i think you should know about THIS!

1. we all have colds. AGAIN.
2. awesome wreath. . .i want to recreate this.
3. kale chips. gonna make them as soon as i step away from the computer.
4. keeping the oven on and baking things keeps the propane bill lower. (not really)
5. i made pumpkin muffins (recipe below) today and substituted applesauce for the oil, used 1/2 whole wheat flour, and cut the sugar by 1/4 cup. results? delicious!
6. if you haven't tried andrea's pancakes and you are a mother, someone who is frazzled in the morning, or someone who has to get up in the morning. . . you should. they will save your life.
7. i AM going to make this. mainly, in hopes, that otis the cat sleeps in there & not in our bed.
8. if you haven't checked out http://www.dinneralovestory.com/ you need to. here's your first recipe to try. . .you'll never look back. eat it with horseradish on the side.
9. my aunt & her friend started an etsy shop. so did my other friends, shannon & gabe.
10. if you become a friend/fan of metro neighborhood news on facebook and they reach 1500 fans. . .you could win some cool stuff. i won a $30 gift certificate to mangelsen's yesterday!

pumpkin muffins
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/3 c. applesauce
2 lg. eggs
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. ginger
1/8 t. cloves
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
sift flours and baking powder. in separate bowl, whisk pumpkin puree through salt together. slowly whisk in flour mixture. fill paper lined/greased muffin tins, 3/4 full. bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. enjoy!

p.s. 11. the high winds outside are making me want to poke my eyes out.

a revelation

why this took me so long to figure out. . .i don't know. i could of been. . .USING THE CROCKPOT FOR LUNCH!!! right now, i have asian chicken wings in the crockpot. i'll be serving them with premade quinoa and wilted spinach. amazing. if i wanted to get crazy i could have one crockpot going for lunch and another for dinner. but i prefer to make pot roast in the oven. i'm thinking this fall & winter, i will be making soups, dips, and meat for tacos & wraps for lunch. anything, would be better than the mac & cheese with hot dogs i succumbed to yesterday. yes, even i, have fallen prey to the most evil of evil lunches. all you gotta do is combine your ingredients in the morning and turn the sucker on high. and voila! . . . LUNCH! lunch was turning into my nemesis. no more. thank you, once again, crockpot.

asian chicken wings
3 lbs. chicken wings, browned
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 c. dry sherry
1/2 c. hoisin sauce
1 T. lime juice
3 T. toasted sesame seeds*
combine everything except lime juice and sesame seeds. cook on high 2-3 hours or until no longer pink. before serving thoroughly coat wings in sauce and drizzle with lime juice and sprinkle sesame seeds.
*to toast sesame seeds just heat a small amount of oil in pan and toss around for a minute or two until you smell the goodness.

and if breakfast is your nemisis. . .

andrea's healthy pancakes
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
couple dashes of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt (she cut this to 1/2 tsp)
2 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1 3/4 cup milk
couple swirls of honey for good luck
makes 15 five inch panckes. which are way more filling and healthy! and cheaper than the store bought ones! andrea makes a batch, freezes the leftovers, and then heats them up for the kids. brilliant!

you don't know they don't like it, until THEY try it

i just read an interview article with tom colicchio on babble. the interviewer asked him how he fed his own children. my favorite line from him is the title of this post. you, as a parent, may not like tomatoes. your kid, however, may love them. the best thing i did when i found out i was pregnant and when hendrix started on solids, was re-try all of the food i thought i hated. these foods, which i now love, include tomatoes, blueberries, peas, brussel sprouts and peaches. babble also had a great article with some recipes that look great for adults, as well as, kids. i will for sure be making the beet hummus and the white house granola bars. another great resource for parents trying to get a meal on the table is the blog, dinner a love story. check these out and make something new for kids. you never know (and they never know) until you try.

too many stokes, too many fires, too many everything

ah! today is a day where i feel like i/we have too many stokes in the fire, too many fires to put out, and too many. . .everything. so, instead of dealing with it, i'm blogging. how do people with more than one child do anything? i know how people with no children get it done. i used to be one of those people and i was highly productive. how do people get it all done, sleep, eat, and clean their house?
today i am trying to do the following:

1. be a good mother

2. paint the trim in my kitchen white

3. clean the house so we can have guests this weekend

4. get crafts together for craft night

5. work on expanding the produce part of our farming operation

6. spray paint chairs

7. try not to lose my mind.

instead, i think that i will cut myself a break, drink more coffee, and get what i can done. at least, i have my dinner planned.

do you see what i see?

do you hear what i hear? that's the heavens opening up and angels singing because it is. . .almost the end of summer!

