CSA Veggies and Nature Hike

I can’t believe our long weekend is coming to an end. I’ve been fighting a very nasty cold for almost a week now, and for much of the past week I didn’t feel like getting out of bed. But I did anyway… I’m still not feeling 100% and haven’t worked out in almost a week. Earlier in the year, I got quite sick and didn’t get better for many weeks, and I think it may have been because I kept pushing myself too much. So I wanted to make sure to rest enough. While I didn’t do a real workout, I still went for walks and played with the toddler outside almost every day. I hope to be all better soon…

On Friday, we got our CSA box.



Here is what we got and what I plan to do/did with it:

• Cranberries – I’ve been enjoying the leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving in my oatmeal, so I think I’ll make some more.
• Apples – already eaten.
• Pears – already eaten.
• Beets – I roasted them. They were SOOOOOOOOO good!!!!
• Spinach – I made a spinach salad.
• Bok Choy – I’ll make a stir fry with it.
• Acorn Squash – I don’t think I’ve ever cooked an acorn squash. I think I’ll roast it. I think I may have seen a recipe for stuffed acorn squash somewhere. If I can find it, I may make that… Do you have an acorn squash recipe I should try? If so, please link to/point me to it in the comments.
• Baby Mixed Lettuces – I used them in a simple salad. As always, the salad tasted very fresh.
• Celery – I’ll use it in a stir fry.
• Carrots – already eaten by the toddler. He loves the CSA carrots.
• Yams – I roasted them.

Here are the yams and beets before I put them into the oven to roast them. We were all too excited to take a picture once they were done!

Yesterday it rained for most of the day, so we didn’t get to spend much time outside. Today was a beautiful day, and we took advantage of the beautiful weather by going on a nature hike. The toddler did an amazing job and walked the whole way. He was really tired when we were done and took a nice afternoon nap. Just the way we like it…

After our hike, we went home and had some leek soup, which I had made in the morning. I simply sautéed the leeks with some cilantro, basil, and garlic, added water, salt and pepper, and then pureed the mixture. Actually, the leeks were from the Nov. 12 CSA box, but luckily they had kept really well in the fridge. We also had the lettuces from this week’s CSA box. There was also some bread and cheese. A simple, quick, and healthy lunch.

Questions: What was the highlight of your weekend? What was the favorite thing you ate? And, if you have an acorn squash recipe, please let me know about it!  

Be well,
Andrea

What To Do With Thanksgiving Leftovers?

That question really never comes up since I know exactly what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers. In fact, they are my favorite part of Thanksgiving. As I mentioned before, I am actually not a huge turkey fan, but I do enjoy what I make with the turkey leftovers.

Yesterday, as soon as we finished eating, I made a big pot of turkey soup. Judging from the photo, I could have skimmed off a bit more of the fat…



And here is the soup served with leftover brown rice and kimchi.


Ingredients

• Bones of one turkey (including some turkey meat)
• Water (to fill a large pot)
• Turkey gravy
• Carrots
• Onions
• Celery
• Garlic (I used 4 frozen garlic cubes)
• Cilantro (I used 3 frozen cilantro cubes)
• Basil (I used 4 frozen basil cubes)
• Salt
• Pepper

I brought the water and turkey bones to a boil and added some leftover gravy as well the frozen herbs (garlic, cilantro, and basil). I boiled the bones for about 2 hours. Then I took them out of the water and skimmed off some of the fat. Next, I added the veggies to the broth and cooked them until they were soft, about 15 minutes.

Later today, I will make another one of my Thanksgiving leftover favorites: Mini Turkey Pot Pies
Here is a photo of one of last year’s pies. I’m thinking of changing up the recipe slightly and adding some bacon to the mix…



And finally, here is some of yesterday’s fun:

We usually don’t use paper plates, but these were fun and clean up was very quick…



There was plenty of wine…



Good times…





Thanksgiving Day walk…



A little run to burn some calories energy…



Fun on the swing…



More playing…





One exhausted toddler…



Questions: Do you like Thanksgiving leftovers? If so, what’s your favorite way to eat them? I’d love a link to your favorite Thanksgiving leftover recipe!

Be well,
Andrea

Precious Moments

The teenager is home from college for Thanksgiving Break. We love having him around!



We have been enjoying some of our favorite foods, but I’ve kept things simple so that we get to spend more time together...





I turned some of the bread into bruschetta. I cut the bread into slices and then in half. I drizzled the bread slices with just a few drops of olive oil and then toasted them in a 350 degree oven for about 12 – 15 minutes. Once the bread was toasted, I put some bruschetta sauce on each slice (I went the easy way and bought the sauce at Trader Joe’s in the refrigerated section. I usually make it myself and had never bought it before. It turned out to be really good!).



A rare moment: the toddler napping on my lap… I miss the “baby days”…



The toddler likes following the teenager around and checking out whatever he is doing… They are really enjoying their time together…



Questions: What are some your recent “precious moments?” What (if any) is your favorite Thanksgiving food? I’m not a big turkey fan, but I’ve been wanting a slice of pumpkin pie for a loooong time… I’m taking the easy way and am buying it…

Be well,
Andrea

Weekend Fun and Tasty Salmon Salad

We had a fun, but cold and wet weekend. I know that it’s not that cold compared to other parts of the country, but the temperatures went from the 80s during the day last week to the 40s over the weekend. Plus, it’s been raining quite a bit. We are trying to find indoor activities to do with the toddler as it is essential that he expends LOTS of energy…

One of our outings was to a children’s museum; here are some of the things we did:

Lunch was a simple salmon salad with some veggies from last week’s CSA box.

Salmon Salad

• 1 can wild salmon
• 1/4 onion, finely chopped (the onion was quite “potent.” If you are not an onion fan, it’s probably better to omit it…)
• 6 celery stalks, diced (yes, it was a lot of celery, but I loved it)
• 1 tablespoon capers
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 – 2 tablespoons Wasabi mayonnaise (I used 1 tablespoon, but it could have maybe used a bit more; if you like a milder taste, mixing regular mayonnaise and wasabi mayonnaise would be a good idea.)
• Radicchio leaves

Mix all ingredients together and you get this:



Served in radicchio leaves.




Questions: How was your weekend? What was the best thing you ate? I think the best thing I ate was a banana with some Nutella… It was soooo good!

Be well,
Andrea