Terrifying Tuesdays is back! Black bean burgers

I got today's recipe from a Taste of Home Magazine that had been in storage. I had recieved the magazine for several years and collected them - I just hate to throw away things like that. And they were waiting for me in storage. Here I am without cookbooks and not much to do for entertainment - so I scoured the magazines for their healthy recipes and found this gem.

I must say it fell in the catagory of easy to make. I have very limited resources at the moment. So I was able to make them with what I've got. I gotta say, it's not fun cooking with camping gear - I've not got proper lids! I've got a gas stove, so I'm terrified that I'm going to catch my potholder on fire when I grab the plate off of the pot.

Anyway, it tasted fine. I think it would be tastier if I had my arsenol of spices available. The cheese got lost in the bun - could not taste it at all. To me, if you can't taste the cheese then you might as well not have it - wasted calories. I like to taste my cheese. I think some sort of different bun or no bun would have been better.

The boys gave it an immediate thumbs down, but as they ate more (we made them eat more) it went from thumbs down to middle thumbs. And it grew on Gary too.

I had read the opinions online and most of them warned how messy the mix was and to add breadcrumbs for binding. So I had a mini chopper and made breadcrumbs from an end piece of wheat bread and added it to the mix. I added powdered garlic also. I also baked the patties at 350 for 35 minutes as suggested by one reviewer. I hate frying, so it worked for me. As a warning, the mix is pretty wet and sloppy, so you scoop it up in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and mound it on the cookie sheet and flatten it out. I flipped the burgers halfway through cooking.

The recipe calls for an egg and calls for the burger to be topped with cheese and a sour cream/salsa mixture - so ymmv as far as your vegetarian/vegan needs.

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a couple of weeks ago I perused a health food store and found a bag of dried figs and that's what we did for TT. Those dark wrinkly things terrified me, but they taste like fig newtons! Duh! So it wasn't too bad. Days later I went after the bag to eat some as a snack, but I had not refrigerated them and they had a fermented smell and were fuzzy. Oh, well.

the pool

Yesterday I took the boys to the neighborhood swimming pool. There were only a few people there. I overheard a lady telling someone she was doing therapy with kids, and then later, someone commented to her about the little toddler she was working with. He was just a-bawlin'. She said he had sensory overload. And that brought it all back to me. I sat there in the shade and reminisced about Ryan at that age and how far he has come. His first swimming lesson he couldn't even do because he refused to even sit beside the pool, much less put his feet in the water. They gladly refunded me - it was just shy of us being kicked out really. So his first lesson he didn't even get a toe wet. The second lesson (2 years later) he did put his feet in, but he screamed in terror the entire time. He practically got private lessons. That poor instructor. He would carry Ryan around in the water while Ry screamed in his ear. The guy persevered and even offered private lessons!

I have not taken them to swim lessons since then. They did get a lot of swim time at hotel pools and friends' houses and the ocean. No, they can't swim pretty, but they can get by in the water. In fact, Jake and Ryan will race each other. Jake does a rough crawl complete with lots of splashing and not going very far. Ryan does a doggie paddle and goes quite fast! I really need to get them lessons so Jake can refine his style and get somewhere and learn to breathe and Ryan can do a real stroke.

Anyway, I was watching this little boy, shrieking in terror. The therapist was very gentle and calm and I could see her patiently distracting the little boy into calmness. She was fabulous. Some people are just born for their jobs. And then I was looking at Ryan doing cannon balls and trying to dive. wow, he's come a long way.

ps. There's a deer in our back yard!

we have a house!

Just a quick report to say we have a house. It's 4 br 2.5 bath, big yard. We didn't get the pool we wanted, but it's in a community with a pool and tennis courts and a lake we can fish at. Looks like good sidewalks/bike paths so we can step out of the house and run/walk. The schools are reportedly good. Today we get a refrigerator delivered. We had to buy one. But that's okay, we can take it with us when we move and our next move may be for retirement. It's one of those fridges that are french door on top and freezer drawer on bottom.

Also today we make the phone calls for gas, electric, water, etc. We are also going to try to schedule getting our storage goods delivered. If they can do it by Wednesday, then that's what we'll do. Otherwise we'll get it delivered next week. We have this hotel room until Wednesday and then we go pick up the boys and drive to NC to visit the other grandma. If they can't deliver this week, then we leave here early. I miss my boys!

My mom kept my boys and the other 3 grandkids all last week and it nearly killed her. The other grandkids are 3, 5 and 8. The little ones ran her ragged and drove her crazy not eating at meals but wanting snacks all day long and constantly changing their minds. Me and Gary tried to model for her how to be firm and not cave, but she was so worried that they'd starve and she would take it personally. Plus the older girl had a sassy mouth. That did not go over well. She would argue with mom, and mom is not one to back down from an argument. Not a screaming kind of argument, but a disagreement "I'm always right" kind of argument. Personally, I was more concerned about the tone my niece took rather than what she was saying. But mom gets drawn in by the words and the tone of voice puts her on the defensive. I don't think she could see that. Now, how to convey that to mom without getting the lecture. Well, I'll probably get the lecture which I'll have to grin and bear, just so I can get my observation in there. Mom has got to learn to deal with this better or she's not going to have a good relationship with these kids. My mom usually loves to hug and kiss and giggle with her grandkids, but apparantly she does better on a one on one basis. And I can relate to that. I think it was just overwhelming - plus she doesn't do good delegating. She likes to be in charge, so she put all that responsibility on her shoulders and it stressed her too much. She said she lost 7 pounds!

