#where i cook all the onions on a sunday stick it in a jar in the fridge

[jalboyhenthusiast]

where are my onion sluts at? just caramelised 11 onions 🧅

#all our meals have a base of caramelised onion so we’re doing this new thing #where i cook all the onions on a sunday stick it in a jar in the fridge #and then during the week we can just grab it as needed #saves sooo much time on work nights

[lovelyirony]

hi hello i am feeling very angsty so: rhodeytony ft tony's worrying lack of interest in avoiding getting kidnapped and his bodyguard rhodes' increasing stress levels to save a boss that doesn't want to be saved (and, if the flutter in his heart should be anything to go by - should not be his boss anymore). bodyguard to lovers??

Rhodey is a good bodyguard. Hell, he’s the best. 

That was why Pepper Potts hired him, after all. He’s not easy to fool, can follow anyone with a dogged determination that nearly defies human nature. He’s had successful stories before with glowing reviews from multiple people from all different threatened backgrounds. 

(Including at least three world leaders and a pope.) 

Tony Stark is...new. Well, nearly new. He’s a businessman, which isn’t anything out of the ordinary for Rhodey to deal with. 

…except Tony’s highly eclectic, a billionaire, and purposely makes his behavior as erratic as possible. 

It’s fun. What can Rhodey say? He loves a challenge, and Tony is about as challenging as they come. 

-

When he first starts, Tony tries every trick in the book. Rhodey still sticks to him, although he does leave some distance. Tony tries to make him uncomfortable by bringing just about everyone who looks home, and all Rhodey says is, “you gonna feed them cereal when they wake up? Because that’s all you have in your pantry right now, and you don’t pay me to do the shopping.” 

Tony scowls at that, and then changes his strategy. 

-

It’s an odd strategy. 

Tony decides he will just make Rhodey his friend, starting with the nickname of “Rhodey.” 

“That’s stupid,” Rhodey says, because he can already tell it will stick. 

“Not my problem, just my solution,” Tony grins. “Now come on, we’re getting burgers.” 

They’re at a sit-down restaurant. One of Tony’s favorites, actually. Rhodey is not sure why he’s sitting down across from the man with the most influence in the world, but he is. 

“So, what’s new with you? Who are you?” Tony asks. “Pepper sent me your file. You’re from Philly, right?” 

“Oh my god, you sound weird when you say it like that,” Rhodey says, deciding against formality as he basically tells Tony Stark that he sounds weird and shouldn’t say “Philly.” 

“Oh what, is that not what the locals call it?” 

“I’m going to take you there and they’re going to beat you up.” 

“Not the worst Sunday night I’ve ever had,” Tony mentions. “Hey, look at the menu. I don’t want you to flounder when the waitress shows up and you know fuck-all about what they have to offer.” 

“Okay asshole, any recommendations?” 

“The banana milkshake and bacon-burger.” 

Rhodey looks at the menu. 

He does end up with the bacon-burger, but chooses strawberry for his flavor of milkshake. 

“You traitor.” 

“Oh am I? Well then let me tell Pepper that you stole the last good pen she had then-” 

Tony flings a fry at him, and Rhodey laughs. 

- 

Here’s a concerning thing: Tony has a very “c’est la vie” approach about kidnapping. 

Like he genuinely doesn’t really give a shit if he knows what’s going on, or even if he doesn’t. 

Rhodey was eagle-eyed and chased a van three fucking blocks and caught up to the driver, wherein he punched his lights out and got Tony out. His hands were bound in zip-ties and his suit was rumpled, but Tony just blinked at him. 

“You think you broke a racing record with that?” 

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they take anything?” 

Rhodey’s all over Tony, checking for any injuries, any stolen wallets or watches, and thank god everything is there. (Not that Tony would really care if anything was stolen, save for his sunglasses. He spends far too much on those, in Rhodey’s opinion.) 

“Okay geez,” Tony says, batting Rhodey’s hands away. “I’m fine. These people were amateurs. Shit, I’m running late for my consultation meeting, aren’t I?” 

“You just got kidnapped,” Rhodey says, tone rife with disbelief. “You just got taken and your concern is with the consultation meeting?” 

“Well I figured that you were going to come by or I’d be gone a lot longer, but now that I’m not? Yeah. Yeah, I am concerned with the consultation meeting. It’s a tech start-up company, only not that shitty Silicon-nice-guy start-up. It’s a more inclusive thing. I don’t know, I read their little ‘about’ section on their website. Which needs work. But that’s besides the point.” 

Rhodey just follows, dumb in disbelief. 

The few rare times that previous clients have been kidnapped or even attempted, they’ve needed a day to recuperate at minimum. They were shaken up, and usually beefed up the security for the rest of time after it. They also scheduled therapy appointments. 

Tony treated this like it was a traffic jam and he was only running five minutes behind. 

- 

The second time it happens when Rhodey’s there, it lasts a little longer. 

Rhodey has to admit, he maybe did some...under-the-radar looks. The FBI wasn’t moving fast enough, and the legal channels weren’t up to snuff. And besides, Tony did say that he could use Jarvis if he really wanted to. 

(Turns out they both went to MIT at the same time, and Tony had been that obnoxiously short guy in his econ class that rarely showed up, but when he did he showed up in a suspiciously nice outfit.) 

It was a weekend. Rhodey had gone away for two seconds to get a drink for Tony and then he was gone. 

It was...bad. 

The problem is this: 

Tony definitely doesn’t need to be kidnapped as often as he is. He has so many inventions that can prevent that, he’s sold quite a few of them to the military. 

But for some fucking reason, he doesn’t want to be saved. No, he’s content just going along with what’s happening, even though everyone else around him wants him back. Needs him back. 

He finds him bruised and tied up to a shitty folding chair. 

“Hey darling,” Tony says, lips a bloody red. “Can you believe this chair? I would’ve thought they would at least have gotten something a tad nicer. I am their best-dressed guest, after all.” 

Rhodey looks over the torn shirt and the pants that have all but been shredded. His shoes are battered and stained beyond repair. 

“Don’t,” Rhodey says. He sounds tired. He is tired. “Don’t do this.” 

“Don’t do what, get kidnapped? I hardly try,” Tony snaps. “Or do I just have a sign on my back that you didn’t know was there?” 

“You know I was in the Air Force,” Rhodey snaps back. “I got high enough clearance that I was one of the guys who got to see what brand new toy you sent our way. I know you could use any of those, shit, you probably tested it out, so you would know.” 

“And your point?” Tony asks. “What, you’re saying I should know better? Saying you know better than me?” 

“You know what? Yeah, yeah I am saying that,” Rhodey yells as he’s untying him. “I am fucking saying that I know more than you because you couldn’t give less of a shit if you tried about your own well-being! You were kidnapped and I’ve been running myself ragged trying to get you back, and you just don’t care!” 

Tony stares at him. Really stares at him. 

“Let’s go home.” 

Nothing else is said in the car ride home. Tony can’t even look at Rhodey. 

They go home, where Pepper greets Tony with a hug and makes him swear not to leave again, and Tony says “I promise,” only they both know that he’s lying. 

But they’re not calling him out on it yet. No, not tonight. 

- 

Rhodey stays. Technically he doesn’t have to. Jarvis is the most advanced artificial intelligence system in the world. Hell, he’s the only one that’s even in his league, but Rhodey just...feels better staying. 

And Tony’s mansion is a gargantuan structure with about twenty different rooms to choose from, so Rhodey gets a nice view and tries to go to bed. 

He’s never gotten enough sleep. He knows he never would. That’s why the army loved him: he could be up at any hour and he’d be fine. That’s why his dad called him the bane of his existence in a loving manner: Rhodey would be up at four in the morning filling out the crossword before anyone else could. 

He’s up at four a.m. making breakfast. 

Tony’s pantry is still shit, but it looks like Pepper went shopping for him or had someone else do it, because he actually has eggs and juice and actual food instead of the odd pickle jar or way-too-old yogurt. 

“You’re...up,” Tony says. 

Rhodey turns around. 

“Sorry. I, um. Stayed.” 

“It’s fine,” Tony says awkwardly. “What are you making?” 

“Omelet.” 

“I always mess those up,” he says. “Either too much cheese or I forget I’m cooking it.” 

“You want one?” 

“You gonna make me one?” 

“Accidentally cracked one too many eggs, so yes. You want onions and spinach in yours?” 

“Sure,” Tony says. “What are you doing up?” 

“Always bad at sleeping,” Rhodey answers. “Can never really stay asleep for too long.” 

“Forget to take your melatonin gummies?” Tony answers, grinning. 

Rhodey can see a bruise on his collarbone. 

“You sleep okay?” 

“No, but I rarely ever do,” Tony says. “Especially after yesterday’s fiasco.” 

“You mean the whole weekend,” Rhodey says, putting the rest of the eggs into the pan. “Can’t imagine that was fun.” 

“Oh come on, it was a ball,” Tony answers sarcastically. “They let me play cops-and-robbers and I was given pizza. Clearly it was a fantastic time.” 

Rhodey stares at Tony. 

“You know in the contract that I had you sign it specifically states that you have to let me help you, right?” 

“It says you have to rescue me regardless of feelings or previous obligations,” Tony says. 

“Rescuing you doesn’t just mean I chase after vans and track you down in an abandoned warehouse, it means that I rescue you from those situations before they can happen. But I can only do that if you agree that you won’t get kidnapped,” he says. 

