On going granola.

We live on the North Shore, in the woods (well, not in the woods...we actually live in town, but the woods are like 5 steps away. And so is the lake.).  Up here it feels very self-sufficient...wood-burning stoves and laundry on the lines and home-schooling and a teeny-tiny community farmer's market in the summer. We have a community composting site that we take advantage of in all the months that don't have snow. We also have our own composting bin in the back yard (it came with the house, we didn't have to build it, I just benefit from the soil it produces), and we recycle what we can. If we could have chickens in town, I'd probably convince Uriah to let me raise a few of those, too.  I try to repurpose things as much as I can and my insides (and wallet) get happy when I'm thrifting or junking or antiquing.

For awhile now I've wanted to try making home-made laundry soap. Over the weekend, I took that to the next level, making fabric softener, oxy-clean, and dishwasher detergent, as well.  It was as if one of the Kilcher's came and homesteaded right in my very own kitchen (except my kitchen is not in the Alaskan wilderness and I don't have to kill a bear, a moose, a deer and catch a couple hundred pounds of salmon to make it through the winter - I just head on over to the Super One when I run out of meat). I spent an afternoon grating and boiling and mixing and stirring and was amazed at how much got done in a relatively short amount of time.

I utilized my Home-Wifery Bible (aka: Pinterest) for the best and most sought after cleaning recipes.  I used this recipe for the laundry detergent - I am not a fan of powdered laundry detergent, so I went with a liquid form.  I found that I have to shake it up really well before I use it because it kind of congeals and settles a bit, but I cannot even tell you how soft our towels felt when I pulled them out of the dryer today.  I also used this recipe for the fabric softener, I just used some conditioner that I had on hand to try it out, but I think I'll try to find a more natural (read: less stuff in it) conditioner next time I make fabric softener. I also didn't add any essential oils to my softener because I like my laundry to be mostly un-scented.  I like soft stuff and this fabric softener will mostly be used when I hang things outside to dry in a few months weeks.  I think line drying can make jeans and towels stiff and scratchy without a little softening boost, but I am loath to use the dryer in the summer time and sheets smell so much better after hanging outside in the sunshine all day long, anyway. 

I usually buy Cascade in bulk at Sam's Club, and actually just ran out over the weekend, so...perfect timing! Everything I read about home made dishwasher detergent touted how it made clear glasses sparkle and shine, and it is true. Sometimes when I used Cascade I felt that my glasses came out feeling a little filmy - clean, but not quite clear.  Well, consider me converted.  Everything came out extra clean and sparkly and non-filmy.  This is the recipe I used.  I think it's the vinegar in the rinse cycle that made everything so clean, but nothing smelled vinegary after it had cycled through.  

Speaking of vinegar, I also used it to clean my dishwasher this weekend, because the last time we did that was never.  (Truthfully, I was a little disgusted by how much crust I wiped out of there.)  And I used vinegar to clean out the microwave and I ran it through my coffee maker to clean that out, too.  I feel like this is a public service announcement for vinegar, but seriously.  No random cleaning chemicals, just plain, old vinegar.  My Grandma would be so proud (she swore by vinegar for everything. Everything.  Sore muscles?  Rub some vinegar on it.  Hard to clean pot?  Use some vinegar.  Mosquito bite?  You guessed it...vinegar.)

After I had everything done and cleaned up in the kitchen yesterday, I left for the gym for an hour of alone time (yes, I go the gym for quiet time) and my husband took care of feeding the small humans (nitrate-filled hot dogs, biscuits from a can, sodium laced potato chips and apple sauce that I didn't make.  Baby steps to a granola lifestyle, I guess).  Turns out Uriah had a bit of an adverse reaction to all of the cleaning fumes in the kitchen and took to his bed shortly after I got home.  For 12 hours straight.  So...keep this in mind if you're going to make your own soaps and stuff: making your own crap is thrifty and awesome, but crack a window or two.


Quick Reference:
Laundry Soap
Fabric Softener
Oxy-Clean
Dishwasher detergent

We live on the North Shore, in the woods (well, not in the woods...we actually live in town, but the woods are like 5 steps away. And so is the lake.).  Up here it feels very self-sufficient...wood-burning stoves and laundry on the lines and home-schooling and a teeny-tiny community farmer's market in the summer. We have a community composting site that we take advantage of in all the months that don't have snow. We also have our own composting bin in the back yard (it came with the house, we didn't have to build it, I just benefit from the soil it produces), and we recycle what we can. If we could have chickens in town, I'd probably convince Uriah to let me raise a few of those, too.  I try to repurpose things as much as I can and my insides (and wallet) get happy when I'm thrifting or junking or antiquing.

