Living Slowly

A couple of weeks ago, Tsh, over on Simple Mom, wrote a post about living slowly.  She asked her readers to ponder some questions:

1.  What does living slowly mean to you?  How would you define it?
2.  What is one thing you would add to your life if you had spare time?
3.  If you could say 'no' to an obligation, what would it be?

So this post has been percolating in my mind for awhile, since I had no time to sit down and write all that has been going on in my life until this very week.  This post was meant for me!!  This May has been the craziest one yet - yet living slowly is all I want - it is the key to my personal happiness.

1.  How would I define living slowly?

Not living by a schedule.  Oh how I wish I didn't have to be a slave to a schedule.  I'm not talking about the internal family schedule - like doing chores and schoolwork - that is what keeps our family life sane and gives us structure.  It's when the busy outside schedule messes with the internal schedule, that all hell breaks loose.  The outside schedule is the classes, meetings, field trips, errands that have to be done by such-and-such a date, appointments, scouts, playdates, MNO's and so forth.  Don't get me wrong - each and every one of those 'things' are important in their own right.  But lately it has been too much of a good thing.

I relish the days that we can move about our day with no need to be constantly looking at the clock.  That if we want to meander, we can.  If I want to deviate from our plan of action for the day, we can.  An exceptionally beautiful day means that we can ditch the books and go enjoy some time outside.

Living slowly means that the kids can have long, extended play sessions (where true creativity and problem-solving happens).  That I can get lost in a book.  That I can do a load of laundry and see it all the way through - from start to finish.  That I can bake an impromptu batch of cookies.

2.  What is one thing that I would add to my life if I had spare time?

Art classes.  I have no artistic skill, but that is not what I am after.  It's the way I get lost in what I am doing that I lust after.  It sort of feels like a drug.  When I am painting or sculpting or whatever, I am completely and utterly absorbed in what I am doing.  When I live 99.9% of my life with the constant distraction of multiple things going on at the same, a chance to focus on a single task is my mental refuge.

3.  If I could say 'no' to an obligation, what would it be?

Laundry?  Dishes?

Seriously, if I could say 'no' to something it would be scouts.  And I just did that - so I hope things get better.  I can't even begin to relate how frustrating it is to coordinate a group of individuals who all have different levels of personal commitment.

Another obligation that I have considered saying 'no' to was our homeschooling group.  We have been through a very rough couple of years.  Out of our current membership of 150 families, I am in regular contact with about 10?  15?  The rest we never see or hear from unless there is something they don't like.  I resent the apathy in our group.  We have recently gone from loosely organized to incorporating into a non-profit and forming a Board.  I am now on a board of nine members as one of a team of two that manages the membership aspects of the group.  This will increase my time commitment, but it will be no where near what scouts was requiring.  It also means that I work with just the board - all ladies that I know pretty well and have a great deal of respect for.  And we have a common, unified goal - and we are all pretty committed to pulling our group up by the bootstraps and creating a better entity in the interest in serving our local homeschooling community.  That is something I can truly commit to without resentment.  But I wholeheartedly say 'no' to the obligation that our board has to organize and 'entertain' the membership.  I won't do it.  Lots of the families are in the group for only one thing: social opportunities for their kids.  In and of itself that is not a bad thing, but it's the ones that EXPECT things to fall into their lap.  There is no initiative on their part to plan things or create things for the kids to do.  I organized several field trips a few years back and then just burned out.  It was too much work and homeschoolers are notorious for signing up and then not showing up.

So on this day I am glad to put the busiest month of the year to rest.  I am so thankful that June is here, and we can look forward to living more slowly.

How about you?  How would you answer these questions?

Adding with Cuisenaire rods

As we have been working through Rylan's lessons (she is midway through Year 1 of MEP), she has been having difficulty readily identifying number partners when adding.  When we hit the practice pages for adding up to six, it was time to have her use some number strips.  Instead of printing out and cutting up a bunch of strips, I just pulled out our box of Cuisenaire rods, and wrote their 'value' on them with a Sharpie.  And then I helped her build these patterns to help her see the partnerships better.

But.  I didn't tell her what we were building.

And I know we got somewhere with this because all of a sudden she exclaimed, "Wait!!!  I see something!  I see a pattern!".

Bingo.

Moroccan Chicken Tangine

So, on Monday morning, while Dean was sawing lumber and building the composter (and the kids were outside "helping"), I enjoyed the relative peace and quiet of the house by trying to knock off an episode or two of America's Test Kitchen from the DVR.  I have 21 in queue right now...

