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June 19, 2015June 16, 2015

Food Fridays – Lots of Basil

I got my second bunch of basil this week, so I figured I should probably do something with it, other than just add it to the jar on my counter with the first batch of basil. Basil lasts a long time if you put it in a jar of water on your counter.

So, this week I tried out two recipes with basil. I have lots of tomatoes on hand too, so I decided to use lots of veggies and I made spaghetti sauce.

Spaghetti Sauce

4 Large Tomatoes
3 Green Onions
1/2 Cup fresh basil leaves
3 Cloves garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cut the tomatoes in rough slices, slice the green onions, and place all ingredients in a pan. Simmer over medium/low heat until tomatoes are cooked down. I cooked mine for about 1.5 hrs but you could do it faster (I was trying to cook off some of the excess water from the tomatoes). After veggies are done, place in a food processor and pulse until all chunks are gone.

Serve over pasta and topped with grated parmesan cheese.

Basil Berry Sparkling Ice

I found this recipe here on Kroger’s website. But the measurements were confusing for me, so I didn’t really do exactly what they said.

8 Large Blackberries
6 Fresh Basil Leaves
2 Cups Blackberry Sparkling ICE (it’s a brand Kroger sells but any blackberry sparkling beverage will do)
2 Cups Sparkling Lemonade
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice

Put the blackberries, basil leaves, and lemon juice in a pitcher. Mix up and let set for a few minutes, or until ready to serve drinks. Right before serving, pour the blackberry sparkling ICE and sparkling lemonade into the pitcher.

I refrigerated my drinks before opening them but if you don’t refrigerate first, you will want to serve this over ice.

June 18, 2015June 16, 2015

CSA – Week 5

My girls are so excited about these carrots. They love carrots, and had carrots a few weeks ago so this week they were asking for them again. They’re so happy to have more carrots.

I can’t say I’m happy to see more beets. I’ve already pickled two bunches. I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do with this bunch.

Swiss chard. I remember my mom making this accidentally once when I was a kid thinking it was kale. It’s not kale, and it didn’t taste good. So I’m a little afraid of it, but I’m sure I’ll find something I can make with it.

Basil, luckily I have ideas for using this since I’m just now finishing off my last batch. In fact, tomorrow I’ll have two recipes for you with basil.

More tomatoes. These are so yummy! And I’m eating through them so quickly, I’m always happy to have more tomatoes.

And lettuce, we love salads at my house, so that’s what this gets used for. There’s also a lovely red pepper I forgot to take a picture of – and since I ate it before I realized that I didn’t have a picture, there’s no picture. It was very tasty.

June 17, 2015April 9, 2016

OZ Naturals Ancient Orient Rice Enzyme Dermafoliant – Review

OZ Naturals Face Scrub Exfoliant has bamboo, green tea extract, Vitamin B-5, lactic acid, and alpha lipoic acid. It’s goal is to remove dead skin cells and reduce fine lines and wrinkles while leaving your face with a healthy glow.

This product is a rough powder, that you dump out into your hand, mix with a little water, and then scrub your face with.

I found it rather interesting to use, I put some in my palm, mixed in a little water, and started scrubbing my face. I had to add water a couple of times since it dried pretty fast.

The Face Scrub Exfoliant scrubs really well – I was worried when I was scrubbing that it was too rough, but it did what it’s supposed to do so I think it was just fine. The directions say to let it sit for 5 minutes, but I’m impatient so I let mine site for about 3 minutes before rinsing it off.

When I rinsed the Face Scrub Exfoliant off my skin was soft and smooth. And it stayed soft throughout the next day. Using this every-other to every-third day would work great for me.

It has no smell, which I love. I’m not fond of using facial products that are very aromatic, so I was pleased to be using something that doesn’t have any added scents or dyes.

I enjoyed using this product and I love the soft and clear skin I got as a result of using this Exfoliant.

You can purchase it online at Amazon.

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

June 15, 2015May 27, 2015

Daddys

With Father’s Day coming up, I start thinking about my Dad and my husband. Both great men. And just think about how blessed I am to be surrounded my entire life by men who care about me. Starting with my Dad.

Now that I have kids of my own it’s so much fun to watch my husband play with my daughters. It always brings back so many memories of my own childhood.

