Sentiments by Denise

The Color of my Thumb

I have to say that I definitely do not have a green thumb! Though I try hard, it seems that nurturing plants to grow is not a gift of mine.

I started this past Spring with a little larger garden than last year - determined that I would have some homegrown variety to feast on and enhance my new way of eating. I planted carrots, several variety of heirloom tomatoes, spinach, baby romaine, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, green onions, and peppers, along with a scattering of wonderful herbs.

First we had a lot of rain, then the heat came, and I am away from home for over 11 hours each day during the week, at work. The garden was not getting the attention it deserved. I managed to keep the weeds down most of the time, but when it came to watering or not watering I struggled to keep things hydrated well.
My parents are avid gardeners and during the growing season in northern Indiana, everything else comes in second to their gardening efforts. So, I would make phone calls to them, asking for advice or lamenting about how things were going (or not). I am definitely not a "chip off the old block" where gardening is concerned, I have decided!

Amazingly enough, I have harvested a few tomatoes, some romaine lettuce, a handful of small cucumbers, one lowly zucchini, and I'm rockin' the green onions! Everything else, sadly went to seed or rotted.

Black Krim heirlooms and a Better Boy tomato.

 


In the early Spring, when our local Farmer's Market opened, I was given a Mexican Midget heirloom tomato plant by one of the vendors, asking me to give it a try. WOW! This plant really produced, even though I can't take any credit for it! In the bowl above is an assortment of the little round Midgets and also some grape tomatoes. I love these in salads. I often pick a bowl this size about every 2-3 days and leave them sitting out on the kitchen counter top. They get eaten like candy around here!

 
  
My Dad gave me some of his onion plants and those have done well. I made a corn/black bean salad the other day and used some of the mini tomatoes and green onions to make it very colorful.

So even though my gardening efforts didn't go as well as I had hoped, I was still able to enjoy some homegrown goodies from my own backyard.

Time is a big factor in gardening and right now I just don't have it to spend tending my garden the way I would like. Looking ahead to next year, I'm trying to decide how aggressive I should plant - will I end up with the same results again?

Regardless, along with my meager pickings, farmers market fare, and fabulous organic variety at the grocery store (along with the few prize veggies my parents give us when we see them) I am finding plenty to partake of in my new way of eating - plant based. Food and meal preparation is never boring! Come back soon and I'll share a recipe for a Chunky Garden Marinara that is very tasty!

Time Flies!

I realized today that it's been a couple weeks since I posted! Wow, time flies!

Here are some highlights of the first half of August:

• Ed & I celebrated our 29th anniversary (see last post!).
• We've been able to see some of our young friends who no longer live close by - Jonathon came home for a visit from Budapest Hungary where he & his family are missionaries. Also, we were able to spend time with Ben & Amanda who live in Nashville TN when they were home last weekend. It's always fun to catch up with those we don't see much. Social networking (Facebook) may be all the rage these days, but it certainly doesn't replace the time when we can talk face to face, laugh and catch up on each others' lives.
• We've started attending a new church over the past several weeks and are excited about the opportunities its presenting and the way the Lord is guiding us. I, personally, have been soaking up the pastor's sermon series this month on 1 Peter - good truth and life application!
• My parents came for a visit this weekend. Always dynamic and interesting! They brought a plethora of produce from their abundant garden to share with us - carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, zucchini, peppers, potatoes, raspberries. Even after sharing a lot with the kids, I have so much good fresh food to work with over the next week! Very excited about that!
• Stephen is starting his fourth year of teaching this year. The high school where he teaches has a bigger enrollment this year, so he's added an extra class, plus he's teaching a new subject this year. Lots of fun for him!
• The family that Emilee nannys for had a new baby two weeks ago, so her "job" just became more exciting! She loves watching the two little girls. Em is also working part time in missions, bringing awareness to anti-human trafficking.
• Still experimenting with whole grains that are new to me. Yesterday on my trip to Whole Foods Market, I picked up some organic Amaranth from the bulk bins. Now, I'm on a quest to find some good recipes to try with this grain. Hope to blog about this soon!
• Trying to add more walking to my exercise regimen, as I find this is the best cardio exercise for me these days. I've been ignoring my treadmill lately to take advantage of the good weather and walk outdoors in the mornings. Even then, I can work up a good sweat because of the heat we've been experiencing here these days in central Indiana.
• Ed has been working about an average of 20 hours a week lately, which is good. The Lord never fails to meet our needs, however, and  this past week He amazed us again with His provisions and gifts when we weren't expecting it! I love surprises! Thank you, Lord, for Your constant care!
• Last week I finished an amazing book by Charles Martin called Where the River Ends. What a great story - one of the best I've read in a long time. Find this book and read it...you won't be disappointed! Now, I'm on to my suspense thriller hero - Jack Reacher (Lee Child's latest). I never get tired of reading about Reacher's adventures. Also, reading a couple nutrition/health books along the way and learning so much.

