Make spaghetti night a little more interesting while sneaking in extra veggies your kids don't know about

Ok, can't take credit for this recipe idea, I stole it from Rachel Ray (never watch TV at home but saw this at the Birthplace last week while eating my breakfast). I thought I would try this because I needed to make use of the few peppers and a handful of eggplant I picked from the garden on Saturday before the storm hit (not to mention a pile of plum tomatoes!).

So basically you roast the eggplant and peppers in the oven at 400-425 degrees on a sheet pan. I kept the peppers whole (I used 2 banana, 1 small bell and 1 spicy cherry), cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, smothered all with "EVOO" and sea salt laid the eggplant face down so the skin side was showing and stuck in the hot oven. If the size of your veggies varies then check on it frequently- some stuff may be done sooner than others, but basically it's done when a fork slides into it super easy.  You should be able to remove the skin from the peppers easily, also take the seeds out, and scrape the soft eggplant meat out of the skin with a spoon. Throw all your veggie meat in the food processor and puree, then throw that mess into your usual spaghetti sauce! I had made a marinara using the fresh plum tomatoes and herbs (basil, parsley and oregano) from our garden with just a half of a small can of tomato paste to thicken it a bit, then added the eggplant and pepper puree. My kids HATE eggplant and are split on peppers but had no idea it was in the sauce, they loved it! No pictures this time guys, really it just looked like a regular marinara sauce, that's how the kids were fooled ;)

Come On Irene

Luckily I've already been collecting emergency supplies for the past 8 months, pending a major, national, economic meltdown (hey, i think i'm balanced in my apocolyptic fears, and anyway it came in handy didn't it!).
But I did run out today to get a few odds and ends. Traffic was HORRENDOUS all over town, especially at the Southbury Plaza! But I was able to avoid all that, aaahhhh, the freedom of 2 wheels! :D

Rain poncho, 2 ice packs, a bag of ice, bike headlight (what a find at KMart!), batteries and an extra propane tank for the camp stove. Even squeezed in that cast iron griddle I've been meaning to pick up (for the camp stove, again KMart). Now just to clean the garage up a bit in case we need to take cover down there, and fill up my 15 gallon potable water barrel (if you don't have water storage equip, click here!) we also have a 7 gallon jug with water filter attachment in case we had had had to go down to the pomperaug and get more. Think we're as ready as we can be..... wait, pray, and love thy neighbors!!

Simple Steps

What I'm about to say you've heard many times, but most likely for health reasons: take the stairs! I committed about a year ago to ALWAYS taking the stairs instead of the elevator, at work and everywhere else. I also teach my kids to follow suit; "Elevators are for handicapped people. You're healthy and your legs work fine!" I tell them. By taking the elevator, not only do you exercise your legs and your heart, but you're saving energy in the process. Did you realize that for an average building (with a 2000lb elevator and 2-3 floors) by taking the stairs instead of the elevator you can save 3416 kWh/yr of electricity, 5602 lbs/yr of CO2 emissions, and 80 gallons/yr of oil?! It's true! At the hospital I end up having to go out of my way a lot just to avoid the elevator and take the stairs instead. I will admit though that I cave and use the elevator if I'm carrying something awkward or heavy, etc.
Can you imagine if everyone followed this principle how much electricity would be saved?

Food for thought,
Miss Z

Stuffed Zucchini

Came home from camping this past weekend to find our garden busting, after just 2 days of not picking!

It had pretty much been busting all the previous week.  For the record: lots of rain this season but especially mid-August, alternating with super warm sunny days. Only thing not impressed with still being the peppers :-/


