14 Days of Frugality- DAY THIRTEEN

This day got off to a rough start. My alarm clock (Max) woke up late (8:30am) and so we didn't even really start to think about our run until 8:45. By then the sun was beating down pretty strong (I cann't stand running in the heat) and we wanted to first download and synch some music, max needed breakfast, pets needed to be fed, Spanky had to go out. Things started taking longer than they should and before we knew it it was almost 9:30. In frustration neither of us ran. We are both disappointed, but in the past 10 days we have run 6 times and played squash 4 times. This is a huge step forward for us. Tomorrow we plan on running and possibly a hike at the four rivers sanctuary.

Once we realize that we aren't going to run we turn our focus to what we can make. Saturday is the unofficial "Jeremy Cooks Day" so it was up to him to plan the menu. Here is what he made,

Haddock Sandwiches

They are simple and really fast to make. The haddock is rinsed with water and shook dry and then you dip it into flour. You cook the fish in a pan with some canola or olive oil for about 2 minutes per side. Then you put it on a roll with tartar sauce, lettuce and tomato. These sandwiches are very popular in Portland. I see them everywhere and now I love them too!

While Jeremy made the haddock sandwiches I worked on the sauce for the two racks of ribs that Jeremy bought at Pat's. The sauce needed to simmer for an hour (what is with Jeremy and these all day recipes?) and was super full of all kinds of ingredients. Next, Jeremy prepared a rub for the ribs, rubbed them and then let them sit in the fridge for an hour.

While the ribs were cooking I prepared a slaw with red cabbage from my CSA, using a recipe in the Candle Cafe cookbook. It turned out really nice, crisp and refreshing!

To help us eat all this food we invited our friend Nick over and spent the late afternoon on the deck eating and laughing. Our whole day was pretty much spent in the kitchen cooking and it was fun. I really like the 30 minute meal idea, but sometimes it's nice to slow cook things. It brings a whole other level to the flavor that can be achieved. There is one day left in this experiment of frugality and we don't want it to end. I'm excited to report our weight loss and money saved. It has been so successful, this project will be extended.

Here is the recipe for the ribs,

Grilled Baby Back Pork Ribs with Mustard-Bourbon Sauce
Bon Appetit July 1998
yield: Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

For sauce

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 2 bunches green onions, chopped
* 2 cups chopped white onions
* 8 large garlic cloves, chopped
* 2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
* 1 cup ketchup
* 1 cup tomato paste (about 9 ounces)
* 1 cup whole grain Dijon mustard
* 1 cup water
* 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
* 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup apple juice
* 1 large dried ancho chili, stemmed, seeded, cut into small pieces
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1 1/2 cups bourbon


For spice rub and ribs

* 2 tablespoons ground cumin
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1 tablespoon dry mustard
* 1 tablespoon coarse salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 6 pounds baby back pork ribs (about 3 whole racks)

Preparation:

Make sauce
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add green onions, white onions and garlic and sauté until tender, about 15 minutes. Mix in all remaining ingredients, adding bourbon last. Simmer sauce until thick and reduced to 7 cups, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Sauce can be prepared 2 weeks ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Make spice rub and ribs
Mix first 7 ingredients in medium bowl. Rub spice mixture over both sides of rib racks. Arrange ribs on large baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Cut rib racks into 4- to 6-rib sections. Arrange ribs on barbecue. Grill until meat is tender, occasionally turning ribs with tongs, about 40 minutes. Using tongs, transfer ribs to work surface.

Cut rib sections between bones into individual ribs. Arrange on clean baking sheet. Transfer 3 cups sauce to small bowl; place remaining sauce in small saucepan and reserve. Brush ribs with sauce from bowl.

Return ribs to barbecue. Place pan of reserved sauce at edge of barbecue to rewarm. Grill ribs until brown and crisp on edges, brushing with more sauce from bowl and turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Serve ribs with warm sauce.

14 Days of Frugality- DAY TWELVE

As I sit down to write this entry I cannot stop thinking about the Salmon and Dill Chowder I made this afternoon, and I want to make this post a quick one so I can heat myself up a second helping. So, here we go.

