A Fall Start

If August was for illness, injury, and accidents, then this fall is a time for healing and clean-ups.  And the dumpster arrived today!  The garage door has been dismantled and placed in it; tomorrow, the inventory people arrive to help us with the damaged goods, sorting between the dumpster and a soon-to-arrive POD.   The contractors will start repairing the back and front walls once the stuff is gone.

In about a month, a team of tree specialists will come fix our 70' silver maple, which is healthy but a bit too big to be nestled amid three houses.  They're going to take off about 15' and cable the four large branches together.  The cabling will last about 20 years, the pruning around 10.  It'll make us feel better about weathering the storms which are increasingly blowing through CT safely.

And then, during all this, our washing machine started making awful noises, like a jet engine taking off.  Thankfully, it's on maintenance, because we're looking at a new drum and other repairs.  And if they can't fix it, they'll replace it!  It still runs enough to keep us clean, but we've switched to paper towels and napkins instead of cloth towels and napkins for now!

I'm keeping an eye on Mama, and myself, so we don't overdo it.  In fact, we've rested so much today that we've taken in almost three movies!  Tangled.  Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Bend it Like Beckham.  (Okay, that implies that we haven't moved around at all; we did that in between).  Yep, we've got free movie channels and are enjoying them immensely.

We also cooked at home a lot today, delicious, healthy whole food:  a cherry kefir smoothie, our knock-off of Bloodroot's marinated tofu salad, and Mama's own version of a kale-mushroom saute I've made, but served with a fried egg.

This day of recovery ended with a night at school to celebrate reading--in pajamas!  The kids wore dinosaurs and sheep pjs, respectively, along with Perry the Playtpus slippers and carried Tango and Amy the Bunny.  They heard several stories sitting on the carpet with their classmates.

A great day and a good start to fall!

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Cherry Kefir Smoothie
2 cups plain low-fat kefir
2 cups frozen sweet cherries
2-4 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
water to thin, as needed

Blend ingredients together and serve.

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Marinated Tofu Salad
Dressing:
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup tamari (we had soy sauce)
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil (we had regular sesame oil)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (we had rice vinegar)
squeeze of half a lemon

Salad:
extra firm tofu, sliced thinly
lettuce or Napa cabbage shredded

Marinate tofu in some of the dressing until chilled.  Arrange tofu slices over bed of lettuce or cabbage and dress with remaining marinade.

adapted from Bloodroot

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Mushroom-Kale Stir Fry

portobello mushrooms, in chunks
onion, chopped
1 bunch kale, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
soy sauce

Saute kale in a bit of water and garlic.  In another skillet, saute mushrooms and onions until soft.  Combine and continue to heat until tender, adding soy sauce.  Serve with a fried egg.

adapted from my own adapted version of Heather Bruggeman's Potato-Kale-Portobello dish