 2, when the only thing on my meal plan was leftovers, was the week I chose to see how much variety I get in a fairly typical week, when I haven't grocery shopped and bought any produce, specifically with a 30/week diet in mind.

So, here is how last week's meal plan turned out.  I have bolded the plant based food item the first time I ate it, as I can only count it once during the week.  For the curries, I use a curry powder which is a blend 12 spices (coriander, cumin, fennel, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon, fenugreek, nutmeg, mustard, garlic, curry leaves, lemon grass) plus roasted rice, which will give me 3 points (although, I usually put additional garlic, cloves, cardamom, and fresh curry leaves to my curries, in larger quantities, but, I won't count them).  I also eat a lot of rice, which is plant based, but, since I generally eat white rice, I am not able to count that as only whole grains count. 

Monday: 

Brunch: Yogurt flat bread, devilled beef (curry powder = 3, onions = 1, chili powder = 0.25, paprika = 0.25, pandan leaves = 0.25, tomato = 1, green chilies =0.25, bell peppers =1, coconut milk =1); mango =1 & ice cream (= 9 points)

Dinner: Beef curry sandwich (my beef curry essentially has the same ingredients as the devilled beef, minus the bell pepper, so, no new points).

Tuesday: 

Brunch: Salad (lettuce, apple, cherries, plum (= 4 points)

Dinner: Rice, chicken curry, sauteed green beans, cashew curry (turmeric, curry powder, green chilies, onion, curry leaves, coconut milk) (=2.25 points)

Wednesday: 

Brunch: Toast, butter,  peach jam (I don't think jam counts)

Dinner:  Tuna salad (relish) on crackers, strawberries, plums (= 2.25 points)

Thursday:

Brunch: Tuna salad sandwich 

Dinner: Rice, chicken curry, cucumber salad (with lemon juice, green chilies, black pepper), sauteed potatoes (I am not quite sure if potatoes are included, I didn't find it listed in the examples of plant based foods that I read, but, I'm going to count it, although, it might be like white rice and not considered a plant based food!); ice cream = (2.5 points)

Friday:

Brunch: Tuna salad sandwich, tortilla chips, plum

Dinner: Leftovers - Devilled beef, cashew curry, cucumber salad

Saturday: 
Brunch: Toast, peanut butter, peach jam

Dinner - Fried rice (with bacon, peanuts, green peas, corn) (= 3 points)

Sunday: 

Brunch: Bacon, eggs (thanks to Chicken Little!), fried potatoes, bell peppers, plums, 

Dinner: Fried shrimp, Lettuce salad

So, how did I do with my 30/week?  Well, I counted 23 points for the meals, plus 1 point for a cup of tea (I have a daily cup of tea, but, I don't usually list that in my meal plans), which gave me a total of 24 points for the week.  Which, considering the meal plan was focused mostly on finishing up the leftovers, seemed good enough for me.  

Maybe, going forward, I can plan my meals with increased variety in mind.  

July Week 3 Meal Plan:

Once again, I am not planning to go grocery shopping this week, so, we shall see how well I do with trying to have 30 different plant based foods in this week's meals!

Brunches: Hot dogs on buns with condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish), scrambled eggs or omelets (compliments of Chicken Little!), waffles with blueberry compote; salad

Dinners:  Rice with leftover beef curry, sauteed cabbage curry, and tomato curry (Monday and Tuesday); rice with sauteed okra, leftover beef curry, cabbage, and tomato curry; ground turkey curry patties; leftovers

Snacks/desserts: Plums, pomegranate, grapes, apples, ice cream, bread pudding (maybe)

Have you heard of or tried the 30/week eating plan?  Is it something you might try?  What do you think?

Mid-July Monday

Monday's Pickings

Here we are, mid-July, already!  Didn't this month just start?  

On Monday morning, I went to the garden to see what I might find and I found another egg, two unripe nectarines that had fallen, and  ripe tomato.  One of the fallen nectarines had about three-quarters of it eaten by a bird or, maybe a squirrel, so I left it under the tree to be finished by whatever animal might want it.  The other was was only pecked at in one spot, so I brought it in.  I don't think it will ripen even if I put it in a paper bag and keep it on the counter.  But, I think I can make a pickle or cook a curry with it (similar to green mango curry).

Monday was a fairly productive day.  I stripped my bed and did a load of laundry.  Cleaned the fridge (wiped down the shelves and the bins and relined the produce bins; didn't clean the shelves in the door, this time around).  Took out the trash cans and walked for 10 minutes or so.  Watched the news and first hour or so of the Republican National Convention.  Then, I watched a couple of programs on the History Channel. 

And I cooked dinner: 

Dinner: Rice and Curries

Dinner was rice, sauteed curried cabbage, tomato curry, and beef curry.  As I had expected, the Berkeley Tie Dye tomato tasted better as a curry to me.  For dessert, I had sauteed apple slices.

Brunch had been a hot dog as I had the package of hot dog buns I had bought earlier.

I haven't made a proper meal plan for the week, yet, but, to start off the week, there will be hot dogs for brunches, along with scrambled eggs or omelets, depending on how generous Chicken Little decides to be and rice and curries for dinners, and there will be fresh fruits for snacks.

On Monday, I was grateful for:

- Another egg from Chicken Little
- Fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden
- Working appliances
- A pleasantly warm, but, not too hot, day 
- Keeping in touch with friends

Monday's joyful activity was picking garden produce.

Plans for Tuesday include another load of laundry and watering the back garden.