First up was an America's Test Kitchen version of a Moroccan dish called 'Chicken Tangine'.  I have never cooked anything remotely like this.  Ethnic foods for me have been limited to Mexican and ... well, Mexican.  I can't call spaghetti 'authentic' Italian.  I just can't.  There is very little thought process that goes into it (sorry if you are Italian and I've just offended your grandmother).  I'm talking about SPAGHETTI.  Sure, I have a rather ingredient-heavy recipe - but hey - you throw it all into a crockpot and simmer it for hours.  Where's the challenge?

With Chicken Tangine, it was a 21-step process.  And it begins with food prep.  You need six different spices just to get started.  I had all of them, but the age of two of them I couldn't vouch for.  One of the bottles had a label on the bottom with my maiden initials on it.  I put it there in 1992, when I lived with two other roommates and we just stored all of our spices together.  1992.  So that makes that bottle 20 freakin' years old.  I sniffed it.  It smelled vaguely of sawdust.  How is it, in the past 20 years, I didn't use all of my cayenne pepper?  About ten years ago I got into the habit of labeling my bottles with the month and year that I opened it.  I know that about 3/4 of my spices need to go, based on age (most lose potency even just after 6 months).  That is an expensive proposition.  But in ethnic cooking, where spices are the headliners, you can't skimp - so it was off to the store.

Since I didn't have a prep team to dice and measure everything for me, I had to go through the recipe and do it myself.  Toast some almonds.  Mince and mash lemon peel, garlic and salt together until you have a paste.  Slice onions, olives, carrots... and on and on.  Each into it's own bowl until it was all ready to go.

Here is some sage cooking advice that isn't mine, but I know it works:  Prepare all of your ingredients beforehand.  Line them up in little bowls, dishes, spoons, whatever you have on hand.  Because as you see chefs on the cooking shows emptying bowl after bowl of different ingredients into the cookpot as they go - there is a reason, and it's not to look fancy.  It is so you can pay attention to what is going on in the pot.  You don't want your back turned, madly dicing the onions, when you chicken is burning.  Do it all beforehand, so that you can pay attention to what you are doing.

This recipe required ingredients and techniques I've never done before.  Shallots.  I used to dislike onions.  A lot.  I am now reformed, but because of my dislike, I never, never tried shallots.  Oh - my goodness - I have missed the boat!  They are mildly oniony, and they soften like butter.  No kidding.  I am going to plant some.  Immediately.  My usual, pathetic, lame grocery store - soon to be former grocery story, didn't have any.  ANY.  So I pulled up some images on the internet to show Dean, and sent him after some at a different store.  He came through  - I didn't know they could grow as big as the ones he brought home, but they were very good.  So glad I finally tried them.  The other thing I have never done before, believe it or not, is cut up a chicken.  I don't like dark meat, so almost all of the chicken I cook is breast meat, or I buy a whole chicken, jamb it on a beer can and roast it in the oven, and give the drumsticks to Jordan.

I watched the cooking video three times to get down the method of cutting up a chicken.  They make it look soooo easy.  ha.  I had a weak pair of kitchen shears, and a dull chef's knife: a lethal combination.  Luckily I didn't hurt myself.  I couldn't find any of the joints that were supposedly "just right there", or cut out the back bone without hacking into the breast meat quite a ways... Uugh.  I bagged up the backbone, wings and other various bits and pieces in a Ziploc to save for a day that I will make a chicken broth.  I felt like I was left with only a fraction of the chicken that it once was...  but at least I did it.  Next time I will be prepared with a sharper knife.  And a mean pair of scissors.

Next up was to make some couscous.  I've never attempted this before, either.  I had a disaster with polenta a while back and I vowed to stay safe with rice.  And only rice.  I do thank the testers at America's Test Kitchen for finding a way to make it easy and practical - take it out of the box, but not follow the box's directions.  It turned out awesome.

So there you have it: four new things to add to my 40 Things: ethnic recipe, shallots, cutting up a chicken and making couscous.  No wonder it took me two hours to get dinner on the table!

One other piece of advice: If you are already a fan of Fly Lady, you probably already do this.  Partially fill one of your sinks with soapy water, and wash and rinse your cooking dishes as you go.  As you can see in the picture, there were a ton of dirty dishes generated in act of making this recipe.  Most of them could be cleaned with a just a swish in the soapy water and a quick rinse.  I only had two pots at the end - the chicken pot and the couscous pot that still needed washing.  I was thankful not to add anymore to my dish pile.  I still have the perpetual pile next to the sink that never.  goes.  away.

