I love watermelon, I mean, who doesn’t, but i don’t often buy them for myself for one main reason. They are so freaking big and once you cut open a melon, the rest of what is not eaten needs to be refrigerated which would be fine but I have a very tiny fridge and sticking a watermelon in there takes up about half the space. And sure, I could maybe eat a whole melon all to may face in one sitting, but then I would explode. And yes, I know you can buy smaller wedges of melon at the store, but I refuse. Those wedges just seem gross and expensive and wrong to me.%u00a0 When I buy watermelon I take my chances and buy the whole thing and just eat the crap out of it until I make room for other food in the fridge.

It has been so hot out (too hot) and I really just needed a watermelon, so I bought a watermelon (the biggest one I could find because of course). I waited for a day until the fridge was near empty and cut the beast up. Half went into the fridge right away (I had just eaten the last of the greens to make room) and the other half, well only a 1/4 was eaten. I could have kept going and eaten the rest or I figured I would just make a nice tea drink with the rest. And that what I did and that’s this drink I show you here. Smooth, bright, and earthy iced green tea with fresh sweet watermelon, it’s all summertime up in you mouth. And pureeing up watermelon into a liquid definitely takes up way less space in the fridge. I am a genius.

The stuff. Some watermelon, a few green tea bags, a lime( or a lemon), a spring or two of mint, and some water.

Start off with making the tea. Hot water to tea bags, steep for 5 or so minutes then remove bags. Stick tea in fridge to cool.

Now for the watermelon. Remove the rind from the fruit , and cut it up into chunks. Toss in a few mint leaves and…..

So you have cooled tea, pureed watermelon and the juice of a lime.

Pour it all together and mix it all up.

And there you have it. Fresh watermelon green ice tea, ready for your drinking.

All you need now are glasses full of ice and little wedges of melon.

All the summertime, all the watermelon.

Hope you are all staying cool.

-C

make 6 1/2 cups

• 4 green tea bags
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 of a watermelon (about 2 1/2 cups liquid watermelon)
• 1 lime (lemon works too)
• a few sprigs of mint (optional)

Bring water to an almost boil (I let my tea pot whistle, turn it off and sit for a minute or two) and pour hot water over tea bags. Let steep for about 5 minutes, then remove bags and refrigerate tea until cold.

When the tea has cooled, take you melon, remove the rind, and puree the fruit along with the mint, with a blending device of you choice. Squeeze in the juice of the lime and give it all a good stir.

Pour tea over ice, garnish with a sprig of mint and a slice of watermelon if you want some fancy.

My flowers are coming up, I have packed away my winter jacket, and I haven’t worn anything but sandals for the past week. Plus yesterday I made the first batch of sun tea and saw my first hot air balloon of the season (which lead to a heated discussion with the mister about how hot air balloons take flight. We were both kinda right, but me more than him)So yeah, %u00a0it’s for real%u2026 Winter is gone and spring has sprung, or more like spring sprung then bounced cause now it’s basically summer weather. Not complaining, but I hope we get a least a few more weeks of pleasant, not hot and humid weather.%u00a0

Anyway. Sun tea, one of my favorite summer time drinks. Made by infusing regular old teas with water by using the almighty power of sun.

Why do we want to make iced tea this way instead of just using boiling water? Well you can still do that, but sun tea makes a more mellow, lovely, and I find, more sweeter tea. It brings out more complex flavors that you don’t get with the boiling water method. %u00a0And it’s nice to know that it took zero effort on my part to make the drink (not that boiling water takes that much effort, but still)

It can be made with any variety %u00a0of teas, infused with other fresh herbs, dried spices, or even chunks of fruit. You can also make the teas and add flavors after the infusing is over. Have fun and play with flavor combos.

A few of my%u00a0favorite sun tea%u00a0combinations

• Any mellow black tea like orange pekoe or english breakfast with a few springs of mint
• Chamomile and mint%u00a0
• Green with a fruity tea, like blueberry or pomegranate
• Lemon Zinger with a few springs of Rosemary

These are just a few of the endless possible flavors. And you don’t have to get fancy with it either, you can totally use plain old lipton tea bags (I still do that too)

Now harness the sunshine and feel awesome and fancy by making some tea!

Woo Hoo Wednesday!

-C

SUN TEA

%u00a0What you’ll need

• Tea- Either bags or loose leaf
• Water- Preferably Filtered
• A glass jar with a lid
• Sunshine

I %u00a0use a ratio of 1 tea bag or 1 tablespoon loose leaf tea per 2 cups of water. And I usually make my teas in half gallon ball jars so I use 4-5 teabags or tablespoons of tea. (makes just enough tea for 4-6 tall glasses, depending on you glass size) %u00a0If it’s a mint tea, I usually use a little less because I find that mint teas can become to strong and bitter so I %u00a0use 3 teas bags or tablespoons of loose.

Directions

Place tea loose or bags into jar. Fill with water, leaving about an inch for tea expansion, place lid on tight, and stick in the sun for anywhere between 3-5 hours %u00a0(depending on how strong you like your tea). When tea is infused to your liking, remove teabags or strain the loose tea and stick into the fridge to chill. Serve as is %u00a0in a drinking vessel with a few ice cubes and add sweetener if that’s what you do.

Drink within a day or two, then rinse jar and make a new batch!

I think we are pretty much out of the clear. Yes I woke up yesterday morning to a light coating of snow on the ground, but I feel like that was it. It has got to be because I have to wash my winter jacket that is as of now, covered in dirt and concrete so it needs to be washed. And once it is washed, it is getting packed away with all of the other winter stuff. So you see, we really cannot have any more winter jacket weather because I won%u2019t have a jacket anymore. It must be sweater weather or warmer and that is that. Are you listening weather?

The week good, if not a bit hectic and all over. There was work, paper work, the %u201cmust not be mentioned%u201d and no they are not done yet but must be by next Monday or else. The mr has been running around all over town doing this and that which has been a slight pain because when he is super busy and I am busy and we only have one car and my bike needs a good tune up before it is safe%u2026 Well it makes things some what difficult. But so far we have managed and there wasn%u2019t too much arguing over car. We did manage to take a nice walk down by the lake, I also was able to sneak in a warm afternoon of clearing out the garden and picking up yard trash. The back porch is almost ready for summer living and green things are popping up all over the place making me ache for more more more. Think of it, trees with leaves. I am getting more excited every day.

Friday was a crazy day. Woke up, went to the gym with no plans other then work at the studio and having the littles over for dinner. By the time I came home I had plans to quickly make a cake before work because the littles pizza party turned into a family birthday party for Megan. So I made that cake, ran to work, moved 700lb of clay and loaded kilns. The mr picked me up with littles in tow, we ran home in time for all the family and partied partied until I kicked everyone out of the house at 7 because I was exhausted and plus Megan needed to go to Costco so she needed to leave anyway. Ha.

Yesterday, after a near sleepless night due to a racing mind, we woke up (again, to snow. BLAH), I bundled up and out we went to spend half the day pouring wet, heavy, cold concrete. I must say, pouring concrete usually isn%u2019t the worst, but yesterday, well it was. First off, we were working in very tight quarters making moving somewhat difficult.. Secondly, I was sore from all the clay moving the day before. And I was freezing. And tired, so so tired. By mid morning my fingers and toes had tuned to ice, I was covered in so much dirt and concrete, the mr was basically rolling around in dirt (reference picture above) so was trashed worse then me, but we were getting it done. The mr was brilliant and saved us so much time and hassle by coming up with a tarp and jostle concrete mixing technique so that was good. Anyway, the concrete was all poured and it is over. (Now we wait for it to set to finish porch construction) The rest of the day was short and went by with cleaning the house. I don%u2019t know how my family does it but there were sprinkles from the cake EVERYWHERE!

Today, after a quick romp to the gym, the library, the grocery store, and all the other little chores I need to do, the mr and I are going for a drive to look at a van. We need a work car. The life car is getting trashed, we have been having to get materials delivered (which costs money and stupid time) because we cannot fit wood and big stuff in the car, and it is just not practical for us to share. So van. A van for work, A van for cross country travel. A van for sanity. Hopefully this van is the one. Wish us luck.

Some stuff from the internet that you might care to look at.

-Thinking real hard about buying these Birkenstocks%u2026but not sure. Any opinions?

–Stop Asking Kids What They Want to Be When They Grow Up The question forces children to define themselves in terms of work. And really, what do you consider grown up?

-Gluten sensitive? Try sourdough. Why Some Gluten-Sensitive People Can Still Eat Sourdough Bread.

–Kitchen spices look startlingly different in the wild. So pretty

–Brown is one of my favorite colors

-Got a power drill? If yes, you also have a oven cleaner. I Cleaned My Oven with a Power Drill

–All Right. Some Cats Do Fetch. Only never fetched. That would have been beneath him. But he did respond to his name. Cats Might Not Act Like It, But They Know Their Names As Well As Dogs

-I very much like this house.

-Will Kevin Costner be my neighbor? Floating cities could ease the world%u2019s housing crunch, the UN says

–10 Things Nobody Tells You About Plywood. I love a good application of ply wood. We have plywood floor tiles in the pantry and our kitchen cabinets are plywood and they are great.

And some pictures from the week.

Mid January. I love this time of year. All the big holidays are over so the pressure is off, my body is acclimated to all the snow and cold so I handle it just fine, and every day gets a little bit longer. I feel like it’s when I really get %u00a0focus on and enjoy winter for all it’s greatness. It’s just so dang pretty and I am again wondering why I do not live in a little cabin in the middle of the woods. Or why I have yet to go sledding. On the agenda for the week…Build a cabin and speed down a hillside on my ass. Can’t wait.%u00a0

The beginning of the week I was still feeling like garbage. I thought for sure that what I had was a 24- 72 hour thing, but it lingered well into the week. (watch out, everyone is getting it) I feel better now, but am still a little low energy. Getting sick sucks so I think I won’t do it again.%u00a0

And the twins turned 20. I would tell you all about how great it was to hang out with them but they are too cool and didn’t return any of my texts for hanging out and I guess they don’t care about me any more so whatever. Instead the mr and I brought Judah over to Shanons to crack eggs and make giant bowls of marshmallows with Cameron for dinner. So Happy Birthday Mark and Paul. You suck.

The mr and I made a trip out to Barton for a day of hard work. We gutted a bathroom, the mr moved some plumbing,%u00a0and Jes and I starred down an actual “shit hole”( i.e. a hole that shit comes out of and is the proper use for the term), while sewage spewed all over the place and the mr stood strong and held up all the pipes in a sea of shit. It was a very dirty job, but someone had to do it. Unfortunately it was us, but there are worse things I guess.%u00a0%u00a0And now Jes is well along her way to putting a floor down over the hole %u00a0and spending quality time with the purple swans the adorn her bathroom walls.%u00a0

After that, the week just flew by. There was the farm share (thank goodness, I was starving), more family stuff with my and the mr’s family,I re-pierced my ear and may have gotten it infected,%u00a0and I started a new sourdough starter (the yeast loves Red Cat Farm flour!). And let’s not forget the crazy ass weather. Friday afternoon I had all the windows and the front door wide open and the heat turned off. 60 something degrees and almost every speck of snow had melted. It was so, well, it was nice, but so weird. And very short lasting because we got like 6 inches and dropped like 70 degrees by the next day. Ah, Vermont. Love it or go crazy.%u00a0

Today is one of those days where it could go either way. I have a pile of papers that I need to go through, people to see, laundry to do, but I am also thinking that an afternoon of wondering outside,%u00a0reading and knitting might just take priority. Next week is going to be hectic so maybe I rest up today. And ice my ear because it really hurts.

What the Internet had for me to read.%u00a0

-I love these so much I need to print them out, especially Backpfeifengesicht because it makes so much sense.%u00a030 Untranslatable Words From Different Languages Illustrated By Anjana Iyer

–The Rolling Huts: An Architect%u2019s Alternative Approach to Camping. My new life plan right here. Seriously. Buy the land and build the huts. It’s gonna happen.

-After reading this book I feel like I should just make life all about the bread.%u00a0Sourdough: A Novel.

-Mushrooms are magical, and not just the magical kind.%u00a0Do Medicinal Mushrooms Actually Work?

-Are Gummy Bear Flavors Just Fooling Our Brains? It’s all the colors. Our brains do weird things.%u00a0

-I could eat that whole thing. Giant Cabbage.%u00a0

-Periods piss me off.%u00a0There%u2019s a reason using a period in a text message makes you sound angry

–Inside One of America%u2019s Last Pencil Factories. This is pure awesomeness and make me really happy.%u00a0

-Talk about some sweet ass sweaters.%u00a0Custom Hand-Knit Sweaters Blend Subjects into Urban Environments

–It’s January: Time to Plan Your Garden.%u00a0I can’t wait for seed catalogs!!!

Pictures from the week.%u00a0

This is the golden time of the summer. Warm days, cooler nights. It’s still summer but fall is so close that sometimes you can almost feel it, like in the morning when it’s chilly enough for a sweater or see it when you notice a few tips of trees turning colors. It’s the best and I am eating it all up.%u00a0 Plus I am really excited for apple soon. Early macs should be on there way and I am craving me some apple stuff.

The week has been a little foggy very much productive. Foggy because my allergies have taken hold of my brain making me cranky and at some points unable to hold a single though. Productive because well we got so much done. See the porch(picture above) It’s freaking amazing. The mr is so so good. (he did most of it)%u00a0 And I am not the only one to think it. Every day that we are outside working on it, at least 5 old ladies have to stop and tell him how amazing he is. I think a few of them might have a little crush (hehe) So porch is built and painted and the sealant is drying out now, the rest of the house is painted, all the siding is finishes,%u00a0 and it’s pretty much done out there besides a few little things and landscaping. It’s crazy, I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. But it did and now on to the last big house project…The downstairs bathroom. Saving it for last because we have been using it as the dirty paint sink and litter box room (need to figure out a new spot for that) but now it’s time and back to the fixations of a bathroom remodel.%u00a0 I am on the hunt for a very specific, never to been seen in real life, cast iron corner shower base. I have seen a few pictures, but not many and I even had found one for sale but it was (was because they sold it) 4 hours away and we thought we could wait to buy it. Lesson learned on that one. We even took a trip to a few salvage yards and come up with nothing. So if you by chance have something like that, let me know. I need it to be happy.

