Spring Cleaning Step 1 Done!

Whoo hoo!  It took my best friend coming to visit to motivate me into finishing off the lower level of my house. But its GORGEOUS (at least to me :) )

It feels so good to have a clean house - now let's just hope it stays that way!

             

Of course my little helper was awesome!

He's a natural at vacuuming - he did the whole room on his own.

The next step is to work on cabinets and closets on the lower level  - cleaning them out, getting rid of unnecessary items.  All while maintaining the level of clean that I have accomplished!

I think the hardest will be the play room.  But that is to be expected.

Then I'll tackle upstairs.  The reward?  A better house, a yard sale (whoo hoo money!) and feeling better all around.  

Goal:  Get downstairs totally done by end of May - so closets and cabinets.  This includes my huge closet which is almost a room on its own.  ALL while still attending soccer games, swim lessons, cubscout activities, etc. I think I can I think I can I think I can. :)

I stopped going to the gym, partially because I needed the time to clean, and partially for cost.  But I've been getting my work out at home...don't believe me?

You try going up and down stairs 20 times a day carrying loads of stuff. And bending over and squatting to pick up things.  Its an "at home work out"!

One great perk of spring cleaning... is sprucing the place up with fresh flowers from the yard.

CSA Today! 5-8-14

Happy Thursday Everyone!  The weekend is almost here.

As usual I got my CSA delivery today!

In the box:
Lettuce, kale, spinach :D, cucumbers, onion, tomato, oranges, chives and potatoes.

I'm a tiny bit disappointed today though.  The newsletter included in my box indicated I should have asparagus in my box.  This was not the case. I was really looking forward to asparagus. Especially as its on my menu for tomorrow's dinner guest!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with my selection of veggies, and I have some freshly picked asparagus from my aunt's garden.... but you can never have too much asparagus! Yummy!

Of course the kale and spinach are loved.  So many potatoes..... I'm not a huge fan of potatoes to begin with.  I don't use them much.

Now the oranges will get used.  I have snack duty for soccer this week, nothing better than orange slices!!!!
(Yeah I'm that crazy soccer mom who gets healthy stuff for the kids instead of bagged chips or cookies.)

It's been a bit like summer this week.  It got up to 85 degreees today. It's only May 8th!   This will probably be a doozie of a summer.  Usually now is when my electric bills go down due to wonderful days and nights to leave the windows open.

"Quick! Company's coming, hide it in the closet!"

I'm the queen of procrastination.  Here I am, slowly spring cleaning, distractedly going from one room to another. When I need to really focus on my living room, kitchen and dining room.  Why? Because company is coming!  My best friend and his family are coming into town, and are going to have dinner with me.  And my place is still not worthy of company, let alone a 2 yr old.  I need to clean and child-proof.  My deadline is Friday, so now I'm finally kicking it into high-gear.(And here it is Wednesday)

One of my allies in this mad dash to clean is a BISSELL Spotbot that I borrowed.  You set it on a stain, push a button and walk away for 5 mins. Presumably to do other cleaning (or blog writing).

I love this little machine.

 The next few pics are not for the faint of heart.... or weak of stomach.

 Doggy diarrhea is very difficult to get out of light carpet.

    

1st and 2nd pass at the stain

And here is the finally pass.  Not only did it clean the stain, but pulled up some latent pet hair from the carpet......

All the while I'm busy cleaning other areas of my house. :)  Win-Win!

And by cleaning I mean shoving stuff in the closet. ;)

The simple joys

Tonight when my son stepped off the bus, his first words were "Let's go on a walk".  How could I refuse such a healthy request.  So, being a beautiful day we headed out to the nearest park.
Of course with a backpack stocked with waters and strawberries.

Dishes left undone, dusting - well I never dust, I hate it.

But chores left undone so we could enjoy quality time together.  Really when it comes down to it, when we're 80+ do you wish you had more time to do dishes or spend with those you love.

Even though we were busy with soccer, and fitting in dinner.... its still worth getting in some play time.

Sometimes we busy adults need to remember this, and not be so serious all the time.

