Produce War and Chemical Injury, All in a Day's Work

The Little Guy has declared war. His weapon of choice, whatever vegetable is within reach. My usually exemplary grocery shopper has become a jicama hurler. Say it the Spanish way and you'll get the alliteration.

What should have been an uneventful trip to the produce market turned into a fight for survival. Unsuspectingly, I pushed my shopping cart and boy ensemble to the zipper peas, and no sooner do I stop to procure said peas when I see my pint-sized adversary grab a fistful of okra and begin to chomp. Fantastic. How do you explain to a toddler that not all vegetables should go directly in the mouth? His next act of violence was to palm a carton of cherry tomatoes and send them hurtling to the ground. "Why, God, why," they seemed to cry as they were crushed by other shopping carts. My son, the tomato killer. But tomatocide aside, I have to admire his spirit and love of vegetables, if not his misplaced fervor.

On a different subject, I cleaned the tub today and thought you people should know about it. Am I the only one that sneaks a peek into other people's tubs to see how clean they are? I'm always satisfied by a job half done; a clean bathroom and a so-so tub. It's a clean that says, I am busy and don't have all day to do this, so I wiped down the sink and toilet, You're not bathing here, so what do you care. I absolutely love that because that so describes me. Just know that if I come to your house and use your bathroom, I will look at your tub, but I won't judge.

So the real point of this is that I've found the cheapest way to get the tub its cleanest. Take a little baking soda, about 3/4 cup or so, and few shakes of salt, mix it with a little water until it's pasty, grab a brush and scrub your heart out. It works so well. I used to use Greased Lightning, which I still think is great, but this works just as well, is cheaper, and keeps chemicals out of the tub so you don't have to worry about not getting it all out of there. I always worried about that. Nobody wants to have to go to the doctor and tell them you chemically injured your parts by sitting in a tub of Greased Lightning. Or is that just me?

Scenes From a Kitchen: No Cook Mexican

So apparently my husband has been replaced with a health-conscious alien. Today is is birthday (happy birthday, Big Guy) and I guess it hit home that he's not as young as he used to be. During dinner a few days ago, he nonchalantly stated that we shouldn't eat so much meat (or meat-a according to Little Guy). I nearly choked.

You see, my husband is a big time crappy food lover. His loves include, but are not limited to, pizza, burgers, fries, soft drinks, crap, crap, and more crap, but these foods are directly at odds with his love of cycling. I'm assuming cycling has finally won, because the Big Guy wants to go Mediterranean, which means less meat, more veggies and low fat proteins. I almost cried. How long have I waited for this day? I've slowly been introducing meatless meals, fresh herbs, new veggies, etc. for months and he's eaten pretty much everything without complaining, but now he's finally on board. Bazinga.

So this was my answer for dinner last night. I call it authentic white people Mexican, or the constipation reliever. Take your pick.

Black Bean, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

1 can rinsed black beans

1 large tomato chopped

2 Haas avocados chopped

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup lime juice

salt and pepper

Mix together and serve

And that stuff was good. We had it with brown rice, mangoes, and fried bananas, and there were no leftovers. Enjoy!

Skillet Eggplant

I finally found a way that I like eggplant, and I am relieved. I thought I'd have to cook eggplant for one forever since the Little Guy likes it so much, but now I have avoided that fate.

Here's what I did:

Peel one small eggplant and cut into tiny finger sized pieces

Cut up half of a tomato

Throw in skillet with a little olive oil and cook until mushyish

Add a little pasta sauce just until coated, but not soupy, about 1/8 jar

Tear up two bail leaves and add to skillet

Throw in a few handfuls of feta cheese

And it was great. Try it.

Coupon Alert

Yes, I know. I've been slacking. But I found a coupon that inspired me to blog. If you live in my area and drink coffee, pay attention. There's a coupon in either the Mint or MoneyPages, I can't remember which, for 4 lbs of Dunkin Donuts coffee for $19.99. You just have to go to a Dunkin store to buy it. For those like me who can barely do simple math, that comes out to $5 a pound, which is $2 - $3 cheaper than the grocery store per pound. Go get some.

Also, I found that Sam's Club has the world's greatest mangoes. They are amazing. And you can get six of them for about $5. Anything less than $1 a mango is an accomplishment, especially for good ones, and my kid will eat them every day without complaining. Another accomplishment.

I also have a gripe. I bought Purex free & clear detergent the other day because it's cheap and I had used it before. Apparently I'm big on repeating mistakes, because this detergent doesn't do jack crap. I would probably have better luck just showering with my clothes on, although that would make diaper laundry more complicated.