A week went by so fast. Don't you wonder sometimes where the time went?
I have a list of tasks that I want to accomplish this month. One was to add extra shelves to all closets as there is a severe shortage of storage space in this house. I got that done, so now I'm in the process of unpacking boxes and organizing things. I bought several containers from thrift stores and dollar stores to group things together.
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| On this shelf I have separate containers for extra vitamins, for toothpaste & toothbrushes, and for miscellaneous items. |
I would like to have several citrus trees in the back yard, so I saved seeds from the store bought fruits and sprouted several lemon and grapefruit seeds. I also have two new mango plants. I carefully remove the outer layer of seeds, then wrapped them in damp paper towels and keep in a dark place. After 10-14 days most seeds sprout.
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| On the kitchen window sill I have mango, lemon and grapefruit plants. |
I cleaned the area where I keep pots of herbs, just outside the kitchen.
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| When cooking I use freshly picked basil, curry leaves, rosemary, thyme and lemongrass from these pots. |
This week I made a green bean casserole with homemade mushroom soup. I was inspired by this recipe on Beulah's blog The Busy B. I tweaked the recipe a bit to use what I had in the pantry. I used both chicken stock and almond milk, arrowroot flour and celery seeds. I didn't want to buy French fried onions, so I found a recipe online and made some at home. It was very easy. I soaked onion slices in almond milk for about 5 minutes and coated in chickpea flour. Then I deep fried onions in coconut oil. It was so tasty, I was munching on it while making the casserole. 😊 I made a double batch of mushroom soup- one for the casserole and the other for baked chicken.
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| Green bean casserole with homemade mushroom soup and French fried onions. |
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| Chicken in mushroom sauce. |
Another monthly goal is to spend no more than $140 on groceries. So far I have spent $22.51.
I think my week has been pretty productive so far. In addition to doing renovations, cooking and gardening I have been reading The Fingerprint by Patricia Wentworth. I love cozy British mysteries and enjoy Miss Silver's detective work on Wentworth's novels.
I will finish this week by ironing two loads of laundry and making a batch of oatmeal and raisin cookies. So, that's my week so far. I hope you all had a great week as well. I'll see you again sometime next week.
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Nil
You've had a busy but productive week. I do like the idea of extra shelves. I have very few cupboards in this house and desperately need to sort out my clothes storage. X
ReplyDeleteI used a mix of new and used shelves to minimize the cost. :)
DeleteHope you will find a solution for your storage problem, Jules. I'm still working on maximizing my kitchen space.
You have been busy, Nil. I guess you are trying to get everything done before going back to work.
ReplyDeleteYes Chel, I have 10 days before going back to work. :)
DeleteOh, oatmeal raisin cookies. That sounds delicious! I'd like to make some of those, too. Good luck with the citrus. I have several of them, and they do really well in this heat. They love compost and mulch. I'm amazed at how little you spend on groceries.
ReplyDeleteStephenie, I didn't really have my grocery shopping for this month yet. I've picked up few items on the way to another store, and will do my real grocery shopping tomorrow. $140 is an experiment, I don't know how it will go. :)
DeleteYou've accomplished so much since moving in plus you've been away during that time too. Having the herbs right outside your kitchen is great. Fresh homegrown herbs add so much flavour to your dishes and great for you too. I hope your shopping falls within your budget. You are a very good cook. That mushroom sauce looks too good 🙂.
ReplyDeleteKylie
Thanks Kylie. Sometimes it's overwhelming when I think about how much work the house needs, but I try to prioritize and get it done a little by little.
DeleteI do enjoy a good grapefruit. I hope your citrus trees thrive! I also enjoy a good mystery book. I just finished a mystery novel yesterday, and I had guessed the wrong person as the perpetrator, darn it.:-) I thought here a moment about who is my favorite mystery novelist, and I can't choose just one. There a so many good ones, both older like Erle Stanley Gardner, and newer like Janet Evanovich. Good luck with your $140 grocery experiment!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about those two authors. I'm going to see if my library has any of their books. Thanks for the suggestion Priscilla. :) Now I'll have more books to read. To read list is getting longer and longer. :)
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