Chili enjoys the yard

A chair just my size.
Just taking a little stroll.

Stopping to smell the flowers.

My little tree hugger. Literally.

Checking out mami's garden.

Look, a bird!

Garden Growth

My garden has really taken off, in spite of my lack of attention to it. When you have a little one, and no fence, and you don't live where your garden is, it is hard to find the opportunity to weed. If I take my eyes off her for one minute, she will be dashing toward the street, hence, the lack of weeding. I need to spend some time there working, but who knows when.

Tomatoes, lots of them. And peppers and eggplant. Zuchini.

Asparagus bed overgrown with grass. How do I get the grass out without damaging the baby asparagus?

Bush beans.

Chard and cilantro that is out of control.

Bok choy that is OVERGROWN, and maybe a brocoli plant?(upper right)

Cheddar Cheese Crackers

We love crackers as a snack at our house. It seems like we go through them so fast! Since I'm trying to make more stuff from scratch, I searched and found a recipe for crackers online. Which I then tried, and of course changed. Here's how we like our homemade Cheddar Cheese Crackers:

1 stick of butter softened (and if you are doing in a food processor like me, cut into chunks)

1 c cheddar cheese

1 c mozzerella cheese

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 t salt

sprinkle in a little garlic and onion powder, and if you like a touch of cayenne pepper

preheat oven to 350

put in food processor (or blender)

add a sprinkle of water if necessary to dough, shape into balls and plop on baking stone or cookie sheet (you can take the time to roll them flat and cut with a pizza cutter, but I'm all about the convenience)

bake 10-ish minutes

Eat them nice and hot out of the oven. They are okay cold, but most of them don't make it that far at my house!

Just don't tiptoe.

I read a quote today here, that got me thinking. I'm not sure who said it, but I sure like the message: "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming, "Wow, what a ride!!!"

It also reminded me of a similar quote I heard from Shane Claiborne once. I remember he was quoting someone else, but I didn't get that written down. I was taking notes, so I'm not sure I got it exactly, but he said this: "All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, dance. Just don't tiptoe."

After reflecting on them today, I have a few things going through my mind.

* Life is not without risk. My daughter while at play, often falls and scrapes her knees, and gets dirty and sometimes hurt. Luckily, she has people who love her to scoop her up into their arms, brush her off, and encourage her to continue. Yes, she might fall again. She might be covered in dirt by the day's end, but her childhood days are filled with giggles, exploration, and joy.

* Faith should control our actions, not fear.

* The journey will end. 100% of people die. I'm know I have done some "tiptoeing." But I am sure that I want my life experiences to work toward more than just "arriving at death safely." I want a life with a spiritual depth, an inner peace, a contagious joy, and some dancing and skipping sounds good too. :)

Pancakes!

Delicious pancakes for breakfast this morning. I want to give a special thanks to Honduras Sprout for posting this recipe to her blog here. We loved them! Not only are they delicious, but I love that there is a lot of protein and not much flour.

We gobbled them all up! Here is the recipe:

6 eggs

1 c cottage cheese

1/2 c flour

1/4 t salt

3 T oil

1/4 c milk

1/4 t vanilla

I put all the ingredients into my food processor (blender also works), and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Garden First Fruits

A few days ago I was able to pick the first few things that were growing in my garden. One "easter egg" radish and a little basil. The basil immediately went into some chicken and rice for dinner(with shredded carrots and red peppers, yum!), and the radish is still in the fridge...I don't eat radishes, and my husband decided that it "looked funny." Ha! One day I will convince him to try one, either that or I will be giving away the radishes this summer. :) Anyway, I was just happy that something was growing. I had a hard time getting results from the stuff I started from seed. I think it is because I am not able to get over there often enough to water. That won't be a problem soon because I hope to be living over there by next month! The chard is doing well, and so is the bok choy. There is some cilantro (about half of what I planted), and just a few radishes. No spinach, no brocoli, no cauliflower, no cabbage, no carrots, and no green onions. Darn! There's always fall to try again. Many of the peas have been eaten by rabbits, so we'll see if there any left for us!(Same with the strawberries.) The summer stuff is growing well. I have some melons sprouting, some zuchini, the transplants I bought from the Farmers' Market of tomatoes, peppers, and basil are doing great! I hope that things continue to grow well, and maybe we'll have some fresh produce soon!