Thursday's 'Simple Things'

I saw this idea for the first time last week -- it's from Jesslyn Amber's blog.  I like the idea of slowing down and picking out a few things for which I'm super appreciative.  

 Here are the simple things I'm appreciating today...

~The rain.  It's been rainy almost all week.  Though it's not always great for my spirits, it has made our garden look like a masterpiece and has helped our grass seed grow.  Not to mention, it makes me feel ok about sitting inside with a cold.

~Our Family.  We are blessed with such a wonderful family, most of whom live pretty close to us.  We are so thankful that we get to see them so often and that our lives have all become entangled.  It's truly amazing to watch the daily and weekly changes of our nephews.

~Baby Liza.  Sure this one is obvious, but we are so excited to be able to enjoy one of life's greatest miracles.  As we worked on her room today, both JW and I realized how anxious we are getting to meet this baby girl.

~Blogs.  I've become an avid reader of about 10 blogs and periodically check in on other ones.  For some reason, it just makes me happy :)

~My husband.  He is my other half.  Not to mention, he can build/create amazing things, he has all the love in the world for me, Whit, and our families, and he is so excited about our little bundle to come soon.  

~Home-grown, delicious food.  Growing up I never valued having grown something in your backyard (or city) and getting to enjoy it for dinner.  We are so excited for our garden and our CSA and all the homegrown nutrition they will supply us with this summer.

What simple things are you thankful for this Thursday?

I love it!

Today has been so busy that I almost forgot about What I'm Loving Wednesday!  But, I'm linking up with Jamie at this kind of love, so check out her page too :)

Here is what I'm loving this week:
 

[1] 

That on Sunday JW and I will celebrate our first wedding anniversary!  It feels like this year has flown by and I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and soon-to-be daddy!  On Monday, it will be three years from our first date...seen here :)

[2]

That we are more than halfway through our first session of summer-school.  Not that I don't enjoy hanging out with the kiddos, but I'm ready for some true summer down-time...and I need to get my Master's done!

[3]

That our CSA started this week.  We've been eating lots of greens and have some kale pasta on the menu for tonight!

[4]

I'm almost in my third trimester -- holy cow!  Now we're just anxious to meet this sweet baby girl of ours!

[5]

Pinterest.  Holy fun waste of time.  You thought facebook was good.  Pinterest is just that much better.  It's dangerous, I tell ya!

[6]

The Whit-bug.  Poor girl, she's had a rough week with all the thunderstorms we've had.

[7]

After a rainy, gray day the sun is shining and our garden is loving it!

What are you loving this Wednesday?

Like what you read?  Become a follower, please and thank you :)

Who wants kale chips???

MEEEEEEEEE!  I know they sound gross, but hear me out here.

Our CSA officially started this week and I picked up our first box o' produce today!  But before I tell/show you all the goodies in it, let me chat about CSA's and why we're so excited about this.

Our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is through Coveyou Scenic Farms.  They are not technically organic (mainly because of the price to become certifiably organic), but they do practice green farming and use minimal if any pesticides/other products on their produce.  In order to be part of the CSA we had to reserve our spot early.  Here's why we chose to go with a CSA:

[1] They are almost organic.

[2] We love supporting a local business.

[3] We also love the fact that this food is fresh and local - meaning the only carbon footprint it has is from me driving the box of produce home (which is on my way home from summer school anyway).

[4] We weren't sure how our garden would do this year so we like the idea that we have back-up and if we have extras, you can bet we'll start trying to freeze, can, and preserve the food for us and perhaps even Baby Liza.

And now, here's what we got in our 'box' this week:

KALE
BOK CHOY
LETTUCE

KOHLRABI

STRAWBERRIES

Still thinking about those kale chips aren't you?  I know they sound delicious.  Ok, really, they sound disgusting.  But we had 2 bunches of kale in our share this week and so I needed to try something different!  Kale chips it was.  Are they better than a bag of potato chips?  NO.  But I have to admit, they are pretty decent!

