my favorite green smoothie

Not really sure I should say my favorite just yet.  I've only had my VitaMix for a few weeks.  But so far this is my favorite green smoothie and I make myself one every morning.  Matter of fact when I had to skip it this last weekend I felt like something was missing from my day.  I adapted the recipe from one I drank at the Center of Symmetry in Nashville when I took an herb class.  They actually didn't give me the recipe when I bought the refreshing smoothie there so I had to make up the proportions on my own.  I did pretty good because I am hooked.

Also this being March and all and for my love of the color green in anticipation of spring I thought I'd share a few recipes this month of which the end result is green!  Pretty fun.  It beats my time when I chose to wear green every day for a month a few years ago.  I pulled that one off like a pro.  Maybe it doesn't beat that time... but it's still just as fun!

No peeling necessary if you've got a good, high powered blender.

Do peel and de-seed the avacado.

 Don't let the color fool you!  She's awful tasty!

Good morning!!

Summer Feet

It is the dead of summer and I have declared war against my awful, dry, polish chipping, cracked up heel feet!  I sewanee y'all... I had a pedicure a couple of weeks ago and one day later you would have never guessed it.  Not because the gal didn't do a good job.  Believe me, she had her work cut out for her that day!  The truth of the matter is this... I live in the country.  I garden, I work, I play in the dirt.  I also go barefoot a lot.  I chopped out the garden yesterday morning and had mud squeezing up between my toes because it rained on me a little bit.  I do good to keep polish on.  Big change from seven years ago when I was single and treated myself to pedicures on a regular basis. 

Now... I just don't look down.

 

This is real ugly y'all but I remember looking at my Grandmother's heels on her feet, the one who lived in the country, and noticing how dry and cracked her heels were when I was a very small child and thinking... poor thing... I hope my heels never look like that.  They look like they hurt.  And dang it if they don't look just like them!  

 

Until now.  Last night I broke out my Heel Tastic.  I tell you what... that stuff is a miracle.  My heels looked eighty percent better when I rolled out of bed this morning.  Then I sanded on my heels and side of my toe in the shower.  My feet feel much better today.  I will spare you before and after pictures.  Mainly because I didn't take any.. and won't.  But here's what I did use and a picture list of my pedi go-to's.

 

 

You can get the Heel Tastic, the Ped Egg and foot file at Walgreens.  I go to Sally Beauty Supply for my favorite OPI colors and Out The Door lightening-fast-drying top coat.

 

 

 

Checked Out: Martha's Favorite Family Dinners



Ok, not really checked out so much as I bought it at the book sale at the library.  Had I known how much I would come to treasure these videos, I would have checked it out long ago.  It was total book sale fate.  This dvd of my sister Martha's (not really so much in reality... her being my sister and all) is fantastico!  It is full of quick cook meals and side dishes and pasta dinners and chicken and meat and fish dinners.  You will love it. 

 

Funny story, I was making Lemon Chicken Cutlets in a perfect lemon sauce with capers and Shaun came in the kitchen asking if he could help me do anything... aaawww... I turned and said "not really... hold up... pause the tv... now unpause.... pause.... unpause."  This went on pretty much until i was finished and Shaun got to help make supper to boot!

 

I so far have made (bear with me on the names, I left the dvd at home and am blogging during nap time) Lemon Chicken Cutlets, Squash Casserole (with guest, master chef from Belle Meade Plantation) Spicy Flank Steak, Crusty Mustard Chicken.  But each of them require minimal ingredients and you end up with minimal clean up and a dish ready in about 15 minutes.  I love it and tonight... Chicken and Dumplings!

 

Here is the amazon link MARTHA

Nashville Library still has it if you'd like to rent it.

I'd lend you mine but I can't bear to part with it until I've made everything!

 

 

 

Checked Out Rating 10!

 

Checked Out

OK I am so hip hop crazy over this book it is ridiculous!  This book kept my attention the whole time and I never knew what was going to happen seriously! The book was written and laid out so differently.  It is actually letters and emails and the daughter writing some but it links together so nicely to where you can figure out who the people are and how the story all fits together. 

   I cannot and will not be a book spoiler so I won't let you in on details of this book.  You are just going to have to rent it for yourself to find out.  I even read it in the truck... when it was moving and Shaun was driving on the way to get our taxes done and didn't care if I got car sick nauseous from not watching where we were going.  My book this week is... besides well worth the three month wait at the library for me to get it...

 

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

 

By: Maria Semple

 

Checked Out Rating: 11

 

Brilliant and fun, funny and crazy.  I loved it! 

Kudos to the author of immeasurable amounts.

 

 

My Favorite Magazine

Let me tell you about my favorite magazine.  I don't have a subscription to it.  Mainly because it costs so much because it comes from another country.  But if I am lucky, when I visit Hendersonville or Rivergate book stores, I can find the current month's copy waiting for me on the magazine rack. 

It is Country Living, British Edition.  I first saw it on a flickr friend's photo that lives... somewhere else.  It has wonderful articles and home decorating pictures.  I am half intrigued to see how the other side of the world decorates and cooks but also I love the farm animal write ups and recipes.  Although the recipe measurements have to be converted to what I know and it totally throws me off if I try one. 

They also have a good resale value on ebay if I could ever let go of a copy. 

January 2013 copy.

This is how you know for sure that it's the one. 

This month has a good article about keeping chickens.  I love the idea of hanging greens for them like this.

I pour over the details of pictures like this.

This bed spread makes me want to learn to crochet.

This is my favorite edition from June of 2010. 

And this is why.  I was amazed at this article about the kingfisher that lives in their country.  We have them here but definitely not their beautiful colors.

Produce Coming Out of My Ears

Dear blog readers, it's been four days since my last confession... of blogging.  And I promise I will never say the phrase "coming out of my ears again."  It's become a habit and even I cringe when I say it because it just comes right out.  "I have got squash coming out of my ears."  I am not however tired of actually having that much squash, or cukes, or zuc, although the zucchini is playing out.  But the cucumbers are not!

We have two cucumber plants and thanks to the recent rain last week, amidst the terrific lightening storm that almost wiped out our corn, I have picked enough cucumbers over the last week that I am now on my fourth batch of Shaun's favorite pickles. 

I had a thought and in checking my canning journal.  It shows that in 2009 I canned nine batches of 3 day lime pickles.  In 2010, two batches.  In 2011, two batches.  The supply in the basement is beginning to get low.  The lack of canning in 2010 and 2011 was not because we had so many still in stock.  Well maybe partially, because I could have gotten the cukes from somewhere, but, I do recall in 2010 our crop of cucumbers was not so good.  It was dry and we had a lot of hollow cucumbers.  Then last year the crop again was not so good.  So my thought is, can all I can.  You never know what the next couple of year's garden may prove.  If I only put up two or three batches, housing five or six pints each, we will run out.  Not a huge big deal, but he eats these pickles on every sandwich he makes.  I don't want him to not have something he treasures so much.  So I will can all that these two plants will produce.  There's just no sense in not doing so in my eyes.  We planted it, the Lord is providing a good crop, I should do my best with it.  What is that called?

I don't even waste the bigger ones.  They would almost cover the whole hamburger.

 Cuckes soaking in lime.

 One batch down and one in the pot to go.

 A feat of beauty.... fair worthy.

 This is what the kitchen looks like after picking the garden.

And the tomatoes are on the porch.