Sometimes A Girl Needs a Treat

Everyone is trying to live a healthier life. Everyone I know is under a bit of stress and while I’m sure not advocating eating as avoidance (at least not to you I’m not) there are times that a girl needs a treat to get her through her day.

We all know about frozen grapes, right? Wash them, dry them, pluck them off their stems and put them in a ziploc baggie, freeze them for a couple of hours and then you have a delightful treat right?

And we love these! But I was thinking – what else could we freeze?  And it came to me… Bananas.  But I thought we’d need to put a little more thought into it as I could imagine the mushy banana slices freezing into one solid, impenetrable mass… so, here’s what I did:

Use a lipped sheet pan and line it with parchment paper. Slice your bananas into bite size slices and lay them in a single layer on the paper.

Freeze flat for at least a few hours, I just do it over night.  The next morning, or when they’re completely frozen, quickly transfer them to a ziploc baggie and put back in the freezer.

Take them out to eat one, or a couple at a time.  Don’t let the bag thaw because they will then stick together.  These things are incredible.  You won’t believe that it’s only a banana as it tastes like the most decadent banana sorbet or even ice cream.  Just delicious!

Fruit Salad

Look at this picture

- it looks like a bowl of pineapple and cantelope, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not.  It’s papaya and watermelon.  Yellow watermelon.  Isn’t it beautiful? So that rut I was talking about – it seems to have lessened slightly… The yellow watermelon is so unbelievably good, so sweet and papaya really is in a class all by itself.  Together?  Yeah, good.

1 big wedge of yellow watermelon
1 half papaya
1/4 c. Orange juice
1 T. raw honey
juice of 1 lime
dash of salt
dash of white pepper

Peel and chop the fruit into 1 inch chunks.  Mix the rest of the ingredients, pour over watermelon and papaya, toss gently to coat. Chill for at least a half hour before serving.

Delicious.

I’m In a Rut

Don’t get me wrong, I have a ton of dinners up my sleeve – heck, I’ve got my archives here to go through, which I do.  But I’m in an ingredient rut. I need some new inspiration. I keep going back to the same old ingredients – which, don’t get me wrong, are terrific.  But I’m ready to try something really different. I’d like to experiment with a cuisine that is so far out of my comfort zone, that has ingredients and flavors that are unfamiliar to my palate – but I don’t really know where to start.  I googled some ideas, unusual flavor combinations, different cultures, but ridiculously, everything seems hum-ho, been there, don’t that.  This just isn’t like me.  I’m usually excited about everything and granted, I’ve got a lot going on here lately – Finishing the school year, husband in Arizona for the last four months, revamping my business site and direction, that I am sort of scattered – and I guess there’s only so much creativity to draw from in a given day.  This is really bothering me though – I’m spending far too much money eating out on meals that are mediocre most of the time – (I’ve had some terrific exceptions, but for the most part we’ve been going to mediocre places).   I thought that maybe if I called myself out publicly, it might spur me on to get my culinary act together, to find some healthy, delicious, new things to try.

What do you think?  Is there anything that you’ve been wanting to try?  Any unusual thing that you love and think I can’t live without? I’d really appreciate any ideas.

Wonder Women?

Inspired by Sweetney‘s post on BlogHer about single parenting, I’m struck once again by how hard we all are on each other and how we almost have come to expect it. Worse, we’re hardest on ourselves! The fact is that we’re all doing the very best we can.  What if we all took a good, hard look at our neighbor and when we saw where they’re lacking, lift them up instead of tearing them down.  Lend a hand instead of looking down our noses.

I’m not a single parent, but my husband has been 2000 miles away, doing his best to provide for our family for almost four months and while I’m grateful that I’m married to a man who is willing to do whatever’s necessary, I am also left here to raise two children on my own without anyone to back me up, take my side, or relieve the pressure just a little bit. I’m not saying that I have it better or worse than anyone else, what I’m saying is that it’s not a competition and we all fall short a little bit somewhere.

And when a friend asks me how, in a tone equal parts admiring and disbelieving, I set them straight. There’s no secret, and I’m not special. The simple truth is that when you have to, when there is quite literally no choice but to, you find reserves of strength you didn’t know were there. When there’s no one to lean on, to share the burden with, or to fall back on, when there’s just you and only you, you rise to the occasion. You have to. That’s it. There’s no other option.

When I read that paragraph from Tracey’s post, I was reminded of all the times I’ve been asked how I manage to homeschool and all the people who have told me that they could  never do it and like Tracy, I’ll tell you that when every school you’ve tried is failing your child at every turn and his needs are not being met and you’re afraid for his future, you find a well of strength that you didn’t know you had.  When every other option has been exhausted, you put on your big girl pants and just. do. it.

See, the most amazing thing about human beings is just how adaptable we are.  And another amazing thing is how compassionate we can be.  So, right now I vow to choose compassion and to help wherever I may.  Because the truth is just this simple… I’m not Wonder Woman and I’m doing the very best I can and I’m pretty sure that’s where you’re standing too.

The Pool

We’re finally finishing up the school year!  Travis is finishing his math and science courses today and Haley already finished hers.  Woo hoo!  We still have to do our evaluation, but it’s not due till August, so we have plenty of time there. I’m really looking forward to some of the things we have planned for the summer.

Summer in Florida is very hot. No really, the heat index has been up around 105 and the humidity is truly awful, so most Floridians don’t venture out much during the summer.  We put park days on hold and field trip ideas are shelved until fall, when the rest of the world is back at school and we can have the places to ourselves again.   To that end, we’re going to be spending the majority of our time at home, enjoying yet another staycation summer. (Our third year in a row).

I know we’re not alone in tightening our belts due to the current economic climate, but rather than bitch about it incessantly (which I sometimes feel like doing), we’re going to use the resources that we do have to make the coming months fun and educational. Our first hurdle opportunity is the pool.

My husband has been working in Arizona since March.  He has not been home and we have not been there to visit either.  Our focus has been in trying to build up so much of what we lost financially – and it has definitely been a struggle.  Last year, we downsized and found ourselves a smaller home, for less money, but a beautiful outdoor area that includes a covered lanai, a birdcage pool and an uncovered patio.  I love the layout of all the outdoor space.  The pool is not very large, but it’s what they call a “volleyball” pool, so it’s 4-5 ‘ on each end and 6′ in the middle.  I love this idea, because it really allows you to utilize the entire pool rather than having everyone crowd into the usually smaller “deep end”.   It’s really lovely and it was the selling point on this house for us. However, finding someone to service the pool has become a big struggle.

I really felt that we needed to work pool service into our budget because even when Jim is here, he works very long hours and I didn’t feel confident enough to work with the chemicals.  It turned out that I would need to get confident, and quickly because we’ve hired four companies to take care of pool service and one by one, they have disappeared, never to be heard from again.  As an aside, if you’re in the Ocala area, have a pickup truck and are reliable, you could make a fortune taking care of pools! – The last company not only disappeared, but apparently they broke a couple of small pieces on our chlorinator as well and of course never told me.   With the aid of some friends, I’ve come to terms with my pool chemical fear and enlisted my son in the daily care of the pool.  It’s not sparkling yet, but it’s almost there and the silver lining, in addition to cutting my pool service costs by two thirds, is that Travis is so proud of the work that he’s done and continues to do that it’s instilling in him, a work ethic that will serve him well.

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