My mental list of things that I hope to finish before our baby is born is pretty short, but I’ve been so tired this pregnancy and spent so much time being sick, that it has felt a little bit daunting. I wanted to knit at least one thing. That’s quite a contrast to the amount of knitting that I usually do for a new baby, but with him being due mid-July, and not knowing how huge he might be by the time the weather cools off, I was afraid to knit the wrong sizes. I knit one pretty little cardigan and I think it will fit him this fall. I needed to repair our bassinet, the fabric having been ripped by children hanging on the edge to peek at previous babies, and I did that last week. And, I wanted to sew a few of the organic double gauze blankets that I have sold in my shop in the past. I got those finished as well, but don’t think I’ll get around to dyeing them. I like them as they are anyway. A sweet blog reader sent a crocheted baby blanket that I really love, and I feel all set with blankets now. I ordered cloth diapers to use as burp cloths (I won’t be cloth diapering this time) and I love looking at them all folded and lined up in a basket. One other thing I want to make for our baby is calendula soap. I started a flat of seeds months ago and the plants are blooming now! I am snipping the flowers every day and letting them dry. When I have enough, I will steep them in olive oil and make goat’s milk soap with the calendula-infused oil. I’m excited about that! I listed my last batches of goat’s milk soap in my shop last week. I’m not sure when I’ll have it available again. If I am up to it, I will make some in the next couple of weeks to be ready in mid-August.
All that was missing from my baby preparations were feral kittens. So, when our local shelter posted that they needed an experienced foster to socialize a pair and get them ready for adoption, Beatrix and I volunteered. They are quite young and were quick to socialize and we’ve been having a lot of fun with them. I seem to have a habit of taking on new animals in the last few weeks of pregnancy. I wonder if it has to do with being out of breath all the time and not getting enough oxygen? Anyway, this is a foster situation. It’s very temporary. As of right this minute, there is a possibility that we will keep one of them, but that could change. I have fostered literally hundreds of kittens in the past. I am capable of not keeping them. The problem is that I’m not sure Beatrix is, and I’m tired and weak.
My appetite has not been great this pregnancy, and it has been making meal planning difficult. Nothing sounds good! I have a stack of cookbooks out from the library, and I wonder if you might have any suggestions? My main limitation is being gluten-free, though I can typically find recipes that work in any sort of cookbook. I really could use some inspiration. You guys gave me lots of great reading ideas in the comments on my last post and I really appreciated that! I have a nice stack of books to read now.
Hello Ginny,
Radish leaves soup is the most satisfying soup I have experienced and not that well known about, which needs to be remediated 😉 Maybe that would be something easy to cook and to eat for you at this stage of your pregnancy 🙂
Boil together until almost cooked: potatoes, leeks, onion, and a little bit of garlic, with a bit of salt too. Add a generous portion of radish leaves (the fresh and beautiful ones) so it gets cooked as well (that’s fast, 10 mins maybe?). Mix everything. Add pepper and cream, to taste. Divine!!
Wishing you all the best with the end of your pregnancy and a wonderful encounter with your baby.
Anaïs
PS: the shawl pin you sent me recently is wonderfully made. A beautiful piece, thank you!
I love lentils over sweet potatoes: https://thebetternutritionprogram.com/recipes/better-smoky-lentil-stuffed-sweet-potato/
Cold tahini noodles with veggies; black bean and chorizo nachos; broccoli and beans with pesto; one pot kale and tomato pasta; one pot lentil curry — all these sounded pretty good to me (add a side dish of cold sliced meat for the protein lovers) and very easy on the mess. Hoping this finds you feeling well, the sweater looks lovely.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/06/23/simple-recipes-for-lazy-cooking/?fbclid=IwAR3YfGuXpHAj56hWW5_qNqCk6OTfYoioqUujhkUZML_AJmqe6CWzNmxilrY
Take a big Boston butt pork roast and rub it well all over with taco seasoning. Put it in the crockpot with a cup of water in the bottom and cook all day. When it is fall apart tender take it out and shred it and stir it back into the juices. You may need a bit more water and to adjust seasonings such as some salt. Serve over rice the first night with a big pan of cornbread to fill up the kiddos. The second night use the meat for pork tacos. A real favorite of ours.
With chickens, anything with eggs is always easy for us as well as any kind of bean and rice dish you can create.
