Another day, another tomato

This was a nice week that had some fun things along with some down time. Overall it was my favorite type of week. 

But, I am still being overrun with tomatoes. My Beloved Sister suggested I pack a suitcase and head to Bunol Spain for the tomato throwing festival . Sadly it is in August, so I missed it! Instead I will just make tomato sauce or paste daily. I know it will come to an end soon, but right now I have about 40 tomatoes on the counter and 5 or 6 cups of cherry tomatoes.

What was planned (but mostly didn't happen)

1. Spaghetti with meat balls, tossed salad, garlic toast

2. Out to eat (birthday celebration)

3. Pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes (leftover), broccoli

4. Big salad meal TBD (must require lots of tomatoes though)

5. Veggie meal TBD

6. White bbq chicken, collards, cornbread

7. Sloppy Joes, tossed salad

Things that happened and meals that followed:

Monday: 73 Days till Christmas:

I typically do not like to plan anything on Mondays. It is a day when I try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to catch up on laundry and organize the week. Though sometimes my organizing is my nemesis, because while I am looking at the various things I want to do, making lists, planning where we will go or what we might do, I see something sparkly. Then my tiny squirrel brain sets off in a completely different direction and all of a sudden instead of organizing the week, I am making something out of toilet paper tubes or trying to get knots out of a necklace. Monday was one of those days!

Monday dinner: You say tomato and I say "holy smokes something has to be done with the morning's harvest" I used 8 of the approximately 1 billion sitting on my kitchen counter.

Spaghetti with meatballs, cucumber tomato onion salad, garlic toast

Tuesday: 72 days till Christmas 

This was TheHub's birthday, and though we are getting older I am thankful for the opportunity we both have for another year for each of us. I had a friend bemoaning getting older and all I could think was "Well, it beats the alternative". Did I make him a birthday cake or shower him with presents? Nope, we gave that up a few years ago. Individually we both buy what we need or want, and neither of us need or wants any doo-dads to clutter up our space or lives. And neither of us want that much cake hanging around with just the two of us here.

Tuesday dinner: DIL2* and My Beloved Sister joined us for dinner at Half Shell Oyster House. Everyone ordered what they wanted so I am just posting my meal and what was shared.

Shrimp and grits, asparagus (mine), crab claws and caramel cheesecake (birthday cake alternative) for everyone

Wednesday: 71 days till Christmas 

I woke early to a drop dead gorgeous day, got a few things done  at the house, then headed to my Wednesday class. Afterward, I had a couple of quick errands to run before heading to Homewood to meet a few friends for lunch. What a wonderful group of women they are! 

After good food and better conversations I ran a few more errands and found one specific item I was looking for. Score!

Wednesday dinner: Unfortunately for TheHub I had eaten a much bigger lunch than normal (black eyed peas, turnip greens, fried green tomatoes, cornbread) and was not hungry and did not want to cook. Fortunately he had a meeting Monday and brought home half of his boxed lunch and also brought home his side dish from his birthday dinner.

Doggy bag dinner, 1/2 chicken wrap,  red beans and rice

Thursday: 70 days till Christmas

TheHub worked at the dining room table (still!) most of the day while I was able to go to my Happy Place. Because it was October and the month for all things pumpkin, I decided to try a non-traditional pumpkin recipe, that the participants of Independence Place could make at home with little assistance. It was a little dicey because it was something different, and sometimes different does not work. This week with the exception of 1 participant, the pumpkin sausage soup was a huge success, with several participants even wanting seconds. 

As I have said, time and time again, I love being able to volunteer there. I get so much more from it than I could ever give.

Thursday dinner: Whatever we had was unremarkable and by Saturday when I wrote this neither TheHub nor I could remember what we ate.

Something, but who knows what it was

Friday: 69 Day till Christmas

It was another beautiful, warm (overly warm) day. I had a little running around to do, and TheHub needed a break from the work he was doing (I am pretty sure he is supposed ot be retired, but I think other than having an office away from home (and away from the dining room table while 2 dedicated offices in my house remain unoccupied) retirement for him was just theoretical.

