Life Reminds Me ...

Time has slipped away from me.  I'm not quite sure where the summer has gone and I feel like I haven't accomplished what I had wanted to.  Last winter as I looked forward to the sun and warmth I thought this summer would be the one where I'd finally make it to healthy.  After catching myself procrastinating once again on exercise I realize that I'm actually restless.  I am acutely aware of the fact that I've been wasting time.  Life sends you messages when you need them.  Some subtle, some not so subtle.  Recently the messages coming my way are not subtle in the slightest.  I'm taking my health & life for granted.

One of the most loved figures in my life.  One who has known me since I was in my mom's belly.  Someone who would be one of the very first people my mom called to share that I was going to exist ... her longest and dearest friend.  Someone who has forever loved me with no strings, no expectations, no conditions.   This amazing woman has ALS.  I went to visit her over this past weekend and as I watched her two things stood out.  She was struggling ... but she was also smiling.  Those dimples of hers that I've known since before I can even remember were just as adorable, just as warm.  She radiates strength even at her most fragile.  I don't think about the fact that I can walk.  That I can grasp and lift a fork.  That I can chew and swallow without an issue.  I'm not what one would call a religious person in a public sense.  I haven't been to Temple in a very long time.  In Judaism there are blessings for everything.  They all begin Barukh ata Adonai, which means Blessed are You Lord ... The Asher Yatzar is one of these and it says:

"Blessed are You, LORD, our God, Master of the universe, who formed mankind in wisdom, and created mankind in wisdom, and created in him all manner of openings and cavities.  It is manifest and known before the throne of your glory that if any one of them is ruptured or were blocked, it would be impossible to survive and stand before You.  Blessed are You LORD, who heals all flesh and is wonderful in His acts." 

I think I finally have awakened to appreciate the real meaning of this blessing.  The key now is to not forget it for even one moment.  In January I made the decision to change my diet.  I've now made a decision to make a drastic change in the other area that I've known for a long time is a problem.  I signed up for a 10 week intensive exercise program.  It's definitely not going to be easy.  It is going to push me and pain me.  In my heart I'm not only doing it for me but for my loved one.  I'll know that the effort is dedicated to her.  I hope that God will see it as my way of saying the blessing.  I begin September 16th ...

September Already!

Summer may be ending but there is still some time to appreciate it.  My garden continues to grow.  I think my cucumbers are about puttered out.  My tomatoes and peppers are just getting going.  I think my favorite is the sunflowers.  They have such a simple beauty to them.

The tomatoes are huge!  They are all small varieties.  Seems none of the larger ones made it.  Some are about the size of a small plum, others are more oblong and cherry or grape size.  

My peppers are just starting & still tiny.  

The sunflowers are tall enough you can barely see the alley.  They are very wild looking - pretty but scruffy at the same time.  

Up close they are gorgeous.  I love the colors. 

The bees like them too!

There is one that just keeps growing and growing ... it is at least 3 feet taller than the others.  I don't know why but it is giving the ancient lilac bushes a run for their money!

The melons are finally getting bigger.  The label at the store had said that they were cantaloupe but they don't look like that.  I think they are a small version of a watermelon. 

My herbs are doing great though I'll admit I haven't used much of them since I haven't been cooking formal meals as much.   I'll have to figure out how to dry and save them for the winter. 

Muffins & More Growth in the Garden

Recipe Test:  Whole Wheat Muffins

Click here for full recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Whole wheat flour
• Salt
• Baking powder
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Eggs
• Honey
• Vanilla
• Coconut oil
• Orange juice
• Filling (berries, nuts, jam - whatever you want!)

I tried making two different kinds.  One was just fresh blueberries.  The other I just put a dollop of black raspberry jam (all fruit!) inside.  

They turned out pretty good.  I used whole wheat pastry flour so they are light and fluffy.  My only complaint would be they could be sweeter.  But then if you go too far that way I suppose they stop being good for you.  They were as quick to make as a batch of pancakes so worth it even if you have very little time.  I made enough to last me all week for breakfast.  With a few extra for Hubby even though I know he'll claim "I never touched them!"  ... yep and that's why my granola went so fast last week too!  

The garden is doing well.  My melon vine is finally stretching over the edge of the planter.  

More sunflowers popping up!  Lots of yellow ones.  

And this really beautiful maroon / orange!  I absolutely LOVE these!

You can see the cucumbers are growing up them just as planned. 

And not so planned ... reaching for the lilac bushes!

I have little cucumbers now!  Teeny tiny ... I wonder how long until they are ready to eat.

My two original tomatoes are still doing well.  You can tell that the one is starting to get a hint of red. 

And several more are now on the same plant!

Can't see the garbage cans at all now!  I also painted the cinder blocks of the raised beds ... I don't like it.  I'm wondering if I put a rim of bricks around the top if it will dress it up a little.

Growing Fast!

Considering just a couple of weeks ago my sunflowers and cucumbers looked like this:

I am blown away that they now look like this: 

I even have my very first actual flower!  And you can see the cucumbers are doing what I'd hoped & growing up the sunflowers like a trellis ... in fact they may be growing faster than the sunflowers themselves. 