If you are still taking book recommendations, I have two that I think you will love. They are both by the same author – Olivia Hawker – and are based on true stories in her family history (which is amazing in and of itself. The author’s notes at the end are as fascinating as the novels themselves.) The first is “the Ragged Edge of Night” set in WWII Germany and follows the unique relationship of a friar from an order closed by the Nazis and a widow with 3 children. A wonderful story of faith, love and perseverance. The second is “One For the Blackbird, One For the Crow.” I remember learning that saying, “One for the blackbird, one for the crow, one for the cutworm, one to grow” when plating seeds as a child. This story takes place in 1870s Wyoming and is the story of an unlikely friendship brought on by a need to come together to survive. A great story of motherhood, love and friendship. Hope you get a chance to add them to your stack.
We also have a weaning kitten now but she will stay. We rescued her from an abandoned house where she had fallen inside the wall and was stuck between the studs. We had to take the wall apart to save her. She stole our hearts immediately and we hope she will become good friends with our dog and other 2 cats. We have participated in trapping cats for our local TNR program and feel very good about helping in this small way. Living in a very rural area means there is always a feral or community cat population that needs help.
Praying for you and yours and that sweet babe on the way.
Peace,
Dawn
I had hip surgery last week and friends brought us the Barefoot Contessa’s Chinese chicken Salad last night. It was great! It is gluten free, low carb and hight protein.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chinese-chicken-salad-recipe-1942049
I asked all my family for their favorite meals. I divide those up into 7 categories:
Ground beef dishes (ie. Shepherds pie, Salisbury steak, burritos etc) on Sunday
Chicken dishes or Egg casserole on Monday
Soup on Tuesday
Roasts, stir fry, or BBQ on Wednesday
Leftovers or Chef salad on Thursday
Fish (this could be as simple as tuna sandwich) on Friday
Pasta or homemade pizza (on tortillas) on Saturday
Everyone 12 and older is in charge of cooking. They rotate to experience cooking different dishes. Those not cooking that night take turns washing dishes.
We’re gluten-free whole-foods eaters in my family and I’m a big meal planner too. My favourite cookbooks are River Cottage Gluten Free, Small Victories and Canelle et Vanille.
Wishing you all the best, can’t wait to see your newest addition!
For cookbooks, I love Mark Bittman’s”How to Cook Everything Vegetarian”…..realizing you are not. What I love about this book is that it covers everything and gives you so many substitution options for each dish. So you never get bored. It can be had in used hardback for about $7.
Also, food blog Food52. I discovered them on a feed one day where someone had asked for a lightning quick meal. While they look exotic, the recipes are simple and straightforward.
Figure out some simple things the boys&girls can make for themselves.
Blessings to you all.
Those kittens are precious.
I like the Skinny Taste website for recipes, especially since she does a weekly meal plan which is great when I’m feeling uninspired! She always includes a GF option in her recipes, as well.
All the others have given such great advice, and one thought I have is: have you got someone to set up a meal train for you? I know what a blessing it has been when others have brought us meals, and also how it lifted me up to be able to bring other families meals during their time of need. Just a thought. Take good care of yourself, and enjoy that new little blessing when it arrives.
Blessings to you and yours,
Melisa
My ninth term pregnancy was riddled with illness, no appetite, and gestational diabetes. I get it, I think! Nothing sounding good. I ate a lot of Costco rotisserie chicken (and frozen rice, microwaved, and frozen veggies) while making something else for the kids. Just had to make myself eat. One dish I like for summer is quinoa black bean salad, with frozen corn, tomatoes, lime/cilantro/ cumin, and an oil and vinegar dressing. Google will provide measurements. This is good made early in the day when it’s cool, and served chilled alongside grilled brats or chicken. Honestly, we lived on frozen Costco foods, baby is 14 weeks now, and I finally have energy to try to meal plan. My teens were great about survival menu and keeping us fed in the newborn weeks
I’ve been cooking from the four Skinny Taste cookbooks all during the pandemic. There is also an online site, skinnytaste.com that contains more recipes. Most are Gluten free. One very easy and tasty recipe is for Mexican chicken in the crock pot which is basically chicken (I use thighs), salsa and a few spices. I like to serve it with rice and canned refried beans. BTW, you can change the portion number in the online recipes.
Those swaddles are so sweet! And the cardigan is precious too. I am too chicken to try sewing with gauze, but always so impressed with your creations!
This Tuscan Chicken can be cooked quickly in one skillet. We’ll keep you and baby in our prayers. Lovely pictures, as always. I love the wildflowers in the three vases.
https://therecipecritic.com/creamy-tuscan-garlic-chicken/
Hi Ginny,
A quick meal we have been having regularly around here is humus with roasted carrots,salad,pita bread and sometimes herbed olives and cheese.To roast the carrots rub them with olive oil and sprinkle some cumin(or paprika what ever you like).You could use gluten free crackers instead of the pita.Most of this can be named in advance.