Today is going to involve a bit of cleaning and organizing and bean picking? I have been slacking on my farm share pyo (it’s beans and flowers right now) because the garden in the back yard has been keeping me plenty busy picking out there. The tomato plants alone are a freaking jungle with a thousand pounds of fruit that is going to need to be picked this week. I am going to have tomatoes all winter long. So yeah, go to farm, maybe library, clip my nails, just take it easy. You know, do the Sunday thing.

Internet reads from the wee.

–These Are the Foods Climate Change Will, Well, *Change*

-Don’t just stare up at the sun, it will be bad. Planning To Watch The Eclipse? Here’s What You Need To Protect Your Eyes

-Bring back the swing set so I can play on it. A Short-Lived Swing Set Makes a Splash in Burlington’s South End

–It%u2019s Officially Too Goddamn Early for Pumpkin Spice. I completely agree. Also to freaking early for all the Halloween candy on display at the grocery store. IT’S NOT EVEN FALL YET!

-I would like to think I would be fine with this but I am not so sure. I guess I need to try it to see .World%u2019s longest suspension footbridge opens in Switzerland

-I would so buy it if I lived in Sweden, and had the money. This Gorgeous Greenhouse in Sweden is For Sale

–Why You Should Slurp, Not Sip, Your Soup. I am a slurper

–Why Newborn Babies Smell So Delicious. I hear it all the time from people around babies. What does it mean that I never find newborns to smell all that pleasant?

-Do you watch the GBBO? If yes, you gonna watch the new season? After seeing this, I am for sure. I mean, biscuits barfing up jam…. The New Great British Bake Off Trailer: Is It Saccharine? Creepy? A Surrealist Stop-motion Extravaganza?

–Vibrant Mushroom Arrangements

A few pictures from the week.

Holy FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!. That is what I have been saying every time I step foot outside my door. The mosquitoes are INSANE! I think I have gotten at least 100 bites in the past few days. No joke, they swarm around as soon as the door opens. They have chased me inside more then a few times and have taken more of my blood that I am willing to give. It is terrible and disgusting and I really really hate mosquitoes. (my white walls also hate the mosquitoes, there are blood splatters everywhere)

Other then the nasty ass mosquitoes, the week has been pretty good and super productive. Windows are re glazed and painted, half the siding is up, yard is clean and porch is painted. Give us a bit off good weather and we can get stuff done. We also managed to have dinner with Shannon one night then had Miley and Judah for dinner and crazy messy chalking another night (they discovered water and chalk makes a paste and covered themselves in thick war paint like chalk) I got a few new house plants and I am officially turning our house into a jungle. (makes me very happy)%u00a0 The mr has been working on some sweet stencils so there is little pieces of paper and spray paint everywhere and I am thinking about where to set up my pottery wheel. ( I think the loft is going to be my new pottery studio) So yeah, a full week of fullness and summer and all the people. Oh, and the mr would like me to mention that he has invented a new way to cook an egg. He calls it a broached egg. It’s when you are trying to hard boil and egg and accidentally break the egg when putting it into the water and the egg kinda seeps out and cooks that way. Half hard boiled, half poached… Broached. So smart that one.

Today brings with it some more fine weather. I don’t know what we have planned for the day, but I am hoping it is not too much. Maybe take the kayaks out, maybe burn some more siding? Hopefully not much work related stuff, but you never know. Whatever we do end up doing, I want to be outside. I just really hope that the mosquitoes are all dead.

How I interneted this week.

-Cherry Season! ALL THE CRAZY THINGS FARMERS DO TO BRING YOU THEIR CHERRY CROP.%u00a0 Where do I get a cherry cheat sheet?

-When I was a kid, every time I saw a banana peel I was sure someone was going to slip on it. The History of the Banana Peel Slipping Gag

–Does drinking a few cups of coffee a day help you live longer? Yes, yes it does.

-If your in need of some advice. This Is How You Get Stuff Done.

–Airline Passenger Checks Single Can of Beer As His Only Piece of Luggage hahaha

-Birds are smart so do forget that… Ravens Surprise Scientists By Showing They Can Plan

–The Uninhabitable Earth. Scary and very real shit people.

-I get it, sometimes you don’t want to get out the salad spinner but when you don’t wash your greens you are probablyeating dirt (and maybe some bugs) Here’s Photo Proof That You Really Should Wash Your Leafy Greens

–Desperate Ways to Stay Cool on the Hottest Days of the Summer

–Just Smelling Food Could Make You Gain Weight. But who wants to eat without tasting… that would suck.

Pictures from the week.

If a big ass pile of balloon animals (and balloon swords and flowers) doesn’t make you crack a smile, well then, that just sucks for you.

A couple of littles slept over this week and took over the house with balloons. Not only did the kids bring their own balloon kits, but the mr has a crap load of balloons himself that he inherited from my late brother-in- law Richard (he would be so happy to know that the mr uses these balloons to drive me crazy….thanks dude) And to top it off, we stopped over at the loft with the kids to grab a few things and there was as large bag of blown up party balloons that must have blown into our yard. Those also ended up in the car ans back at the house. Seriously, the house was flooded with balloons. It was kinda amazing.

This week has gone by like a blur. %u00a0 The mr finally got his wish and got himself a couple of fish. One is a gold fish which he named Lefty, and the other might be a goldfish that I named Dead -in- Two- Weeks (yes, I am an asshole). I am not exactly thrilled to have fish for a few reasons, mainly that I have been fish traumatized. Back in college the mr went through a fish faze. He would get a beta fish, name it, feed it, love it, then a week later the thing would jump form it’s fish bowl and commit fish suicide. It happened 3 times.%u00a0 So yeah, fish don’t do it for me, but the mr is happy so I deal. Plus these fish are goldfish and the tank has a cool lid that grows plants. We shall see.

There was some other stuff, like apartment stuff that happened this week, but mainly it was a quite week.%u00a0 We did finally tackle the kitchen pantry which I painted pink,and started putting up the shelves. Now i just need to pick a color tile for the floor and just get it finished already because once that happens the kitchen will basically be all done. And I will be so happy and I will take lots of picture to show you.

And it’s Sunday. You got any plans? Doing anything spectacular? I am still not feeling 100% which I blame on the weather. Super cold and crazy warm… the ups and downs really screw with me. (but those warm days were really so nice) Winter just needs to dump some snow and let me be cozy for a bit. (not happening this week) But what can you do? For me, I hope to keep it slow today, maybe do some napping, reading, drinking of too much coffee. Just as long as I order the flooring, I should be all set.

Some of the internet browsing I did this week.

-It’s 6 am, I am running at the gym, and I get a text from the mr. It’s a link to this, Dyson 360 Eye. Why he was looking at vacuums at 6am, i could not tell you but what I can tell you is no cleaning robots. NO.

-The world after a snow storm always makes me so happy and peaceful. There’s actually a scientific reason why the world gets quieter after it snows.

–The More You Swear, the More Honest You Are. Fuck yeah.
%u00a0

-I think I might try this for the mr this week. Roast Pasta Before Cooking it.

-I love mustard and am very interested in trying some on this list. THE MODERN PANTRY GUIDE TO THE WORLD’S BEST MUSTARDS

-Saving my pennies for a someday purchase of this Staub Round Cocotte. But this one by Martha is really good too and sooooo much cheaper.

-Muffins are basically cupcakes that people eat fro breakfast, don’t be fooled. Why Muffins Are a Trap.

–Walking In America Remains Dangerous. I would be lying if I said I was never afraid of getting hit.

–Bees Have Just Made the Endangered-Species List. It sucks that it has come to this, but it’s good that there is awareness and protection now.

-This dude is pretty badass. Sweater Selfies: Man Knits His Way Around The World

I feel like we are officially doing winter now. Snow and chill for the next three months. Some people might not be excited for any of it, but me, I am excited to get out in some snow covered woods and take it all in. I love me some winter.

This past week was a week of trying to feel not sick (still feeling a little sick) and to get myself all organized for the year. Not a new years resolutions, just a tax man thing. Aggh, already thinking of taxes.. lets just not right now.%u00a0 Besides that, not to much else. We babysat, worked, I tested out my new wood carving knives that the mr got me for Christmas and almost cut my hand off (which means tha they are really good).%u00a0 The week kind of flew by, but oh yeah,%u00a0 the kitchen, it’s like pretty much DONE!!!! I have a working sink, faucet, cabinet doors, and have been using the stove all week. It’s amazing, and strange and I am looking forward to lots and lots of kitchen time. There are still things that need doing, but last night I prepared our entire meal on the kitchen counter and not on the dining table or floor. It was a pretty great feeling.

Today. Got a day full of events.%u00a0%u00a0 Most pressing is that my twin bros are doing 19 today (Happy Birthday Shitheads) and are coming over in a few hours for some home made cinnamon buns that I need to go make. So I should go do that.

Interneting from the week.

–How the World’s Smallest Birds Survive the Winter. On the list of things to know.

-This seems like a positive start to a new year. The Year of Conquering Negative Thinking

–Every Single Food Trend That’s Been Predicted for 2017

-Interesting read. And more sugar in yogurt then ice cream..jeeze. The case for eliminating sugar. All of it.

-The strange and amazing things that happen. On This German Island, The Breakers Bring Gifts Ashore: Thousands Of Toys

Amazon Has a Patent for Floating Blimp Warehouses. I heard this a few days ago on the news… What the fuck? Is this for real what we are moving towards?

I love road art. Artist %u2018Roadsworth%u2019 Uses Public Streets as a Canvas for Art and Activism

-You learn something new about your food every day.

– Being an aunt to a nephew with deadly nut allergies is scary…I have almost killed him a few times. Giving Babies Peanut Butter Could Actually Prevent Peanut Allergies

A few pictures this past week.

Happy New Year! Hope you are all waking up to sunshine in your strut, happiness in you mouth, and kindness in your soul.

So much has happened in the past few weeks. Holidays full of family, friends, birthdays (Happy to Cam, Anthony, and Judah) and all around craziness. My phone got run over by a car(still works!!!),we finally changed the summer tires to snows (thanks Justin!) and Only has now officially moved in behind the couch and is enjoying the life of an indoor cat. We are getting so close with house, so so close.%u00a0 I know a few weeks ago I told you we about the counter top and how excited I was to un-mold it. Well what I don’t think I told you was that we un-molded it and it was fantastic. Then, trying to remove the sink mold from the middle with a hammer, I cracked it! AAAGGGHHHH. That was suck a bitch if a day. But we took it it stride and just made another one. And that one, that one is even better and amazing and is all nice and perfectly perfect. Once we did that we threw up a tile wall, hood vent, light fixtures and all sorts of little things that I can’t remember.%u00a0 Last night we slid the stove into place and fired it up for the first time! It was really stinky and great and I made the mr a pizza for all of his excellent work bringing me fire. It was so freaking satisfying to use an oven and feel slightly normal again. Now all we need to do is finish the cabinets, find a faucet that doesn’t suck, hook up the sink, and a bunch of other stuff and we will be all set. But the oven works so the coming weeks are going to be full of so much oven food so watch out! (i can’t wait to start posting more recipes!!!!)

On top of all the life stuff, I have been sicko all week, and so has the mr. Actually, he has been sick for two weeks and then lovingly gave me his ick. And it sucks. I am tired and snotty and sore and cranks. I have been eating large quantities of raw garlic, swiging apple cider vinegar, and drinking turmeric tea all day. (so I don’t smell the greatest) I bought elderberries to make some syrup a little while back but left them at the loft and we let my dad stay there this week so I didn’t want to go ransack the place looking for them. He is gone now so I’ll go find them and make us a wellness potion. We will be tops soon!

So 2017. You got any resolutions or plans? Me, no resolutions, just to keep on living with intention, kindness and love and to continue to pursue my goals. We have plans for some travels (cross country awesomeness part 2), plans for some life stuff, so we got things. But basically I am just looking forward to making this year good,%u00a0 and to be better with where I place my camera. (I can never seem to find it when I want to take pictures)%u00a0

Sunday. With today, I am going to relax and recoup. Drink my fluids (tea and coffee)%u00a0 take my naps, and wash the sheets (everyone should start a new year with clean sheets!)

Internet links to click if you like.

-Happiness vs meaning…How about some of both.%u00a0 In 2017, Pursue Meaning Instead of Happiness.

–15 of Carrie Fisher%u2019s Best, Most Honest Feminist Quotes.

-I already charge my cellphone on the machines at the gym, but it it floated , well that would be swell.%u00a0 Floating Gym In Paris Uses Human Energy To Sail Down The Seine River

–A Short Catalog of Foods Discontinued in 2016

-Life is bigger then all of us. As A Rough Year Ends, We Turn To The Cosmos For Some Perspective

–Cross stitching awesomeness

– Maybe 2017 will be the year that I wear pretty things. I really like this dress.

–The Best Things We Read and Ate This Year

-I really want to go back to Iceland.(maybe we will this summer?!) 15+ Iceland Photos You Won%u2019t Believe Are From This Planet

-There is sugar in everything. How Much Sugar Can You Avoid Today?

Pictures of some of the crazy.

