Spring is in the air | Back to Basics

I love Spring!

I love the way the warm sun and the cool breeze feels on my skin as I sit outside, close my eyes and lift my face to the sky with content and gratitude. I love the way the flowers fill the air with their sweet fragrance. I love the way the cold green grass feels on my feet when I am outside playing in the yard with my kids.

 

I love to watch as nature literally changes before my eyes and takes on new vibrant shades of greens, blues, pinks and purples. Every color of the rainbow can be found in nature. Every time, every year, it takes my breath away. Nature amazes me. I could sit outside for hours just watching life happen. I watch these two little birds that live under my carport live their lives. They are so content to do the same things over and over again everyday with great purpose and peace. They sing along as they collect twigs and random tidbits lingering about to build their nests. They hangout in a small tree that grows on the side of our house and chase each other back and forth. It is simply humbling to watch these simple and small, yet extremely important creatures

living for the moment and loving every second. It is a beautiful thing.

I have not been blessed with a natural green thumb and it shows when I have tried to do vegetable gardens in the past. However, with each year I try, I learn more and more and nature is my teacher. This year looks promising so far. I started with seeds and planted squash, zucchini, tomatoes, spinach, bell pepper, onions and jalapenos,  

My seedling got a little overtaken by mold when we had a week of rain and straight humidity.

In my search to remedy this situation as naturally as possible, I came about a post that insisted that sprinkling cinnamon on the plant's soil would help to kill any mold since cinnamon has natural

anti-fungal properties.

 As you can see it certainly didn't hurt them and also seemed to remedy my mold problem.

These little seedlings are loving the sunshine.

No matter how many times I see a plant grow from a seed into something edible, it amazes and humbles me. It is the coolest thing to see something grow right before your eyes. It is kind of like watching your children grow, but a lot less intense and emotional. These living things are just doing what comes naturally to them. JUST BEING! They have no agenda but to Grow and thrive. So humbling!

I never knew I would ever love to garden as much as I do. I love to take care of these plants, flowers and vegetables. I love to watch them grow and just marvel in the beauty that is life. It kind of puts life in perspective in a strange sort of way. It brings me peace.

Growing herbs is something else that I am trying to get good at. I cook daily and I cook okay, but I am learning to cook with a broader pallet and trying to incorporate more fresh herbs as well as unfamiliar ingredients in my food. I figured one of the best ways to do that was to start growing my own herbs and unfamiliar foods so that I am forced to experiment. I hope it works! 

 I have tried to grow food from scraps in the past, like pineapples and avocado pits, but they never worked out. So I decided to try something more simple and it just so happens that this red onion was more than happy to regrow for me. This guy has gotten like a foot and a half now. It is huge in my garden. I think it might be doing even better than all of my other plants.  

You can regrow scraps from garlic, lettuce, celery and a few other items too. Nature is so crazy.

I love it!

Getting this garden started. My love finally got one of my raised beds put together. My little plants have been holding on until they could get transplanted.

I feel very fulfilled now. It is so rewarding growing your own food. Planting a seed and watching it grow from a tiny little green sprout popping out of the dirt for the first time is really awesome. And then watching it grow and flourish into something you can feed your family and consume for a healthy body is even more awesome. I love it and I love nature. I think everyone should have the opportunity to grow their own food. It takes me back to being at my great grandmothers on her ranch in Llano, Tx and picking the beans and snapping them, picking the berries off her vines for some of her homemade jellies and jams. She made the best berry jelly. She also had the best garden that was almost as big as half my house. Those memories will last a lifetime and the older I get, the more I appreciate that simple kind of life. Here's to good memories, gardening and a simpler time. 

 The most fragrant roses! I still have this bowl sitting on my kitchen counter as the petals wilt and let off this sweet, soft and rosy fragrance that fills the house.

 Get the kids involved! Inspire! Teach! Create!

 We bought our first lemon tree this year and I was concerned that something was wrong with it. It has been growing but has not produced any flowers or blooms in the couple of months that we have had it. Then I saw this little lovely poking out of the side. Our first lemon tree blossom.

This long leafed plant was planted in my yard well before I ever moved in over 8 years ago. I never knew what it was. I just knew this big green plant won't go away. I have to admit that I have mowed over her a few times over the years. Well the day after Easter I came outside to find this. She is absolutely fabulous and gorgeous. Even when I didn't manage to mow over her, she had never bloomed. This was an awesome surprise to wake up to and find out that this strange green plant was actually a beautiful Lily all along.

 

It is a great gift to stop and watch life happen right in front of you and take notice of the simplicity and yet extreme intricacy of everything in nature.

Life is beautiful . . .When you get back to the basics.

