LABOR DAY BRUNCH

over labor day we celebrated my birthday (a big one) and our anniversary! what a fun time we had....all the peeps were there...i have a lovely family.

the food was fantastic as well....didn't take as many photos as i should but here are a few.....

10 Days of Real Food

kid's lunch

Whole Wheat Tortillas - Easy and fun to make!

David's lunch

My family is taking the challenge!  We are eating no processed foods for 10 days.  You may have read about the Leake family in the Charlotte Observer or seen them on Charlotte Today.  It is a great story.  They did it for 100 days!  Check out Lisa Leake's blog www.100daysofrealfood.com to learn more about it.  I officially started yesterday and the rest of my family today.  I'm going to let you know how it is going.  I prepared some stuff over the weekend to get ready - most were recipes from 100 days blog.  I made whole wheat tortillas, eggplant hummus, granola, and a roasted chicken to use through the week. I think the hardest part will be packing lunches for everyone.

Eggplant hummus

I'm so proud of my family for being open to this challenge - the kids are excited.(sorta)  David is fine with it - he is happy he can still drink beer - he is a little bummed about his diet coke  - I've been trying to get him off of those anyway.  This morning the kids and David had oatmeal with bananas, blueberries and honey.  Grey also had a leftover whole wheat biscuit that I made yesterday. David had an egg and cheese on whole wheat tortilla. For lunch, I packed the kids natural peanut butter, honey and banana sandwiches with a cheese stick and fruit.  It looked delicious but they love processed school lunches.  I made David a sandwich with goat cheese, hummus, lettuce, cucumber, avocado and roasted chicken.  That looked great - I'll probably have the same thing. 

Real Food is scrumptious

For dinner, we had lasagna - whole wheat noodles, homemade sauce with lots of veggies pureed in .... see what yummy stuff you can have...My kids won't eat much salad but there were plenty of veggies in lasagna so I didn't worry about it.

escapade: Artful arrangements (in the bathroom)

escapade: Artful arrangements (in the bathroom)

BEAUTIFUL

THERE ARE LITERALLY DOZENS OF BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES IN MY BUTTERFLY BUSH.......WONDERFUL TO WATCH.....

THANKS

Thank you to a customer of hillbilly produce market, for sending along a wonderful recipe. it is

eggplant, zucchini, and tomato tian......it is from cooking light.
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1988557
....i made it and it is really good....she was kind to say she loves our vegetables!!!!Thanks.....

Massage your Kale People!!!!

If you haven't done your okra this way, you are missing out! Jason told us about it...just slice length wise then toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast on a baking sheet (I like to put them all cut side down- probably not necessary) bake 425 for 15 - 20 minutes - they get brown and crispy - yummy! Also made Massaged Kale Salad - it is from Aarti Party - the new Food Network show -Aarti won the Next Food Network Star!! Her recipes are mostly Indian inspired. This salad was so delicious and fun to make. Have you ever massaged Kale before????? I haven't but I liked it!! It makes raw kale more tender. I made it with her Mango Chutney, Prosciutto Paneer Pizza - you can find both recipes on Food Network websites. Both were awesome!!

farmer's market dinner in the mountains

My husband and I went to Chilhowie VA last weekend and ate at a fabulous restaurant called TownHouse - www.townhouseva.com
We also visited the Abington VA farmer's market and had a great dinner with all fresh local stuff.
NY strips in a cast iron skillet with goat cheese and balsamic glaze..............
roasted purple fingerling potatoes............
roasted okra...........
tomato cucumber basil salad in our new hand carved gorgeous bowl that we bought for ourselves for our anniversary. www.nicolaaloisio.com    Great weekend!!!!!