“And what, I want to?” Tony asks. “Do I say that?” 

“You don’t have to,” Rhodey says, flipping the omelet over. “You never think you’re worth rescuing it because you think you’re never going to be good enough and I think you think that you owe me for giving a shit.” 

Tony looks at him. 

“You’re really honest.” 

“I try to be.” 

“I love that about you.” 

Rhodey’s hand shakes slightly as he moves the omelet a bit in the pan. He hopes Tony doesn’t notice. 

“Well I would love it if you stopped being kidnapped.” 

“Aye aye, Colonel Rhodes,” Tony says, saluting. Rhodey rolls his eyes. 

“Oh my god, do not.” 

“What, am I not supposed to thank our armed services for making this country safe?” he mocks, standing up. “For going above and beyond the call of patriotism and helping keep Americans everywhere safe?” 

Rhodey threatens to eat his omelet when he breaks into singing the national anthem. 

- 

There’s an...understanding. 

Tony starts taking up training with Happy and almost agrees to regular training with Rhodey until Rhodey wants him to get up at six and do some workouts, and he yells “No!” after one workout session. 

Rhodey pointedly pretends like he’s not staring at Tony’s chest when he lifts up his shirt to wipe away the sweat. 

“Come on Rhodey my darling, let’s do breakfast.” 

Tony dragging him to breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. It’s...nice. Rhodey ignores it when Tony waggles his eyebrows as he takes the check and calls him “darling, honey, baby,” and he lets him because it sounds nice. 

He doesn’t say anything to Tony. No, you can’t date your boss. It’s unprofessional as hell and Tony probably is just doing it because Rhodey’s in close proximity and they have a good banter going. 

- 

The next time that Tony has an attempted kidnapping, Rhodey is there. 

He’s there, and he’s being taken away, dragged from Tony, and Tony for the first time looks terrified. 

Rhodey tries to struggle, tries to do anything, because Tony has to get away, and he...

He’s knocked unconscious. 

-

When he wakes up, his head hurts worse than it ever has, and for a moment he’s pissed at Tony because he forgets that he’s been kidnapped and there’s no control over the thermostat because the room is hot as all get out. 

And then he sees Tony across from him, and he’s never seen Tony angry. 

“I’m sorry,” Tony says, voice shaking. “I’ll get us out of here. I promise. I’m sorry.” 

“Not your fault we have assholes take us,” Rhodey says. “But god I would kill for some air conditioning.” 

Tony smiles a bit at that. 

- 

Here’s a problem: you cannot give Tony Stark anything if you want him to not escape. Either that or he has to be unconscious because he’s a stubborn son of a bitch. 

And they used actual handcuffs to keep him there. God, what a joke. 

Tony learned how to break out of handcuffs when he was twenty and chained to a bedpost on accident. (Long story.) 

This is nothing. 

But the problem is that Rhodey’s here. His bodyguard who really shouldn’t be putting his life on the line for someone as shitty as Tony, but here they are, and he has to get him out. 

“Follow my lead,” Tony whispers. 

“Well of course I will, who else has as much experience being kidnapped as you?” Rhodey mutters. 

“Okay is now going to be the time where you sass me? You’re here too. I could leave you.” 

“You’re not gonna do that, Pepper would make you come back.” 

“No she wouldn’t.” 

“Yeah she would!” 

“Not after I tell her that you used the last of her salad dressing.” 

“Shit.” 

Tony snorts, looking at the room. They don’t have security cameras, which is just...questionable. Oh my god, he got kidnapped by amateurs. 

He’s kind of embarrassed. 

Rhodey gets free, and they’re both headed towards a door, and Rhodey picks up a stray part of a metal pole, and Tony cannot lie and say he’s not intrigued by that. 

Not saying he hopes Rhodey gets to use it. 

He’s just curious how he’ll utilize it. 

- 

They get to just. Walk out. They fucking walk out. What kind of people did they get kidnapped from? It can’t be that easy, can it? 

It can’t be...

It is. 

Okay sure Tony is driving in a hotwired car and they’re being shot at, but all things considered that’s not the worst thing. And the truck is probably considered stolen anyways, and once Tony makes it to the highway, it’s not like they’ll be able to follow without making it onto national news, not that they haven’t already. 

Pepper’s very effective at getting things to trend on national news when she wants to. 

- 

Rhodey is sitting on a beach chair. He shouldn’t be, and he also shouldn’t be drinking a mimosa because it’s four p.m. and definitely the morning, but he figures since he got kidnapped he’s allowed at least one mimosa. 

“So. Your first kidnapping?” Tony asks. “All things considered, yours went well. I think next time we should go to Wendy’s or something, I was starving-” 

“I’m just. I’m glad we’re okay,” Rhodey says. “But yeah. Maybe next time. If there is a next time. I’m going to I think make you hold hands with me so that you don’t get napped by terrible, shitty people.” 

“You could’ve just asked to hold my hand, we didn’t need to be kidnapped together,” Tony says. 

“Hm, is that a breach of contract?” Rhodey teases. 

“Only if Pepper decides to enforce it, and she won’t because you’re the first bodyguard to have an actual success story with me,” Tony says. “So. I’m thinking maybe we skip the kidnapping next time and go straight for dinner.” 

“Oh thank god, I thought you were gonna say a fast food restaurant.” 

“I still could, you don’t know,” Tony grins, winking. “What if our first date is to Burger King? What are you gonna do?” 

“Be mad that I still like you,” Rhodey grumbles. 

Tony cackles, dropping a kiss onto his hand. 

“Do you think I should get another bodyguard or will dragging you away during a party be too awkward for them?” 

“...I’ll think about it.” 

(They don’t get a new bodyguard. 

No matter how much the other security complains that Rhodey’s the only one who knows where Tony is at all times, and they can’t exactly ask them if they’re busy doing...things. 

Rhodey finds it hilarious.) 

#longer night than usual for me which meant more time to work on this beauty #this has been in my inbox for months #so my apologies #but uhhhh i still did it! which is good #lovelyirony writes #rhodeytony #ironhusbands #rhfe #rhodey #tony stark #pepper potts #rhodey is in love and so is tony and they're both so LAME about it #tony doesn't really care about being kidnapped #meant to make this more angsty but was not feeling it

[thisstableground]

I know you've done this before (and I loved it) but I would LOVE some "Abuela Claudia and the barrio kids" wholesome content ^^ Especially with characters like Benny or Vanessa, or Carla and the Rosarios - basically, Abuela Claudia being awesome and crazy big-hearted.

[Under a cut because as always, this got carried away. edit: now also on ao3, please leave a comment if you like it! Content warning for parental neglect.]

***

The only instructions Naomi Garcia gives, when she dropsVanessa off at Claudia’s is, “she’s got a coloring book, she can pretty muchjust look after herself. Do not takeher to the Rosarios. I’ll pick her up on Sunday.”

Vanessa stands there mutely, in her pink backpack andsmudgy-kneed overalls and, despite the mid-April warmth, a woolly winter hatwith a bobble on. She’s clutching her coloring book like she’s ready to beatsomeone to death with it. Claudia gives her an encouraging smile as her momleaves and says, “it’s good to have you here, Vanessa!”

“I ain’t see why I can’t go play with Nina just ‘cause ourmoms is fighting about dumb boring mom stuff,” Vanessa says, scowling. “I’mstill gonna be friends with her no matter what they say.”

She gives Claudia a challenging look, as if to say, and you aren’t going to stop me. Claudiajust says, “¡Bueno! So what do you want to do today?”

“I want to go to Nina’s.”

It’s going to be along weekend, Claudia thinks.

Much as Claudia agrees with Vanessa that a fight betweenparents shouldn’t get in the way of children’s friendship, she’s loathe to directlyignore one of the few direct instructions given by Vanessa’s mom. On realizingshe isn’t going to get her way, Vanessa slouches off to a corner of the livingroom floor and quietly colors in while Claudia goes about her usual morningcleaning, feeling faintly stumped.

This is so strange in comparison to Usnavi, who always thunders right in as though he owns the place, or Nina who always stays firmly by Claudia’s side the entire time she’s there.From the time she’s spent with both Nina and Vanessatogether, Claudia knows that Vanessa is a very headstrong young lady, usually farmore boisterous than this – bossy, even, always taking the lead while Ninafollows her around admiringly. But on her own, Vanessa is silent, hidden downbehind the side of the couch and only speaking up to say “no, I’m fine” whenever Claudiaoffers her a drink or asks if she wants to watch la television.

Her short, terse answers are bordering on what might becalled rude, but when Claudia asks if Vanessa’s hungry and Vanessa hesitates,looking hunted for a long moment before ducking her head back down very close to thepage, scribbling intensely without giving an answer, she realizes that perhapsVanessa is shy. It has, after all,been many years since Claudia looked after her alone without Nina there too,not since the girls were toddlers, and it is much easier to be brave and bossywith a good friend there.

“I haven’t had my breakfast today,” Claudia lies. “I wasgoing to get myself some food, if you wanted to share?”

“…I guess maybe I’m a littlebit hungry,” Vanessa concedes.

“We will make something together, then.” Claudia says, thenspots all the felt tip pen smudges on Vanessa’s hands, and the dirt under herbitten-short fingernails, and adds as they walk to the kitchen, “but first noslaveremos las manos.”

She pushes a chair up next to the kitchen sink so that Vanessacan reach. Vanessa sticks her hands quickly under the water then wipes them offon her overalls, still inkstained and dirty.