Right now Gary is on the horn getting the utilities set up. Then we make a call to the landlord. The downstairs airconditioning wasn't working, plus two plugs in the kitchen weren't working and we can't find the key to the gas fireplace. So, as you can see, it's just some details that have to be worked out.

The other thing we will eventually have to work out is the room situation. The boys say they want separate bedrooms, but I want to be convinced before we put in furniture and paint. Yes, paint. We've been given the okay to paint! Yahoo! This house is already painted with good colors, but one room is white. Jake wants orange, and Ryan wants yellow. Hah! I'm thinking I can put Jake in the green room and paint the white room yellow for Ryan. I'm not keen on painting any room orange. He can get orange bedding. I'm so glad for colors. I really hate renters white/off white/yellowy.

last time at the north shore

Matsumoto's shave ice in Haleiwa. The people behind us are waiting in line. Yes, it's that popular and worth the wait. We stood in the rain to get ours.



Me and Ryan at sunset beach



Supper at Kua aina Burger.

the house is empty

It was the fastest move in the history of military moves - okay, not including single soldiers who can fit all their wordly goods in the back seat of a Mini Cooper. Two days, and not even those long, well into the night days. They packed EVERYTHING. So I'm imagining a few claims in our future. That 1/4 full bottle of Clorox bleach will not remain in the bottle, I'm sure. And while that Karo syrup will be broken and covered with ants, the ants will be dead because the tiny bottle of ant poison would have done them in. (not to mention soaked into the salt waiting to kill us sprinkle by sprinkle...)

Well, we'll see what really happens in 6 weeks. It'll be a big surprise when we open up the crates. Until then, there's no need to fret about it. We are having a good giggle and getting all kinds of moving horror stories told to us.

Hello? Did you hear about the airline pilot who died yesterday? Not the kind of news that we need to hear right about now!

You know all those hours I spent looking at all those houses online? Most of them are GONE! I can find only ONE house left with a pool - I'm sure it'll be gone tomorrow. But God has always provided us with a place to live - so I won't fret about it. (she says...)

We are staying at the Lodge on the Marine Corps base. It's pretty decent. We've got a refrigerator, sink, microwave, two queen sized beds, internet connection and breakfast in the a.m.

Gary is currently finishing up the last of his out-processing, then he'll drop the van off for shipping and we go pick him up in our tricked out rental SUV. It's so embarrassing - the tires are huge and have these shiney wheel covers. Then we are heading to the hospital to visit a friend who had emergency surgery yesterday. Then off to the north shore - the main goal there is to see the sun set - but hopefully we'll get a dinner and maybe some "last time" shave ice.

I let in the guy today to clean our carpets. We'll have to check the mail at least until we leave to make sure they have stopped delivering it. I was so sad last night when I went to pick up the mail. What I need is a good cry. I started to cry, but then got distracted - nothing like having a good cry interrupted! I need some alone time!

The boys have a party to go to tomorrow - well, the kid we are visiting today in the hospital is the brother of the birthday boy, so technically, the party was cancelled. But another mom has a pool and she's inviting a bunch of kids over for a "not Ricky's official birthday party" party. So we'll give him our presents then.

Nothing much else planned except for some clothes washing and suitcase packing. We fly out on Sunday and will get there by sunrise on Monday. Let's give a big cheer for jet lag! Hoorah!

Packing day!

The packers are here, so this note is going to be brief. Pack out today, tomorrow and movers load up wednesday - however this move has started out strangely. They sent out three guys today (usually it's an old man and two girls) and they are dismanteling furniture first and loading them into crates. So it seems to be backwards. Anyway, I"ll not have time to post or read. If I get online it'll be to just check emails and look for houses.

I've got the boys in a "daycare" program for the next 3 days. So at least they'll get social interaction with other kids, exercise and not be underfoot. There is a fieldtrip on Wednesday to the zoo - so that'll be fun for them. Me, I'm hanging out back on our lanai. I've already painted my toenails and have been reading Harry Potter. Gary has paid bills and called up places to close accounts, like electric., water, etc.

We have got our suitcases packed - overstuffed is more like it. I think we'll have to box up some things and mail it. No one is willing to compromise and leave some things for the packers. Oh well. We had checked Delta's luggage policy, and it says that if you are military and moving then you can bring 10 suitcases, no charge! We won't have that many because we'd have to haul that stuff around and our rental car won't be big enough. But it's good to know.

Pineapple: the Final Chapter

We have harvested and digested the pineapple. It was wonderful. In honor of little Pineappley, I will pay homage to it with a photo recap of it's short life.

January - first appearance



February - covered in flowers

April - getting bigger! looks like a real pineapple

May - emerald green, beautiful

June 8 - starting to get a suntan! almost time to harvest!

Comparing with a store bought pineapple - my guy is little

The next day - all gold, yet the presence of ants made me decide it was time to harvest. Isn't it beautiful?

June 12 - stored it in fridge until we were ready to eat it. (had to finish off the big one first) Looks just like a real pineapple inside! (in miniature)

I cut it using the fancy cut they taught me at the Dole Plantation. (it's the only way I cut pineapple - nothing is too fancy for my family)

We had homemade pizza along with our (organic, pesticide-free, free range) pineapple boat.

ONO!