Even a trip to the park can be educational though.  There was a spider on my water bottle that was quickly shooshed off.  But it unfortunately fell into the web of another spider-although smaller.  The small spider was 1/10 or smaller of the larger spider's size, yet we kept wondering who would win.

Spider Battle Supreme

But - BEHOLD- the smaller spider won! It immobilized the larger spider and then began its work! Brains over brawn!

Spider battles are definitely better than doing housework on a beautiful spring day!

Happy Cinco de Mayo - easy peppers and steak dinner

Since its Cinco de Mayo, then it makes sense to cook a mexican inspired dinner.

Also, my bell peppers and onion that I got 2 weeks ago are going to go bad if I don't use them.

So first I sliced everything thinly. TIP:  Wear glasses when cutting onions.

For the first time ever I didn't cry while cutting onions.... the trick?  I was wearing my glasses.  I wear computer glasses sometimes, but today I did while cutting onions.  And no tears.  I suggest getting a cheap pair at the dollar store (reading glasses with a weak prescription) and keep them in the kitchen. :)

Next I added a bit of olive oil to a pan and warmed it up.  Then start sauteing the veggies.

I added about a tablespoon of hot sauce, some garlic powder ( I add that to just about everything), some salt and pepper.  I also added some jamaican jerk seasoning.  I know its not mexican, but its my go to hot mix.  Its got cayenne flakes, thyme, cinnamon and other spices.  I added a dash of Worcestershire sauce to add some depth.  Then just before it was done cooking I added about 3/4 cup of thinly sliced beef.  Just a simply steak I had in the freezer, but thin enough to cook quickly.

So quick, that the steak was done within 2-3 minutes.  My only regret is that I didn't think before hand to cook some quinoa.  It would have been perfect underneath the veggies and meat to soak up the sauce.

You could also toss in a splash of beer and boil some of it off to add to the sauce.  The best way to match an alcohol with the food :D

Delicious, but a bit sweeter than I originally wanted...to many bell peppers. :)

Feeling Low? Try Salad in a Bowl!

I don't know what's with my energy level lately, except that its been low.   Now being a busy mom, I should expect to be tired, but not lethargic.  Most likely, the most obvious culprit is low iron, anemia....  So some quick soup to perk me up.

Now, I'm calling this Salad in a bowl, because in the pot it looks like salad.  But truthfully, I know I've eaten salad in a bowl tons of times, so the title can be a bit misleading. :D

First I started off with a drizzle of olive oil.

 

Now, my inspiration for this soup was I wanted to get my leafy greens from my CSA into it like noodles, or perhaps more like miso soup and seaweed.

I tossed in a few (too many) handfuls of my leafy greens,  Kale, Mizuna, and Pack Choi.

yup just looks like a salad!

Over medium heat, I wilted these delicious greens.

Then added 1 cup of chicken broth (you could use any broth base really.  Especially if you're going vegan or vegetarian)

Season to taste - mine included rosemary, pepper and garlic powder, but upon tasting I should have added a bit more salt (I usually rarely add salt while cooking)

And Voila!

An easy, quick perk you up soup that is really really really simple.

CSA Today: 5/1/14 - Plenty of Greens!

Wow, just as the title suggests, plenty of greens!

The season is still early so still some imported/wholesale organics, but also more from the farm fresh!

In my delivery this week:
Tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, strawberries, oranges, pears, mizuna, kale, pack choi, arugula.  Lots of greens!

Not only do I love the greens for the veggi-ness of them, but also saving them for later.
Kale, spinach and other greens when you eat just the leaves, freeze the stems or any unused portions and use them later for soup.

Also, once while I was driving and listening to NPR's Splendid Table, when I heard the recipe for green soup.  It sounded absolutely delicious!  So I gave it a try, and its one of my favorite ways to serve spinach and kale in the cold winters.  I prefer to use fresh greens for that soup, but still if you were on a tight budget or time it might work.  Another great thing to make with all the discarded odds and ends of vegetables is a veggie stock.  I do this all the time... cutting up cabbage? Save the parts you don't serve up (or are too bitter to serve) in the freezer and make soup.  I really need to learn to can, I have a feeling I'm going to need to can tomatoes and other veggies before this summer is over.  I"m almost overwhelmed with the number of veggies this box provides and I got the small box!