“No, no, con jabón.” Claudia rinses her own hands andlathers the bar of soap between them, more thoroughly than she usually would sothat Vanessa can see what she’s doing. “Like this, see?”

“I know!” Vanessasnaps, but she watches Claudia and copies carefully anyway, every movementmimicked exactly.

When she’s done, Claudia moves the chair over to the counterfor her, sets a cutting board and knife down ready, then rummages through thedisorganized cupboards looking past long-expired half-empty jars of pickles andsauces and preserves for the ingredients she needs. She really needs to tidy upin here but somehow it’s so hard to bring herself to throw anything away. “Ay, ¿dónde está?I’m sure I had una cebolla here somewhere…”

“What we makin’?” Vanessa asks, climbing up onto the chair.She picks up the knife and examines it, sharp end very close to herface. Claudia swiftly takes it out of her hands. “Hey!”

“We’re having arroz con pollo.” Claudia puts theknife safely out of Vanessa’s reach and finally locates an onion nestled inwith the bananas and mango in the fruit bowl.

“I usually have peanut butter jelly sandwiches,” Vanessa tellsher. “They’re easiest to make.”

“You make your own lunch?”

“Uh-huh! I do it all the time when Mommy isn’t home.”

“Oh, vaya, that’s very grown up.”

Vanessa beams proudly and Claudia smiles at her, but in herheart she didn’t mean that as a compliment: Vanessa has barely been six for amonth. She’s so young to be spending any time at home alone, never mind feedingherself while she’s there. Perhaps it would have been less surprising back in Claudia’sday when children were far more independent far younger, but Claudia thinks thatthere are many things in her day that she’s glad have gone out of fashion now.

But she says nothing of it, only shows Vanessa how tomeasure out enough rice and rinse it so that it doesn’t all stick together whenit cooking, lets her open the little glass jars of spices and sniff each ofthem individually. Vanessa follows along with an unexpected focus, likeshe’s trying to memorize every instruction for herself.

With the air conditioning barely functioning as ever,Claudia’s apartment is small and stuffy, especially on a day like this. By thetime the pot is full and bubbling away on the stove and it’s time to clean up,Vanessa’s cheeks are bright pink from the heat.

Claudia says, “aquí, why don’t you take that hat off,” andwith the unconscious familiarity she’d show for Usnavi or Nina, plucks thebobble hat off Vanessa’s head. 

Vanessa shrieks, and Claudia sees instantly thatshe isn’t wearing it just out of one of those odd childish whims like she’dassumed: her hair is an absolute rat’s nest, not just messy fromplaying but hopelessly tangled and sweaty like it hasn’t been washed or brushedin weeks.

“No! Give it back!” Vanessa shouts. She stamps her foot onthe chair and leans over on tiptoes making a grab for the hat. Hurriedly, Claudiahands it back before she overbalances and lands right on the stove. In asplit-second Vanessa has jammed it back on her head, jumped to the ground and boltedout of the kitchen, the door to Claudia’s bedroom slamming shortly after. WhenClaudia follows and knocks on the door, she yells, “go away! Leave me alone!”

Claudia taps her fingers against the doorframe and pursesher lips. Dealing with Vanessa, she thinks, is very, very different fromdealing with the children she’s used to. If Nina has ever raised her voice inher life than Claudia wasn’t there to see it. Usnavi wouldn’t even think to beembarrassed about something like messy hair in the first place: the boy wouldbe a walking mud puddle if his parents didn’t intervene.

Hm. Maybe that’s a point. She leaves Vanessa to calm down onher own while she goes to call Camila and find out exactly why it is that Naomidoesn’t want Vanessa going to visit.

The second she mentions Naomi’s name, Camila makes asquawkingly aggravated noise down the phone and says, “ay, do not get me started on that woman. Shesends her daughter round here practically every day and we feed her and look after her forfree and what thanks do we get? She should learn to take good advice when she’sgiven it.”

“What kind of advice?” Claudia asks, and then because sheknows Camila very well, “and how did you give it?”

“Oh, I know what you’re thinking, Claudia, but it wasjustified. I see enough of what goes on there to know that she isn’t fit to be a mother. It’sno wonder the girl is growing up half-wild.”

“Camila!” Claudiascolds. “No es justo, Naomi is still very young herself, she is only trying herbest with what she’s got.”

“Ha! If that’s what you call trying I’d hate to see what happens when she stops. The amount of times Vanessa’s complained about having aheadache here because nobody ever taught her you need to drink water and eatduring the day? El otro díashe says she can’t pick Vanessa up from our place so ‘just let her walkhome by herself’! I ask you, at herage? In this neighborhood? And then I try to talk to Naomi about it and shecalls me interfering!”

Claudia makes a sympathetic tsk noise.

“She might have been young when she had her but she’s anadult now, she has responsibilities,” Camila says firmly. “If she’d rather haveher own pride than listen to me, well, I wash my hands of the whole thing.”

It’s all very well tosay that from the outside, Claudia thinks as she hangs up, as much toherself as to Camila. She’s always felt for Naomi, who moved here with nothingbut a teenage pregnancy and that waste of space she called a husband - what aman of his age was doing with a girl barely out of childhood herself,honestamente – and whose fierce pride and broken heart and sharp temper made it very, very hardto get along with her for very long. But as young as Naomi is, Vanessa’s even younger and wheredoes all of this leave her, this odd, stubborn half-wild half-adult child, whoalready makes her own lunch and walks herself home from school the days hermother forgets to pick her up but was never taught how to wash her hands orbrush her own hair properly?

The bedroom door is still closed when Claudia returns to it.She knocks but lets herself in without waiting for an answer. Vanessa issitting on the floor by the bed hugging her knees, looking furious and ashamed.With some difficulty because her knees aren’t what they used to be, Claudiasits on the floor beside her.

“Don’t want it brushed,” Vanessa mutters sullenly, andscuffs her fingertips against the floor, picking at the fake wood-effectlinoleum.

“¿Por qué no?”

“Mommy used to brush it and she always pulls too hard, and Isaid ow and she told me to stop beinga baby but then I told her it hurts and she got mad and said if I know so muchabout everything I can just do it by myself.” Vanessa gives a heavy, put-uponsigh. “And I tried but it’s too tangly.Anyhow, it’s just hair. Why’s it matter if it’s messy?

“Because if you leave it like that then eventually birdswill start living in it.”

Obstinately, Vanessa says, “maybe I want birds to live in it.”

“Perhaps you do,” Claudia says, “but then they will sing allday and wake you up so, so early en la mañana.”

She makes cheepy bird noises, her fingers tapping against her thumbs like little cawing beaks all around Vanessa’s ears until Vanessastarts laughing then immediately looks outraged about it.

“Can I try to help? I promise not to pull it,” Claudiaswears. Vanessa gives her a suspicious look but then relents and takes the hatoff. It looks even worse up close. Claudia does her best not to react but Vanessaseems to have picked up on it because she bunches her shoulders up so high theyalmost hit her ears and stays like until Claudia tries togently finger-comb it out. She barely touches her before Vanessa hisses andgoes “owww!” in a high-pitched whine.

“Lo siento,” Claudia says, though she knows it couldn’treally have hurt.

“I told you, it’s too tangly,” Vanessa says, with an edge toher voice that means I am on the verge ofhysteria. “I already tried to brush it but it won’t work!”

“What if we call the ladies at the salon and ask what theythink? Daniela will know how to fix it, I’m sure.”

“She’ll laugh at me.”

“I’ll tell her off if she does.”

That makes Vanessa pause. “You’d tell Dani off?”

“Believe it or not, it wouldn’t be the first time.”

Vanessa says, “don’t tell her it’s about me?”, something sopitiful and pleading about it that Claudia wants to hug her. She resists theurge and says, “our secret” and with Vanessa’s nod of permission, calls up thesalon.

“I have a very young friend here with very tangly hair,” sheinforms Dani. “Un cepillo will not work. ¿Qué hacemos?

Dani says, “I told Rosa that next time Usnavi gets gum stuckin it she should just bring him here straight away.”

“No, not Usnavi. And nothing is stuck, it is just…ah, descuidado.”

“Oh,” Dani says, suddenly serious and sighing. “It’s Vanessa,isn’t it?”

Claudia makes a noncommittal sound: Dani is closest of allof them to Naomi, and she suspects probably could give her more of an insightinto the Garcia family than anyone, but she did make a promise. There’s a mufflednoise of Dani covering the handset and talking to someone for a second and thenshe says, “Carla says to work a lot of conditioner into it and comb it through,starting at the bottom.”

“Will that work?”

“It’s worked before for some little problemas,” Dani says.“But if her hair’s that bad it might take more time than it’s worth.  Sometimes the only thing to do really is to cutit all off and start again. Do you want to bring her in and we’ll have a lookand see how much we can salvage? Sin cargo.”

“No, no, we’ll try the conditioner first, gracias. Give Carlamy love.” Claudia isn’t going to make Vanessa go and have all her hair cut off ifshe can help it. And so they eat their arroz con pollo then afterwards, she gathers everything and has Vanessa sit on a kitchen chairwith a towel round her shoulders, and gets to work with a comb and a bottle ofconditioner. She does her best to keep up chatter to cheer up a morose-lookingVanessa, but with very little in the way of responses and such a long taskahead, Claudia eventually just concentrates on what she’s doing, making slow,slow progress.