This morning started with a game of squash, oatmeal and iced coffee. Jeremy and I are both improving at squash and it is becoming more and more fun the better we get. Honestly, I wish I could play every day. Once home, it was nap time, which I love because it means break time for me. Yesterday, while at Harbor Fish I was let in on a little secret, Salmon would be going on sale today for $8.99 a pound. Coincidentally, Whole Foods Market would also have salmon on Sale for $8.99 a pound. Right now, this comes out to a savings of around $10! I knew I needed to jump on this opportunity. To make things even better, I had received some dill in this week's CSA share that I was dying to use... with salmon of course. It felt as if the stars were all aligning. Now... what to make.

I started off the way I always do, searching my two trusty cookbooks, both of which have never let me down. Real Simple: Meals Made Easy and another good one, Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. Nothing about salmon with dill in either. Next it is off to Epicurious.com to find something suitable. The first thing that appeared was a recipe for Salmon and Dill Chowder. At first, I hesitated. Do chowders take a long time to cook? Then I read the recipe and concluded that this would not take long. My second concern should have been the amount of dairy a chowder requires, but I knew I had that under control. Just a few months ago, I made a killer New England Clam Chowder using soy milk and it came out fantastically! I decided today that I would use Lactaid milk, which Jeremy can also have as a lactose free alternative.

First Max and I stopped off at Whole Foods to buy potatoes, two stalks of celery and some vegetable broth. We wandered over by the seafood department to check out their salmon. And I thought, how dare they try to compete with Harbor Fish!! Harbor has been providing Portlanders with fresh fish for over 30 years and Whole Foods comes on scene about 4 years ago and starts challenging the business of the local commerce! Personally, I try to avoid the store, but sometimes I can't help it. I have resorted to doing the bare minimum there. I buy my meat at a local butcher, Pat's Meat Market, that has been a Portland staple since the 1950s, my fish at Harbor and my produce from my CSA and my local farmer's market. However, there are times that I need to go outside the local network and those are the times that I put money directly into John Mackey's pocket, cringing while I do it. I bought my 3 items at Whole Foods and we got back in the car and drove a few blocks to Harbor Fish Market to get the Salmon (which looked better than Whole Food's anyway). We get home and glory glory it is nap time again. I put Max down and spend the next hour prepping and stirring and drooling over this pot of the hardiest soup I've ever made.

This one is a keeper. A one pot meal that is hardy and delicious. Here is the recipe.

Salmon Chowder with Dill- Serves 4
Gourmet Magazine April 2004

Ingredients:

4 bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water (I used chicken broth)
2 cups whole milk (I used Lactaid)
1 pound skinless salmon fillet, trimmed of dark flesh, then cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (I used dairy free butter)

Preparation:

Cook bacon in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, then transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from saucepan, then add onion, celery, potatoes, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

Add milk and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in salmon, dill, and butter and simmer gently until salmon is just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve sprinkled with bacon.

This is not the healthiest thing I've made, but it also isn't the unhealthiest. So... indulge and enjoy!

I'm off to eat some now.

14 Days of Frugality- DAY ELEVEN

Another day another run. This morning was a little cooler and was a welcomed relief. We grabbed the BOB and zig zagged in and out of the little streets that make up Evergreen Cemetery. The running is still not as easy as it should be, which is why we are running so much. We were both at a good place before the move to Maine. Jeremy, having run a marathon, could easily out run me. I was training for a 10k and set my sights on finishing a 1/2 this fall. The move knocked everything off kilter and sent us both into a downward spiral of comfort food and relaxation. The worst part was, we both stopped running. Moves are stressful, no doubt, but I think we took it especially hard. In the past 5 years I have moved 4 times (Jeremy has moved 3). And I was tired. We were tired. This may not sound like a very good excuse to throw your health out the window, but we didn't care. We were owed this down time. Well... now we are paying for it. It feels so much harder to start running again than it was to learn to run the first place. We keep thinking that we should be able to run the way we could 3 months ago, and when we can't run as far or as fast we start doubting that we ever will. Well... that thinking needs to stop now.

Ever heard of a thing called the locus of control? Basically it goes something like this, Your brain doesn't know the difference between knowing you can do something and believing that you can do something. So, If you think you can't... you can't. But if you tell yourself you can, you have the best shot at succeeding. (No guarantees though... this isn't The Secret). So when Jeremy and I are running and we say to each other, "oh man, this is hard" or "I don't know if I can do all 3 miles" it is over. Right then and there we destroyed our run. We are our own worst enemies. And it must stop. I am the girl who chants "I love this hill, I love this hill" as I climb a horrible hill, I'm not the girl who says, "I can't, I can't".

Today I tackled some of the zucchini from my CSA by making zucchini bread. Here is the recipe. It was really easy and I don't bake.

