Summer Crockpot Recipe

August always seems to be the time that I begin to lose my passion for cooking on the grill. Maybe it is the sun going down earlier or the crisp air during my morning runs, but something shifts for me and I begin to find myself wanting to be in the kitchen cooking more. Then the afternoon sun and warmth smacks me back to reality and there I am with no dinner plan since I cannot imagine turning on the oven in this heat!

To the rescue comes the crockpot. When I think crockpot, I think winter storms and my house smelling amazing. However I looked at her differently this summer when I realized all that could be cooked in it with barely any heat or energy...not to mention coming home to a dinner while I'm beaching it for the day!

My favorite way to make organic chicken drumsticks is in the crockpot. They are cooked throughout evenly and retain moisture that is sometimes lost when baking legs in the oven. My mom always made them simple as to really savor the taste of the chicken rather than the seasoning.  My kids LOVE these and always ask for 2nds!

6-7 organic drumsticks/legs

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

Place all drumsticks in crockpot. Evenly cover the chicken w spices listed above. Turn crockpot to High for 4-5 hours. Turn off and let cool for 10 mins before serving, enjoy!

Bees!

I've been embracing technology lately and not feeling so old. Sort of. Anyway I hope with my upgraded phone I find blogging easier because I'm finding the time to blog difficult!! 

Anyway this image has been floating around and I find the picture itself well illustrated so thought I would repost. I also look at these herbs and flowers as critical items to have in my garden to help foster the bee development. We need to help them all we can until the government takes a stand against Monasto. We must do better. We can do better. We need to prioritize our health, environment above all else. 

Plant away!!

Anniversary Adventures!

It As mentioned here on this blog before, my husband and I are celebrating 10 years of marriage bliss...ha!  We've had our tough times and we've also had so many incredible times together. One of the things I think I do well is plan out our travel for the year, every January 1st. Some people like to set personal fitness goals but to help me get out of the winter slump, I like to plan financial and travel goad for the year on that morning. 

This year I included a continuation of my plan from 2014 to finish out our 10 adventures for the year. What do you give someone for an anniversary who could have whatever he really wanted, within reason of course. So instead I identified 10 adventures we had always talked about doing but had for one reason or another not found the time yet for. 

Here we are for #7!  We've always wanted to take a hot air balloon ride in NH so that's exactly, almost, what we did. It was a tethered balloon which I much prefer, especially after going up. 

It was a fun ride and we even caught the sunset. And my frugality came into play a little. I found this hot air balloon ride festival that was $15/person w no age restrictions for the little ones instead of $200-350/person. So for $60 and a few festival rides we had an incredibly memorable night. 

On to adventure #8!!

Coconut Whipped Cream!

Summer. Strawberries. Nothing is sweeter than going out to the fields to collect your own bounty of natures finest dessert. This year I combined my daughters birthday party with strawberry picking to have a simple, almost homemade party.  

I made reservations at a local farm where they have hay rides, a playground, farm animals and a large flower nursery. I kept the party pretty simple as in years past I go all out for a party, stressing myself and its all over as fast as a wedding. So this year, I made homemade dairy free cupcakes, brownie bites and some yummy SUPER easy dairy and gluten free take homes for the kids. Nothing says Summer more than simple and taking your time. 

Since my hubs and I are on a paleo challenge for 21 days I thought I would try to whip up some coconut cream whipped cream for dessert tonight!  This is how I did it:

1- Trader Joe's Coconut Cream (chilled overnight in the fridge)

1/2 teaspoon or to taste organic vanilla extract 

In a large chilled (I put in the freezer for 3 hours), put vanilla in. Then slowly pour in half the container of coconut cream. Turn on hand mixer to slow and mix for 1 minute. Slowly add the rest of the cream and turn up mixer to medium. Continue musing until thickens and is the consistency of whipped cream!  

Enjoy on top of a freshly picked bowl of berries!!