After about ten minutes, there’s a quiet sniff from thelittle figure in the chair, and then another one. Claudia stops what she’sdoing and leans round to see that Vanessa looks seconds away from crying. “¿Esto duele?”

“No,” Vanessa mumbles.

“What’s wrong?

Vanessa just shakes her head, staring at the floor with acrumpled brow and tears in her eyes, and though it may be overfamiliar, Claudia’syears of instinct immediately demand that she pull Vanessa into a tight hug –how could she possibly do anything else? With no noise but one tiny, miserable whimper of breath, Vanessastarts crying silently but hard, face against Claudia’s shoulder.

“Ah, pobrecita, I know,” Claudia murmurs, strokes Vanessa’shair as best she can, her hand sliding over the gloss of conditioner. She mightnot know Vanessa quite as well as some of her other children but one thingshe’s certain is that she’s a proud, independent little thing. This must bemortifying for her. There seems no good way to say to her that it isn’t herfault, that there are many small but crucial things in life that she should be taught to do, not left alone to figure out, and that this is probably only one of many. Telling her that won’t fix anything. But it does remind Claudia of a far-off and absurd memory. Shemoves Vanessa off her shoulder, still holding her by the arms and says, “when Iwas una niñita, we used to curl our hair withstrips of newspaper.”

Vanessa frowns at her. She’s already stopped crying, wipingher face on the towel round her neck. “Huh?”

“You’d take  un pedazo de periódico  in your hand and put yourhair around it like this – “ she makes a wrapping motion in the air, “and leaveit to dry en la noche, and you wake up with beautiful curls. My mama used to doit for me, but one day when I was a little older than you, she was not feelingwell and so I tried to do it myself. I thought, it cannot be so hard, if shedoes it all the time, and so I wrapped all my hair in newspaper and I went tobed, and you know what?”

“What?”

“It looked terrible,”she says. “At the front, too many curls, like the wig of a clown! But at theback, where I could not reach properly, all the paper had come out and so itwas not curled at all. Can you imagine?” She gestures down her back as thoughlong straight locks are still there, then holds her hands up at the frontmimicking the explosion of badly-curled ringlets.

Vanessa giggles at the image. “That sounds silly.”

“It was,” Claudia confirms. “And in those days we did nothave a shower and so I couldn’t wash it out so easily. I tried to get it wetand make it lie flat but it only made it look worse, and because Mama was sick Ihad to go out and run all the errands with my hair so crazy.”

“Oh noooo,” Vanessa says, hands over her mouth, utterly invested in the story. “What didyou do?”

“Well, first I cried very, very hard,”Claudia says,remembering it with a smile because it seems like such a small thing to be so upset over now. “And I wore una bufanda  around my head, because I thought everyonewould laugh at me. And even when I went in to see my Mama in bed I wore labufanda because I was so embarrassed that i did it so wrong. And she did laugh,when I told her what had happened, but then when she was better she showed mehow to do it right, and I still curl my hair that way to this day.” She patsher neat, pinned-back rolls of rapidly-greying curls.

“My mommy wouldn’t do that,” Vanessa says. “She’d just getmad at me for doing it wrong.”

“Maybe,” Claudia says, because it seems even harsher to lie about it, “but I neverwould, if you ever need somebody to tell you how to fix a problem. It’s okay if youget it wrong for a while. Many things take a lot of practice and a lot ofpatience.”

Vanessa mulls it over, then gives a very solemn nod and sniffs hard one lasttime. “Okay. We can carry on now.”

Daniela was right: the whole process takes well over anhour, and they have to move to the couch so that Claudia can sit down halfwaythrough, but what of it? Claudia’s got plenty of time to spare in herretirement and, she reflects a little sadly, it has probably been a long, longwhile since anyone paid Vanessa this much attention.

All worth it in the end, when she announces that they arefinished, and Vanessa touches her own hair with her eyes lighting up. “You didit!” she gasps, as though Claudia had performed a miracle. “You fixed it!”

“We still need to rinse all the conditioner out.” Claudiahesitates about that: if it were Usnavi or Nina she’d simply throw them in the tub. They’re both getting old enough to be left unsupervised for short moments when they’re in there, but thedoor is always open, and she always calls reminders to not forget to wash theirfaces and scrub under their nails. They still need help rinsing out shampoo andclimbing out of the bath. Both of them still let her rub one of her oldfaded-pink towels thoroughly over their hair to dry it, and they still play thegame where she covers their whole faces with it and puts her hand therepretending she is going to scrub away their face just as roughly while theyshriek in pretend-fear and yell “no, Abuela!”. They’re getting too old for suchthings, but what are abuelas for if not to baby the grandchildren? They allknow that these moments are not forever, and why not hold onto childhood justas long as possible?

But Vanessa probably won’t allow anything like that, alreadyso clearly ashamed of the things about her that speak to the age she really is,and she’s already had enough embarrassment for the day. Claudia spares her thediscomfort of asking, instead rinsing her hair tipped upside down over thekitchen sink the way Claudia’s mama used to do for her so many years ago: cleanit all off with warm water and then one last jugful of cold to finish. Vanessa hollersloudly at the shock of cool water, but she laughs about it right afterwards.

Later in the living room, when Claudia is reading thenewspaper and Vanessa is lying on her belly on the floor with her felt tips,there’s the sound of ripping paper, very slow and quiet like she’s trying notto be heard. Claudia looks up to see Vanessa with a strip torn out of hercoloring book, trying to tie it in a knot around her still-damp hair.

She looks sheepish when she sees Claudia watching. “I want it allcurly,” she explains. Her hair uncoils itself from around thebadly-wrapped strip of paper.

“Would you like me to teach you how?”

“You don’t gotta.”

“I would like to.”

Vanessa hmms, and says, “only if you don’t make it go allcrazy at the front, then.”

“I’m much better at it than I used to be.”

Claudia takes the pages of her newspaper she’s finished readingand tears them into strips, and this funny, prickly hedgehog of a girl sitsclose in front of her, allowing her carefully roll her hair up into twists. Vanessaisn’t silent or sulking now: she’s talking about how she wants her hair to looklike Nina’s because Nina has the most beautiful hair, and gives a high-pitchedbubbling giggle as she recounts Claudia’s story about her own failed papercurls. She sounds just like the six year old she is instead of a tiny, furiousadult. Claudia’s back and eyes already ache from bending over and concentratingfor so long earlier, but she doesn’t mind pushing through it for this. Some things justneed a little patience.

#in the heights #abuela claudia #vanessa garcia #fandom: in the heights #character: abuela #character: vanessa #i'm very much in my vanessa emotions rn #also got a teenage vanessa bonding with dani fic coming up #sophia writes fic #belphegor1982

[nancypullen]

You Are What You Eat

Every Saturday I plan meals for the coming week.  I survey what’s in the cupboards and frig and decide what needs to be used up and what I can do with it. Then I make a list of items needed to turn those ideas into meals. Next on the list comes lunch items for days without leftovers, breakfast staples that disappear every week (eggs and turkey bacon), and finally any cleansers or household items that are depleted.  I Know I’m not the only one who goes through this weekly ritual, and I’m also not the only one who gets really tired of it.  Americans are planners and hoarders, and that has served us well in times of want - but just once wouldn’t you like to be the French woman who strolls the fresh markets every day, deciding what sounds good for dinner?  Imagine a beautiful filet of something, a loaf of freshly baked bread, vegetables just pulled from the soil, and a fragrant bouquet of flowers in hand as you walk beside the Seine.  My reality is pushing a metal cart through a crowded Kroger with a list in one hand and coupons in the other.  Even worse, I find myself taking the easy way out more and more - and getting into a serious food rut.  Even yummy recipes like these eggplant cutlets (to die for! ) http://jessicaseinfeld.com/recipes/eggplant-cutlets-with-tomato-and-mozzarellar  get old if you make them too often.  Also, we eat a lot of salads.  Taco salads, salads with grilled chicken, chopped salads, spinach salads,etc - we eat ‘em. But when it is bone chillingly cold, no one craves a salad.  Well, I don’t , I want something warm and comforting.  Unfortunately, most comfort foods are not particularly healthy.  I’ve made veggie frittatas, weight watchers soups, and roasted more chickens than I can count.  I’m bored.  And when I’m bored I start craving a big, juicy hamburger and some french fries that clog my arteries.  Not good.  We rarely eat red meat, though I did put it in this week’s rotation. Maybe my body is just trying to tell me something - that every now and then we need to be a caveman and eat the red stuff.  We have cut way back on pasta (never my favorite), potatoes (probably my first love), rice (I can take it or leave it, but do like brown basmati), and bread.  Bread is a weird one for me - it’s certainly not the first thing I reach for or crave.  It’s really a utilitarian food around here, something that holds a sandwich together. I hardly ever make rolls or muffins. Can’t remember the last time I made a batch of biscuits, much to Mickey’s dismay.  I do like a hearty, grainy, brown bread or roll.  The loaf of bread that we buy could never be called hearty. It’s Healthy Life whole grain, sliced thin to cut calories - it’s basically a brown square made of wishes.  Where’s the yum factor?  That’s where I’m at now - is something even worth the calories if you don’t enjoy it?  Or do we eat just to add appropriate fuel to our bodies and forget the yum factor?  I think food has been a hobby of mine for far too long and my pants size proves it.  I need to forget boredom, forget delighting my taste buds, and just focus on nourishing our bodies - even if that means salads in cold weather. Ugh. This rambling post was actually just a bit of a whine about this week’s menu. All my own doing, and all yummy, but maybe not great choices.  These are the 7 dinners I planned and purchased for, we’ll eat them in no particular order -  Saturday- I made ground turkey burrito bowls.  These are delicious and easy.  Here’s the recipe I use.   https://togetherasfamily.com/turkey-taco-burrito-bowls/ Sunday - I made a sheet pan supper. This is also easy, quick, delicious, and not half bad for you.  I cut up a turkey kielbasa, chop up a couple sweet potatoes, an onion, and an apple - toss everything with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and cinnamon.  Bake at 400 until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Monday - I made Boca Burgers and roasted cauliflower.  Boca Burgers are my go-to when I have forgotten to thaw something or I’m lazy.  Quick to heat from frozen in a skillet, pop ‘em on a whole grain bun with lettuce, onion, and tomato. YUM!  The cauliflower is easy peasey - chop into small florets, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper - roast at 375 for about 40 minutes.  Sprinkle with grated parmesan and cook another 5 minutes or so. The rest of the week will be any of these -  Chili - I use ground turkey and pinto beans in mine.  I can serve this with rice, good ol’ saltines or, if I want some wife points, corn muffins. Spaghetti squash and meat sauce - Split and roast the squash, then rake out the “noodles”.  Ground turkey in jar sauce this week because I had a coupon, but the best sauce is Ina Garten’s Weeknight Bolognese - easy to make and scrumptious!  I actually have some turkey meatballs in the freezer, so they may end up in this meal. Crockpot Mongolian Beef -  Ohmygosh, red meat!  I’ll use this recipe: https://therecipecritic.com/slow-cooker-mongolian-beef/  and serve it over brown basmati rice.   Breakfast for Dinner - one of my favorites!  Either a frittata or omelets using up the veggies in the crisper (I have spinach, tomatoes, onion, red pepper...) or Mickey’s favorite, pancakes and bacon.  