So here's what you do.  Slice up the kale.  Dry it off.  Toss it with olive oil.  Spread out on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with salt, cumin, and garlic powder.  Bake for 350 at 8 minutes.

 Ok, now we need some more recipes to try with all of our goodies.  Any ideas?  Because we got a whole new box coming next week and we need to gobble this stuff up!!

Not Yo Mama's Cucumbers

Here's some crazy news: In 3 months, Liza will be here :)  And I can't wait to celebrate JW's first Father's Day this weekend!  We are heading to the lake as soon as he gets out of work and we'll be there alllllll weeekendddddd longggggg.  yessssss.   I looooove summertime.

And speaking of summertime...when it's summertime, it's time for cucumbers.  Eventually, we'll (*hopefully*) get some from our garden, but for now we'll just have to settle for buying them.  When I was little my mom always used to do vinegar, cucumbers, and onions.  I refused to touch them.  I can handle them now, but I still much prefer this recipe with a touch of sugar and spice.  

 

So, here's what you'll need... 

Ingredients:
3 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced

1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1 t. agave syrup

1 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

dash of dried basil

dash of parsley

dash of cayenne pepper

[1] Combine ingredients from vinegar through cayenne pepper in a small saucepan.  Heat until sugar melts. 
[2] Combine cucumbers and tomatoes in a bowl.  
[3] Pour warm mixture over cucumbers.  Refrigerate for a few hours before enjoying!
 

  

I just mixed up a batch of these to take to the lake for the weekend.  So happy father's day and have a wonderful weekend :)

Granola Breakfast

Mmmmm, it's summertime and I'm a teacher which means I'm doing nothing allllllllll day long.  Not really.  I'm teaching summer school 4 hours a day, 4 days a week, finishing up an online class, and finishing my Master's all while getting the house ready for little Liza in September.  

So, when it comes to the AM's, I haven't gotten a 'sleep-in' day yet...although I'm looking forward to that on Friday.  And though the morning sickness is gone (thank goodness), I still find that I need a big breakfast to keep me going throughout the day.  My latest craving has been for fresh fruit.  I've been pairing blueberries and raspberries with some Stonyfield Organic Vanilla yogurt and homemade granola as of late.  The best part is the granola is a super-quick-fix over the weekend and it lasts for at least a week. 

Now, for the recipe :)

Ingredients:

3.5 cups of Oats

1 cup Cheerios

1/3 cup Coconut

1/2 cup chopped Almonds/Walnuts/Pecans

1/2-1 cup Dried Cherries/Craisins (I usually sprinkle them in till it looks yummy!)

1 T. Maple Syrup

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

2 T. Agave Syrup

1 t. Vanilla

1/2 t. Salt

1/4 cup Water

Preheat oven to 275.

[1] Microwave brown sugar, water and agave in a bowl for 2-3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.

[2] In the meantime, combine oats, cheerios, coconut and nuts in a large bowl.  

[3] Add vanilla, salt, and maple syrup to the sugar-water-agave mixture and stir.  Pour over top of dry ingredients and stir to coat well.

[4] Line 1 cookie sheet with parchment paper (note: not wax paper...does not turn out well...trust me).

[5] Spread granola mixture on cookie sheet.  Bake for 35-45 minutes or until lightly browned.

[6] Cool granola and then add in cherries/craisins.  Put in an airtight container and enjoy the rest of the week!

Hello loves!

It's What I'm Loving Wednesday and I'll be linking up with Jamie HERE.  

Let me tell you what I'm loving this week!

[one]

That we are officially on summer vacation (even though I'm teaching summer school).

[two]

That my online class ends this week leaving me with only my Master's Project to complete before I have my Master's in Educational Leadership (and baby Liza makes her arrival).

[three]

That we got to pick the first things out of our garden this week -- hooray radishes!

[four]

That we are planning on spending the whole weekend at the lake...including a little Father's Day celebration.