We ran out to eat lunch then ran a couple of errands before he went back to the grindstone (AKA the dining room table) for about an hour, then to the golf course to hit a few balls before dark**

Friday dinner: We had a nice lunch and were not terribly hungry, so we ate a little later and it needed to be something I could cobb together quickly. The tomatoes on the counter top were screaming "use me, use me"

BLT*** salad, dinner rolls

Saturday: 68 Days till Christmas 

I woke, showered and put on my game day clothes early. Saturday mornings are usually spent watching/listening to ESPN's "Game Day" or "SEC Live".  This Saturday was an exception to our norm. 

ThePig was having a vendors day****, where folks (mostly local) set up tables inside the store with samples of their products. They have it yearly and it is a great way to try new (or just new to me ) products, and to get to know some of the faces behind the companies that produce them. They all want to chat about their foods. 

This is the first time TheHub has ever gone with me, and he enjoyed it as much as I did. In addition to the shopping list I had made Wednesday from their weekly food ad, we came out of the store with several unintended purchases, just because of the delicious samples . I did pass on the cheesecake which I would have bought if I had freezer space, but The Pig is carrying it regularly now so I can buy it when wanted.  (And yes, I am perfectly capable of making a delicious cheesecake myself, but sometimes if we have a house filled with houseguests I had rather spend my time with them than baking. )

Once home, after turning on the game, the blasted tomatoes started screaming at me. So I used some to make a soup base.

TheHub and I watched the game, folded laundry, and did a few chore while walking in and out of the den, stopping just to see some of the really good plays ( but with the volume turned up we could keep up with the game).

Next up was Georgia/Ole Miss. We actively watched it until Son2 came to the house so he and TheHub could leave for Tuscaloosa and the Bama game.

I watched it by myself until DIL2 came over. We saw the tail end of that game, then flipped the tv back and forth between Alabama/ Tennessee and Auburn/Missouri. Good night for Bama, not so good for Auburn.

Saturday dinner: Once the soup base was ready I threw everything but the kitchen sink it it and would up with a gigantic pot of soup.

Vegetable beef soup, dinner rolls

Sunday: 67 Days till Christmas

We woke extremely early to make it to church for the communion service, traditional worship, and Sunday School.

Afterward we came home changed and had some of the soup for lunch. (I had transferred it to the crock pot Saturday and kept it on the low setting over night). After eating I transferred it to a bowl to cool in the fridge before packing it in 2 person servings to live in the freezer until we want it again.

I was just about to head up to the room of horrors when  Son2 and DIL2 stopped by. I was so sad I was not able to head upstairs to work in that room (she said sarcastically, since she will use any diversion to keep from actually doing it)

Now, after we visited with them for a bit, I could have headed up to the room, but TheHub turned on the Eagles game so that both of us could put our feet up  and "watch" the game with our eyes closed. 

When my eyes opened, I decided I did not have enough time to go up and start work before needing to make dinner. (You might notice a pattern of avoidance here)

Sunday dinner: TheHub  thought Chinese food sounded good and who am I to argue with take-out? There is a place near us that has such huge servings, we buy one meal and two egg rolls. It is enough for dinners two nights and at least one lunch. 

Kung pao chicken, egg roll

Planned for the week

1. Chicken broccoli impossible pie, cucumber tomato onion salad

2. Pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, tossed salad

3. Leftover kung pao chicken, rice, asian slaw

4. Out to eat

5. Pumpkin sausage soup, coleslaw

6. Veggie meal TBD

7. Ball game meal, either sloppy Joe's or hot dogs 

There is a possibility we might head to the beach this week and if so all planned meals are off the table.

Books read in October:

The Backyard Bird Chronicles

107 Days

The Women

Have a great week staying on plan, going off plan or with no plan at all.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

*Son2 was working in Nashville and could not join us.

** It is getting dark too early for me. When we revert back to CST I will be in daylight mourning until late January when I start noticing the days getting longer again.

*** I cook 4 packages of bacon at once, then freeze it for future uses. It is a snap to grab a couple of slices and nuke them, whenever we need/want bacon.

****Unintentionally we were among the first 100 customers, only because it was game day and we wanted to watch the Vandy/LSU game. Unbeknownst to me, the first 100 received a free loaf of bread and a pound of coffee. Of course neither cover the cost for the excess we spent buying the impulse buys, but it was still a nice surprise.