2015

It is so far the busiest year for ALL of us, but in a good way. I completed two studio classes while working full time  I would not do that again, I mean taking two studio classes together. I was at the Dr.’s office more than four times. 

I did two surgeries hopefully all taken care of. I went to a reunion and had a great time with friends. If you have not attended a one I highly recommend it. My oldest became a senior at high school and yes we went through the process of college applications. He did an AWSOME job getting everything together of course with reminders and I am happy for him. 

Little one  started the first grade and went through a learning curve. She survived and did a wonderful performance at school for holidays. 

I am teaching this year and loving it! It is WORK but I love the group of children and the staff I get to work with everyday. 

I wish I blogged more but I simply could not. I learned that I do have to put things away and this was one of those I had to place on hold. I am working on getting back on it. 

Fall pumpkin festival...

One late afternoon we decided to see the pumpkin carvings done by the students over next town. It was a cold afternoon but it was a perfect day for it! Needless to say some weekends at our neck woods are packed with things to catch up! This was that kind of a weekend but we all had a great time!

Eggplant + Pasta = Heaven

Our local grocery store is flooded with eggplants and of course I stumble upon this recipe from a blog which I frequently visits. I thought I should give this a try mainly it was the season, We love egg plant, and wanted to add a twist to our regular mundane pasta dishes. The results were amazing.

At the end we had more reasons to love this dish and a bonus no meat in this dish at all. 

I loved the subtle mint flavor and the kick from red peppers. Cheese makes it so much better. I took this for lunch at work and works great with a small salad. My oldest had this for dinner and he liked it very much. We will be making this few times this year. At least before the end of the egg plant season. 

Ingredients
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, whole

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1 pound rigatoni pasta

1/4 cup torn fresh mint leaves

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the eggplant, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red

pepper flakes. Spread the vegetables out in an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven until the vegetables are tender and the eggplant is golden, about 35 minutes.

While the vegetables are roasting, place the pine nuts in a small baking dish. Place in the oven on the rack below the vegetables. Roast until golden, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.

Transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor. Add the torn mint leaves and extra-virgin olive oil. Puree the vegetables.

Transfer the pureed vegetables to the bowl with the pasta and add the Parmesan. Stir to combine, adding the pasta cooking liquid 1/2 cup at a time until the pasta is saucy. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the top and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

First Day of School to ALL...

Yes, we survived the very first week of school. I am very excited to teach this year and to go to campus in the night. Children survived the first week only two days but it was adjusting to the new schedules and meeting friends. Speaking of friends I was glad to make new friends as well. Lot to learn with record keeping which I hate and love at the same time. What I heard so far is once you get it down it seems to help plan the lesson plan can’t wait to get use to it. 

Nicolette is happy to find new friends and some of her old friends in first grade. She will be joining the before and after care for few days this year and she is very excited about it. 


Niegel is a senior in high school and I am happy for him working on his SAT and the meets. I know he is going to like his classes this school year!

I am simply getting use to all the new schedules and planning. One last thing I love my classes as well this year. 

Canning freshness straight out from the garden…

Yes, I don't know what better way to explain this new interest or rather a process of mine. I have been navigating the internet how to pickle beans (I mean green beans) and I found a way which I like very much. No idea how it all going to turn out but sounds like a great plan to lock away the freshness of backyard vegetables. 

Perhaps for some Bloody Mary’s in future and I feel it is not that fancy without pickles as a garnish. Moreover you need few pickles after drinking few of those. I also found out that I cannot find okra pickles from MA because that is not a northern thing. I had to buy a bottle while I was in VA. 

One thing I like about this particular recipe is it really adds heat to pickles with few black peppers and red chillies. I can’t wait to try some with my salad. 

A bit late post about 4th of July...