Xoxo,

Em 

Starting Out - 5 Easy Ways to Begin Homesteading

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu

Have you been thinking about incorporating clean, real eating into your diet?  Making a birthday present for your best friend, but do not know where to start?  Every journey really does begin with that single step and it also requires your intention to change your current cycle and habits towards a new one.  I'm pretty sure no one ever woke up in their Frete sheets and thought you know, today is the day, I'm going to toss all my luxury away and go be Laura Ingalls and live off the land.  I find myself examining my decisions regularly and making small adjustments towards a self-sufficient lifestyle.  Not everything can be changed over night and we've been conditioned to comforts that reduce our stress in certain areas.  Here are 5 small steps to start you on your journey to becoming a homesteader:

1 - Eat and Buy Local - My husband is never going to allow me to have chickens where we live right now, so I've adjusted my expectations of how to have fresh, local eggs on a regular basis.  I sought out a woman in town whose husband tolerates her love for her chickens and buy eggs from her.  My kids come along to see the ladies and we all have a great time chatting about who pecked who this week....and then walk away with our fresh dozen.  Less stress, more local goodness.

2 - Make Your Own Food - May sound simple and straight forward, but there are so many options for pre-packed/made food that many people have lost the tradition of making food as a family.  With work schedules being hectic and kids schedules dominating so many homes (not mine!), there leaves little time in the evening to prepare foods together. If you find yourself in this situation, take some time on the weekends to make a large batch of food for the next few days.  It will help relieve your stress and leave you with many good meals that can just be warmed up.  More posts on my batch cooking & short cuts to come soon!

3 - Grow Food - Herbs and Garlic are easy ways to start growing your own food.  Adding fresh herbs into any meal will give you some extra nutrients and extra yummy goodness.  In the spring/summer time, look for ideas of container gardening or use an Earth Box to get started.  These containers are my favorite as they provide the right blend of soil, fertilizer and a cover to allow maximum growth for your veggies.  The color of the container can blend into your porch or deck making your veggies a nice vegetation addition!

4 - Mason Jars - Enough said.  I love them so much, it could be seen as an obsession.  I'm not sure if it is because of the hours and hours of Little House on the Prairie I watched as a child, but I can never have enough.  I check out yard sales both online and physical to add to my collection and enjoy them for everything from a morning cup of coffee, storing rice, beans and popcorn kernels, to my evening glass of wine.  They are so useful and look so good.

5 - Read, read, read!  Here are a few books that I read to help me get started on my homesteading journey:

• The Backyard Homestead
• The Weekend Homesteader
• Made From Scratch

5.1 - One more...Learn/Find a Craft to Make - Find something that you enjoy making from scratch and start doing it!  I enjoy crocheting....but realized knitting is not for me.  Try a few things and do not settle.  If what you are working on does not put you into that meditative state in which you lose track of time, then it is not for you.  I also enjoy sewing freestyle...but not from a pattern.  I love being creative and not following directions.  When making with my hands, I listen to my inner self for guidance and use that as my guiding light. 

Each day is a new opportunity to integrate small changes (adjustments) into your life (practice)...it is kind of like yoga. Accept where you are today and go (GROW) from there!

xoxo

Waking

My body has a natural ability to wake before the sun does - every day.  It is really quite a remarkable relationship I have with my brain and body where I can be absolutely exhausted at the end of the day and say to myself, ok, it is time to rest, but I need to be up at 5am to work on blah ditty blah.  Like clock work, I wake at 4:59, reach for my phone to check the time, and realize I've done it once again.

However, there are some days, like this morning, that I wake early with no set purpose or agenda, except to enjoy the stillness of my house to become grounded in my day and clear out the administrative tasks I must complete before the rest of the house wakes.  I remember as a child always wanting to wake early but being told it was too early and go back to bed.  My inner child no longer has those restrictions so I honor my inner clock and wake when my body is ready.  I have such clarity at this hour about dreams to finish, tasks to be done and thank you notes I have to write.  I'm so grateful that my body is works this way so I can have the time to focus on what I need to complete before the 3 wee ones wake and need to have their demands met.  So today, I write.

Since my house is so quiet on these mornings and usually is a symphony of 5 talkative personalities, I've found time to read.  Wow, for a mom with 3 kids that is quite a statement.  Recently I finished reading The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown a guide to wholehearted living.  My "new" yoga instructor (because I feel in my heart I will only ever have 1 true yoga instructor in Rebecca Pacheco) quoted the book in a recent class.  Which paragraph he quoted exactly I still cannot remember.  I have a terrible memory for that type of recalling, always have, probably always will.  But the overall gist of what he said about resilience and the body's ability to be resilient even in the most difficult times, inspired me to Amazon Prime that book right over to me!  

