Easy Pantry Meal: Black Bean Stew

Hey There! I am slowly trying to get back into my blogging grove! Thanks for hanging in there with me and welcome to all the newcomers who found me by way of Stacy Makes Cents!

Today I wanted to share a SUPER EASY recipe that is pretty much a pantry meal. It is so filling though and makes great leftovers. And, it is SO GOOD! It comes from a recipe I found via Rachel Ray but I went on to make my own adjustments according to what I have in my pantry. The recipe is so versatile, you can change it up however you like.

Black Bean Stew

Ingredients
4 strips bacon, diced (or coconut oil if you are out of bacon)
24ish ounces of black beans, cooked (if you don't presoak/cook your beans and store in the freezer, which I highly recommend!, two cans of black beans works fine!)
1 Onion
2 stalks Celery
4 Garlic Cloves
1 heaping tsp, Cumin
1 tbs Coriander
1 tsp of chilli powder
1 tbs worchester sauce
1.5 tsp hot sauce
1 can diced tomatos - I like fire roasted for this stew
1 jar tomato sauce
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup rice (not the quick cooking kind)

Directions
Cook your diced bacon in your dutch oven pot (or heat your coconut oil if you have no bacon).

When bacon is done, remove and leave grease to sautee the onion/celery/garlic in. Sautee until veggies start to soften. Then add in your beans. (If you do not have an immersion blender, take 1/4-1/2 of the beans and mash them before adding to make the soup more of a stew consistency)

Add your spices, Worchester & Hot Sauce. Stir in to combine.

Add your tomato ingredients and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add rice, take to a nice simmer and cook 15 minutes or so until rice is done.

When rice is done, if you have an immersion blender, go ahead and give the soup a few whizzes now to make it more of a stew consistency. Salt and Pepper to taste.


This 'stew' is seriously SO GOOD. We like it with a dollop of sour cream and a side of tortilla chips on the side for some dipping :) Hubby likes to add some cheese to his as well. Try it soon on a chilly night. It sticks to your ribs and makes great lunch leftovers Day 2. My toddler loves it too. Don't worry - it isn't too spicy!

Local Halloween

Everyone knows I am all about local, real food & sustainability.

And, I LOVE Halloween...so I thought these were too funny!!

The Blue Moon

Did you know that this evening, we can witness a 'blue moon'?

It will be the first one since 1999!

A blue moon happens when you have more than one full moon in a month.

If you research the 'blue moon', you will find lots of folklore and stories about how the blue moon came to be, what actually defies a blue moon and so on.

These are a few things I have heard this week that peaked my interest!

It is told that is a child is born on a blue moon, they are born with a '6th sense' if you will!! They are more in tune with their surroundings and they grow up to be very social adults. I also heard that is a baby is conceived on a Full Moon (note, not a blue moon, just a full moon), that they will also be born on a full moon. It's true. Go google your birthday and see if it is was a full moon...then do the math. ;)

For those of us 'lucky' enough to have had, or have a spirit(s) residing with us in our homes, the week leading up the blue moon is a week of heightened activity for your fellow house guests! You will find more things are coming up missing or broken. And then, at 11:59pm on the evening of the blue moon, everything will revert back to it's normal 'presence'! Just like that!

Share with me, please!

I am pretty sure, pretty positive, I feel WORSE with this pregnancy than I did with my first one. I still have no energy, no appetite, and the thought of having to make dinner EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT makes me want to die. Which, is definitely not me! I LOVE making dinners :)

I could leave it up to hubby, but I am not down with frozen meals every night - which for the record, is exactly what he did the first time around. But now that we have a little to feed, I am not ok with that! ;)

So, can you help me please? Can you share with me some EASY crockpot recipes or casserole receipes I can quickly throw together when I get home?

I would really, really appreciate it! As would my family! I know they miss a decent dinner!!

