Simple Girl

I've had moderate success with my two tomato plants this year and by moderate I mean that I have actually been able to gather enough tomatoes at one time to make something. Look at these beauties. The wave of feelings is swelling within me. Pride. Resourcefulness. Thriftiness. Domestic Bliss. My grandma would have been proud. While these sweet, cherry tomatoes are delicious straight off the vine, I decided to marry them with my other love: Butter Beans. Unlike their smaller cousin, the Northern Bean, Butter Beans are big and meaty and beg to be eaten with a fork. Your mouth won't even know that you just slipped it a vegetarian meal! To begin the salad, heat 1/3 cup olive oil and 1 teaspoon minced garlic for one minute in the microwave. Let sit. Sure, you could heat it on the stove and let that sweet, garlicky aroma fill the room, but this method is quick and easy. Next, cut 4 cups of cherry tomatoes in half and place them in a bowl. Realizing ...

School started yesterday. I'm somewhere in-between Yipee! and Sigh. Where did the summer go? One thing the girls and I love about back-to-school is school supply shopping!  A new school year. A fresh start. Sharp pencils. Crisp, coordinated folders. Who knew office supplies could create so much bliss? While we were shopping at Target, I spotted these adorable little tags:  Chalkboard!  Of course, the permanent chalkboard pens were right by their side. Arielle dressed to impress on her first day of middle school. She handed out apples to her teachers that were tied with green raffia and labeled with these cute chalkboard tags. Ella celebrated her 10th Birthday on the first day of school and attached the chalkboard tags to the ultimate first-day-of-school-birthday-goody-bags:  Clear pencil cases with some super fun (also from Target) school supplies! The possibilities are endless! THIS POST MAY BE LINKED TO:  MONDAYS :  ...

One of the things I like best about summer is our local farmer's market. I love gathering the kids on Tuesdays and driving them to the community center parking lot filled with white canopies where they are required allowed to pick one item. That grows from the ground. I'm not saying that we never indulge in chocolate bread and peppermint bath bombs, but a fruit or vegetable is a must.  It's fun to find unusual varieties of carrots and tomatoes and even more fun to find foods that we don't even recognize (i.e. that they don't sell at Costco.) This was my pick for the week: kohlrabi. Kohlrabi has been described by culinary experts as a cross between a spaceship and an octopus. Can you see the resemblance? The name kohlrabi is of German origin and translates to "Cabbage Turnip".  Webster defines kohlrabi this way: Form of  cabbage  ( Brassica oleracea , Gongylodes group) of the  mustard family , which originated in Europe. Its most distinctive ...