Salt & Humor

It seems that every time I sit down at my desk or in a chair for that matter, the kitties think I need their help.  Maybe I need a sweet lap kitty to keep me company or maybe I just need their pure presence in what seems like all that I do. 

Take painting for example, don’t you think I need a kitty all up in my space!?  Yoshi sniffed, licked and chomped a few brushes just for the sake of quality control. 

Then just as I left and quickly returned, Choopey took an interest in the paints. 

He was not as amused and wonders what Yoshi was up to. 

They really can be a nuisance when you are trying to get something done.  I promise you, that as I write this post I am leaning in my chair, looking around Choopey just to see the screen.  He is sitting in front of the keyboard watching this post come together.  Of course I can tell him to get down or simply put him down but if I had to be honest, if they didn’t constantly get in the way, I would miss it.  

A while ago I cooked a buttercup squash and discovered that two out of the three kitties liked it.  I wasn’t actually planning to give them some because if you know one thing about cats, it is that they are finicky eaters.  Well, when I took it out of the oven and was scraping away thee skin, Yoshi and Choopey were at my feet just staring up at me, begging.  So, I put some in their dishes and was amazed at what I saw…

Little Yoch actually had seconds!

I know I have talked about how much I like massaged kale but I must tell you at least one more time.  I made this one with avocado, lemon and salt.  I promise you, it is fabulous

The combination of this dinner is one I might just have to duplicate the exact same way.  Yup, it was that good.  Avocado-massaged kale salad+ buttercup squash with tahini+ tempeh= perfect.

You know how I talked about kitties always wanting to get in the photos, well it didn’t fail this morning.

I almost forgot to mention the tasty zucchini muffins I made from ED&BV.  This morning I toasted them under the broiler in the oven. Let me just tell you about a really rad memories real quick.  My mom used to make the most fabulous sourdough biscuits (one of the best foods I have had in my whole life) and we would toast them in the oven this way.  Told you it would be real quick.  Have a great night

I planted arugula, kale and lettuce for our Fall garden last month.  It seems that the arugula is ready and I feel like I have almost been forgetting to get out there and well, EAT from our own garden.

Lacinato Kale

Roquette Arugula

Flashy Troutback Lettuce

I have honestly never heard of such a fancy named lettuce.  That is the surprise of growing it yourself I guess.  I also didn’t even realize that I would be able to plant and grow these this late in the season here in the North West.  I’m still learning, that’s for sure. I am very excited about the fancy Mr. Flashy Troutback though. (just seems like a guy’s name, right)

I think the lettuce and kale have a few more days to go so I picked the arugula for a salad this afternoon.

I had a simple salad with leftover beans and rice.  I am finding that I really like nutritional yeast.  I tried it last summer and wasn’t so sure.  I have been using it in sauces and dressings.  The other night I stirred about 1/3 cup in with brown rice, kidney beans and salsa. Let me just say, I was not expecting it to be as tasty as it was!

I must say, warm toppings for salads are my FAVORITE!

(topped with hemp seeds)

So, roquette arugula is very SPICY! I was definitely not expecting that.  Let’s just say I will be mixing it in with other greens from now on.

I almost couldn’t grab my camera fast enough to catch this little bit of amazement…

Nature is simply amazing! That’s all I have to say.

Very often it seems that my kitties want to be included in the photos I take.  I suppose that when I crouch down to take photos they might become curious and feel the need to investigate.  That, or they just really want to make it into the shot.  Let me assure you that I am not short of ‘cat’photos.  I have hundreds of planned and unplanned shots.

I wanted to capture one of the pumpkins that Jason grew in our garden.  As soon as I snapped the first shot, this is what I came up with.

Oh, but she did not stop there!  The spaghetti squash from Mom’s garden was all the craze.

There’s that pumpkin I was talking about!

The funny story behind our acorn squash, is that I did not plant them.  Well, not intentionally, that is.  I often put the fruit and vegetable scraps in the garden for compost.  So the acorn squash self planted itself this year and I’m not complaining.

