Sweet Potato Tacos

I've seen several recipes for sweet potato burritos floating around the "inter-web" lately and skeptically decided it was time to give this dish a try.

These were killer!!! Everyone raved.

The recipe I chose to try out was for the crock-pot. However, I doubt I will ever make these in the crock-pot again. Because I use whole, dry beans, I had to run my crock pot twice: once for the beans and once for the potatoes. Then I had to mix everything back together again. Too much work! It actually took more time than was necessary and I had to do super planning to make this "weeknight" meal come together.

I also ramped up the recipe a bit. It seemed bit blah (no onions!)

Everything mixed together in the crock-pot.

Here's the recipe I developed from the original:
(serves 4)

1/2 cups cooked black beans
2 large sweet potatoes
1/4 c stock (I use veggie)
2 T lime juice
1 t cumin*
1/2 t coriander*
2 t garlic, minced*
1 small onion, diced
olive oil

Toppings:
shredded cheese (I used Monterrey Jack)
lime wedges (for squeezing, serve some Coronas while you're at it ;-)
fresh cilantro

*this is what the original recipe called for, I used more. I like spice. Maybe you don't, so I listed the original amounts.

Putting it together:

Dice the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes and place in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil, lime juice, stock, cumin, coriander and garlic. Bake at 400 until very tender (20-30 minutes).

Cook diced onions in a bit of olive oil until transparent.

When everything is cooked, mix potatoes, onions and black beans together in a large bowl.
Serve with tortillas, cheese, cilantro and lime wedges.

I also made rice and corn as sides.
Some of us went a la carte with the sides, some of us (me) put everything on the tortillas (could you tell from the picture?)

BBQ'd Asparagus Pizza

I'd been hearing about the seasonal pizza available at a local restaurant, 

so I went and tried asparagus pizza.

Delish!

 (This is technically a copy cat recipe, though I think the grilling aspect makes it way better!)

Confession: 

Asparagus is one of my top 10 favorite foods. 

It just came into season and I can't seem to get enough of it.

Unfortunately, I love it so much that my husband is already tired of it. 

Any of you out there who eat seasonally have this experience?

One family member eats as much as she can while the gettin' is good 

while others tire of that particular vegetable/fruit long before its growing season is over? 

Just us?

Moving on: Pizza takes only minutes to cook on the grill and 

I wanted to make sure the toppings got cooked as well.

So, I cut my asparagus spears thin, lengthwise.

 

Traditional tomato sauce didn't seem like a good choice for my toppings. 

I couldn't remember how the restaurant "sauced" their pizza, so I improvised.

Here's several tablespoons of olive oil being infused with rosemary and pressed garlic. 

This whole mixture went onto my pizza crust. 

 I made one recipe of pizza dough the night before in anticipation of this grilling event.

 I divided the dough in half and we rounded them into pies as best we could. 

I say "we" because my husband, the non-cook, is actually fantastic at shaping pizza crusts.

Unfortunately, my transferring the pie to the grill spoils his craftsmanship. Boo!

 I made one of these pies into a traditional cheese pizza, since he's tired of my fave veggie.

Here's the pie on the grill:

I drizzled the underside with a bit of olive oil to prevent the dough from sticking to the grill.

It works bests to cook one side of the crust, take it off the grill, flip it over and dress the grilled side:

 The garlic/rosemary/olive oil "sauce" is under the asparagus spears.

See it glistening?

 Topped with shredded Parmesan and mozzarella:

 Then you place the whole pizza back on the grill:

This will grill the underside of the crust and get the cheese all melt-y. 

That's a technical term, by the way: Melt-y.

 I actually forgot to put olive oil on the underside this go-around. 

But there was no sticking. So maybe it was unnecessary the first time?

Who knows?

By the way, it works better if you close your grill. 

I just can't take pics with the grill closed. Ha!

OMGraciousness! Doesn't that look like heaven?

Yep, heaven will be filled with asparagus 

(and cheese and wine and chocolate and ice cream and...)

It's only been a couple of days since I made this. 

Would it be wrong to make it again? 

If you need me, I'll be in my kitchen.

... kneading pizza dough.

I Made Bagels!

I have to admit, I was intrigued when I found a recipe for home-made bagels. 

I caved when they said it was easy. 

Easy it was. 

It just took awhile. 

Three 20-minute dough rests. 

They taste like they came straight from the deli!

Can you smell them yet? 

I followed this recipe. 

I didn't vary from it, so please visit the site for details.

This is what's resting in the green bowl: 

oil, all-purpose & whole wheat flour, sugar, yeast, water

Kneading, kneading...

 ...and kneading. 10-minutes worth!

 The wonderfully elastic dough:

 Cut into 8 balls and resting for 20 minutes:

Then rolled into 8 dough snakes.

These did not roll out as easily as Play-Doh. 

I would know, I teach 6 & 7 year olds. 

Curled into 8 bagel-like rings.

And yet another 20 minute rest. 

Boiling:

In water. 

