Planning The Potager

I've been trying to come up with new ideas for the potager* garden.  This year I need to figure out something new for the pots on the patio. 

~ ~ ~

* Potager: 
{pot~ah~zhay} 
French.  
Decorative kitchen garden.

 ~ ~ ~

I want to grow more food, so I'm trying to come up with ideas I could put in the flower pots on the patio. I'm thinking I might want to add some height to some of them to grow some vertical climbers on.  I stopped in to Hobby Lobby today and saw these which could be kind of a fun element to add:

Speaking of vertical growers,  I already have these that I'd like to put in the  Self-Watering Raised Beds {that I haven't ordered yet} and then grow pole beans up them to help screen off the utility side of the yard.  Edible functionality ~ gotta love that!

But Hobby Lobby also had some other 

fun large ones to consider:

{they look a little screwy because 

they're stacked on the shelf ~

sorry if it's a little bit buggy on the eyes!

Hopefully you can still see what they look like.}

Or they have some smaller and thinner versions too

if your space requires something smaller:

Hobby Lobby has these on sale right now for 50% off.

Anyway!  That's what's on my mind today!

Are you planting a garden this year?
If so, what are you planting?

Lunch Bunch Linkup: Seasonal Spring Recipes

I like to eat seasonally, but things aren't necessarily growing out in my garden yet.  Depending on where in the country you live, you might have different seasonal spring crops to choose from.   Here are some pretty basic spring things to look for in the grocery stores, or farmers markets if you're lucky enough to have them open yet:

I may have forgotten a few items on the list, 

so if you see something missing, then let me know!

Due to my traveling and of course, the craziness that ensues afterwards as you try to get back to normal, we didn't meet for our Lunch Bunch group, but I still want to hear about your favorite seasonal spring recipes!

Me?  I adore the fresh asparagus when it is in season {drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with a wee bit of sea salt and roasted until just tender ~ minced garlic is also tasty with it}.

But one of my favorite ways to eat asparagus is a recipe from Georgeanne Brennan's book Potager: Fresh Garden Cooking in the French Style.

Savory Bread Pudding Layered with

Asparagus, Fontina and Mixed Spring Herbs

12-16 thick slices dry bread {baguettes or mixes of specialty breads ~ I have used just plain ol' French bread before}

2 1/2 cups milk

1 pound asparagus

5 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

4 ounces Fontina cheese, slivered

4 ounces Swiss cheese, slivered

1/2 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley and tarragon, OR sage, thyme and marjoram

1 tbsp butter, cut into small bits

Place bread in a single layer in a shallow dish.  Pour milk over the top and let soak about 30 minutes until bread has absorbed the milk and is softened.  Press the bread slices to extract the milk.  Measure the milk to about 1/2 cup after squeezing, if you don't have that much, then make up the difference as needed.  Set the milk and bread aside.

Meanwhile, trim your asparagus, removing the woody ends.  Cut the stalks on the diagonal into thin slivers about 2 inches long and 3/8 inch thick.   Steam asparagus for 2-3 minutes until barely tender.  Immediately place under cold running water then drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter a 3-qt mold or casserole dish.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, salt, pepper and the 1/2 cup milk until well blended.  Now you are going to make three layers of everything in your casserole dish.  Layer 1/3 of the bread in the dish, then add a layer of 1/3 of the asparagus, then a layer of 1/3 of the herbs, then 1/3 of each of the cheeses over the top.  Repeat layers, topping the casserole with a few asparagus slivers and cheese over the last layer of bread.  Pour the egg-milk mixture over the layers and dot with butter. 

Bake until top is crusty brown and knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Mmm, mmm, good!  Come to think of it, I haven't made this recipe in a looong time, but it is oh so tasty!  I think I will be adding it onto my menu again very soon.  It's a little more involved that I usually like to cook everyday but it might be a lovely addition to our Easter dinner I'm thinking!  The April/May issue of Clean Eating Magazine also has a tasty looking Creamy Asparagus Soup I want to try out soon. 

And speaking of new recipes to try out, the April issue of Whole Living Magazine has a few recipes for fresh spring carrots like Roasted Carrots with Garlic; Shaved Carrots, Watercress and Cashews with Orange Vinaigrette; Moroccan Braised Chicken with Carrots and Golden Raisins; and Cinnamon Carrot Muffins to try out soon.  Plus, their website has a handy little section for seasonal recipes to check out. 

