Rainy Day Inspiration

Looking at some of my photos from Spring and Summer are helping to inspire warm, happy thoughts on this chilly, wet, rainy Tuesday.

I took this one at our viewpoint looking out over Vancouver Island.

I Knew I Was A Procrastinator But...WOW!

It's funny how I make plan to do something (stay up to date on my blog) and before I know it I see over a year has gone by!  Wow!  I'm quite impressed with myself, this is almost the the longest I've put something off, lol.

I am loving being able to walk into almost every room of the house and not be shocked with the amount of unpacked boxes and clutter around.  If you have organizing to do take it one box, closet, drawer or bag at a time.  The slower you go with it the easier it will go.  Don't try to do it all at once, you'll get overwhelmed and it won't get done.  One little bit at a time is how I made it through.

You can do it!

Clean Eating! Thai Curry Meatballs

I love trying new recipes and this one was so tasty I need to share it.  It's also egg and wheat free so it's good for our clean eating plan!

You can make these meatballs ahead and freeze them for up to 3 months in a well sealed container.  This was my first time trying this recipe so I didn't modify it much but next time I'm going to make smaller meatballs and serve them with some rice noodles rather than the brown rice I served them with this time.

Meatballs:

2 lbs ground turkey (I used a mix of bison with a little turkey to make 2 lbs)
1 c zucchini, shredded and liquid squeezed out
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 c green onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp basil, chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp red curry paste
2 Tbsp coconut milk
1/8 tsp hot pepper chilli flakes

Combine all the ingredient and mix with your hands thoroughly.  (make sure the meat is completely thawed or your hands will get VERY cold, lesson learned, lol) 

Make 28 meatballs, lay them on a cookie sheet and set them aside while you mix the sauce.

Sauce:

1 1/2 c coconut milk
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp fish sauce
1/8 tsp hot pepper chilli flakes
5 - 6 kaffir lime leave (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients together and set aside.

Preheat a large skillet on medium-high.

Cook meatballs until browned on all side, don't worry about cooking them all the way through.  They finish cooking in the sauce.

Add the sauce, reduce heat and simmer uncovered.

Cook for about 20 minutes.  Your kitchen will smell AMAZING by this point and your family will come asking when dinner is ready.  Tell them the longer they wait the better they'll taste.

I had decided too late to make rice to serve with the meatballs so mine sat simmering for about 30 minutes while I cooked up some brown rice.

1 meatball with 2 tsp of sauce = 50 calories 1.3 g fat.

I loved learning that you can substitute the egg that is usually in meatballs to hold them together with grated zucchini.  I'm going to try that with meatloaf and hamburgers from now on.

Happy cooking!

Maple Springs Ranch 2013

I've decided after the sad crops from last year I need to work on my soil content.  I have 3 of the beds sitting as lasagna gardens since the fall and I will continue to add to those.  I need to do a bit more research into the good things to add to my soil so my vegetable will grow and yield a lot more than the measly handfuls I received last year.

But all my flowers are making an appearance to make me smile

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth
                                                Dorothy Frances Gurney

My favorite in the garden right now is this peony

A few years ago I discovered figs and how amazing they taste!  I also discovered how expensive they are from the local Farmers Market :o  I decided to plant a fig tree last year but research told me I would be waiting a few years to enjoy any of the delicious, juicy, fantastic fruit.  Look what I found on my little 2' tall tree this afternoon

yes...that is a tiny fig starting to grow!!  

Gardening is so rewarding sometimes :) 

Still downsizing!

I need to post my pictures this weekend!  I've been working on my storage room outside, my laundry room, my pantry and my kitchen cupboards.  What a fantastic feeling to get all these spots finally organized and down to only what I actually use :)

In the meantime check out my cute new niece Alexandra Violet, born February 12, 2013

Audrey wanted to share her baby with Alex while she laid next to her xox

I gotta say, my sister makes some damn cute babies!

Happy New Year! (a month late)

I found a fantastic page on facebook...

now, I realize I'm not the only one who has clutter but somehow it's a lot easier to tackle with this page to follow.  Normally when you go to someone's home they don't open their closets and hidden cluttered cupboards to show them off to you but on this site people do show you!

Here's what I'm cleaning out for my first day

this is under my bathroom sink upstairs.  I'll post my 'after' picture tonight.

Happy de-cluttering!!

**update

It's funny how one small cupboard cleaned out makes me feel better about tackling more.  Can you believe how full my recycling bin is!? Wow, with the door always shut I never realized what was in there until I started digging. 

 

I've signed up for a community garage sale happening in a couple of months and this lets me start my pile of goodies to sell there now. 

 

Tomorrow's challenge...under my other bathroom sink, it looks almost the same as this one did! 





September?!

Wow, where did August go to?  That month went by so quickly.  I've had a health issue I've been dealing with and have become lazy with my posts :o

I'm still up on the Clean Eating and loving the fresh veggies this time of the year :) Fall has long been my favorite season but I'm feeling pretty good with summer right now.  It almost seems easier to eat healthy with the nice weather, cold weather might bring back my craving for unhealthy comfort food.  I need to research healthy alternatives to my favorites like Mac & Cheese, meatball subs, tatertot casserole.  Oh all those yummy choices!

This was dinner last night, Spaghetti squash with turkey sausage, scallions and sesame seeds with an olive oil, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce dressing.  Spaghetti squash is still new to me, I haven't used it much but it's delicious.  Oh, I may have to cook this again tonite, my mouth is watering looking at this picture again.