Here is the recipe, from America's Test Kitchen

Chicken Tangine

1. Make your spice blend, set aside
* 1 1/4 tsp paprika
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1/4 tsp (each) of ground ginger, cayenne, coriander and ground cinnamon

2. Make lemon paste, set aside
Take one long strip of lemon peel (use a peeler and make sure there is no pith), and one clove of garlic and mince both until very fine.  Sprinkle mixture with a little salt and then take the flat of the knife blade (use a nice, wide chef's knife), and wipe it back and forth, mashing the mixture.  The goal is to release the lemon oil.

3. Dice one small yellow onion and place in a bowl, and add two long sections of lemon peel on top.  Set aside.

4. Mince 4 cloves of garlic, set aside.

5. Slice 3 - 4 carrots, set aside.

6. Slice 1 cup of Greek green olives.  (I used Spanish because that is what I had on hand)

7. Pour 1 3/4 C chicken broth into measuring cup, set aside.

8. Rinse one whole chicken, remove bag of giblets and pat dry.  Cut off thigh at the hip joint and then separate thigh from the drumstick.  Remove backbone with scissors and discard or keep for broth.  Remove wings and discard or keep for broth.  Take remaining to halves of breast and divide each into half.  You should have four pieces of dark meat and four pieces of white - sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper.  (Using dark meat is essential to building the flavor in the dish - or so ATK says.  I may try this recipe again, and do so with all breast meat and see if that is so.)

9.  Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a dutch oven on med-high heat until it is just smoking - the chicken should immediately sizzle when you add it.  Add the chicken (it will be crammed) and brown on one side.  Turn and brown on the other.

10.  Remove chicken from pot and set aside.  Drain off all of the oil except about a tablespoon's worth, and then add the sliced onions/two slices of lemon peel.  Saute until brown and softened.  If the pot gets too dry and begins to burn, you can add a Tbsp of water or two.  While you are waiting on the onions, remove the skin from all of the chicken pieces, using a paper towel. (discard the skin)

11.  Add the garlic and saute about 30 seconds, then add the spice mixture.

12.  Stir the onion/garlic/spice mixture until the spices bloom and get fragrant (about 30 seconds)

13.  Pour in chicken broth (be careful - the pot is super hot!).  Scrape the bottom to release leftover chicken bits as you stir.

14.  Add 1 Tbsp honey.

15.  Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and add ONLY the dark meat.  Cook for 5 minutes.

16.  Carefully cover dark meat with the carrots, creating a platform upon which you can place the four white meat pieces.  You are essentially 'steaming' the white meat.  Cover and cook for 10 -15 minutes, until the breast meat measures 160F.

17.  Remove chicken to a plate and tent with foil.

18.  Add the olives and cover and cook for 5 minutes.

19.  Add in the lemon 'paste'

20.  Add 3 Tbsp of lemon juice

21.  Add 1/4 C chopped cilantro and bring mixture to a simmer.

22.  Return the chicken to the pot (including the juice on the plate) and simmer for five minutes until ready to serve.

Couscous:

1.  Toast 3/4 C of sliced almonds in a dry skillet, flipping them around often, until they are a nice golden brown and have a nice, nutty aroma.

2.  Melt 3 Tbsp of unsalted butter in a 2 qt. saucepan.

3. Add 2-3 shallots, sliced thin, and saute until softened.  (about 3 min).

4. Add one clove of minced garlic, cook until fragrant - about 30 seconds.

5.  Add two cups of couscous and stir and toast until couscous has a nice, nutty aroma - about 4-5 minutes.  Be careful - it can go from toasted to burnt in just a few seconds - so stir constantly!

6.  Add 1 C water, 1 C chicken broth and 1 tsp salt.  Stir well and bring to a boil.

7.  Cover and remove from heat.  Let sit for 7 minutes.

8.  Fluff with fork and then add 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 C minced parsley and the toasted almonds.  Toss gently.


Serve the chicken atop a bed of couscous.

(I personally thought the chicken breasts were a little dry and flavorless using this method.  Next time I *might* eliminate the dark meat, and cook the breast meat directly in the sauce)  Otherwise it was a hit.  Even Owen, the pickiest of the kids, had cleaned his plate before I had even finished serving Dean and myself.  I love the complicated mix of flavors and the aroma....oh, the aroma!!  (and wouldn't you know it - I forgot to get an aftershot!)

40 Things



So the deal with 40 Things is to do 40 Things that I have never done before,
during my 40th year.

