Dinner updates

Tonight's plan: roasted chicken (stuffed with lemon, onion, and rosemary) with winter veggies (parsnip, carrots, leeks....roasted beets on the side, drizzled with a touch of honey and herbs...).

Tomorrow's plan: Granny's Baked Beans. I don't have my Grandma Goddard's recipe, but here is what I remember. She had a special little brown crockery pot used only for the purpose of making baked beans. She also had a woodstove in the kitchen, and she'd simmer the beans on top of this woodstove, stoking the fire occassionally. (She also had a regular stove, but as a kid I was fascinated by the old fashioned one.) She used a slab of bacon, not the pre-sliced, pre-packaged stuff, and she used maple syrup that she'd buy on trips "back east" to Toronto. I don't remember the details beyond that, but I remember that they were DELICIOUS and a real treat. I'm making them for our family's dinner tomorrow night....hopefully Ryan & Tessa's love of bacon and maple syrup will compensate for their distaste at beans! I got the slab of bacon at the farmer's market, and I got the beans there, too. Today I'm pre-soaking the beans in the crock pot, as that's a 6-8 hour step, and then I'll bake them with the other ingredients tomorrow.

I'm also making a leek soup for lunches and a side dish for the rest of the week; it's a recipe from "French Women Don't Get Fat" and it's proported to be delicious, healthy, and slimming. We'll see.

Today Tessa went to her five year check up, and all systems are working well (no surprise to me). She got three shots, and cried for a moment while snuggled in my lap, but soon wiped her tears and smiled for her treats (a pencil, lollipop, and sticker...one treat for each shot) from the nurse. As a treat for her shots, and for registering for kindergarten (to mark the milestone), I offered to treat Tessa to lunch in the Junction. Azuma (sushi place)? Lee's (Chinese/Asian)? Elliott Bay Brewery? Jak's (we could split a hamburger there)? Capers (deli stuff)? Buddha Ruksa (Thai)? No, no, no, Mommy. McDONALD'S! At first I said no. I hate their stuff, it's unhealthy, etc. But then I thought "do I want to be that kind of mom?" and the answer is "no." We went to McDonald's, and invited Jenny & Zoe to join us. Tessa delightfully said, "I got to come here one other time!" and that made me feel a bit better about the decision - it's NOT like we do this much (maybe once a year). They gave her a toy with her happy meal, and it wasn't something she liked, so she gave it back, so we didn't even add it to a landfill or have one more piece of clutter enter the house. And her enthusiasm over the whole thing was enough for me; it was the right thing to do this time. I've got an upset stomach as a result, but it WAS worth it, and I'm drinking ginger tea this afternoon to compensate.

Tessa and Zoe are playing, and I'm on the computer here a moment before doing chores. The sun is shining, and the girls played outside a bit. I hope we get good weather this weekend so that we can break ground on our garden. This week I'm reading about composting and soil mixes for vegetable gardens....wonders never cease.

That's all for now - off to laundry!