Zucchini Bread: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally. Alternately, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.
Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.
Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.
Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake far more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

I made a visit to Harbor Fish Market and picked up some cod for $5.99. Then, with a suggestion from a friend, I made this...

Baked Cod with Tomato Olive Caper Salsa over Cous Cous with Green Beans

There really isn't a recipe for this one, I just made it off the top of my head. The salsa has cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers, olive oil and parsley. I baked the cod in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes. Delish!

14 Days of Frugality- DAY TEN

We are ten days in and feeling great. Jeremy and I have more energy, more money and weigh less. This 14 days of frugality started with just saving money, but somewhere around day two we stepped it up a notch. We added more rules, none of which had anything to do with saving money.

Rule 1: We wake together and go to bed together. Sometimes our schedules are hectic and we often wake and sleep at different times. These past 10 days we have made a serious effort to get up at the same time and go to bed at the same time. This means that Jeremy is waking about 2 hours earlier than he is used to... because of this his day feels longer and he literally has more time. We've achieved this 10 out of the 10 days.

Rule 2: We must do a cardiovascular exercise every day. Either running, biking, squash or swimming. We've achieved this 8 out of the 10 days

Rule 3: We must take time out everyday to meditate. Meditation is a practice that we started about 2 years ago and it consists of us sitting in a quiet space, together, in complete silence with our eyes closed and focusing on our breathing for 5 minutes. We've done this 9 out of the 10 days.

Rule 4: We must keep an "I love" thread. Everyday and sometimes several times a day we add another thing we love to an email thread. Some include,
"I love that there are seagulls on our street."
"I love the thought of being able to x-cty ski on my street."
"I love that Max loves it here."
"I love having fun with you."
No matter how busy the day is we take the time to add to the list, reminding ourselves of the good things in life. After all, it is the little things that matter most.

All this may sound corny, but exercising, taking the time to express the things you are thankful for (you can even keep a gratitude journal) and making a point to be mindful in all that you do will lead to a happier life. Being married isn't easy, anyone will tell you that. It takes hard work. When we make a point to be healthy and mindful we bicker less, listen more and spend more time enjoying each other.

This experiment has been so good for us in so many ways. I don't want it to end.

Onto today... Max is in daycare today and I took advantage of the day the way I always do, cleaning. But first, we needed to start with some cardio. We headed out to Back Cove and ran 3 miles. It was harder than it needed to be mainly because it was hot and a little because we are out of shape. Once home, I cleaned a bit, hung out a bit and unpacked a little (yes, it is true, we are still not completely unpacked). And then I sat down to prep for our glorious gourmet meal... Beer Can Chicken!

Last weekend Jeremy and I were trying to figure out how, by not breaking any rules, we could treat ourselves to a beer. I told him that the only way we could buy it is if it was an "ingredient" in a meal. Jeremy quickly came back with a recipe, "Beer Can Chicken!!" He exclaimed. With little to no more discussion I was in the store buying us some beer, for our beer can chicken recipe. And today is the day that I will make said chicken. I rode my bike to the butcher shop and got us a 3.20 pound bird.

-Preheat grill and set for indirect heat (the outside burners on, the middle burners off, no fire directly under the chicken)

-Wash the bird and dry with paper towel. Rub him down with olive oil and some dried herbs. I used salt, pepper, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, onion powder, thyme, tarragon, celery seed.

- Take a beer, drink 1/2 (that's the fun part) shove the beer can up the bird's butt.

- Stand him up on the grill in the center. Close the lid. Cook for 1 hour to 1.5 hours.

- Test doneness with a thermometer, 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh. Let him sit for 10 minutes before carving.

I barely noticed that it took over an hour to make. I was busy bathing Max and cleaning up. Before I knew it, it was done! I served the bird with roasted potatoes and carrots. It came out juicy and very flavorful. We will definitely be making this again!

14 Days of Frugality- DAY NINE

This morning started with a few games of squash while Max hung out with the girls in the Y childcare for an hour. Then home for oatmeal and iced coffee. I have decided to cut our coffee intake in half, so we are each getting one tall glass per day instead of two. We really look forward to it and we would feel deprived without it. I think this will work.

Today was beautiful and I wanted to spend some time outside so I took Max to Freeport where all the outlet stores are. I needed to buy some presents and had a store credit, so it was all kosher. Our new rule for presents is "nothing over $30" we try to spend $20 and under, but may go up to $30 if need be. Besides, it is the thought that counts when it comes to gift giving, not the cost, right?

