UPDATE: while we try to resolve some techinical issues, you can reach my full blog at http://almostima.wordpress.com !
Hi! I’m Almostima. If you are new to this blog, nice to meet you and I look forward to reading your comments!
If you are following me from my wordpress.almostima.com, welcome back! I think we’re still trying to figure out some stuff (i.e., would really like to spruce up some of the colors on this page), but I’m basically moved over to this site!
As you may have noticed, pictures have been a bit sparse on the website. I’m borrowing J.’s computer these days because it’s a little faster, but most of my pictures are on another computer. Ah, the complicate
d joys of technology. Anyway, here are some photos of one of dinners this week: frittata. Every ingredient is from the farmers market. I didn’t calculate the cost of each ingredient, but I’d venture a guess that it’s roughly $5 a serving. This frittata also makes use of a couple of egg whites left over from making mayo.
We’ve had our apartment cleaned a few times by a service. We asked the service to use only green products in our house.
It didn’t occur to me till last night that after the cleanings the apartment doesn’t smell like it has taken a chemical bath. I always associated “clean” with harsh lemon-type smell. But now, after the maids leave, the apartment looks great, yet it doesn’t smell like anything. It’s just clean.
We don’t have to worry about what our son crawls on or sticks in his mouth. We can all rest a little easier. (Well, maybe not Stella)
I’m still figuring this out as I go, but I am moving. Not moving from my apartment (yet). This time I’m moving my blog to greenpress.com. It’s a new community that aggregates green-theme blogs into a community. All things being equal, I’d rather lend my support behind a green start-up.
I am joining greenpress.com as a “founding blogger.” So, that’s kinda fun, no?
I still need to figure out the logistics of the move, but probably by the end of the weekend you’ll be able to find me (and all my old content) at http://almostima.greenpress.com.
Hope to see you there!
Check out this great video clip on the progress of the white house organic garden! When one considers how long it takes for change to take root in Washington, it’s nice to see such wonderful growth in just a few short months!
On the eve of returning back to work, I posted in minor desperation about what I felt was a lack of a wardrobe to return to work. Well, it’s two weeks later and I’ve managed to get by. I dressed professionally every day without repeating an outfit or buying anything new. And I don’t get the sense that I’m at the total end of options, either.
This gives me valuable perspective. We women often get that “I have nothing to wear” feeling, while our male counterparts can make it just fine on 3 pairs of slacks and 5 shirts. I think my previous perspective came from a place of not feeling good about myself in what I had to wear. These are my fat clothes. These are not the clothes that would cause a co-worker to compliment me in the hallway. But these clothes look just fine and if I had to meet a client in them, I wouldn’t be embarrased. So, now, I choose to derive my self esteem from the fact that I was capable of sticking to …
So much for the meal plan… last night we had an improptu family get together at a chinese restaurant down the street. We put the salmon in the freezer for a later use (hopefully it won’t suffer too much.) And I ate some of the chinese leftovers for lunch today.
Are you sometimes way too depressed by the news? Want to find a happy place? Try this news site: www.happynews.com (best read while putting hands on ears and singing “la la la”)
Here’s the current meal plan for the week:
The salmon was the priciest dish of the bunch — $16.95 lb. There are other minor splurges in there — like the pasta is from the farmer’s market and is a fresh pasta (which we then freeze). It’s much cheaper to go the dry pasta route and buy in bulk. And, of course, the chicken is of the pricey organic/free range variety. The pork sausage is pasture raised.
As I look to tightening my budget even further, I’m still not willing to compromise on the source or quality of the meat. The pasta, however, I am considering going the cheaper route.
For the following week, I want to brainstorm regarding cheaper meals to make with turkey/chicken or just vegetarian options. I am not a huge fan of poultry, but I need to make some compromises if I want to increase my savings.
Another huge challenge I made …
I’ve generally tried to avoid outright political posts mostly because, well, truth be told, I have no patience to debate these issues. Usually I just want to vent and please spare me the FoxNews talking points.
But like a pressure cooker, every now and then you gotta let out a bit of steam or else your kitchen will be a mess.
First of all, yes, I am grouping the entire right wing together. Why? Because I haven’t heard nearly enough moderates speak out against vile disgusting behavior by the right. If you stand by silently while evil leaders in your party run amok, you are equally to blame. (Colin Powell, you get a pass. Carry on.)
The right wing has run a campaign that, quite frankly, pinned its hope on assassination because it knew that it couldn’t win with legitimate votes. It winked at audience members in GOP rallies who screamed “Kill Him” in reference to then candidate Barack Obama. It introduced bills on the House floor that question the authenticity of now President Obama’s birth certificate. It calls him a tyrant …
Posts have been a bit sparse lately… I’m learning the old cliche that working moms feel like they are failing at everything. Will I ever feel like I’m at the top of my game at anything again?
Don’t know. Stay tuned.
I was testing out my recipe for making tomato sauce — hoping that I would be able to make a large batch for family when we finally do our canning day (looking like July is a possibility).
Well, roadblock. At the farmer’s market today I bought 2 lbs of extra ripe tomatoes which were on sale for $1.50/lb. Now, I didn’t put any veggie or onion filler in it just yet, but all those tomatoes are not yielding a whole lot. I cut them in half and roasted them for 40 minutes @ 350F to concentrate the flavor, then I peeled them (really easy after roasting), then food processed, and then reduced in a sauce pot with dried basil, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic salt and onion salt. It’s tasting pretty good, but it looks like it will make a quart tops, and it’s not all that cost effective.
Thus, I think the only people who make large supplies of sauce for preserving are those who grow their own tomatoes and had a bumper crop. (Or get a large supply from the CSA)
Tonight …
Tis the season of art and wine festivals. Today we went to Sunset Magazine’s annual open house. It was Max’s first time in a backpack. He tolerated it for relatively short amount of time. So, after paying $15 per ticket to get in, and waiting in a few too long lines and giving up, we gave up on the day and went home. (I snuck in a Gyro on the way out… it was almost worth the hassle).
Max was pooped. I guess we have a few more years till we can partake in these “family fun” type events. Sigh.
I had this idea and I really hope I can make it come to fruition.
Last winter my husband’s aunt gave us a few jars of frozen jam that she made. We devoured it on pancakes. This summer I am determined to learn from her and invite the women of his family together for a jam-fest. I’m also considering making a giant batch of tomato sauce as my contribution.
This is the kind of thing that previous generations would do all the time as normal part of preserving the local harvest for the winter months. I crave that community and really want to pick up this skill. (That, and our Farmer’s Market jam vendor spiked his prices to $8 a jar …)
I’ll keep ya posted if I can make this happen!
Since Gretchen did give me a 
There were two other sandwiches, but I forgot to take pictures. Too hungry.