these days

watching the "show" 

lu said animal heaven is in the sunset

 

We live for summer evenings. We lay low during the day, the heat slowwwwwly melting us into sticky, lifeless, human puddles, and then emerge back in to real life as the sun begins to sink behind the mountain. The breeze starts to blow, we open windows, doors, and always hope for rain (we got our first storm in weeks!) We head out to the garden--it's being overtaken oh-so-slowly by weeds--and pull some veggies for dinner. Our feet are stained--we never wear shoes, our fingernails have a constant layer of dirt. We don't mind. We check the squash--little pumpkins, smooth spaghetti squash coming right along, the zucchini plant that frosted (twice!) is coming back to life with teeny tiny zucchinis. The branches on the plum tree are getting heavier by the day--tired from the weight of their almost-purple treasures--we constantly check to see when they'll be ready to pick--any day now. We prepare for our battle with the magpies who are patiently waiting as well. The backyard is overgrown with flowers and thistles as tall as me--they reach out and grab our legs as we pass. We start to count the ladybugs we find--(don't forget the two on her, and the one in my hair)--but we lose track. If we sit out there long enough, we sometimes see the two young bucks that wander through every now and then. We see the lightening in the distance, and sit to watch the show that Mother Nature prepared--just for us, I'm sure of it.  As the sun melts away, the clouds change from grey, to orange, to pink.....and fade out slowly back to silver.

We head back into the house, and finish cleaning up from dinner. I replay the evening in my head and remind myself that it's these moments--these little tiny moments that are, in fact, the big moments. These are the days, aren't they.

A Summer Supper

Not really a "recipe"....but boy did it taste good. I feel like we eat like kings in the summer time!

-grilled hamburger patties--fresh beef from the farmer's market (mixed with rosemary and topped

with blue cheese and pickled jalapenos from the garden)

-farmer's market beans sauteed in olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts

-beets from the garden, boiled and tossed with butter, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper (wishing I had some goat cheese too!)

-garden tomato

serve with a side of shade and cool outdoor breeze!

a simple supper: baked frittata

This is one of our go-to dinners when we need a quick throw together meal. It's different each time I make it, depending on what veggies I have lying around, or growing out back. 

Saturday we went to opening day of the farmer's market, and I was so happy to see TOMATOES!! Red, plump, and full of summer-y-ness. They made the journey up from southern Utah, and while nothing tastes quite like grown-in-your-own-backyard......we have happily been eating these.

Baked Frittata with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

ingredients:

8 eggs

a few TBS milk

4 small potatoes, thinly sliced 

2 tomatoes, sliced

handful of goat cheese (chevre)

small handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used chives, basil, oregano, thyme)

a bit of butter for pan

S&P

how to:

I like to bake this in a cast iron skillet. If you are using a different type of pan, you may need to adjust cooking time.

Place potatoes on the bottom of the (buttered) skillet. 

Wisk the eggs with milk and S&P and pour over the potatoes. 

Top with tomatoes, chevre, and fresh herbs. 

Bake at 400° for 25-35 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

We ate it with a simple salad of mixed greens, arugula, marinated peppers, parmesan cheese, and a quick balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey)

enjoy!

a simple salad

I had a big post planned--a follow up to last week's organic post, on eating more seasonally and locally......and then I got too busy enjoying the local season. 

So instead, I leave you with one of my favorite salads these days. We're still eating lots and lots and lots of greens from the garden, so I'm always throwing new combinations together. 

Here we have (with absolutely no measurements, as usual)

Roasted Brussels Sprout and Avocado Salad

-mixed garden greens

-red onion

-avocado

roasted brussels sprouts (half, and toss with olive oil and s&p and roast until toasty brown)
....and sometimes I'll throw in an egg fried in a bit of olive oil....mmm

 honey mustard dressing:

-one part white wine vinegar to two parts olive oil

-a dollop of dijon mustard

-a large drizzle of honey

-s&p

add dressing ingredients to a small jar and give it a good shake. 

toss with salad and enjoy!

I'd love to hear your favorite salads right now--I'm always looking for new ways to eat my greens.

this weekend....

.....make some jam!
what you need:
strawberries
sweetener(sugar/honey/depends on your pectin)
pectin of your choosing
jars.
(that's it!)
follow the instructions on the pectin box (there are like 3!)

and just like that... you have jam

enjoy!

Happy Weekend!

a love letter, to my tomatoes

if you read this blog at all last summer, you may have noticed that I have a little "thing" for My Garden Tomatoes (so much so, that they are capitalized when written about, apparently). Weeks would go by and I would realize that I had taken more photos them, than my own two children.....whoops. So I find it appropriate that I write them a little lover letter.

from last summer.....

Dear My Garden Tomatoes,

you arrived sometime late last June.

We had been waiting.

The first few of you that came were sliced, and rationed out evenly among us....we had been deprived of your sweetness for far too long.

But it wasn't long before you were weighing down the vines that held you, begging to be picked.

The boy and girl would sit outside and eat you, still warm from the sun.

