Arti-what?

Hi girlsies,
We just had a dinner that turned out pretty well- rice, artichoke and salmon. The rice was the same ol' fav with lemon, a bay leaf and chicken broth. Yum as always. As for the artichoke, I found a website that recommended throwing in the water a bay leaf, a garlic clove and a slice of lemon. I'll be honest- I couldn't tell much of a difference, but it sure made the house smell good! And here's a good, easy salmon recipe, that was really quite nice as found at allrecipes.com:

Easy Salmon

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
6 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter one 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a cup, combine salad dressing mix, water and lemon juice.
Arrange salmon fillets in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. Pour the water mixture over the top and place the sliced mushrooms over the salmon.
Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes, basting with cooking liquids.

I'll be honest- we only had one salmon fillet, and I guessed and didn't measure the ingredients. But it was still tasty.

And I never knew how much sugar banana bread had in it before I made some without. But if you want a nice, flavored (not sweet) bread, here's the sugar-free banana bread recipe I made tonight. I liked it, especially with butter.

HOME-STYLE BANANA BREAD

3/4 c. mashed bananas1/3 c. vegetable oil2 lg. eggs1/2 c. water2 c. flour1 tsp. baking soda2 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. cinnamon1/2 tsp. nutmeg1 c. chopped nuts
Beat together mashed banana, oil, eggs and water until creamy. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Beat well. Stir in nuts. Spoon batter into oiled and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Spread batter evenly. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack before slicing.

Create!

Dear Daughters, Sons, Husband and Everyone, Happy March! Here's a spring-fresh message for the month. Much love to everyone.

Go Green! Even in Provo!

Hi Family!
So, I found this cool blog called "Sustainable Living in Provo." Way to go, Jolyn. Way to plant a garden, do co-oping, and recycle, even in Provo.
It was on that blog that I found this site where you can take a short test to find out how many "earths" we would need if everyone lived like you. It's kind of interesting. I do believe that there is "enough and to spare," but we might still have to give up a few things and share a bit more.
Lately I have been thinking about how important it is to take care of the earth, however we can in our own little sphere. For a while I have tried to be conscious about little things- how many paper towels I use when I wash my hands in a public restroom, not putting the shower on full power, not cutting across the grass, and more recently, using my re-useable shopping bags. I'm always impressed at how Mom is always thinking about ways to be conscious of her "ecological footprint," by avoiding plastic wrap, and other things.
What else do you do, Mom?
What do YOU do, Laurel, Hannah, Micah, Rachel, Dad, Andrew and whoever else might be reading this blog?
While waiting in the temple this week, I read a few great scriptures on our responsibility to this beautiful earth.

D&C 59:16-20 Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth; Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards; Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul. And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

The other scripture I especially liked was D&C 104:11-14.

So, I hear that Dad is currently writing a paper about this sort of thing. Dad, how about you post about your paper? I'm thinking of doing a post about this on the andrewandariel blog, too, and I'm sure we'd all love to know more about your paper. Maybe you could just post the abstract so we can read the synopsis.

Anyway, until then... EARTH POWER!

The Magic Briefcase

There was a really great forum today. It was about giving. This Arthur Brooks has done lots of research on how being charitable makes people happier and richer. Interesting stuff that, of course, as Mormons we love to hear. His last story was kind of funny, and I thought worth repeating.
Last year when he came to visit the MPA school, as a thank-you, he was given a nice briefcase which said "Brigham Young University" on it. A few months later, his briefcase broke and his wife suggested he use the BYU one, which he did. He realized after a while that people who saw him carry around this BYU briefcase thought he was Mormon (he's a faithful Roman Catholic). He said it really petrified him, because he worried that he might be impolite or something, and people would say, "I saw this really rude Mormon at the airport today." He said that every day he worked really hard to be on his best behavior, because he knew of the high standard we live, and that we are known to be very generous people. He said it made his life better. He also said he was getting a new briefcase.

Pray for Jodie

Please pray for our neighbor, Jodie Cashen. She's been having contractions today with her twins, and it's over two months early. Thanks!

How to Pinch your Penny

Rae-rae and I just had a lovely talk on the phone tonight. Among other things, we talked about ways to be thrifty. I thought I'd post a few, and I hope other people will post what they've learned, or add a comment to this post.
Let the Money-Saving-Forum start!
-Buy in bulk. (especially things that won't go bad- good shampoo sale? Buy tons)
-Use bar soap (way cheaper, but it does dry out your hands)
-Shop dollar store. You'd be surprised what you can find there- shampoo, soup, cleaning supplies, etc etc. I got five toothbrushes for 1$ there!
-Sign up for . Then if you ever shop online, go to the websites through fatwallet.com, and they often give you cash rebates (sometimes up to 10% of the original cost). They also show the deals going on around the Internet.
-There are tons of websites that will come up when you search "cheap healthy meals." Just make sure you're getting your greens!
-Know what foods are cheap and what foods are expensive by comparison.
-Compare prices. There are lots of websites like that will aid you in that. They can help you compare the prices of online goods, but there are also some sites that will help compare grocery prices in your neighborhood. All grocery store prices are not created equal. Sites like this can be a big help
-I guess this only applies to me right now, but go to consignment stores for kids clothes. You can often find nice stuff, and kids grow so fast that you can often find stuff that hasn't been worn much and is still in style. I also found out that at ShopKo you can take in any clothes that you have bought there that your child has worn out but still fits, and they'll replace it for free. Pretty cool. I'll bet you could do that, Rae, if you shop in the kids department there :)
-Never buy drinks. You guys probably don't anyway.
-Ask stores when their best sales are.
-Sell old textbooks on Amazon (better prices than other textbook-selling websites)(Soon! Before they become more outdated!)
-For costs that you can anticipate (like birthdays and Christmas), start setting money aside earlier in the year, and set a limit.
-Give homemade gifts.
-Eat oatmeal instead of cold cereal. BIG price difference (and healthier).
-Other cheap foods are rice, potatoes, hotdogs :)
-Meat and cheese can add up fast, so use them sparingly
-Rent DVDs from the library
-Invite yourselves over to rich people's houses to eat.
-Keep closets and pantries, etc closed so you're not paying to heat them
-Keep lights off that you're not using (but it's not worth sitting in the dark!)
-Steal flowers from someone's garden instead of buying them
-Walk and bike as much as possible to avoid transportation costs (including wear on your car)
Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head! Any other ideas?

When That Day Comes

We got a post card from Elder Osborn today! Here's what he said:

Feb 4, 2009

Dear the Galli Family (and extended family),

Things are going great here in Malaysia. I am still in Ipoh (7 months tomorrow) with my 2nd companion, Elder Shipp. I love the people of Malaysia, even the Muslims who even if they are interested, we can't teach the gospel to (not yet, anyway. When that day comes the Church will explode here n this part of the world). I'm enjoying the work more and more every day. The plan of salvation is for all of Heavenly Father's children, no matter what culture, and the Church of Jesus Christ is for all. I know I belong here. Thanks to Rachel for the wedding invite, and to all of you for the support and love thru letters, email, and prayers. Thanks for the Christmas $, too. It's worth 3x's as much here. I am so grateful to have you all as friends. Continue to take advantage of the Atonement of the Savior, and keep doing member missionary work. It makes conversion much smoother.

--Kasih Sayang (Love)

Elder Osborn (followed by oriental characters.)

He sounds so good! Let's keep up the letters and prayers.