jump to navigation

The Hills Are Alive, and My Patio is Full of Food! March 26, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Food, Health, Plants, Travel.
Tags: , , , , ,
add a comment

Today has been filled with the outdoors. Boulder offers an incredible amount of trails, paths and hiking areas. We decided to take my family to Flagstaff to get a better view of Boulder and the surrounding area. Words cannot describe how beautiful the mountains looked from the top of the Flatirons. Pictures rarely do them justice.

Why do they always come out so small???

We all hiked up Flagstaff Summit and looked around the the amphitheater at the top before parting ways. Chris, Dad and Tim wanted to hike down to the bottom of the Flatirons, but they needed someone to pick them up at the end of the trail. Mum and I decided to take the Ute trail back to the car and get them at the overlook.

It was a beautiful day and a really nice hike.It is still difficult to believe that we are in March right now with all of the 60* weather we have been afforded!

When we got back, we decided to relax a bit, and Dad helped me to re-pot all of my seedlings!

The swiss chard was ready to go into a pot of their own, as was my green bean. We’re having a window box that will be filled with herbs. Rosemary, basil, chives, cilantro and mint all at my doorstep. For veggies, we now have swiss chard, hot peppers, green beans, zucchini, sugar snap peas and broccoli. I can’t wait until they are a bit taller than seedlings!!!!

Future Food March 19, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Food, Plants.
Tags: , ,
add a comment

I am very excited for the summer.

I have high hopes for a bumper crop of vegetables and herbs.

I have plans for these beautiful babies! So many salads and recipes that I want to try with them!

Oh hey little swiss chard! You are going to be beautiful when you grow up. Such a rainbow of colors already!

Lookin’ good cilantro… although your friend could learn a few manners!

Garlic, you are getting so big already. Almost to the owls wing!

SPRING!!!!

Irish Eyes Are Smiling March 17, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Dinner, Food, Plants.
Tags: , , , , ,
1 comment so far

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!!

In honour of such a festive occasion we had corned beef and cabbage… one of my favorite meals!


It turned out perfectly! Last year’s attempt in Baltimore was less than perfect. For some reason, the corned beef was not very flavorful, not very tender and generally not as tasty as one would have liked.

This year we got a flat cut… I don’t know if this makes any difference, but man oh man it was delectable. So juicy and tender, it was just falling apart when we took it out of the crock pot. The flavor was sublime! I really had to make sure that I stopped when I was full. Mmmm, I love me some corned beef!

Since this was a nice occasion, I also got some daffodils. Can’t wait until they are all blooming!

Aren’t they beautiful??? I just love daffodils… they mean that spring is around the corner!

Grilling Genius March 13, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Dinner, Food, Motivation, Plants, Weight loss.
Tags: , , , , , ,
1 comment so far

It’s official. Chris is a grilling genius.

Nay, he is a grilling guru! In all seriousness, I wanted some grilled chicken tonight and man, did he come through.

It was everything that you want in a piece of grilled meat… moist, juicy, spicy goodness with just the right amount of carcinogenic goodness that comes from being charred to perfection without being burn to a crisp. Mmm, making my mouth water just thinking about it!

Isn’t it just a work of art in drumstick form??? To complete the meal, I added potato knish and a mix of broccoli and cauliflower. My suggestion for the veg: sprinkle a little Old Bay seasoning and they start to sing.

In other news today:

My babies are sprouting! You grow little swiss chard! Reach for the sun baby bean sprout! I just love that they are making a solid effort just seven days after meeting the soil. Good job little ones!

Now that day light savings is kicking my behind (spring forward, grumble, grumble) I’m sitting down to enjoy a cuppa and a few pages in my gardening book before beddie byes!

 

Also, an update from Saturday… 2.6 (!!!!) pounds lost last week for a grand total of 15 lbs gone! Yay!!!!

Getting a Little Greener March 11, 2011

Posted by cirellih in Dinner, Food, Plants.
Tags: , , , , ,
add a comment

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood! I really just cannot get over how beautiful Boulder is in the sun.

Moods are lifted, after school programming can go outdoors, my plants begin to sprout! All is right in my world.

Can you believe that they GREW that much in just one day! They’re doing so well!

For dinner, I decided to keep going with my green theme. That meant more pesto!!!

The Recipe:

  • 1 cup cooked rotini
  • 1 tbsp pesto
  • 7 cooked shrimp
  • 1/4 cup quartered artichoke hearts
  • 2 tsp sliced olives
  • 2 tsp mushrooms

Cook the noodles and shrimp so they are done at about the same time. Mix in the pesto. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simple as that.

I have become mildly obsessed with pesto and shrimp. I really love the combination… then add in some artichokes and it’s over the top good! Perfect quick meal that takes 10 minutes. Definitely good in my book!