What I've been up to

Bread, lots & lots of bread:
Gardening:
Last Sunday - (yeah, I did get a little dirty...it was so much fun!!)
Today! - (Proud mother of lettuce...
what do you mean "What lettuce?" Look closer!)

See? And there's more where that came from! There's also kale, broccoli & Mizuna, which is a Japanese mustard green. Tomorrow I'll be planting more, I believe it'll be time for the Swiss chard, scallions & carrots. My mom would be so proud of me, she was a wonderful gardener. She had such a natural talent for it & always had things growing around the house. Although, I still don't get sprouting avocado seeds, but whatever.

Oh, and I cut my hair, as evidenced by the photos above. Still trying to decide how I like it. Most of the time I like it a lot, but it does have a tendency to be overly bodacious & poof out, which is not something I appreciate.

Almost forgot! The above bread has led to another household revelation...homemade pizza!
Phil actually said there's no need to order out anymore, this stuff is better & cheaper than delivery! This pizza was all mine, thanks to the addition of mushrooms & broccoli. I loved it!! Sauce was courtesy of some tomatoes I canned last summer & I topped it off with some pancetta. It was yummerlicious.

So, that's what I've been up to.

Update to Supa Fly Granola

Because granola, like life, is a process!

This recipe, minutely modified from Think Inside the Icebox, makes awesome granola that has clusters. I love granola clusters!!

Homemade Granola

4 cups old-fashioned (not quick cooking) oats
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (my modification)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice. In a small saucepan, heat oil and honey, just until it melts. Stir in vanilla.

Pour the liquid mixture over the oats mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture is covered. Spread on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the granola starts to turn golden (bake for less time for softer granola, more for crunchier, drier granola). When cool enough to handle, take a spatula to remove granola from pan and break into pieces. Add dried fruit or mixed nuts to taste (I love dried cherries & almonds).

Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Eggy Veggie Rice

Eggy Veggie Rice
Originally uploaded by neko_loco

So, it's late at night & I'm hungry. I had a wicked bad migraine earlier today & slept it off, but am left with my version of a hangover. I require: something quick, easy & nutritious that doesn't need me to pay it a lot of attention.

Solution: Eggy Veggie Rice
2 eggs scrambled in a half pat of butter
handful each of mushrooms & broccoli, steamed in microwave steamer bag
handful of pea shoots (these are so super-yum, I'm trying them in everything!)
feta
*all of the above mixed together & served over some jasmine rice*

This was perfect! Filling, fast & a no-brainer.

G's Super Fly Granola

Seriously. Granola. Who knew?

Simple living has always been of interest to me & as I tooled around on the internet this weekend, my searches all had that theme in common. From browsing seed catalogs for my (I hope) garden this year to looking into urban chicken-raising, to the mother lode: granola. I knew I could make my own, but figured it would take forever & include a bunch of funky ingredients. Sometimes, I love being proved wrong.

Delicious, easy, quick & oh so satisfying...I'm diving into it with some Greek yogurt right now!

Super Fly Granola ('cause it is!)

6 cups rolled oats (regular, not quick cooking)
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds or pepitas
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 1/2 Tbs flaxseed meal
4 Tbs canola oil
2/3 cup blue agave nectar (I prefer it to honey)


some chopped dried cherries & papaya (probably at least a cup to the recipe above, I've only added a little so far)

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees
Mix well all dry ingredients (minus fruit)
Pour into large glass baking dish (I used 9x12)
Whisk together oil & nectar, pour over dry mix in baking dish & stir until combined
Bake for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes (look for mix to get nice & toasty brown)
Remove & let cool
Mix in dried fruit & store in large, airtight container
ENJOY!!

I've been hamstrung!

Last night, during tae box class, I pulled my hamstring - good golly that hurts like a mo-fo! I could barely drive home & had to use my left foot to brake. I'm glad I iced it when I got home because it's much better today.

I joined Golds Gym a couple weeks ago & have been really happy about it. I go about 5 times a week & just take classes so far. They have an instructor who teaches Turbo Kick & Hip Hop Hustle there, so I am in heaven! I also do some resistance training classes & have tried the group cycling, too. What can I say, I like having options.

A whole new world

Or, hey I might actually blog with this thing!

This post brought to you by iPod touch & shozu - a cool little app that sends posts & photos to your different accounts. Cool!

P.S. How awesome is the predictive text on this thing? I know!!

My favorite meme

1. Togiak&Gina and..., 2. cherries, 3. One Longhorn Ready, 4. Broken Keyhole, 5. Actor, 6. milo trying to get a taste of my smoothie, 7. Last day in Paris, 8. day 73: creme brulee, 9. Happy to be in Serbia!, 10. A snapshot of Susan's life.jpg, 11. ., 12. Jaguar

I saw this at Javajem.

Here are the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page of results, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.