I remember…

1. Dad pulling me around in diaper boxes (I don’t remember this so much as I have pictures of it, because I was pretty little). He would attach a string, I would climb in, and he would pull me around the house.

2. Dad chasing me through the house. When my dad blows his nose it’s basically like he’s trumpeting. So as a child, whenever he blew his nose I would go running through the house screaming “Ahhhh, it’s the Water Buffalo!”. And he would chase me. Until he ran into a doorway and broke his toe. After that, I did all the running.

3. Dad swimming with me. Actually, what I remember is playing in my little kiddie pool and mom constantly telling me to stay in the pool and not get so much grass in the pool by climbing in and out. Then, when my dad finished his yard work he would come flop into my pool and make a gigantic splash – also he would get LOTS of grass in my pool.

Once I got older and we graduated to one of those back-yard 3ft pools. We would all walk in one direction around the edge of the pool and make a whirlpool.

4. Horse rides. Riding on Dad’s back down the hall to bed at night. Also, I would walk on his feet. Stand facing him holding hands and put my feet on top of his. He walks backwards and I walk forwards. It’s better than just sticking my feet in Dad’s shoes and clomping around.

5. Angry Alligator. Basically, just chasing us kids around on a playground. But it’s way more fun if you’re trying to escape an alligator.

We would build “tents” from chairs and blankets and “shoot bears”, and we would even play this game (I can’t remember what we called it) where dad sat in the middle and we ran around him trying to get as close as we could without getting caught. Kinda like blind man’s bluff without any blindfolds.

I received lots of good advice from my dad, and he always did a good job taking care of his family, but thinking back to when I was a kid, I most remember all the fun, laughter, and play.

So, Daddys, play with your children. It means so much more than you think it does. And please, don’t run into any doors.

June 12, 2015June 9, 2015

Food Friday – Mixed Veggies

I needed to use up a bunch of “leftover” vegetables. So I turned them into a vegetable medley. This combination of veggies was so colorful, and I love eating colorful foods.

1 Carrot – sliced
1 Green Bell Pepper – chopped in 1/2 in pieces
2 stalks Celery – sliced
2 Green Onions – sliced
1 small bunch Cauliflower – cut in small pieces
2 small Radishes – sliced
1 handful fresh Spinach
2 Tbsp butter
Salt & Pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Warm butter in skillet over medium heat

Add all vegetables except for the spinach

Pan fry until veggies are to desired doneness. I like mine just a tad bit crispy still so about 7 minutes.

Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Season with salt & pepper to taste

Serve with Grated Parmesan Cheese on top.

June 11, 2015June 9, 2015

CSA – Week 4

This week we have beets again. I made more pickled beets because I think the kids will like them. I’m just hoping I like them. I’m not a fan of beets.

Cauliflower. You can’t see this in the picture, but the undersides are purple. The girls were so excited about this! I’m not going to have any trouble getting them to eat it however I make it.

Radishes. Currently, I’m grating them into salads and everyone eats them this way. I even like them this way.

Green onions, four weeks in a row. I have got to come up with something other than slicing one in a salad!

Tomatoes. Last week’s were so delicious. I’m not having any trouble eating all of these.

Greens. It’s not broccolini, but something similar to kale. It’s a bit strong but I still like it.

Red lettuce. This stuff is so tasty. I love it in salads.

Kale. I still haven’t found a recipe for kale that the kids will eat. I’m going to try something new this week.

Come back tomorrow and see what I’ve been cooking!

June 10, 2015April 9, 2016

Adovia Exfoliating Body Scrub Review

I received this product free for purposes of my review. All opinions are my own.

I received a container of Adovia Exfoliating Body Scrub with Dead Sea Salt and Natural Oils for review.

This Dead Sea Salt Scrub is an Exfoliator and Moisturizer. With dead sea salt and 21 minerals, this product is designed to exfoliate and moisturize your skin. You can use it in the shower or bath or just as a hand or foot scrub at your sink.

This product works great. I used it in the shower. It exfoliated well and was very moisturizing. I didn’t even have to use lotion after my shower!

It is a bit hard to get out of the container. It’s rather liquidy, so a small spoon would be helpful.

The only thing I didn’t love about this product is the scent. It has a perfume smell that I didn’t really enjoy. Fortunately, it doesn’t last long after your shower so it’s not a big deal, but I would like this product better in a different scent.

