Infused with Sunshine

Grow what you love. The love will keep it growing. 

~Emilie Barnes

With happy fingers I plucked tomatoes from the vine.  My feet danced a snazzy jig and off I rushed to pull up the onions. Ponytail sagging over my left shoulder, I gave it a little toss and snipped away at the fresh oregano and basil.  

It was salsa making day and I had to gather the ingredients.

When I say "gather the ingredients" I secretly smile- no lies here.  This shopping spree took place on our little patio (with some banana peppers and jalapenos from my sweet mama).  I never, ever get to shop in my own corner of the world, so imagine my sheer joy when I realized that I had grown enough produce and herbs to make and preserve an entire batch of salsa.

Big. Proud. Grin.

Honestly, I'm still amazed that it worked out.  I mean, I really did it!  I really grew an entire garden full of ripe red tomatoes, crunchy bell peppers, flavorful onions, and spicy banana peppers and jalapenos.  In some small way, it proved such a joy to see it come to fruition.  

With the harvest gathered I packed it away and headed across the lawn and over the fence to my parents' house.  My mom and I had a salsa making date and I wasn't missing it for the world.

We pre-gamed with a good cup of hot java, read over the recipe, checked out our impressive stash of veggies and herbs, and took stock of the situation.

She pulled out her canning equipment, we discussed how it would work, and then set about chopping and chopping, slicing and dicing.

Thankfully, my mama chopped the tomatoes, removing every one of those pesky little skins.

She's a trooper and a master of all things kitchen.

I preferred dealing with the peppers and onions and garlic-- more aromatic and completely worth the watery eyes.

After much preparation, which included boiling jars and sealing lids, our "Sunshine Salsa," as we chose to call it, emerged from the cooker and our hard work was complete.

 My mama and I had ourselves the most wonderful time: talking, daydreaming, and admiring our hard work.

I'm beyond blessed to have such a special person in my life. I can't imagine learning from and with anyone else.

Now we're all eagerly awaiting football season.  

There's something about a salty corn chip, a scoop of summertime, sunshine salsa, and Sunday afternoon Steelers victories.

I'd Have Bet Against It

"When you are through changing, you are through."  

~Bruce Barton 

Up until about a year ago I'd order everything like this:

"I'll take the tossed salad, hold the onion, please."

"I'll have a veggie sub, on wheat bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and pickles.  No onions, please."

As a small child young adult, I would browse through recipes and think to myself, "Mmmm, that looks delicious.  Too bad it has onions in it," and then, sadly, I'd flip to the next recipe while cursing the recipe designer for ruining everything good with a slimy onion.

Well, well, well.  

I don't know when the shift occurred, but sometime in the last two years I became very fond of the onion bulb, proudly requesting it on by submarine and salad.  "I'm such the culinary explorer," I silently declared. (How lame, right?)

I look back over my childhood and can vividly recall the piles of little onions and "green things" that would accumulate on the side of my dinner plate.  I can hear my mom saying, "You can't even taste them, they just add flavor."  And, I remember pushing around "onion-y" meals and trying to hide them under slices of bread- very, very sneaky of me.

Therefore, the realization that I truly enjoy, albeit willingly add onions, scallions and chives to my recipes comes as an honest-to-goodness surprise.  I never would have thought.  

And, I never, ever, in a million-gazillion years would have imagined myself planting, cultivating, and harvesting them in my own garden.

My inner child is so angry with me.

Sprouts!

"Always take a good look at what you're about to eat. It's not so important to know what it is, but it's critical to know what it was."

-Anon

Sadly, I spent an entire weekend scouring our local stores for the ingredients needed to begin my baby bean sprouts.  I went everywhere, from big chain stores to local mom-and-pop joints.  At each place I would inquire about sprouts, and at each location I was given an ultra weird look and directed to a humongous display of seeds.  

I had officially given up my search and resigned myself to the Internet, where, thanks-be-to-God, I can somehow manage to find everything my little heart desires.  I won't even complain about the shipping costs, as it often beats the expense of gas and the other things I end up purchasing for myself along the way, like, say, Starbucks. (I try to resist...really...honestly.)

As it turned out, my Internet search, although fruitful, wasn't necessary.  In a practice of patience and a leap of faith, I decided to wait a few more days with the deep down, cross-your-fingers kinda hope, that I would be able to find my sprouts.