As I read the entire book, cover to cover in less than a week (which again, for this busy mama is amazing), I felt as if someone had been watching over me in the past 10 years documenting everything I have been through on my personal journey into her book.  She uses 10 pillars as her guideposts of living a wholehearted life and for the first time, I finally felt connected to way I've been trying to live, and now do, and what I have been trying to express to my friends about the ways in which I've shifted my thoughts around compassion, connection and courage.  Balancing the 3 Cs creates a life of wholehearted living, no doubt about it.  But getting to that point, is not as easy as flipping a switch.  The painstaking journey of recognizing things that get in the way, letting go of perfectionism and realizing that shame, fear, and vulnerability drive so many of our actions unconsciously is a journey that we must endure to become truly living with our whole body.

I never had much gratitude for anything in my life before starting to practice yoga and gardening, two activities that bring my soul so close to the earth it sometimes makes me cry.  Growing up, we were always fighting an uphill battle of keeping the lights and heat on, that we never took the time to be grateful and thankful for what we did have.  And we had so much, but it was never enough - or I was taught to think that way.  The emptiness that I felt when I arrived at college was unimaginable.  But I remember being so thankful that day when I moved in that I no longer had to feel sadness constantly.  It was a very long car ride to Boston that September day, but I distinctly remember feeling a sense of relief that my life was about to begin.  And it did.  Yoga became a necessary pillar in my life and the act of forgiveness, gratefulness and resilience made me cry, laugh and smile every practice for years.

And so whether you are already living a wholehearted life or know that you need to be, I encourage you to read the book and begin the journey.  It will awaken you to a place you never knew you were not before and a place you never want to return.  Be grateful.  Be alive.  Awaken.

Emily's Spaghetti Squash Favorite!

Spaghetti Squash is one of the best veggies to easily replace pasta in your diet.  Whether you are on the Paleo diet, eating gluten free, or just looking to reduce your consumption of pasta, Spaghetti Squash is one of the easiest substitutes!

 

 

It can be made in a variety of ways to meet your liking or recipe.  I'm going to share with you my tried and true, dinner party favorite as you know that we all need one stand by dish that not everyone else makes! Even my vegetarian friends love this dish and I either remove the grass fed ground meat and substitute tofu, or just remove the protein for them completely.  If you are creative in the kitchen, using this recipe as your base and building from there is encouraged and leave your comments below with your favorite variation!

 

This past weekend I ran out of my summer CSA crushed tomatoes in the freezer.  I make a huge batch over the summer and freeze them for later winter use.  Sadly, the supply is out and it is only January!  I will definitely be stocking up this summer and posting the easy, crockpot crushed tomato recipe I follow....but I digress.  So I ran out of tomatoes, went to my favorite grocer and they were out of crushed tomatoes in a box.  I'm not a fan of the taste of crushed tomatoes in a can so I hopped over to the produce section and picked up some organic roma tomatoes to make my own.

 

 

While the tomatoes were cooking in the crockpot, I turned on the oven to bake the squash.  While the squash was in the oven, I cut up the onions and sautéed them with the grass fed ground beef from Walden Local Meat.   

 

 

While the meat was going, I started shredding the Vermont Cheddar and Parm in separate containers.  Ikea makes these awesome shedders that go right into a container - and they come in a 2 pack!  At some point I sipped a glass of my favorite wine and kept cooking.  The result was a beautiful full dish of delish squash and happy New Englanders who dug us out of 30+" of snow.  It was a wonderful evening with delightful conversation about all the musings around us.  Below is a plated picture and recipe - bon appetite!

 

 Emily's Spaghetti Squash Favorite!

 

2 lbs. ground meat

1 onion/shallots

1 large box crushed tomatoes

2 cloves garlic - crushed

 

8 oz Vermont white cheddar cheese - shredded

2 oz or taste parm cheese - shredded

8 oz Breakstone's sour cream

 

2 medium sized spaghetti squashed

 

1 - Preheat oven to 400.  Wash squash and place in casserole dish to be baked in oven.  Pierce the squash like you would a potato so the pressure is released while cooking. I usually make 3-4 long knife cuts in the squash.  Bake for 40 minutes, rotate 1/2 way through.  Once done, wait to cool and then cut the squash in half.  Scoop out the seeds and then pull the squash apart with a fork.

 

2 - Chop onion and add ground meat to be sautéed.  The grass fed beef typically does not need any additional fat, but if you want to do the onion first, add EVOO to sauté.   Cook until meat is browned and then add garlic and tomatoes.  Continue to simmer while you wait for the spaghetti squash to finish.