They sell this product on amazon. And free shipping is available.

4 Things I Love About My Husband

1. He’s an optimist – I’m more of a pessimist, so he keeps me balanced. Without him I would never try new things or do anything that I’m not 100% certain of success with.

He encouraged me to start my blog and always has positive things to say about it. Even when I’m sure it’s going terrible. He’s been so encouraging and has really helped me keep going and finally find my groove. (well, enough of a groove for now)

Also, I’m prone to stressing about things that could go wrong, he sees all the things that could go right, so between us, he doesn’t jump into projects uninformed and I actually jump into projects.

2. He’s patient – I want something to happen, right now. He’s ok waiting. And really, there’s no harm in waiting. I’m just impatient. I’m glad he’s more laid back about it.

3. He’s flexible – Last minute call, “can you pick up child from preschool?”. I had something come up and couldn’t make it. Even with a busy day at work he picked her up and let her tag along with him until I could get over there to get her.

Dinner isn’t going to be ready for another 30 minutes, no problem.

4. He works hard – He actually likes working. He enjoys his job so when he comes home he’s not all stressed about his work environment. Which is really nice.

Also, he doesn’t mind doing extra work when it’s needed. As long as I don’t ask him to cook dinner, life is good.

June 5, 2015June 2, 2015

Food Friday – Beets and Tomatoes

I had 5 giant tomatoes in my CSA box. 5. I love tomatoes. But they’re giant. No one else likes tomatoes, so when I cut one up I have to eat it all somehow. They’re delicious tomatoes and I’ve enjoyed them.

Tomato Basil Salad

1 medium size tomato or 1/2 a large tomato
1/4 cup cubed cheese – I used baby swiss
4 sweet basil leaves – broken in pieces

Slice tomato in squares, toss tomato, cheese, and basil together. Add a little salt, oil, or vinegar if desired. Enjoy.

And I just had to show off a sliced tomato. Isn’t it delicious looking!

Beets was a real stumper. I haven’t made beets since, well, ever. I’m not really fond of the taste ether so I haven’t eaten them since I can’t remember when. But, they came in my CSA box and part of the reason for getting a CSA is to try new things. I only had enough beets for 1 jar so I didn’t want to bother with canning just one jar. I decided to go with the refrigerator version.

Refrigerator Pickled Beets

3 medium sized beets
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic – peeled and sliced
Beet juice as needed

Wash beets well and remove tops and stems. Place in a pan of water and boil until fork tender (about 25 minutes) Remove from water, peel, and slice into rounds. Place in Mason Jar.

While beets are cooking, heat sugar vinegar, water, and garlic on the stove. Simmer 5 minutes then set aside to cool.

Pour sauce over beets in mason jar. Top off with beet juice (leftover in pan from boiling the beets) as needed to fill the jar.

Put lid on the jar and refrigerate. The beets will be ready to eat in 1 week. They will keep in the fridge for 1 month or so.

June 4, 2015May 27, 2015

CSA Week 3

There were so tasty things in my box this week. And some vegetables I’m not that familiar with. Be prepared for fun recipes tomorrow!

More green onions – I have got to find a use for this. This is 3 weeks in a row, and they’re all sitting in my fridge…

Radishes – the recipe I tried last time was pretty good. But no one in my family really likes radishes, so I’m going to have to try something different. Also, I have the tops this time. I’m thinking I’ll try a pesto and see whether I like the carrot top pesto or the radish top pest best.

Beets – I’ve never ever cooked beets. I’ll be looking at lots of beet recipes this week! They have the tops too. I’m pretty sure I can use these like any green similar to kale. I’ll be finding out what the taste difference is!

Spinach – we love spinach salad! I doubt I’ll have enough to do more than just salads. Especially since this is our preferred way to eat spinach.

While we’re discussing salads, here’s a head of red lettuce. I see some delicious salads in my future!

More Kale – I love cooked greens but the kids and my husband are not impressed. I’m going to try kale chips this week, maybe those will be better received…

Tomatoes – I love tomatoes. And these are huge and delicious looking. Can’t wait to start eating these.

Come back tomorrow to see what I did with all these familiar and unfamiliar vegetables.