My Week

Can you believe it is the last day of July?  It's been a busy week here.  I've been dehydrating herbs and veggies all week.  I have to say that the Ninja's dehydrating setting is amazing and saves a huge amount of time.  Along with dehydrating everything I can, I made another large batch of basil pesto, 6 1/2 pint jars of Jalapeno pepper jelly and blueberry jam. I still have so much to do but I see a lot of deliciousness for the fall and winter in my pantry and freezer. 

Our new HVAC system was installed Wednesday without any drama.  It's nice to know we are under warranty for the next 15 years.  We had our airducts cleaned the day before it was installed and oh my goodness the amount of dust that comes out when they do that is unbelievable.  The air quality in the house feels so much better.

I'm almost finished reading The Kitchen Whisperers and am enjoying it.  The author talks about kitchen 'workarounds' that she has found over the years.  It was interesting that three of them are also in my kitchen.  Better Than Bouillon, Rao's pasta sauce and Maya Kaimal's Indian sauces.  She actually knows Maya and has worked with her. Nice to find out she is an actual person and not just a corporations marketing.  One workaround I've never thought of or heard of was to save the water that you soak your beans in as a stock for various soups, stews, etc.  Now why had I never thought of that? I have My Place at the Table to start next.  It's about creating a delicious life in Paris.  It should be a fun summer read.

Meals this week were pretty light and simple. 

BLT with chicken salt oven 'fries'

Chicken Tikka Masala (Maya's brand), rice, naan (I added diced zucchini to the chicken masala, and it was delicious)

BIG salad x2

Sloppy Joes, fried patty pan squash - delicious

Fried chicken, red potatoes, corn on the cob, sliced tomato with basil

Coho salmon, grilled summer squash and zucchini

Tonight, it's loaded chicken nachos for me

The storm door was installed Friday but not without drama.  Monday the installer called and set up an appointment for Thursday between 1 and 3.  At 230 he called and said he had a flat tire and could he reschedule for Friday at the same time.  We agreed.  Friday at 230 no one had shown up yet.  We called the installer and was told he had been by and knocked and no one was there.  NOT TRUE.  He said he would be here by 330.  I called Lowes and they offered to accelerate the issue.  I said no, it's already been accelerated once and that obviously doesn't work.  While on the phone with Lowes the installer showed up. 27 days to get it installed. The door is perfect but needless to say we'll be going to Menards from now on.

The big guy is in Chicago this weekend for his 9th degree promotion.  We didn't yet have Binx when we originally made plans to go together.  After a lot of thought on both of our parts we decided I would stay home with Binx.  Neither of us wanted him to be boarded for 3 days. That is especially hard on cats.  I'm going to facetime to be able to at least see the ceremony and watch him receive his belt so while not like actually being there it is better for Binx to be home.

I have the house to myself again today and hope to be as productive as I was yesterday but also with a bit of relaxation in the mix.

That's about it for my week.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday and a relaxing week ahead.