A Recipe...and things

I'm trucking along. Most of the time I still feel nauseous, which rocks -- NOT. Yesterday, I pulled it together to make a stir-fry for dinner because for whatever reason, that is what my mind was telling me I wanted to eat! I made it. And it was super easy and super delish, so I am sharing it with you today. Hubby couldn't believe how good it was and I believe his words to me were something like 'See how good it is when you don't spend two hours making it with 500 ingredients'! Ha - he's just a freaking comedian!

In other news, Gypsy had a rough day yesterday :/ She was out all day but seemed pretty stiff still. I watched her from the window most of the day while I canned more tomato sauce. I am not ready to throw in the towel on her yet - I am still holding out some hope. But yesterday was not a good day for her. This morning, she ever so politely already had the barn light turned on for me when I got outside and was anxious to get out of the barn. That was a good sign. She was stiff, but it seemed maybe there was a tad of improvement. And she walked out to the pasture a little faster than yesterday. So I am hopefully she'll look ok when I get home. She is loosing some weight though because she isn't eating her grain. I am hesistant to be too concerned on that yet because she is muching grass all day, but I would like to see more weight on her bones.

I took this photo of her last evening, right before dusk, with my cell through the kitchen window. Everyone else was tucked in their stalls for the night with hay, and she looked so peaceful.

So please keep my Gypsy in your thoughts and prayers.

And then go enjoy this super easy recipe! I altered it from a recipe I found in a BHG cookbook I have. You can obviously edit it to whatever you have on hand - the luxury of a stir-fry!

Simple Stir-Fry

1 cup Water

3 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar (if you don't have, I am sure white vinegar is fine too)

2 Chicken Breast, chopped

1 Green Pepper, diced or sliced

8oz mushrooms, sliced

1 can Baby Corn

2 cloves of garlic

Peanut or Coconut Oil for stir-frying

Rice to serve it over

Mix your three liquids together and marinate the chicken in it for 30 minutes. Heat your oil in a wok or skillet, throw in all your veggies and fry up for 3 minutes or so. Then remove. Add more oil if neccessary. Then add in your chicken (saving marinade) and stir-fry just until no longer pink. Move chicken to outer edge of pan and dump in marinade liquid. Bring to a boil and stir it around with chicken for a minute or two. Then add your veggies back in and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Serve over rice.

Link Loitering, August 17

Loving this article! Eat like it is 1950

I am a total FREAK when it comes to Halloween! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT - My most favoritest holiday of the year. I have been pinning like crazy over on Pinterest and found this! Do you think it was cause physcological damage to raise children in a home where this is part of the Halloween decor?

How about this graphic - who has seen this? These companies oppose GMO labeling. What a shame.

For more info on Prop. 37 - go here.

“If you're afraid of butter, use cream.” Julia Child ... Love it! Happy 100th B-day this past week to Julia Child :)

Hard Times with Horses

And no - the title of this blog post doesn't refer to the fact that hay is at an EXTREMELY OUTRAGEOUS cost right now in addition to there being basically none anywhere in sight either. But, I digress.

Everyone whose read this blog for any period of time knows my Gypsy Girl.

She is a 27 year Appaloosa Mare that I rescued in 2005. I also learned a lot of firsts riding her. And for that matter, taught a handful of others a lot of their 'firsts' riding her as well!

Now a days, Gypsy is just living the golden life. Retired, soaking up treats and love and loving when my nieces and nephews come to visit.

You might recall the heart attack, stroke and nine grays hairs she gave me about this time last year.

Well - she gone and did it again! This mare - I tell ya!

So prepare yourself. I will try to not get too long winded with this story, but that hope is doubtful. And I am going to be brutally honest, too.