i know, i know, i'm a garden farmer* so i should like the spring and summer because it the growing season. but i am also a baker and a cook who longs for apple pie and short ribs over polenta with roasted brussel sprouts.

the angels are also singing because i successfully set up a paypal payment option on the blog. see it over there on the right hand side of your monitor!?! which means that you all can now order produce or subscribe to our meal + grocery planning and pay for it using paypal! this is an especially momentous occasion because i can be particularly stupid when it comes to technology. i know i am a "blogger", but that doesn't mean i know what i am doing. (that's the great thing about blogging, no one know what they are doing.) this paypal button is going to be so awesome for you and us!

which brings me to our next order of business. . . since school is starting, labor day weekend is fast approaching, and fall is almost here. . . we are having a

back to school (provision subscription) special!

to celebrate the fall, the paypal button, and to get you all prepared, i am offering the three meal menu plan for $30. that's ten bucks a month for peace of mind, dinner with your family, and edible food. for $30, you will receive 3 dinner recipes/menus a week, one snack recipe a week, and a printable weekly grocery list for three months. this plan will take you right up to the holidays where things really get crazy. this plan will also save you time and money which you are going to need when the holidays come a knockin'. interested? great. email us at clementinespandp@gmail.com for ten questions to get you started and you can either send us a check or use the paypal button. the roi* on this is real high, people!

*i've decided i like this better than "grower"

* return on investment!

this is what i'm talking about

i read an article on babble today that absolutely encompasses what i've been preaching about for two years. eating dinner together as a family is important. you have to be a little prepared to pull it off at least few nights a week. feeding your children well is your job as a parent. it does not magically happen and like anything else if you don't really want to do it. . .it won't happen. i hope you all take the time to read this great (and short!) article. trust me, i know that it is really hard to get it all done somedays when you have children underfoot. but you don't have to cook a gourmet meal that takes an hour to prepare to have dinner with your family. anyone who reads this article and sends me an email with their thoughts will automatically get a custom-designed menu+grocery plan for a week. that's how important i think it is to eat a good and decent meal with your family. do you think it is important?

holy heat wave hell

living in the country (without air conditioning) has taught me the importance of being prepared. i prepared for the upcoming heat wave much like one prepares for a snow storm. here's what i did today:
poached chicken (to eat on salads and make salad with)
hard boiled eggs
made sun tea, raspberry limeade, & strawberry lemonade
made quinoa
bought fruit, lots of fruit to chill and snack on
made hummus
my hope is not use the oven at all and the stove top very little. so, as a sort of last supper, i made chicken & black bean enchiladas that i served with chilled melon and raspberry limeade. my limeade had rum added to it. because sometimes mommas need a little drinky drink. so, may the force be with you this week. if you don't hear from me it's because i have hopefully found refuge at someone's air conditioned home. xoxo.

chicken & black bean enchilada's
2 poached chicken breasts, shredded
1 can black beans, rinsed
3 jalapenos, seeded & diced
1/2 red onion, diced
3 t. minced garlic
8 tortillas
1 pkg. shredded colby jack cheese
ten minute enchilada sauce

saute onion, peppers, and garlic in olive oil until softened & fragrant. add a few ladlefuls of sauce, shredded chicken, & beans to onion mixture. with your spoon, separate the filling into eight, sort of even piles. grease a baking dish. fill and roll up tortillas with mixture, adding a bit of cheese to each one. pour remaining sauce on top of rolled & filled tortillas. top with cheese. heat at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbly. enjoy.

i've been dying to tell you

i feel like i've been gone from this blog posting business way too long. my apologies. turns out, raising a child is time consuming. so here are all things i wanted to tell you. . .
1. a beetle infestation killed my eggplants. assholes. thus, there are no more eggplants.
2. there are PLENTY of cherokee purple tomatoes, roma tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos, yellow squashes, acorn squashes, red potatoes, serrano peppers, & herbs. email me to purchase.
3. my friend summer writes a blog about life as a mother. she recently wrote a piece about those incredibly wasteful kleenex hand towels. you know, because your reusable, washable cloth hand towel may get you sick. (hear that sarcasm?) check her blog out.
4. summer also sent me a great idea about keeping prepared beans & rice in the fridge for the days when you can't possibly find anything to eat. this would be great for mike. i can go to the grocery store, spend a $100, come home. . .and he will ask me if there is anything to eat. but, that's not the point, her friend michael b. gave her this idea and including ideas for "dressing up" the rice & beans. one of those ideas, was black beans, rice, and SLICED MANGO. i just ate it. so friggin' delicious.
5. sweet corn from our farmer friend down the road is the best thing that ever happened to me. like my friend, meggan, said. . ."i like summer because it's like your meals are planned for you". meaning, ideally, we all should be eating what is fresh & available. like sweet corn, tomatoes, & cucumbers. running out of ideas? how about sweet corn panna cotta or corn & basil cakes or mix your cucumbers, tomatoes, a little red onion, olive oil, S&P, lemon juice, and day old bread to make a delicious salad. once again, a summer contribution. from my friend summer, not the season. well, kind of the season. oh, jesus. you know what i mean!
6. speaking of basil. . . if you have not made pesto yet this is the time. freeze it into ice cube trays and use throughout the year.
7. cashew butter is amazing, my friend, kalle, and i ate at daily grub last week and elle did an awesome job with cashew butter. i had a sope & quesadilla that both had it in there. i could bathe in that stuff.
8. mike and i got a dog named rufus on saturday. he is not very good with cats, however, so we had to give him back. if anyone you know would like a very sweet, docile, big, smart lover dog named rufus let me know. he is great with children & other dogs. he stays on the property and understands simple commands. he is a two year old golden retriever, rottweiler mix.
9. too much squash in your garden? or people keep leaving it at your door? check out this wonderful soup recipe. i think it would be good with some good, old-fashioned blt's on the side.
10. it's back to school time, so look forward to a back to school special of our provision subscription and a community craft night.

