Happy Spring!

I hope you have the opportunity today to soak up a bit of sunshine, or listen to the birds, or catch a hint of color from a flower, whether it's a glorious red rose, a simple little daisy, or even a dandelion! I'm enjoying all of the above; it's a beautiful day.

I do have the obligatory chores that I must tackle today as well - a few loads of laundry, cleaning a bathroom, maybe running the vacuum. I have a couple of candles lit, some soothing music playing (Diane Arkenstone - thanks Pooh for introducing me to her!). I've spent a couple of hours in the kitchen already, which, honestly, I didn't feel like doing when I started. But it didn't take long to realize how much I've missed it the last few weeks.

I did some experimenting this week too, mostly out of necessity, but with some great results. Since starting a vegetarian diet in late January, I've made an effort to cook as many meals as I can in two batches - with meat and without - so that my husband isn't forced into going meatless if he doesn't want to. I had the makings for some really quick enchiladas for him - frozen rolled tacos topped with a can of enchilada sauce, grated cheese, and sliced olives. Easy! But I didn't have any meatless rolled tacos that I could eat. I did have corn tortillas, though, and knew I could come up with something to fill them. I had several pouches of Uncle Ben's and Seeds of Change brands ready-to-serve rice dishes in the pantry. One of them was a Santa Fe version and included black beans, corn, brown rice, red and white wheat, tomatoes, peppers, and spices. I warmed my corn tortillas in just a few drops of oil in a small skillet, put a couple spoonfuls of rice down the center of each one, and rolled them up. I used a 9" x 13" pan and filled it with half of the frozen rolled tacos, half of my rice filled rolled tacos, topped it all with enchilada sauce and sliced black olives. I used regular grated colby jack cheese on my husband's half, and vegan cheddar flavored grated cheese on my half. I was expecting them to be a little bland and not thoroughly enjoyable, but I was wrong. They were great!

Frozen meatballs are another one of my favorite time savers. I've found turkey meatballs and Veggie Patch brand meatless meatballs. Naturally, they're great in spaghetti, and the leftovers make great meatball sandwiches. Today I got out a recipe for Albondigas, a Mexican meatball soup. It calls for chicken broth, but I use vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, chopped celery and onion, and a sliced zucchini and chopped cilantro. I didn't have the zucchini or cilantro, but I did have carrots and kale. I also added a little bit of orzo. Because the kale cooks pretty quickly, I added it last. When it had wilted just a little bit, I removed half of the soup to another pan, and added turkey meatballs to one, and meatless meatballs to the other. Instead of albondigas, I made more of an Italian wedding soup. It satisfied my craving and is delish!

I'd had a whole bunch of kale in the fridge, but only used half of it in the soup. I usually chop it (after removing the stems) and cook it with a little garlic and onion. I soften the garlic and onion in just a smidgen of oil in a large skillet. I add the kale all at once, and sprinkle it with a few drops of aminos and a drizzle of vinegar, usually apple cider vinegar. Today I only had red onion, so into the pan it went. I softened it with the garlic and added the kale. I sprinkled it with a few drops of aminos, just a splash of ume vinegar and a smattering of rice vinegar. I gave it a little taste and immediately thought of the couple of pineapple spears sitting in my fridge. I chopped them up and added them to the pan. Yummy! A perfect blend of just a little salty and just a little sweet.

I've also cooked a pan of brown rice which I'll just put in a container and stick in the fridge. I can put it in a bowl with some kale and that can be either breakfast or lunch for me. Midway through the week, we'll want a quick and easy dinner. I'll get out the rice, the wok, chop up whatever veggies I have in the fridge that need to be used - broccoli, leeks, celery, green onions, carrots, bok choy - whatever I have. I'll grab the aminos or soy sauce and whatever vinegar happens to sound good at the moment, and we'll enjoy a wonderful fried rice. (I knew I should have grabbed that box of fortune cookies at the store the other day!)

I'm done in the kitchen for the day now. I'm sipping my second or third cup of tea as well as my water bottle with a couple of cucumber slices in it. I'm going to put in my last load of laundry, do a few minutes of yoga, and then have a bowl of soup. I think I might even brew a couple bags of chamomile tea, put it in a big bowl and enjoy a facial steam, perhaps followed by a nap.

Wishing you a peaceful afternoon,

Feeding the body and the soul

Things have been so hectic. And I'll be honest -- I'm glad to be getting back to my boring little rut.

The weekend was nice though. Thanksgiving dinner was small and quiet. My daughter and son-in-law and granddaughter, k, came over. We ate late afternoon and it was nice enough to sit on the back patio for a while after dinner. I'd cooked the giblets from the turkey for the cats that "live" in our backyard, and I cut them up and k and I put some out in a little saucer for them. I'd named the black and white kitten Zorro some months ago, but k renamed it (she? he?) Patch. So Patch it is. Daughter and family went home with a bag full of leftovers, and hubby and I went to bed with tummies full of pie. Life is good.

k came over again on Friday. We planted pansy seeds and watered everything else in the yard. We painted - I painted Patch and k painted an abstract, with some help from Grandpa. I must say I like hers better! It's currently displayed in La Galeria de Mi Cocina - aka up on my fridge.



k had a runny nose and I had a bit of a headache, so we decided midafternoon to climb into Grandma's bed and watch TV. I even let her take a little package of mini M&M's with her. She'd found them and wanted them during dinner on Thursday, but she didn't eat her food, so she didn't get her M&M's. Normally M&M's in the bed would be a big no-no, but I've learned over the years that it's wise to pick your battles. We both fell asleep and had a yummy nap. Yesterday I washed the blankets and spot cleaned the bedspread by hand to remove the little smudged chocolate fingerprints. Yes, life is good.

Magnificence

I might make a tag later this evening for Tuesday Tag Challenge, but nothing I create can compare to this. The most magnificent sunrise! How can today be anything but perfect after a beginning as glorious as this?

Have a glorious day,

Joy

The things that peg my "joy meter"


A few days ago, I was tagged by Tippyrich to do a post on My Five Favorite Random Things. As it turned out, I had already done that list after being tagged by Julochka (although I could probably do it again and have completely different items on my lists today!). But Tippyrich had mentioned that she hoped to learn more about her fellow bloggers by getting folks to play along and share this kind of information. She has a point.

Some days earlier, Tippyrich had written about counting her blessings, and had included a list of "things that give me pure unadulterated joy." So I told her that I would compile a similar list and post that instead. And here it is:

• my cargo shorts (so many pockets & zippers & snaps & velcro)
• my new Havaianas (with peacocks on them – so pretty)
• getting a card or postcard in the mail
• that first sip of coffee when my husband makes if for me in the morning
• a new magazine
• a comment on my blog ;)
• a pedicure (preferably done by someone else)
• having a baby fall asleep on my chest/shoulder
• babies’ little round heads with just an ever-so-soft bit of hair
• a new pic of my grandson (10 months old)
• a phone call from my granddaughter (almost 3 years old, so cute on the phone : "Hi gramma. Wuv you!")
• laughing out loud to a rerererererun of Two and a Half Men
• reading followed by a nap
• having my pillow “just right” when I go to bed at night
• a hot bath on a cold night, when I can see the steam rise up off my skin
• a venti passion tea, iced & sweetened please (oops! Sorry, thought I was ordering there for second!)
• sitting quietly at home contemplating how blessed I am(sometimes moved to tears by it)
• being “one of the guys” once a week when we all go to lunch
• actually picking & eating something that I’ve grown (tomatoes, radishes, chiles, tomatillos)
• having a server (waitress at a restaurant, barista, cashier) say hi & smile & ask, “the usual?”

Wishing you joy,