We got our presents and walked around in the cool breeze for a bit. We went into the Sea Bag outlet and I was taunted by the great deals that lay inside. No, No, you don't need a bag and neither does Leah. (Maybe if I bought it for someone else it would be justified?) Then back to the street that smells of good food. Linda Beans lobster rolls, hot dog carts, smoothies, juice, chips... so many yummy goodies... everywhere. I knew that I could easily buy something and eat it and then just not tell anyone. But, I knew that if Jeremy asked I would have a hard time lying and I KNEW I wouldn't be able to lie in my blog post. So I abstained and ate the banana and drank the water that I brought with me from home. I am just a little proud of myself.

From Freeport we went straight to Broadturn Farm to pick up this week's share. It consisted of, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Pan Squash, Basil, Dill, Green Leaf Lettuce, Red Leaf Lettuce, Green Beans, Sugar Snap Peas, Carrots, Heirloom Tomato, Sunkist Tomatoes, Radishes, Red Cabbage, Radicchio and Arugula. It was the largest share so far and I was so excited to bring it all home to show Jeremy. As planned, I made Penne with Chicken and Vegetables, a recipe that I got from the Whole Foods Market Meals for 4 Under $10 flyer. I changed the recipe a lot, adding more vegetables than they asked for and not using the vegetable broth because I didn't have any. It came out really tasty and good thing because I made a ton! It took me approximately 30 minutes to make and most of that time was spent cutting up the vegetables, which you can easily do ahead of time.

Penne with Chicken and Vegetables, Serves 4

1/2 pound chicken breast, poached in 2 cups vegetable broth, then sliced*
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 yellow onion, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced**
1 red bell pepper sliced
2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes (about 4 tomatoes)
10 grape tomatoes, halved
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Poach the chicken breast in 2 cups of vegetable broth in a pasta pot, for 5 to 7 minutes until it's cooked through. Leave vegetable broth in the pan. Let the chicken rest and then shred with a fork.

Heat a large pan and add a little bit of olive oil and fry the onion and garlic until slightly soft and aromatic. Use the remaining vegetable broth to keep the onion and other vegetables from sticking. Add red bell pepper and sliced sun-dried tomatoes. Let it cook for two minutes and add tomatoes, zucchini and capers. Let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables are soft, but not over cooked.

In the meantime, to the pasta pot, add 8 cups water to the vegetable broth used to poach the chicken; bring to a boil. Add penne and cook al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta liquid and drain the pasta. Pour the pasta and reserved liquid in to the pan with the vegetables. Ass the chicken, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix and serve hot or cold.

*I didn't have broth so I just pan cooked it in a little bit of olive oil and then added a tad of water, covered it and let it steam up and cook.

**I ALWAYS double and sometimes triple the amount of garlic a recipe calls for.

I also added summer squash and green beans to mine.

14 Days of Frugality- DAY EIGHT

The further into the project I get the easier it is becoming to be frugal. We started the morning with a run and then oatmeal and iced coffee. For lunch I made falafel sandwiches from ingredients I had in the house. Nothing too exciting. Then Max and I set out to grocery shop. I have never been able to do one big shop for the whole week, but I have mastered getting everything I need for 3 or 4 days. First, I find all the recipes that I would like to make and write down all the ingredients and then we head out. We hit up Trader Joe's first. I know I can't get everything I need there, but what I can get is a great deal. I picked up some more pizza dough for 99 cents and popped it in the freezer. It freezes well and defrosts easily by just sitting it on the counter an hour or so before you want to use it. All the pizzas I make are cheese-less and sauce-less and are more like eating baked bread topped with goodies. It's a good fail safe and I like to have a few bags of dough in the house. Whole Foods sells it too, not only is it more expensive, it is packaged terribly. They sell their dough in plastic containers with pop off lids. If you leave it in the fridge for a few days the dough rises and explodes out of the container, causing a mess and making the dough inedible. This only happened to me once, but was enough for me to stop buying their dough. Gosh... I don't know where this rant about dough came from... sorry... moving along. After Trader Joe's we headed over to Whole Foods for a few things, mussels, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and milk. By buying things at Trader Joe's instead of Whole Foods I estimate that I saved around $30. Once home, I focused on making an amazing, healthy, gourmet dinner for $10.