Anyway, to get to the point of this blog, I had those two huge zucchini I figured would be great for stuffing. I decided to do it a little differently because after what I ate camping and wining all weekend I really did not want to use breadcrumbs in this meal. Ok, so cut zucchini in half lengthwise, scooped out the seeds and placed hollow side up in a baking dish with some olive oil on the bottom. Chopped up in 1/4-1/2 inch pieces: 5 small white skinned eggplant (from our garden), 1/2 yellow bell pepper, 1/4 vidalia onion, 4 cloves garlic and 3 small tomatoes (from our garden, de-seaded). Sauteed that with some olive oil, fresh rosemary, oregano and basil from my lil herb garden (see picture here) and threw in a dash of red wine that had pretty much gone to vinager in my cabinet (Hopkins "Sachem's Picnic", which I was just told this weekend when we visited the vineyard that I should keep that in the fridge... oops, I'll know for next time, this is one I buy frequently).  Let that cook down over medium heat. Now, how did I avoid the breadcrumbs, you ask? Quinoa!! After that yummy concoction cooked down and my veggies were all translucent, my tomatoes pretty much a sauce at this point, I added 1 cup of cooked quinoa and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Mixed together, sea salt and peppered it, stuffed my zucchini, topped each with a sprinkle of sharp cheddar and threw those babies in the oven at 400 degrees (cover loosely with foil so cheese doesn't burn for first 15 min then take off for last 5 min to brown a lil) I always shut the oven off a little before the time I intend to cook the food for; the oven remains hot enough to finish cooking the food but your gas/electricity are not running anymore. I shut off the oven, gave my kids a ride 2 miles down the road, came back, perfect!
I'd like to add, you could do this without the cheese and it would be vegan. This is what I should have done; between the cheese platter we ate earlier in the day and this I woke up with asthma last night :-/
On the other hand, if you are NOT vegetarian, I must say a few slices of cooked, crumbled up bacon would have complimented this stuffing well! But in that case, remember to go easy on the sea salt.
Hope you try this, it was awesome!

Back to School Shopping

It's that time of year again. For a single mom with 3 girls back to school shopping can be almost as much of a financial burden as Christmas! Between school supplies and new clothes one can easily spend $200 per child and most parents in Southbury probably spend at least that much.  My eldest daughter struggles with the reality of our financial limitations.  She has a very part time job (working for her grandmother) which only affords her 10% of the luxuries she feels entitled to. I gave her $80 last week for back to school clothes, she went with her friend to Clinton Crossing Outlets (which she thought was being really frugal, I warned her otherwise) and came back with 3 items and $7 left. Disappointing :-/
Luckily we have a great kids consignment shop in town, Carousel Kids, right next door to my mom's restaurant I might add, and the two younger girls are a bit more open to "new-to-you" shopping.  I myself have not spent more than about $20 on new clothes for myself in the last year (not counting shoes; used shoes in good condition are a bit harder to come by). This is not only because I'm short on money but because I'm aware of the resources needed to manufacture new clothes as well as the hardship it causes people in third world countries Read this article for info on sweatshops
I'm a frequenter of "Savers" and "Good Will". Video blog to come on savvy consignment shopping; my friend and single mom pal, Rosa, and I are experts on this, so stay tuned!
So this morning Zoie and I got on our bikes and rode 1.5 miles to Carousel Kids to see what they had, knowing they ALWAYS have plenty of adorable, name brand clothes in great condition. Guess I should be thankful that Southbury mom's are crazy enough to spend mucho moolah on clothes for their kids at the mall; I can take advantage when they're done with them!

Zoie, bustin' through the clothing racks like the 'lil pro she is!

Karen and her daughter Regan, who is often there helping her mom run the shop.

Wow, these jeans look like they were never worn!

Cute jean jacket, fits perfect!

Even grabbed a couple items I knew Jada would like (she was at her dad's, I'll have to bring her next week), 8 items total, $36! Of course she has a few hand-me-downs and some stuff from last year that still fits, all kids do. Lets not forget "Back to School Shopping" is the product of marketing hype (like most American culture), and all together unnecessary to begin with. But hey, we're living in America, I'm not going to talk my kids out of it. So I compromise by getting them a few new(ish) things so they can feel like they fit in, without compromising my budget, or my conscience.

Definitions:

Clean Eating: Accepting that "We are what we eat" and learning how to be a little more conscious of what we put in our bodies. Eating responsibly means not only with our bodies in mind, but the environment as well. Processed foods, pesticides, GMO's and factory farmed meats have a negative effect not only on our bodies but also the environment. So, expect to see some nutrition related and recipe posts.
Lean Living: I'm not talking about being thin and beautiful! I'm talking about living within our means as both consumers and cohabitants of the planet earth. This is centered for the most part around the goal of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" and I'll be discussing ways you can cut down your consumption and save money.
Green Loving: The love of nature, which sustains us. I'll be talking about getting outdoors, gardening and my awe of life, in general.

Hope you all will put this blog on your favorites, I've got a lot of great insights and ideas!

This blog is under construction!

Still working on it folks.  Many ideas came and went in the course of 24 hours, hope to have it all sorted out by the end of the week and start giving people some good information!

The Making of Madame Z: Seasonal "Meatless Monday"

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