And, (gasp) wouldn't you know, that I found me some bean sprout seeds and an amazing set of sprouting lids at a health food store in Ligonier?

Want in on a little secret?  

Growing these lovely bean sprouts turned out to be one of the easiest things I've ever done.  

They are super healthy and pack an insane amount of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants into one's diet.  And- big bonus- bean sprouts, as it turns out, are extremely high in fiber and are one of the few foods that fall into the category of  a "complete food".  

Add them to salads, top a pita with hummus and sprouts for a delicious lunch, heck- eat them plain.  

I'm telling you, you'll never turn back.

The Joy of Feta

"The body is the soul's house. Shouldn't we

therefore take care of our house so that it

doesn't fall into ruin?"

- Philo

I woke to 16 degree temperatures today. Burr...

Did you ever notice that the lower the temperature drops the brighter the sun shines?  Crazy, isn't it?

Therefore, in keeping with a little promise to myself and a little goal that I set and a little--I mean big--race that I've signed up for, I donned my long-johns and mittens and hit the snowy, icy streets.

I only wish that I would have had my camera.  The reflection of the sun off the crystallized water created the most magical scene.  

During one particular part of my run I passed an old cemetery, full of crooked tombstones and crumbling statues.  The brilliant sapphire sky created the perfect backdrop, while the snow and ice provided a glittering and sparkling ground cover.  The angle of Mr. Golden's rays provided the perfect balance of shimmer, creating a blanket of diamonds and pearls over the long lost souls.  Thank you, Mother Nature, for picking up  where us mortal beings fall short.

***

I have a question for ya.  

Is it wrong and/or strange to think about food during my run?  I mean, after the beautiful scene in the cemetery, the aesthetics took a major dive.  

Tomorrow, you see, the students have the day off.  The teachers, sadly, do not.  Since the day will be full of meetings and planning and finishing up grades, we're having a little potluck lunch and I spent the better part of my run thinking about what to make and take.

And... Taa- Da... I chose Greek Hummus Dip.

Oh my goodness is it delicious and healthy and full of nutrients, vitamins and protein.

1 container of classic hummus

1 red pepper, chopped finely

1 cucumber, chopped finely

a bunch of Kalamata olives, chopped

a bunch of chopped, fresh dill

a bunch of feta cheese

Directions:  Spread hummus on bottom of pan to create the first layer.  Pile on the rest of the ingredients, saving the feta and dill for last.  Serve with warm pitas or corn chips.

And then, as if I wasn't way over my feta quota for the weekend, I made this lovely pizza.

(Thank you, sweet Kim, for the recipe!)

As you make your shopping list, please add this:  a jar of  Roasted Garlic Onion Jam from Stonewall Kitchen.

Although the name sounds strange and may cause a few wrinkled noses or furrowed brows, don't, my friends, be fooled.  This stuff is amazing.  I mean, it is absolutely, positively amazing.

Take a few spoonfuls and spread it over a pizza crust (or do like me and use a whole wheat flat bread).

Sprinkle a bunch of feta (or blue cheese) over the top and then bake for 10 minutes or so in a 450 degree oven.

Plan on being alone when you make this.  That way, you can eat the entire thing and avoid that whole sharing concept. (wink)

On Making Do and Making Up: A Snow Day Recipe

"Those who have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have 

to find time for illness."

 ~Edward Stanley 

My eyes sputtered to life at approximately 3:50 AM.  Insane, I know, but true none-the-less.  As I laid in the dark, straining to listen for the scraping of plows or the shrieks of wind, I became agitated.  I had planned a "Snow Day" and the quiet, calm extra-early morning hours did not exactly assist in creating the day I was envisioning.

With a heavy heart I rolled over, adjusted the pillow and pulled the quilt over my head.  While I wish this wasn't a true fact, it honestly is.  As I hid under the covers, I calculated the time to what I believed would be the exact moment the storm would hit, the school would call and classes would find themselves crossed off my list of daily activities.

The genius I am (wink), I quickly stuck my arm out from my little blanket fort, grabbed the alarm clock, re-set it (while adjusting for the fact that I needed to straighten my hair and pack my lunch), and grabbed my cell-phone.  I figured that I would wait until the last possible minute, the last possible millisecond, and then, if I hadn't heard anything, I'd rise, drink enough coffee to hide the severe disappointment and pray that I could pull off the morning tasks without being late.  With the cell-phone nestled just under my left cheek, I felt certain that it would ring before my alarm, making me one very happy girl.