About a week ago, we woke up the find Gypsy hanging out in the yard. Seems she kicked her stall door continually until she busted the lock open. She's done this before so I wasn't shocked. She doesn't stray far from the herd either, so I wasn't too worried. She camped out by Romeo, the pony, all night. However, I noticed her shoulder was a little knicked up...adn then, she tried to walk. And it wasn't happening. *ugh* [enter pit in stomach]

Have you ever heard the saying, 'No Hoof, No Horse?' Well, the same is pretty much true with a horses leg too! One cannot surive on three legs with the amount of weight they have to support. Since this was a week day and I had to get to work, I checked her over, rubbed her down with some linament, left her in the barn, contained, so she could roam the aisle, and hoped she would work out the quirk by the time I got home. No such luck. She was extremely stiff on her front right leg and could barely walk.

So over the next few days, I treated her with linaments and some medicine for pain as I monitored her and tried to determine what the problem was. I had two guesses - my current farrier is a fool and trimmed her hooves wrong or she did something to her knicked up shoulder when she escaped the other night.

Monday evening I had second farrier (who comes highly recommend and is way booked up but luckily he lives close and fit us in since it was kinda of an emergency) come out and check her over. He agreed. it wasn't her hoof - it was something with her shoulder.

Now - there are a few problems with this.

1. This area can be hard to detect a bruise, fracture or break with an x-ray.

2. She'd need to be trailered to a specility hospital if we even wanted to give it a try. After all those expenses, the chances of an exact disagnoses were still slim.

Gypsy doesn't trailer well. And futhermore, she is 27 years old. I am pretty sure she didn't break it because she wouldn't be walking AT All. I decided I would continue to monitor her and see what happens. Some may call this neglectful, but you know what? I am going to toot my own horn for once. I don't proclaim to be an expert with horses by any mean whatsoever! But, I have had plenty of experiences in my years of rescue to feel comfortable enough in my knowledge, and the knowledge of the horse people around me, to know I can make a decision on what is best for Gypsy. I can recognize when she is suffering and make a decsion should it need to be made, albeit a hard decision not to be taken lightly.

So, for the next two days she seemed a tad better but not 100%. I was giving her free range to roam where she pleased that way she was getting movement instead of being stuck in a stall until we got home. She doesn't go far from her heard and she wasn't walking too well anyways so I wasn't worried about her wandering off. Then, yesterday I get a text from my neighbor as I am on my way home that she wandered into their yard. I guess she was feeling better!

When I got home and went to put her and Apollo out back in the pasture, she actaully surpassed Apollo and I and got back their first. Clearly she was feeling better, though I could still see she asn't walking 100%. When my hubby and I arrived back again with Daisy & Romeo, we noticed her and Apollo were rolling - nothing unusual. And I knew that was a good sign that she even went down to roll. But then, she couldn't get back up. And my second stroke, heart attack, and 24 more gray hairs happened.




Gypsy & Hubby

 Over the next 90 minutes or so, my hubby and I worked to help her get back on her feet. All while in the company of our 17 month old who did no less than climb to the top of the pasture gate inducing my third heart attack, and then playfully occupy himself by standing IN the water trough having a gay old time splashing around and beating the snot out of the water with a stick. Occassionaly he'd examine a few manure piles too :) At one point, while hubby and I were both attempting to help Gypsy get up, he started yelling and whimpering - I assume he was confused as to what was going on and knew something wasn't right. I don't know if you have ever had experience trying to help a 1,000 pound animal to their feet, but it isn't quite as gentle as helping a dog. A young kiddo watching could be easily confused!

At one point, I honestly thought she passed on her own and my heart broke. I thought to myself, she is such a good horse she even made that decision an easy one for me by letting herself go on her own. But, not yet. She is the mare of 9 lives, I guess. Because the next thing I know, she was giving it another go trying to get herself up. At one point, hubby was sitting down, indian style, next to her with her head literally in his lap. He was petting her and talking to her. My little one came over to them, sat on the other side of hubbys lap and petted Gypsy too, while he spoke his gibberish to her. My heart broke. BROKE people! I am hormonal as it is and this was all too much! This is something you see in a movie. Not in your own backyard. But then again, that is just how special this horse is. I met her when she was 19 - she taught me lots - and now my son was sitting beside her petting her while she didn't feel well.