So, what are your favorite seasonal spring recipes?  Link up and tell us from your blog, or share with us in the comments!  Can't wait to hear your fav's!

{images via}

Damage Control

After 10 days of traveling and not eating my normal types of food, I have some serious need to do a little damage control.   There are lots of ways to go about the damage control. For me, it's cutting out the starchy breads and potatoes and loading up on lots of good veggies.

My favorite way?  

Green smoothies.

I usually just throw whatever I have in there.  But they always include some form of green like spinach, chard or kale and berries.  They are actually quite tasty {and nutritious!}.  My body actually craves these things!   But don't knock it unless you've tried it!

It's actually quite chic.  I mean, didn't you ever wonder what Rene Russo's green sludge was that she was drinking in The Thomas Crown Affair?  And her character in this movie is oh so very sleek and chic, my friends!  I have a hunch it was a green smoothie, or at least green juice.   I tried finding you a clip of that scene but I guess you'll just have to settle for this one of Pierce Brosnan.  Aaaahhhh!  Nice and smooth ~ just like I like my, um, green smoothies!  ~wink~wink~  Oh my, but we're getting off track here!

I also have a nice huge pot of homemade vegetable soup in the fridge that I loaded up with all kinds of veggie goodness that I am eating at will!  It is chocked full of cabbage, carrots, celery and other fantastic yumminess!

Soup is also the way Mireille Giuliano in French Women Don't Get Fat suggests as her way to do the same thing, though hers is a leek soup.

I've also hit the gym hard again this week.  I think my personal trainer tried to kill me for real this time.  She had no sympathy for my vacationing escapades {and lack of exercising even though we had mapped out a brilliant plan for me to do so on the road!}.  Oh well, I probably deserved it!

I'm sure there are other fabulous and healthy ways to work on damage control after traveling, so I'd love to hear how you handle it!

Traveling Comfortably

During my recent travels, I thought a lot about what it takes to create the perfect traveling wardrobe, particularly with the traveling portion, not necessarily the destination portion. 

Most people want to be comfortable when traveling.  While most people on our flights looked decent, {I mean, I didn't notice anyone wearing sweats or anything, though I'm not terribly observant sometimes either, so who knows!} a particular couple really caught my eye and stood out from the crowd.  They both looked comfortable yet extremely well put together.  And luckily for me, they sat near me on the airplane where I could easily observe them!

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Travel Chic

Mr. Chic

Mrs. Chic

Both were of a certain age.  Mr. Chic had a lovely head of salt and pepper hair while Mrs. Chic sported a perfect little blonde~grey{ish} bob.  Both wore a jacket of sorts to help keep them warm if needed, but could also be removed if needed, which the Mr. actually did.  Both wore a pair of jeans. His a relaxed fit medium wash denim. Hers a dark wash slim cut denim. Both wore a pair of brown driving moccasins.   These mockups don't necessarily do them justice ~ they were quite classy in person if you could have seen the whole package.

Classic and unassuming yet very comfortable.  I was impressed.  What a good example of how to travel comfortably yet stylishly at the same time!  Bravo!

Texas Travelogue

Did you think I had fallen off the face of the earth?  For the past 10 days I spent a lovely time galloping and galavanting across Texas.  I had planned to schedule a bunch of posts for you while I was gone, but only got one of them up.  So I'm going to pretend that people were stocking up on toilet paper, bread, and bottled water because my sudden absence made them fear catastrophe must then be near.  {Just humor me on this one! ~wink~wink~}

We spent a delightful time going from San Antonio with a visit to:

The Alamo!

Did you know that no surrounding buildings 

are allowed to cast a shadow over The Alamo?

The old mission style architecture

and grounds are beautiful!

We dined along The Riverwalk 

 {via}

  

and took a leisurely little boat tour.

 {via}

We visited a lovely and peaceful Japanese Tea Garden

Took a quick jaunt out to Fredericksburg, Texas ~ a charming little German settled town out in the Hill Country.  Lots of cute little shops to visit.  Apparently I missed Rebekah who was also out there the day before.  Wouldn't it have been fun to bump into each other on the street?