 

3 -Shred the cheddar and parm in 2 separate containers as later the layers are done separately. 

 

4 - Layering time! Bottom to Top:

1/2 the Squash

1/2 Meat

1/2 of the sour cream

1/4 of the cheddar

 

Repeat 1x, except use all the remaining cheddar and sprinkle on the parm cheese as the last layer. 

 

5 - Bake for 30 minutes on 400, until the cheese has melted and begins to slightly brown - if you like it that way ;)

 

6 - Take out of the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.  This will give it a moment to gel and get the table set!

 

Enjoy!  I hope it sounds like a fun recipe because it is and once you make it once it will become your go to when you have all the ingredients.  Even non-veggie lovers have 2nds!

 

Em

 

Storm Preppin'

If you have not heard, the Northeast is in for a big one this week - snow that is!  No more talk about Tom's balls....we are on to the big news of 2+ feet of snow!  You know what the means right??  Prepping, cooking and baking now to get ready for the hours of snow fun ahead.  The Prepper in me is only slightly concerned that we may lose power during this storm.  Our next door neighbors have a wonderful fireplace, so we maybe camping at their house if things get bad.  Until then, I'm going to bake a few gluten free breads to be sure we all survive along with a few other goodies I will share.

My favorite new discovery is Pamela's Bread Mix which has a great recipe on the back of the package for a homemade gluten free breadmaker bread.  I've seen the Mix available before, but not until recently did I decide to give it a go.  I want to know what is in every single thing I eat.  Sounds excessive, but realistically, we should all know exactly what is in our food.  The more I can make and bake at home the more I will know.   But let's also be realistic, working full time, raising 3 children and being a wife is time consuming in and of itself these days, so finding short cuts where possible works as long as quality is not compromised.....(although, it would be fun to make homemade pizza again.)

On the Facebook page, I've linked this post with a picture of the bread after it comes out.  I tried making the bread as it calls for on the package several times now and have discovered it works well if your breadmaker has a 'rapid' or 1 rise setting.  Gluten free bread does not need the 2nd rise and the time I did try it on the regular bread setting it did not rise enough the 2nd time.  Prepping, following and baking the recipe all took less than 1.5 hours and 1.25 of those hours the breadmaker was doing the work - perfect! 

Here's the recipe from Pamela's - slightly modified for my breadmaker and preferred taste:

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free Bread Mix
• 2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast or 1 yeast packet
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• warm water

Directions:

In a Bread Machine

Setting suggestion - Rapid Bread, 2 lb loaf, Dark Crust.

 

In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup, heat 2 cups of water in the microwave until warm, not boiling (2 mins on my microwave).  Add 1/3 cup oil, add 2 eggs and pour all liquids into bread maker.  Then add bread mix and yeast last. Start machine and scrape down sides and corners of pan after dough has been mixed for about 6 minutes.

After baking, remove from pan and let cool before removing paddle and slicing.

 

Summer Adventures

Every day is an adventure.  It seems that every day I'm either on an adventure or planning the next one.  Not planning in the sense that I'm not enjoying the current one, but planning in the sense that I hear or think of something I've always wanted to do and find out how we can do it as a family soon!  Our latest summer adventures have focused around local fun.  As we anticipate the arrival of my oldest coming back from his 6 week summer adventure in Montreal, the little ones and I are taking in every day around us and finding inexpensive, exciting things to do. 

Recently, we went to a local farm for pick your own blueberries.  As a child growing up, we had pick your own strawberries and I distincly remember leaving the fields with red fingers, red shoes and a slight belly ache from all the berries.  Blueberry picking is a nice alternative that does not involve discoloration of any body part or clothing, but just as much fun, finding those perfectly blue berries still attached to the tree. 

 

I even found this random pinecone that looked just yummy!

 

 

The next adventure we went on was a hike in a new section of the Blue Hills.  DCR maintains the Blue Hills so well that we usually just stick to what we know and take simlilar hikes.  I saw a friend post her adventure in a new section of the Hills and had to go.  Who knew you could have so much fun, so close to home.  We found wild blueberries, the longest 'bog boardwalk', and lots of smiles and laughs.  We sang songs on the walk, reminding me of simpler times and that there is no reason to rush anything that they are learning or doing.  We need to slow down, cherish these moments and capture their expressions of themselves in the simplest way - just being present.