1-minute each side.

This is apparently the sign of a "real" bagel. 

A quick drip-dry:

And then onto the baking sheet!

After baking for 10 minutes on each side, they are done!
And soooo good!

Time-consuming, yes. But truly easy. 

And your kitchen will smell like a bakery. Bonus!

Thinking I'll make these again for our upcoming weekend camping trip.

Leftovers Brunch

Last night, we were went to my folk's house for a BBQ. 

On the menu: Salmon burgers, grilled asparagus, and a fruit tart. Nom, nom, nom. 

The best part: Mom sent us home with the left overs.  

This morning, I used the left over salmon burgers in a delectable omelet. Nom, nom, nom. 

Doesn't it look good with my favorite oatmeal cookie pancakes, fruit smoothie, and Chai tea. 

 

Ingredients: broken up salmon burger, grated cheese (mozzarella here, but I would have loved to have found Gruyere in my fridge this morning), diced onion, and fresh parsley. 

Saute the onion.

Beat the eggs with milk. 

I had a lot of filling, so I used 7 eggs and about 1/2 cup of milk. 

Pour into a large, hot frying pan. 

 

I watched a TV show one time in which they discussed omelets (thrilling, I know). 

I learned that they were traditionally a mid-day meal, made large, and served family style. 

I like this idea. There's less time commitment at brunch when you eliminate the many, smaller, made-to-order egg options.

When the egg is 90% cooked, spread the fillings across the top and carefully fold over.

Sometimes, with even the greatest of care, things fall apart. 

 

That's why it is always important to reserves some of your fillings for the topping.

 

Melted cheese and herbs will hide any number of errors in the kitchen (so will liquored up guests. Make sure that Mimosas, Screwdrives, or Bloody Marys are readily available for your friends and family).

Now you're ready to dish up and eat! Preferably in a beautiful garden buzzing with bees, butterflies, and birds. Here's a few snapshots from mine:

 PS- I wish I knew an easy way to get all these pics of my garden grouped together more nicely. It's like trying to pose a family photo.

Cosmetics

Cosmetics can be dangerous!

And I'm not talking about when your husband sneaks up behind you while you're applying mascara. I mean that cosmetics are full of toxic chemicals! Even the ones advertised as "natural" or "organic" can have some pretty nasty things in them.

I have spent several years researching different cosmetics products and lines that are safe both for my body and the planet. My biggest resource has been the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.

Not only do they tell you which products are safe and unsafe, but they also tell you why! Listing ingredients that are carcinogens, allergens and more. Each product is given a safety rating and color code: 0-2 is green and safe; 3-6 is yellow and moderate in concern; 7-10 is red and contain products that pose a "high hazard."

While this data base has been a huge help to me, there are still some challenges in my research. I am continually trying to balance price, safety rating, and effectiveness.


1. Finding drug store (ie. affordable!) brands and products.
2. Finding products with-in brands that are safe (one company may have safe mascara, but hazardous bronzer or one color (ivory) may be safe while another color (fair) is hazardous)
3. Finding safe, affordable products that work!
4. Companies reformulating products (formerly safe products are now hazardous, formerly hazardous products are now safe).

I don't use a ton of make-up, but when you apply this thinking to your entire bathroom of products from hand soap and shampoo, to deodorant and moisturizers there are many more products than one would first imagine. Then broaden the concept to include dish soap and laundry detergent - it gets a little overwhelming.

(Side note: If you have been following the blog, you may have run across some of my attempts at natural, home-made housekeeping/cleaning.)

As I said, I have put years of leg work and research into the products I am currently using and I am no where near close to "loving" every product I use. In case you didn't know, mascara is a (forgive my french) be-otch!
Make-up products I am currently using (along with their rating). I would not be using them if they weren't affordable. Anything with SPF seems to automatically have a higher rating.

Moisturizer: Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Lotion (rating: 2). Now that the sun is out and I'm no longer bundled up in sweaters, I use the SPF 15 version of this moisturizer (rating: 3).

Daily facial moisturizer: Cetaphil, SPF 15 (rating: 3)

Night cream/ Facial cleanser: Yes to Carrots, fabulous for my uber dry, sensitive skin (rating: 3/2)

Eye cream: I once heard somewhere that if you want to minimize crows feet, you start using eye cream before they appear, not after. I have been using eye cream since my early 20s (about the same time I found my first grey hair. Coincidence?) I currently use an old Earth Science formula: "Azulene Eye Treatment." (rating: 3)

photo from: Erth Mineral Makeup

Makeup: I have yet to find a safe/affordable combination from my local drug store. So I went online. Skin Deep offered Erth Minerals as one of their top companies. So I tried them out. I use their foundation, concealer, eye primer (a must, I discovered, for mineral eyeshadows to "stick"), eye shadows, and mascara. I love all the products. Except the mascara. It's weak-sauce! My search for the perfect mascara continues. I love mascara (its the one product I'd want on a deserted island). Let me know if you have any good leads.

