Doing what works

I recently considered the possibility of going back to work. Now, all you SAHMs out there, don't get all hot-headed and bitchy with your "raising children IS work" argument. Sure it's work, but not the salary kind I'm thinking about.

But after some serious thinking following my initial interview, I called to cancel the second interview. In my pros/cons lists, the side came out nearly even, not nearly enough to ditch the tan, buy a car and go suit shopping.

Here's what I learned in my silent deliberations.

• Buying a car would be almost a necessity. That means a car payment, insurance, gas and the probability I'll actually use this car (unlike the clunker sans working air we currently own which I avoid at nearly all costs) meaning more money on gas. This wouldn't be very Mothering Earth-like behavior.

• Homecooking would take a backseat to sleep. Cooking good, wholesome, inexpensive meals at home is time consuming. In fact, when I went on the interview I called my husband and asked about lunch. He asked if I could just pick up Taco Bell. Taco Bell?! I haven't eaten this kind of low-grade food in months. It was delicious, but I had to run an extra mile just to justify it.

• Speaking of running, that would be the end of that. Again, sleep has to take priority. I run in the morning when everybody's home. I can't very well go for a run at night when the girls are in bed before Steve gets home. And darn it all if I don't want to spend at least 30 minutes with my spouse everyday.

• Childcare. This is a biggie. I'm not opposed to childcare, but it's expensive and it really goes against this whole simple life we've concocted for ourselves. One more year before my oldest starts kindergarten and then it's all over but the teen-age angst.

• All the little things. The line drying. The garden. The homemade cleaning products. These are the products of a person focusing on the home. I realize it would be nice to communicate with adults on issues unrelated to potty training, but potty training will come and go. Jobs will come again. This simple life of using less, wanting less and loving almost every minute of it, this could come and go.

But I'm going to hang on as long as I can.

From the cheap and easy file

Making your own baby food is super easy and super cheap.

Here was a little weekend project from when I had a baby. I went to my favorite superstore, Meijer, bought plentiful supplies of freezable veggies. Organic or locally grown veggies would have been even better.

For 60 cents, I purchased enough green beans to feed my then baby for a week. After steaming and blending them, I filled ice cube trays with tiny single serving size portions.

Presto. Finished for the week.

And bonus — these little servings cost about 60 cents each when you buy the jarred variety. That's what I did for for my older child. I don't think they're any less nutritious, just more expensive and bearing more waste.

But those little glass containers are super reusable for storing tiny items like nails and beads. Just FYI.

Turn up the heat

Every family has a dirty little secret. Even, our little eco-friendly clan.

We love to barbecue. And not just because we like to send a bunch of carbon emissions into the blue, clear sky on sustainable seafood and veggies.


Oh no... We're talking red meat.

I know. It's a horrible secret. But we're not alone. The Sierra Club tells me three out of four American households own a grill.

Nationwide, the estimated 60 million barbecues held on the Fourth of July alone consume enough energy—in the form of charcoal, lighter fluid, gas, and electricity—to power 20,000 households for a year.

Yikes. But here's a few hints to guilt-free grilling. Also, make sure you take your clean sheets off the line before your favorite family grill-master fires up the hardwood briquettes or you'll be sleeping with the aroma of your great smoky dinner.

Trust me. It's not as much fun as it sounds.

DONE: Ditch the VOC-laden lighter fluid for a chimney starter, which let's the head chef start the grill with just newspaper. It's a cost saver in the long run.

STILL WORKING: Buy locally raised meat. It typically has fewer issues with how they're raised and from long-distance shipping than those value packs of brats at your neighborhood superstore. This Times article has a good rundown of grilling a better burger. Don't forget that grilled veggies are pretty rockin'.

NOT GONNA HAPPEN: How about a solar ovens or stoves to avoid most emissions entirely. I'll go ahead and do this after my bio-plastic stock makes me a millionaire.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

I've recently changed my diet to reflect a more Asian style of eating. I did this after seeing the Asian Diet Pyramid, a different spin on the healthy eating pyramids seen in every middle school in America, and realizing they are permitted to drink alcohol EVERY day.

Now that's a diet I can get behind.

The biggest change for me is less meat. Specifically less red meat, which I kind of love. Plus, it's not as expensive as fish or fancy veggies. Plus-plus, nothing fills you up like a good old-fashioned slab of steak.

But I'm working with it. And I recently created this fantastic pita sandwich with sautéed spinach and mushrooms, and topped with bean sprouts. But the real heart of the sandwich is the Green Goddess Dip, which is versatile, yummy and is a fun and healthy dip for kids.

2 Garlic cloves
1 cup parsley
1 cup Spinach (Green goddess dip is typically all herbs, like basil and dill, but I like spinach so there)
3/4 cup of yogurt
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut up garlic in food processor or blender. Add parsley and spinach. Blend in the yogurt. Add lemon juice.
Scoop into bowl and vigorously stir in the ricotta. Season with salt and pepper.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

I can't get spring out of my head. A garden. The CSA. Salad at every meal.

I guess by spring, I actually mean food.

There's nothing better to me than fresh veggies prepared in all kinds of ways. It's my comfort food and there's no reason little kids won't love it as well.

So, in honor of spring, I'll make Friday's recipe days. I hope to include all my favorite dishes that are both healthy and delicious.

And to start, in honor of the spring that hasn't quite arrived, let's try an arugula pesto which is a little less expensive (and has a prettier, brighter green color) than it's basil counterpart.

1 clove garlic
1 bunch of arugula
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup walnuts (toasted pine nuts work as well)
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (fresh is best, but the other stuff works too)
1/4 cup of olive oil (the better the oil, the better your pesto)
Salt and pepper to taste

I just use the food processor to make light work of this dish. Process the garlic, followed by the nuts. (You can toast both if you're feeling fancy.) Add the arugula and cheese and drizzle oil as you process until the pesto is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

If you're using this as a pizza topping (no kid in her right mind would say no to pesto pizza) just substitute tomato sauce for the pesto.

With pasta, I like to add a quarter cup of risotto cheese to give it a creamy texture. I find rotini pasta works best.

Oh my gosh... I am so hungry right now. Hey spring, where are you?