And I have long spoke of her love for kids. My nephew once walk right underneath her quicker than I could realize what he was doing. Very, very dangerous. But, in my heart of hearts, I know she knew he shouldn't have done that and she'd stand still until he was safe again. She is just THAT kind of horse. You only get one in a lifetime. And as I stood there, crying, watching my husband and son comfort her, I swear as soon as my little guy caught her attention, she perked up. It gave her another bout of motivation to give it another try. I said to hubby quickly "now! grab her tail!" and just like that we did all we could to assist her in getting up. Gosh darn it if 5 minutes or so later, a horse I thought was gone was standing quietly, looking straight at us with a thank you on her face - this I know.

She was stiff, but she was back on her feet and she wasn't showing signs up distress. These were all good things. So I let them all be in the pasture until 9ish when it was time to come in for the night. She was walking better, but not great. This morning she promptly came right out of the barn into the yard in the morning when Allen opened it up. And she scurried away from me when I came to her with her syringe of applesauce and medicine. These are good signs! Only time will tell, but for now, we take it one day at a time.

A strange stillness dwells in the eye of the horse, a composure that appears to regard the world from a measured distance…It is a gaze from the depths of a dream… -Hans-Heinrich Isenbart

 

Harvest Time

Despite the severe lack of rain we've had this summer, our harvests have been wonderful.

And, unfortunately for me, since most everything and anything at the moment makes me sick, harvesting isn't something I am helping hubby out with much, but, none the less!

We had a great garlic harvest!

Our tomato's this year are off the hook! Which is great because last year we basically had none. But again, I am sad I am not enjoying as many as I had planned. 

We did get 3 qts canned today and 2 pts of sauce. There were 4 qts....until the bottom blew out on one. Don't you HATE it when that happens. Canning tomato's isn't two tedious when 2 are involved. Hubby and I have our assembly line down to a science. He cores and scores, I blanch and peel. 

The Zucchini , Squash and Broccoli have been off the hook! I am pretty sure there is a such thing as too much Zucchini!

Well...HELLO!

Well Hi There!

It's me - Allison!

I certainly hadn't planned this tad-over-a-month blogging break! Whoops. But, I will get to that more in a second! So, how are you? What's new? I have lots of blog catching up to do!

Here's what's happened in my neck of the woods lately!

1. Lots and Lots of Harvesting!

2. A great Annual Fourth on the Farm Party :)

3. A little boy I know is growing like a weed!

4. Pickling courtsey of Hubby!!

5. We FINALLY have an egg -- well, let me say, we finally have ONE chicken out of SIX whose decided to start laying!!

6. More Harvesting

7. An absolute AWESOME onion harvest for us this year! Hubby has since braided them all up after they dried out and has moved them down into his new, makeshift root cellar under the basement stairs!



8. And....we got some news we'll be adding to the family come February. So, the main reason for my extended abscence is that I have been feeling like a walking hangover 24/7 for the last month or so! Hopefully that will go away soon!

His Chicks

No, I am not joking.

This is my husband...

...cuddling with one of his chickens.

Him and 'Henny' have bonded. She leaves her flock to walk around the yard with him. They check out the apple trees, stroll the gardens, and make me gag!





Though he loves them all - and they hate that he does these things to them!

Chickens, anyone?

Weekly Meal Plan: June 24, 2012

It was a hot one this past week so I had to get a littler creative [aka, hubby cooks on the grill] so I didn't have to heat up the house with the stove!


Monday: Ground Beef & Mushroom Lasagna (We had a cold spell on Monday, so I fired up the oven!)