It’s melon season!%u00a0The past few farm shares have included at least 2,, if not 4, watermelons and cantaloupes… Can you imagine. eating 4 watermelons a week? That’s a tall order, even for someone like me who could probably eat a whole watermelon in one sitting, it’s just doing it 4 times a week might be a problem. %u00a0It’s a whole lot of melon and not enough stomach, you know what I mean?%u00a0

So what do I do with so much melon? Well first off, whenever anyone comes over I try to get them to %u00a0eat as much of it as they can, which helps a great deal. Secondly, I cut it up and freeze some. But here is the thing, I love eating chunks of frozen cantaloupe, but frozen watermelon,%u00a0never been my favorite so I usually just pass on sticking in the freezer, until now.

There is something magical that happens when you stick the frozen watermelon and cantaloupe together into a blender and making it into a slushy. It’s like eating a ray of sunshine or maybe even a rainbow, just really satisfying and juicy, and sweet but not overly sweet, and just really freaking good. Especially with all the stupid hot and humid weather we have had lately, these slushies have really been hitting the spot. %u00a0Even the mr who says he dislikes watermelon was all into these melon slushies. (he likes things that he says he doesn’t like all the time. I am pretty sure he is taste confused) Like %u00a0he was really into them. Usually I have to prompt him to tell me how something tastes, but not the slushy, he told me right away how good it was. I was like, I know dude, I just drank 2 of them myself. And I could have drank 2 more but I was trying to not get tot far ahead of myself. Moderation is key, plus I didn’t;t have any more of the melons frozen. Time to restock the freezer.%u00a0

Go make yourself a slushy, it’s juicy deliciousness will make you happy.%u00a0

The stuff. Watermelon and cantaloupe. There should be a lime in there too but it must have rolled away….%u00a0

Chop some of each of the melon up, remove the rinds, and place on a big baking sheet and stick into the freezer until frozen. You can do as little as 2 cups %u00a0of each or as much as a whole melon, it’s up to you. (I suggest freezing extra)

Frozen melon. And now you can slushy.

Equal parts watermelon and cantaloupe go into blender, along with the juice of half (or more to taste)%u00a0a lime and you are probably going to need to add about 1/2 a cup of water, to help the blender blend it all together. %u00a0And that’s it. You blend until it’s all slushy.

Pour into cups, garnish with a lime and/or little chunks of melon and you are good as golden.%u00a0

From now on, or until summer is over and I run out of melon, I will be keeping the freezer stocked, especially because I know that the next few weeks are suppose to be stupid hot again.%u00a0

Waterloupe slushies. Summertime goodness.%u00a0

-C

• about 2 cups %u00a0of a watermelon
• about 2 cups of a cantaloupe%u00a0
• 1 lime
• 1/2- 1 cup water%u00a0

Note. The amounts above are for two%u00a0 2 cup slushies. You can, and should,%u00a0freeze a crap load more melon for future slushies. %u00a0Also, no one would fault you for maybe adding a little nip of some clear alcohol to this slushy situation to make it more of an adult drink……

Cut up a watermelon and a cantalopjue. Eat some and reserve at least 2 cups of each. Remove the rinds from the melons and cut into cubes. Place melon on a baking sheet and stick into the freezer until frozen.%u00a0

Once frozen,%u00a0place equal parts frozen watermelon and cantaloupe into the blender with the juice of a lime. Turn blender on. Slowly add in water until the blender can handle blending the frozen fruit. Blend until smooth. Pour into cups, garnish if you want with more melon and lime, then get to drinking.%u00a0

Let’s see, what did I do yesterday?

Nothing. Well, not completely nothing. I did wake up and go to the gym, but then came home and fell %u00a0asleep on the floor for more then an hour and woke up in a puddle of drool.%u00a0I also continued my binge watching %u00a0of the Mindy Project so I can be up to speed when season 4 started tonight on hulu!!!!!. And I %u00a0cut up a cantaoplue. That’s a good amount of stuff for one day, right?

Anyway. even when I am gone from home for just a few day, I never really quite feel right when I get back until I cook something inn my kitchen.. So after my floor nap, I got up with a hankering for some of the juicy cantaloupe that I got from last weeks farm share (and forgot to stick in the fridge before we left so I came home to very ripe cantaloupe)%u00a0Cut it into chunked, tossed with slightly toasted caraway seeds and then caramelized a bit more. Super fresh and clean and a very almost fall like way to eat the melon. And even though it took me about 4 minutes to do, it’s all I needed to make me feel normal again.

Ah, home and food and Mindy.. Nothing better, Now to back doing stuff all day.

The stuff. Some cantaloupe and some caraway seeds.%u00a0

Place caraway seeds into a dry skillet and place on the stove on high heat. While the seeds are toasting, remove seeds and rind of the cantaloupe and cut into mouth sized chunks and place into a bowl.%u00a0

Once you hear the fist pop from the seeds, dump them in the bowl with the cantaloupe and toss around. Then dump the seed covered chunks back into the hot skillet.%u00a0

%u00a0Sear each side until browned.

And scoop it back into the bowl.%u00a0

Eat right away. IF you want to get down with a scoop of yogurt on top or maybe a bed of some green, I think you should.%u00a0

Enjoy you Tuesday my friends.%u00a0

-C

• 1/4 of a cantaploupe
• 2-3 teaspoons caraway seeds

Toss caraway seeds into a dry skillet and turn heat onto high. Toast seeds for about a minutes or so or until you hear the first seed pop. Dump seeds onto cantaloup chunks and toss around then dump the cantaloupe into hot skillet. Let chunks sear for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they are starting to caramelize.%u00a0Remove from pan when you are happy with doneness.%u00a0

Eat right away.

I have had a shit ton of rhubarb in the freezer all winter and the other day I just needed it gone so I made a big old batch of rhubarb jam. I was actually saving the rhubarb to make the mr a pie for his birthday, but that was like 2 months ago and he ended up with ice cream sandwiches and that is why the rhubarb was still there. Oops. But now we have rhubarb jam. And I think I was feeling a little guilty about not making the pie so I, like the nicest girlfriend in the entire universe (self proclaimed yes, but so so true), used that jam to make little hand pies. And in the shape of hearts no less because hearts are amazing and it doesn’t hurt that it is Valentine Day next week.%u00a0%u00a0

%u00a0Valentines Day. What does that even mean? I think the primary meaning of Valentines Day is that all things should be in the shape of hearts. The rest is to be determined by however you may feel about the day. Whether you hate it or love it, (we love it, It’s an excuse to take the day off and cover the house in hearts) you get to make the day yours. Just make sure that whatever you do, you make it with hearts. And with pie.%u00a0

These heart pies make for great little additions to hand made Valentines day cards ( I see maybe for a kids class), are great for breakfast because they are basically just like heart shaped pop tarts,%u00a0or even for an evening of bindge watching Netflix with a loved one or by yourself. It’s pie my friends. Eat it whenever, and with whomever you want.

Also, hearts are not just for Valentines Day. And pie sure the hell isn’t either. They both just happen to work for the occasion.%u00a0

The stuff. Basically just pie crust things. Flour, a little sugar, salt, coconut oil, and ice water. Then you need jam. Jam or perseveres of any flavor(s)%u00a0%u00a0you like. I used grape and rhubarb and %u00a0had raspberry here, but I didn’t use it because I didn’t want to open it.%u00a0

Make the crust. Flour gets mixed with the salt and sugar %u00a0and the the coconut oil gets cut in until it %u00a0looks all crumbly.

The water is added %u00a0in tablespoons until a shaggy from forms.

Dump the dough onto the counter to gather all together and rest for a bit. Or if you like, wrap in plastic and refrigerate %u00a0for up to a day or two.

After the dough got a good rest, roll it out and cut your hearts out. (Not your actual heart. Please and thank you)

Half of the hearts get a dollop of jam

Then each heart gets a top and crimped together with a fork. Poke a little hole into the tops to allow for steam to escape then all of the hearts get stuck into the fridge (or place on the back porch) to get nice and cold for a bit.

%u00a0After the chill, off they go into the hot oven to bake and be.

Look at these cuties. A little jam overflow, but all is good.%u00a0

I decided last minute that they needed a little something. Powdered sugar, lime zest, and lime juice. The easiest of glazes. You could do lemon, or vanilla, or almond, or even melt a little chocolate and drizzle that on. Next time I will do chocolate because because.%u00a0

Drizzle that glaze all over.%u00a0

There you have it. The cutest little hand pies ever .

Share if you like, or just eat them all. They are your hearts so do what you will.%u00a0

-C

makes 18 %u00a0three inch pies

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salr
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 8 tablespoons ice water
• 3/4 cup solid coconut oil
• about 1 1/4 cups of some sweet ass jam (any kind you have)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 lemon or lime%u00a0

Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. add coconut oil in large chunks then with a pastry cutter or a fork (I used a fork) cut the oil into the flour until the flour looks crumbly and there are lots of tiny little chunks of coconut oil throughout the mixture. Add in 5 of the tablespoons ice water, toss around, then add in another 3. Mix around until the dough starts to come together when squished. If it still seems too dry, add in a tablespoon or 2 more water. (I always end up using a little more in the winter months) You want the dough to just be able to come together. Dump dough onto counter and press and smoosh dough into a ball. Let dough sit for 1/2 hour or wrap in plastic and place in fridge and using within the next day or two.%u00a0

After the dough has had some time to sit, flour the counter and roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick. Take a cookie cutter ( I used a 3 inch at the widest part heart cookie cutter) and cut out the hearts (or whatever shape you want) Make sure you have 2 cutouts for each hand pie. After you have cut out as many as you can, gather dough into a ball and roll out again. Repeat until dough it gone.%u00a0

To assemble.

Place a tablespoon of jam into the middle of half of the cut out hearts . Gently place the remaining heart cut outs on top of those.%u00a0. Take a fork and press the edges together and then with the fork or a knife, pierce of cut a small slit into the tops to allow the steam to escape while baking. I did this directly on the baking sheet but found out after it was easier to do on the counter and then move it to the baking sheet. Do what ever it easier for you. Once they are all assembled and on the baking sheet,%u00a0refrigerate for 15 minutes.%u00a0

Preheat oven to 350

After the time in the fridge, remove and place directly into the hot oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bottoms are a nice %u00a0%u00a0golden brown. The tops will be slightly pale so check the bottoms.%u00a0

Remove and let cool on the baking sheet.%u00a0

While they are cooing, make the glaze. Zest the lime and juice the lime and combine with the sugar. If it is too runny, add a little more sugar, too dry, add in a splash of water. Once the pies are cooled,%u00a0drizzle each one with icing.

Now you have a bunch of cute little heart shaped hand pies and you should probably eat one (or a few)

This is the golden time of the summer. Warm days, cooler nights. It’s still summer but fall is so close that sometimes you can almost feel it, like in the morning when it’s chilly enough for a sweater or see it when you notice a few tips of trees turning colors. It’s the best and I am eating it all up.%u00a0 Plus I am really excited for apple soon. Early macs should be on there way and I am craving me some apple stuff.

The week has been a little foggy very much productive. Foggy because my allergies have taken hold of my brain making me cranky and at some points unable to hold a single though. Productive because well we got so much done. See the porch(picture above) It’s freaking amazing. The mr is so so good. (he did most of it)%u00a0 And I am not the only one to think it. Every day that we are outside working on it, at least 5 old ladies have to stop and tell him how amazing he is. I think a few of them might have a little crush (hehe) So porch is built and painted and the sealant is drying out now, the rest of the house is painted, all the siding is finishes,%u00a0 and it’s pretty much done out there besides a few little things and landscaping. It’s crazy, I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. But it did and now on to the last big house project…The downstairs bathroom. Saving it for last because we have been using it as the dirty paint sink and litter box room (need to figure out a new spot for that) but now it’s time and back to the fixations of a bathroom remodel.%u00a0 I am on the hunt for a very specific, never to been seen in real life, cast iron corner shower base. I have seen a few pictures, but not many and I even had found one for sale but it was (was because they sold it) 4 hours away and we thought we could wait to buy it. Lesson learned on that one. We even took a trip to a few salvage yards and come up with nothing. So if you by chance have something like that, let me know. I need it to be happy.

Today is going to involve a bit of cleaning and organizing and bean picking? I have been slacking on my farm share pyo (it’s beans and flowers right now) because the garden in the back yard has been keeping me plenty busy picking out there. The tomato plants alone are a freaking jungle with a thousand pounds of fruit that is going to need to be picked this week. I am going to have tomatoes all winter long. So yeah, go to farm, maybe library, clip my nails, just take it easy. You know, do the Sunday thing.

Internet reads from the wee.

–These Are the Foods Climate Change Will, Well, *Change*

-Don’t just stare up at the sun, it will be bad. Planning To Watch The Eclipse? Here’s What You Need To Protect Your Eyes

-Bring back the swing set so I can play on it. A Short-Lived Swing Set Makes a Splash in Burlington’s South End

–It%u2019s Officially Too Goddamn Early for Pumpkin Spice. I completely agree. Also to freaking early for all the Halloween candy on display at the grocery store. IT’S NOT EVEN FALL YET!

-I would like to think I would be fine with this but I am not so sure. I guess I need to try it to see .World%u2019s longest suspension footbridge opens in Switzerland

-I would so buy it if I lived in Sweden, and had the money. This Gorgeous Greenhouse in Sweden is For Sale

–Why You Should Slurp, Not Sip, Your Soup. I am a slurper

–Why Newborn Babies Smell So Delicious. I hear it all the time from people around babies. What does it mean that I never find newborns to smell all that pleasant?

-Do you watch the GBBO? If yes, you gonna watch the new season? After seeing this, I am for sure. I mean, biscuits barfing up jam…. The New Great British Bake Off Trailer: Is It Saccharine? Creepy? A Surrealist Stop-motion Extravaganza?

–Vibrant Mushroom Arrangements

A few pictures from the week.