We smashed you into salsas, sliced you on to pizzas, and ate you with just about every meal, all hours of the day.

And then October came. You had to go.

I tried to convince you to stay just a little bit more, but deep down I knew it was your time.

I stood out there with you in chilly air, and made a promise.

"I vow to never buy a tomato from the store", I said (although maybe I didn't actually say VOW, because who talks like that?)

But I promised you--I would await your return the next summer. 

I knew that store "tomatoes" were not "tomatoes" at all--

their orange crunchy disguise couldn't fool me.

We had spent the last few weeks of summer drying you in the oven to save for the winter months.

We gathered all of your green brothers and sisters off the vines to keep in the basement, and slowly ripen over the following weeks.

We would be ok for a few months I told myself.

Winter came.

We enjoyed basement ripened (doesn't really have a charming sound, does it?), tomatoes that lasted us until December--we used that last few for salsa to go with our Christmas breakfast.

From there we moved on to dried tomatoes.

On sandwiches, pizza, pasta--you name it.

We were content.

Until.

My mind started telling me I needed a BLT.

But I wouldn't. I couldn't!! NEVER.

I could wait it out until June.

must.

have.

B.L.Tomato.

So, My Dear Garden Tomatoes,

what I'm trying to say.....

is that.....

I caved.

I broke my promise to you.

I should have tried to wait it out--just a few more weeks really, but the bacon convinced me to do it.

Now don't worry--those tiny tomatoes weren't even that great--I ate them without thinking twice.

But boy did they make my sandwich tastey......

I'm so sorry, I hope you understand.

We did use greens from the garden, if that makes you feel any better.

Please hurry up and get here, so I don't have to do it again.

all my love,

sheena

On of my favorite post-run meals:

BL(a)T

whole wheat bread, toasted

a bit of mayo

lots of avocado

1 piece of (nitrate free!) bacon

tomatoes

your favorite greens

yum.

friday senses

Harvesting: radishes. they are tiny baby radishes, but needed to come out to give the others room to grow, and we ate them happily.

We also had our first home grown salad of mixed greens and spinach, and it was awwwwwwesome. 

We assume that stuff we buy at the store labeled "lettuce", or "salad greens", is actually "lettuce" or "salad greens", but let me tell you….they've been fooling us! 

When grown in your own backyard dirt, the stuff actually TASTES, and needs very little to accompany it. 

We ate our greens with our radishes, a bit of parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of lemon, S&P.

perfect.

plant your own: sprinkle lettuce seeds in dirt, sprinkle a bit of dirt over the top, add water and sunshine, and in a few weeks you'll have your own salad!

also eating: whole wheat spaghetti, tossed with olive oil, garlic, parm cheese, sundered tomatoes from last years garden, and chives and basil from the window.

eaaaasy.

Running: up the mountain.

Seeing: spring is finally hitting the mountain top! lots of snow melt and new buds on the trees.

Smelling: myself. whew! getting my last few workouts in before next weeks race.

Feeling: cold. warm. coldish warmish coldy warm. spring is weird.

Tasting: hot chocolate….but just at the beginning of the week when it was freezing.

Reading: after pacing and pacing myself, I finally allowed myself to finish The Book Thief. loooooooved it. Read it. soon.

Watching: Parks and Rec. I think this is my answer every time….but man that show is funny.

Anticipating: only a few more weeks of school!!! aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!

feel free to play along in the comments!

Happy Weekend!


blogger has been crazy and my yoga post has disappeared (temporarily??) hopefully it will be back soon? I loved hearing your own yoga thoughts:)

before and after

I almost cried leaving the farmers market last week.

It was the last one until next June....JUNE!!! 

but they do have a smaller market each week at Tony Caputos....I need to find out more about that....anyone know?

Since it was the last market, I let the kids pick out whatever they wanted, and the boy wanted this. 

A buttercup squash. I had never heard of it.....but why not try it out?

It was (of course) delicious. 

We love squash--it was similar to an acorn squash, and we prepared it very simply. 

Roasted Buttercup Squash

Halve and clean the squash.

Slice, and brush the insides with olive oil. 

Sprinkle with course salt, cracked pepper, and a little bit of dried sage. 

Place on a lined baking sheet and roast in a preheated 425° oven, 30-45 minutes, until fork tender. 

We drizzled it with a little bit of the local honey we bought the same night and it was soooooo good. 

The kids ate it FIRST. What kids eats their vegetables first?

Friday Love

I loved this week! 
We are finally, kinda-sorta a little bit starting to figure out a schedule around here!

I ran, I yoga'd, we dance partied, the kids are really into having "concerts", we baked, we made pizza and we are ready for the weekend!

I LOVE date nights!! 

ok. so it's date night. you want something yummy and super easy to throw together....right? right. So do just that....THROW it together!! Nothing here was measured....I just added a bit of this and that. Would it win 1st prize at the state fair, no. (but really who is entering that?) Was it delicious? yes!