We enjoyed this street musician

with his accordion music!

When I think of Texas Hill Country, I think of

the charming white stone like this:

along with gorgeous old architecture

and rustic elements coupled with beautiful linens.

Aaahhh!  I love Texas Hill Country!

It's so rustic, yet elegant!

We spent a crazy amount of time out at Lyndon B. Johnson's ranch.  I mean, somehow hours passed and I'm not sure how!  I think there is a time warp out there or something!  But it was pretty interesting.  And now my husband wants a ranch just like his when he grows up.  I think he just wants his own airplane and runway somewhere!

Then we drove up to the Dallas/Fort Worth area to visit some family up there.    We headed out to a lake to let the kids play in the sand and water.  It was pretty windy so my daughter and I decided to take advantage of it and go for some windblown super-modeling!

After a few days visiting there we drove down to Houston.  The wildflowers are coming out and were so beautiful on our drive down.

We checked out the Space Center ~ we had to find out if you can still be an astronaut when you grow up. 

It was incredible to see these things!

Then we headed down to Galveston.  What a cute and sad little town!  Super cute with all the fun architecture.

It kind of reminds me of Daybreak ~ 

a little community near me.  

But it's sad because at the same time it feels a little run down right now.  There are lots of buildings that are empty or damaged, I imagine from Hurricane Ike.

We decided to spend the night beachfront across the street from this little fishing pier.  We went over to check it out.  This is what it looks like today.

This is what happened to it during Hurricane Ike.

And then, the morning after!

Gone!

But the sign survived!

Incredible! 

My husbands uncle, who works for Fema, said that the reports that came back from Hurricane Ike suggest that the entire little island of Galveston was covered in water from Hurricane Ike and the storm surge.

When I think of Galveston now, I think of one word.  Brave.  This one is one brave little island.  Bravely facing out to the Gulf Coast.

Then we roadtripped it  back to San Antonio again blaring and singing 80's music along the way.  {We have to thoroughly educate the kids you know!  What kind of parent would I be if they didn't know the classics???}

We spent two days out at SeaWorld 

watching the shows

And playing in the water park

{sorry, no pics of that!}.

We thoroughly enjoyed our little tour of Texas.  I feel like there is still so much left unseen.  Guess I'll just have to go back!  Oh bummer!  :D

Btw, most of these pics were taken with my iphone, 

so sorry about the quality and bluriness of some of them!

Sunshine In A Glass: Mango Pudding Recipe

We had some extra mangoes hanging around from a recent Bountiful Basket so I decided to whip up a divine pudding recipe I learned from our family friend Marta, who lives in Brazil.

We were kicking ideas around to give it an English name you all could understand because pudim de manga {in portuguese} AND mango pudding {in English} both sounded a little boring, and well, this one just needs something a little more exotic!

My husband wanted to call it chique-chique after a little town near where we lived in Brazil ~ that would be translated to chic, like "you are so chic, darling!" {and you truly are!}, not chick like the cute baby chickens {though they're cute too}!  But if you want to hear how it is pronounced, then click on over here ~ it is pretty darn cute!  That's why I love portuguese!  If languages could be called "cute" then Brazillian portuguese would be it!  But I digress... the name in the end that I keep thinking of is...

Sunshine In A Glass

2 mangoes, peeled and removed from pit

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cans worth {poured into empty sweetened condensed milk can} of heavy whipping cream

Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into serving dishes and chill until ready to eat.  Enjoy!

It is sinfully delicious I tell you!  So sinful I don't even want to know how many calories this baby has!  So if you can come up with a more exotic sounding name, then I'm all ears!

The At Home Workout Club: Month 4

Wow!  I know I say this every month, but I can't believe another month has flown by already!  The weather has  been warming up, the sunshine coming out more often {well, if it's not raining ~ but at least it hasn't  been huge snowstorms for us anymore} and I am so enjoying being outside again!

We have some lovely trails around here that I intend to take advantage of now that it is warming up again.  So this month I wanted to add something I can use while working out outside.

So this month I've decided to make an investment in a brand new iPod Shuffle that I plan to load only with upbeat, kicky little workout tunes!  The iPod takes up most of my monthly budget for this month, but I'm pretty sure I already have tunes to make a fun little mix for it.

What are some of your favorite workout tunes?