ImPastaBle!

Mal wanted plain pasta or ramen (NOT MAC AND CHEESE) and we don't have any, so I decided to make pasta from scratch.

It's not difficult, per se, just it has to sit a while so it takes some time. AND I don't have my pasta roller anymore (when I moved into the trailer, I had to let some stuff go), so I had to roll them out by hand and it is DIFFICULT.

My noodles ended up being thicker than ideal, but whatever. It was fine and Mal said they were "okay" (meaning he's eating them).

When I explained that maybe I'll get a pasta roller again (I can get one to fit onto my Kitchenaid mixer) so the pasta will be easier to roll out, he said, "Now you know what it's like to be an Olive Garden worker."

So I guess he thinks Olive Garden is hand-making all of their noodles??

"I think I'm going to start taking pictures of my clean folded laundry"

"It might seem crazy, wearing stripes and plaid. I Instagram every meal I've had." - Al Yankovic, "Tacky"

A friend of mine moved recently, and we've been keeping up via email and the occasional text. She'd offered me a one-off job, and when I responded that I really didn't have the time or energy to do it, I was kind of in a funk. Those have been happening on and off for the past year or more, and I'm thinking it might have to do with peri-menopause and hormones. Anyway, I sent her a link to our December pictures because we really did have some good times that month (we have good times every month, actually, of course).

When she responded, she said that she really enjoyed the pictures. "I especially loved seeing your food photos. They are proof that you are accomplishing things every day! I should do the same. Maybe I’ll also take photos of piles of folded laundry!"

My friend is literally the most encouraging person I know. After I'm around her, I always feel so lifted up and affirmed. So her sentiment was sweet, but I also don't think she (or maybe anyone else) understands why I take pictures of food. Maybe it IS because I'm "Tacky," although I don't IG my meals (probably only because Luke is the account-holder-of-record).

But long before social media was a thing, I've taken pictures of food. It started with when I'd eat at really nice restaurants, which wasn't often. Food is plated with care, and it's like a work of art. It's also ephemeral. So I like to capture the beauty of it before it's gone.

James spent hours working on his first bookshelf. He took pictures of each step to record the progress, he learned a lot, and the finished shelf is beautiful. We still have it. We will have it for years. Every time I make a meal, I spend time on it. I learn things when I cook. I produce something that is for my benefit, and often for the benefit of the entire family (except that ingrate, Mal, who only eats my desserts and never my actual meals). 

For me, I don't really take pictures of the food to remind myself that I accomplished a meal, though I suppose it will be a good reminder if I ever need one. It's because I delight in the aesthetics of a pretty, delicious plate (or bowl; or tumbler). I enjoy a tasty, fulfilling meal. Taking a picture of it means that once it's gone, I can still see the picture and remember that great serving of food.

I also take pictures of doughnuts, cakes, ice cream, pretty drinks, cool and weird candy I've never seen before. I mean, I take pictures of everything, actually. My family, nature, public art, weird stuff... This is primarily how I remember things. Every day, Google reminds me of thing that happened on this day last year, the year before, the year before that... And it's fun to see "Oh, yeah, we've been doing the vegetarian eMeals for almost a whole decade!" and "I'd forgotten that I made that cake for Valentine's last year!" and "Thank god Mal isn't a baby anymore!" 

I don't have as much visceral pleasure eating food as I used to, back when I was restricting. Back then, I would practically moan through a good meal or dessert. Now, I still appreciate it, but when you eat what you want, it all kind of stabilizes. Kind of like when you're generally happy, your highs aren't quite as high as they used to be, because you don't have super lows to bounce back from.

Anyway, here are some pictures of meals we've had in the past few weeks. Call me wacky, but I don't think I'd feel as happy about pictures of my balled-up socks.

Obviously, I didn't make these. Aren't they cute, though? Super tasty.

A veggie pancake I saw on TikTok.

Arepas I prepared after we watched "Encanto" a time or two.

Happy weekend and happy eating!

A Couple of Things I Forgot Yesterday (and I'll probably forget more today)

First of all, the initial estimate we got for replacing 20 windows (with 16 windows, 'cause... reasons) was: $38,999!!! And that's WITH a discount! It was more than $54,000 without any promotions. So. No.

Anyhoo, what I neglected to mention in the whole "we're gonna save the earth!" stuff from yestiddy is that I made a 5-gallon batch of homemade laundry detergent a few weeks ago. The recipes I'd seen before always seemed too involved, but this one was easy (except that I accidentally brought in a 5-gallon bucket that had holes drilled in it, so as soon as we'd poured the boiling hot liquid into it and realized we were losing detergent, I had to plug the openings with my index fingers while James went out and found a suitable replacement in our storage shed, and then washed the dried potting soil from inside and out of it... adventure!). It looks like egg-drop soup, and it smells like nothing. I might put essential oil in it at some point, but my kiddos both have super-sensitive sniffers, so this might be the best way to do it. It's cleaned every bit as well as store-bought, and in addition to being cheaper (maybe $2 for the whole bucketful -- we already had the bucket), there's less waste. I have to throw away the paper box from the laundry bar each time I make it, but will get a dozen or so batches from the Borax and laundry soda before I have to throw out THOSE paper boxes. Cool!

I also read that a dishwashing hack is to put this into the detergent hole: 3 drops dish soap, 2/3 of the rest of the space with baking soda, and top it off with salt. We've used it several times, and it's worked great! Again, no smell. And maybe a couple of cents per use instead of $.15-.50, depending on whether we'd used powder or pods, etc.

Pretty stoked about all of that.

Also, I'm saving my onion and carrot ends and any other tough veggies I might cut up in the freezer until I have a few cups full. Then I'm going to make my own vegetable broth. Store-bought isn't super expensive, but this is basically free. I mean, we have to pay a bit for the water, but that's negligible. And I'd just throw the veggie ends away, anyway.

I'm not normally a DIY person. I'm fully willing to pay for someone else to do things I either cannot or do not have the patience to try. For instance, I just had an Instacart delivery today. I'm perfectly capable of buying groceries, but for the effort it takes (ya know, I have a kid who thinks HEB is a toy store), I'm cool with helping another person make a living. But I'm working on being a little more thoughtful about the products we use and the things we do out of habit.

Now I have to go outside and take down our wind chime. It's noisy as heck and has been for over an hour, then tomorrow morning, the temperature is going to drop 20 degrees in 5 hours, so it's bound to get worse. Payce!