[five]
That my nephews (and bro and sil) live just down the street which means we get lots of time to hang with these sweet boys and we get to be super-aunt and uncle at T-ball games!

If you look carefully enough, you can see the Michael Jordan tongue sticking out here :)

[six]

JW and the Whit-bug.  We all make one rocking team...and they're pretty darn cute :)

Weekend.

It was a busy, but wonderful weekend.  Clearly, our whole family is tired out!  This is what I found when we got home from the lake today.  Recap to come tomorrow when I have a better handle on grad school work, summer school plans are a little more prepared, and I'm a little less sleepy.  Hope you all had a good weekend!! :)

Foil-Packet Fish

As soon as it starts to get warm out, I pretty much refuse to cook in the kitchen.  Our kitchen gets SO much sunlight and tends to act as a sauna.  Plus, there's no fan.  All of those combined clearly equal an unhappy, sweaty, and undoubtedly hungry pregnant lady. 

Since it was around 90 degrees for two days in a row (sans air conditioning), we opted for a different way to make dinner: on the grill.  Here's our favorite recipe for lemon-herb tilapia.  It is SO good every time. 

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:
Whitefish or Tilapia Filets
1 Lemon, sliced into rings
Salt & Pepper
1 Tablespoon Herb Marinade (or garlic vinaigrette or even just a splash of cooking spray)
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Fresh Herbs (we like basil and parsley...and dried herbs would work too)

Directions:
[1] Slice up lemon rings and herbs.
[2] Get 2 pieces of tin foil on the counter top.  They should provide ample space for the fish toppings and room to wrap it all up.  Pour the tablespoon of marinade on the tin foil and spread out (this prevents the fish from sticking to the foil and adds great flavor).

[3] Place the filets on top of the marinade. Then sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, and half of herbs. Place lemon slices on top. Then sprinkle with the remaining herbs.

[4] Wrap the foil packet tightly so that the fish will actually steam on the grill.

[5] Place the packet on the grill (medium heat) for about 10 minutes.

[6] After cooking, let the fish packet rest for 5 minutes before opening it  This allows the juices to stay in and it's fantastic because you get a nice lemony-herb sauce. 
[7] Serve and LOVE.

We enjoyed our fish with some garlic-parmesan cous cous (pictured above).  That recipe was simple.  Start with a plain box of cous cous.  Prepare, following directions on the box.  Add parmesan cheese, garlic vinaigrette and fresh herbs.  We also had some corn on the cob.  Nothing says summer to me like corn on the cob...yum.

This is one of our favorite summer recipes and dinners.  What's on your menu tonight?  Ours is pizza.  Not homemade either.  We're watching the nephews so we opted for the easy way out :)

Like what you read??  Become a 'follower'...in a good way!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

HOLY RAIN BATMAN!  I don't remember the last time it rained so hard for as long as it did today.  But the good news?  Now that we're out of work, the sun in shining and there's a cool breeze blowing, which is a relief since it's been 90 up here the past few days...and in Northern Michigan most people don't have air conditioners.

Here's what I'm loving this week:

[one] 

Planters out on the deck -- these herbs are making me so happy and I can't wait to cook with them tonight!

[two]

Our garden - overcrowded a bit?  Probably.  Looking fantastic?  Yes.  Organic soil?  Yep, it's all composted and some old horse manure (who wants our extra veggies? jk). 

Radishes!

Peas!

Spinach!

Tomatoes!

Beans!

Summer Squash errr maybe Zucchini

Pumpkins!

Random potato...thank you composting.

[three]

That our good friends Ryan and Jessie are coming up this weekend.  And of course, they're bringing Whitney's boyfriend, Cubs.  It's great b/c Jess and I were partners in crime in college and now our husbands seem to be bff's too.  Maybe that's just because they both love fishing!

We all have a pretty good time together :)

[four]

We only have 1.5 more days of school left!!!!  YESSSSS.  Even though I'm teaching summer school, it's only Monday through Thursday and only from 8-12.  

[five]

As always, my husband, JW and our Whit-bug!