 

 

Simple Summer Dressing

My little daughter loves all things farm fresh.  Red Leaf Lettuce, brussell sprouts, lavendar, you name it.  Recently, she started eating my salad, right out of the bowl....dressing and all.  If a kid will eat my homemade dressing, it should be shared with everyone.  I do tend to improvise and make the quantity that I need based on the day and week..so here goes:

Whole Grain Mustard - Cilantro Dressing
Using a Tablespoon as your measure for each serving of salad, i.e. 4 servings of salad, multiple this recipe 4x.

1 Tablespoon Whole Grain Mustard, I prefer Trader Joe's
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Tablespoon EVOO
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of freshly chopped cilantro
Salt/Pepper to taste

Shake in your favorite dressing container - I love the Bonne Maman jars!
And serve - refridgerate extra up to 5 days.
Bon appetite!

Ten years

As we dance, laugh, and sing our way into the New Year, I find myself bursting with energy about how this year will transpire.  This year marks the 10 year anniversary for a few moments in my life and I am grateful for how this journey has gone.

This year I will renew my expiring passport with my married name.  10 years ago in the cold New England months, I received my passport with excitement for the summer trip to Europe that I was planning.  I had not planned to get married that year, but life took a turn for me that was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.  Seems kinda silly as I read this back to myself, but the significance of having the same last name as your husband and being 1 family, means so much to me.

This year I will return to Europe with my husband for 10 days to commemorate each year we have been married.  10 years ago I was going to complete graduate school in August and take off the next day for a month long trip through France, Italy, Greece (they were hosting the Olympics), and Spain.  I completed graduate school, hopped on a plane, but did not last the month planned, as I was 12 weeks pregnant and was missing comfort things.  However, my husband did squeeze in a proposal under the Eiffel Tower, so I hope he does it again.

This year I will run a half marathon and possibly a full marathon!  10 years ago I started training for a Marathon after being inspired watching the Marathon runners down Boylston Street.  Previous years, I had worked the infamous Boston Marathon/Opening Day, near Fenway Park, not realizing the excitement and thrilling experience that is our Boston Marathon.  In 2004, I worked at bar right on Boylston Street and after the race, clearly remember walking down Newbury Street, observing the faces of the Marathon runners as the sense of accomplishment consumed them.  I want that and need that 10 years later.

This year I will help each of our children grow and learn in the ways that they need.  10 years ago I remember the fear of being pregnant so young and not knowing if I could be responsible for such a small precious gift.  I wanted to teach my unborn child everything I knew about gratitude, love and life and wanted to learn along side him about things in life that I was not taught.  It has been an amazing journey being these 3 kids mother and I know we will continue to grow that love of learning together this year.

This year I will reaffirm my love for my rock, my lobster, my husband.  10 years ago he looked at me with such joy and excitement about the baby we had created together.  His unwavering and solid ability to believe in me, trust me and move forward when things did not go exactly as we thought they would have has been the strength I have needed to find more strength within myself.  I will be forever grateful.

Ten years.  Seems like yesterday all of these things happened.  Happy to be here.  At peace with the present and looking forward to how the next Ten Years will go.

Energy Efficient Cooking

Cooking and baking are one of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday.  Since having kids though, my time is quite limited as to how much time I can spend in the kitchen.  I have tried Once a Month Cooking, batch cooking & freezing, raw recipes that require little prep and on and on.   I've combined all of these techniques into something that works for our family and minimizes the amount of energy used.  Most recently, with my gluten allergy and intolerance, figuring out "what's for dinner" has become even more important to me so I know that I can share in the family dinner time without having to worry if I can or cannot eat it.  However, when I talk to other friends and co-workers about their kitchen strategy, most do not have a plan or barely know how to articulate how they get it done.  Here is what works at our house and maybe taking pieces of what works for us, will help you have a more effective and efficient cooking and baking experience.

First, I review the latest farm share delivery and center our meals for the week around that.  I also consider what our family/work schedule is for the next two weeks to see if there will be any large gaps of time away from the family, for either my husband or I.  If there are gaps, I plan to make larger batches of what I'm cooking to put 3-4 meals in the freezer that can easily be defrosted.  Then, I find the circular of the grocery store with the most sales and that will compliment my farm share well.  This process takes about 15 minutes, but in the long run of planning, it's the best time spent.  To have a general plan about what is for dinner, takes away the stress on the evenings when an unplanned activity arises.