you're all amazing and i hope you survive the heat wave. remember the popsicles.

comfort food

fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes, yellow cake with chocolate frosting, pancakes, baked chicken and rice casserole. . .just a few of my favorite comfort foods. we all have those dishes that conjure up good memories and warm our hearts. and fill our bellies. i went to a funeral this past week for a friend's grandmother. my friend and her mother cooked up some of the grandmother's most famous recipes. including a cucumber salad with clementine's produce. i loved that idea. the idea that this woman's surviving relatives were celebrating her life and eating food that reminded them of her. reminded them of good food, good memories, and good times. growing my garden, selling produce, and providing menus + grocery planning for family, friends, and strangers allows me to build good memories with my family and now i know for other families, as well. last night, my friend came over for dinner and we had "fried" cornflake chicken, roasted carrots, bleu cheese mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, & yellow cake with chocolate frosting & sprinkles. the carrots came from my garden and the corn came from a fellow farmer's garden down the road. it doesn't get any better than that.

it's getting hot in here (so take off all your clothes)

ok, so i just worked for about 40 minutes in the garden and sweated out twice my body weight. what the hell, heat wave? did i mention we have no central air at the farm? not voluntarily, either. so in the spirit of not creating any (or very little) heat in the kitchen here are some no cooking (or minimal cooking) required lunch ideas:

mama's antipasti plate
nuts
fruit
nutella
cheese
crackers or toasted bread
lunch meat
veggies
put all on the plate and snack away, folks. mine usually consists of almonds, bananas, nutella, blueberries, strawberries, muenster cheese, cheddar cheese, turkey, hard boiled eggs, sugar snap peas, and avocados. friggin' delicious and hendrix thinks he's getting dessert for lunch.

quinoa with yogurt, mesculan salad mix, blueberries, and a squirt of honey
scoop (prepared*) quinoa on a bed of mesculan (or arugula) top with yogurt and blueberries and honey (if you like)

hummus and veggie sandwich
take 2 pieces if whole wheat bread spread hummus on both sides and fill with cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, red pepper, and feta.

black bean, corn,* red pepper, and quinoa salad (inspired by summer -my friend not the season)
rinse one can of black beans. steam 1-2 sweet corn (or use 1c. of frozen) cut off cob and mix with black beans, add one chopped red pepper. squeeze one lime over salad, season with salt, pepper, a dash of cumin and a dash of cayenne pepper. mix with a generous scoop of quinoa (prepared*).

that's all i got today, folks, because it's so hot i want to die. on friday, look for more quick recipes and some dessert ideas for the weekend. and we have a little produce left for sale. email clementinespandp@gmail.com
*remember that i was inspired by fellow bloggers to prepare quinoa once a week to use for dishes throughout the week.
**did you know by combining a bean and corn you make a whole protein?

