Uprooting.

Okay, we are only uprooting and moving 7 miles away.

But I am really, really going to miss this little house. I have loved it so. (Despite it's horrendously sized and designed Kitchen).

It has been so good to us these past 19 months.

We are moving tomorrow.

And I am sad.

This photo was taken on my last Daily Walk with the girls. We had a massive windstorm that blew over many, many trees and branches in our Neighborhood last week. A very large tree was knocked down blocking the path to one of our favorite spots at the Creek.

Changes.

Changes.

Now onward!

Time to finish packing up all our things. Wish me Luck...I'm crossing my fingers that my husband and I are not going to have to pull an all-nighter.

Next time I write, it will be from our new Home.

Hugs.

Your Heart is Always Whole, Just as the Moon is Always Full.

"Your heart is always whole, just as the moon is always full. Your life is always complete. You just don't see it that way.

"Just let everything and anything be so, as it is, without using any kind of standard by which we make ourselves satisfied, dissatisfied, happy, or unhappy. Then you'll see the plain and the clear fact," Roshi told me on the recording.

All that time I'd spent listening for the hidden message in his words, I hadn't heard even a world."


-Karen Maezen Miller from her latest book "Paradise in Plain Sight."

Activities for Babies: Painting with Colored Potato Flakes

My 13-month-old is in THAT STAGE. You know the "Everything-In-The-Mouth" one.

It's meant that I haven't been able to do many Art Projects with the 3-year-old for the last few months (unless the baby is sleeping).

I finally decide to try out a simple, edible paint that BOTH girls can use.

Enter Instant Potato Flakes.

All you do is add water to some instant potatoes and some food dye.

The first batch turned out to be more of a play-dough material than paint.  Honestly, the 13-month-old only played with it for about 5 minutes. But, she was very engaged for those few minutes.

It was a MUCH big hit with the 3-year-old. She spent at least 3 hours enraptured with this new material.

I would definitely call that a hit! It's nice finding an activity that they can both to together. (The peace may only last 5 minutes....but....boy is it golden.)

Flashback Thursays.

My Mama and her Mama. I love this photo.

Labneh, Herb and Cucumber Tartine.

I haven't tried this recipe, yet. 

But, knock-on-wood, we will eventually be growing almost all of the ingredients for this dish this Summer.

I just finished planting 6 Tomato Plants in new tiny Back-yard and hopefully we will be able to use our own tomatoes for this Tartine. 

Cucumber, Mint and Cilantro has also been planted.

Labneh is just extra-strained Yogurt. As I have mentioned before, I LOVE making and eating our own homemade Greek Yogurt. So we got that base covered.

If I can get my act together and activate the Sourdough Starter, we could potentially even use our own bread. 

Can't wait to try this one out!

Ingredients

2/3 cup Labneh or Homemade Strained Yogurt

2 slices of Sourdough Bread

1/4 Cucumber (sliced thin and then sliced into matchsticks)

8 Mint leaves

1 tbsp Cilantro

4 Cherry Tomatoes (cut into chunks)

Sea Salt

Pepper

Directions

1. Spread Labneh on Sourdough Bread.

2. Sprinkle with Cucumber, Mint and Cilantro.

3. Divide pieces of Tomatoes between 2 portions.

4. Season with Salt and Pepper.


Serves 2



I found this recipe in my new favorite Cookbook...

I keep you updated, when I finally make this dish. Yay, for Summer-time!

I Love My Kombucha, Even If It's Like Having Another Kid.

Okay, I'm being dramatic.

Kombucha isn't quite so bad, as taking care of another kid. But, it's a lot of work. Especially when, I also have some Water Kefir going.

It's been about 6 months since I got my first Kombucha Scoby.

Our Kitchen is super warm, so my Kombucha is ready in about 2 1/2- 3 days (as opposed to 5-7 days, which is the normal time-frame).

We only have a Brita hand-held pitcher, so filtering a gallon of water takes FORVER. Every time I walk in the Kitchen, I add some water to our pitcher.

But, it's worth the work.

I love the taste of home-made Kombucha and much prefer it over store-bought (plus it's so much cheaper to make your own).

It's like a cool, tasty Science Experiment.

I definitely feel much more energetic on the days that I drink my Kombucha. I just have to be careful about how much I drink. I started noticing that I develop a yeast infection, if I drink like 5 cups a day.

Five cups a day? Yeah, the stuff is that good. My 3-year-old frequently requests Kombucha. Papa Bear is a fan, as long as it's still pretty sweet (1 1/2-2 days brewed in our Kitchen). He much prefers Lemon Water Kefir.

My favorite tea to ferment is Organic Imperial Jasmine Dragon Pearls Green Tea. (Affliate link).

When I brew the Jasmine Green Tea, I make sure to also brew Black Tea with it.I adore Numi Organic Tea Aged Earl Grey(Affiliate Link). Just make sure you only brew with organic tea!!!

We got our Scoby from our lovely, lovely neighbor.

Kombucha Kamp is a terrific resource, she will do a much better job than I on explaining all the "how-to's" of brewing Kombucha. You can also purchase Kombucha Scobies from her.

It's good, good stuff.

Have you ever made Kombucha?

Growing Microgreens Outside

We have been eating TONS of Microgreen Salads, over the last few weeks. It's so easy and very kid-friendly.

I received a wonderful "Microgreen Kit" from my parents, two Christmases ago. I had dreams of growing lots of Microgreens indoors during the Winter. I had one successful crop and then several bombs. I gave up and my seeds just sat there for awhile.

At the end of April, I decided to see if the seeds were still good.

Guess what? They are and we've been enjoying Microgreen Salads, ever since.

Arugula, Sango Radishes, Red Cabbage, Turnips, Mustard Greens, Kale, Broccoli.

So, so good.

The Radish Greens grow incredibly fast. We can harvest them in week. The others have been harvested anywhere between 10-20 days.

Throw at least 2 inches of potting soil in a container or pot, sprinkle a few pinches of seeds, water (or mist), put in some Sun and you are good.

Simple enough for a 3-year-old.

Seriously, my 3-year-old LOVES sprinkling the seeds and watering them.

To harvest, I pull out the plants and use scissor to snip off the bottom part of the stem (and all the soil that is pulled up with the root).

I wash in a salad-spinner, add some high-end Olive Oil, a pinch of Sea Salt and Shaved Parmesan Cheese.

It's incredibly tasty.

From container to my mouth in less than 10 minutes.

You can't beat it.

Here is an article from WebMD discussing a recent study that showed that Microgreens have up to 40 times the nutritional value than mature plants.

How amazing is that?

If you are interested, my kit was purchased from the Growing Microgreens website (a Living Whole Foods Company). Their seeds are non-GMO. I will definitely be buying more seeds from them, when I am finished with the packs I have now.

Enjoy!