This is our first official Hydrangea bush and they were tiny when I first planted them. I love these mainly for two reasons one for the neat flowers the other during Fall the foilage turned into this beautiful deep maroon like red. I truly love a four season garden and I am still working on this tiny stamp size garden. It is always a working progress…

While we were in VA, Niegel decided to run a 5K ( we did planned this before hand) and It was fun. He did great but most of all he enjoyed it very much because he consider this as his home town.

As always Nicolette managed to find a dog to pet while her brother finishes the race. It was a great joy to watch her.

We were able to carve some time to sneak into the National Gallery of Art. We all took turns in enjoying various parts of the museum. Mostly the early paintings…

After a long stroll we were hungry and it was almost time to have dinner we all unanimously decided to dine at China Town, DC. 

Found a spot see the fire works and not too far from the capital; yes it was smokey but had a great time.

We had plenty to cover from taking care of the house, to running a 5K, visiting the museums, having dinner at China Town, and finally finding a spot to watch the fireworks. It was a great week!

Our first gathering for 2015

For 2015, gathering was much better term mainly because we received few vegetables from our friends as well. Largely few neighbors who is growing in their backyards. Some went to ladies who is always get anxious if I am at the compost bin(chickens). 

We love our wax and green beans from our yard because they are so tender and yummy. I am working on canning few for winter so I can have some at school lunch. I have heard from few friends they are so crisp. Hard part is not picking them when they are in abundance. Tomatoes are all steak this year and I hope I might get a bumber crop this year. 

It is a delightful experience to go to our tiny backyard and pick few eggs from the coopand at the same time pick few vegetables for a meal. Tender turnips adds so much flavor to a salad. I traded few eggs for handful of summer squashes this year. Beets were doing much better this year and we had it twice so far and there is few more to pull. 

Butterfly Bush

Some plants stay with you no matter where you move. Our first butterfly bush is dead and gone in VA I have no idea what happened but I planted total of three bushes at our MA house why? because I love them so much. 

This spring I was able to cut down one bush to my heart content but I had to stop because there was a finch family residing in one of the bird houses and I did not want to bother muma bird and she was bit feisty. I fled the scene and decided to head inside. we have not seen much of the butterflies this season yet but when we do I love recording them. Little Nicolette loves observing them and keeps a great track how many visits per day. Her data accumulation is very interesting and hilarious too. 

The other day I was able to capture this image of this flower which was porking out from the bush. Purple adds a cooler tone to the garden during warmer months. Butterfly bushes come in various colors including white but it is well known for its sweet nectar which attracts butterflies. 

Visiting the idea why I stick with the butterfly bush is very clear because it attracks butterflies and humming birds.   

My love for hydrangeas....

I still recall the day I saw this plant when I was in sixth or seventh grade. It was at one of my mother’s friends house. They had a bush and their neighbor had a bush as well and it had these beautiful huge clusters of flowers together and they were pinkish violet.
And my next encounter was at a garden show which I must have begged my mother to take when I was young teenager. I can recall to this day that she had no interest in gardening and if she did someone helped her to make our garden. During this time I showed an interest in house plants and other colorful foliage. Mainly the lovely begonias which had beautiful foilage. They were stunning and had different textures as well. 

This heavy influenced came mainly from a classmate. Her mother was a phenomenal gardener. I always loved and admired her garden and the energy she had to take care of her garden cannot put into words. I knew she was a teacher and mother of three who was very much interest in gardening. She gave me the first seedlings, I was very thankful to her and to this day cherish that single moment.
I was determined to change our garden to somewhat of a jumble. My mother had a lot of patience with me, she did helped me in getting pots, fertilizer, and at the end I am sure she did enjoyed our little garden coming to life as well. Her friends offered me cuttings and plants when possible. I was a young gardner back then. 

I first plated our first Hydrangea bush in Virginia. They were very young plants back then. I saw them when I visited them this year I mainly choose them for its foliage because they turned bright copper like hue in fall perfect to add color to a cookie cutter stamp size garden. I added more during this visit as well they were a pink and blue bush, I can't wait to see them next year. 
Then I planted some in MA and waited and waited they bloomed last year but this year they add so much depth to our yard. I simply could not resist the urge to photograph them day after day. 