The mr was being awesome and spent the afternoon in the pantry adding a few finishing touches I requested ( more shelves and more supports) There really isn’t enough room in there for the both of us and the air compressor, but I needed to be close by to tell him what to do (in a non annoying way) so I figured the best way I could help was to be in the kitchen and make cookies. That’s helpful right? Answer is yes, cookies are always helpful.%u00a0

It’s been a while since I made cookies and I am pretty sure that these were the first cookies that I have made in this kitchen which seems crazy and I should go on a cookie making binge. I finally moved all of my food and baking stuff over from the loft so now I can bake on a whim. Cookies, cakes, bread… whatever I want whenever I want.%u00a0 It is so nice having my baking things all around me. I feels like home.

And I think from now on whenever we have a house project that I am not to interested in doing (like we need to empty and clean out he basement) I will just make cookies instead. I’ll be like “Oh, I could help with that or….I can make you favorite cookies” (with a wink, wink and a kissy face)%u00a0 We will see if that floats with the mr. I’ll let you know.

The stuff. Coconut flour, regular flour, and a little bit of salt. Sugar, coconut oil, ground chia seeds with water and a lime.

Zest the limeand mix into the flour.%u00a0 Add the juice to the chia seeds.

Mix together the chia seeds, sugar and melted coconut oil until evenly combined

Then dump dry into wet and mix until it turns into dough.

Take any liberties in shape you want here. I rolled some into balls and some I made into hearts. These cookies don’t spread so pretty much any shape you make it’s going to stay that way. Just make sure to smoosh the doughwith you hand or a fork to an even 1/2 inch so it bakes evenly.

Once the baking sheet is full, stick it in the preheated oven.

12-15 minutes laterthe kitchen smells all nice and the cookies are golden and ready. Stick them on a rack to cool.

Oh but wait, why not add some chocolate drizzle.%u00a0 Easy easy. Justmelt some chocolate chips with a bit of coconut oil.

And drizzle it all like yeah

Sweet coconut lime goodness. My pantry is all done and the mr got some love cookies. All in a days work.

bye!

-C

makes about 12-15 cookies

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted and cooled)
• 1 lime (juice and zest)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons plus 4 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips and teaspoon coconut oil for drizzling (optional)

Preheat oven to 350

In a medium bowl, whisk the flours, the salt and the zest of the lime. After zesting lime, juice it and mix2 tablespoons of the juice into the chia seeds along with the water. In a separate larger bowl, mix together the sugar and coconut oil until combined then mix in the chia seeds. Dump the dry mixture into the wet and mix until combined and dough has formed.

Roll cookie dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place on cookie sheet and about 1/2 inch smoosh flat with either your hand or a fork. If you want, shape the dough into a shape (like a heart) just make sure to flatten it so it bakes evenly. The cookies don’t spread so you can place then really close together on the cookie sheet. Place i oven and bake for about 13-15 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are a nice deep golden brown. Place cookies on a wire rack to cool. Now they don’t need it, but I was told the chocolate drizzle was awesome…

Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and place in microwave at 30 second intervals until the chocolate and oil can be mixed together into a drizzable consistency. Now take that and drizzle all over tops of cookies.

Eat. Store uneaten cookies in airtight container

Guess what guys %u2026.I got myself a sick vintage waffle/ griddle iron. I couldn’t be more thrilled!!!%u00a0I found this thing at the local recycled goods store the other day, along with a very beautiful old white pyrex mixing bowl. It was one of my best thrift store scores! (Checking out the inventory and the condition of all the old things that day, I would say an old lady had just died and all her perfectly keep, mint condition kitchen stuff had just been donated. %u00a0But it’s cool, cause I get the feeling that she was at least 90, with a big loving family, and was happy until the day she died. And I am sure she would be pleased that I have taken over the waffle maker. Thanks old lady!)

%u00a0And now I am pretty sure that %u00a0everything I make for the next week will be cooked on said waffle/griddle. I am serious, I already have a list of things to try and cook on it; cookies, biscuits, granola bars, potatoes, fruit, some type of pasta situations%u2026. the list of possibilities is endless and I bet that at least 1/2 of these things will be totally awesome and amazing.

But first thing first. I need to make dinner.

So waffles for dinner!!%u00a0

Note. These waffles are completely 100% fantastic for any meal you want to make them for. They consist of nothing more then beans, a shit ton of veggies, and just a bit of cornmeal. But don’t let that fool you because they are super packed full of so much flavor, have a really soft tender inside, with a nice crispy outside and are so super pretty. They are wonderful!%u00a0The stuff. First, we got a big old pile of shredded up veggies which include; carrot, beet, sweet potato, onion, parsnip, celeriac, and a little bit of kale. %u00a0A we got a bowl of rinsed and strained white beans, a little bit of cornmeal and salt, pepper, and garlic powder.%u00a0

The makings of something amazing!Before you do anything. get your waffle iron out and preheat it.%u00a0

While thats going on, take you beans, %u00a0add 3/4 cup water and puree until smooth with whatever blending device want to like to use. (I used my hand blender%u2026less to clean)Now collect all the shredded veggies and dump into a big bowl with the bean puree, the spices and the cornmeal. Mix until combined. The batter should be thick, but not dry. If its seems to wet, add more corn meal, or too dry, add a little more water.

Note how my batter turned a magical pink%u2026 I love beets, they make everything pretty! And check out that bowl!When your waffle iron is preheated, oil it if needed (if your not sure, add a little oil just to really make sure your waffles don’t stick) and take appropriate size spoonfuls of the batter and stick on iron. Close it and wait%u2026..My iron has a little light that turns on when the waffles are done cooking, so I waited patiently (ok iI did open it a few time) until light tuned on and removed the perfectly cooked waffles.

Did I mention how awesome my new/old vintage iron is?

SO AWESOME!!

I made a little gaucamole and gave the mister and little bowl of plain Greek yogurt with lemon juice, but feel free to top, drizzle, or dump whatever you want onto these beauties%u2026%u00a0

Happy waffle Wednesday!!!

-C

Veggie Bean Wonder Waffles

Makes 8-10 waffles (in my iron) feeds 2-3 peeps

• 1 small carrot shredded
• 1 small parsnip shredded
• 1/2 a small celeriac root
• 1 small beet shredded
• 2 kale leaves chopped into tiny bits
• 1/2 an onion, shredded
• 1/2 a small sweet potato shredded
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 cups(or 1 can) cooked, rinsed and strained white beans
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• teaspoon each salt and pepper
• oil for iron(if needed)

Note on veggies%u2026 I used what I had in the fridge and shredded, it came to about 3 cups. If you don’t have these specific veggies or only want to use a few.. go for it. Just make sure to have 3 cups of whatever veggies you use.

Take you beans and blend them up with whatever device you would like to use. Once creamy, add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Stir until combined.

Once the waffle iron is preheated, oil it( if needed) and place the recommended amount of batter right on it there. Close and cook until golden brown and waffly.

Serve on a plate with topping of your choice, A few suggestions.. Guacamole, salsa, hummus, mustard, greek yogurt%u2026 anything that tastes good to you.

Eat as breakfast, lunch or dinner…

Fork into face

My winter farm share is coming to an end this week. One more pick and then a three week stretch until the summer share starts%u2026 WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!! Stock up as much as I can is what.

I have been strategic about the roots and veggies that I have chosen to bring home the past few weeks.(My farm lets you pick what you want) %u00a0I know what I can buy at the store, things like carrots and potatoes, so I have been passing those up, but the roots like beets and celeriac%u2026 I have been bringing home baskets of those and hoarding them in the fridge and basement in preparation for the laps in farm fresh food and knowing that if I want to by these at the store it s going to coast me a million dollars %u00a0a pound. (a for real million dollars)

Yup, lots of roots around here, especially celeriac root which is fantastic.%u00a0I am kind of obsessed with celeriac, with its fibrous, knobby exterior, soft but almost meaty texture inside, and a flavor that %u00a0is close to celery but so much better. %u00a0I don’t know why it has taken me so long to do a posting featuring this amazing root vegetable %u00a0(I eat it almost every day)

So here, an amazingly tasty, hearty but not heavy, celeriac recipe. %u00a0Perfect for spring and the change into summer%u2026. Mustard roasted celeriac with an fanatic split peas gravy that will have you licking you bowl clean.

%u00a0The stuff%u2026.For the split pea gravy we have a carrot, a parsnip and a large onion chopped into small chunks. %u00a0Salt, thyme, a bay leaf and of course the split peas. Then there is the celeriac root* sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds and some plain old yellow mustard .

*Note. I don’t peel my celeriac root. I really enjoy the fibrous exterior but realize that some don’t(The mister does not like it) so peel it if you want.%u00a0

Toss the chopped parsnip, carrot, onion and the spices into a pot on medium heat and let veggies sweat a few minutes until tender. %u00a0Add in the split peas and enough water to cover everything. %u00a0Turn pot on high and bring to a boil, then cover and turn to low. Make sure to give the pot a good stir ever few minutes and add more water if needed%u00a0

While the gravy is cooking, %u00a0take the celeriac rounds and brush each side with yellow mustard, sprinkle with pepper, and place on a baking sheet. Stick into the oven to roast for about 25 minutes, flipping the rounds after about 10 minutes.

Once the peas have soften, remove the bay leaf and puree until smooth and oh so creamy. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. If you find that the gravy seems to thick, just add in more water until it’s the consistency that you want.%u00a0The gravy is made, the celeriac is roasted%u2026 now we are ready to eat!!%u00a0Stick the celeriac on a plate and dump good amount of that gravy right on top. Feel free to add a bed of spinach, or a grain or anything you want, because why not, and also some chopped tomatoes for a little acid and prettiness.

Serve with the fanciest knife and fork you can find. Extra yellow mustard and sriracha sauce are great condiments to have close by.

Happy Tuesday!

-C

Mustard Roasted Celeriac with Split Pea Gravy

• 2 medium celeriac roots
• 6 tablespoons mustard
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium parsnip
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2/3 cup split peas
• 2-3 cups water%u00a0
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons thyme or italian spice mix
• salt and pepper
• spinach (optional)
• diced tomatoes(optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Small dice the carrot, parsnip and onion and throw into a large pot. Spinkle with salt and pepper, add in the thyme and bay leaf and add a splash of water. Stick on stove on medium heat and stir. Let cook until the veggies become soft and fragrant. Now add in the split peas and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then cover and turn heat down to medium low. Let cook until the split peas become tender (about 25 minutes) string on occasion and adding more water if the peas are not completely summered while cooking.

Once the peas are tender, let cool for a few minutes, remove bay leaf, and either dump into a blender or blend with an immersion blender until nice and creamy. If gravy seems to thick, add in more water.%u00a0

Scrub or peel celeriac roots and slice them into 1/2 inch think rounds. Place on a baking sheet and brush mustard on both sides and spindle with pepper. Stick into oven for about 10 minutes, flip, then back into the oven for another 15 or so minutes, or unit the celeriac is tender.

When the celeriac is done remove from oven and %u00a0stick a few rounds on a bed of spinach (or not, or any kind of grain or green you like) Top with a hearty helping of the gravy and toss on some chopped up tomatoes.

Eat with at knife and fork like a fancy person.

Whenever my little sister comes over for dinner, I always end up making lentils in some form or another because she, like me, is awesome and loves a good lentil. It makes me so happy that she has such great taste in food and wants to eat what I make. %u00a0It’s validation from a teenage girl which is the best kind of validation.%u00a0

So last night when she came over after school for dinner and trash talk (she likes to verbally abuse Nick) %u00a0we decided %u00a0to make both of our favorites %u2026 Lentils AND sweet potatoes. How can you go wrong with that combo? Well I am telling you that you can’t. The rich creamy soft and slightly sweet sweet potato mixed up with the hearty, earthy, oh so fantastically tasty lentil. Add in a bit of kale and cheese if you wish and serve with salsa and guac… Whoa, it’s the best!!!

Such a great evening, I get to the cooking, the sister gets to the verbal abuse and the mister, begin the champ that he is, takes it and dishes it right back.%u00a0

I am the greatest(coolest)%u00a0sister.%u00a0

Baked sweet potatoes, cooked lentils, chopped up kale and monetary jack cheese (Cheese is optional.. and make it vegan cheese if you want) And you don’t need then, but salsa and guacamole are the best toppings.. So you have them.%u00a0

Cut the cooked potato in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh out into a bowl. With a fork, smooth%u00a0the potato , sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix in lentils and kale.

Stuff the mixture back into the skins of the potato.

And add some cheese (The mister and the sister wanted lots of cheese, no cheese for me) and stick the potatoes into the oven and let bake for another 5 or so minutes or until the cheese is all melty or the top is nice and crispy.%u00a0

Remove and plate%u2026 Serve with salsa and guacamole and maybe some corn chips. %u00a0

I am the greatest sister

-C

Makes 2 serving

• 1 Large Sweet Potato
• 1 cup Prepared Lentils
• 1 cup Chopped Kale
• 1/2 cup Grated Monetary Jack Cheese (Vegan style or not)%u00a0
• Salsa (optional)
• Guacamole(optional)

Place potato in oven at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until soft a baked throughout.

While potato is baking, prepare lentils. %u00a02 cups water to 1 cup lentils. Add water and lentil to pot, bring to a boil, add a sprinkle of salt, and reduce to simmer until lentils are tender.%u00a0

When potato is cooked, remove potato %u00a0and let cool for a few minutes.%u00a0Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the flesh out of the skins and place into a big bowl. WIth a fork, mash the potato a bit %u00a0Add in the lentils and the kale, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and mix to combine. Stuff the mixture back into the skins of the potatoes and top with cheese. (if using ) Place potatoes back into oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melty and bubbly or the top of the potato is a bit crispy. Remove from oven and serve on a plate with salsa and guacamole.