As you can see, I didn’t stick to my own rules when planning this week.  There’s red meat, rice at least twice, sauce from a jar, and the possibility of pancakes. I can do better. I’ll bet I could do better it if I moved to Paris and shopped on Rue Cler.  Sure, that’s whats holding me back, location.  What are you eating this week? Throw some ideas at me and help me out of this rut.  The healthier the better.  Maybe not salads. 

[benjamingarden]

Weekending

Happy Monday friends!  I hope you are doing well.  Summer got off to a steamy start here in upstate NY and we are now enjoying a bit cooler temps.  I'm grateful we get a break from the heat.  Wishing we could catch a break from the humidity as well.  The critters are pretty grateful too. We were blessed with one day of rain during the week which made our lawn and garden quite happy.  We were expecting rain both Saturday and Sunday but we barely had any at all until Sunday night.  Today we're getting a bit more so I expect that the garden will grow by leaps and bounds this week.

 (I trimmed some of the onions - I need to get to the rest!)

(the peas are still doing very well)

In The Garden - our garden has exploded in greenery and fresh veg.  We are blessed with an enormous amount of shade provided by a large number of trees around our property so our garden typically takes a bit longer then most to produce.  But when it does produce we are usually inundated with deliciousness.  Hoping this year will be no different.  I've been watching 5 large green tomatoes, waiting patiently for them to ripen (and praying the chipmunks leave them alone....). Last year I got a bit carried away with planting tomatoes, and this year I got a bit carried away with planting onions and sweet potatoes.  At least onions and sweet potatoes are both veg that can be stored.  And we eat a ton of each (that's how I've justified it to my husband who questioned the massive amount of sweet potato vines and sea of onion tops....).  And I FINALLY have sunflowers growing again!  The past couple of years I've battled the squirrels and chipmunks who both stole my seeds and, for the seeds they missed, ate my baby sunflower plants.  While I can't get too cocky yet, all of my sunflowers are a few feet tall so I'm hopeful they'll make it.

Backyard Wildlife - We have 4 woodchucks living around our property.  We are living in harmony this year so far.  You know the old saying that fences make good neighbors?  Well, fences also make it possible to live in harmony with wild critters so they don't demolish the garden.  Leaving them fruit and veggie bits make them quite happy as well. We were actually quite abundant in wildlife this year.  We have birdhouses around the property that were all full of birds raising their babies.  We also had some nest-building.  One Robin built her nest in our lean-to where we store our trash cans.  We would accidentally scare her when we would go to dump trash so we began whistling so she knew we were coming.  She would fly out when we'd whistle and then squawk at us from a tree a few feet away until we left. One evening, after her young were fully feathered, the chicks decided to try flying when we were both at the trash can and mama bird was in the tree squawking.  Jay had just opened the lid to the trash can when a chick went plummeting into it.  I was able to carefully dig it out and it sat on my hand for a bit before attempting to fly again.  Poor momma began chirping wildly.  She eventually gathered the 3 chicks and all was well.  They have since moved on.  Actually, the last of our bird families just left this past week.

In The Kitchen - many of you have emailed me after trying the Healthier Chocolate Zucchini Cake and have shared that you LOVE it.  I'm so happy to hear that!  Some of you have requested a vegan version and I haven't gotten it completely worked out.  Mostly because I'm trying not to eat much flour these days, but I will give it a go in the next month. Batch cooking has been a priority so I don't have to heat the house up every night.  I've been enjoying many different themed bowls and Jay sometimes has what I prepare for myself as a side and other times we use the grill's side burner to cook his side.  His meat is cooked on the grill as well so the house stays cool. Yesterday I cooked up some Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice and Mexican-Style Lentils that I'll pair with a fresh salsa, steamed broccoli or cauliflower, and raw greens.  I will probably make a non-dairy "cheese" sauce and roasted potato bites to use as well.  This way I can either have the rice, lentils, salsa, broccoli and greens or the potatoes, lentils, cauliflower, greens and cheese sauce. I've also been enjoying a summer squash and (oil-free) pesto soup that I concocted one day.  I'm not usually a soup fan in summer but it is simple and delicious.

In The Coop - the poor Coop Girls.  They love the summer but absolutely detest high heat and humidity.  We put their box fan in one of the coop windows to provide some relief hot days.  They get up on the roost that is across from the fan, spread their wings out a bit, and just enjoy the breeze it provides. We dusted the coop with diatomaceous earth to prevent mites and other pests that the humidity attracts.  For the most part, egg production is good.  When we have stretches of humidity it does drop a bit.  I can't blame them - I'm not a fan of it either.  We are giving them plenty of fruit and grains soaked in water, yogurt, or milk as treats which they are enjoying.

Oliver - he's doing very well.  We've been eating dinner out on the deck since we realized we could put up an outdoor canopy/tent with screened walls to allow us a bug-free dining space.  Oliver has been bummed because our outdoor table and chairs are tall so he can't feel like he's a part of it.  So, feeling bad for him, Jay made him his very own stool of sorts.  It's kind of like a toddler tower but fits one of his smaller beds.  He LOVES it!  He sits right next to me and adores that he can see us as well as what's going on around the property from a different viewpoint.  Slightly spoiled?  Yes, I know.

Jack - poor Jackson.  People have been shooting off fireworks on random nights between 9:30 and 10 and he goes into a full-on panic.  He detests loud noises and there's just no calming him down.  I've started giving him Bach's Remedy on the nights when they start up.  I think it's helping a bit.  Other then that he's doing well.

Around The House - home projects have slowed a bit but I plan to paint the dining room this week (hooray!) and hopefully get to the living room in a couple of weeks.  I would like to get to the stairwell and painting the radiators on the main floor as well, but not sure if there will be time.  We'll see.  Jay worked on trimming the vines that were killing the trees both on our property and just outside of it.  As you know, we adore our shade so he's been working on them for the last few years.  I think he's finally got it! He's been working on installing gutters on our outbuildings and I believe he's going to work on painting the exterior of our home next. (same color, just needs to be scraped and painted)  We determined that if he paints 2 sides instead of all 4 then it's much easier to fit into the summer schedule.  So, he'll do 2 this year and 2 next year and then it will be awhile before it's needed again. We're hoping to be able to find the time to replace one of our front porches this year as well.  It needs a bit of rebuilding because there is some rot, and then we'll be putting trex decking down.  If we get one done then we plan to get the second porch completed next year. Oh, and remember that I mentioned I was going to let my hair go gray after my mother passed away?  Yup, I am definitely gray!  My hair is absolutely white in the front but blended a bit in the back because I still have some brown to grow out.  It will be a year in August since I've started letting it grow out.  Honestly, I don't mind it.  I'm happy to not be using hair dye every month, so it's worth it.