Once I have all the ingredients I need to make several meals, I start the prep work.  If I need to shred zucchini, beets and onions, I use the food processor near the sink and get to work.  I think about the order of shredding the vegetables, as the onions will leave a taste on the blades and container that I may not want transferred to the zucchini, if it's going into a bread.  After everything is chopped, diced, shredded and sliced, I put together the meals that I've been preparing for.  Then I set everything on the counter and let it set.  It must be an old tradition from my grandmother, but I feel that giving the food the time to absorb the new state it is in, gives it a moment.  Figuring out the spacing in the oven sometimes takes some time.  If I've prepped 6 dishes and only have room for 4, I try to minimize the length of time the oven needs to be on to save energy.  Maximizing how many dishes I cook at a time, reduces the amount of time the oven is on.  I have also found that turning off the oven earlier than a recipe calls for allows for the food to cook internally (of course, this only works if you've already pre-cooked the meat in a lasagna for instance).  Using my slow cooker also reduces the amount of energy and electricity used in our kitchen.  I recently made a gluten free lasagna with zucchini and rice lasagna noodles in the slow cooker.  It was absolutely awesome, cooked while I was at work and there was minimal prep involved as I was already shredding zucchini for a bread and was batch cooking turkey meat to use in multiple dishes.  Although the rice lasagna noodles called for pre-cooking the noodles, I placed zucchini on each layer of noodle so the moisture from the zucchini would soak into the noodle.  The dish was so great, the kids asked for 2nds!

Here's a link to a handy list of energy efficient cooking tips:
http://www.naturalnews.com/030578_cooking_baking.html

Happy Baking!

Reminders

I may have to set myself a reminder to write a posts.  I have so many ideas of posts in my head that I think I write them to myself and never put fingers to keyboard and let the rest of the world share in them.

My oldest has been away the past few weeks at camp in Canada.  He's living with my husband's mom while he attends a day camp, where most of the kids speak French.  The town we live in offers a French Immersion program to incoming 1st graders.  For the next 12 years, these children can be on a French track, where all to most of their classes are taught in French.  The first few years all of the lessons are in French, slowly integrating English for standardized testing purposes.  We want to reinforce what he is learning during the school year in a safe, fun environment for a few weeks during the summer.  Last year, he went for 2 weeks - this year, he requested 7.  We are on week 6 and I cannot wait for him to come home.  Everywhere I look in our house are small reminders that we are temporarily missing one.  There are books that haven't been read in weeks, hockey sticks and goals that have not moved, a bed that has remained in tact.....I cannot imagine the grief parents must feel when losing a child.  The reminders of them must be in every waking corner.

Before having children, I never knew the love a person can have for another.  There is such a deep connection between my children and myself that I can actually feel when one of them is having a tough day.   Later in the day when we connect, I am reminded of the power of love and what it can do for each of us.  It shapes us, creates us, and makes us who we are.  Unconditional love from a partner, child or to a child, must be kept sacred and cared for with the kindest heart.

As you go through your day today, be mindful of the reminders all around you.  Reminisce about the moment you picked your first tomato, your child said I love you, or maybe when your partner said I do.  Find that moment to reflect on a part of you that makes you who you are today.  Relish in that moment, hold onto it, and remind yourself to have more, everyday.

Plantings

June is a fabulous month in New England.  Right before the heat and humidity of summer engulfs the region, a moment of absolute bliss happens.  Being a Jersey girl at heart, June is like an extended Jersey May.  I plant veggies in my garden too early in May and hope that the "global warming" effect doesn't effect them.

This year, I've tried to be make a conscious effort in selecting which veggie plants I put in my Earth Boxes and the garden.  Seeing as though the garden I share is in my neighbors yard, I embraced the plants that my BFFs wanted to plant and over planted what I wanted in my Earth Boxes.  These Boxes are a great way to have a slice of heaven, in your back yard, porch or deck.  I wanted to reach out on my new deck and be able to add greens and edible flowers to my salad quickly.  I planted nasturtiums plants from the local nursery on each end of the box.  Then, I filled the rest of the box with tomato plants.  The Earth Box peeps recommend 8 plants to a box this way and they have their reasons for it.  I over planted my first box and then needed to move a few tomato plants to a new box to accommodate their ever growing size.  In June, my plants look like an August tomato plant from the garden.  No joke.

