Wednesday's "What We Ate June 3-9, 2013"

It's been a soggy spring/summer (what is this?) I've resorted to covering some of my vegetable plants (in raised beds) with big pieces of plywood when it's raining so that they won't literally float away. So far, I think that's been working well (at least it gives me some peace mentally). Most of my veggie plants are still mighty small, but I'm hoping that they are just working really hard at getting their roots down deep & that once we get some sun they will shoot up! How are your veggie plants looking?

With the damp weather, both Ruby & I have been a little stir-crazy to get outside. I think she's been able to use her new pool twice since we got it because, really who wants to sit outside in the rain & swim? Maybe she would, but I'm not that self-sacrificing/crazy of a mother to let her do that. Instead, we kicked it up a notch & went hiking the other day in our rain gear. With our hoods up. With an umbrella. The umbrella only lasted about 5 minutes, but it was worth a try. Ruby's hood kept falling off & it was nearly impossible for me to put it back up with her on my back ("mama! my hood! down! help!"), so I scooted her around to my front & then we cuddle hiked in the rain. Yet another win for the Ergo. Seriously, I love this carrier. It may have been one of our more special moments together (after we got situated).

Another highlight of our week was, of course, our local farmers' market again. This week, Ruby & I joined in on the free yoga that they offer. There's one for the kids at 3:45 a few times this summer & one for the adults at 4:30 every other week. I have to admit that it was a little awkward to do something so physical in front of a lot of people & I definitely overdid it ("hey! she's doing it! I can too!") but besides all that, I still found it to be really enjoyable. I love yoga, & when it's paired with being outside in the sunshine (yes, it came out for awhile!) & the overall atmosphere of the market, it's just about near heaven status for me.

We ate dinner at the market on Friday & man oh man... this might be an expensive summer! This year there are more food carts that are selling hot, ready-to-eat food (besides all of the fruits, veggies, meats & cheeses). There's a local brat cart from our fav coffee joint, the Root Note, that is pretty much the best thing ever. You can get all kinds of crazy good toppings (like sauteed morrels, pico de gallo, curried caramelized onions, pickled celery, rhubarb ketchup, & walnut pesto) & they have different options for brats, too, like vegetarian smoked apple sage brats, buffalo hills bison brats, & meadowfed meats alpaca brats. Oh my goodness yes.

We also had a nice lazy Saturday, but still managed to get a few things done. We put up some white lights both on our patio & porch (something we've wanted to do, oh since we bought the house in '09), I fixed a bunch of cloth diaper covers (I took off the velcro & replaced them with snaps), & we also made a few wind chimes (one out of bottle caps & the other from shells from our Florida trip). I'll post a couple of pictures just as soon as I get around to taking some pictures of them. We did all this while watching a couple of movies & enjoying each other's company. It felt good to just be at home with one another & putz around. It's my favorite.

How do you like to spend time together with your family?

Friday's dinner: we each had an egg roll & split a bison brat covered in walnut pesto & a deli sandwich from the co-op

What We Ate June 3-9, 2013
Monday: Fried eggs, bacon & avocado on whole wheat toasts with grapes
Tuesday: Caprese-stuffed hamburgers (basil, fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes) with Korean grilled asparagus
Wednesday: Tilapia with brown & white rice, rolled in seaweed & slathered in sriracha
Thursday: Veggie Alfredo lasagna with green salad (spring mix, carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sunflowers & balsamic vinaigrette)
Friday: We ate at our lovely farmers' market: we each had an egg roll & split a bison brat covered in walnut pesto & a deli sandwich from the co-op
Saturday: Blackened tilapia sandwiches with sweet potato fries
Sunday: Homemade white cheddar macaroni & cheese with broccoli & grapes

I also made a batch of whole wheat bread & a new granola bar recipe (will post soon!) this week (update: here is the recipe for nutty chocolate chip granola bars).