Renaissance Woman

In my intellectual, angst-filled days of college, spending too much time in the basement of the JKHB at BYU reading and discussing literature, I remember coming to an ah-hah moment one day. I realized that as a stay-at-home mom I can choose to be a Renaissance Woman, a woman who "develop[s] skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments and in the arts" (Wikipedia). I had lofty dreams of constantly learning all sorts of "stuff about stuff," and sharing what I learn with my family, instead of going out and doing one boring job to pay the bills.

I pulled that memory out of my brain today as I was sitting on a bench by the creek, supervising my kids and a neighbor playing with rocks and sticks and fish. At first blush, I laughed a little at my romantic vision of myself at this stage in my life, which doubtless couldn't have included piles of laundry, screaming children, and days when I can't remember what I did, let alone accomplished anything. But as I went back through my day in my mind with Renaissance glasses, I could see the Renaissance woman I had envisioned come to life:

• I rode my bike, with Graham in the back, to school and back twice.
• I spoke with a friend on the phone who has the same freezer as mine about how the thing works and how ours are both not working properly.
• I listened to the news on NPR while cleaning the kitchen.
• I had a visit from my visiting teacher, wherein we discussed the importance of education. We also discussed (bad) literature (Twilight) and I tried to psycho-analyze her and came to understand (a bit) why she loves it so much.
• I studied the scriptures and Church History for my Gospel Doctrine lesson on "Faith in Every Footstep."
• I taught Graham how to spell his name using play-doh and letter-shaped cookie cutters.
• I made no-knead bread to prepare for a cooking class I'm teaching next week (while listening to Mozart!).
• I updated and published my music teaching website.
• I climbed the fig tree with Russell, and discovered with him that if we cut one little branch we can make a nice seat for a little boy.
• I sat by the creek and pulled basil leaves from branches while the boys played with rocks and tried to catch fish in the creek.
• I read a book about a crocodile trying to eat all the animals and one about the sun--library books Russell brought home.
• I worked on our preschool curriculum--laminated ABC charts with the boys, called around for the right workbook, made a spreadsheet with the schedule, and helped find scriptures about standing for truth and righteousness to put in the curriculum.
• I made a giant batch of pesto using basil harvested from our garden and fed our family pasta with pesto.
• I worked on the family budget, figuring out how much money we can spend in the next year in case our income decreases.

Exercise, mechanics, current events, psychology, literature, astronomy, curriculum development, web design, music, horticulture, accounting, culinary arts, teaching, theology, history. All in a day's work for a Renaissance woman! A beautiful life is in the eyes of the beholder, I guess. I'm gonna wear my Renaissance glasses more often.

Make a 1-Week Menu Plan

Last month we tracked for one week what we ate and spent on food. If you did it, were you surprised by the end result? Did you spend and eat more or less than you expected?

If you missed last month’s goal, just pick up where you are. Track what your family eats and what food you buy with the attached menu plan for a few days. Doing this will help you know better how much food and what type of food you will need for your one-month supply.

This month we want you to take the attached menu plan and make a 1-week menu plan of foods your family likes that will keep well for a while. It’s up to you to decide if that means shelf-stable, freezer-safe, or lasts-a-long-time-in-the-fridge. To save money, take a long look at your pantry. Think about what you could make into meals with what you already have. I like to take an ingredient or two and type it into an online recipe site like allrecipes.com or myrecipes.com and see what what recipes come up.

As we are working on our 1-3 month food storage, we’ve realized we need to get creative on some major food items because we can’t necessarily store a month’s supply—things like milk, bread, cheese, yogurt, and fresh produce. Everyone will have their own solutions and dilemmas as they work on this, but here’s some ideas we’ve discovered that might help:

MILK. Keep a pitcher full of dry milk all mixed up and ready to go in the fridge to use for anything where the taste of the milk doesn’t matter—in baked goods, pancakes, sauces, pudding, etc. You could also keep a gallon or two of milk in your freezer if you have space (it takes several days to defrost, but it tastes fine).

CHEESE. There are shelf-stable cheeses out there (Velveeta, Laughing Cow, etc.) and I learned recently how to can cheddar and mozzarella cheese in jars (let me know if you’re interested, and I can help you do it—it’s really easy!). Some cheeses will keep well in the fridge for a long time, or can be grated and frozen for even longer.

BREAD. Keeping enough bread in your freezer for 1-3 months could take up a lot of space. Why not make your own? Store-bought bread pales in comparison to the homemade stuff! Another added bonus: it doesn’t seem so much like a cop-out to open a can of soup, add fresh-baked bread, and call it dinner. We sometimes have fresh bread and hunks of cheese for dinner with a simple green salad. This can be a huge money-saver if your family buys into it! Think baking bread is something you will never do? Try it. You might be surprised it will taste, even if it doesn't turn out looking pretty!

YOGURT. Did you know you can make yogurt from dry milk? We have a little machine that does it, but basically you just take some milk, add a little yogurt with live cultures, keep it warm for about 6 hours, and you’ve got yogurt. From the yogurt you can make yogurt cheese and all sorts of great baked goods, dips and sauces.

FRESH PRODUCE. Some vegetables and fruits stay fresh a lot longer than others. Root vegetables like carrots, potatoes, garlic and onions can keep for months. Winter squashes, apples and oranges will also last long in a cool place. Or why not try growing your own produce? This is a perfect time to prepare the soil for your spring garden and start planning it out. You can get details about the right time to plant things on your local county extension service website. Our our county's website we can get recommendations for plant varieties and fall planting times.

Once you get a one-week menu plan that you’re happy with, make a shopping list and go shopping. Congratulations! You will then be 25% finished with the goal of 1-month food storage by June 30th.

Recipes from the Garden

My friend Amy’s beautiful garden and backyard is so inspiring! She has masses of basil and lettuce, blackberry bushes along her fence, and a strawberry patch growing with her kids’ little playhouse in the middle of it! Love it.

At the class I got to taste some good recipes: Dani’s cookies (low sugar and laced with navy beans . . . Sh! Don’t tell the kids!), Amy’s cheddar-stuffed jalapenos, and freshly-made pesto. Yum!

Amy’s Pesto

2 c. firmly packed fresh basil
3/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 c. pine nuts/pecans/almonds
1/2 c. olive oil
3 cloves garlic

Blend well in a blender or food processor. Store in fridge 5 days or freeze up to 1 month.

Serving ideas:

Dip for crackers or vegetables
Spread on sandwiches
Pasta: mix with sour cream and add to any hot pasta
Pizza (Cindy H’s suggestion): top with pesto, garlic chicken, red onion, fresh tomatoes, feta cheese, etc.


Amy’s Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapenos

Ingredients:

* 25 medium fresh jalapeno peppers
* 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
* 3 cups (12 ounces) finely shredded cheddar cheese
* 1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions:
Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise; remove seeds and membranes. In a large saucepan, boil peppers in water for 5-10 minutes (the longer you boil the peppers, the milder they become). Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, cheddar cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Spoon 2 teaspoonfuls into each jalapeno half; sprinkle with bacon.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm. Yield: About 4 dozen.


Dani’s Better Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dani usually doubles this.

1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1/4 c. white bean puree
1 egg

2/3 c. flour
1/3 c. wheat germ
1/2 c. oatmeal (rounded—a bit more than 1/2 and less than 3/4)1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4-1/2 t. cinnamon (opt.)

1 t. vanilla
1/2 to 3/4 c. chocolate chips


Cream beans, butter & sugars. Add egg and mix. Mix dry ingredients separately and then add the wet mixture. Add vanilla and chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 13 minutes or so. Enjoy!