Hot dogs and Couscous salad
We love the all beef hot dogs from our friends. They are so good. I had pretty much given up on eating hot dogs because I hated the nitrate flavor of them. I hated how I would burp them for two to three hours afterwards. These hot dogs don't do any of that. I made a big batch of coleslaw to have with it. Connor and I love slaw dogs. I also got creative tonight. I have a container of Israeli couscous in the cupboard. I made a quick little salad with it. I basically dug in the fridge to see what I had for leftovers in veg. I used a red onion, some tomato, some roasted red pepper, and some kalamata olives. I chopped that all up and then mixed it in the cooked couscous and then made a simple dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar and a bit of English mustard. It was delicious!!
Yesterday I had decided that we were going to try and live off what was in our cupboards and freezer this week. I did go to the dairy yesterday to get our fresh milk and eggs and then went to Wegmans today for what few things I needed. Two things I noticed while shopping. First of all, Wegmans had ears of corn on the cob already set out and selling four for a dollar. Where is corn in season right now? Last year I had made the mistake of getting corn early because we all love corn on the cob, but it had no flavor. I will not make that mistake this year. Corn is a summer food and I will wait until it's ready and I know it will taste so much better. The second thing I noticed was that when I shop in season and only have to get a few basic things, my grocery bill goes from 220 dollars to 36 dollars. What a treat. I did get bananas because Tim was begging me for some. He said that he knew that they weren't local but he was craving some. Normally, Tim is not a huge fan of bananas so I knew he needed them. I only bought a couple of them though because no one else really likes them.
Yesterday at the library I picked up Real Food, What to Eat and Why. Wow. I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. The author is going along the same line of Michael Pollan in that we need to be eating real food. We need to be eating what our grandparents ate. We should not be eating anything that is processed. I get that. I'm working on getting most processed foods out of our house. She also talks about eating meat, dairy, and other things that I've had beaten into my head since I was young that are bad for me. I'm only a couple of chapters into the book and I know I'm going to have to do more research based on what she says about cholesterol and cancer. It basically goes against everything I learned when I read The China Study. It all boils down to eating as close to nature as possible. Meats should be from grass fed, free roaming animals. Butter is better for us than margarine. Yay. I love butter.
It's hard to know what is right. I think back to my grandmother though who lived on a farm. My dad was raised on the farm. We used to spend many a day roaming around on all of acreage. She lived to 94. She ate beef that was raised on her land. She ate pork and chickens that she raised on her land. She had huge gardens that she ate from and preserved to feed her family through the winter. I can remember her in the kitchen making fried chicken for us. I can remember going out and picking corn and then shucking the corn and feeding the greens to the cows. Those were the days. I really do see us in the next few years trying to find a little piece of land to farm. I know that I want to have some chickens for fresh eggs and who knows, I might even want a cow for fresh milk. It's funny what getting older does to your desires.
Well, that is enough rambling for now. I have boys waiting for me to play a game with them. Until tomorrow, happy cooking!
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