Spanish Style Mussels with Spinach
Serves 4

2 lbs mussels (We got Moosabec mussels, from Maine)
2 jalapeno peppers
1 lime, plus zest
1.5 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 10 oz box frozen spinach
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 14.5 oz can no salt added organic diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

-Scrub mussels with vegetable brush under cold running water, set aside to drain. Discard any mussels with broken shells.

-Slice jalapenos in half lengthwise, remove seeds and veins and set aside. Zest the lime, set zest aside, then cut lime in half and set aside.

-In medium pot, add coconut milk and frozen spinach, and cook 3-5 minutes over medium heat until spinach has thawed and separated. Stir in cilantro, jalapenos, and lime zest. Squeeze lime juice into pot and then toss in the whole lime along with tomatoes, oregano and pepper. Stir.

-Bring to a simmer to combine flavors. Add mussels, stir and then cover pot, cooking for 4-6 minutes until mussels have opened.

This took me 15 minutes to make, start to finish.

I also toasted up a baguette from the freezer to dip in the broth. The meal was outstanding and the broth was so good we couldn't throw it away. It is in the fridge and I am planning to cook some chicken breasts in it tomorrow.

I pick up my farm share tomorrow and will most likely make Penne with Chicken and Vegetables, a dish that we both think will keep and reheat well. I am also planning to roast a chicken over a beer can later in the week, that should be interesting.

As for unnecessary spending, I keep thinking of things that I could cut out to save even more, like our morning iced coffee. Every time I make coffee for us I use 12 tablespoons of grounds and it makes enough for us to each have two large cups of iced coffee throughout the day. It is definitely a luxury and not a necessity. A pound of coffee costs $12 and I think we are going through about a pound a week. It is decaf so there would be no harm in cutting it out. But I am reluctant. Should I get rid of the coffee and save $12 a week? Or does it really not matter? This is the question I have been struggling with today.

14 Days of Frugality- DAY SEVEN

This morning started out with a run at back cove. The air was a little cooler than lately and the breeze off the water felt great. After our run we came home and started thinking about how we were going to spend the day. Jeremy told me that he wanted to make Vietnamese sandwiches (Banh Mi) and I was ecstatic. I put Max down for a nap and then assisted Jeremy with the preparation for the sandwiches. At the time, we thought that we were just going to whip up some sandwiches... that was hardly the case. The Vietnamese sandwiches took us 3 hours to make!!! I am a 30-minute kind of cook. If a recipe is going to take any longer, I am not interested. However, these sandwiches are worth every minute, and can be made faster if some things are prepped ahead of time. Oh yum... I would definitely make then again.

Here is the recipe.

Vietnamese Sandwiches

Marinated Carrots
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
* 1/4 teaspoon (rounded) salt
* 3 cups shredded carrots

Sandwiches
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 6 garlic cloves, minced
* 4 shallots, chopped
* 2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc nam)
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 2 teaspoons five-spice powder
* 6 large skinless boneless breasts
* 6 6-inch-long pieces baguette, split lengthwise, some of soft centers removed
* Mayonnaise
* 1 cucumber, sliced thinly lengthwise
* 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
* 12 fresh cilantro sprigs
* 2 jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced crosswise
* Additional soy sauce

For marinated carrots:
Whisk first 3 ingredients in large bowl until dissolved. Add carrots; toss to coat. Put everything in a sealed zip lock bag (push out the air) let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. (Can be prepared 5 days ahead. Cover and chill.) Drain well.

For sandwiches:
Mix first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken; turn to coat. Let marinate at room temperature in a sealed zip lock bag (push out the air) for 1 hour.

Heat a pan on the stove. Pour the chicken and marinade into the pan. Cook for about 6 minutes per side. When almost done, use two forks to pull the chicken apart into small pieces. Transfer to plate; tent with foil to keep warm.

Grill in the same pan the cut sides of bread until lightly toasted. Spread mayonnaise on bottom half of baguette pieces. Top with cucumber slices. Top each with pulled chicken, marinated carrots, then onion slices and cilantro sprigs. Sprinkle with jalapeño slices, soy sauce, and ground black pepper. Place top baguette piece over, pressing to compact, and serve immediately.

As we were sitting to eat our sandwiches, Max woke up from his nap. We gave him lunch and headed out to the Eastern Promenade for a stroll. The Eastern Promenade is one of the prettiest parks in Portland.

All in all it was a good day with lots of activity and healthy food. I hope to have a ton more just like it.