So here is where I am keeping my list of what I have accomplished so far.

1. First mammogram

2. Build a gingerbread house
3. Bake and decorate a doll cake
4. Plant some Jacob's Beard
5. Grow onions
6. Grow potatoes
7. Lead a Girl Scout troop
8. Make strawberry/rhubarb jam
9. Cook/eat a Moroccan dish: Chicken Tangine
10. Cut up a whole chicken
11. Cook with/eat shallots
12. Cook/eat Couscous

Pj's, Plants and Pancakes

Every year I tell my husband not to stress about Mother's Day.  I think it is a good thing to take the time to show gratitude for the mother-figure in your life, but I hate how the flower, jewelry and card companies - with the help of the media - have whipped this day into the over-hyped guilt fest that it has become.  What a shame.

All I ever want for Mother's Day is a hand-made card and breakfast (in bed is a bonus).  And then I hint-drop about a little-something-extra.  Year before last it was garden beds.  Last year it was a kitchen sink.  This year I made it easy - new pj's.

And my husband came through with flying colors!

I woke up to the youngest child, Colin, (with the help of his oldest brother), entering the bedroom bearing a gift bag and a card.  My husband had a breakfast tray.  A long hug and a cuddle and then they all left the room.  Inside the bag was some pj pants.  On the breakfast tray was chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and juice - complete with a balloon left over from Rylan's birthday the day before.  Score!

A little while later another child came in, bearing a gift bag and a card.  Pj top.  Repeat.... Another pair of pants!  Repeat.... Another top!  Yesssss....  I got in a couple of hours of reading time and I dozed and I ate pancakes.  The day will go down in history as the best.  day.  ever.  (thank you honey!)

After I roused my lazy self out of bed I figured it was high-time to get my garden beds in shape and ready.  I had already spent a bit of time turning the soil, so I was ready to plant.  I went downstairs to the basement refrigerator to retrieve my huge Ziploc bag of seeds from previous years.  No seeds.  I spent the next hour searching high and low in the basement for my seeds.  I know they were in that fridge.  I open that fridge on an almost weekly basis and I have glanced at them every time, thinking about the gardening season to come.

Still no seeds.

Some little two year old bandit had removed them from the fridge and deposited them God knows where...

So, a little while later my mom came by to watch the kids (as my Mother's Day gift - thank you mom!) and Dean and I ran errands.  I know that doesn't seem special or anything, but the ability to run errands, comparison shop, read labels, wander aimlessly and stop for coffee is severely hampered when you have four kids.  Severely.

Dean absolutely spoiled me.  He knew I wanted to begin planting in our front bed, that has remained barren for three years now, so as a final stop we went to the garden center.  I haven't been able to wander in a garden center for years.  Something has reawakened in my soul.  (More on that later).  He treated me to a couple of very nice specimens of Jacob's Beard.  (pictured above).  I have admired these beauties in every garden tour we have been on in our seven years together, but had yet to put one in our yard (so I think this also qualifies as one of my 40 Things).  I also bought a new seed packet of everything I wanted in the garden this year - and then some.

We came home happy and rejuvenated - and worked in the garden all evening.  I have said - more than once - that I have a great dislike of spring.  I have one exception - the start of gardening season.

Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... A gorgeous morning!  As soon as I am done I am off to water the garden and potted plants.

I am thinking... That today is the day that I will probably drive myself insane, driving all over town looking for the kind of garden mulch I want.  Straw was an absolute disaster last year.  But I will attempt to see if I can find the kind of small bark I want, or buckwheat hulls - if it is not overly expensive.  I wonder if I will run into the problem of stores being closed today due to the holiday... Memorial Day.

I am thankful... That my stepmom had only a short visit to the ER last night.  My dad drove her home early from a family camping trip (we elected not to go) down near Florissant when her abdominal pain got to be too much.  She has diverticulitis but thankfully there were no perforations or abscesses in her abdominal wall, so surgery was not required.  She has been down this road before, and it was pretty scary - multiple surgeries and an extended hospital stay.


From the Learning Rooms... I am looking at the calendar and it looks like May Madness is OVER!!!  Yeah!!!!!!!!!!  I am itching to hit the books again.  Since Jordan is at his mom's for his summer visitation, I can focus on Rylan and Owen.  I can't wait.  Also, a visit to the library to sign up for the summer reading program.


In the kitchen... Another batch of rhubarb and strawberry jam today, and veggie quesadillas for dinner tonight. - it's Meatless Monday!