Eat and be happy.%u00a0

When something goes on sale at the grocery store, I tend to buy it. Being that it is Valentines Day this week, all the stores are having specials on all sorts of sexy things%u2026 and strawberries are one of them.%u00a0 Now I am not a huge fan of buying produce that is terribly out of season, but I can’t help myself%u2026a good deal is a good deal and the strawberries were a super good deal. I was just going to make some sweet ass strawberry jam or maybe a lovely strawberry cake with them (and I probably still will), but these strawberries are actually super juicy and full of flavor, and it’s always nice to eat some full flavor freshy strawberries%u2026 especially soaked in balsamic vinegar. %u00a0And yeah, %u00a0I think that this salad is pretty sexy, so it makes for a perfect Valentines day dish.

A handful of ingredients and 5 minutes will get you to a fantastic salad experience.

A bowl of %u00a0baby spinach, a few chopped up strawberries*, %u00a0half a sliced avocado and a small handful of toasted almonds.. Oh, and don’t forget the balsamic vinegar%u2026.%u00a0

*Note.. Strawberries are kind of heart shaped already so if you want, reserve a few slices to fancy up you salad presentation, but chop up the rest into smaller pieces.

Pour the vinegar on the strawberries and let sit for at least 5 minutes. (the longer the strawberries can sit with the vinegar, the better)

%u00a0Pile it on.. %u00a0thinly slice avocado.. rough chopped toasted almonds%u2026 It’s pretty much as easy as it can get.And last but not least, toss on the balsamic soaked strawberries and drizzle the remaining vinegar. (if you made hearts, place on top to make pretty) Sprinkle with a pitch of salt and pepper and pow! Fancy, sexy, delicious salad.

Not to shabby for %u00a05 minutes and a handful of ingredients. %u00a0Anyone (don’t feed to a person with nut allergies) would be so syked to be fed a salad like this%u2026 You yourself should be pretty excited to eat a salad like this. Heck, I am excited to eat a salad like this!

A love salad for everyone and everyday!

YAY for Thursday and Happy meal planning!!!!%u00a0

-C

%u2665 Balsamic%u00a0Strawberries on Spinach Almond Avocado Salad%u00a0%u2665

Ingredients for 1 large or 2 small salads

• 3-4 ripe strawberries
• handful of roasted almonds (slivers or whole)
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar%u00a0
• 3 cups baby spinach
• Pinch of salt and pepper%u00a0

Dice strawberries into small pieces (reserve a few whole slices for heart shapes if you want) and toss in a small bowl %u00a0with the balsamic vinegar. Let sit for at least 5 minutes. Rinse and dry spinach. Place in a bowl(s) and top with thinly sliced avocado, chopped almonds and balsamic soaked strawberries. Drizzle the residual vinegar on top and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.%u00a0

Eat with a fork

Summer at it%u2019s fullest and greatest. And not so great, at it%u2019s hottest. At least this past week was freaking amazing, especially compared to last weekend. That humid heat damn near killed me!

The week started off with a soggy hike and a heat soaked day of camping and fun times. Groton State forest, at the Stillwater campground. The mr and I were both a little drained and tired from being so so hot but we managed alright, went and did some hiking, the mr did a little fishing, I sat around and read. The normal, just a little slower then usually. But it all changed that night. We woke up and walked down to the water to watch the sunrise and take in the fresh, glorious, air. It was not hot and humid and we was alive again. HA

Then after camp, home we went, back to the week. Stuff happened, like stuff that needed to happen, like those taxes that I have not wanted to talk about%u2026 They are pretty much done. HOORAY!!! All the ups and downs. The few tears, the rage, the anxiety. Over. And now I can stop worring about them for a least a few more months, until next year that is. Because every year. Blah. Stupid taxes.

Besides taxes, there was a dentist appointment that I sat around and waited for but never got to be seen. (SO PISSED) Paul came over for resume help and food. The mr, Barb, Coco, and I spent an afternoon at the park. I weeded for hours in the garden. And lets talk about the garden. Whoa it is going and going. Right now it%u2019s all about the squash, chard, and greens and the tomatoes will be booming soon!!!!!!!!!! That on top of farm share, well I am just one happy, full to the brim, lady.

The rest of the week was and went.

Friday I worked the studio all day then the mr and the littles picked me up. We ran to the store to get supplies, then went home for our first backyard campout. The rule was, besides me, no one was allowed inside at all until just before bed time to use the bathroom and brush our teeth. (Or to go number two. They needed to use the toilet for that. Ha). And so I got dinner stuff ready (In the house but I needed to use the fridge and because I could), we ate dinner at the picnic table, set up the tents, made a fire, did so-mores, played with fire, and the kids ran around hopped up on sugar. We went to the park, walked around the neighborhood, and when it got dark, lit up some sparklers. It was the best! The kids were so happy, the mr and I were happy to be camping again, even if it was just the backyard, and really, it just was so great. Even when we were in our tent trying to fall asleep and all I could hear was Miley and Judah whispering and giggling and playing cards in their tent. Because that is what you do when you camp and it had me falling asleep smiling.

When we woke up (I woke up 3 hours earlier then everyone, made a pot of coffee and read on the porch) the breakfast stuff was ready outside. Eggs and toast on the camp stove. Hot chocolate, and freshly picked raspberries from the bushes in the yard. Then back to the park, and home they went. Probably some of the best camping yet. And now that we know they are awesome in a tent, we are taking them to a state park in the next few weeks. That%u2019s gonna be fun.

Today we are heading south to camp. Lake St. Katherine or maybe Half Moon. Not sure yet. The plan is to get close and see which one feels right. We were going to bring the kayaks but It might rain and thunderstorm during the afternoon and tonight so I figured we can just go hiking instead. I would rather be in the woods and not in the middle of the lake during a lightning storm. That would kind of suck. But watch, it probably won%u2019t rain, and even if it does, I am ok with that. We won%u2019t melt.

Endeavors into the world wide web.

–IKEA Upcycles Furniture Into Homes For Birds, Bees, and Bats. Some sweet ass, fun-tastic looking homes for those birds, bees, and bats.

-I am not a beach person, partially because of this. Sun, Sand And Sewage: Report Shows Many U.S. Beaches Unsafe For Swimming. Happens here in Burlington too.

–What are algae blooms and why are they bad?. Another reason I avoid the beach.

–Questions We All Ask Ourselves: Why Does the Beanbag Chair Even Exist? Because who doesn%u2019t love to sink into big ol%u2019 bean bag?

-I can%u2019t wait until the fennel starts flowing at the farm. It is the BEST! Fennel: The Best Ways to Pick It, Cook It, and Eat It

–Why Science Can Be So Indecisive About Nutrition. There is always something about something. Heck, even kale was bad for you at one point.

–This common plastic packaging is a recycling nightmare. When is the plastic craziness going to stop? And when are people going learn that just because it says it is recyclable, doesn%u2019t mean that it is actually going to be recycled. We should just stop worring about recycling and focus more on reducing freaking plastic all together.

-Not sure what I think about this. Petition to change date of Halloween gets more than 80,000 signatures

-Soemthing about these photgraphs that I really like. Murky waters: Karine Laval%u2019s dreamy photography takes you from the deep end to a surreal space

–A Needle Pulling Thread. Sashiko is the perfect simple, low-cost hobby to get you off your phone. Or just have another hobby. I have been meaning to Sashiko all the big holes in my couch cushions.. Maybe it will be my winter project?

Pictures from the week.

Forecasters are calling for a stormy week, supposedly starting today. And you know what, I really hope that we get it, and get it all. Everything is so dry and crunchy and we just need rain. I need rain. Too many sunny days in a row actually start to have an opposite effect on me. I get cranky. I need some overcast and gloom. It helps my brain.%u00a0That might sound crazy, but I know I am not the only one. (right?) Anyway, we need the rain so it better freaking rain.%u00a0

Just another mid summer week.%u00a0 The mr was all week work work working, I did some work, but was not overly busy, I kind of was feeling like shit, especially the beginning of the week. Super hot Monday followed by hot and humid Tuesday just felt like a slap in the face. I am, and I think that we are all, officially over the hot humid shit. It is just too much. I feed Megans evil cat all week which was annoying since that cat basically tries to kill me everytime I look at him (he really is a mean little fucker). Barb and I had a mid week meet up at the farm for green bean and flower picking, Now I have so so so many beans because %u00a0I have been doing a lot of picking of all sorts of tasty things, including beans, at home in the garden (so many raspberries, not to mention all of the kale (Happy dance me)) %u00a0Pretty soon it’s going to be an onset of so much food. I am getting ready. The chest freezer is plugged in, got some more %u00a0canning jars and freezer bags. Bring it on I say. I’l take it, I’ll take it all. Which bring me to Thursday Farm share.%u00a0Got the first tomatoes of the season (whoop whoop) %u00a0and had to stop myself from shoveling them all down my throat. I decided to try and be proactive this year and not overdue the tomatoes and give myself hella shitty reflux. We will see how I do.%u00a0

Friday we had plans for a tree house picnic with the littles but it ended up turning into a front porch picnic. To many people to fit way up high in that tree. It’s all about safety first.%u00a0We had (not me, I ate lettuce zucchini bowl) cucumbers, green beans, peaches, and fluffernutters. Miley and Judah %u00a0were not so impressed because they get to eat that shit whenever, but Barb. Oh was she excited for the fluff, just shoving it down like a champ. Haha.%u00a0And Coco, that little dude can eat. He picked himself a giant cucumber from the garden and managed to eat just about all of it, this is after he ate like a quart of berries and a bunch of green beans. That little, he knows the way to my heart.%u00a0

And then somehow while we were taking our after dinner stroll around the block, the mr fell off of Miley’s scooter and like maybe broke his wrist….For real, his wrist yersterday was like a ballon and he can barely move it. %u00a0I went to work at the studio (loaded a glaze kiln… I am so good at loading glaze kilns)%u00a0and came back to bags of half frozen corn and peas leaking juice all over and the most miserable mr I have seen in a long time. HIs wrist was hurting him way bad. %u00a0SO two things, the littles are to NEVER ride a scooter without the proper head gear and maybe some wrist pads again and maybe not at my house for a while and %u00a0the mr is just straight up NEVER to ride a scooter EVER again. Broken wrist or not. He doesn’t have a helmet. And I can’t deal with a miserable mr.%u00a0

Today depends on how the mr is when he wakes up. If his wrist is still really swollen and he is miserable, I am going to run away…HA, no , I am going to drag his ass to the X-ray place and get his wrist looked at. If he is feeling better, well then I am going %u00a0 bike into town to the gym, hit up the old library, hope for rain, but that it doesn’t start til I get home from said library ( but really I will be ok, my back pack is waterproof so I can handle a little rain) do a few errands with the mr and then veg out for the rest of the asfternoon. I am really hoping for the latter of the two.

Internet from the week.

-Heat Making You Lethargic? Research Shows It Can Slow Your Brain, Too. %u00a0Finally some science to explain why I am garbage when I am hot.

-FDA Outlook on Plant-Based ‘Milk’ Is Bleak: “An Almond Doesn%u2019t Lactate”. Hahaha. No almonds do not… And not sure I care what they call plant based “milks”.. maybe I should? And think of the possibilities of a new name… Almond hey yeah!

-In love.%u00a0Vintage Summer: A Seventies-Style Shoppable Airbnb in Montauk

–Are We Really as Awful as We Act Online? Oh shit, some of the things people say. I don’t know, sometime I think people are even worse…

-I think we are going to buy this tent. I would have already but I am trying to find it for cheaper (I have found it for 299.. still want it to be cheaper though), maybe wait for a sale? I don’t know, but it is the tent that we want.%u00a0

–The Lawless Energy of Teen-Age Girls. I don’t know why, but I really connected with these photos. Maybe it’s because I was a teenage girl at one point, and I am pretty sure I did karate in a field too.%u00a0

-Buffy was the best, like seriously kick ass cool.%u00a0A ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Reboot Is Reportedly In The Works

–What’s the Difference Between Persian & English Cucumbers?%u00a0I guess size matters.%u00a0

-I want so very much to see one of these performances. I mean, a ballet at a farm, pretty fantastic. Maybe I’ll surprise the mr and bring him or…Maybe he will surprise me.%u00a0%u00a0Farm to Ballet Project.%u00a0

–Inside a mostly faded culture on Norway%u2019s border with Sweden. Magical farmers. Take me there.%u00a0

Pictures from the week%u00a0

The ladies are home in their hive, living the life that bees live. We have a great view of them from the window on the porch and when you are just sitting there quite, you can hear them buzzing. It’s a great spot if you want to just sit there and watch them. (without getting mosquito bites)%u00a0%u00a0Bees, in and out,%u00a0doing their little flight dance up into the sky. It’s mesmerizing.%u00a0

The week was good, if not a little hectic. The last week of May always is. It is time for apartment turn overs so we had few people moving out and in, plus the mr has been doing side work all week and has been crazy all out all day, everyday. So things have been busy. But we still managed to get in dinner at Shannons,%u00a0a evening on Mills river, and even a nice bike ride.%u00a0Then there are my new garden woes.%u00a0I have been spending more time then I really want to around the garden, keeping the slugs away because the cooper strip doesn’t do shit,%u00a0(I am now hand picking the fuckers and sticking them in a bowl of water. The birds love it) and getting an insane amounts of mosquito bites. I don’t think I have ever been bitten on the face as much as I have been in he past week. And I have noticed that bubmble bees have made a home under one of the raised beds which also sucks because it ‘s right where I walk and I have almost collapsed there spot. I wish I could get them to move so I don’t accidentally kill them so I am going to do a little research and see what I can do. Plus squirrels. I hate them right now and that is about as much as I can do or say on that subject.%u00a0Anyway, On top of the garden and all the running around for people and life, %u00a0I mowed the lawn, cleaned the car, adjusted the kitchen cabinets, and got rid of a bunch of shit. We are so, what can I say,%u00a0%u00a0productive? Or is it, In need of a vacation?%u00a0%u00a0So soon, so soon. The van life is calling our names…..

