First Days of Summer!

Summer is here! (for us, at least...)
For me, that means (among other things):
peaceful mornings
gardening
and time to make yummy food! 

I woke up before Mike did on Saturday, so I thought I'd wake him up with a yummy summery breakfast in bed ~ yogurt with sliced strawberries and toasted oat-nut topping*.

*oat-nut topping =t 3 T oats, 2 T sliced almonds, and a sprinkle each of shredded coconut, raw sugar, and ground cinnamon toasted on medium in the toaster oven

I happened to have sweet potatoes, celery, apples, and cilantro (and our garden is bursting with radishes!) on hand all at the same time, so for lunch I decided to make one of our favorite salads from the Whole Living cleanse - the Sweet Potato, Celery, and Apple salad. Unfortunately, we didn't have fresh ginger, which really makes it tasty, and I used the food procesor rather than julienning everything, so it was a little soggy rather than crisp...but still good! Also, we added avocado. =)

Sunday morning I couldn't decide whether to use up some leftover fruit in a smoothie, or make these yummy-looking peanut butter banana oat bars that I had seen on Pinterest...so I made both.

yum! pb + banana + oats = :)

This weekend we finally started paying attention to our yard & garden again...
I got to plant some more seeds & plants (thanks to the LMK greenhouse & home depot!)

Above: marigolds from H. Depot stand guard over newly planted rows of peas & beans. At the top of the bed are tomatoes, peppers, and herbs.

Below: both beds, with Mike starting to dig a fruit tree hole!

 In this bed: tomatoes (top), beets, lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots (not yet sprouted), and squash (same)

the trees that we'll be planting today! One Pear and one Apple :)

 

Last year, our friend & neighbor, Annie, gave us some of her mom's raspberry canes...now they are thriving! I can't wait til the get ripe!

Sunday night I finally made something I'd been wanting to make for a couple weeks:
Super Tasty Pesto Pasta Salad! (inspired by Giada's Fusili with Spicy Pesto)

10 oz. bag of spinach (or one bunch, at least 6 oz.)
4 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper
2 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1-2 c. freshly shredded asiago cheese (although I used Parmesan today because that's all I had...)
1/4 c. olive oil
fresh basil to taste (I used 4 stalks? 1/2 cup?)
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 can white cannellini beans
1 lb pasta, such as fusili, rotini, or something else that will grab the pesto

In a food processor, blend the garlic, jalapeno, cheese, salt & pepper until smooth. Add in the spinach, tearing off the tough stems. Add in the basil. While processor is running, drizzle in the olive oil and lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Toss with cooked pasta. Drain & rinse the beans, and mix them into the pasta (or you could substitute chicken!). Garnish with more shredded cheese! Enjoy!

*Giada's recipe looked so good, but I didn't want to pay for arugula or walnuts, and I thought that it needed basil & lemon to brighten it up...

This is what happens when I make the pasta ahead of time and stick in a tupperware in the fridge! Haha...

 MMM!

 I sprinkled some lemon zest on top too, but you couldn't really tell...