Lovely Monday

Lena and I attempted a run this morning and after only 1 minute the clouds literally parted and poured bucketfuls of rain on us...thankfully we were not far from where we left and made it back before the lightening and thunder began. It was SO funny though. It happened AS SOON AS we started and I all I could do was laugh and run with my buddy :) We were sopping wet even in just that short amount of time.

The rain cleared and guess what?! I am no longer motivated to run today...I mean I already cleaned up, put on my makeup, did my hair, etc. Excuses, excuses. I did get in quite a workout though, weeding and tilling the garden and planting three new rows of green beans, two rows of lettuce, and I am about to plant some more cantaloupe...it can't hurt to give it one more try.

I also made Zucchini Soup for lunch for my father-in-law and husband. We are over at their houses. Tom is working and I am doing laundry! I just LOVE doing laundry when it isn't at Bubbleland (the name makes it sound fun, but laundry mats are laundry mats).

Ok, so here are the meals I've planned for the week:

Monday: Chicken Tacos, Homemade Wheat Tortillas (thanks to Joy in My Kitchen it is my favorite!), and Chips with Queso

Tuesday: Beef Straganoff with Tarragon Green Beans

Wednesday: Leftover Zucchini Soup with Cheese Quesadillas

Thursday: Zucchini Spaghetti with homemade garlic bread and garden salad

Friday: Tahitian Stir-Fry with Jasmine Rice

You can find more wonderful recipes at HERE!

Everyone's a critic...

So, I have to say that The Time Traveler's Wife was enjoyable because I read the book. It was really neat to see what I imagined while reading acted out before me. BUT, I don't think I would watch it again or want to own it or recommend it to others who have not read the book. Even those who have read it will inevitably be disappointed because so much of the depth of the story was taken out for Hollywood appeal. So it goes....

It was fun to hang out with my sis though and to share it with her since we both knew the story. This was actually my first experience in watching a film where I had already read the book prior to viewing it. This has never happened and I really liked it, even though I know that you can't get around a little disappointment...the written word is always better!

I have been inspired lately to finish the Harry Potter series. I am on book 3 and I really want to finish them all before the next movie comes out. I recently saw a 20/20 episode on the life of J.K. Rowling...very inspiring. I didn't finish it because I got suspicious that she was going to talk about the last book and I didn't want anything to be spoiled.

Ok, I am off to sink my teeth into a new book I requested from the library. It's called Radical Hospitality: Benedict's Way of Love and I am very intrigued by it. I'll let you know what I think. I hope it is good because I really enjoy hosting guests, but would like to learn more. We'll see...

Wow! I have had such a wonderful day today. I have been cleaning, organizing, went on a one mile run with Lena (i am trying to work back up to what I could once run), grocery shopping, Target shopping, and talked with my neighbor for a little bit. Although it sounds like a lot, I feel so relaxed and happy to have some order. Tom is out of town for the weekend on a guys only camping trip and while we are hardly ever a part, I was not looking forward to the alone time. NOW, I totally am! It is just so nice to have a clean house. I can't speak enough about this.

You might be wondering why I've included the above picture...well, it is a cleaner for hardwood floors that I bought and tried out today and I have to say, I AM IN LOVE!! It smells ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and you don't have to deal with a nasty bucket of water! You just squirt it and then mop it. simple.

Tonight my sister and I are going to see The Time Traveler's Wife and I am PUMPED! We both read the book and it is one of my favorites. I am also thrilled that Rachel McAdams is in it! I think she is great. AND to top that off, the whole story is set in Chicago, so that is pretty fun. Hope it's good...we'll see!

OK, well I need to eat something and shower before it's time to pick up my sis from the train.

Growth

The baby watermelon is growing! In just one week, it has tripled its size!

So far this is our only one. We had two others but they did not make it and so far, none of the cantaloupe has made it either. I am hoping this just keeps on growing!! The sunflowers also seem to have shot up over night. I will have to take pictures soon.

-Sarah

SO, I think I mentioned we have a lot of zucchini. Well, I created a salad/slaw to use some of it up because I already have 8-10 freezer bags each with 2 - 3 cups of grated zucchini for baking this fall/winter. This salad/slaw is tasty and uses up a lot of other veggies from our garden as well! I have been eating it for lunch these past two days and I am not even sick of it :) Tonight Tom and I will be having zucchini spaghetti (grain free) for dinner and zucchini chocolate chip cookies for dessert. The cookies are from the book, Animal Vegetable Miracle, which you can find here and they are delicious!! Probably one of my very favorite cookie recipes. I froze some and I hope they keep...we'll see!

Here's the salad/slaw recipe:

Zucchini Salad/Slaw

What you'll need:

*4 cups grated fresh zucchini

*4-5 Roma tomatoes

*1 green pepper

*1 red pepper

*1 cucumber

*Basil, Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Pepper, Garlic Powder--all to taste

*Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar--also to taste. I would say maybe 2 TB of Oil and 1 + a little more TB of the Vinegar. I can't say for sure, I just know that I like it to have just a hint of the oil and vinegar so it is not too watery.

*Olives (green or black)

*Grated Parmesan Cheese or Crumbled Feta if using the black olives

***I use a food processor to grate the zucchini and chop up all the veggies. I combine in a large bowl and then add the spices and then the oil and vinegar.

I top with some olives and then sprinkle parmesan cheese on it right before serving.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

-Sarah

Hey, Good Lookin'...

So, we have been/are eating a lot of zucchini lately, which is definitely NOT a complaint! As you can see from the previous post, our zucchini are ginormous! They are really tasty, which I thought they wouldn’t be that great because of their size. I’ve already grated and frozen quite a bit of them for baked goodies, but more are on their way! Here’s what we’ll be cooking this week:

Monday: Zucchini Fritters with Sour Cream

Tuesday: Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

Wednesday: Zucchini Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, garlic bread and garden salad

Thursday: Zucchini and Tuna Casserole with garden salad

Friday: It’s the Weekend and we are not traveling anywhere!! We’ll probably go out or eat leftovers.

**I am also going to be baking zucchini chocolate chip cookies for the first time. I am excited to try them out! I am using a recipe from Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (which is one of my very favorite books).

More amazing recipes and dinner ideas can by found at The Happy Housewife.

-Sarah

Pictures from the garden we are sharing with Tom's parents:

Me with the enormous Zucchinis!

Some Romaine Lettuce A sweet, baby watermelon!

Green Beans

Heirloom Tomatoes

Little Carrots in the ground

We are also growing cucumbers, green peppers, sunflowers,

roma tomatoes, and beefsteak tomatoes!