sometimes i wonder whether this city family could move to a farm and be happy. what if we traded in our money/traffic/stress/smog problems for chicken/garden/soil/weather ones? i know one four-legged family member who would be thirlled! but the rest of us, could we do it and would we be happier? you’ll catch me daydreaming about it sometimes, to be sure…
*all photos taken on my film camera at mcgrath family farm while tagging along on a shoot with lou. more on that soon!
one of the things i promised myself i would tackle this year is cooking with diffrent kinds of grains (it’s easy for me to fall back on my staple brown rice and ignore all the other delicious and fun grains out there). so yesterday i made this tasty little salad! roasted veggies, quinoa, the perfect dressing: it doesn’t get more simple, healthy or delicious. next time we eat this i’ll serve it on arugala or mix in some watercress to get our greens in there too. yum, yum, yum.
the what:
1 cup quinoa (multi-variety shown)
4 small/medium yellow beets
1 bunch heirloom carrots
evoo
1/4 c white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons high grade amber maple syrup
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
sea salt
pepper
the how:
rinse and cook 1 cup of quinoa (instructions on how to cook quinoa here)
peel and chop beets, chop carrots and coat all with evoo. sprinkle with sea salt and roast for 20 minutes at three hundred and fifty degrees (when you can easily pierce the beets/carrots with a fork, they’re done. adjust time if necessary)
make dressing while the quinoa and veggies are cooking. in a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, and maple syrup. add salt and pepper to taste. (this makes more than enough for this salad, reduce recipe if you’re not into leftovers…or make this recipe to use up the extra!)
when the veggies and quinoa are done mix in a large bowl and add salad dressing, sea salt and pepper to taste. i prefer this salad when it’s had some time to chill for a bit and I definitely like it best served on greens.
and tomorrow, i share a recipe! the response to this post about buying organic was great, so i suspect ya’ll would like more food related business around here. i’ll also be answering questions in upcoming posts, as i did in that one, so let me know if there’s anything you’re curious about!
i, for one, am looking forward to another year of this. *some pretty great outtakes of the sassmaster can be found here.
at the end of the year/beginning of the new year i like to take inventory of the year’s highs and lows and make a mental list (and this year, an interweb list). is this something you do too? i’m so excited for 2012, can’t wait to see what life brings! i think 2012 is going to be one for the record books.
here are my top 5 personal highlights of 2011:
1.first comes marriage! really, the best day of all of my years combined. pure awesome.
2.second comes nugget, from under a car no less!
3.i have a small group of girlfriends who have become really close this year, and it’s been amazing!
4.this here blog, such a fun personal project and a great introduction to new friends. (thank you!)
5.getting sick. it changed my life in the most incredible and unexpected ways (more on that later).
*photo of my friend smiles with her husband in santa barbara last fall- i was shooting a wedding, she was there playing amazing music and he was along for the sunset.
happy new year! i hope you all had a wonderful bit of rest and rejuvination, with lots of love, treats and coziness! are you making resolutions this year? i still need to sit down and come up with my 2012 action plan! yes, i am totally that nerd that just typed that.
someone recently left this question in my comment section: “how do you manage to eat all your veggies/fruits, etc. organic w/o breaking the bank? any tips would be greatly appreciated.” this was practically begging for me to climb up on a soapbox and talk about how/what we eat and how we afford it. and there’s no better time of year to commit to a new way of doing things, so here goes my friends!
- we don’t buy dairy or meat, and only occasionaly buy a little white fish. i whole heartedly believe this is better for our health,our waistlines, the environment and most definitely for our bank accounts. (please read the china study if you’re interested in learning more about the effects of these foods on our health, or eating animals to understand the environmental ramifications of meat/dairy/seafood consumption, or skinny bitch if you want motivation/information about your appearance and diet.
-we don’t buy a lot of pre-made foods including cereal, crackers, snacks, meals or anything for that matter! hello savings, nice to meet you! you’ll find when you shop primarily in the veggie section of the store, you’ll be saving more than enough to make up for buying organic instead of pesticide grown. *we do buy a few packaged things, lou does enjoy his grapenuts!
-we buy lots of brown rice, beans, and other grains in bulk. you would be amazed at how cheap (and healthy/delicious) brown rice from the bulk section is!
- we waste not: ruca and eleanor eat almost any vegetable that’s nearing the end and hasn’t been scarfed by me and lou. *if you feed your dog table scraps, please PLEASE do your research! there are many things they can’t have, including onions, pineapple, raisins, chocolate, etc.
- the thing i want you to know, that i believe is more important that anything above, is that we are incredibly happy with the way we eat! we love food and tasty things just as much as the next person and we make sure that we cook/eat things that make our mouths happy!
someday i’ll tell you about how i used to eat another way entirely, and how it landed me in the hospital. until then, eat your veggies and make sure they’re organic!