Tuesday: Pork Chops & mixed veggies on the grill


Wednesday: Cheeseburgers and Broccoli with Parmesan


Thursday: Homemade Egg McMuffins and Hashbrowns


Friday: Salmon on the grill & baked potatoes

I also wanted to share a few frugal ideas for lunches if you have to pack yourself, your kids, or your significant other a lunch on hot days during the summer. Here are a few things I have been doing.

- Homemade fruit salad - whatever fresh fruit is in season by you, cut it up into pieces to make your own fruit salad for lunches. This week in ours, we have watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes and blueberries. Obviously, the only thing that is fresh and in-season right now for our area is the blueberries. I purchased a half of each melon at the store as well as the grapes.

-Fresh Veggies - I have been cutting up pieces of fresh green peppers, carrots and celery and packing them up for lunches with homemade ranch dressing.

-And, one more frugal, time saving time you'll love yourself for when you have nothing to take for lunch! Burritos in the freezer. I just cooked up six burritos left over from a chicken we had for dinner. TOO EASY. Sprinkle some mexican seasoning on the chicken and put it in a tortilla with cilantro, cheese and tomatos (or whatever you like), roll, bake at 375 degrees for 10 min, wrap in wax paper and throw into a ziploc in the freezer. Grab one for lunch when you have no other options!

A Garden Update

We've had some decent rain over the past few weeks and things are taking off like gangbusters!

I'd love to show you a picture of our tomato plants, but they are resembling an amazon at the moment!

But check this out - my Copra onions are BULBING!

I am seriously excited about this!

Here is one side of our Cucumber patch and some of our beans.

The wooden trellis in the background has Black Turtle Beans at the bottom of it.



This is our 'Squash' garden this year.

From left to right, Bush Acorn Squah, a Zucchini and Yellow Squash.

Then, what you can't see to the right are some pepper plants and some broccoli plants - broccoli which will probably get ripped out because 1.) I think it bolted on us and 2.) the hens had a feast on the leaves!

Some Basil in a 'pot' with the herb garden behind it.



And of course, a photo of the apple crop :) They are coming along!

How is your garden growing?

We are about done with our Alaska Shelling Peas. As we pick the last few pods off each section, we rip out the section and throw it to the hens - they LOVE it!!

Summer Solstice & Faerie's!

Today is the Summer Solstice!

The first day of Summer.

The longest day of the year.

It is said that, aside for Halloween, Midsummer is a prime time to catch a glimpse of a faerie. Do you believe? According to a past article I read in the Farmer's Almanac by Jamie McLeod, anyone who wants to catch a glimpse of a faerie can gather fern spores at the stroke of midnight and rub it onto their eyelids. You have to be careful, though, because the crafty faeries often led unwary humans astray, getting them utterly lost, even in familiar territory. This condition was known as being “pixie-led,” and could be safeguarded against by turning your clothing inside out, or carrying a small a few leaves of rue, a strong-smelling evergreen, in your pocket. :)

If you have little ones, make some Lavender wands for them to carry around while they watch for faerie's!

Midsummer, the Summer Solstice, is also said to be a time fo fertility for your crops.

And since it is the one day of the year with the longest amount of sunlight, get out and get your Vitamin D :)

How are you celebrating the Summer Solstice?

Photo Source

Recipe: Caprese Meatballs

I took my go-to meatball recipe and altered it to what I had on hand - FRESH HERBS!

Pow - what a difference, a lovely difference, it makes!

I served them over Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara :)

Caprese Meatballs

Slightly adapted from my go to meatball recipe, which is slighly adapated from Jessica's recipe!

1# ground chuck (Mine is sometimes a tad over a pound)
1 egg

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 - 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
6-8 basil leaves, chopped
3 sprigs of oregano leaves - I left mine whole :)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
...and your marinara sauce of choice. I used homemade or jarred whole san marzanos doctored up!

Mix all ingredients except the sauce - form into meatballs, place in a baking dish. Cover with your marinara sauce and bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes depending on the size of your meatballs.

