Delicious Salsa Verde

I love Salsa Verde.  It is my salsa of choice at any restaraunt with a salsa bar.  I have to admit, before I came to live in Arizona, I didn't know that salsa was anything other than red.  Boy, was I ever a poor, salsa -deprived girl.  Salsa comes in so many flavors and colors from corn salsas to fruit-based salsas, I love finding and trying new ones.  I'll never forget the first time I tried salsa verde.  My life was changed forever. 

No-Effort Toddler Toy Shelving

My Handsome Hubby decided that his home office was too hot to work in.  It is a small room with western-facing windows, which in the desert, equates to a homemade sauna.  We recently sold the table in chairs in our game room, so, being empty, he moved his home office there.  And as with anytime he moves the contents of his computer room, he re-arranges stuff.  When the dust settled, a lonely computer desk hutch was left.  Rather than let it toil away in the garage collecting dust and not adding to our lives, I decided to use it to solve a rather growing problem in my living room.

Roasted Butternut Squash Fries

Yep, I'm roasting vegetables again.  It's just my favorite way with veggies.  I found this great idea on Pinterest (go figure) and decided to give it a try.  It's a recipe by This Southern Mom Cooks and it came just in time since I had two butternut squash left from my previous two CSA baskets.  I adapted the recipe just a tad to use all natural ingredients (the original calls for cooking spray) and voila, roasted butternutty goodness in the form of fries. 

Cheap and Easy Fruit Wash

I love grapes.  But since grapes are on the "Dirty Dozen" list of fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residue, I try to only buy organic grapes.  This is a struggle for me sometimes.  The frugal side of me has a really hard time paying $3 a pound at the store when I can get the conventional ones for $1-$2 a pound and my inner-hippie cringes at the thought of poisoning my family with pesticides.  This week, they were on sale for $0.85 a pound.  I just couldn't resist! 

Roasted Nopales

Have I mentioned that I love my CSA?  I find it to be more necessary in the summer months where most farmer's markets are closed for the season because of the intense desert heat.  Things still grow out here in the summer, it's just not reasonable to hold an outdoor market when temperatures at 5am are in the 90's and get over 110 after 12pm.  Anyhow, I would like to highlight one of the new ingredients our farmers included this week in my CSA basket.  Nopales. 

Homemade Foamy Soap

I can't believe that some things are so simple and easy.  My latest example is homemade foamy soap.  I'm a fan of the foamy soap because the kid in me really likes playing with bubbles and I kinda giggle inside when I pump bubbles into my hand from the soap dispenser instead of the typical liquid stuff.  It's the same part of me that just HAS to play with tape any time I see a tape dispenser.  I know, I'm a bit looney, but I like it that way.  Anyhow, here's how I discovered how amazingly simple homemade foamy soap is.

Adventures at Fenway Park...Orchard That Is...

No, I didn't visit Fenway Park the baseball stadium, I visited Fenway Park Orchards in Morristown, Arizona.  Allen and Carol Way, avid Red Sox fans, have owned the property for over 39 years and started an orchard here in the desert.  They greeted us when we arrived to pick fruit and showed us the best places to pick.  We missed the blackberries, but today the White Peaches and Anna Apples were ripe and ready for picking.  So, let the orchard adventures begin!

Simple Rosemary Chicken

When I made dinner the other night I realized that I tend to always fall back on the same recipe when I make chicken.  One, because its simple and quick; and two, because it's DELICIOUS!  For these two reasons, this is my absolute favorite way to prepare and enjoy chicken.

Sometimes, You Just Have to Let Someone Else Drive

Don't I look exhilarated in this photo?  Wind in my hair, water splashing my face, speeding through the water on a boat piloted by a family member.  In control of nothing, and loving it.  I have a confession to make: I'm a control-freak.  Here's another confession: I often lose control.  What a predicament huh?  If you've been following my posts regarding my weight-loss journey and my "Wagon" posts, you know that I've decided to create my own "wagon" so-to-speak.  What I've learned in doing this is that I'm not a wagon designer and I don't know how to drive one yet.

Elegant Pink and Crystal Baby Shower

Have I ever mentioned that I have the best friends?  I really do.  At any given time in my life, I can look back and see one or more friends that are amazing and whom I feel so blessed to have in my life.  I'm so grateful for social media and how easy it makes it to stay in touch and involved in the lives of all my friends, past and present.  I mention them now because over the weekend I hosted a beautiful baby shower for one of my dearest friends and I couldn't have done it without a very special group of ladies. 

Fermented Ginger Carrots

I finally did it.  I finally attempted and succeeded at fermenting vegetables (on purpose anyways).  In reading Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and in my other research, I've decided that it would be in my family's best interest to include fermented vegetables into our diet.  I'm all about gradual change, so I'm taking the "it's a condiment/relish" approach for now.  My decision to make carrots was based on the remnants from last weeks CSA basket.  These were delicious! It has a sweet and tangy flavor and as an added bonus, it is chock-full of beneficial bacteria to aid in digestion. 

Memorial Day and Delicious Non-Traditional BBQ

This Memorial Day was pretty low-key, and that's the way I like things most of the time.  It was just me, my Handsome Hubby and our Nephew who is staying with us for a bit until he finds an apartment while going to school.  Our house is kind of like a boarding house sometimes.  It seems like more often than not, we have a guest.  I really enjoy this aspect of our home.  Anyways, back to our BBQ.  I picked up some wild-caught Alaskan halibut (my favorite fish) for an excellent price at Safeway and was dying to incorporate it into our BBQ.  Biggest obstacle: my Handsome Hubby hates halibut...

Peppered Beef Shank in Red Wine : Slow Cooker-Style

Having bought a quarter of a cow from a local ranch, I've had to cook parts of a cow that I've never cooked before.  This has really been a lot of fun and it's brought some really interesting recipes to my table.  This week, I defrosted beef shanks and looked to the web to provide me a recipe for this new (to me) cut of beef. 

Adventures in Paint: Cheap and Simple Home Decorating Part 2

Welcome to the second installment of my two-part series showing how I decorated my house on the cheap with paint.  If you missed Part 1 of this series, check it out HERE.  So many people I know, are afraid of paint.  I even used to be one of them.  But then it finally dawned on me: if I don't like the paint, I can always paint over it.  This was such a freeing revalation.  Here is how I decorated my first son's room.

Sweet Potato Crackers

One of my fabulous neighbors brought me these crunchy nibbles and boy, they are delicious!  She had made them as a snack for her toddler, but found that she was eating most of them.  I'm so glad she shared them with me.  Not only was my 14 month old Baby Boy begging for these crackers, but I found myself crunching on them as well.