Almost...

I can smell it, feel it, hear it, and see it. The end of summer is almost here. Happy days! The cicadas are singing their end of summer song. Night time comes earlier, there is a coolness in the night air complete with dew on the grass in the morning.

Soon I will be tasting it too. Just waiting on the Honeycrisp apples.

One Of My Favorite Things

A little doggie butt would be it! There is nothing better than a dog in front of you, cool morning air all around, sweatpants & sweatshirts, peace & quiet, in a beautiful nature setting. This is one of my favorite ways to start off the day. Now on to my second - breakfast.

I Love Food

It is no secret that the title of this post is true. I do love food - good food, fresh food, real food. I can't remember the last time I ate anything out of a box. OK, so maybe I ate some Newman-O's cookies this month, but hey, they are gluten free!

This year has been one of great growth - or shall I say a grand decline is the types of foods that enter my mouth. I have stayed away from wheat (bloat), salt (BLOAT) and dairy (skin). Wow - what a difference a little restraint makes.

I would have not survived this had it not been for a wonderful group of people known as Food Bloggers. Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen, Gluten-Free Girl, Kalyn's Kitchen and Karina's Kitchen to name a few of my favorites. I read these blogs daily and always find some irresistible recipe.

Here are a few of my favorites from this summer:

Vegan Blueberry Cobbler -From Karina's Kitchen
Nick's Chipotle Grilled Shrimp with Black Bean Salsa - From Kalyn's Kitchen (haven't made the Shrimp side but the black bean salsa is delicious)
Napa Cabbage Slaw Recipe with Carrots and Fennel Seed Dressing - From Kalyn's Kitchen (I have eaten the whole thing myself - so delicious)
Vegan Peach Ice Scream - a dairy free frozen dessert - From Karina's Kitchen

Enjoy - and let me (and them!) know if you love these recipes as much as I do.

More Joy!

Look at this beauty! And it tastes even better than it looks. It was included in my CSA box today. I have eaten half of it and don't intend to stop. I hope I get another one next week.

Blogging Inspiration

Met my friend 'Sas'sy (from Play Daze) for lunch today. We picked up our CSA boxes and talked about food (among many other topics) and the conversation came around to blogging inspiration. I've felt a little less than inspired with my posts recently. I realized that all I want to talk about is food. So, after my wonderful salad tonight comprised of heirloom lettuce (see gorgeous picture above), radishes, broccoli from my CSA box and a delish homemade dressing, I'm inspired. Don't be surprised if you see more food posting - I love food. I love to eat it, take pictures of it, talk about it, research recipes, spend hours in grocery stores, get up really early on a Saturday morning to go to the farmer's market, and grow it.

On that note, here is one of the coolest food sites I have ever seen - enjoy!

Foodini?

Not only am I a yogini, I am also a foodini - OK, sorry, foodie! I love food blogs. They have provided me with some of the most wonderful recipes and links to new and different brands to try out. And on that note, I am so happy to share with you my latest finding - a Food Blog Search site!

Friday Night Treat(s)!

Fresh from the oven - oatmeal raisin cookies sans wheat flour and dairy. The secret? Lots of Maple Syrup - YUM!

Baking Day

Finally, a day to bake. Treats all around!

For my husband and I - homemade Granola (thank you for the recipe Sarah)


For the puppies - homemade Apple Barley treats in the shapes of bunnies, hearts, bones, butterflies and carrots.

Ask And It Is Given

I was just saying yesterday, "I am not ready for winter to end. I still need time to hibernate, think, write, bake, and rest."


Wow - ask and it is given! I woke up this morning to snow! A nice, light, soft falling snow.

I'm sure some think I may be a little mad. I really do appreciate the long, dark nights of winter and the cold, sunny days in my warm home drinking tea. It is my time to recharge for the year. It is easy to be quiet, easy to learn, easy to read, easy to knit, easy to sleep. I find spring and summer to be very stimulating. I never seem to accomplish all that I want to accomplish in these seasons and I find it challenging to rest.

I do love tulips and daffodils. I do love my summer garden. I do love swimming and eating all of the wonderful, fresh foods of summer. But I still need a little more winter.

Juicy Juicy

Healthy Winter Skin Manifesto
As I invite in healthy, glowing skin, I promise to:

• Always cover my face when I go out in the cold and wind
• Take warm (not hot) showers
  
• Moisturize
• Essential fatty acids with each meal
  
• Eat lots of salmon
• Add a juice specifically for the skin with my breakfast oatmeal
  

Healthy Winter Skin Juice
3-4 carrots
1/2 apple
1/4 inch slice of fresh ginger
Cut up and carefully push through juicer. Enjoy!

What do you do for healthy winter skin?

As a side note, the Oatmeal recipe has gone through a few changes :-)

Winter Oatmeal

1/2 cup Organic Oats from my favorite Health Food Store
1 1/4 cups water
dash salt
Splash of REAL MAPLE SYRUP
Spoonful of Wheat Germ
Splash of Horchata

Bring to boil and then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring a lot :-)
Transfer to bowl and add maple syrup, wheat germ and a splash of Horchata.

Enjoy!

Happy December!

December arrived with the most wonderful gift of all - SNOW! All day snow. It was beautiful.

We made homemade minestrone and popovers with honey butter.

It was perfect! What did you do on December 1st?

Breakfast of This Yogini

Usually I am challenged with breakfast. I want savory or I want sweet or I'm not really that hungry but in an hour I will be "starving". I put those in quotes because my husband always finds it funny when I say I'm starving because really, I'm not. Anyway...I have come up with a perfect Autumn breakfast to get me through the morning. I had a new addition this morning thanks to my CSA. Included in my box this week were Medjool dates - like candy, really. If you are not familiar with Horchata, it is rice milk with cinnamon.

Autumn Oatmeal

1/2 cup Organic Oats from my favorite Health Food Store
1 1/4 cups water
dash salt
2 tablespoons Organic Pumpkin Pie Mix
1 chopped Medjool date
Splash of Horchata

Bring to boil and then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring a lot :-)

Add 2 tablespoons or more of pumpkin and stir. Add chopped date. Place in bowl and add splash of Horchata and perhaps some ground flax seeds or flax seed oil.

And Kombucha to wash it all down.

Enjoy!