For awhile now I've wanted to try making home-made laundry soap. Over the weekend, I took that to the next level, making fabric softener, oxy-clean, and dishwasher detergent, as well.  It was as if one of the Kilcher's came and homesteaded right in my very own kitchen (except my kitchen is not in the Alaskan wilderness and I don't have to kill a bear, a moose, a deer and catch a couple hundred pounds of salmon to make it through the winter - I just head on over to the Super One when I run out of meat). I spent an afternoon grating and boiling and mixing and stirring and was amazed at how much got done in a relatively short amount of time.

I utilized my Home-Wifery Bible (aka: Pinterest) for the best and most sought after cleaning recipes.  I used this recipe for the laundry detergent - I am not a fan of powdered laundry detergent, so I went with a liquid form.  I found that I have to shake it up really well before I use it because it kind of congeals and settles a bit, but I cannot even tell you how soft our towels felt when I pulled them out of the dryer today.  I also used this recipe for the fabric softener, I just used some conditioner that I had on hand to try it out, but I think I'll try to find a more natural (read: less stuff in it) conditioner next time I make fabric softener. I also didn't add any essential oils to my softener because I like my laundry to be mostly un-scented.  I like soft stuff and this fabric softener will mostly be used when I hang things outside to dry in a few months weeks.  I think line drying can make jeans and towels stiff and scratchy without a little softening boost, but I am loath to use the dryer in the summer time and sheets smell so much better after hanging outside in the sunshine all day long, anyway. 

I usually buy Cascade in bulk at Sam's Club, and actually just ran out over the weekend, so...perfect timing! Everything I read about home made dishwasher detergent touted how it made clear glasses sparkle and shine, and it is true. Sometimes when I used Cascade I felt that my glasses came out feeling a little filmy - clean, but not quite clear.  Well, consider me converted.  Everything came out extra clean and sparkly and non-filmy.  This is the recipe I used.  I think it's the vinegar in the rinse cycle that made everything so clean, but nothing smelled vinegary after it had cycled through.  

Speaking of vinegar, I also used it to clean my dishwasher this weekend, because the last time we did that was never.  (Truthfully, I was a little disgusted by how much crust I wiped out of there.)  And I used vinegar to clean out the microwave and I ran it through my coffee maker to clean that out, too.  I feel like this is a public service announcement for vinegar, but seriously.  No random cleaning chemicals, just plain, old vinegar.  My Grandma would be so proud (she swore by vinegar for everything. Everything.  Sore muscles?  Rub some vinegar on it.  Hard to clean pot?  Use some vinegar.  Mosquito bite?  You guessed it...vinegar.)

After I had everything done and cleaned up in the kitchen yesterday, I left for the gym for an hour of alone time (yes, I go the gym for quiet time) and my husband took care of feeding the small humans (nitrate-filled hot dogs, biscuits from a can, sodium laced potato chips and apple sauce that I didn't make.  Baby steps to a granola lifestyle, I guess).  Turns out Uriah had a bit of an adverse reaction to all of the cleaning fumes in the kitchen and took to his bed shortly after I got home.  For 12 hours straight.  So...keep this in mind if you're going to make your own soaps and stuff: making your own crap is thrifty and awesome, but crack a window or two.


Quick Reference:
Laundry Soap
Fabric Softener
Oxy-Clean
Dishwasher detergent

Previously Enjoyed.

A few years ago the happiest mail day was when Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel's newest catalog slid into my mail slot.  I could read those magazines and dream for hours, ignoring all manner of housework and dinner making. When we lived in Kansas City, blocks from the trendy shops on The Plaza, Uriah and I would spend our kid-free evenings walking through Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware and, for a brief while, Z Gallery.  Oh, the dreaming we did amid $90 sheet sets and thousand dollar couches (all right, I did the dreaming, Uriah kept trying to bring my champagne tastes back down to our water budget). 

Kids have changed so much in our lives, not the least of which is our budget for expendable income, which was tiny before and is now almost non-existent.  We happily used hand-me downs when Finn was born for everything from baby socks to bibs to toys to his car seat -and all manner of accouterments in between for the past 3 years. When Abby was younger and came every other weekend, she usually hopped in the car on Friday afternoon with just the clothes on her back, so we shopped sale racks and clearance racks and held our breath hoping that she wouldn't grow a lot in the two weeks between visits.  These days she relishes when her aunts clean out their closets as she is usually first on their list to go through the clothes and shoes.