 

Blessings to all

 

Bubble Time Fun

 It has been raining all morning and God knows we need it. I am not complaining. I love when it rains. I am just happy that we got outside and did activities yesterday and did not waste the day with laziness. Because that is what we are doing today.

Rain = Lazy, no bra, don't wanna go anywhere, snuggle and watch a movie-kind-of-day!

 

So back to yesterday. We went outside and . . .

We had fun making bubbles! Big bubbles!

I had come across a recipe that called for massive amounts of corn syrup, dish soap and some water.

It said, "For Industrial Sized Bubbles".

I am not ready for that. So we toned it down a bit and went for

a smaller version of bubble.  

Then with all the tubs of sudsy soap water that had been over-turned (by a toddler who will remain unnamed) we gave the porch a washing. Might as well do some cleaning and playing.

We couldn't keep the soapy solution in the tub for more than 3 minutes tops before he turned them over. We managed none-the-less to get some good bubbles out of the batch.

Next time we will make a giant tub of the mixture that is a little less easy to dump out. Oh and buy more wands. We need one for each hand. I LOVE BUBBLES! I have recently found that our dog loves bubbles too. She chases them around the backyard, trying to catch them in her mouth. It is really fun to watch a toddler and a dog chase bubbles. The little things that make a momma's heart happy!

 

I got the awesome little bubble making wand at the dollar store for, you guessed it, a Dollar!

I used this recipe to make the bubbles. 

 

RECIPE

1c. water

1 tbsp. light corn syrup

3 tbsp. dish soap

 

Mix all three ingredients in measuring cup and stir until completely mixed.

Bam! It is that easy.

You can adjust the recipe according to your preferences. I guess it could never hurt to use a little more syrup or soap depending on how big you want the bubbles to be. Have fun experimenting!

 

I have not looked into the benefits of the corn syrup in this recipe, but I assume it helps to make them bigger and to keep their elasticity. I just saw the other recipe and wanted to try it out.

So I did. I enjoyed it and I plan to do it again.

Enjoy friends! Blessings to all.

 

 

 

Spring Sunshine Cake | Strawberries Lemons & Vanilla Bean Buttercream

 

Spring has arrived!

Besides the longer days, warmer weather and abundance of bugs trying to invade my home, my lovely coral roses tell me so.

I have been frequenting my local produce store a little more often and stocking up on lemons, strawberries and other yummy bright fruits and veggies. Spring is my favorite time of year. I love all the beautiful colors and yes, the abundance of nature that blossoms too. I felt inspired to make something with all this spring-time bounty. So, I decided to make a cake that reflected how I am feeling.

I came up with this sweet and tart, creamy sunshine cake made with lemons, strawberries and Madagascar vanilla beans.

I don't have a recipe to share just yet, because I was just experimenting and need to do some tweaking first. But I started with a basic yellow cake from scratch that was infused with lemon zest, coconut/pineapple juice and of course some fresh lemon juice.

I usually don't make my cakes from scratch because I find them to be very dense and box cake mixes always seem to be light and fluffy. However, I found a basic yellow cake recipe and it looked promising. I added a few of my own ingredients to mix it up and I will say that it did come out a little denser than I would have liked but overall it was good and had good flavor.

{This is where those tweaks need to be made}

I do like that the cake mix from scratch stayed fairly level and I didn't have to cut a hug mound of cake off the top to get it level, like I would have had to do with a box mix. I think they add massive amounts of baking powder to the box mixes.

{Just a guess}

After I let the cakes cool, I poked holes all over the cakes and basted them with this lemon and vanilla bean simple syrup that I made. I did this to make sure that the cakes were extra moist and also to infuse them with a little extra flavor. Doing this was very helpful and it did not make them soggy at all. I only used a few tablespoons on each cake.

Once the syrup soaked into the cakes, I then made a strawberry and lemon reduction that I used to fill the middle layer with. I usually don't like fruit fillings in the middle of my cakes but since I wanted this cake to represent some of the yummy fruits of Spring and not overwhelm it with buttercream, I felt this would really make it delicious.

I covered the whole middle layer with the reduction and it almost looked like a strawberry glazed cheesecake. I could have left the cake like this, gone no further and it probably would have tasted like heaven on it's own. But I didn't . . .

I added the second layer of cake and pressed firmly on the top which allowed some of the strawberries to ooze and drip down the sides.

{kind of like blood. LOL. I kid}

I added my homemade Vanilla Bean buttercream just on the top of the cake and used a spoon to create this swirl pattern. You can see all the specs of vanilla bean seeds in the buttercream and it just seems to add a little extra sweetness to the buttercream as opposed to just using a vanilla extract.

Oh how I do love Vanilla Beans. I love the way they look, smell and taste.