Leftovers are great the next day as is, or on a sub bun :)

Enjoy!

Weekly Meal Plan: June 18, 2012

This past weekend was a busy one with cook-outs and birthday parties! This coming weekend will be our first CSA pick-up and I believe this time around, it will be two chickes - yahoo! I can't wait!

Sunday: Shrimp Sauerkraut Eggrolls

Monday: Grilled Chicken and Roasted Cauliflower

Tuesday: Chicken Quesadillas on the grill with leftover chicken from Monday night :) And fresh Cilantro from the herb garden.

Wednesday: Caprese Meatballs & Spagehtti (recipe coming this week!)

Caprese Meatballs & Spaghetti

Thursday: Burgers on the grilled with steamed broccoli & parmesan cheese

Friday: BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

Saturday: Hot Ham & Cheese


I am trying to be creative with meals since it has been so hot and I don't want to turn on the oven in the house. We are doing a lot of grilling - and clearly, this past week was chicken week!

A Father & his Son!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there.

Dad's wear big shoes too, you know!

They stand tall and have a little shadow. 

A shadow that watches their every move. Listens to their every word.

Learning from everything they do!

Happy Father's Day!

Link Loitering, June 15

Sorry, but Subway isn't good for you either!

Do you  have Chard growing like gangbusters in your garden right now? Because I sure do! I found this interesting recipe from Renee's Garden that I want to try!

This chick is whack!

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Take a moment to help improve the Farm Bill!

Image Source

Tell me this dosen't make you laugh :)

Ha HA HAAAAA

**LOVE**

Packing a Real Food Lunch for an 'Almost Toddler'

Today I am guest posting over at Bamboo Magazine again.

This time, I am sharing with you things I pack in my sons lunch. I consider him an 'almost Toddler' - he is 15 months!

Check it out here and tell me what you think?

Do you pack a lunch for your young ones?

What ideas can you share?

Recipe: Chicken & Beet Salad

This is too easy to probably even qualify as both a blog post and a recipe. But it is too good not to share.

First, I apologize - no photos. I tried 900 ways to take a photo of this salad that didn't make it look like cat vomit - sorry, no luck. Have you lost your appetite now too? Bummer! But really - try this!

Here is what I use:
Champagne Vinaigrette Dressing from this salad
Romaine Lettuce from the garden
Leftover chicken from the previous nights dinner, sliced/shredded/chunked...whatever you prefer!
Roasted Beets left over from the previous nights dinner!
Cheese - I like some shredded Mozzarella and some Blue Cheese - what a combo, I know!

If you are going to make this to take to lunch the next day, I put the dressing at the bottom of a jar, then dump everything else minus the lettuce. In the morning I add the lettuce on top. At lunch time, I shake it all up and 'ta-daaa'  - salad that isn't soggy! I have pinterest to thank for that trick ;)

Give it a try, I bet you'll like it. And if you tell me you don't like beets, I am going to ask you - "Do you know you don't like beets, or do you just think you don't like beets?" :) Because when they are roasted, they are nice and sweet!

**

This post is linked up at the Pennywise Platter!

Simple Shrimp Eggrolls...with Sauerkraut!

This recipe happened kinda by accident.

I needed to make something for lunch on Sunday. A few thoughts I had didn't work because I was missing ingredients. I had some mini frozen shrimp still in the freezer from when I made Fishmarket Salads. I had some frozen eggroll wrappers leftover from a previous eggroll adventure. And I had some Sauerkraut fermenting on the counter in my Ferment-O! Duh, Shrimp Eggrolls, right?

Don't expect precise measurements here. For one, I rarely follow measurements to the 'T' ...drives my sister nuts :) For two, I threw these together with what I had on hand.

Ingredients

1/2 bag of frozen shrimp

egg roll wrappers

sauerkraut

soy sauce

Defrost the shrimp and then let it sit in a bowl of soy sauce for a little bit in the fridge.