Will I add more this fall may be if time allows how about next spring I want to say heck yeah !

Ladies and Chiks...

Our little chicks are no longer little chicks. They are getting bigger and yes I am certain I have two roosters.  One Plymouthrock and a RhodeIsland Red but I have still not figured where to pack them hope to find a petting zoo soon. I am a bit disappointed with the whole drama. The local feed shop did guaranteed 99.9% they are hens so you do the math. Last year feed shop owner sold three hundred hens and there were three roosters but the irony is this year I bet she sold the sameamount or little more but I have got two roosters from that batch. From a total of six chicks which I purchased early spring. Well I got that 0.1% well protected in our coop. 

That being said most of them seems to getting along with each other. Bright side of this story is we will be having two less from the six. I initially wanted only two more extra hens so they could be cosy during winter. Older girls like to hang together leaving the younger group alone basically but they seems to be content together as well. Occasional pecking from older girls are hard not to notice. Placing a pecking block has somewhat reduced pecking at each other and constant distraction from gander bounty keep them all check and happy!

Our Vegetable Patch...

I remember three years ago I started our own patch of vegetable garden. It was a raised bed and I frantically plated everything I can in a 4 x 6 feet space. Well, it was an experiment but a successful one and that year we had so much tomatoes but not much beets. I recall I would clip few beet greens to cook and that’s about it. Since then we have expand our growing space one foot at a time. I have had successes and failures during this three years but in all I have learned a lot. 
This tiny bit of raised bed had taught me a great deal from feeding my family to preserving food. I have reduced my trips to grocery store and made conscious decisions what I put in my children’s food. I have also integrated their little hands and young ideas in implementing in our vegetable patch. 
We have reduced the weight of our trash can by adding much to the compost. This little raised bed let us explore the idea of backyard chickens which in return made our compost the best by adding chicken coop waste. We learned nothing goes to waste is a TRUE concept not a myth. Our left over vegetables goes to chickens and in return we make less trips to the local feed store. I am adamant about cutting down my visits to the Midwest cornfield. Again there is a lot to learn about how corn could end up everything we eat and the food industry in the US. 
This summer I panted broccoli, green beans, parsley, sage, thyme came back from last year, swiss chard, and many more. I have already clipped my herbs for cooking, and harvested green beans twice. Chickens are fed with fresh green every day. At the end of the day I feel happy about this tiny edible raised bed of our!

  

Lavender Garden…

This past winter had been a very harsh winter for New Englanders. Out lavender hedge is fairly young and the corner garden is about a year old. I did plant some last summer as a hedge which I plan to grow more as the years come. However to my surprise they did extremely well this year. It is a wonderful feeling to see them com back and produce bloom after bloom. 
We have notice so many bees and butterflies visiting this corner with delight. I love to see purple smoke from a distant. I have always loved lavender as an herb and as an essential oil. It can elevate headaches and minor aches in minutes. Lately I am using them in my chicken coop mixed with bedding seems to helping chickens a lot and with bugs. 
I have been surfing the internet to see what else I can do with a bumper lavender crop. I love making lemonade with it; that is about it right now. I might take on the challange of making few pillows for winter with seeds if I am up to it.

Happenings...

Sorry for the long absent. Summer school, classes for little Nicolette, and everything in-between is kind of getting in the way of posting. The best is to at least begin with one or two post to get back in the swing of posting. It is easier to begin with garden because I manage to poke my head outside twice a day if not more than that. Many changes, first chicks are growing up like weeds I mean literally like weeds. 
We have a bunny family visiting us every evening and I am bit skeptical about the entire thing. I enjoy their view now and then. My neighbor told me to keep a bowl of garden leftover on a side so they won't eat my green beans. 

Lavender hedge has grown a bit and always busy with butterflies and bees. I harvested some this year. I have to find ways to use them. 