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

Garden Bounty

Like a Queen on her Throne

Mama Cat used to be the Queen of the Garden, but, I think we might have a new Queen of the Garden!

Guess what I found on Sunday morning?

A New Egg!

There was a new egg in the nest, when I checked!  So, as one of you commented on a previous post, "Finders keepers"!  I claimed this egg, too, and decided that I will have eggs for brunch!  I was a bit nervous cracking them open, but, they looked like perfect eggs.  Look at the color of those yolks!

Two Perfect Eggs

It didn't take long to make myself some brunch:

Sunday Brunch

Scrambled eggs, bacon, and diced potatoes, with just a little bell pepper added to the potatoes for flavor.  Everything tasted delicious.

In addition to the egg, I also picked the first okra on Sunday:

The First Okra

My okra plants look stunted, the tallest plant is barely two feet tall, but, they are producing okra; I hope this is the first of many!  I considered adding it to my brunch, but, decided not to.  

I also picked three or four plums, but, didn't take a picture of them.

Sliced Tie Dye Tomato

Finally, I sliced the Berkeley Tie Dye tomatoes I picked the other day.  This is not a very good picture, taken in artificial light, but, the tomato was more pink inside than red and the seeds had a greenish tinge.  I tasted a piece and it had a very pronounced tomato taste.  I suppose some people would say it was very flavorful, but, since I don't care for the taste of raw tomatoes, it was too strong a flavor for me.  However, I think they will be excellent when cooked.  I froze these tomato slices to be added to my cooking, later.  But, next year, I shall go back to planting Early Girl and/or Roma tomatoes!

Now I have to figure out what to do with my single okra (the others are not yet ready to be picked).

I am grateful for my garden bounty, for Chicken Little blessing me with some free eggs. and for the garden fruits and vegetables. 

How was your Sunday?  What are your plans for Monday?

You Say Toma(y)to, I Say Toma(h)to

Tomatoes!

On Friday, M and I picked three of the ripest Berkeley Tie Dye tomatoes, one of which had that stem end spoilage.  One of them seems to be sticking its nose up in the air!

Of course, I had to weigh them:

Weighing the Tomatoes

The three tomatoes came to 2 1/2 pounds:

2.5 Pounds

I offered one of the tomatoes to M, but, he declined saying his plants are producing lots of tomatoes, too.  Instead, he happily accepted the rice and curry dinner I served for him to take home; he likes my chicken curry, so, I gave him the rest of the chicken curry, the forgotten potatoes, rice, and a jar of tomato chutney.

I had a tuna salad sandwich for brunch and for dinner, I had rice, the last of the devilled beef, and the rest of the cucumber salad.

I haven't cut the tomatoes to see how they are, but, I'll take a picture when I do.  

Oh, and for the record, I say. "toma(h)to" as that's how we said it in Sri Lanka.  The Sinhala and Tamil word for tomato is, "thakkali".

I am grateful for tomatoes from the garden.  

Are you growing tomatoes in your gardens, this year? 

An EggSighting Friday!

A New Egg!

This morning (Friday) I went out to check on the eggs and there was a new egg!  It was eggciting to say the least!  It was easy to tell it apart from the others because the others had been marked.  I decided to claim this egg!

An Egg in Hand is Worth Four in the Nest?

I had read somewhere that one shouldn't wash freshly laid eggs, but, I went ahead washed it. Then I measured it:

Approx. 1.5 Inches Long

Approx. 1 Inch in Width

I didn't measure the circumference.  If it is a chicken egg, then, it is a fairly small one, I think. But, here it is, next to a store bought, size large egg:

Size Comparison

Most commonly available store bought egg sizes are small, medium, large, and extra large; sometimes, there is a jumbo size, as well.  The sizes are based on the weight (generally, the average weight of a dozen similar sized eggs), with "small" being 1.5 oz.

So, I had to weigh it:

Weighing the Egg

I weighed it using my ounces scales, which goes up to 16 oz. or 1 lb.

Almost 1.5 Ounces!

It's not as accurate (or should I say eggxact?)  as a digital scale, but, I think it is safe to say that the egg weighed just under 1.5 oz.  So, definitely a small egg.  But, that is fine.

Chicken Little

After all, Chicken Little isn't all that big, either!  It was walking around the garden quite happily, this morning, eating more of the cats' kibble and drinking from their water bowl.  Apparently, quite at home in my garden!  Thank you for the egg, Chicken Little, if it is you who is laying the eggs!

To be quite honest, I think Chicken Little looks more like a rooster than a hen, going by those tail feathers, but, it doesn't crow like a rooster and as it is the only chicken I usually see in my yard and if those eggs are chicken eggs, then, I guess Chicken Little is a hen and she laid them?

It's a much cooler day, today, with a high of 85F and mostly cloudy.  I haven't needed to switch the fan on, all day!  I checked on the eggs and the garden, did a load of laundry, and still need to clean the kitchen and the bathrooms.  I've just unlocked the gate for M who will be here to tend to the garden, in a little bit.

Brunch was a tuna salad sandwich and tortilla chips, plus a plum.  Haven't decided on dinner yet, but, there are leftover rice and curries to finish up.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- A new egg!
- A cooler day
- Working appliances
- M's help with the garden
- Leftovers

Today's joyful activity was finding and checking out the new egg!  

What do you think?  Is Chicken Little a hen?  If so, did she lay the eggs?  Would it be safe to eat?  Or should I cook it and serve it to the cats?