I can't say the same for my fiance' because he said it looked like I put two sticks on the top of it. Lol

{Not everyone gets it}

But that is okay. I like the way the vanilla beans and the curls of lemon peel looked on the top. I also added a couple of my coral roses to the top as per my first picture. It just looked so good with the colors. I had too.

Overall I am happy with the way my cake came out and besides needing a couple of tweaks in the cake mix, It was really yummy, bright and fruity.

Think of sunshine in your mouth.

That is what I was going for after all.

I hope this cake gives you a little inspiration to get in the kitchen and make something yummy of your own. If not to kick off Spring, then just to stuff your face with. In moderation of course. I ended up sharing this with the neighbors because I certainly couldn't eat it all, no matter how much I may have wanted too.

Blessings to all

 

Homemade Playdough recipe

I remember playing with play-doh when I was a kid and maybe even a time or two as an adult. I loved the way the dough felt between my fingers and even the way it smelled. I have always loved anything to do with art, creating and playing with items that I can sculpt in my hands. The original play-doh brand modeling compound is composed of flour, water, salt, boric acid and mineral oil and has always been non-toxic and generally safe for kids. However, I like to save money and learn to make everything from scratch in case the apocalypse goes down, there are no more tubs of play-doh and I need something to make to keep my kids busy while we are all trying to survive in the chaotic world that is an apocalypse. You get the picture.

So I went in search for some easy and safe recipes to make at home for my little ones. I usually check out Pinterest and Youtube first. I watched a lot of videos of people making there own playdough, but I only found one recipe and video tutorial that was actually simple and easy to make. All of the other recipes and videos were more complicated than they really had to be.

I followed the video and recipe from BeforeAndAfterTv on Youtube and I really liked how simple she made it. I watched a few other videos for comparison purposes and I was surprised at how difficult and messy some of them were. So, check it out for yourself and see If you can find one as easy as this. Depending on which ingredients you have at home, will depend on what kind you can make. I like that I can make this all in less than 20 minutes and choose which colors I want and store them in little baggies until my munchkins can use them. I also like that I know exactly what is in my playdough and I don't have to worry about my kids eating any boric acid or mineral oil, even though they would probably be just fine if they did. None-the-less, it is gratifying to make things with your own two hands for your children instead of going out and buying it.

I am very happy with the way these little balls of doughy fun came out and my youngest had a grand time playing with them. We spent an hour playing with the playdough and making fun shapes and throwing the balls of dough. The fact that my 18 months old sat long enough to do anything for an hour is unheard of. So I give myself a pat on the back for effort.  

I used about half the dough in each color and sealed up the rest and stuck them in the fridge til next time. I just grabbed some old cookie cutters, a rolling pin, a non-stick rolling mat and some other odds and ends that would be fun to play with and we went to town. He absolutely loved it.   

Even Mommy had fun making some cute little heart shaped creations. As much as I love to bake and play with actual dough, how could I not love playing with this. Too bad I couldn't bake them and then eat them. They actually look real yummy!

 

Check out this link for the video tutorial on how to make this fun non-toxic playdough and give it a try. Your kids will be forever grateful and you will have some extra time to whatever it is that Mommy/Daddy needs to do while the kids are having fun using their minds and creating art.

 

As always

Blessing to all

Check out my previous post

How to make easy mini quiche



 

How to make easy individual mini quiches

 I love breakfast foods. However, I tend to have a hard time waking up and eating a meal right away. I like to enjoy a couple cups of coffee before I even get hungry and I find myself eating more breakfast foods at other times of the day.  However, my one year old is ready to throw down as soon as he wakes up. Since I have no appetite when I wake up, it can be challenging to cook a meal. So, I went on the search for some easy breakfast foods that I could pre-make and even possibly easily reheat for my little one in the morning. I have seen these little quiches around and thought I would give it a try. One of the biggest appeals for me is that they can be pre-made, refrigerated, frozen and then reheated again. These are also healthy if you use fresh healthy ingredients, like free-range cage-free eggs and veggies. However, use whatever your little heart desires. I won't tell. I already know how to make a quiche and I certainly know how to make an omelet. This dish combines the two, except there is not a crust, which is a good way to cut back on even more calories. 

Here are the ingredients you will need for this recipe. It Is very simple.

 

Ingredients:

8 fresh eggs (if possible cage-free)

3 tbsp. Half&Half (you may also use heavy cream and even milk)

1/2 c diced tomatoes

1/2 c shredded cheese (I use sharp cheddar)

1/2 c fresh chopped spinach

1/4 turkey lunch meat (you may also use ham or omit meat all together)

a pinch of salt to taste

 

Utensils:

Large mixing bowl

Whisk/Fork

Measuring cups/spoons

Non-stick muffin pan

knife

cheese grater

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F

 

Using a whisk or fork, scramble the eggs in a large bowl. Add cream and salt.