Peach Cobbler for Two:

Two peaches, sliced--add them a dish and drizzle with real maple syrup and a spoonful of flour, plus a teeny bit of water (a few TBS)

Mix together.

In a bowl combine 1TBS butter, melted, 

small handful (1/4cupish)

-oats

-flour

-brown sugar,

Mix together until crumbly....if you need to add a bit more melted butter, do it!

Sprinkle with walnuts and bake at 350 for a half hour or so.

Top with vanilla icecream  and cinnamon! Grab two spoons, a good movie, and you are good to go!

I Sheena, a summer lover, will admit that maybe, just maybe,  I love fall. It hit me this week as I was looking through last years fall photos. I love it! I love the colors, the soup, the baking, and the general coziness of it all.

photos from last year:)

I love stripes! 
LOVE them.
 I wish I could dress my family in head-to-toe stripes, live in a little striped house on a little striped street.

And apparently, I also really love yellow, black and grey....since those were all the photos I chose...

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 

I love that I have awesome traveling friends that document their trips so well.
Check out wedoiceland by John and Cara.

and. I am super in love with this. it reminds me of the time they did this

Happy Weekend!

What did you love about this week???

mini pizzas

aka: the fastest dinner in the world

-whole wheat english muffins

-fresh mozzarella

-your favorite garden tomatoes

-olives

-basil

-oregano

-thyme

-olive oil

-s&p

stick them under the broiler, and while they're getting nice and toasty, throw together a quick salad.

VWALLA!!!

The fastest dinner ever!

and it will disappear just as quick

you are welcome.

ps. I get a ton of questions asking if I am a vegetarian. nope. we just eat as many veggies in the summer as we can, when they are perfect and fresh and taste like heaven. We eat a bit less meat than normal, in order to afford the good, unmedicated stuff:)

pps. What is YOUR fastest dinner?

breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

or maybe all three.

(recipe here)

good crusty bread, grilled (this was a garlic and rosemary loaf)

goat cheese

tomatoes

olives

basil and oregano

olive oil

salt

on the grill for just a few minutes...

yum.

no bake (thank goodness) cookies

It's hot.

The air is stale.

and hot.

You haven't been spending much time in the kitchen.

Because it's hot.

But you still want a cookie......right??

Right.

So why not make No Bakes? Or maybe you call them Gorilla Poops? That seems to be the name that has stuck around here......please let me know if you call them something that doesn't contain the P word.

Oh--and these are made with agave nectar (this one). I've been playing around with it lately, and so far I'm really liking it!

No Bakes/Gorilla Poops/

Chocolaty Oatmeal Globs That Taste Really Good When It's Hot Out

3/4 c pure agave nectar

1/4 c baking cocoa

1/4 c milk

1/4 c butter

1/4 c chunky peanut butter

2- 2 1/2 c old fashioned rolled oats

a few drops of pure vanilla

pinch of salt

In a medium sauce pan mix agave nectar and baking cocoa. Add milk and butter. Stir over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, salt and oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto lined cookie sheets. We like to put ours in the freezer and eat them straight out!

enjoy!

backyard picnic

so easy. so good.

the burger:

whole wheat bun, toasted

grass fed beef, grilled

fresh sliced mozzarella (put on the last few minutes of grilling)

fresh tomato slices

your favorite greens

fresh basil

herbed mayo (light mayo+fresh oregano, thyme, chives + a splash of basalmic

the fries:

sliced potatoes + olive oil + salt & pepper wrapped in foil and thrown on the grill

the farmer's market finds:

peas

cherries

cantaloupe

fresh flowers, lemon icewater, and adorable children are optional.

enjoy!

friday love

First week of summer!!! And it was perfect!

-long hot days that stretch on and on and on

-getting lost in a good book

-the pool.......oh the pool!

-summer evening BBQs

-camping trips in the making

-eating the first peppers out of our garden

-oh.....and the fact that there is still light in the air at 9:00.....I LOVE it!

You know I love a quick and simple dinner.....and we LOVE breakfast burritos!

Breakfast Burritos

tortilla

+ guacamole (avocado+red onion+cilantro+lime+salt)

+ black "smashy" beans (black beans cooked with garlic, lime, and cumin, and then smashed)

+potatoes (diced and boiled, then cooked in a hot pan with a little o.o. and s&p)

+eggs (scrambled)

+pepper jack cheese

+ cilantro

fold. top with salsa. and enjoy!

again, with the whole "I love summer theme"

I go to bed at night and wake up so happy! There is just something magic about it....don't you think??

Like the "it's way past bedtime but we decided to have daddy spray us while we're still dressed" moments. I love them.

I love my out of control roses.

I have been unhealthily obsessing over this house. (from this months issue of BHG).

Really. I am in LOVE, and need to live there....how can we make that happen?

I am really loving the talented miss Susan's Striped Bow Bags.

This song is a few years old, but I am currently so in love with it. It played along my night run last weekend, and it's just so fun and happy to dance to.....as you will see below. on a side note, I hope to be like her some day.

Happy Weekend!! Do something summery!

What did you love about this week?