Inspired - One Small Change Project

I came across a tweet from Hip Mountain Mama (@hipmountainmama) this morning announcing the One Small Change (OSC) project. The basic idea is coming up with one small change at a time that you can make in your life that will have a positive impact on the earth/environment. I love this idea!

Carlos Porto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We've been making a concerted effort at our house to make small changes here and there - mostly prompted by now having a little one in the house for whom we're hoping to preserve the environment, not to mention trying to improve his health by avoiding potential toxins in cleaning products, food containers, etc.

Suzy (aka: Hip Mountain Mama) posted her first change today and it's hanging laundry on the line. During the summer I hang at least our sheets on the line when I wash them each weekend. Lately I've been trying to be better about hanging things like jeans or line-dry shirts/dresses/etc. which for some reason I usually just hang in the bathroom. I have some kind of mental block against hanging all of our clothes - but I have no idea why, as they smell delicious AND you rarely have to iron something hung correctly (bonus!)

So - I'm stealing from Suzy a bit, but I'm counting laundry on the line as my first change, too. But my goal will be to hang more than just sheets... Are you willing to make One Small Change? Tell me about it!

Fresh Perspective

One thing that hasn't gotten much blog play this summer is my garden. I love my garden - particularly this time of year when it's just churning out delicious things for us to eat! My parents are big gardeners so I always wanted to have one, but became even more passionate about having a garden when I started learning more about the Dirty Dozen fruits and vegetables. While we can't grow all of the dirty dozen at home, it's nice to be able to tackle a few items with homegrown, organic, not to mention DELICIOUS veggies. Here are a few highlights:

Butternut squash - sadly we only got one,
but we're going to enjoy eating it!

Carrots! I made a delicious carrot dish the other night thanks to Cooking Light.
It's amazing what a little maple syrup can do for carrots!

Eggplant - a family favorite! I've tried growing eggplant for several years and
these are the biggest ones I've ever grown, and there are a number of them. Yippee!

Poor rhubarb got a real trim before this photo was taken - but I love rhubarb,
so at least you can see we're putting it to good use...

Tomatoes are my favorite - and apparently F's too, as he's been
stealing them straight off the vine (even the green ones. Ew.)

We have an over abundance of cherry tomatoes this year - but we have some
bigger tomatoes that are getting ready to ripen. Can't wait to eat those up!

Earlier in the season we had lettuce and spinach coming out our ears. I plan to replant some more today. They don't like the heat, but will enjoy the crisp weather we're having (at least this week!) and check one more item off my shopping list at the grocery.

One of the reasons I think our garden has been so successful this year is thanks to our compost. We've been composting for about a year and it's awesome for so many reasons. First - it cuts down a lot on waste that we throw into the garbage or into the disposal. We can compost any fruit or vegetable waste (think peels, stems, pits, etc.) and we throw in grass clippings, leaves, egg shells and coffee grounds, too. Also - we keep a small bin in the house to collect items to go into the composter and it doesn't stink at all. Amazing!  We have so much compost it doesn't all fit in the bin! I think that the compost has really helped enrich the garden this year. Thanks to my hubby for keeping it going!

Our compost over-floweth.

Time... (With Guest Stars Tilapia & Chard)

I can't believe how long it has been since my last blog post, but I suppose time flies when you're having fun (aka: a new, working mom...) Am I still a new mom, when my little guy is about to turn one? I really can't believe it - just another reminder that time flies. This weekend he took his first steps. It's been amazing. Too much face-time with the little man to blog!

Well - you know I like to blog about food and I tried two new recipes tonight that just begged me to post a blog about them. Here's the thing - I like to cook but I'm kind of a one-trick (or maybe two-trick) pony when it comes to fish. I like to grill it - and I usually add Old Bay Seasoning and some Frank's Hot Sauce. I am not sure where that combo came from, but it's always a hit on any kind of fish.

A plate of my tilapia & chard dinner. Yum!

Tonight I had some tilapia in the freezer and a bunch of fresh chard from Door to Door Organics, so I thought I'd add a trick to my bag and I'm really glad I did! Thanks to Google I came across this delicious Tasty Sesame Tilapia recipe (although I'm not sure why it's called sesame...) and this yummy Simple Swiss Chard recipe. I'm suddenly wishing we had planted some Swiss Chard in our garden... if there's still time you can bet it's going in next weekend! Enjoy the recipes!

Bok Choy - I Love You

Photo credit:
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

On Friday we received our first delivery from Door to Door Organics, and along with the intro to the company, we were introduced to bok choy. I might have eaten bok choy before, but I've definitely never cooked with it. I sent out an APB to my Facebook friends and have to thank sweet Carolann for coming through with the winning dish! I would go on about my love for bok choy - and how I can't wait to try other recipes - but I have guests at the house so I'll go on later! For now let's cut to the chase (and for the record - no, there are no leftovers!)

Bok Choy Salad

• 1/2 cup red wine wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup margarine (I used butter)
• 1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 2 (3 oz) packages ramen noodle pasta, crushed (I forgot these... would add some good crunch, but still good without!)
• 1 medium head bok choy
• 3 green onions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, sugar and soy sauce. Set aside. 
2. Melt the margarine over medium heat in a small skillet. Crush the ramen noodles while still in their packaging and add to the margarine along with the almonds and sesame seeds. Saute until everything is golden brown. Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel.
3. Chop the bok choy and green onions and add to a large bowl. Just before serving, sprinkle the noodle mixture and dressing, and toss to coat.