Mary Oliver

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?"









Sunday, September 25, 2011

False Fall

Stephen took these gorgeous photos of some caterpillars feasting on our rue plants. I think it's interesting that they have inverse (reverse?) coloration. I have no idea what kind they are, but it's one of the benefits on no pesticide gardening, something my husband is passionate about.




It may look like fall here, but it doesn't feel like it. It's muggy and warm. I think we've had rain for the past two weeks, maybe longer. Everything is damp, inside and out, and lichens are even growing on our roof, just as if we lived in the Pacific Northwest.




But my fall cleaning continues, one weekend at a time. I've cleared out the main food cabinet, wiped it down, and it's drying out. Now it's back to the kitchen I go to put everything back. I did a quick written inventory of what we have, and plan on flipping through my cookbooks for recipes. I am so out of the habit of meal planning and cooking, that I am having trouble getting started. A friend of mine plans her meals by the month, building in a day of leftovers every week. I don't know if I can do that just yet, but I'd really love to get in the habit of planning a week ahead and doing some of the prep work on the weekend. Any suggestions?

5 comments:

  1. I have a hard time planning meals on the same day that I cook them!

    The caterpillars are quite interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh dear. I plan my meals by what I crave that day.... The cupboard clean out is a smart idea. So many goodies that I forget about!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, I have some suggestions. I like to make a big batch of creamy lentil soup. It keeps for 4 or 5 days and sometimes I make a really big batch and freeze it in small containers. With a salad and bread, it can make a satisfying dinner or a great take-along lunch. Ingredients: 2 onions, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 2 c. dried red (orange, really) lentils, 8 c. water, salt and pepper to taste. I'll leave you to figure out how to put it all together. The red lentils cook in only 20 minutes. I whir it with a hand blender at the end. Delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aren't those gorgeous caterpillars! Being still in 'naturalist' mode, I looked them up - black swallowtails.
    I seem to have missed a lot and I'm trying to catch up. It's better than cleaning LOL I can't plan meals and stick to the plan. I've tried many times over the years because that's supposed to be a worthy goal. I always fail and I think it's because in my heart I'm too spontaneous to be held to a plan. Or maybe because I don't really like set meals.

    BTW, the tags did arrive while I was away. Thank you so much - they are cute and I'll use them wisely :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just came across your Blog. A beautiful place to live you have there!
    The caterpillar is that of the Swallowtail Butterfly, a very beautiful one.
    Greetings from Germany! :0)

    ReplyDelete