That’s so interesting that your son is getting into voice-over work! Not exactly the same thing, but I saw a news blurb the other day that Calm (the meditation app) is looking for new voices for sleep stories… I’m excited to hear some new people in the mix.
4 Likes
Was your plan for stroganoff inspired by the recent thread on it? 
I’m sort of inspired, but it doesn’t seem very springlike and we’re about to head into the 80s for a few days.
1 Like
Hello to everyone from the suddenly Summery Twin Cities of MN where they are forecasting severe weather for the next several days. I haven’t posted for awhile as we were in survival mode to get through the skating show rehearsals and performances and band practices and concerts and gah! Extra stress on the kids as most of the skaters in big kiddo’s group are 5th and 6th grades- who had MCA testing during rehearsal and performance weeks. Also Mr Autumm has been doing extra consulting to help out his previous company- the CTO was laid off and they were short staffed already so hooray for extra consulting hours? My Etsy scrolling for pendent lights might be within budget?
Actuals and plans for 2 adults and 2 growing girls including me who survived chaperoning little kid’s group of skaters - 6 to 8 year olds. Over all very well behaved (especially compared to the older group sitting behind us) but it was like herding kittens with knives on their feet:
Last week of April with rehearsals and performances: Lots of blue box, pizza, random leftovers. And a big batch of the turkey ricotta meatballs (made ahead and frozen, then reheated in the slow cooker) as a reason we couldn’t go out to dinner with the in-laws with 2 exhausted skaters after. Among other reasons. . .
Thurs 5: Ground Turkey Larb with rice
Fri 6: Little kiddo skated. Somehow the basement upright freezer door was left slightly ajar so I got to defrost it. Unplanned defrost it. They had blue box. I nibbled on random stuff. Wound up with some good finds and thew out a lot of things I couldn’t identify or had been in there since the previous defrost over 18 months ago.
Sat 7: Potato planting party at the CSA using the “Acme Spud Spacer” Kittos had fun, I got pretty sunburned but it was a beautiful day. Grilled burgers, etc
Sun 8: Mother’s day. Take out pizza. We were all dealing with allergies and such
Mon 9: Big kiddo skating. Stuffed shells from the freezer defrost
Tues 10: Band concert. They had leftover pizza. I had diet coke and Mc donald’s fries. Some intellectual lightweight ran a red light, and but for the Grace of God I don’t know why I was in the right turn only lane. Which only goes to a bowling alley and McD’s Missed my car by inches.
Tonight 11: The rest of the leftover stuffed shells from freezer defrost mission, probably salad. Tornado watch just posted as I type
Thurs 12: Hot and windy, hoping to grill some chicken, roast broccoli on the grill, m maybe some garlic naan? Kiddo’s just told me there is a frog ribbiting in the grill. I will delegate this to Mr Autumm
Fri 13: Little kiddo skates. I found some white chicken chili in the freezer
Sat 14: Date night! So super excited! Might save the white chicken chili for then as the babysitter is dairy sensitive
Sun 15: Probably take out after Stars On Ice- girls’ night out
Take care everyone! Sorry for the long narrative. Next week is skating competition week- back to the rink we go!
17 Likes
Oy vey what a week! You deserve a lifetime supply of takeout/meals out/whatever for getting through it
…Maybe yesterday’s driving debacle was meant to be? McD’s fries are the best.
5 Likes
But what is an Acme Spud Spacer? I googled it, but came up empty. Inquiring minds want to know.
2 Likes
It must have been meant to be. I know that lane is a right turn only into McD’s and a bowling alley. The fries were excellent. I try to avoid fast food, but with price increases as they are the $1 any size soft drink makes the large diet Coke there the best deal in town.
Just so glad everyone seemed to be okay. Even the red light running “driver”
And I was chatting with another Skate Mom- we are all looking forwards to normal meals!
2 Likes
The Acme Spud Spacer is a rather nifty device which is a 3 inch diameter PVC pipe about a meter or so tall, with a fabric handle on one end, and a 12 inch (30 cm) string on the other. You line up your Spud Spacer, drop a potato chunk down the tube, then slide it over so the end of the string in now in the middle of the potato chunk you just dropped. Repeat for another 100 pounds of potatoes. It made it super easy to get the proper spacing for planting the potatoes.
Acme is the “brand” that the Looney Toons characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy, Elmer Fudd, etc) used when trying to destroy each other in their animated comics. The CSA owners/management are of a certain age. My dad was big into Looney Toons so the reference made me smile.
Pretty sure they won’t be upset or file a copyright complaint if you develop a similar prototype. 3 planting teams and 3 cutting teams planted 5 varieties of potato 100 pounds each in 3 hours. Hooray CSA spuds in a few months!
8 Likes
Lol - love it!
Being of that certain age, the ACME reference is not lost. 
2 Likes
Greetings, People.
Cooking for two adults in the blustery PNW:
FRI: Burgers on the grill. Ciabatta rolls.
SAT: Fried chicken sandwich with slaw, ala Bakesale Betty . Ciabatta rolls
SUN: NYT’s Pasta with greens, beans and sausage.
MON: A repeat of the very succesful Afghan aushak (scallion dumplings).
TUE: Martha Stewart’s Spinach gateu de crepes. Garden greens.
WED: Woks of Life Chicken and asparagus stir-fry.
THUR: Beef on the grill. Garden veg.
17 Likes
Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga in preparation for a long trip (work/family/fun) to Europe! I’m going to miss my kitchen, but it will be fun to see people/new and favorite places!