Not so.

Knowing that my Chad-o was enjoying his peaceful slumber and that my serious state of agitation and excitement over a pending snow day would only go unnoticed for so long, I kissed him on the forehead, tucked him in and headed for the couch.  Upon looking out the window my hopes fell through the floor.  While snow had fallen, it didn't appear to be all that bad.  Naturally, I turned on the television, hoping and wishing and crossing my fingers that I'd see numerous school cancellations scrolling across the bottom of the screen.  Nope.  

With a heavy sigh I began making my coffee and telling CT that since I was up too early, I'd spend some time and cuddle with her on the couch.  Coffee in hand and puppy in arm, I snuggled between the cushions just as my school's name flashed across the blue cancellation band.

"Praise God!" I cheered.  "Praise God."

...and so began our perfectly wonderful day.

You should probably know that Charlie T. has firmly perched herself next to me and hasn't stopped chewing her paw for the last thirty minutes.  She's afraid, that furry one.  I'm guessing it has something to do with the intense winds that swarm and pound against the windows, causing the house to creek and crack while working to defend it's fragile inhabitants.  

We're snug in here, though.  The coffee's hot, the snowmen tress are lit and my list of things that must be accomplished are nil.  

My mama and I did battle the storm today, the brave ones that we are.  There's simply no stopping me when I get an idea.  And, let me tell you, an idea i had.  So, off we went.  Over the hills and through the slushy streets we ventured.  While we had a great time and got some stellar things, my list still contained one impossible-to-find ingredient.  We looked everywhere.  We went to every grocery store and food seller in our small town.  Sadly, we never did find it.

Oh well.  Make do, right?  

Who said that every recipe and every set of directions has to be followed exactly?  Not me, that's for sure.

I wasn't about to let a little Tahini stop my perfectly wonderful snow day.    

So I present a little Snow Day recipe that I made without, mind you, one of the main ingredients.  

Three cheers for being inventive and taking chances.  

Snow Day Hummus

*Otherwise known as Buffalo Hummus (Adapted from Food Network)

Like I said, I didn't have any Tahini, so I made do without it.  Then I changed things up a bit, adding a bit more spice, because honestly, I like it that way.

3 cups drained and rinsed garbanzo beans

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

5 Tablespoons of Franks Buffalo Sauce

1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar

3 cloves of garlic

A sprinkle of cayenne pepper

A hearty "sprinkeling" of sesame seeds (to make up for the lack of Tahini)- ha.

Place everything in the food processor and blend until thick, rich and creamy.  Garnish with some fresh parsley (straight from my indoor herb garden) and... yum yum yum...eat it up.

Here's hoping your day is cozy and warm and delicious and wonderful.

The Art of Simple Goodness

"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life."

 ~John Burroughs

I've made a genuine effort to eat natural foods.  Good-bye prepackaged treats, artificially sweetened and sugar free snacks.  Hello simple and wholesome and real. 

***

The other day I came across this wonderfully healthy, easy and metabolism boosting recipe.  "Must try," I thought to myself.  

I'd like to tell you that I'm some sort of gourmet chef and that I constantly dabble with exotic ingredients, because of course, I do not.  But we'll just pretend, ok?  wink~nudge~nudge

Sooo... if you promise to be highly impressed, I promise to share my new obsession. 

Deal?  

Deal.

The shopping list:

1 avocado

1 slice of bread- you choose.  The crustier the better, in my opinion.

A splash of  sea-salt

Directions:

Peal and smash a ripe avocado

Toast (or not) a slice of bread

Spread smashed avocado over bread

Splash with sea-salt (my personal favorite)

Extras:

Red pepper flakes (Yum!- I loved this variation.)

Freshly ground pepper

A drizzle of olive-oil

I'll be lying if I said that this hasn't served as a breakfast, lunch and/or snack throughout this lovely Christmas vacation.  Talk about versatile, healthy and delicious.

Evening's Glow

"No Spring nor Summer beauty hath such grace

As I have seen in one Autumnal face."

~J. D.

It’s one of those cozy nights.  The kind where simply pulling your hair up makes you chilly—I’m thankful for the warmth of long, thick hair.  

I’m feeling ultra-productive.  Laundry is churning away.  Fresh towels decorate the bathrooms.  My schoolwork is caught up.  Life is balanced—I like that—a lot.