The End

Wow! I must say, I really love salsa!  Lucky for me, Jason enjoys making it.  Lately, he has been using red onion, which just so happened one night when that was all we had.  Now, I think I might like it better with red onion.

Yesterday, the weather was very mild.  I went for a bike ride earlier in the day and I don’t even think it got up to 70.  
I packed my bike to the Spring Water Corridor trail.  The weather was really nice for the ride.  I am very lucky to live near such a nice bike path.

These wild sweet peas are one of my favorites.  They really get your attention.

Leave it to me to spy a sweet kitty off in the grass.  I stopped to take a closer look and it immediately came to say hi.  It was a very friendly kitty.  Silly thing tried to follow after me when I started to pedal away.

Of course I was crazy hungry for lunch when I got home.  I quickly made some miso and lime tempeh and topped it over a salad with quinoa.  For a salad dressing, I used Jason’s salsa.

Our garden this year seems to be a little behind as far as the “season” might go.  We had a very cool and wet Spring here.  The tomatoes and peppers are looking pretty sad.  So, imagine my excitement when I saw this yesterday!

Yahoo!

We were going to make fish tacos for dinner last night and so I made a black bean and couscous salad to go with it.  Jason worked later than I realized so we will make the tacos tonight.  So, I had some of the salad with corn tortillas for dinner. The salad was: Israeli couscous, black beans, raw corn, green bell pepper, green onion, tomato, cilantro, jalapeno and avocado.  The dressing was lime juice, avocado oil and honey.

kjjjjjjjjjjjj ( kitty on keyboard) “GALL!!”

Have a great Sunday night.  I shall be back with fish taco details and a guest post from Jason about rhubarb soon.

I love making mix and match salad creations. Earlier this week, I made one that is a keeper.

I cut up whatever sounded good at the time: sweet-mini peppers, pickle, green onion, cheese, tomato and a few green olives.

Cooked some adzuki beans and Israeli couscous.

Mix all together with mayo, mustard and salt/pepper. Just a little side note; I used real mayonnaise.  Oh yes, I did.  Here is the thing, when it really comes down to it, there is no comparison.  I have tried many, many light, vegan, olive oil and natural kinds out there.  Results were always a waste of my money.  So, I say, enjoy the real stuff.  Just use it in moderation.

The salad has lasted for several meals since I made it.  I have been mixing it on top of lettuce and rolling in wraps.  Uh, mixing and rolling… whatever, it sure tasted good.

The weather has really warmed up here in Portland.  It has been wonderful.  Even though, the heat is a little tough to bear at times with no air conditioning it still is such a wonderful time of year

The kitties are even fans of the warm weather.  They love to lay around outside and soak up the sun.  You would think kitties were solar powered, well, either that or sleep powered.  In our back yard, we have left a patch of lawn to grow without getting mowed.  We call it the “grazing area.”  The reason for such madness, is that the cats LOVE it!! So when I show you the photos of Choopey posing during is modeling shoot this morning, just know that he was in the grazing area.  Really, we do mow the rest of our lawn, I swear.

Enjoy the summer!  I’m thinking a bbq tonight sounds good.

Skipped the coffee this morning and replaced it with some juice.  I swear, it gives you the same feeling, only better.

That is really a monster carrot! They are Italian carrots-cool huh.

I made oats before my workout so they would be ready after. I have really been enjoying making overnight oats (no-cook), this was similar, only 2 hour oats.

1/4 cup dry oats, 1 scoop of Amazing Grass-Superfood, 1 scoop of Chocolate Biochem protein (thanks April!), 2 tbsp. of ground flax, dried fruit/nuts, unsweetened coconut and cinnamon mixed with half a smashed banana and almond milk. Today, I added the juice from the bottom of the pitcher.  It is usually foamy…ehhh. Depending on my mood, I may or may not drink that part. So in the oats it went!

After my workout and a shower the oats hit the spot, with some almond butter, that is.

