rule of thumb - day 20 (year 2)

in which our plucky heroine has a good breakfast...

starting the day on a brighter note, my kitchen experiment with swapping out cooked kasha (buckwheat groats) for the cooked rice in Spinach Rice Bake* was an unqualified success! I've already tried from time to time changing out the vegetable for what I have on hand, but this was the first time with an alternate starch. Since I adore kasha, and try to be sparing with my rice useage because arsenic, this is a win win.

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I have long found apron straps to cause trouble inside the drum of the washing machine by entangling other clothing into stupid knots... and finally came up with a solution: instead of laundry day tangles, detachable straps/ties!

My first step was to create a leather spacer to keep the crossed straps tidy. Two layers of fairly thick leather glued together, then cut to shape, the holes punched at the ends where the cut slits are serve the same function as grommets, to distribute the strain and keep the leather from tearing out.

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the strap guide keeps them neatly centered in the back (without the guide, straps tend to cross right behind the neck, which I find most uncomfortable), and the straps then go through loops at the waist, cross one more time, and either buckle or tie closed.

the entire apron strap assembly is detachable, as it connects to the bib of the apron with this clever swivel/snap hook hardware... The whole system now works like a charm to defeat the laundry day blues, and I can have several work aprons in rotation but only need the one set of straps. I now will be making a heavy shop/gardening apron, in addition to the lightweight kitchen aprons

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beauty in the time of isolation:

callery pear flowers, they don't fruit and are common street trees...
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April SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	-	cover smaller sleeve board	yard waste bin
2	-	-	recycle bin
3	x	x	-
4	x	x	-
5	x	x	-
6	x	x	-
7	x	x	-
8	x	x	-
9	x	x	x
10	x	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - this recipe from my childhood is become a staple breakfast dish, or equally well as a potluck contribution, should we ever have social gatherings again...

* Spinach Rice Bake
1 C cooked starch (rice, kasha, bulgar etc)
1 C shredded cheese
1 c cooked veg, chopped
2 eggs
2 T melted butter
2 t chopped onion
⅓ C milk (or 1 T dry milk and ⅓ C water)
½ t Worcester sauce
½ t dried herbs (or such fresh herbs as seem pleasing)

10 x 6 baking dish, 350°F, 20 - 25 min