Oh the autumn nights, clad with their golden/gray light.  There’s something about the glow of my Halloween Tree and the soft aura of candy corn and purple twinkle lights that just has me itchin’ for sheepskin slippers and flannel pajamas.  I smell my spaghetti squash baking in the oven and enjoy the faint, vegetative aroma it sends dancing through the air.  I’m so thankful for the bounty of summer’s abundant harvest. 

Like a potion bubbling in an iron cauldron, my Halloween Tree stirs up memories of my childhood.  All of the decorations hold a meaning, a memory, a happy thought. 

See the little black cat?  That was my prize for having the best costume in my kindergarten class.  No one could guess who the portly hobo was—no princess or fairy wings for this girl (grin).

Notice the crochet ghost and pumpkin?  My Mamoo made those.  They were magnets that previously decorated her homey kitchen and refrigerator. 

The ceramic pumpkin-head ghost with the missing hand?  I broke it when I was about six or seven years old.  I remember it tumbling from its high perch on the counter. 

The ever-so-festive candy corn lights?  My mama and papa got me those last year.  I found them hanging on my door with a little note from my dad.  “Trick-or-Treat,” it said.  Yes, you guess it, I still have the note.

I tell you more stories of the Halloween Tree later.  But now, I must prepare for sleep.  Time to snuggle in and listen to the pitter-patter of the mid-night rain.  

A Tastebud Treat

"Sit down before fact like a little child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss Nature leads, or you shall learn nothing."

~Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895)

I'm pretty much addicted to this tantalizing vegetarian treat. Dubbed "Bean Stuff," this combination of Edamame and corn will have you reaching for seconds and thirds and quite possibly fourths. In fact, it's perfectly reasonable that you will nosh away until the entire bowl holds only traces of the deliciousness that previously existed.

I, personally, enjoy a generous serving for lunch and then again after school for a pre-gym snack. Between the texture and subtle flavor, I honestly can't get enough. Perhaps you'd like to make some, too?

"Bean Stuff"

Mix together the following ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of peanut oil

1 Tablespoon of Rice Vinegar

1 Teaspoon of Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons of Sesame Seeds

Then:

Cook 2 cups of Edamame and 1 cup of corn according to the package

Run under water to cool

Drizzle the dressing over the veggies and stir gently

Refrigerate and serve chilled

Finally:

Enjoy every last, delicious morsel.

Planning for Picnics

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

~Charles Dickens

This morning, the sun streamed through the kitchen door and blanketed my body with warmth as I let the pupparoo out for her morning potty break.

"What is this familiar feeling?" my skin wondered. "Could it be? Could it really be? Could it actually be a bit of solar generated warmth?"

Mr. Golden started my entire day off on the right foot. I enjoyed my breakfast and then started dreaming of picnics- a day outdoors with good food, beautiful weather, and wonderful friends. You know the kind of day...the one that begins in the early afternoon and ends when campfire embers are reduced to nothing more than smoldering ashes.

I live for that.

What better way to enjoy this day than to have my own little array of indoor picnic goodies? I'm all set for a weeks worth of healthy, picnic style lunches. Be jealous- it's alright. (wink)

A New Favorite

"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art."

- La Rochefoucauld

Not working much (Thank you snow!) has afforded me the opportunity to play around in the kitchen, experiment with new foods and dine on some delicious treats.

Recently I've become obsessed with quinoa. The yum factor and texture have my taste buds smiling and my brain thinking up new ways to incorporate this little grain into more meals and recipes.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers, anyone?
Veggies and beans and quinoa not only exist as the perfect pepper stuffer, but also provide quite the protein kick and nutritional value.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

Quiet Morning

"Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open."

~BKS Iyengar

Yesterday, as the snow tumbled from the sky and the roads piled high with slush and ice, I used my amazingly accurate teacher's intuition to predict another day off from school.

Although my phone didn't ring with the cancellation news until sometime early this morning, I pretty much figured my 'no school prediction' would be correct.

Since I was so super-positive of my approaching day off, I decided to spend last night baking up this extremely tasty and wonderfully healthy homemade vegan granola. However, I might have done myself more harm than good-- I can't stop eating it.

Today, however, I had a most wonderful time. Me and CT sat in complete silence, ate berry yogurt with homemade granola and watched the snow flip-flop in the bitter wind.

Quiet, peaceful mornings and an unscheduled day off from work- there's nothing better.