Today is got a lot going for it. It is suppose to be beautiful, I have a stack of books, some wood to carve, some canvas to paint. My bike tires are still inflated and haven’t popped yet (I really need new tires) so I am definitely going for a bike ride, and maybe the mr and I will adventure to do some picnicking while I read and he fishes. A well needed take it easy day.%u00a0

The world of the wide web.

-Um, yes. I have listened to this many many times.%u00a0Weezer Covers Toto’s ‘Africa,’

–Read This Story and Get Happier. Oh, well ok. Doesn’t hurt, right?%u00a0

-Going to do some wild foraging for stuff to make some stuff,%u00a0like medicinal stuff.%u00a0Guide to Making Tinctures

-YOU’VE NEVER SEEN WAVES LIKE THIS BEFORE. Erie and beautiful.

-I want it but have no need for it. Maybe get it and save for a later house? Fabulous vintage square bathtub

%u00a0-The Pits: An Endearing Short Film Follows a Lonely Avocado Searching NYC for its Other Half%u00a0The music makes it great.

-If only I didn’t already live here.%u00a0VERMONT WILL PAY YOU $10,000 TO MOVE THERE AND WORK FROM HOME

–Naked-Eye Asteroid and More Can’t-Miss Sky Events in June

-I follow a lot of plant people and I must say that those are my favorite pictures, but I am a crazy plant lady so….%u00a0Plant People Are Rarely Bullies%u201d: The Leafy, Zen Corner of the Internet That Is Plant Instagram

–You, Too, Can Make a Fancy-Schmancy Pie Crust. I think I am gonna give it a go this week, or maybe next week. I’ll wait for fresh peaches.

Pictures from the week

So much to catch up on. Skipped last Sunday because the mr and I were in RI visiting my family. After a fantastic visit with the fam (more to come in a separate post, I need to go through the pictures) we came home all happy and full of love and amped for the week which was a good thing becausethe past week was packed.

The school system was still on strike so we spent a bunch of time with the littles, playing with chalk and trashing my house. Then there was the afternoon fun run out to the islands for ice cream with Barb. A strike day cone with all the sprinkles because why not.%u00a0 The teacher strike ended and they all went back to school.(finally)%u00a0 I spent a lot of time over at the loft going through all the shit in the basement and getting rid of things that are not and do not and should not. Which lead to me home cleaning out my closet and getting rid of a bunch of clothes as well. I am on a purge right now and if it (whatever it is) hasn’t seen any action recently it’s gone. And the garden. still so many tomatoes. I have never had or seen so many tomatoes come from one persons back yard before and beside a bed of beets and kale, are the only thing left standing in garden now because I pulled up the rest of the garden. The purge continued on the outside of the house too. I basically just want to get rid of everything. Fresh and clean and minimal and covered in tomatoes.

Up until just this past week, the mr and I have been doing our laundry over at the loft. It is annoying to shlep dirty clothes but we just figured that we are getting a new washer and dryer so no need to kill ourselves moving them from one basement to another. We shelp, we deal, it’s fine. But what is not fine is that we no longer have a washer!!! One of our tenants washers one of the other buildings broke. so what was the solutions? Give them our washer. AAHHH! And me being me will not buy a new washer/dryer until they are sale which will be black Friday sales that happen in November. 6 weeks, at the very least, but it’s cool. I will just go back to doing what we did before we got a washer and dryer, I’ll just got do it at Shannon’s house, which a win win because I get my laundry done and Shannon gets to hang out with me! HA

On top of the washer situation , the mr computer crashed. Of course right? He is dealing like a champ and functioning very well with just using his phone for all of his email and communication needs. I am impressed because when my computer crashed a few years ago I flipped my shit. And now I am really worried that my computer is going to die too because we have the same computers. Eek!

Jackson, my oldest nephew turn 16!!!. I can’t even believe how old he is. The mr and I were just reminiscing about when we first starting dating (15 years ago) that we would go on “dates” that actually were us babysitting Jack. Little Jack and his hockey stick that he used as a weapon. Those were some crazy days. And now he is old and tall(er) and one of my favorite 16 year old kids. And how cute, he actually wanted a family birthday party. So I made a giant oreo cookie cake, the entire family packed into Shannon’s house and no one fought or got injured! Best part, Shannon wrapped up a set of car keys and gave it to Jack. AFter he opened them he got so excited and ran outside to check out his new car. As he opened the door he stepped on something and looked down. He stepped on his new toy car.. HAHAHAHAHA. The look on that kids face. He was crushed and it was amazing. We are asshole people but it’s ok because it is with love.

Yesterday the mr and I went to the annual harvest market in Underhill and did a little road side apple picking. It was a sunny and hot day which kind of killed the fall vibe. I was sweating and we passed on hot apple cider because it 80ish and just to hot. But I did score a pretty cool jar with ducks on it so it was not a complete wash.

And topper. Got home from a day out, kind of tired and just want to clean and relax and the mr gets all excited and crazy. There is a shasta camper for sale and he wants it gone now. “Oh yeah, well go and get it” is what I said and so we did. Drove out to up there Vermont and paid a young man a very very tiny fee to tow a pretty beat up, but still tow-able 1970’s shasta camper home. Huh, that just happened didn’t it? Oh jeeze, we have a freaking (non functional because it needs to be renovated)%u00a0 camper in the driveway.

And that was just some of the past 6 day.

Today is going to be a lax day? I need to be able to have no set plan and just kind of do what comes to me (except I need to go to grocery store and return library books pick out tile because we are finally finishing off the downstairs bathroom this week) But other then that.

Internet fun from the past weeks

-This sucks. USDA Warns That Millions of Pounds of Fake %u2018Organic%u2019 Imports Are Pouring Into U.S And this is why it is important to know your farmer and buy local.

-How Has The Geology Of Vermont Affected Its Character?

-I love Melissa McCarthy (who doesn’t) Trailer for %u2018Cook-Off!%u2019

–Shasta campers. Our is a 14 ft? Maybe, It was dark and weird and I haven’t really even gotten a good look.

–Restoring VW Beetles, Buses … And Dreams. Is it crazy that we still want a bus? Maybe the camper will quench our dreams.

-Nugget ice is pretty fantastic and this ice machine makes it for you at home. No more stealing ice from the hospital (the mr got hooked on the nugget ice from all the hospital trips over the years)

–Vegan hard boiled eggs….. Don’t really understand it.

–Does Happiness Really Make You Healthier? It Depends on Where You Live.

-The view from the top is fantastic. The birds get it all.%u00a0 Aerial Images of Vibrant Landscapes

Ans some pictures from the week.

All at once is how it goes. The garden is all star fantastic and just won’t quit.%u00a0 I find myself picking 4-6 cucumbers and the same in squash every morning. The tomatoes plant are a freaking jungle and there are so so so many tomatoes, all just about to ripen. The kale is doing it’s thing, growing big and green and I pick a few handfuls a day. And then there are all the beets and carrots and cabbage,chard, and kidney beans. It’s big, and prolific and amazing. I am much proud of myself for growing a shit load of awesomeness.

And then there is the farm share. I get all my garden stuff times 10. Tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, kale. Not to mention the corn, onion, carrots, and herbs and all the flowers. The food keeps on coming.%u00a0 I live in a house, with a big kitchen, with lots of counter and a full sized fridge, yet I still don’t have a place for it all. The squash overflow has now made it’s way to the dinning room. But I am not complaining.

The new rule that I have instated in the house. Every meal must contain at least two tomatoes, a cucumber, and some kale. Want a snack, grab a zucchini. You thirsty? well eat a cucumber. No joke. I get a little stressed out about how much food is around that needs to be eaten or canned, but that is good stress. I am on the lookout for a chest freezer to help with the stress. I promised myself that I would have one by now so I need to get on that asap.

Summer harvest. This is the time of year that I gain a few pounds. It’s a zucchini tomato belly for sure.

And this salad. I am a huge fan of the B.A.S (big ass salad). A big ass bowl of all the goodness from farm and garden plus some lentil protein and a little good avocado fat. Fresh and clean and delicious. Makes you feel all good when you eat it.%u00a0 So go for it. Eat yourself a B.A.S. you wont regret it.

The stuff. Cucumbers (that is a white cucumber and it’s really tasty) tomatoes, some kale, parsley, and cilantro. Also need some onion, cooked lentils, and at least half an avocado. Salt. pepper, and red wine vinegar for the finish.

Kale. parsley, and cilantro get a good rough chop and then tossed into a big ass bowl.

Cucumber, onion, and tomatoes get their turn next and chopped into mouth sized pieces. Into the bowl as well.

Top it all with cooked lentil, some avocado, and a glug glug of vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

Now all you need is a fork.

All the summertime in a bowl. Here’s to summer bellies!

-C

• 2 cucumbers
• 2 small or 1 large tomato
• 1/2 of an onion
• 1 cup cooked lentil
• 1/2 an avocado
• 3-4 large kale leaves
• handful fresh cilantro
• handful fresh parsley
• red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper

First off, grab a really big bowl. Take herbs and kale and chop into small pieces. Place in bowl. Next dice up you onion, tomato, and cucumbers into mouth sized pieces and toss those into bowl. Dump the cooked lentils on top of that and dice the avocado (I used half but you can use whole one) into little pieces and through that on too. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and a glug (about a table spoon or two) of vinegar.

Now mix until all combines. Taste and if needed, add more salt, pepper, and/or vinegar.

Now its done. Grab a fork and eat to your face.

This is the golden time of the summer. Warm days, cooler nights. It’s still summer but fall is so close that sometimes you can almost feel it, like in the morning when it’s chilly enough for a sweater or see it when you notice a few tips of trees turning colors. It’s the best and I am eating it all up.%u00a0 Plus I am really excited for apple soon. Early macs should be on there way and I am craving me some apple stuff.

The week has been a little foggy very much productive. Foggy because my allergies have taken hold of my brain making me cranky and at some points unable to hold a single though. Productive because well we got so much done. See the porch(picture above) It’s freaking amazing. The mr is so so good. (he did most of it)%u00a0 And I am not the only one to think it. Every day that we are outside working on it, at least 5 old ladies have to stop and tell him how amazing he is. I think a few of them might have a little crush (hehe) So porch is built and painted and the sealant is drying out now, the rest of the house is painted, all the siding is finishes,%u00a0 and it’s pretty much done out there besides a few little things and landscaping. It’s crazy, I didn’t think it was ever going to happen. But it did and now on to the last big house project…The downstairs bathroom. Saving it for last because we have been using it as the dirty paint sink and litter box room (need to figure out a new spot for that) but now it’s time and back to the fixations of a bathroom remodel.%u00a0 I am on the hunt for a very specific, never to been seen in real life, cast iron corner shower base. I have seen a few pictures, but not many and I even had found one for sale but it was (was because they sold it) 4 hours away and we thought we could wait to buy it. Lesson learned on that one. We even took a trip to a few salvage yards and come up with nothing. So if you by chance have something like that, let me know. I need it to be happy.

Today is going to involve a bit of cleaning and organizing and bean picking? I have been slacking on my farm share pyo (it’s beans and flowers right now) because the garden in the back yard has been keeping me plenty busy picking out there. The tomato plants alone are a freaking jungle with a thousand pounds of fruit that is going to need to be picked this week. I am going to have tomatoes all winter long. So yeah, go to farm, maybe library, clip my nails, just take it easy. You know, do the Sunday thing.

Internet reads from the wee.

–These Are the Foods Climate Change Will, Well, *Change*

-Don’t just stare up at the sun, it will be bad. Planning To Watch The Eclipse? Here’s What You Need To Protect Your Eyes

-Bring back the swing set so I can play on it. A Short-Lived Swing Set Makes a Splash in Burlington’s South End

–It%u2019s Officially Too Goddamn Early for Pumpkin Spice. I completely agree. Also to freaking early for all the Halloween candy on display at the grocery store. IT’S NOT EVEN FALL YET!

-I would like to think I would be fine with this but I am not so sure. I guess I need to try it to see .World%u2019s longest suspension footbridge opens in Switzerland

-I would so buy it if I lived in Sweden, and had the money. This Gorgeous Greenhouse in Sweden is For Sale

–Why You Should Slurp, Not Sip, Your Soup. I am a slurper

–Why Newborn Babies Smell So Delicious. I hear it all the time from people around babies. What does it mean that I never find newborns to smell all that pleasant?

-Do you watch the GBBO? If yes, you gonna watch the new season? After seeing this, I am for sure. I mean, biscuits barfing up jam…. The New Great British Bake Off Trailer: Is It Saccharine? Creepy? A Surrealist Stop-motion Extravaganza?

–Vibrant Mushroom Arrangements

A few pictures from the week.

The radishes in my garden have gone from these tiny little wisps of green to a freaking jungle of greens with bright red bulbs bursting through the dirt. Ah, radishes., those little red balls of zesty crisp goodness that grow like crazy in the garden. They are no fuss, no joke, toss them seeds into the grown and bam, you get you some radishes. No matter how crappy of a gardener you might think you are, I bet you could grow you some radishes no problem.%u00a0

And with those radishes comes a butt load of greens, the greens that everyone seems to just toss away which is crazy because the greens are so good. They are tender and zippy and make for great eating. I usually just toss them into salads or whatever but I guess I went a little overboard with the planting of the radishes and I have so so so many radishes all ready to be pulled now with so so so many greens that need to be eaten. So pesto. Fresh early summer, tangy and bright green goodness. It is super tasty and great. Definitely anew favorite and a great way to use up your radish greens.%u00a0

The stuff. Lemon, olive oil, garlic, walnuts, salt and pepper and a bunch of radish greens.

Pretty freaking simple here. Stick garlic, and walnuts into the bottom of the blender and give that a pulse or two.%u00a0 (I would have used my food processor but the new blade has yet to arrive). Add in all the greens, the juice of lemons, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn on low and stream in a oil. You might need to push down greens to get them into the blenders vortex.