The Business - Our farmer's market has definitely slowed since we don't have the amount of out-of-towners that we usually have, but we certainly can't complain.  Our locals have been incredibly supportive and our online store continues to do well too.  We are in full production of product right now.  Some of our craft shows have cancelled their shows for this year and we anticipate the remainder will eventually cancel as well.  We have no idea what will happen in fall and winter this year so we're just taking it a day at a time. That seems to be everyone's theme for the year. Hoping you had a lovely weekend as well! Do tell - did you do anything fun or productive?  Cook anything delicious?  Read a good book? Little Bit Of Link Love: Do you love garlic scapes?  How about dilly beans?  Ever thought of putting them together?  Me neither!  Our VERY favorite museum shares the recipe and I think I'll be trying it this year.  (shelburne museum) Summer is when local fruit is perfectly ripened and widely available but it's also a time when it's too hot to want to do any canning.  Marisa shares a post/guide for making jam from frozen fruit.  A perfect compromise!  (food in jars) Speaking of canning, this raspberry-peach-ginger jam that is sweetened with honey is speaking to me.  I'm loving ginger these days!  (rachel wolf) (affiliate link) My FAVORITE non-stick alternative pans.  I've struggled to find a pan that works for delicate things like eggs and crepes and I have finally found a pan that works great! I love them so much I bought all 3 sizes with lids in Lava Black. (amazon)

Weekending was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

[guitarpanda8]

Batch Cooking and Meal Prep Tips for a Plant-Based Kitchen

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Many of us today feel constantly stretched thin, moving from one to-do list to the next, balancing work and family life, and often making shortcuts when it comes to our health–especially with our diets. We may have the best intentions to eat whole, plant-based foods at every meal, but when time is short at the end of a long, hectic day, we find ourselves reaching for whatever is quick and easy: junky fast food or store-bought frozen dinners. How can we avoid these common pitfalls? One of the best ways is to prepare healthy ingredients, snacks, and meals in large batches before we need them. To be sure, that preparation takes some planning and a larger investment of time up front, but the result will be time and money saved over the long run.

By prepping key ingredients and recipes ahead of time, you put healthy foods at your fingertips during those busy weekdays. There’s nothing better than reaching in the fridge and grabbing some already cut fruit, a pre-cooked veggie burger, potatoes that can be warmed in a toaster oven, or a homemade bowl of soup that can be reheated in the time it takes to set the table. Salads and power bowls can be put together in minutes if the right ingredients are ready to go. Lunch and dinner come together without having to put that much thought into it. It just makes life so much easier! As an added bonus, your grocery bill will be lower as you only stock up on items you need for your planned meals.

Here are some tips I have found useful:

1. Plan ahead

Before you head to the grocery store, make a menu for the week, then check your pantry and refrigerator to review what ingredients you are running low on. You may want to keep a list of all the ingredients you stock in your kitchen. There are a number of convenient apps that can help you do that. One of my favorites is Anylist. Paprika Recipe Manager is another of my favorite apps to store recipes, make weekly menus, and compile shopping lists.

2. Shop weekly

Weekly shopping ensures that your produce stays fresh, and it minimizes waste. It is also much easier to plan meals for seven days than for an extended period of time. Choose a day of the week to shop and schedule time for menu planning before then. For instance, you may do grocery shopping on Friday and place everything inside the fridge until Sunday when batch cooking and prepping is more convenient.

3. Find a system that works for you

There are many ways to plan your meals. Here are some popular ones:

a. Choose themes for each night – Monday may be Mexican Night, Tuesday Asian Night, Wednesday Italian Night, Thursday Burger Night, Friday Pizza Night, and so on.

b. Cook meals that can be combined with new ingredients – Monday’s chili can be used to top baked potatoes on Wednesday. Tuesday’s crispy lentil “bacon” can be used as a pizza topping on Thursday and as a power bowl ingredient for lunch on Friday. Quinoa can be served with veggies and beans one day, and added to your oatmeal or soup on another day. The possibilities are endless!

4. Our favorite foods to batch cook/prep:

a. Buy a variety of fresh, seasonal fruit every week

Strawberries, apples, pears, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, and grapes are best to wash right before you consume them. You don’t want to wash fruit ahead of time or it may get moldy. One exception would be washing grapes before you freeze them. Frozen grapes are a popular snack in my home!

Watermelons, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, and mango are all great examples of fruits that can be cut up ahead of time and placed in sealed containers.

Freeze some of your ripe bananas! These are key ingredients for smoothies, “ice cream,” pancakes, and more.

b. Create a “Salad Bar” in your fridge

Slice veggies and store them in containers. Carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, scallions, and celery are great toppings for your salad or power bowls.

Stock up on baby greens that are already pre-washed and ready to go.

c. Make salad dressings – Salads can be simply dressed with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, italian herbs, and a vinegar of your choice. Alternate making your favorite dressings with new ones for a fun and creative way to dress your veggies. Some of my favorites are non-dairy caesar, ranch, miso ginger, and thousand island.

d. Make a big pot of soup – Soup is an easy meal to prepare as everything goes in one pot. Switch it up and cook a different soup every week.

e. Make a big pot of chili – Chili can be eaten in so many different ways: alone, over grains, on top of potatoes, over homemade baked tortilla chips, in a power bowl, etc.

f. Make a “Burger of the Week” – Double or triple the recipe for your chosen burger of the week. Save some to be eaten that week, and freeze others to be saved for a later time. It is better to freeze them after they’ve been cooked so they don’t fall apart in the freezer.

g. Cook a large batch of grains – Brown rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, and wild rice can be used to make soups, casseroles, bowls, and veggie burgers, or they can be enjoyed with beans and veggies. Try cooking different types of whole grains a few times a week, and then freeze them for later use. This way, you always have them available for recipes.

h. Cook a large batch of beans – Dried beans such as pinto, black, chickpeas, or lentils can be quickly cooked in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Try cooking a different type of bean a few times a week and then freeze them for later use so you always have them ready for recipes.

i. Bake a bunch of potatoes – Scrub some potatoes and sweet potatoes and put them in the oven at 400°F to bake for about 30-40 minutes or until you can stick a fork in them. You can serve them with steamed veggies, leftover chili, or as a side dish. Or pack them as a snack when you are on the go!

j. Make some breakfast recipes – During the week, you may too busy to stop and make a wholesome breakfast. If you make Sunday brunch, just double or triple the recipes to eat throughout the week. How about thinking outside the box and eating vegetables for breakfast? Popular recipes to batch cook for breakfast are:

5. Where to store my food?

a. Glass containers that are oven safe are the optimal storage containers for the refrigerator and freezer. This way you reheat your meals in the same container in the oven and minimize dish washing. Before closing the container for storage, you may want to cover the food with parchment paper to prevent freezer burn.

b. BPA-free freezer bags work great for freezing lots of different items.These may be washed and reused to minimize waste.

c. Mason jars are convenient to make personal overnight oats and salads, and for storing dressings and sauces.

d. Green bags extend the life of fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator. Make sure your produce is dry to prevent mold, and remove the air from the bag before closing.

6. How long can I store food?

(foodsafety.gov, realsimple.com & USDA)

a. Refrigerator – Cooked food generally stays fresh for about 4 days in the refrigerator.

b. Freezer – This depends on the type of food and your freezer. To avoid the dreaded “freezer burn,” don’t freeze your food longer than 2-3 months, and pack food tightly in containers so that there is minimal air space in the bag or bowl.

c. Special Instructions for Fruits:

Always store fresh fruit separate from other produce since they can absorb odors from other foods and may also release ethylene, a gas which speeds the ripening of vegetables.

Pears, apricots, nectarines, and mangoes may be ripened at room temperature and then stored in the refrigerator.

Food Storage Guidelines

Food Item Refrigerated (Unopened) Refrigerated (Opened) Room Temp (Unopened) Room Temp (Opened) Freezer Apples 3 weeks 1 week Blueberries 1 week 1 day 1 year Broccoli & Cauliflower 1 week Citrus Fruits 2 weeks Cooked Beans 5 days 3 days 8 months Cooked Rice 6 days 4 days 6 months Dark Leafy Greens 5-7 days 8 months Garlic 2 months Grapes 5 days Herbs 3 days Lemons & Limes 3 weeks Lettuce 5 days Melons Mushrooms 1 week Onions 2 months 6 months Plums 5 days Potatoes 3 weeks Quinoa 1 week 4-6 days Strawberries 3 days 1 year Tomatoes 3 days Winter Squash 1 week 3 months

***The shelf life of all produce also depends upon the variety, how ripe they were when picked, and how they were stored after picking and prior to distribution to the retail store or market.

Source: Boyer, Renee, and Julie McKinney. “Food Storage Guidelines for Consumers.” Virginia Cooperative Extension (2009): n. pag. Web. 7 Dec 2009.

Copyright 2018 Center for Nutrition Studies. All rights reserved.

Source: https://nutritionstudies.org/batch-cooking-and-meal-prep-tips-for-a-plant-based-kitchen/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

[risevessel4-blog]

Skinnytaste Meal Plan (May 27-June 2)

posted May 25, 2019 by Gina

A free 7-day flexible weight loss meal plan including breakfast, lunch and dinner and a shopping list. All recipes include calories and WW SmartPoints®.

If you’re new to my meal plans, I’ve been sharing these free, 7-day flexible healthy meal plans (you can see my previous meal plans here) that are meant as a guide, with plenty of wiggle room for you to add more food, coffee, beverages, fruits, snacks, dessert, wine, etc or swap recipes out for meals you prefer, you can search for recipes by course in the index. You should aim for around 1500 calories* per day.

There’s also a precise, organized grocery list that will make grocery shopping so much easier and much less stressful. Save you money and time. You’ll dine out less often, waste less food and you’ll have everything you need on hand to help keep you on track.

Lastly, if you’re on Facebook join my Skinnytaste Facebook Community where everyone’s sharing photos of recipes they are making, you can join here. I’m loving all the ideas everyone’s sharing! If you wish to get on the email list, you can subscribe here so you never miss a meal plan!

Also, if you don’t have the Skinnytaste Meal Planner, now would be a great time to get one to get organized for 2019! There was a print error last year, but it’s perfect now! You can order it here!