As far as liquid foundations go: For a while, I was using Physicians Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Tinted Moisturizer. I found this product to be a bit on the "oily" side. May not be a good choice for some. My skin is VERY, chronically, dry and flaky - my skin was not bothered by this factor. I only went away from it because I don't need much coverage and wanted to try mineral makeup. 

Sunscreen: For the summer, it's the most important, right? Coppertone Water Babies Pure & Simple Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50 (rating: 2 - by the way, I was shocked by this awesome rating for a cheap, drugstore product. Especially a suncreen! Score. Major score.)


So, I've been at this research for a while now. I've been trying my hand at home-made housekeeping formulas. I recently stumbled upon this while perusing Pinterest. Will this be my next route? Watch out!

Incase you're wondering, I use other products beyond this list (including a really unsafe hairspray, yikes!). These are just my researched, routine products.

Hope I didn't scare you off. 
 

Surprise Garden

Well, spring is here and this past weekend brought 80 degree weather to SE Washington! 

It also lured me into my garden. 

Look what was there to greet me:

Last year's Parsley wintered over!

 Along with the chives and a few perennials.

There were also many, many bugs. Some were unwanted, like the aphids and wasps. 

Ugh!
While the tulips are certainly bright and sunny,
the aphid infestation makes me want to gag and leaves my skin crawling!
They were all over my roses too. Pruning was a nightmare. 

The ladybugs have been ordered and should arrive this week. 

(Lady bugs will be a first for me, wish me luck)

 Some bugs are VERY wanted. 

Can you see the Praying Mantis egg on the fence? 

I get one every year, and it is always fun to discover each year's nest.  

This year, it didn't take too long to put in the garden. I'm trying to go a bit more low-maintenance (i.e.: cheaper!) by using more perennials. More up front cost, but lasting results. So I dug up bulbs last fall, added a few additional ones to my collection this spring, and put them all in the ground. Along with moving a few herb shrubs and planting a few veggie seeds the garden is already in good shape. I even have salad greens sprouting! Mmm, mmm, good.

I do have a few more things to get, but I am thrilled with how easy it was to get the garden set this year. Still to come: I'm going to try ordering a Bay Leaf tree and try it in my garden (anyone have any suggestions on how to help it winter over?). I'll be picking up some chamomile and echinacea for some planters and I'm still debating a tomato plant this year. The growing tomatoes for canning didn't go as I expected last year, but the idea of fresh summer salsa is sure appealing (any suggestions on varieties?).

Oh, and BIG bonus share. I found a cheap, eco-friendly weed killer! In the past I have just gone the old fashioned route and pulled them out by hand...but with my sensitive skin and grass allergies, this has always been a challenge for me (I'm talking rash-city--yukka!). I recently read that plain ol' white vinegar will safely kill the weeds. I tried it out this weekend and am quite pleased with the results. The weeds are drying up. However, I do have some "burn" marks in my lawn, apparently the vinegar will kill all plant life. But hey, grass comes back with a vengeance this time of year!

Any surprises in your garden?

Revisiting Soap

This liquid soap has a better consistency!

A while back I posted about an attempt to "make" soap. It worked well enough. However, the soap was very thin and watery.

So I thought I'd give it another go with a different recipe.

This time I tried to reformulate bar soap into liquid soap from two body bars. I love Burt's Bees. It is a relatively "safe" product (more on this to come...I am still researching...) and smelled fantastic!

Ingredients: 2 bars of soap, 2 T vegetable glycerine, 1 gallon water
Tools: cheese grater and large cooking pot.

I bought cheap tools to designate for soap making as I didn't want to mess with my good cooking tools. Unfortunately, I did run into some trouble with my cheap stock pot...it leaked!!!

I grated the two bars of soap into the pot:

 Then added 2 T glycerin and 1 gallon of water:

I set the pot on the stove and turned the temp to medium and left it be until all the soap dissolved. It took about 20 minutes. After that, I removed it from the heat, put a lid on it and left it be until the next day (it's when I had time again....they say it's good to go after 10-12 hours, but I had no trouble 24 hours later).

My pot leaked at the handle fasteners. I put a plastic dish pan underneath and it was no big deal.
That's what cheap kitchenware gets you. Oh well.

 On first appearance, the now liquid soap looked rather solid and I was worried I was going to have to remelt and thin the concoction. My husband suggested that it didn't look that solid and why don't I just try mixing it up? So I stuck my hands in and did just that. Worked like a charm. It was the perfect consistency and I just funneled it into my hand soap containers.

By the way, I am keeping one of these hand soap containers in my shower as body wash. It's more that I'm using body wash as hand soap, instead of the other way around (for those of you who are concerned about those kinds of things).

"Homemade" liquid hand soap!

Remember that milk gallon from the top of the post?...that's my storage container. The two body soap bars yielded 1 gallon of liquid body soap!

PS...I think I used this recipe...but I've been perusing soap recipes so long I'm not sure anymore. They're all really similar.