My little m lady loves her baby tomatoes.  She hasn't noticed these yet, so thankfully they may have a chance.  She eats ground cherries (tomatoes) like they are candy and embraces nature just as I had hoped.

This spring I also had the chance to go to an annual pottery sale, where women were running for ceramic pots like they run for Bridal dresses in Boston.  It was nutty, but I did walk away with several large planters for my new deck.  Next year, I hope to fill them with veggies that are edible but for this year, being pressed for time, I filled them with my favorite summer hanging flower baskets from the local specialty grocery store and cut off the hanger part.  They instantly filled the planter with some color and bees, yay! bring back the bees, and completed my plantings on my deck this year....unless I find some ground cherry plants!

E

Percolator

My week day mornings resemble an organized, chaotic, zoo.  My morning coffee is as fast as a Cheetah trying to catch her morning prey.  I'm pretty sure that if I could have it intravenously as I was waking up, I would take that option.  My Keurig with reusable filter makes me calm during the storm happening all around me.

Weekends in the house are totally the opposite though.  There's no agenda, no commitments and the only thing standing between myself and a great cup of coffee is a 2 year old, wanting to read more books.  I take it down a notch on the weekends and pull out my Grandmother's stove-top Corning-ware percolator.  It brings me right back to her kitchen where she would spend hours preparing the most delicious, wholesome Polish food.  The care she would give each pirogi as she rolled them, resembled that of a sculpture artist from the ancient times, who had no other responsibility but to craft that piece into exactly what it was supposed to be.  

As we prepare for a fun day at the zoo with some work friends, I put on my Percolator and remember the wonderfully slower times when handcrafted, fresh foods were the norm and not something that was sought out.

Farm Fresh

We belong to a very special CSA farm in our town.  Being one of the first towns outside of Boston, I find it comforting that a working farm, with tractors and bee-keeping exists within ear shot.  If I had known of the farm while living in Boston, we would have made weekly treks for our farm share.  Now, we share the share with our neighbors as the abundance of Swiss Chard would put any progressive family over the edge. 

Most Saturday nights are family night in our house.  I make a large dinner and we all join together to share our day and past week and remember how blessed we are to have each other.  While preparing last night's meal, I momentarily struggled with what vegetable to serve with our organic roasted chicken and non-GMO rice.  Then, delighted, I remembered that our spring CSA share had started and quickly found just the yummy veggies for the kids and ourselves to enjoy!  The kids enjoyed shelling their peas from the pods and my husband ate the radishes so fast you would think a rabbit was invited to dinner as well.  My oldest child loves fresh, raw broccolli, which never tastes fresh from the grocery store.  And for the first time, my middle child bit right into that broccolli like it was his favorite cookie!  Just goes to show that if you keep putting the right foods in front of them, at some point they will try and enjoy what is truly a gift from God, wholesome food.

This morning we are going for a bike ride along the ocean and I cannot wait...So as my grandmother's stovetop perculator makes my morning coffee, I sit and dream of all the adventure this day will bring...hopefully, some more love and appreciation of all things that truly matter.

E

Almost....

My journey into gluten-free, simple cooking and understanding homesteading began last summer.  Since July, I've been eating gluten free.  At first it was a sympathetic gesture for my dearest BFF who was diagnosed with celiac disease.  Then, I realized that I naturally liked most gluten-free food....and then I ate gluten and was I sick!  So, I'm a self-diagnosed gluten intolerant/allergic mom who is trying to navigate through these murky waters to find the healthiest, most natural foods for my family.  However, unlike most homesteaders, I work full time, my kids go to montessori and public school and I'm not going to convince my husband in this lifetime that we need a small flock of chickens on our "homestead".

Where does one go from here?  I've always had a love for yoga, home-made jam and hand-me-downs.  But does that make me homesteader?  Almost. I didn't even know there was a term for all the things I love, the way I like to cook, exchange clothes and make new ones from old, and have mini-lessons with my kids in the evening.  Now that I do, I feel like a kid again, obsessively reading all things Laura Ingallas related.  I've taken out every imagineable book about homesteading from the library.  I've looked into signing up for free classes about gardening and bee-keeping (my husband will go for that)

Join me on my journey as I try to nagivate through frugal purchases, energy saving cooking, learning to sew new things, give the kids mini-life lessons in the evening, and sharing this love for being in the moment with my children.  I'm not sure how this journey will turn out, but I will be honest in my findings all the while living a simpler, calmer, more wholesome life.

E