THE DETAILS:

Breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday, are designed to serve 1 while dinners and all meals on Saturday and Sunday are designed to serve a family of 4. Some recipes make enough leftovers for two nights or lunch the next day. While we truly believe there is no one size fits all meal plan, we did our best to come up with something that appeals to a wide range of individuals. Everything is Weight Watchers friendly, I included the updated Weight Watcher Freestyle Points for your convenience, feel free to swap out any recipes you wish or just use this for inspiration!

The grocery list is comprehensive and includes everything you need to make all meals on the plan. I’ve even included brand recommendations of products I love and use often. Cross check your cabinets because many condiments you’ll notice I use often, so you may already have a lot of them.

And last, but certainly not least, this meal plan is flexible and realistic. There’s plenty of wiggle room for cocktails, healthy snacks, dessert and dinner out. And if necessary, you can move some things around to make it work with your schedule. Please let me know if you’re using these plans, this will help me decide if I should continue sharing them!

MONDAY (5/27) B: 2 scrambled eggs (0) with 1 ounce avocado (1) L: Honey Sriracha Chicken and Broccoli Meal Prep Bowls* (7) D: Cream of Zucchini Soup (1) with 2 Easy Garlic Knots (4)

Totals: Freestyle™ SP 13, Calories 851**

TUESDAY (5/28) B: Greek Yogurt with Berries, Nuts and Honey (5) L: Honey Sriracha Chicken and Broccoli Meal Prep Bowls (7) D: Madison’s Favorite Beef Tacos (9)

Totals: Freestyle™ SP 21, Calories 1,061**

WEDNESDAY (5/29) B: 2 scrambled eggs (0) with 1 ounce avocado (1) L: Honey Sriracha Chicken and Broccoli Meal Prep Bowls (7) D: LEFTOVER Madison’s Favorite Beef Tacos*** (6) over 2 cups romaine (0) with Zesty Avocado Cilantro Buttermilk Dressing (2)

Totals: Freestyle™ SP 16, Calories 945**

THURSDAY (5/30) B: Greek Yogurt with Berries, Nuts and Honey (5) L: Honey Sriracha Chicken and Broccoli Meal Prep Bowls (7) D: Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage Creole (4) with ¾ cup brown rice (5) Totals: Freestyle™ SP 21, Calories 1,087**

FRIDAY (5/31) B: 2 scrambled eggs (0) with 1 ounce avocado (1) L: LEFTOVER Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage Creole (4) with ¾ cup brown rice (5) D: Shrimp, Peas and Rice (8)

Totals: Freestyle™ SP 18, Calories 943**

SATURDAY (6/1) B: Spinach Ricotta Quiche (5) with an orange (0) L: California Grilled Chicken Avocado and Mango Salad (4) D: DINNER OUT!

Totals: Freestyle™ SP 9, Calories 545**

SUNDAY (6/2) B: LEFTOVER Spinach Ricotta Quiche (5) with 1 cup grapes (0) L: The Skinny Tuna Melt (4) (Recipe x 2) with 8 carrot sticks (0) D: Baked Chicken Milanese with Arugula and Tomatoes (4) with Skinny Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Chives (5)

Totals: Freestyle™ SP 18, Calories 980**

*Prep Sunday night, if desired. **This is just a guide, women should aim for around 1500 calories per day. Here’s a helpful calculator to estimate your calorie needs. I’ve left plenty of wiggle room for you to add more food such as coffee, beverages, fruits, snacks, dessert, wine, etc.

***Omit taco shells.

**google doc

Shopping list:

Produce

4 medium oranges

1 medium lemon

1 medium lime

2 medium mangos

1 ½ pounds seedless grapes (red or green)

1 small jalapeno

1 medium head broccoli

3 medium zucchini

2 pounds (6-7 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes

1 large head baby Red Butter or Bibb lettuce

1 (5-ounce) bag/clamshell baby arugula

1 small bunch fresh baby spinach

2 large heads Romaine lettuce

1 medium bunch scallions

1 pint fresh berries (your choice)

1 small and 1 medium red bell pepper

1 medium green bell pepper

1 small (4-ounce) and 2 medium (5-ounce) avocados

1 medium bunch carrots

1 small bunch celery

1 large head garlic

1 small bunch fresh Italian parsley

1 small container/bunch fresh basil

1 small bunch fresh cilantro

1 small container/bunch fresh chives

1 small red onion

6 medium vine-ripened tomatoes

2 plum tomatoes

1 dry pint cherry or grape tomatoes

2 small yellow onions

Meat, Poultry and Fish

2 pounds 93% lean ground beef

4 pounds (8) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 ¼ pounds peeled and deveined shrimp

9 ounces chicken Andouille sausage

Grains*

1 large package dry brown rice (or about 9 cups pre-cooked)

1 small bag all-purpose or white whole wheat flour

1 package corn taco shells

1 small loaf whole wheat bread

1 small container whole wheat Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Condiments and Spices

Extra virgin olive oil

Cooking spray

Olive oil spray (or get a Misto oil mister)

Kosher salt (I like Diamond Crystal)

Pepper grinder (or fresh peppercorns)

Sesame oil

Honey

Sriracha sauce

Seasoned rice vinegar

Black and/or white sesame seeds

Cumin

Chili powder

Paprika

Oregano

Bay leaves

Creole seasoning

Cayenne pepper

White balsamic vinegar

Light mayonnaise

Red wine vinegar

Balsamic vinegar

Dairy & Misc. Refrigerated Items

1 ½ dozen large eggs

1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust

1 (15-ounce) container part skim ricotta cheese

1 (8-ounce) tub reduced fat sour cream

1 pint low-fat buttermilk

1 package (or 4 slices) reduced fat cheddar cheese

1 small box butter

1 small wedge Pecorino Romano cheese

1 small wedge Parmesan cheese

1 (8-ounce) bag part skim mozzarella cheese

1 (8-ounce) bag shredded cheddar cheese

1 (32-ounce) container nonfat Greek yogurt (I like Fage)

1 (8-ounce) container skim milk

Frozen

Canned and Jarred

1 (32-ounce) carton reduced sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth

1 (32-ounce) carton low sodium chicken broth

2 (4.5-ounce) cans tuna in water

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6-ounce) can or (4.5-ounce) tube tomato paste

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

Misc. Dry Goods

Corn starch

Baking powder

1 small bag chopped walnuts

*You can buy gluten free, if desired

posted May 25, 2019 by Gina

Source: https://www.skinnytaste.com/skinnytaste-meal-plan-may-27-june-2/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

[turbogrill]

Fare Exchange: Today’s recipes include two barbecue sauces, bread sticks wound with bacon

February 20th, 2019 by Jane Henegarin Life Entertainment Read Time: 4 mins.

Welcome to our newsprint table, esteemed readers. Today’s broad question springs from one of you, who wrote of favorite foods at her Sunday School class’s monthly brunch. Those who belong to a similar circle of friends would call such meals something nobler than “potluck,” as if perhaps there were a taste of the divine in the meal.

This request is for you, if you are part of a regular or semi-regular group where people bring whatever they want and it turns into a fine combination. What do you bring? What dish did someone else bring, so tasty that the rest of you begged for the recipe?

Jane Henegar

Photo by Contributed Photo /Times Free Press.

And there are still requests from last year, to wit: gluten-free zucchini cornbread, Copper Kettle orange tea, homemade dark chocolate candy made with coconut palm sugar.

BARBECUE SAUCES

Herein continues the barbecue sauce recipe thread.

From Carolyn Eisenman of Fort Oglethorpe via a friend from Tarboro, North Carolina, came this Eastern North Carolina version of a vinegar-based sauce.

“We always loved to go to barbecues at Clyde’s home. He would order hushpuppy mix from NC and as fast as he could fry them, we would all be sure to eat them. It’s a wonder we had any left to have with our meal.”

We asked, “How about those hushpuppies to accompany well-sauced meat?” Ms. Eisenman found a link to Atkinsonmilling.com, where you can order their Hushpuppy Mix with Onions, and take it from there.

Clyde’s Spicy North Carolina-Style Barbecue Sauce

4 cups dark apple cider vinegar (5 percent acidity)

3/4 cup ketchup

4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 teaspoons salt

Bring all ingredients to a boil on top of stove. Boil a minute or two. Remove from heat. Use as desired. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. It will keep for several months. This is great for chicken, pork, beef, etc.

You may barbecue your meat on the grill or in the oven. When grilling, it is better to put the meat on first and cook for a few minutes on both sides before basting with the sauce, so the meat won’t burn or get a charred look.

Linda Morris of Lookout Mountain added the tasty twist of a mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce.

“The past two weeks there seems to be a focus on barbecue sauce this brings to mind a wonderful recipe: White Barbecue Sauce. I first had it in Alabama at Big Bob Gibson’s. He also bottles it and it is available in most grocery stores. I also had it later in the North Georgia mountains. This sauce is delicious on ALL grilled meats, not only barbecue.”

White Barbecue Sauce

2 cups mayonnaise

2 tablespoons black pepper (see note)

2 tablespoons salt

6 tablespoons lemon juice

4 tablespoons white sugar

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Keep refrigerated.

Note: I cut back some on the black pepper, but that’s just my taste. I would advise to taste as you mix.

As I have read and reread the varied barbecue sauces readers have sent, I am reminded that homemade sauce would be a fine gift. Have any of you done this?

