All things bright and beautiful...

...all things great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all!

This was going to be a post about some fun and useful ideas that I had come up with, but then I was struck with the realization that all our "great" ideas stem from the Only Wise God from whom flows all understanding and wisdom and cleverness...

So, with that said, here are some ideas that I had, and fun things I've gotten to try out recently, thanks to God's great gifts and his grace for each moment!

I have a huge oregano plant in my herb garden, and every now and then I need to hack it down to size. That leaves me with a LOT of oregano, though, and I don't know what do do with all that oregano...

I needed a way to store it for later, but I don't like dried herbs... SO, I washed it all and pulled all the leaves off the stems, then stuffed them into an ice cube tray! I was able to fit a lot of oregano into the tray.

I put plastic wrap on top , pressing down a little in each section, to keep the leaves from poking through the surface (they need to be completely surrounded by water to store well as an ice cube). 

Then, I popped it in the freezer, and out came...oregano cubes! Ta da!

A similar idea, which I was pretty happy with, was using lemons that I had no immediate use for, and squeezing them into an ice cube tray with more oregano, so now I have lemon-oregano cubes, all ready to become marinades or sauces, or whatever! =)

Mike and I really like to add sprouts to things (sandwiches/wraps, Thai pizza, stir fries, etc.), so I finally decided to grow my own! Why didn't I do this earlier???

I bought a good-sized bag of mung bean seeds for sprouting at The Common Crow natural foods market in Gloucester - $2 for probably 2-3 cups of seeds!

On Monday I soaked 1/3 c. of seeds in 1 c. of water for about 10 hours, and this is what they looked like afterwards:

Then, I rinsed them (with fairly high-pressured water) and drained them (as thoroughly as I could, shaking out excess water), morning and night, and this is how they looked this morning, two days later!

My only equipment is a pint jar with a screw-top and a square of cheesecloth...

 Pretty cool! I am looking forward to eating those up!

My last idea of this post is a DIY Dollar-Store message board.

It's a lot of fun to use!

Supplies: 

1 Dollar-Tree picture frame

Paper (plain, pretty scrapbooking paper...whatever you want!)or Contact paper (or fabric!)

Dry Erase Marker

Directions:

Take off the back of the frame, and trace the cardboard backing to get your paper to the right size. 

Cut out the paper, and insert it into the frame just like you would a photo.

Use just like a dry erase board, to leave messages for your household!

**behind the frame you can see my other project, which I didn't like as much...a DIY magnet board, using a steel cookie sheet from the dollar store...I covered it with pretty contact paper (also from Dollar Tree!), but now it just looks like a cookie sheet covered with contact paper....it does work as a magnet board, though!

Camping Weekend in VT

This past weekend we got a chance to go camping in VT for three whole nights! It was my first time staying in VT, and I was very excited! Since our tent is a very small 2-person backpacking tent, we rented one from EMS for $25! Such a deal! We packed up our car with all sorts of yummy camping food and backpacks and a sense of adventure, and headed off for the Green Mountain State!

As you know, I have a tendency to take pictures of the food that we make, so I made a collage of our camping food attempts.

Breakfast:

• French press coffee (boil enough water for the coffee + oatmeal and you're good to go!)
• Oatmeal (2 servings: 1 c. oats + 1 3/4 c. water, top with brown sugar & cinnamon!) 
• Eggs (this was new to us...and we had them three different ways! I think fried was the tastiest, although hard-boiled was way easier to clean up afterwards!)

Dinners:

• Grilled fish (in foil) & veggies with lemon & fresh herbs
• Hot dogs on a stick + baked beans (or in this case, Hebrew National Knockwurst, since they are plumper for skewering)
• Vegetarian Chili  + baked potatoes with slits for onion slices (consensus: would have been really good if I hadn't cooked them way too long!) 
• our chili recipe: one can kidney beans + one can diced tomatoes + 1 Tbsp. chili powder + 1 Tsp. cumin + 1 green bell pepper, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1 small diced onion, a few cloves of garlic, and  1-2 hot peppers + 1/2 c. corn...saute the onion & garlic, set aside, saute peppers & spices, add the onion/garlic, beans, tomatoes, & corn. Heat until simmering for 10 min.