Chop up your sauerkraut fine enough to be stuffed into egg rolls.

Make sure your wrappers are thawed.

Preheat your oven to 400* F

Mix your Shrimp and Sauerkraut together, place a dab onto each wrapper, roll them up and place them seam side down on a baking sheet lined with foil or a silpat. Brush the tops with some olive oil and bake for 10-12 minutes.

When they are done, give them a few minutes to cool and dip in soy sauce!

Other ideas for filling - some shredded carrot. I was going to add bean sprouts but I figured the kraut was enough!

Other dipping sauce ideas: add some sriracha to your soy, or some wasabi!

Harvest Monday, June 11

This past week we have been harvesting Alaska Shelling Peas like mad. We also continue to harvest our Chard and Crisp Mint Romaine. It is so frequent now I forget to grab photos! Herbs too -- don't forget all the fresh herbs! I need to start drying some out.

We picked the scapes off our hard neck garlic this week!

We pulled a few bulbs too just too peek. Not bad...not looking too bad!

This post is linked up at Daphne's Dandelions for Harvest Monday! Check out other gardeners and what kind of harvest they are blogging about.

Weekly Meal Plan - June 10

Sunday: Mongolian Beef in the crockpot

I also made a batch of Strawberry Baked Oatmeal that was packed in lunches for the babe and I during the week!

Monday: Pork Chops in a Cream Caper Sauce with Rice and Broccoli


Tuesday: Taco Crunch Wraps

Extras were great for lunch the next day! Just not quite as crunchy ;)

Wednesday: Homemade Belgian Waffles with cream cheese and my homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Though this may sound exotic or intense, I was looking for an easy out for dinner. All I had to do was whip up the batter, which took a whole 5 minutes, and the waffles cooked right in my waffle maker. Warm some cream cheese and spread it on with your jam and you are good to go!

Thursday: Portabella Garlic Scape Pasta

Another 'wing-it' type of dinner. I had 'bellas that needed use, we just harvested our garlic scapes and I had some cream in the fridge and whole wheat rotinis in the cupboard! I added some onions in the pan with the mushrooms and some parmesan cheese in with the cream and there were barely enough leftovers for me to take to lunch!

Friday: Grilled Steak Cobb Salads with Garlic Scape Dressing and lettuce from the garden!

Saturday: Grassfed Kabobs on the grill with fresh veggies from the farmers market and a homemade pasta salad!

15 Months - the Babe

These photos are from throughout the week, but I can't believe today my little man turned 15 months old!

15 MONTHS!

Seriously?

This was him just last June! 

*gasp* He is so tiny!

Now look at him! He 'rides rollercoasters!' 

He walks all over the place...

No really, like, wherever he wants to go. I just follow!

And he is already practicing his seat for when he is able to get on the his own real horse!

Link Loitering; June 8, 2012

Top 10 GMO foods to avoid

Another reason I say NO to teething gels for the babe! [We use Hyland's Teething tablets and they seem to work well.]

Shopping at Farmers Markets make you feel better!

Check out the HLN interview with Lisa and her family, from 100 Days of Real Food !

'Corny - I know!'
But you know you laughed! LOL

Happy Weekend Everyone!

8 Week Update: Chickens

The girls are 8 weeks now.

They are becoming more and more adventurous.

Every day they come out of the coop, they stray further and further.

Yesterday we couldn't find them! They were out in the orchard, buried in tall grass under one of the trees.

They are quite to particular compost'ers too!

They don't like pineapple and they pick the chard leaves off the stem. No stems for these ladies.

But berries, oh berries, they'll take those any day of course!

We are at the halfway point, I hope, until they start laying eggs. Maybe a tad longer than halfway depending on how soon they decide to do so. As I understand it, they can start laying anywhere between 16-20 weeks of age.





What's that old saying?

'Birds of a feather flock together'