Farm Fresh To You.

We received our first shipment of fresh, organic produce this morning from Farm Fresh To You. Everything looks scrumptious and I am so excited. We heard about this through a friend of ours and we thought that it would be worth it to try once, and if it was good, then we would keep going with it. In the past, we have bought our organic produce from farmers markets or grocery stores but as we all know, it can be pretty costly. What Farm Fresh To You does, is they harvest seasonal fruits and veggies from local, organic farmers and distribute them to their customers by delivering it to their home. You have the option of having it delivered every week, every other week or once a month. There are four different size shipments that you can choose from and you can see what they will be harvesting. We chose the second size to be delivered every other week, since it is only the 2 of us, we don't go through food that fast. At first, I didn't know if it would work for us because I really like picking and examining my own food to make sure I am getting the best but, again, I thought it would be worth it to try once (it can be canceled whenever you want). After looking though our produce today, I can see that it is definitely something that I will continue to use. Everything looked so so yummy and perfectly picked (with the exception of one blood orange that looks like it got dinged on one side). So, what did we get?

• Cameo Apples, 3
• Fuji Apples, 2
• D'Anjou Pears, 2
  
• Blood Oranges, 3
• Hass Avocado, 1
• Eureka Lemons, 2
• Broccoli, 1 crown
• Chard, 1 bunch
• Collard Greens, 1 bunch
• Leeks, 1 lb.
• Celery, 1 bunch
• Romaine Lettuce, 1 head
• Beets, 1 bunch
• Yukon Potatoes, 2 lbs.
• Red Onions, 1 lb.

And with our order, came a newsletter and four recipes. I'm pretty darn excited about this. How convenient it is to have our fresh fruits and veggies placed on our door step? Lovely. We pay $31 a shipment that comes every other week. We are going to see how it goes, and if we need to up our order, we will. If you are interested in this too, when you sign up, use code 6164 and type Paul de Partee and you will receive $5 off your first shipment.

I couldn't get all of the veggies in one shot but this is some of them. Yum!

Pothole Gardens

One of my favorite blogs brought these lovely pothole gardens to my attention, and I'm fascinated. And inspired. And can't stop looking at them. Pete Dungey is the mastermind behind it all and he said, "If we planted one of those in every hole, it would be like a forest in the road", and I just think that is beautiful.

Hello.

It's Thursday already and I'm not sure where the week went. It's been another busy one and I'm sleepy. I got home around 8:15 last night and by 8:30, I was in my pajamas and in bed. Haha that sounds pathetic but I needed the extra hours of sleep. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

This last weekend was nice because it was a four day weekend and boy do I love those extra days off. Brittany's bachelorette party was Saturday night and that was a lot of fun. We took a cooking class in Claremont and we learned to make chicken parmesan, homemade pasta and crème brûlée. Mmmmmm it was so so good. Sunday was Valentine's Day and Paul worked. I like the day but I don't really care too much about actual "Valentine's Day". I don't expect gifts or anything like that but I made sure to make a nice meal for us that night, just because. Paul did surprise me with two bouquets of flowers, one for the table and one for my bedside table (very nice). All in all, a great weekend. I'm looking forward to this weekend for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm FINALLY getting a haircut and 2) Mal and Jonathan are coming for a visit (yay!).

Hope you are all having a nice week. Happy Thursday. :)

Organic Candied Walnuts

My little computer's camera is working quite well for me these days.

I have been trying to come up with some new ways to make my everyday salad a bit more exciting... and so far, I have been successful. I look forward to it everyday. So here is a new one for me and I think I'm obsessed. :) This is so simple and easy to make.

Organic Candied Walnuts

• 2 Tbsp Organic Maple Syrup
• 1/4 cup Organic Walnuts
• A pinch of Salt

Heat maple syrup in a non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add walnuts and salt and mix around until the walnuts are evenly coated and caramelized, about 2-3 minutes. Let cool on wax paper (or foil) and serve. Hope you like it.

Unfortunately for me, I first tried this with molasses and it was a definite no-go. Boohoooo..

Inspiration for today.

I feel like visiting new places and seeing new faces.

(via Minute Impressions)

A long day that ended with potato dumplings.

Today was busy. My class and I went on a fun field trip to a walnut ranch in West Covina. There were a lot of fun, hands on activities for the kids to do and they really enjoyed it, so did I. After the field trip, I went to my Grandma's house to take care of her (as I do every Wednesday) and she was especially confused when I came walking through the door. I think having a Grandma with Alzheimer's is something that I have gotten used to.. either that or I'm just calloused. It's all just very odd.. very sad. I think it's something that I have already grieved over. She doesn't know me at all anymore, I am a stranger to her.. but there are those random times when she looks up and she smiles and looks at me as a familiar face. She's very sweet. We played cards, put together a puzzle and sat outside and looked at the trees and the flowers.

Later, Paul and I went to the farmers market and did our grocery shopping. We were tired and hungry when we got home and decided that something hot was the way to go. I had some left over mashed potatoes from a couple nights ago and decided to make potato dumplings in tomato soup. The process is pretty easy, all you need is some flour and your left over mashed potatoes and you're in business. I sprinkled flour on the board, plopped a big handful of potatoes on it and needed it until it felt more like a dough that could be rolled out, adding flour until desired consistency. I rolled it and cut it into bite size pieces and put them in the hot soup to heat them through. All it needs is some freshly ground black pepper and a spoon, total comfort. I served it along side a fresh mixed green salad and it was the perfect pair. It was super easy and it hit the spot.

Bed time.

Quick update

I find her to be quite lovely.

I had thee busiest last 7 days, which is clear by my recent absence. I have no idea where the weekend went. It was wrapped up in the moving out of old furniture and the moving in of new, a sweet rainy wedding, a bridal shower and minimal amounts of sleep. I still haven't recovered. Oye. So for now I am back to my normal life. I cleaned the house, got caught up on some reading and made sure the house and dinner were ready by the time Paul opened the front door. Broccoli and tofu in a garlic sauce served with a heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes... all organic I should add. :) Yay for that. More updates to come.. hope you all had a nice weekend. Happy Monday evening. :)

(via la boom!)

2.1.10

I cannot believe February is here.

(via Things She Loves)