And once it’s all blended you have pesto.

Pour it into a jar and it’s ready to go.

Eat it any way you eat your pesto.

Enjoy

-C

Makes about 2 cups

• 4ish cups radish greens (I used the greens from about 10 radishes)
• 1-2 lemons
• 3/4 cup toasted walnuts
• 4 cloves garlic
• about 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper

Stick walnuts, garlic and the juice of the lemons into a food processor or blender. Give it a pulse or two. Add in a pinch of salt ans pepper then the greens. Turn on blender and stream in olive oil. You might need to stop a few times to push the greens down. Blend until combines. Taste and season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Pour finishes pesto into a jar. Eat with pasta, use as dip, smear on toast, dollop in soup. Eat it however you like.

Lasts for a week or two in fridge and freezes really well .

First off, the Happiest Day to all the mothers out there. You are great and make the world possible so thank you for that. Take care today to you. We are all better off when you are happy or to quote a sign hanging in my moms kitchen..When Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

Whoa did we spend a lot of time outside this week. The mr upin the trees cutting them down. Weeding out gardens and cleaning up lawns. So many trips to the wood chipping plant to get ride of all the wood. My arms have been sore all week and it’s mostly from hauling large chunks of wood to the truck. That and all the dirt moving. 6 yards of dirt dropped off to fill up our raised beds. The garden is on it’s way to being a real garden and I couldn’t be any happier. First time in my life where I have had a yard with a garden to do what I please. It’s freaking amazing. And now I am struggling with what to plant. I know that I will get a butt load of veggies form the farm but what do I want more of? Lots of greens are on their way and we need to have tomatoes but do I do an entire bed of carrots and beets? If so where while the husk cherries go?. And the pumpkins, should we just plant them out front? (the mr wants to turn the front lawn into a pumpkin patch. I am not entirely sure that is a good idea) So many things to consider.

Sunday has got me busy. I want to finish planting what needs planting, the laundry is backed up a few loads so I need to get on that and I have a mess of paperwork that I need to get through. Good day for it though cause it looks like a chilly rain today so hanging out on the back porch with my pile of crap won’t be so bad. At least there will be lots of coffee.

Internet whatnots

-Checked the pollen count when my face blew up, snot running, and itching my eyes out. Allergies, blah.

-Garden planting takes some planning. An In-Depth Companion Planting Guide

-I don’t know why I have never thought to add color to bread dough. On my list of things to do this week. HOW TO MAKE MARBLED RAINBOW TOAST

–New York Times Puzzles. I like to play sudoku and the mini.

–What Is Avocado Hand? I guess that it is a real thing so watch yourself.

-Feeling stresses? Thinking About Happy Memories Can Shut Down Your Body%u2019s Stress Response

–Here’s What Michelle Obama Thinks About Trump’s School Lunch Rules. Oh Michelle, I miss you.

–See the Awesome March of the Milky Way Across the Night Sky

%u00a0-The mr has always said her wanted some type of hot tub or sauna. I could get down with something like this. A Mirrored Golden Egg Sauna is Hatched in Sweden

–Vermont Legislature Votes to Legalize Marijuana. I mean it’s about time.

Pictures from the week.

I%u2019ll try to be good and not bitch too much about how hot I am. And really, it hasn%u2019t actually been that bad. At least I am not in France. If I were in France, I would be losing my shit. I think they reached 113 degrees a day ago. So I am puting things in perspective here. I am not that hot.

Yup. Another week come and gone and now were are more then half way through the year. It%u2019s hard to believe but time stops for no one. So what did you do with you week? For us, it was the basic. Work stuff, family stuff, trying to get out into the world as much as possible. The mr and I snuck (well the fence had yet to go up) into the new pool construction zone around the corner from us to take pictures and see what all the construction commotion has been about all week. As of now, it a giant ass hole in the ground. We found the mr a new desk for free on craigslist and It weighted a thousand pounds and almost killed me moving it up the stairs. I picked up farm share and picked me some fresh flowers. We went to a river for fishing/reading time. And there were a few bike rides, lots of walks, amazing sunsets, rainy days, hot nights. Trying our darnest to live up the summer as much as possible. Now we just need to get our shit together and get our camping and kayaking game going. It might be a slow start to the season but we will get there. Maybe next week and every weekend after that.

Dad Jeff came to town for a couple days and so Friday, right after I came home from work, I had the family over for family dinner. I made 8 pizzas (all the dough the night before) and ice cream cones with sprinkles. A hit for sure. We got lucky because it wasn’t raining so we all got to play around outside. The littles in the sprinkler or playing soccer with the mr. Dad sitting on the stairs talking about rare coins and trying to give away the most creepy porcelain dolls that were my grandmothers and should really be buried as to not come alive and murder people. And there was no arguing or fighting, just shinny happy people holding hands. HA. But really, it was good. It%u2019s always so nice to get everyone together. We are all a bunch of lunatics so we really understand each other.

And then yesterday I spend half the day cleaning up all those happy feeling. The sprinkles from the ice cream made there way into every crack and crevice in the house which makes no sense because everyone ate ice cream outside. Those littles. They are good at tracking the shit into the house.

Today is up I the air. I am going to bike into town to the gym and library and the maybe stop at the coop for some spices, but after that I am probably going to be hanging around the house. The mr has a big delivery coming sometime today and needs to be available at a moments notice so we can%u2019t really take off. Just as well. I have a bunch of projects that I should be wrapping up. Today might just be that day. Or I might just sit around a read all day. I am good with either.

Interent from the internet that might be of some interest to you.

–Why We Remember Stonewall. Because it was important and significant in helping launch a civil rights movement.

-I prefer to carry a spork, but you get the picture. Why carrying your own fork and spoon helps solve the plastic crisis

–8 Types of Indoor Fruit Trees You Can Grow in Your Living%u00a0Room. I have a lemon tree. I want the rest of them.

-Well done San Francisco, well done. San Francisco Bans Sales Of E-Cigarettes

-Now if I just had 2k just kicking around%u2026..Garden Dome Igloo.

–These Prefab Treehouses Were Inspired By Cartoons. And they are so cool.

-Because you have been wondering all along too. How to solve the water puzzle from Die Hard 3

–The Infrastructure of Joy. Will building delight into cities make them more cloying or more fun? Definitely for sure. I know I am more joyful being anywhere that is more bright and happy. Isn%u2019t everyone?

-Imagine living without time, or without the confines of knowing the time. Whoa. Meet The Residents Of A Norwegian Island Who Want To Kill Time %u2014 Literally

–The Best Potatoes Are Boiled in Exxxtremely Salty Water. Not going to disagree.

And pictures from the week.

Spring is here for reals, I think. No, it is here, it has just been a bit raw and maybe a bit more rainy then it really needs to be, but whatever, it is spring and it is good. Things are greener by the day, the temperatures although not exactly warm are still inhabitable and without cause for winter jackets (although I have still been rocking the mittens) and spring veggies are popping up all over. Things are looking good.

So last week I made a pie crust with the intention to make a veggie pot pie and stuck it into the freezer. When the time came to make said pot pie, I forgot to take it out of the freezer so the crust was not meant to be for pot pie (it will probably end up as a rhubarb pie%u2026we shall see). Without pie crust, I wasn%u2019t exactly feeling like I should make a pot pie, but a tart, well yeah, sure. A crispy and chewy crackery crusted thing with almond ricotta a spring veggies because that is where the mind went and what the mr agreed sounded good. (When I make up recipes I just start taking about ingredient and preparations and wait til the mr says %u201cYea, that loud good. I%u2019ll eat that %u201c He usually will say it right away and for anything. Very easy to please or he just doesn%u2019t care%u2026hum? )

And so the tart was made and the tart was eaten in all entirety for dinner by the mr alone. Usually when he eats all of something it means it was one of the really good things. Or he is really really hungry. But he said it was a really good thing. I trust him because I agreed. I got in a few spoonfuls of the almond ricotta mixture and it is really freaking good if I do say so myself (I could eat bowls of almond ricotta all day long).

Anyway, heres to spring and all things that are green and good.

To the tart.

The stuff. Flours (white and white whole wheat), baking powder, and a little salt in the bowl. Water and olive oil, blanched almonds, a lemon, a clove of garlic, asparagus, peas, frozen and thawed spinach, a small red onion, and salt and pepper.

Start with making the crust. Mix the dry together then add in the oil and water to form a dough. Knead dough a minutes until the dough is uniform and place back in bowl and cover. Dough needs a few alone minutes to rest. I can relate to that.

While dough is resting, make the almond ricotta. Almonds, garlic, the juice of the lemon, and a bit of water go into blender. Add in a pinch of salt and pepper too.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

Dump in the spinach and blend, just until combined.

Scoop ricotta into a bowl and mix in the peas. And sure give it another taste but try not to eat it all.

Grab the onion and slice it all nice and thin.

And after the resting time, grab dough and roll it out. Try for a rectangular shape or as rectangular as you can get it, but nice and thin. Thiner is better.

Place rolled out dough onto a baking sheet and poke the bottom with lots of little hole. Take ricotta mixture and spread evenly all over crust, leaving a 1 1/2 border all the way around.

Then top with the asparagus and more onions.

Fold over the edges of the crust, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, and into the oven it goes to bake.

And then it is baked. And ready to eat (after a few minutes of cooling).

Nothing left but to cut it up and eat it.

Spring. Green. Food.

Things are good.

-C

Makes a 8×12(ish) tart

• For the Crust

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup white whole wheat (can sub for all purpose)

• 3 tablespoon oil

• 1/3 cup room temp water

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• For the Almond Ricotta and Veggies

• 1/2 cup blanched almonds

• 1/4- 1/3 cup warm water

• 1 lemon

• 1 clove garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper or more to taste

• 1/4 cup frozen and thawed spinach squeezed of liquid

• 9-10 spears of Asparagus

• 1/4 cup peas (fresh or frozen and thawed)

• 1 /2 red onion

First make the crust. Whisk together the flours, salt, and baking soda. Add in the oil and water and mix until a dough forms. Form dough into a ball and knead for minute or two on counter then place dough back into the bowl and cover. The dough needs to rest for 10-15 minutes.

While dough is resting, make the almond ricotta. Place almonds, garlic, and juice of lemon into a blender. Start blending and add in the lesser amount of water, adding a little more until the stuff all starts to blend. Blend on high for a minute or two until the mixture is nice and creamy. Season with salt and pepper, blend a second to mix then add in the squeezed out spinach. Blend until mix together then dump or scoop the mixture into a bowl and mix in the peas. Then thinly slice up the onion.

Preheat the oven to 450

After doughs little rest, lightly flour a counter and roll it out, thin as you can, in a rectangular shape. Try for at least 12in x 16in. The rectangle doesn%u2019t need to be perfect. Rough is good.

Place the rolled out crust onto a baking. Take a fork and dock the surface (poke holes into it to prevent air bubbles). Take the ricotta and pea mixture and spread evenly on crust, leaving about a 1 1/2 inch border all the way around. Add a layer of sliced red onion and then take asparagus (trim off woody ends) and either lay on whole or break in half and lay on. Add more onions on top. Fold the border of the crust over the top. Sprinkle the whole thing with pepper and place into the hot oven.

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the crust becomes a nice golden brown. Remove and let cool a few minutes

And then cut up and eat. Right away or at room temperature. Or some now and some later. All up you you.

Store left over in fridge in air tight container for up to a few days. the crust will not be crispy but more chewy. Can stick it back in oven for a few minutes to crisp it up.

Spring is here for reals, I think. No, it is here, it has just been a bit raw and maybe a bit more rainy then it really needs to be, but whatever, it is spring and it is good. Things are greener by the day, the temperatures although not exactly warm are still inhabitable and without cause for winter jackets (although I have still been rocking the mittens) and spring veggies are popping up all over. Things are looking good.

So last week I made a pie crust with the intention to make a veggie pot pie and stuck it into the freezer. When the time came to make said pot pie, I forgot to take it out of the freezer so the crust was not meant to be for pot pie (it will probably end up as a rhubarb pie%u2026we shall see). Without pie crust, I wasn%u2019t exactly feeling like I should make a pot pie, but a tart, well yeah, sure. A crispy and chewy crackery crusted thing with almond ricotta a spring veggies because that is where the mind went and what the mr agreed sounded good. (When I make up recipes I just start taking about ingredient and preparations and wait til the mr says %u201cYea, that loud good. I%u2019ll eat that %u201c He usually will say it right away and for anything. Very easy to please or he just doesn%u2019t care%u2026hum? )

And so the tart was made and the tart was eaten in all entirety for dinner by the mr alone. Usually when he eats all of something it means it was one of the really good things. Or he is really really hungry. But he said it was a really good thing. I trust him because I agreed. I got in a few spoonfuls of the almond ricotta mixture and it is really freaking good if I do say so myself (I could eat bowls of almond ricotta all day long).

Anyway, heres to spring and all things that are green and good.

To the tart.

The stuff. Flours (white and white whole wheat), baking powder, and a little salt in the bowl. Water and olive oil, blanched almonds, a lemon, a clove of garlic, asparagus, peas, frozen and thawed spinach, a small red onion, and salt and pepper.

Start with making the crust. Mix the dry together then add in the oil and water to form a dough. Knead dough a minutes until the dough is uniform and place back in bowl and cover. Dough needs a few alone minutes to rest. I can relate to that.

While dough is resting, make the almond ricotta. Almonds, garlic, the juice of the lemon, and a bit of water go into blender. Add in a pinch of salt and pepper too.

Blend until creamy and smooth.

Dump in the spinach and blend, just until combined.

Scoop ricotta into a bowl and mix in the peas. And sure give it another taste but try not to eat it all.

Grab the onion and slice it all nice and thin.

And after the resting time, grab dough and roll it out. Try for a rectangular shape or as rectangular as you can get it, but nice and thin. Thiner is better.