The smaller cucumbers on the other side are creeping up fast too but haven't quite started to climb yet. 

When you peek in between you can see the little flowers that will soon become cucumbers!

Almost all of the sunflowers have buds waiting to open. I'm so curious what the ones that have more purple stems will look like.  The seed mixture I started with had yellow, red & white varieties.  I think the majority that survived are just standard yellow but a few of them have these purple tinted stems & veins. 

My first little yellow one.  I wonder how big it will get.  I guess I thought the bud itself would start out bigger before it opened up but it looks like they start small and grow from there.  

The cucumber leaves are about the same size as the sunflower leaves but a different shape if you look closely. 

My melon plant is starting to grow and spread out looking to climb as well.  I hope my plan to have it trail down the sides of the planter works!

The tomato that was larger than the rest remains the head of the pack, finally reaching the top of the cage. 

The two little tomatoes are still brewing and more flowers on it tell me more will be coming!

My biggest pepper plant still is tiny compared to that tomato plant, coming in just above the lowest ring on the cage but growing fast.  

My bean bushes are smaller but also seem happy and continue to grow. 

Funny how when I started seeds the cilantro is what went best first and now are the slowest.  They are finally starting to peek up sporadically in the area I used to sow more seeds.  

My basil is slowly coming along but all still small.  

Of course those that I bought as plants versus starting from seeds look much better.

The tomato, pepper & bean bed still looks sparse when viewed from a distance.

The sunflower & cucumber bed on the other hand is starting to give some privacy for us from the alley and you can barely see the ugly garbage cans!  

Of course my neighbors are already able to harvest from their plants since they got started right away but if things keep going this way I think I'll have some success!  And then as fall approaches I can do some lettuce and kale as well.   Sounds weird to be thinking that way but summer is more than 1/2 over already! 

Recipe Test: Blueberry Corn Salad

Credit: Twopeasandtheirpod.com

Click here for recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Sweet corn (on the cob)
• Blueberries
• Cucumber
• Red onion
• Cilantro
• Jalapeno pepper
• Lime juice
• Olive oil
• Honey
• Cumin
• Salt & Pepper

It's getting to be sweet corn season and in true Iowa girl fashion I LOVE me some sweet corn!  I was a little scared of the jalapeno after my recent veggie burger hot pepper fiasco but I followed the recipe and it was perfect. 

Yummmmmmmmmmmmm!  Perfect perfect PERFECT corn - super sweet!  Iowa girl heaven!

As I was chopping the cucumber up I was dreaming of later this summer when I have my own (hopefully!) from the back yard!

Fresh blueberries from Whole Foods.  I may try my hand at blueberry bushes next year ... we'll see.

The pictures on the recipe site are much prettier but OH MY GOD IS THIS GOOD!  I made a full batch and will happily eat it all week long!  Easy to make and would be perfect to bring to a barbeque.  The pepper is just barely there - the sweet of the blueberries and corn counteracts it so it doesn't have the 'mexican' flare I was thinking it would.  Yum yum YUM! 

Recipe Test: Crispy Kale and Mushroom Fried Rice

Credit:  appetiteforchina.com

Click here for recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Rice (I used brown)
• Peanut oil
• Scallions
• Ginger (fresh)
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Kale
• Hoisin sauce
• Soy sauce
• Salt & Pepper

One of the first meals I made after Hubby boycotted my cooking.  I figured I could make the full recipe and it would be easy lunches / leftovers for the week.  

I love mushrooms of any kind and shiitake especially.  The results were pretty good.  The Hoison sauce has some ingredients that aren't exactly "real" food but it calls for a very small amount & I had no idea what to substitute so bought some.   Was just as good as leftovers but I'll admit it made a lot and by the end of the week I was sick of it!  Gotta figure out a better way of this cooking for one stuff!

Recipe Test: Creamy Dreamy Zucchini Pasta

Credit: Katyskitchen.ca

Click here for recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Zucchini
• Roma tomato
• Avocado
• Parsley (fresh)
• Garlic
• Lime juice
• Olive oil
• Basil (dried)
• Walnuts
• Water

So I keep seeing zucchini pasta everywhere and after a previous failure at making it by just slicing zucchini very thinly I decided to get the special slicer. 

The one I found is pretty easy to use.  Gotta be damn careful with the blades though because it comes with different types that slide in and out and they are just strips of metal with no real guard on them, similar to these: 

Photo Credit: www.popularmechanics.com 

Clearly not made in the US but then this kind of noodle is common in Asian cooking and since it did have English instructions I figured why the hell not? 

It worked really well as you can see from the picture above ...

The recipe itself?

Not ... so ... much.  I hadn't had much protein that day so I added some of the buffalo mozzarella I had leftover (that's the white chunks you see in the green slime above).   Even so it was DISGUSTING!  Maybe I got the 'noodles' too soft in boiling them or made too much sauce vs. noodles but it was one big bowl of slimy nastiness.   I hate wasting food but I'll admit this was bad enough it went in the trash can after 2 bites!

I re-dub thee creamy bad dreamy zucchini pasta!