Tuesday...The New Monday?

Is Tuesday the furthest day from Monday or is Tuesday just Monday's quiet twin?  I've had discussions with friends and we all seem to agree that Tuesday can often be just as rough, or even worse than Monday.
So many things can happen during a day, and it may not be anything remarkable, but the little things can add up to one big stress.  It may be an early "Mommy!" call from the room next door, an alarm that goes off just a few minutes too soon, traffic on the way to work, a conversation with someone during the work day, or the fact that you haven't seen your significant other since before 6 a.m., and it's after 7 p.m.  We all wake up in the morning and all probably have the goal of successfully getting through the day and getting back to our families.

Despite all of my ramblings, I do have a point.  It's so easy to let all of those little things add up and reach a final breaking point.  It's so hard not to release that onto our families.  We love and trust our families, but sometimes, without even noticing, we can take out our day on those who really didn't have anything to do with it how it turned out.  I like to remind myself that my family is my support, my joy, and the reason that I work so hard. My home should be a place for fun, family, relaxation and reflection.  I don't want it to be a dumping ground for all of the negative thoughts and words that can come so easily our of our mouths. Relying on our family for support is necessary, but it shouldn't be the main topic of conversation on a daily basis - that's no fun and it just adds to stress levels!

Whatever it is I am doing here, talking about, or trying to figure out for myself or about myself - thank you for reading.  I'm thankful that today is not Monday.  I'm thankful for my family, near and far, and for having an an outlet for my thoughts.  I'm also thankful for "breakfast" for dinner.

I have tons of yellow squash and I am having so much fun figuring out with what to do with it.  On the menu tonight is yellow squash waffles!  Savoy, yet comforting.  It's a sneaky way to get veggies into a meal.

Isn't a waffle iron such a lovely invention?

The "waffle' batter

• 3 yellow squash, shredded & squeezed to get the liquid out
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• black pepper to taste

With the ingredients above, I was able to make two batches of waffles, which came out pretty dense.  I ended up putting the waffles in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, then finished them up in the toaster. Very filling and very yummy.  I served it with a dollop of dill dip, fresh tomato and basil.  Pretty good end to a long Tuesday.

Pretty dinner :)

 

CSA-zy

Summer Squash Fritters and Tzatziki Sauce

I went a little crazy at the farm this week and ended up buying more veggies from the market on top of  the weekly share.  I have to be honest and say that I am very glad that I did.  I picked up tomatoes, radishes, lettuce and extra yellow squash.  The share this week had garlic, onions, potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers - a very colorful week!  I'm proud to say that for this post I was able to use cucumbers, garlic and squash in one meal.  

I started the dinner process during my lunch hour earlier this week.  The tzatsiki sauce needs time to chill before serving so I was glad to have the opportunity to have it ready for dinner time.

Tzatsiki Sauce Stuff

Tzatziki Sauce

3 cups greek yogurt, drained

2 cucumbers, peeled and seeded

juice of 1 lemon

garlic

kosher salt

dill

Have I ever mentioned my love of kitchen gadgets, no?  Well let me tell you!  One night last week I think I sat on Amazon and ordered fifteen different gadgets to use.  It had nothing to do whatsoever with the Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron I was drinking, just to be clear.  I got to use my new veggie peeler and garlic press, which totally justifies the purchase, good job.  This was my first time using fresh garlic, usually I just get the stuff that cured already, but I don't know if I will ever go back.  Just last night I spent thirty minutes peeling fresh garlic so I could freeze it for another time.  I don't know if my hand will ever stop smelling like garlic, but at least I will be safe from vampires I guess.

Anyway, back to the tzatsiki sauce - it's pretty simple - I will give you a picture play by play!

Drain the yogurt.

Peel the cumber and take out the seeds.

Cut up the cukes and sprinkle with salt.  This will draw out the excess water.  I left the salty cukes in the strainer for about thirty minutes.

The cukes, lemon juice, dill, and a couple cloves of garlic in the food processor.

This is the cucumber mixture as it comes out of the food processor.  I was a little concerned that it still had so much water in it, but it turned out not to be a big deal at all.

This is the final product with the cucumber mixture combined with the
Greek yogurt. Yum - make sure to chill it for several hours so it gets nice and thick.  Give it a good stir before it's used.

OK now onto the summer squash fritters.  I adapted my recipe from Mom's, What's For Dinner?  I had so much squash that I ended up doubling the ingredients.  I received no complaints about the food itself or the amount of food that was made, so success!

This is a large and small squash shredded.  I put it on a towel to help get out the excess liquid.  I also ended up putting it in a trainer and squeezing out the excess liquid, just to be safe.

It's just like pancakes!

Post frying - pre oven.

FINALLY IT IS DINNER TIME!
The tzatsiki sauce doubles as a dip for the veggies and a topping for the fritters.

The Mom, What's For Dinner? post is what inspired me to make the fritters with the tzatsiki sauce.  It turned out to be a good match.  I have plenty of tzatziki sauce left over to use with veggies, sandwiches, or even with a completely different meal.  I think I'm feeling Greek chicken and potatoes for a Sunday dinner.