Most importantly keep yourself well rested, simplify as much as you can.Looking forward to seeing pictures of this new baby.Take care Ginny and enjoy this last stretch of pregnancy.Love your posts
Ginny, you are going to be so tired and busy with that new baby, I wouldn’t worry about a bunch of new recipes. Just ask your kids what their five favorite dinners are, 7 x 5 is 35 dinners, except if they share favorites. Kids are resilient. They will be just as happy with the same dinners repeated over a month so all you need are 30 good ideas and plot them on a calendar and repeat! What’s wrong with simple soup and sandwiches or omelets or pancakes for dinner. Go easy on yourself. You know your kids are not going to starve. They will be fine. You might even ask the older ones to plan and cook dinner once a week.
Easy peezy! Simplify!
Ginny, I am so excited for you and your family as you await the arrival of your new little one! My family has really enjoyed recipes from https://www.melskitchencafe.com/. My kids even check if it is a recipe from Mel before they will try something new. Many are gluten free or easily adaptable.
I will pray for a healthy smooth delivery.
Those kittens are very cute and rind me of a pair we had once.
Hi Ginny,
‘More with Less’ is a wonderful cookbook (no photos though unfortunately) by Doris Jansen Longacre (I think!). Peppered throughout with inspiring faith-filled testimonies and honestly the best recipes I have ever found.
Hope this helps!
Prayers for a safe delivery and for your beautiful family.
Take care.
Yes! The recipe for French Lettuce Salad is my favorite.
I wish you all the very best, dear Ginny!
Keep well,
Emily xx
Ina Garten. She’s simple and foolproof. Delicious……any one of her cookbooks. Find many online.
I love Kristine’s Kitchen found on the internet. Fast, easy and nutritious meals. Her beef stew crockpot recipe is the best I’ve ever eaten.
Also sheet pan dinners.
Praying you will have a smooth delivery.
Let me know if you like My Paris Kitchen? That intrigues me!
Your family always amazes me, Ginny! I love watching how Lark & Beatrice have matured and are so capable! And Mabel as always, the cutest little doll! 🙂
I love seeing the way your kids care for the various animals you’ve had over the years!
Danielle Walker from Against All Grain has 4 wonderful cookbooks that are loaded with inspiration. If you’ve not heard about her — she has a blog with lots of recipes on it as well.
Wishing you the very best with your sweet family!
~Sue
feeding the whole family by cynthia lair is still a favorite cookbook for us. love and hugs and prayers for a beautiful birth xoxoxo
Praying for you and your family and for an easy and uneventful delivery. Enjoy each day as it comes and trust the Lord for the results. He never fails!
i just checked out Dinner, Uncomplicated from the library and found a number of recipes that seemed both simple and tasty.
I just purchased the Dining on A Dime cookbooks by Tawra Kellam & Jill Cooper. They have a Gluten free, Dairy Free one that has 800 recipes & honestly I was quite impressed with the nice, simple recipes. On their website they are having a moving sale right now.
Blessings for an easy delivery and healthy baby!!!❤️
Simple Chicken broth Cauli Soup- cook cauli in chicken stock, blitz. Add salt and pepper to taste.
All the best Ginny,
love Sandra
Taco salad! We use chicken and put it out with lettuce, black beans, sour cream, hot sauce, diced tomatoes, black olives, tortilla chips, guacamole, cheese. Everyone makes what they want and my husband (recently diagnosed with diabetes) eats all but the chips. I’m so excited for your new babe!
The cardigan is gorgeous – does that pattern come in adult size and if so, will you make me one?!? 🙂 I can’t get over how the girls have grown and matured during the years I’ve been reading your blog; the boys don’t take me by surprise as much, maybe because I had boys, but the girls look older and bigger and cuter in every picture.
I don’t have any cookbook recommendations but I do suggest looking for “sheet pan” dinners online – they are quick, easy and usually gluten-free. There are many variations, but I usually pair chicken thighs or legs (because they are inexpensive) with whatever random vegetables I have in the fridge; toss them in olive oil and spices (sometimes just salt and pepper), then roast in the oven for about 30 minutes. We have some form of sheet pan supper at least twice a week and have never been disappointed. I really think sometimes that planning dinner Every Single Night is the hardest part of adulting.
Praying for you and the baby. Hope you feel better.
Marilyn,Joan and Marion
Thinking of you Ginny! Take care and good luck and bedt eishes yo you in July.
Becky