Breakfast: Strawberry jam-pistachio rolls
Saturday, May 14: Coconut rice and peas from Jubilee; mango-lemongrass ice cream from Bon Appétit
Sunday: Dinner at friends’
Monday: Scrounge or takeout
Tuesday: The coconut-lemongrass tofu from Milk Street that I had thought of making last weekend.
Wednesday: plane food
Thursday-Friday: Whatever MIL has planned for us 
Have a great week, and happy cooking!
19 Likes
Happy Friday everyone from a warm sunny Ottawa where we are now in a heat wave. It’s been around 30 degrees celcius the last couple of days (I think that’s in the 80s in fahrenheit) and it’s going to be like this for the next couple of days. I am going to live for this weekend! And the Ottawa tulip festival starts today so it will be a nice weekend for taking it in. On to my menu plan for this week:
Today: I had a really disappointing take out lunch from a grocery store up the street from me. I’ve bought some of their prepared meals and sushi in the past and so far the meals I’ve had are top notch but I found this one a disappointment. It was mostly celery and rice and the rice was really dried out and so was the chicken. It didn’t help that there was no sauce most of the way through the dish but just as I was going to reach for the soy sauce in my fridge I discovered that the sauce had settled to the bottom of the bowl so the rice that was left was one big salt lick. I will have a salad for supper tonight which I know will be good because it will be prepared by yours truly.
Saturday: I will be going to the tulip festival with my two BFFs tomorrow morning. We plan on going early before it gets too crowded and too hot then we will go out for lunch. Dinner will be a salad again.
Sunday: Off to Chinatown for groceries. I will buy some ribs at the grocery store’s take away counter which I know will be good because I’ve had them before. I will have a bok choy mango slaw as a side dish but substituting yellow pepper for the mango. I’m not terribly fond of fruit in my salads.
Monday: Repeat of last week’s spaghettini with sesame bok choy.
Tuesday: Korean short ribs, bok choy salad.
Wednesday: Shrimp salad.
Thursday fettucine with carmelized onions and feta cheese, garden salad on the side.
Lunches will alternate between black bean corn soup and potato salads.
14 Likes
Are those the strawberry jam and pistachio buns from Golden (Honey & Co Baking Book)? If so, I’ve always thought they looked great.
It’s based on this recipe, but I used some pistachio paste I had in the fridge as well as some strawberry jam I made last weekend. Really good!
2 Likes
Agree with Caitlin that those buns sound very good.
How do your in-laws feel about vegetarianism? I imagine they don’t love it. Have a great time away!
1 Like
Hey, everyone. No meal planning here this week, as my husband developed some sort of stomach bug after venturing out in public last week. We’ve both tested negative for Covid, and we really do think he may have picked up something when he picked up a mocha. So, any meals for the next few days will be determined by what he feels like eating, but at least he is improving. After years of meal planning with all of you, I feel so unmoored! I did bake chocolate chip scones for breakfasts, so I’m not completely lost. LOL
Have a good week!
9 Likes
I hope your H feels better soon!
4 Likes
Actuals for May 9 week, cooking (and lots of reheating) for 2 in MN. Where it was suddenly summer for a few days, my peonies grew 18 inches and already have buds, the apple tree across the street bloomed, I got potting soil and flowers for my planters, and volunteer-work had me at my computer and in meetings a good portion of every day.
Monday (and reheated Tues/Thur/plus lunches): A pasta bake with alternating layers of cooked noodles, ground beef in marinara sauce, and sour cream/cream cheese/onions.
Wednesday (and Friday, plus lunches): Awesome baked poppyseed-mustard sauced ham & Swiss in buns - I didn’t put foil over these, thinking they’d heat more quickly and the tops got extra-crispy. My husband rescued them with some careful knife work and now calls this favorite sandwich “Top Buns”.
Sat: Fish tacos for me using Baked breaded hake (Schwan’s), box-meal steamed rice & beans with salsa verde, bagged “southwestern” salad. My husband kept it all separate, skipped the taco shell and just had tarter sauce with the fish.
Sun (Today): Oven beef teriyaki, oven rice, broccoli
Bagged salads, fresh strawberries, chips, various steamed veggies were sides.
13 Likes
Hi friends, cooking for two adults and an 11yo in the Boston burbs.
Sun: grilled chicken breasts and a quinoa/black bean salad inspired by a rice/black bean salad in Raising the Salad Bar. I’m also making the bluebarb crumble pie from Midwest Made because I had a hankering for it; I may toss together some toll house cookie dough since DS doesn’t like fruit or pie.
Mon: Sunday gravy (making it on Sunday, so I can still call it that, right?) and spaghetti, green beans. I’ll be winging the sauce based on NYT and Sam Stilton’s recipes.
Tues: I’d planned to make sheet pan chicken with potatoes and leeks, but the grocery store had no leeks and then I forgot the potatoes, so either we’ll pick up those two ingredients tomorrow, or I’ll make something else.
Weds: fajitas with peppers and red onion, refried beans
Thurs: red sauce round 2
Fri: tbd for the adults, DS is going to a soccer team party
13 Likes
Cooking for 1 at the Jersey Shore
Sunday: lasagna from Small Victories, green salad
Monday: Sunday leftovers
Tuesday: Butcher’s Kraut from COTM, green beans with lemon vodka cream from COTM (https://www.delawareonline.com/story/life/food/2014/08/05/dinner-green-beans-lemon-vodka-cream/13624027/)
Wednesday: Tuesday leftovers
Thursday: breaded marsala chicken (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alexandra-guarnaschelli/breaded-chicken-marsala-recipe-1922330), mashed potatoes
Friday: Thursday leftovers
11 Likes