Daffodils

This is one of my favorite flowers that I look forward during spring. Not many bloomed in our yard this year. However, saw a lot in our neighbor’s yard which I have planted. In a way it gives a great feeling to see that I planted them and they are doing so well in her yard. I might get some this fall.

Pansies

My very first trip to the nursery. I came home with two small crates of pansies. There is something magical planting these tiny plants. This reminds me of butterflies roaming in our yard. I planted them in our big flower pot by the front door. 
Nicolette promised me that she is going to help me but I could not find her anywhere close to me she got so busy chasing chickens. I did the planting but enjoyed every bit of it. 
Hopefully they will welcome us from our long trips. 

Weekend…

It was wicked busy weekend, I drove across town to get grocery, to apple store, to bookstore, had lunch out, bought few things for myself, and got my toes painted that was Saturday. Yes, it was that busy and the weather was so nice. 

I had lost my water bottle which I take to gym and was a bummer. I had to get a new water bottle because it impossible to spin for one hour without a water break. Then I spend way too much money at the store for a dress and a small bottle of perfume. Both made in the US and organic and I just couldn’t say no. it was a good cause, and I will probably where the dress many times this summer. 

I planted my garden this weekend as well. We still need to get the tomatoe plants but all the other seeds are in just waiting for the rain. 

I ordered organic seeds last Fall and matter of fact I can’t find any.I am sure I have kept them safe somewhere in the house. Although the second order came in I am super excited to plant them. This winter I got use to swiss chard which I have come to love very much. I was eager to plant those seeds because I know I will be using them a lot.

Salad Dressing

I always use to buy the salad dressing because it is inexpensive, so many varieties, and and the convenience. There was this day I ran out of dressing and wanted to eat my salad. What happen next was invention of dressing at home. After a bit of research online. I was making my own salad dressing. The best part  was I am in control of what is going in my dressing. So far I made one with lemon, and this is my attempt to make with ruby red grapefruit. I am so pleased with both batches which leads me to eat more salad. 

My version

1/2 cup of grapefruit juice

3 tbs of olive oil

2 tbs distill white vinegar 

1 shallot finely minced

2 garlic cloves finely minced

1 tbs of honey

few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes

Dash of salt and pepper to taste

Place everything in a mason jar and shake. Simple as that and pour generously on your salad. 

Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner Bowl

Kale, Beans, Quinoa, Roasted Beets, Carrots, Potato, and Hard Boil Eggs this has been my go to lunch bowl. Closer to work and when I had to do work shops I would usually go to this place called good eats to get something for dinner. I love their dishes mainly because they would serve something along this line. Also they would served hand cut fries which was die for. 

This is my home made version of it less the fires. I cooked quinoa with millet I used a vegetable stock to lightly flavor. My mantra for this is one cup of grain for two cups of liquid.

Sautéd kale with a bit of olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, and onions. Add a bit of lemon juice for the zest. Then I tossed beans with greens as well. 

Roasting root vegetables adds a bold flavor to this bowl. You can use any kind of herbs you have in hand to add a bit of flavor to your root vegetables. I have used rosemary and parsley this is totally up to you.

Assembling this bowl is so much fun! I add green to the bottom of the dish and grains. Top it off with roster vegetables and a halved hard boil egg. Add salt and pepper to your taste. 

Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner Bowl

Kale, Beans, Quinoa, Roasted Beets, Carrots, Potato, and Hard Boil Eggs this has been my go to lunch bowl. Closer to work and when I had to do work shops I would usually go to this place called good eats to get something for dinner. I love their dishes mainly because they would serve something along this line. Also they would served hand cut fries which was die for. 

This is my home made version of it less the fires. I cooked quinoa with millet I used a vegetable stock to lightly flavor. My mantra for this is one cup of grain for two cups of liquid.

Sautéd kale with a bit of olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, and onions. Add a bit of lemon juice for the zest. Then I tossed beans with greens as well. 