It was a beautiful, sunny (for the most part) today.  I am not the only one that loves the sunshine…

This little handsome devil does not like his photo taken! He usually runs off.  So this was discretely taken from inside without his permission.

I picked up a mysterious winter squash at the store a while ago.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with this one, so I sliced and baked.

It was just ok.  The sweet dumpling was way better! The other part of my dinner was better though.

Massaged kale with lime and salt, tahini/yogurt dressing, grilled tofu, yellow pepper and grape tomatoes.

Have a happy Saturday night!

Who doesn’t love a stroll through Target? Doesn’t matter if it’s for must have items or looking for something that you think you need.  Besides, you never know what might be on one of those clearance end caps.  Tonight, I stopped in for a few must have items and well, maybe an unnecessary item.

Actually, I believe this item is completely valid.  I used a gift card. Besides, it helps my Yoshi to not scratch the couch.

This would be what I call; jowl-juice marking! Eeeew!

I came home with a vengeance to exercise.  I did all three sections of Jackie’s workout. Felt so good!

I made edamame spread to go with dinner.

In the food processor went: 1 package of edamame, 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. tahini, 2 cloves of roasted garlic, juice of 1 fresh lemon, 1 tbsp. olive oil, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste. I mixed a little bit of water in at the end to get the desired consistency. I used roasted garlic instead of raw this time.  Lately, the garlic has been too strong! Danielle recommended I try roasted.  Good call Thank you Danielle!

I tried Tosca Reno’s yogurt cheese.

It seems pretty cool.  So far, I have only tried it in the wrap/sandwich I made tonight.

Flatout, yogurt cheese, veggie burger, tomato, avocado, mustard and lettuce.

This was a super filling meal!

I am getting excited for Spring.  It seemed to be noticeably lighter out later tonight. That is such an encouraging feeling.  I love the light.  I have way more energy during the daylight.

I made some crazy enchiladas tonight. I purposely made them for tomorrow because those are one of those meals that tastes better the second day.  They are another tempeh, veggie creation. Stay tuned

Thank goodness Christmas is over.  It is time to get back to my normal eating and working out schedule.  I have been keeping track of my progress and journaling my eats and workouts.  The 20th to current looks pretty sad.  I must admit that I am always so happy on January 1st.  Feels so good to start a new year with new goals and intentions.

We had a wonderful dinner Christmas Eve with family.  We fixed prime rib.  This was my first time making it, so I blame my nerves for forgetting to take pictures. Halfway through dinner, I realized that I forgot, and was so bummed! We also had a creamed spinach, wild rice and mushroom casserole, green beans with bacon and rolls.  For appetizers we had a huge plate of veggies and the most wonderful gorgonzola with polenta crust cheese cake.  Brie brought this dish and I must say I think it was my favorite part of the whole dinner.  Sorry for the lack of pictures.  Imagination will have to be used. I DID remember to take a photo of Brie’s cake.

It was a wonderful night I am thinking the cats will be so sad when it’s time to take the Christmas tree down.  I don’t think I have woken up and NOT seen an ornament off the tree! Gracy could barely contain herself when I put a few presents under the tree.

I did make a clementine smoothie that I saw Lauren make.  I didn’t have any yogurt, so mine was half a banana, almond milk, 2 clementines and Jay Robb vanilla protein powder.

Christmas is all about traditions.  Every Christmas breakfast with my family was spent with a bloody mary and eggs benedict.  YUM!  So, needless to say, I enjoyed my Christmas morning with the two.

Growing up we had an egg poacher.  The first time I tried to make eggs benedict I had completely forgotten that I do not have one!.  I googled  how to poach eggs. With much practice and the use of white vinegar in the water I think I finally have it down.

Pre-hollandaise:

Post-hollandaise:

The rest of the day was spent hanging out and just enjoying the time off.

Time to get active and start chipping away at all those extra calories consumed over the last week!

I think we will leave the tree up for another week or so.  It is still so healthy and I am really enjoying it! So many fun ornaments with special memories.  Besides, The kitties would be sad without.  HA!