BREAD AND BACON

Last week Martha Eaves shared a couple of recipes that she has prepared for her monthly Sunday School brunch at First Baptist Church. “It’s most definitely potluck and a great place to try new recipes.” Someone recently brought Bacon Bites, a recipe that originated in Southern Living. Ms. Eaves reported, “The breadsticks are available at Publix and might be found in other stores. The breadsticks are really thin and very delicate, requiring an ultra-gentle touch when wrapping the bacon around them. I broke several, but I used them anyway. Nobody seemed to notice.”

Bacon Bites

2 cups light brown sugar, packed

22 bacon slices

22 very thin breadsticks (from a 3.5-ounce package)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Spread brown sugar in a large shallow pan or bowl (not in the baking pan).

Wrap 1 bacon slice around each breadstick, starting at one end of the breadstick and barely overlapping the bacon in a slightly spiral/diagonal pattern.

Roll the bacon-covered breadsticks in the brown sugar, pressing to adhere.

(At this point, you can cover and refrigerate overnight, if desired.)

Place breadsticks on large, foil-covered baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven until bacon is cooked through and almost crisp, 35 to 40 minutes. (Watch the progress of the bacon bites. If they are cooking too fast on the bottom, roll them over so that they can caramelize evenly.)

Immediately remove the warm sticks from baking sheet, and place on wax paper. (If you don’t remove them immediately, they will superglue themselves to the foil.)

Cool to room temperature.

These may be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

TurboGrill

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function ml_webform_success_1129180() { var $ = ml_jQuery || jQuery; $('.ml-subscribe-form-1129180 .row-success').show(); $('.ml-subscribe-form-1129180 .row-form').hide(); } Fare Exchange: Today’s recipes include two barbecue sauces, bread sticks wound with bacon published first on https://turbogrill.us/

#BBQ #Grill #Grilling #Weber Grill #kettle Grill #Turbo Grill #TurboGrill #Outdoor Cooking #Grill Master

[benjamingarden]

Weekending

Happy Monday friends!  I hope you are doing well.  Summer got off to a steamy start here in upstate NY and we are now enjoying a bit cooler temps.  I'm grateful we get a break from the heat.  Wishing we could catch a break from the humidity as well.  The critters are pretty grateful too. We were blessed with one day of rain during the week which made our lawn and garden quite happy.  We were expecting rain both Saturday and Sunday but we barely had any at all until Sunday night.  Today we're getting a bit more so I expect that the garden will grow by leaps and bounds this week.

 (I trimmed some of the onions - I need to get to the rest!)

(the peas are still doing very well)

In The Garden - our garden has exploded in greenery and fresh veg.  We are blessed with an enormous amount of shade provided by a large number of trees around our property so our garden typically takes a bit longer then most to produce.  But when it does produce we are usually inundated with deliciousness.  Hoping this year will be no different.  I've been watching 5 large green tomatoes, waiting patiently for them to ripen (and praying the chipmunks leave them alone....). Last year I got a bit carried away with planting tomatoes, and this year I got a bit carried away with planting onions and sweet potatoes.  At least onions and sweet potatoes are both veg that can be stored.  And we eat a ton of each (that's how I've justified it to my husband who questioned the massive amount of sweet potato vines and sea of onion tops....).  And I FINALLY have sunflowers growing again!  The past couple of years I've battled the squirrels and chipmunks who both stole my seeds and, for the seeds they missed, ate my baby sunflower plants.  While I can't get too cocky yet, all of my sunflowers are a few feet tall so I'm hopeful they'll make it.

Backyard Wildlife - We have 4 woodchucks living around our property.  We are living in harmony this year so far.  You know the old saying that fences make good neighbors?  Well, fences also make it possible to live in harmony with wild critters so they don't demolish the garden.  Leaving them fruit and veggie bits make them quite happy as well. We were actually quite abundant in wildlife this year.  We have birdhouses around the property that were all full of birds raising their babies.  We also had some nest-building.  One Robin built her nest in our lean-to where we store our trash cans.  We would accidentally scare her when we would go to dump trash so we began whistling so she knew we were coming.  She would fly out when we'd whistle and then squawk at us from a tree a few feet away until we left. One evening, after her young were fully feathered, the chicks decided to try flying when we were both at the trash can and mama bird was in the tree squawking.  Jay had just opened the lid to the trash can when a chick went plummeting into it.  I was able to carefully dig it out and it sat on my hand for a bit before attempting to fly again.  Poor momma began chirping wildly.  She eventually gathered the 3 chicks and all was well.  They have since moved on.  Actually, the last of our bird families just left this past week.

In The Kitchen - many of you have emailed me after trying the Healthier Chocolate Zucchini Cake and have shared that you LOVE it.  I'm so happy to hear that!  Some of you have requested a vegan version and I haven't gotten it completely worked out.  Mostly because I'm trying not to eat much flour these days, but I will give it a go in the next month. Batch cooking has been a priority so I don't have to heat the house up every night.  I've been enjoying many different themed bowls and Jay sometimes has what I prepare for myself as a side and other times we use the grill's side burner to cook his side.  His meat is cooked on the grill as well so the house stays cool. Yesterday I cooked up some Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice and Mexican-Style Lentils that I'll pair with a fresh salsa, steamed broccoli or cauliflower, and raw greens.  I will probably make a non-dairy "cheese" sauce and roasted potato bites to use as well.  This way I can either have the rice, lentils, salsa, broccoli and greens or the potatoes, lentils, cauliflower, greens and cheese sauce. I've also been enjoying a summer squash and (oil-free) pesto soup that I concocted one day.  I'm not usually a soup fan in summer but it is simple and delicious.

In The Coop - the poor Coop Girls.  They love the summer but absolutely detest high heat and humidity.  We put their box fan in one of the coop windows to provide some relief hot days.  They get up on the roost that is across from the fan, spread their wings out a bit, and just enjoy the breeze it provides. We dusted the coop with diatomaceous earth to prevent mites and other pests that the humidity attracts.  For the most part, egg production is good.  When we have stretches of humidity it does drop a bit.  I can't blame them - I'm not a fan of it either.  We are giving them plenty of fruit and grains soaked in water, yogurt, or milk as treats which they are enjoying.

Oliver - he's doing very well.  We've been eating dinner out on the deck since we realized we could put up an outdoor canopy/tent with screened walls to allow us a bug-free dining space.  Oliver has been bummed because our outdoor table and chairs are tall so he can't feel like he's a part of it.  So, feeling bad for him, Jay made him his very own stool of sorts.  It's kind of like a toddler tower but fits one of his smaller beds.  He LOVES it!  He sits right next to me and adores that he can see us as well as what's going on around the property from a different viewpoint.  Slightly spoiled?  Yes, I know.

Jack - poor Jackson.  People have been shooting off fireworks on random nights between 9:30 and 10 and he goes into a full-on panic.  He detests loud noises and there's just no calming him down.  I've started giving him Bach's Remedy on the nights when they start up.  I think it's helping a bit.  Other then that he's doing well.

Around The House - home projects have slowed a bit but I plan to paint the dining room this week (hooray!) and hopefully get to the living room in a couple of weeks.  I would like to get to the stairwell and painting the radiators on the main floor as well, but not sure if there will be time.  We'll see.  Jay worked on trimming the vines that were killing the trees both on our property and just outside of it.  As you know, we adore our shade so he's been working on them for the last few years.  I think he's finally got it! He's been working on installing gutters on our outbuildings and I believe he's going to work on painting the exterior of our home next. (same color, just needs to be scraped and painted)  We determined that if he paints 2 sides instead of all 4 then it's much easier to fit into the summer schedule.  So, he'll do 2 this year and 2 next year and then it will be awhile before it's needed again. We're hoping to be able to find the time to replace one of our front porches this year as well.  It needs a bit of rebuilding because there is some rot, and then we'll be putting trex decking down.  If we get one done then we plan to get the second porch completed next year. Oh, and remember that I mentioned I was going to let my hair go gray after my mother passed away?  Yup, I am definitely gray!  My hair is absolutely white in the front but blended a bit in the back because I still have some brown to grow out.  It will be a year in August since I've started letting it grow out.  Honestly, I don't mind it.  I'm happy to not be using hair dye every month, so it's worth it.

The Business - Our farmer's market has definitely slowed since we don't have the amount of out-of-towners that we usually have, but we certainly can't complain.  Our locals have been incredibly supportive and our online store continues to do well too.  We are in full production of product right now.  Some of our craft shows have cancelled their shows for this year and we anticipate the remainder will eventually cancel as well.  We have no idea what will happen in fall and winter this year so we're just taking it a day at a time. That seems to be everyone's theme for the year. Hoping you had a lovely weekend as well! Do tell - did you do anything fun or productive?  Cook anything delicious?  Read a good book? Little Bit Of Link Love: Do you love garlic scapes?  How about dilly beans?  Ever thought of putting them together?  Me neither!  Our VERY favorite museum shares the recipe and I think I'll be trying it this year.  (shelburne museum) Summer is when local fruit is perfectly ripened and widely available but it's also a time when it's too hot to want to do any canning.  Marisa shares a post/guide for making jam from frozen fruit.  A perfect compromise!  (food in jars) Speaking of canning, this raspberry-peach-ginger jam that is sweetened with honey is speaking to me.  I'm loving ginger these days!  (rachel wolf) (affiliate link) My FAVORITE non-stick alternative pans.  I've struggled to find a pan that works for delicate things like eggs and crepes and I have finally found a pan that works great! I love them so much I bought all 3 sizes with lids in Lava Black. (amazon)

Weekending was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)