Roasting root vegetables adds a bold flavor to this bowl. You can use any kind of herbs you have in hand to add a bit of flavor to your root vegetables. I have used rosemary and parsley this is totally up to you.

Assembling this bowl is so much fun! I add green to the bottom of the dish and grains. Top it off with roster vegetables and a halved hard boil egg. Add salt and pepper to your taste. 

How to say goodbye to toys that take space?

Nicolette is going through a growth spurt, and running out of space with her belongings. During her six years we have accumulated a lot. I meant to say with toys.Some are impulse buys. I know part of it is my fault. Usually I try to have a control over this but not so much after scanning her room. 

She needs space to create
a place to play
a place to hang out with her friends
a place to write
a place to read
and finally a place to unwind
That is a quite a list. Her room can use a fresh coat of paint this spring. We are going to stick to the same color white but introduce few pieces with a punch of color! 
I am thinking of a table and a chair, a rug, lamp shade, and new curtains!

Now that sounds a lot. We need to start the overhaul by clearing her space with donating some of her favorite toys. It was not easy because simply there is so much memories we can just get part with. I decide to handle this by posing a picture with your toys for donating! I know this sounds very tacky but I had to be creative in order to make space. She was in for the idea of donating after reading few about children who could not have toys! 

We had our first load drop off this weekend feels a bit lighter. More to come on how to organize? To be functional!

Forcing bulbs with children

This is one of many fun activities you can plan with your child to do on any fall day, but it is best to plan this ahead so can have paper whites blooms for holidays. I have had success with this project and love it!

What you need 
A clear vase
Pebbles/rocks
Water
Bulbs

Arrange the rocks in side the vase, place the bulbs and add water, and watch them grow. This is an ideal activity to keep track of how fast the bulbs grow, note any changers in bulbs, watch the outer skin, and many more.
This year we are simply observing, we might consider taking notes after few weeks.

Warm Salad for Cold Days

Kale, Quinoa, Blackbeans, and fried Tofu

I am updating my personal blog with an awsome creator!

Dinner in a hurry

Last night I was exhausted running around and getting errands done and It was a lot to get done. I did not feel like making anything for dinner and luckily I bought chicken thighs from Costco. 

So it was chicken, potatoes and kale for dinner!

Redskin potatoes, with garlic spring onions, and parsley. To make it bit creamy I add a bit of half and half, butter, and cheese. Added salt and pepper to taste.

Kale was sautéd with garlic, onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili oil to give a tiny bit of heat. 

Served the baked chicken on a bed of mash potatoes and kale! Glad we decided to eat at home! I still have some left over baked chicken to make a salad to in the lunch boxes! 

Citrus tea with honey

New England weather makes me to make tea out of anything in order to fight cold days. Citrus is always flooding markets during this time and you can’t get enough of it. Grape fruit seems to fit into this lovely slot of tea making. 

I use one whole grapefruit twice to make this warm sweet tea. Squeeze out one half of grapefruit into a glass add few spoons of honey according to your taste and top it off with warm water. This is such a sweet tea which will keep you go back to your glass until you finish it off!

Getting more greens in

Getting into the habit of eating more greens is always challenging for starch eating fanatics like us. That being said we are more conscious about eating all our greens before offering it to chickens. Salads take the back burner in our menu mainly I was the only one who was consuming it. However that has changed two kids have joined the wagon and I am thrilled to see every one at least eating a little bit of green before their real meal. 

This green salad is my own spin to store brought mixed greens. I buy them in bulk and it stays in the refrigerator for couple of days. In order for us to have salad every single day it need a bit of prep time. I like to do this late in the night or first thing in the morning so it is always ready before meals. 

My grocery list includes

1 box of arugula
1 head of romaine lettuce
1 English cucumber
1 bag of carrots 
1 bag of turnips
1 heart of celery 
1 bunch of kale
1 bunch parsley/ cilantro 
1 bunch spring onions
1-2 cans beans of your taste chickpeas / black beans

I use a handful of each green including the cucumber can be stretched for couple of days. This is a great way to add salad before a meal. Finally a little bit of beans add that extra protein. 