I am wearing... My *new* Mother's Day pjs!  I asked my husband and he listened.  I'm a happy momma.  :)


I am creating... Dean is building a 3-compartment compost bin and I am plotting new garden beds for next year. We have done a lot of work in the backyard in the past three weeks - more than we have done in the past seven years! I have already knocked out all of my projects I wanted to get done for the summer - and it's not even June yet!  I am also creating several gardening and planting blog posts as well.

I am going... I hope we get to go on a short bike ride around the neighborhood today.  All work this weekend isn't exactly fun.



I am wondering... Why... on this holiday weekend, I can't sleep past 6 am. So unfair. Good for writing, but bad for a sleep-deprived me.

I am reading... Things I want my Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble.  It is our book club read for June.  I'm maybe a sixth of the way through it.  It's a decent read, but it's just not gripping me, so I haven't been making much progress - which is bad because I am supposed to pass it on to other book club ladies after I'm done.  I'd better get reading!  We also entertained the idea of reading the whole 50 Shades trilogy, but most of us have decided to pass because of it's negative message.  It may be entertaining, but life is too short to read stuff like that.

I am hoping... That my zucchini and pumpkin seeds sprout soon.  It's been a week and I am getting impatient.


I am looking forward to... Seeing the finished compost bin.  I won't post until it's finished.  Which is why you haven't seen the sandbox either...

I am learning... About the science of composting.  I will need to pick up some topsoil today too.  You begin a pile with a 6-8 inch layer of organic material with a proper ratio of green (cuttings/food scraps) to brown (leaves/ shredded paper), a hefty sprinkle of compost starter or 10-10-10 fertilizer, and then a 1-2 inch layer of topsoil.  Then repeat.  And repeat.  And repeat.  When your pile is about 3 feet high, sprinkle with water and keep it moist (sorry Erin).  It should reach proper temperature in about two weeks.  Keep adding to the pile and turn every couple of weeks.  (Or something like that.)


I am hearing... Coldplay's Us Against the World. Still my favorite song on Earth.


Around the house... Well, it's 7:24 am.  I just got up a minute ago so I could go upstairs to retrieve my book and type in the title, and as I rounded the stairs there was my 2 year old, Colin, sitting there, rubbing his eyes.  I pulled off my headphones and I heard him mumble, "(something)(something) binkie...".  So we went back to his room, I located his binkie in a crevice behind his mattress in his bedframe, and he climbed right back into bed.  Now, even with headphones on, I can hear him banging around.  I guess he's up now.  And so goes the house.

I am pondering... I've lost a total of five tomato plants (out of 20) in the past couple of weeks.  One was because the dog stepped on it.  (Abby!  Don't you know your paw print is a dead giveaway??)  Two were due to Colin messing with them and breaking the stem at the crown.  The other two were due to constriction/rotting happening right at the crown.  I've never seen that before.  I looked around on the internet yesterday, and the best I could come up with was a fungus called Fusarium crown rot.  I hope that is not what it is because then I have a serious problem with the soil, and I won't be able to use that garden bed for tomatoes for about 3 years.  Shucks.


One of my favorite things... My husband.  Yesterday, while I was busy staking and pruning the tomatoes, he brought me cold drink and started up some music outside for us while we each worked on our project.  All of a sudden a tedious job was a lot more enjoyable.  :)

A few plans for the rest of the week... Nothing, nothing, nothing!!!  (except karate lessons)


Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

A trip to the zoo on 5-23-12

To read more entries and visit a variety of other blogs, go here...

Graffiti

Deck2

"When we get overwhelmed our graffiti shows up in stacks and piles, sinks full of dirty dishes, unmade beds, backed up laundry, fast food, bulging garages and such. In addition to that graffiti there's inside grafitti and it's far worse.  It collects as guilt, shame and anxiety."

                                           - Pamela Young, author of Sidetracked Home Executives

Taggers have been working overtime in my home....

 

The dirty dishes in the sink

The pile of socks that needs to be sorted

The three mystery food containers in the back of the fridge

The half-completed math lesson sitting on the desk for the past three weeks (!)

The websites that are opened on my browser and waiting to be explored

The forty-odd emails that I need to respond to

The pile of mail

The kitty litter that is starting to stink

The partially-completed art projects sitting on the kitchen counter

The half-way cleaned out garden bed

The partially written blog posts that are really just rants and should be deleted

The three library books beside the bed, and two more in the car

The pile on the bedroom floor destined for Goodwill.  For two months now.

Oh, wait.... yeah.  It was allll me.