A cool movie about living small...

Have you seen it? I found it on Netflix. What did you think?

Caprese Love!

This summer's bumper crop of tomatoes has reminded me of how much I love a good Caprese Salad! The Classic usually has ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozarella, fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

I've recently tried a couple variations - adding bacon or avocado or both! Do you have other variation? Please share in the comments!

From my Garden...lettuces

Texture Tuesday

From my Garden...maters

Texture Tuesday

From my Garden... Cucumber!

Aesop's Fables

When you were a kid, did you read Aesop's fables? Which was your favorite? Did you say Eesop or Aasop?

I've been working on a library program for Fall and rereading a lot of my old fave fables. Interesting how the morals at the end mean a bit more when you read them as an adult, huh?

What are you reading this summer?

Texture Tuesday

Texture Tuesday

Texture Tuesday

Texture Tuesday

Texture Tuesday

Awesome Asparagus

This is a super easy, healthy side dish lickety split!

1 lb of organic asparagus
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Start by rinsing and trimming the asparagus. Then spread it out on a foil or parchment lined sheet tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Put in the oven for 20 minutes or so. The asparagus will soften but still have some texture to it and the fronze ends will get crispy. Enjoy!

For a little extra zip, squeeze a little lemon juice over the top.

Careful, chances are good there won't be left overs! :)

Texture Tuesday

Texture Tuesday

Ladybugs to the Rescue!!

So my organic Spring garden has been doing beautifully and I have been enjoying watching it grow and eating from it whenever I can. There's only one thing I wish I could change about it -- those pesky aphids!!

For some reason, those aphids are all over my peppers plants and my bronze star lettuce. I agreed they are tasty but sharing with the aphids is NOT what I had in mind when I thought about sharing the bounty. When I first noticed bugs my plants, I took a picture and posted it on Instagram for help on what to do organically. They were quickly identified as aphids and I started using a harmless to humans and plants  soap and water spray on them. This diminished them greatly but has not gotten rid of them completely.

I don't want to spray poison in my garden so ladybugs seemed the next best remedy. They're easy to find at the local garden stores or you can order them online too. I was told to keep them refrigerated until ready to use and then pull them out to warm up 30 minutes prior to release. Wet your garden area to keep the lady bugs around longer and be sure to release them close to your aphid infestation. When the food source is gone they will move on to other adventures.

Well, I have a full buffet, so I hope these ladies are hungry little bugs! Not only were they hungry, there was an army of lady bugs! More bugs than you can imagine fit in that container. I felt like a little kid watching them all come out and inspect every inch of my garden! :) Be gone aphids!

Here are a couple pics of the ladies at work. Enjoy!

Basil Simple Syrup

Basil Simple Syrup Recipe
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
4-6 organic basil leaves

Put ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes. Let it cool. Remove the basil leaves and store in a Mason jar in the fridge.It can last in the fridge for a few weeks this way.

This is fantastic in place of regular simple syrup in limeaide and grown up drinks too. A new twist on old faves! Enjoy! 

Texture Tuesday: Happy Peppers

So, I love fresh raw peppers. I love them by themselves, with cream cream, sliced on a salad, etc. I recently stumbled on this totally yummy alternate way to prepare them and I had to share.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and dry your sweet peppers, then cut off the stems and deseed them.

Place them in a bowl and pour on a little olive oil and toss to coat lightly.

Spread them in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Put them in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until roasted to you liking.

The carmelized bits get crunchy and are almost the texture of french fries.

They are great as a side dish, on a salad, in an omlette or as a snack.

Enjoy!

Sentimental Stuff

After moving, you have to find the right place for the sentimental stuff.

This is a really sweet memorial an art director friend wrote and illustrated for me after my sweet hedgie went to the great hedge in the sky. Hedgies like warm dark places - so I hung it in the laundry room!