Place rolled out dough onto a baking sheet and poke the bottom with lots of little hole. Take ricotta mixture and spread evenly all over crust, leaving a 1 1/2 border all the way around.

Then top with the asparagus and more onions.

Fold over the edges of the crust, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, and into the oven it goes to bake.

And then it is baked. And ready to eat (after a few minutes of cooling).

Nothing left but to cut it up and eat it.

Spring. Green. Food.

Things are good.

-C

Makes a 8×12(ish) tart

• For the Crust

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup white whole wheat (can sub for all purpose)

• 3 tablespoon oil

• 1/3 cup room temp water

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• For the Almond Ricotta and Veggies

• 1/2 cup blanched almonds

• 1/4- 1/3 cup warm water

• 1 lemon

• 1 clove garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper or more to taste

• 1/4 cup frozen and thawed spinach squeezed of liquid

• 9-10 spears of Asparagus

• 1/4 cup peas (fresh or frozen and thawed)

• 1 /2 red onion

First make the crust. Whisk together the flours, salt, and baking soda. Add in the oil and water and mix until a dough forms. Form dough into a ball and knead for minute or two on counter then place dough back into the bowl and cover. The dough needs to rest for 10-15 minutes.

While dough is resting, make the almond ricotta. Place almonds, garlic, and juice of lemon into a blender. Start blending and add in the lesser amount of water, adding a little more until the stuff all starts to blend. Blend on high for a minute or two until the mixture is nice and creamy. Season with salt and pepper, blend a second to mix then add in the squeezed out spinach. Blend until mix together then dump or scoop the mixture into a bowl and mix in the peas. Then thinly slice up the onion.

Preheat the oven to 450

After doughs little rest, lightly flour a counter and roll it out, thin as you can, in a rectangular shape. Try for at least 12in x 16in. The rectangle doesn%u2019t need to be perfect. Rough is good.

Place the rolled out crust onto a baking. Take a fork and dock the surface (poke holes into it to prevent air bubbles). Take the ricotta and pea mixture and spread evenly on crust, leaving about a 1 1/2 inch border all the way around. Add a layer of sliced red onion and then take asparagus (trim off woody ends) and either lay on whole or break in half and lay on. Add more onions on top. Fold the border of the crust over the top. Sprinkle the whole thing with pepper and place into the hot oven.

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the crust becomes a nice golden brown. Remove and let cool a few minutes

And then cut up and eat. Right away or at room temperature. Or some now and some later. All up you you.

Store left over in fridge in air tight container for up to a few days. the crust will not be crispy but more chewy. Can stick it back in oven for a few minutes to crisp it up.

I finally got rid of the last of the Christmas tree needles just in time to replace them with glitter for the next few months.. It is my own fault. I didn%u2019t HAVE TO use glitter on a giant ass heart that I made for the mr, but I sure as heck wanted too. (I redact my statement%u2026 I HAD TO) It%u2019s ok though because glitter happens and you just gotta deal with it.

The week was the week. Nothing out of the normal. Nothing overly exciting. Valentines day was nice. The mr covered all the windows with little heart and besides the giant heart I made, I also made the mr a heart cake and heart bread and all his food for the day was basically in the shape of a heart. And we went snow shoeing where we might have almost stole a dog. Maggie was her name and she showed up out of nowhere on the trail which was out in the middle of nowhere. Hiked with us for a while, took off, and showed back up on our way out of the woods. Obviously she lived someplace close by and she did have a collar on (that is how we knew her name) but gosh, she was so sweet. She even walked us to our car and got in like she was ready to go home. Ugh, it hurts my soul a little. I miss having a dog. Who I really miss is Washer. Oh boy, here I am feeling all sad and shit%u2026..But the snow shoeing was amazing! Haha

Anyway, a mellow week. And now it%u2019s the second half of February so it basically going to be spring soon and mellow won%u2019t be staying mellow for long so I am going appreciate it for now, although I am getting little antsy for when I can finally pull out my sandals and open all the windows in the house and dirt. I am getting ahead of myself here. That is still a month or 3 away. But it is on my mind.

The mr and I don%u2019 t have any big plans for the day other then dropping in on the littles and maybe going out for coffee with Barb. We have a few chores that need done so we will probably do those%u2026%u2026 Whoo hoooo!

As usual, some links to read if you feel like perusing the Internet.

-Not going to lie, I completely see his point. Why Thomas Keller Thinks Farm-to-Table Is Absurd. I want the carrots from the farmer that is in love with his carrots too.

-Totally my type of home. . Life in This Verdant Home in Vietnam Is a Walk in the Park

–Here’s why ultra-processed foods are so bad for your health. So so bad.

-Baking fantastical things is not as easy at it might seem on the T.V. The Only Way I Got Through a %u2018Great British Baking Show%u2019 Challenge Was By Cheating

–I must make a fantastic pie soon. Dazzling Gradients and Geometric Designs Baked into New Pies and Tarts

-Got questions, here are some answers. Your Questions About Plastic Waste, Answered

-Genius. And the best feature is that it craps every last bit out of the jar.. This New Pump Will Help You Put Peanut Butter on Everything Without a Knife

–These Surreal Guesthouses with Impossible Staircases Have Alice in Wonderland Vibes. I think more like the movie Labyrinth and then I think of David Bowie in tight tights%u2026%u2026

–Please Don’t Let Your Tiny Dog Blow Away in the Wind. Real life problems.

-He climbs without any rops or harnesses. The guy is crazy. And amazing. A documentary I will watch. Free Solo.

And pictures from the wee

It%u2019s hot out and we are thirsty. Water is good, water is great, but sometimes a little somethin%u2019 somethin%u2019 is called for, for you know, being that we need to deal with it being so freaking hot out. and sticky and gross. (BLAH. This past week we have had some temperatures it had make me crankers.)

Anyway, what is more refreshing then cucumber? Not much. And so we blend up cucumber, add some mint and lime juice and stick it into a glass with ice and bubbles. What can be more refreshing then that? Plus look at how pretty it is. Bright ass green. A true summertime drink.

To the Spritzer!

The stuff. A thin skinned cucumber, a lime, a spring of mint, club soda, and if you want, a little simple syrup.

Chunk up the cucumber and into the blender it goes with the juice of the lime and a couple mint leaves.

Grab a couple glasses, add in some ice, and fill each glass half way with the cucumber juice. (mix in liquid sweetener in now if you want it.)

Top off with club soda, a mint leaf and a few slices of cucumber and you are golden cool and fancy free.

Stay cool%u2026..as a cucumber.. HAHA!

Makes 2 or 3 drinks

• 1 cucumber (thin skinned and 6-8 inches long)

• a lime

• a few mint leaves

• club soda or plain seltzer

• 1-2 teaspoons liquid sweetener (optional)

Take cucumber and place into blender along with the juice of the lime and a couple mint leaves. Blend until smooth. Grab a couple glass, fill each with ice, then fill each glasses half way with cucumber mixture. Add in any liquid sweetener if using and stir. (I recommend trying without sweetness, that is that way I like it, and then add sweetener if you need it.) Top glasses off with club soda. Garnish with sliced cucumber, lime wedges, and or mint leaves if you want.

Drink away.

It’s melon season!%u00a0The past few farm shares have included at least 2,, if not 4, watermelons and cantaloupes… Can you imagine. eating 4 watermelons a week? That’s a tall order, even for someone like me who could probably eat a whole watermelon in one sitting, it’s just doing it 4 times a week might be a problem. %u00a0It’s a whole lot of melon and not enough stomach, you know what I mean?%u00a0

So what do I do with so much melon? Well first off, whenever anyone comes over I try to get them to %u00a0eat as much of it as they can, which helps a great deal. Secondly, I cut it up and freeze some. But here is the thing, I love eating chunks of frozen cantaloupe, but frozen watermelon,%u00a0never been my favorite so I usually just pass on sticking in the freezer, until now.

There is something magical that happens when you stick the frozen watermelon and cantaloupe together into a blender and making it into a slushy. It’s like eating a ray of sunshine or maybe even a rainbow, just really satisfying and juicy, and sweet but not overly sweet, and just really freaking good. Especially with all the stupid hot and humid weather we have had lately, these slushies have really been hitting the spot. %u00a0Even the mr who says he dislikes watermelon was all into these melon slushies. (he likes things that he says he doesn’t like all the time. I am pretty sure he is taste confused) Like %u00a0he was really into them. Usually I have to prompt him to tell me how something tastes, but not the slushy, he told me right away how good it was. I was like, I know dude, I just drank 2 of them myself. And I could have drank 2 more but I was trying to not get tot far ahead of myself. Moderation is key, plus I didn’t;t have any more of the melons frozen. Time to restock the freezer.%u00a0

Go make yourself a slushy, it’s juicy deliciousness will make you happy.%u00a0

The stuff. Watermelon and cantaloupe. There should be a lime in there too but it must have rolled away….%u00a0

Chop some of each of the melon up, remove the rinds, and place on a big baking sheet and stick into the freezer until frozen. You can do as little as 2 cups %u00a0of each or as much as a whole melon, it’s up to you. (I suggest freezing extra)

Frozen melon. And now you can slushy.

Equal parts watermelon and cantaloupe go into blender, along with the juice of half (or more to taste)%u00a0a lime and you are probably going to need to add about 1/2 a cup of water, to help the blender blend it all together. %u00a0And that’s it. You blend until it’s all slushy.

Pour into cups, garnish with a lime and/or little chunks of melon and you are good as golden.%u00a0

From now on, or until summer is over and I run out of melon, I will be keeping the freezer stocked, especially because I know that the next few weeks are suppose to be stupid hot again.%u00a0

Waterloupe slushies. Summertime goodness.%u00a0

-C

• about 2 cups %u00a0of a watermelon
• about 2 cups of a cantaloupe%u00a0
• 1 lime
• 1/2- 1 cup water%u00a0

Note. The amounts above are for two%u00a0 2 cup slushies. You can, and should,%u00a0freeze a crap load more melon for future slushies. %u00a0Also, no one would fault you for maybe adding a little nip of some clear alcohol to this slushy situation to make it more of an adult drink……

Cut up a watermelon and a cantalopjue. Eat some and reserve at least 2 cups of each. Remove the rinds from the melons and cut into cubes. Place melon on a baking sheet and stick into the freezer until frozen.%u00a0

Once frozen,%u00a0place equal parts frozen watermelon and cantaloupe into the blender with the juice of a lime. Turn blender on. Slowly add in water until the blender can handle blending the frozen fruit. Blend until smooth. Pour into cups, garnish if you want with more melon and lime, then get to drinking.%u00a0

This is a conversation that I imagine will be taking place in the near future.

Me- “Why, Mr. President,, I hear that you think peas have no place in a frozen cocktail drink%u2026 but, excuse me if I am being to frank., but you would, in fact, be wrong.”

He would then reply

“Oh man, you are so right!%u00a0Why don’t you come have dinner with me , Michelle and the kids. We (or the%u00a0kitchen staff) can make these amazingly%u00a0awesome slushies (virgin of course for the kids) and walk around the house.%u00a0%u00a0Michelle will show you the gardens and I’ll show you all of my%u00a0secrets hiding places. %u00a0And don’t worry about driving home, you can crash in one of the spare rooms.”

And then we are all best friends and I go to there house for BBQ’s and make them dinner. My%u00a0mr. and Obama will play basketball and talk about beer and I will%u00a0go to workout classes and garden with Michelle..

It’s totally going to happen…

But for real, this slushy drink, it is sooooo good!!! How can anything blueberry mint not be. And sure , peas might seem like a%u00a0strange ingredient in drink, but trust me, they are not. Peas have such a nice lovely flavor that bring a%u00a0little sweetness, a little creaminess, and a tiny bit of earthiness%u00a0%u00a0to the slushy. And the booze, well that just makes it all the better. Plus,%u00a0with it being the holiday weekend and pretty freaking%u00a0hot (I know that the folks down south are melting) any and all drinks should be made in a slushy form.%u00a0

So no matter how you feel about peas in other stuff (guacamole is fantastic with or without)%u00a0Don’t knock it until you try it!. That’s you too Mr. President!

Good time stuff. Frozen blueberries, frozen peas and a few shots of rum.* Fresh mint, lime juice and some plain bubbly water.%u00a0

* Note.Rum can be replaced with gin, vodka or any hard alcohol you think you might like%u2026 or no booze at all.

And here it goes%u2026%u2026.Everything but the bubbly water goes into the blender.

Blend it all up until you get a thick icy slush. Add in a little splash of%u00a0water if you need to to get it moving. Turn blender off when it’s slush.

Now add in the bubbly water and watch it fizz.%u00a0Turn the blender back on for%u00a0another few seconds, just until it’s%u00a0mixed up and all drinkable slushy like.%u00a0

Pour into glasses, garnish with a mint leave, and serve with a%u00a0bright colored straw.

There is no doubt that peas belong in this%u00a0drink! Soooo F*ing good!!!!

Happy Friday and Happy 4th!

And don’t be stupid.%u00a0 No sloppy%u00a0drinking and playing with firecrackers. Fingers and faces don’t grow back!

-C

• 2 1/2 Cups frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 4-6 oz of white rum*
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 1/2 cups plain seltzer water or club soda%u00a0
• 5 large mint leaves plus a few for garnish if you please.
• 1-2 teaspoons liquid%u00a0sweetener of you choosing%u00a0(optional. I used none)

*Note. you can use any liquor or no liquor you want.

Place all ingredients besides the bubbly water into a blender and blend until combined and thick and slushy (add a splash of water to get thing moving if needed). Stop the blending, add in the bubbly water and turn%u00a0blender back on for just long enough to mix everything all up.

Pour into glasses and garnish with a mint leaf and a pretty straw.

Keep away from children%u2026unless its booze free, then go for it