relationship with food

i've been thinking a lot about how much maintaining relationships require. if you slack a little bit the relationship can begin to breakdown. family relationships, marriages, friendships. . .they all require checking in with one another. and being available for celebrations and tragedies. in my life, food seems to be the center of most of the relationship maintenance. weather it is a bbq with friends i rarely see, dinner with mike and hendrix, or a 4th of july party at my brother's. it doesn't matter if it only took 10 minutes to make the salad or 5 hours to smoke the pork shoulder. it matters that you do it and that the food is enjoyed and the relationships keep on going on. everyone gets busy. especially, when they are in the "having & raising babies" phase of life. or the "trying to figure out what i want my life to be" phase of life. life is busy. but meals allow us to slow life down for a bit. and talk to one another. see how we are all doing. so, please, for the sake of your relationships have some dinner with your family or friends this week. and if you don't know what to make email us at clementinespandp@gmail.com to subscribe to our provision services (meal+grocery planning). we can get you all set up for weeks of relationship maintenance. xoxo.
(editor's note): i forgot to mention this. . .in the spirit of maintaining (& maybe building some new ones) relationships, i will be hosting a FREE monthly craft night at the farm. there will be 12 spots available each month. there are two available for this month. the craft night will be july 20th from 7-9pm. you just need to bring a project to work on and a snack to share with the group. you can join the event on facebook or email me at clementinespandp@gmail.com to reserve your spot at the table.

budget friendly

since most of the free trial participants wanted menus that were budget friendly, i thought i would post some of my tips and tricks for staying within budget. i spend an average of $75/week on groceries. that includes 5 to 7 dinners at home and every one of me and hendrix's breakfasts and lunches. mike has made me so cheap and resourceful. god bless that man.

1. drink your coffee at home. i love iced coffee drinks, but spend way too much on them at the coffee shop. i started making my own iced coffee. . .i just make a big batch every 2 - 3 days. delicious and no weird syrup flavoring. just a bit of cream and raw sugar. money saved? $35/wk.

2. eat breakfast and dinner at home. bring your lunch to work. this is a no brainer, but a difficult habit to get into. dinner's leftovers can be tomorrow's lunch. or in my case breakfast. and it's often way healthier than that fast food salad you're thinking about getting. money saved? at least $75/wk.

3. shop smart. buy whole chickens and cut them up. . .they are often $1 less per pound. make your own pizza dough. . .easy and 1/2 the price. buy seasonal produce. . .tastes better and costs way less. some produce at the farmer's markets are the same, if not less, in price than supermarket produce since it is seasonal and local. buy dry beans & bulk grains. . .takes a little time, but worth the effort in the moola you'll save.

4. keep your pantry stocked. if you're only beginning to cook at home and don't have a stocked pantry, just add a few pantry items to your weekly grocery list for a few weeks. you'll build a pantry in no time. you can make a lot of great meals with just items in the pantry.*

5. be a price comparer. i shop at aldi, fareway, & supersaver. when i lived in midtown/downtown omaha it was aldi & bag n' save on 18th & vinton. you can't get everything you need at aldi, but you can get most everything. it is seriously cheap. i save almost $20/wk. by going there. go to www.aldi.com for a store near you.**

side note: did you the guy who owns aldi is the brother to the guy who owns trader joes? trader joes is coming! and they have awesome prices, too.

6. make homemade ingredients. . . like your pizza dough, pie crust, creme fraiche, snacks, ice tea, cocktails, cream of whatever soup, etc. it's cheaper and you'll know what's in it. my friend bryce just told me how to make my own creme fraiche and it was a revelation. one container is like 5 bucks. now i can make a bunch more for like $3.

7. grow a garden or at least some herbs on your windowsill. invest like 10 bucks for seed and soil. . .get some oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, & mint. money saved? at least $15

8. build your menus to use all the fresh/highly perishable items in a week. that way you won't waste food and money. i.e. use the lettuce you bought for cobb salad, to make blt's or to garnish pork tacos.***

9. have dinner parties instead of eating out. look at www.designspongeonline.com for entertaining ideas. money saved? at least $60.

10. be flexible and buy what's on sale. so you planned to make pork chops with apples, but chicken is really cheap? roast the chicken up with some apples stuffed in it. yummy. and smarter.

* when you subscribe to our provision subscription you automatically receive our pantry list.

**this is not a paid advertisement for any of these stores. i just really love them all. and they are the cheapest & best.

***we automatically do this with our clients menus.

***email me @ clementinespandp@gmail.com if you want any of these recipes. i will gladly share!

. . .happy monday & money saving!

do you have a plan? you gotta have a plan.

clementine's salad mix and french radishes are ready! the salad mix is $2 per 1/2 lb. or $4 per lb. & the radishes are $1.50 a bunch.

don't know what to make for dinner? subscribe to clementine's provisions services. we will email you a menu plan every week with an accompanying grocery list.

there will never be anything you don't like on the menu and no recipe will take more than 45 minutes to prepare. only got 25 minutes to get dinner ready? no problem. we will only send recipes that take 25 minutes or less to prepare.

a three month subscription includes a weekly dinner menu plan, weekly dessert or snack recipe, weekly grocery list, & pantry checklist. custom tailored to your needs and wants. . . subscriptions run between $35 and $48 for three months. a menu plan and grocery list could save you up to $50 per grocery vist.

email me or leave a comment for produce or subscriptions!