Desserts:

• S'mores (of course!) except we like to use Resse's pb cups as an extra special treat! 
• Chocolate-chip-stuffed grilled bananas (consensus: YUM!)

On Friday, we decided to challenge ourselves with a hike up to the summit of Camel's Hump, which we kept seeing from the highway and admiring. In Mike's words, "I saw it and I immediately though, 'I want to be on top of that!'" We had looked up some hikes and considered a few "moderate" options, but based on the description of the Camel's Hump hike, we decided to go for it. It was described as a difficult-but-rewarding 5.8 mile loop with scenic vistas approaching  and along the summit.

We braced ourselves for the hike of our lives, and set off!

Along the way we saw some curious sights (caterpillars)

and beautiful views!

At one point, we got our hopes up, thinking that we were nearing the summit...but were sorely disappointed. 

 Later, after climbing the false summit, we came across the real view of the summit...still quite far away!

In this shot that we took from the highway, you can see the ridge that we climbed along, including the false summits (we hiked from right to left in this picture):

Finally, we made it to the top, and the view really was quite spectacular! 360 degrees in all directions, with nothing else up there other than bare rock and you! I couldn't get enough of the layer upon layer of blue hills fading into the distance like waves in the ocean, and the dramatic effect of the clouds! 

Could you ask for a better place to eat a pb&j?

Here's a collage of some of my faves...

After the hike, we cooled off (and cleaned off!) with a dip in the reservoir that our campsite was on, then cooked up some hot dogs and baked beans, paired with Long Trail Double Bag....perfection!

The rest of our trip went something like this: 

Saturday: Explore Burlington (check out all the shops on the pedestrian street, browse the huge farmer's market, gaze out at Lake Champlain), play a round of disc golf, and tour the Ben & Jerry's factory (and sample ice cream, of course!)

Sunday: Take a nature hike/run at our campground (after packing up our campsite), tour & samples at the Long Trail Brewery

Finally, here are our other Vermonty pics to share...

"Ugly Beety" Beet Green Pesto

Get it? Like Ugly Betty, but with beets? haha...hm.

it's not too pretty, but it tastes great!

We just got back from a wonderful week-long vacation in Maine with my family...
...now it's time to get back to the garden!

After a week of delicious meals and lots of special treats, it is necessary (and a fun challenge!) to make the most of what we have been growing in our garden. This helps to stretch the ol' grocery budget, as well as fill our plates with lots of healthy yumminess!

Today I picked the first three beets from the garden, and snipped off the ripe basil heads (for info on how to harvest basil, I looked on YouTube...this video shows what to do: Harvesting Basil).

I knew that the beet greens could be cooked up, but I wanted to save the vitamins in them, so I decided to experiment with a pesto, rather than sauteing them.

The final result wasn't super pretty (thanks to the red veins in the leaves mixing with the green), but it's tasty!

"Ugly Beety" Beet Greens Pesto
3 cups lightly packed, chopped beet greens (red stems removed)
1/2 c. fresh basil leaves
1/4 c. olive oil
2-3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar (or fresh lemon juice could work well instead!)
1 garlic scape
3 garlic cloves
1 c. shredded parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

In a food processor, blend the cheese, garlic cloves, garlic scapes, salt & pepper until it reaches a uniform consistency. Add in half of the greens, and blend. Pour in half the olive oil & vinegar, and continue blending. Add the rest of the greens, the basil, and the rest of the liquid. Blend until smooth!

  

I think this will make a nice spread on pitas and wraps, or maybe tossed with brown rice or pasta?

Cool (sugar-free) Treats

The past few days have been really hot...

I would have loved a mocha-swirl iced coffee or some ice cream!

Instead, I added some coffee ice cubes to some unsweetened vanilla almond milk (thank you, Trader Joes!) and enjoyed a cool & refreshing summer treat! (I saw this idea on Pinterest a while back...)

Another yummy (and naturally sugar-free) treat is our Friday Morning Special:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie! (TGIF!)
This smoothie was particularly delicious after going for a 3-mile run on a pretty warm morning.

Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie: (2 large servings)
2 bananas
3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 T. all-natural peanut butter
1 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 (heaping) c. ice

Blend all ingredients in a blender, and divide into two tall glasses. Enjoy!

empty glass = sad :(

Also, before starting the 10-day sugar-free challenge, I made a yummy coconut mango sorbet.

I had been wanting to make sorbet, since it seemed like a healthier and delicious alternative to ice cream, but most recipes that I saw (such as this one) called for a fair amount of sugar.

I came across one, though, that only called for mango, coconut milk, lime juice, and maple syrup, and I think it would be great even without the maple syrup!

(I made this before the sugar-free challenge)

Mango Sorbet (recipe found here)
serves 4
*note: this takes a while to make, due to the two separate freezing times

1 large ripe mango
Juice of one lime (1-2 T.)
8 oz. coconut milk (light or regular)
(optional: 1-2 T. maple syrup)
unsweetened shredded coconut for garnish
Blend all ingredients in a blender.
Pour into an ice cube tray or silicone muffin tin, and freeze for at least 2 hours.
Take frozen mixture out of freezer, and let soften for 30 minutes or so.
Blend in a blender or food processor (or mush with a fork if you don't have one).
Pour back into a shallow dish and stick back in the freezer to harden again.
Scoop into 4 bowls and enjoy!

Sugar(free) Magnolias!

The other day I did something fun.

Mike wanted to go out to breakfast at Sugar Magnolias, but I hesitated, since I'm doing this 10-days of no sugar, I thought I'd rather go when I can have a big yummy pancake or something...plus it's a little pricy. So instead, I created "Sugar-Free Magnolias" (doubly appropriate, since we live in Magnolia!) with a menu and everything!

I filled the menu with yummy options from the original Sugar Mags menu (which I would make using recipes from spoonfulofsugarfree, such as these and these), and my own creations as well.

Mike ordered the "My Big Fat Greek Omelet" (a solid choice) which came with a side of sweet potato home fries (to make those, I roughly followed this recipe)

"My Big Fat Greek Omelet" = 2 eggs, whisked with a splash of milk, a sprinkle of sauteed red onion, feta cheese, and snipped fresh oregano

Sweet potato home fries (2 servings):

peel and dice 1 small/medium sweet potato.

Put potato in a small pot with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes.

mix some paprika (2-3 tsp?) and coarse salt (1/2 tsp?) in a dish.

In a skillet, saute 2 garlic cloves (minced or sliced) and diced red onion (2 T.?)

Drain the potatoes and let them air dry for a minute.

Add the potatoes to the skillet, along with the paprika & salt. 

Stir to coat.

Grind some black pepper over the top, and stir again. 

Good to the last drop! =)

It was so much fun to pretend to be a real breakfast cafe!

I Kissed Sugar Goodbye (for 10 days)

This past weekend some friends and I decided to join a 10-day Sugar-Free Challenge from Sugar Free Alex . Today is Day #1 and so far so good!

I have been trying to cut back on sugar anyway, so I already have a bunch of meals that I love that have no added sugar. Some things, however, are more of a challenge (coffee?!).

One of my favorite breakfasts happens to be sugar-free: refrigerator oats with fruit!

This morning I made it with blueberries. :) 

I got the recipe from katheatsrealfood and I love it. I usually leave out the banana and I add berries instead.

Here's the basic formula:
1/3 c. oats
1/3 c. plain yogurt
1/3 c. milk (I use almond milk)
1/2 T. chia seeds
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon
1/2 c. fruit of choice

Mix ingredients together in a mason jar and refrigerate overnight! Yum!

For lunch we had super yummy Thai Crunch Chicken Salad, although I had to make a separate dressing for myself because the one in the recipe has sweet chili sauce, which I assume has sugar in it. This is a great lunch for summer - light, refreshing, healthy, and packed with flavor and crunch!

I modified the recipe a little - I left out the brown sugar (and I'm glad I did!), didn't have edamame, and added some Sriracha for added kick. Yum.

I love the way green onions look all sliced up... :)

I'm not sure what to have for dinner yet, but I'm thinking Fish Tacos and grilled corn on the cob....:)

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...