This works for us right now than the store kind. 

jamberry vs nail polish

I read a post about the jamberry nails while ago and wanted to give it a go but was busy. When one of my friends became a host and posted on Facebook I thought, wow, this is getting around. I am not a manicure girl occasionally I would enjoy this but certainly a pedicure girl. amount of work I do it is practically a joke to get a manicure done. I do enjoy getting a pedicure once in a while.One reason is that I don’t get to do much work and catch up all what’s happening in Hollywood at the nail salon.

Second, I have to admit I enjoy some me time. Not working on anything just sometime for myself. aI have come to love a place which was closer to a place where I use to work. It was a hike to get there and I kept making excuses to go there so I can run to apple store, health store, grocery, and shopping. This is somewhat taxing on my schedule and my budget. 

However, during winter I don't get to have many pedicures mainly because of gym and swimming. When I get one I really enjoy it! Another reason I don't like to get a manicure is I work a lot in my art studio at school. Working with clay makes my hands pretty disgusting at the end of the day. 

My friend was very convincing that jamberry is the only solution for busy mom’s pedicures. I told her I will take the challenge. After two attempts I finally got the goodies. I loved it because it was less time consuming comparing to getting nails painted. No time in drying process which is a pain. The price tag is very friendly. I can practically get two manicures for $15.00! No chemicals! I am loving this already!

Monday Night Dessert

Our Monday nights have change a bit from the normal, mainly we have afternoon activities. Nicolette’s Karate has being taking most of the free time we had. That being said not sure about my monday coffee run I decided to bake. This is a very easy recipe to follow and a breeze to whip it up. Luckly I had some frozen raspberries to do the job. I did had to go to the store to get ricotta but it was worth it I had few other items that I need to get anyways. 

I don’t know about the dinner plans for sure I know I have a big salad, few hard boil eggs, and salmon patties. We also have some bread that will be our dinner. We are planning to splurge the dessert and more room for dessert would make every one happy.

I know I promised that I will be posting more healthier options but after eating salads and fiber for a long time it was time to enjoy some sweets but not overly sweet desserts. I am planning to serve this with a dollop of whip cream I love the lite whip cream very much.  

I hope you will make this wonderful recipe as well, becase I loved making it. 

Ingredients 

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

3 large eggs

1½ cups ricotta

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup frozen raspberries or blackberries, divided 

Do Ahead:

         Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9”-diameter cake pan with parchment paper and lightly coat with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

         Whisk eggs, ricotta, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth; fold into dry ingredients just until blended. Then fold in butter, followed by ¾ cup raspberries, taking care not to crush berries. Scrape batter into prepared pan and scatter remaining ¼ cup raspberries over top.

         Bake cake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50–60 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before un-molding.

Recipe by Alison Roman

Silence

The long silence have been for few reasons, I am busy studying for exams, and running around with my children. Nicolette moved up in her swimming a bit and decide to put a confidence into new use by taking Karate. I thought about this out loud and decided to go with her decision. She is more of a  ballet girl, but having to learn self defense I though should be priority number one. Se we are in Karate on Monday nights. Dropping the oldest with math support and driving the youngest to Karate has been my new Monday schedule. 

I have been a bit busy trying to have my little nook in stock. It has been a nightmare, but I am getting there. I might take few summer courses and I have to take a closer look at the course catalog. 

Additionally I have been taking care of myself by scheduling myself for surgery. Yes, it  was not fun but needed to address it. I feel much better but the recovery is very slow and I don't like being sick.  Few things that I am going to improve with my diet is to increase more fiber. Perhaps I might post more healthier recipes. 

I feel like I am tired most of the time and drained. Which is not like me at all. Perhaps loosing an hour of sleep is catching up to me. I usually don't go for coffee but I can use a cup of joe today!

Hopefully, I might be able to blog more in this space as I am getting better!