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

I recently went to visit my Grandma and celebrate her 80th Birthday! What a special day! Love you Gram! Visiting with family is always so dear to me!

I discussed with my Mom how my eating habits have changed.  She was completely supportive and has been very influenced by The Kind Diet as well! I managed to eat better than I expected.  Road trips usually crush my diet. However, dairy is hidden in more foods than we realize! Plus, how could I not celebrate with Birthday cake!?

When I came home I was happily greeted with a package! I won my first blog contest!! Who knows how many I have entered.   Brandi from Bran Appetit has an exciting blog.  Do check her out!

What a fun package! I am really looking forward to checking out this book!

What is your favorite dinner? Without a doubt, mine would be tacos or any kind of Mexican food for that matter.  I was visiting with my Mom last night and she was making tacos.  Well, what was I wanting tonight?  Oh, yes, TACOS!  Actually, I made fajitas.  I think fajitas are forgotten to often.  

I cooked onion, garlic, red bell pepper, seitan and tomato with taco seasoning. Topped with avocado and hummus, wheat berries on the side.

Oh, I almost forgot to snap a photo of my proud little pepper.  This is the last one from my garden.  I only got three from my plant this summer.  It really took them a long time to turn red but I will say it was worth it.  They were much sweeter and crispier.  I will definitely grow them again next year.

I just have to share this photo.  I was trying to take  a few photos of the garden a while ago and Yoshi was in almost every photo, or he wanted to be anyways.  He is always my yard work companion and follows me all around the yard.  So, I switched focus to him for this one.  I think he was pleased.

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.

Today is just a lazy day.  Dang if it isn’t cold, dark and cloudy today.  I think the kitties show it best!

Winner from the giveaway is Coco!

Hope everyone is having a good Friday!

Last night I made enchiladas for today.  I always think that they taste better the next day, so there you have it.  Well, actually, I think you could call these burritos. I don’t know, what-ev.

Whole wheat, low carb tortilla, tempeh mixed with taco seasoning, cilantro and lime and my brother’s tomatillo sauce.

Add, lightly sauteed carrots and beet. (crazy, I know!), corn, black beans and red sauce.

Rock and roll, cover all with the remaining red sauce.  Bake @ 350 for 30-45 minutes.

I had mine with the yogurt cheese, edamame spread and some flax seed chips.  Very filling.

I think I really like the yogurt cheese.  It could be a little saltier maybe.  Perhaps, that is something that I like about “cheese.”  All in all, it is no greek yogurt

Just a quick serious moment, then I promise a little light heartedness.  I just want to say it has been the coolest experience to post my strange food creations and have anyone interested enough to read and comment.  I consider myself a very shy person and don’t usually reveal so much about myself.  I find this blog to be an inspiration and a companion.  It has been keeping me honest and motivated.  I have lost a few pounds and am much stronger, both physically and mentally.  So, I just want to say; THANK YOU!

Now for a laugh!

This just so happens to be the plastic bag that your dry-cleaning comes back in.  I know what you’re thinking.  I swear, I am not that trashy person with garbage laying all around the house.  However, these happen to be a huge source of entertainment for Gracy.  How can I deprive her of that? (This may have been hanging around for a week few days.

We all need to believe in our selves. I believe that I can make myself happy and achieve my goals.

I am a huge Etsy fan.  I just treated myself to this new pendant from Alaiyna B. Designs.

Breakfast was a bowl of fresh blueberries and a banana with soy milk and ground flax seeds.

A little while later I had the same eggs, toast and black beans as yesterday.

It has been a while since I have done Jillian Michaels-Boost Your Metabolism. What better time than today.  I swear, one day I will be able to this without pressing pause or modifying the mountain climbers for jumping jacks! (believe) That is the beauty of home workouts.

Post workout smoothie: lots of spinach, Jay Rob chocolate, rice protein, unsweetened cocoa, ground flax, frozen blueberries and soy milk. Divine!

Tonight’s dinner was a salad with tomatoes, brussels, flax chips, leftover taco stuff, avocado, feta dressing and salsa.

It was delicious and super filling. In fact, I think I should start making my salads in a smaller bowl.

This afternoon I went grocery shopping and to Petsmart.  Sometimes on my Petsmart trips I pick up a new toy for Wocha- Murry (one of Yoshi’s many, many nick names) This kitten is ALWAYS sooo excited for a new toy. I think he likes the way it smells too. Silly kit! I tossed him the new pink mousie and he immediately ran down the hall with it in his mouth.  That might be my single most favorite thing when kitties play; watching them carry things off in their mouth.

Sadly, I think this only took 5 minutes!

So, as good as I may try to be with tempting snacks, this little box makes it difficult.

This special, little box holds the best baked good you could ever hope for!

Those sugar cookie put Lofthouse to shame.  I have been known to hide these from Jason….shhh.

Tucked in that upper, right corner are my favorites; coconut creme puffs.  I’m not sure if that’s what they’re really called.  Trust me though, they are day-yam good!

Huh!  I stepped on something in the hall this morning….

Having grabbed the camera restored his interest in the helpless little bear again!

Just wanted to share what has been my favorite breakfast lately.

Fried egg with toast and Sunbutter. That is my sad looking bread machine bread.  The top of my loaves keep falling down!  I wonder if the temperature of the water I add is too hot for the yeast.  Crazy machine! Anyways, I think Sunbutter might just be my favorite nut butter. Plus, this breakfast will keep you full for hours. Sweet!