Hope this gives you an idea of what I've been up to. No photos this time - sorry!

An Anniversary and Amazing Pancakes

Yesterday Ed & I celebrated 29 years of marriage together. We've been empty-nesters now for almost a year and it really feels different with just the "two of us". I told him yesterday that I had almost forgot what it felt like before we had children, when it was just us.
Our kids still live close to us and come over to hang out, eat, and do things with us, but mostly they have their own lives and stay busy.

Ed & I enjoy coming/going as we please, setting our own schedule, and  being spontaneous when we feel like it. We decided to go to church on Saturday evening and had a great time of worship, a stirring message from the pastor, and not feeling the rush the way we do sometimes on Sunday mornings. Since we did that, we woke up leisurely on Sunday and ventured out to the north side of town to Granite Cityfor brunch around 10am. We had a gift card that was given to us at Christmas last year and this seemed like the perfect time to use it.

 

Ed was delighted to find prime rib on the brunch buffet menu and custom egg creations were also offered. I splurged on a couple things that I haven't been eating these days, like a blueberry scone and some hash browns. I also enjoyed fresh strawberries, scrambled eggs,french toast, and some veggie slaw.
We decided that this would be our main meal for the day and only had a small snack later in the evening to curb the hunger.

I love my husband! He's such a strong leader in our marriage and loves me, takes good care of me, and is a great father to our children. I feel so blessed to have shared so many years together with him, knowing that God picked him out especially for me. I'm excited to journey through life with him even more now because it seems the longer we're together, the better it gets! It's a tribute to God's amazing grace in our lives!

This morning I made some awesome pancakes and then posted about them in my status on Facebook. I had several requests for the recipe, so I thought I'd share it here on the blog.

As you know, I enjoy reading and learning about nutrition and good things to eat. I visit several food/vegetarian blogs to get meal ideas. The other day I saw this recipe for Blueberry Carob Pancakes and decided that I needed to give them a try - they sounded so good!
I tweaked the recipe just a wee bit by substituting unsweetened baking cocoa for the carob powder, reducing it just alittle. Here's my version:

Blueberry Chocolate Pancakes

1/2 c. spelt flour
dash of sea salt
2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 c. almond milk
1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Whisk all ingredients together, folding blueberries in after all other ingredients are mixed well. Spray griddle with cooking spray. Pour 1/3 of batter onto hot griddle, making a medium sized pancake. Repeat with remaining batter - makes three pancakes (1 serving).

 

I decided to follow Angela's example and mash a ripe banana, pouring it over the three wonderful chocolate-blueberry pancakes, then sprinkling some unsweetened coconut shreds and cacao nibs on top.
These were amazingly sweet, even with no sugar added. The cocoa powder made them so chocolate-y and I loved the flavor that the fresh blueberries added. 

I used spelt flour, but you could probably substitute what you have on hand. As you know, I've been experimenting with many different grains and spelt flour is one that is interchangeable in recipes that may call for whole wheat flour. It is a very healthy grain, higher in protein than wheat, and is easily digested.
You can also substitute your favorite non-dairy milk in this recipe. I used almond milk since it is my favorite and really adds to the flavor of the recipe.

Take a look at Angela's post for this recipe - her photos are much more eye-appealing than mine. I was too excited to dig into breakfast this morning and didn't really take the time for a photo shoot in my kitchen! My pancakes turned out very similar to hers - chocolate-y goodness with bursting blueberries galore! I will definitely make these again soon!