See?

The other day, I made:

Roasted sweet potatoes!

(And wondered why I haven’t done it before)

Cinnamon Roasted Apples and Sweet Potato

• 2 medium sweet potatoes **
• 1 1/2 apples, chopped (~2 cups)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• salt, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Peel and chop your sweet potatoes and apple into cubes.
3. Place them in a bowl, then drizzle on oil.
4. Add spices, and combine to coat.
5. Place on baking sheet, and bake for ~40 min, turning the pieces once half way.

Now, the step-by-step process:

I started by preheating the oven to 350.

Next, I peeled and chopped the apple + sweet potato.

 

 

Giving up doesn’t always mean you are weak … sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go.
- Unknown

Thousands of soldiers who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Lieutenants who hide in the foliage.

Berries red as blood.

Sentries stationed in high trees.

6-footed(count them!) battlemen, alert and ready.

Odd white trees, puffy and stout.

Some call it the battlefield…

Others dub it the jungle…

… I call it our backyard.

  :) Hehe :)

It’s chock full of weeds, but we’re working on it!  Pulled out lotsa weeds today.

AND…

The radishes and turnips are now 2 weeks and one day old.

And back on April 1st, I planted:

Spinach                                                              &                              Kale

Except they haven’t spouted yet.

Well, this post is already super picture heavy, so I think I’ll end right there!

Quote of the day:
“It takes one tree to make 10,000 matches, but one match to burn 10,000 trees.”
-Unknown

Started out the day with:

Pancakes!

Gotta love Costco strawberries. Especially dipped in dark chocolate.

In the pic above you can also see the concoction I made today…  I took a stab at making homemade Reeses PB Cups.

One sad little jelly bean left in the jar.

*Gasp… do you see what I see?

Might that be… an Easter egg?

In my size-7 furry gray boot?

Ooh and more!

Haha and that bright blue thing in the fruit bowl is NOT a weirdly colored avocado.

Ahh beautiful dandelions.

Am I the only one who still makes a wish on these things? On second thought, don’t answer that.

I’ve always liked painting my toes. Err, toenails, that is. My fingernails-not so much. But toenails are just such fun to paint, even if nobody ever sees them in the winter.

I think I’ll wrap it up with a quote:

Quote of the Day
When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.
- Unknown

Aint they beautiful?!

Last Sunday I planted:

Turnips

And Radishes!
 

Readying the ground…

And now, 6 days later…. whala!

Radish Sprouts                                                                         Turnip Spouts

Maybe I’m not cursed with a black thumb after all.

I feel so proud. :)

Brrr….

Yogi Tea? Yes please!

One hummus + avocado + pepper wrap coming right up!

Quote of the day
“Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt and dance like no one is watching.”
- Randall G Leighton

There’s just something great about taking all your favorite foods and stuffing them into a warm, homemade tortilla. And even if your tortillas are not homemade, I’m sure the recipe will still be delicious.

Amazing flavors, all rolled up into one. What’s not to like?

Black Bean & Avocado Burrito

• 1 tortilla
• 2 tbsp hummus (I used my favorite- Pita Pal Roasted Red Pepper)
• 1/4 cup black bean dip
• 1/3 avocado, sliced
• 3 tbsp sliced sweet mini peppers(or bell pepper)

1. Spread the hummus on your tortilla.
2. Pile all other ingredients on top.
3. Wrap up and enjoy!

Mmmm…

Quote of the Day
“Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.”
- Unknown

In fact, today is the first time I’ve looked at a computer in a few days!

I’m feeling a whole lot better now, though I’m still coughing and wheezing all over the place.

You know what I’d love right now? One of these:

It’s something I tried the other day and was delighted by the results.

Not just any green smoothie, this is a cucumber green smoothie.

Refreshing Cucumber Smoothie

• 1 banana, peeled and frozen in pieces
• 1 cup almond milk (or any other type of milk)
• 3 in piece of cucumber, peeled (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
• 2 ice cubes
• 2 handfuls spinach (optional)

1. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.

Why I decided to add cucumber, I have no idea, but I’m really glad I did!

Have a great Saturday!

Quote of the Day
“If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance.”
- Anonymous

In two days.  

‘Nuff said.

Black Bean Dip

modified from here

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 1.5 cups cooked black beans
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 tbsp yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup corn(I used frozen)

1. Add oil to a skillet and sautee onion and garlic for 4-5 min over medium heat. 
2. Add all other ingredients, and simmer 7 min, adding additional liquid if necessary.

Makes 2.25 cups.

Originally I mashed some of the beans, but next time I’d leave them whole. It was still delicious though!

It’s great with chips, and also terrific in a burrito.

Here was one of my fav combos:

Mmmm.. too bad it’s all gone. :(

Quote of the Day
I was standing in the park wondering why frisbees got bigger as they get closer. Then it hit me.
- Unknown

Believe me, this recipe I’m about to share only increased my love for it.

It’s called a sweet pepper hummus, but actually you can barely taste the sweet pepper. But I loved the color it added- now my hummus has lovely orange flecks.

Sweet Pepper Hummus

           Yield- 2 cups

• 1.5 cups cooked garbanzo beans (or one 14oz can)
• 2 TB tahini
• 2 TB bean liquid (or water)
• 1/3 cup chopped sweet peppers
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 TB lemon juice *
• 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
• hot sauce (optional) **

1. Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.

*If you don’t have fresh lemons, I would omit and wouldn’t bother using the bottled stuff
** I used about 1/2 tsp because my hot sauce is REALLY spicy. Depending on how spicy yours is, you’ll have to adjust the amount.

I love these sweet little peppers. They taste just like bell peppers, in fact, but they’re just smaller.

Mmmmm… Hummus + carrots, hummus + bread, hummus + avocado, hummus + crackers… the list goes on and on.

Well, that’s it! And to wrap up, a few words of wisdom:

Quote of the Day
“Never regret something that made you smile”
- Unknown

I love having so much time on my hands- it makes me think of summer; especially when the weather forecast tells me it’ll be in the 70s this week- and sunny!

Although I love warm weather (I’m a summer person all the way) and despise the cold, I can’t help feeling like something’s not right. This winter season- it’s just been weird. Almost like we skipped it completely and went right from fall to spring. It’s bittersweet I guess.

I’m beggining to think my avocado seed will never sprout.

Heres what it looked like originally.                         And here is what it looks like as of today.
 

Woah, I just calculated it and it’s been about 27 days since I planted it! There’s definitely something wrong. You can check out how I started it here.

Even if the avocado plant ends up failing, at least I find solace knowing that our fruit trees are budding. This ones a plum tree.

Something I’ve learned this week: avocado and hummus were made to go together. Seriously. Try it. In the picture I have 2 slices of my own homemad bread, a few TBs of hummus, and 1/3 an avocado.

My new favorite, I have no idea why it took me so long to try it!

 Question: Do you like avocado? What’s your favorite way to eat it? Mine would be the way pictured above, and in a smoothie or creamy chocolate pudding..