Whisk again! Now add the rest of the ingredient all at once and whisk until thoroughly combined. You want to make sure every quiche gets a little bit of everything in it. 

Once the mixture is combined, you can pour some into each individual muffin spot. I filled mine up to the top. I also used a large Pyrex glass measuring bowl, which has a spout and handle and that made it really easy to pour directly from the bowl into the muffin pan. This recipes yields 9 individual quiches. I also added a little extra cheese to the top of each quiche before I put it in the oven. This of course is optional but I noticed it makes it a little more moist and yes, a little yummier.

Bake the quiche in a 350 F oven for 25 minutes or until cooked thoroughly and cheese is melted. 25 minutes cooked my quiche perfectly and the cheese melted just right. Allow them to cool for a few minutes before eating them because they will be steaming hot.

Voila! 

A perfect little mini quiche!

You can store the left overs in an air-tight ziplock baggie or container and put them in the refrigerator. I wouldn't leave them in the fridge for more than a day or two. You may also freeze them and heat them up as you need them. If you double this recipe you can make 1.5 dozen and store a bunch in the freezer for quick breakfasts. When you are ready to use them from the fridge, you can microwave them for about 30 seconds and from the freezer about 1 minute. I made these yesterday morning and refrigerated them. I took one out to eat this morning and heated it up in the microwave and it tasted just as moist and delicious as when they came out of the oven and that is what I like about these.

 

Here are a few other ingredient ideas to use when making these quiche.

The options are endless:

Mushrooms, onions, chives, swiss cheese, bacon, ham, peppers

 

As always, have fun in the kitchen and Enjoy!

 

 

Simple chocolate cupcakes

 I love those days where you wake up and the sun is shining and the birds are singing with glorious abandon. This morning was not one of those mornings. It is cold, gloomy and drizzling outside. However, a few days ago I woke up and it was an absolutely beautiful day. I opened up the windows in the house and let the fresh air in. I did a little house cleaning and clothes washing.

All of this cleaning got me a little hungry and I was also a little inspired to bake something yummy and sweet. I am trying to consume less sugar for obvious reasons but also because I have a cute little dress and a swimsuit that I need to fit into in a few months and I have to bake less or just find ways to bake a little more healthy.

So I decided to make some cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcakes!!!

I don't like to use box mixes because they are usually full of unnecessary crap and are not very healthy, but I happened to have one on hand.

So, I made some chocolate mix and used applesauce instead of the oil to make it a little healthier and I also used farm fresh cage-free eggs. I used these green Wilton cupcake holders and unfortunately they stuck to my cupcakes really bad, but they sure looked purdy!

Then, I sprinkled a generous coating of confectioners sugar all over them.

I think they came out great and I realized that I love chocolate cupcakes with just a touch of sugar and not a heaping layer of icing. Not that I won't still thrown down on some big ole icing covered cupcakes, but It is a nice change to enjoy a simple rich chocolate cupcake.

 

Blessings to all

 

Nature's Bounty | Fresh, Healthy, Colorful, Vibrant Ingredients

 If I would have seen all of this fresh and delicious food when I was younger, I would have been like, Nooo!!!

I never knew I could be so in love with real food.

My horizons are expanding and I learn to cook and utilize new and different vegetables every week and I love it. Some people probably think, "why would you take pictures of your food or plain fruits and veggies", and probably think it's weird. I feel like, how can I not? Look at all of the color, and on top of their simple beauty, I know how they taste and how wonderful they are for me.

Look how different and vibrant their colors are. Shiny red tomatoes, Vibrant greens, sunny yellows, deep purples and bright oranges. You can't get any better or more beautiful than that. I got the green apples to make a few small apple pies or crisps in the next couple of days. I got jalepenos and cilantro to make some fresh salsa fresca. One of my favorites. I save a lot of money by making my own in a big batch and storing it in the fridge to snack on or add to our favorite fresh dishes, like salmon and rice. Mmm mmm good!

See those little heirloom cherry tomatoes in purple, yellow, orange and red?

Heaven! They taste like heaven.

I made a small layered dip with beans, sour cream, avocados, cheese and topped it off with those superb little tomatoes and they made the dish. The purple ones are my favorite, with a robust tart and lingering sweet flavor.

How can I not get excited about real food that is so amazing for my health? This is beautiful and it makes me happy and most importantly, it makes me want to cook well and eat well.

So grateful for this food!!! Get you some!!!

 

Blessings to all

 

 

Check out my previous post on

The Benefits of Himalayan Salt