Last weekend, Becca was in town - she is my person, my go-to-gal, and I am certain we were sisters in another life, maybe even twins (but probably not, because she likes to run 5ks and half marathons, and I like to run to the grocery store for donuts...in my car),  She loves to thrift and antique and sift through junk as much as I do. After Sarah's shower last summer, we stopped at an antique mall south of the Cities and spent more time than we probably should have finding good deals.  We hit up the Duluth Junk Hunt when she was in town, which was successful for me, not so much for her, and we were hoping to get in a little junk fix up the shore at a flea market on Sunday, but they'd already closed for the season so we had pie instead, which I have to say, is not a bad alternative.

I'm slowly filling our home (which is an antique treasure in and of itself) with items that have been previously enjoyed...not necessarily antiques, because they're not worth a lot of money, and often times I paint them or re-purpose them away from their intended use.  

I still love looking at Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware - but now just for inspiration and ideas on how I can make some of those looks work in my home for way, way less.

The Half-Marathon Bachelorette Party.  I love, love, love the stool.  

And you can't ever go wrong with a vintage yellow Fiestaware bowl.

I knew I wanted something different and mis-matchy in my kitchen.  I collected all sorts of random chairs over the summer (my only stipulation was that they had to be functional, because I'm not really a fix-it girl and they had to be under $10).  I half consulted Uriah on color options and painted.  I did not use a primer.  They are a little chippy in spots, but I love that, and each has a different fabric on the seat.  I still have two more in the cottage that need to be painted, but the weather isn't really conducive for that now, so that project will probably wait until spring.

I bought the map print at an antiques shop that was more like an uncomfortable episode of hoarders - but since it was only 75-cents for two or three huge maps, I say - hoard away, sir!

These are my most recent thrift store purchases (as in: today).  Finn has discovered puzzles and I need more serving dishes for Post Thanksgiving 2013: Turducken II.  This Corningware dish is a 2-1/2 quart - so deep! - it will hold Potato Casserole just fine, I think!  I also found a pair of vintage pillowcases to make our flannel sheets feel a little less wintery.

Last weekend I got this old metal milk crate to put my piano books in (which had previously been in a precarious pile on top of the piano).  Once I got it home, I thought of about six other places that I could use those crates, they make awesome storage!  I will be on the look-out for these in the future.

My favorite thing to look for is vintage table cloths.  

I feel a little like a 1950's house-wife when I have a table cloth on my kitchen table.

Mostly, though, I like the feeling of giving something old a new lease on life.  Yes, the table cloths have stains on them, but that's probably because they were part of years of great dinner conversation.  My dining chairs need some wood glue fixes every now and then, they're a little wobbly and sometimes pieces fall off of them, but they have character and I can repaint them in 5 years if I get sick of their color (I probably won't though, they make me feel so happy when I look at them!).  And instead of buying a whole new set of sheets just for some happy pillowcases, I found a pair for a dollar!  I've had to dig a little and I've had to dig a lot, I've had to go out and search through some random (and a few questionable) garage sales.  But truthfully?  That's the fun part.  

That's what makes each item I find and add to our eclectic and mis-matched little home a treasure.  

A few years ago the happiest mail day was when Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel's newest catalog slid into my mail slot.  I could read those magazines and dream for hours, ignoring all manner of housework and dinner making. When we lived in Kansas City, blocks from the trendy shops on The Plaza, Uriah and I would spend our kid-free evenings walking through Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware and, for a brief while, Z Gallery.  Oh, the dreaming we did amid $90 sheet sets and thousand dollar couches (all right, I did the dreaming, Uriah kept trying to bring my champagne tastes back down to our water budget). 

Kids have changed so much in our lives, not the least of which is our budget for expendable income, which was tiny before and is now almost non-existent.  We happily used hand-me downs when Finn was born for everything from baby socks to bibs to toys to his car seat -and all manner of accouterments in between for the past 3 years. When Abby was younger and came every other weekend, she usually hopped in the car on Friday afternoon with just the clothes on her back, so we shopped sale racks and clearance racks and held our breath hoping that she wouldn't grow a lot in the two weeks between visits.  These days she relishes when her aunts clean out their closets as she is usually first on their list to go through the clothes and shoes.

Last weekend, Becca was in town - she is my person, my go-to-gal, and I am certain we were sisters in another life, maybe even twins (but probably not, because she likes to run 5ks and half marathons, and I like to run to the grocery store for donuts...in my car),  She loves to thrift and antique and sift through junk as much as I do. After Sarah's shower last summer, we stopped at an antique mall south of the Cities and spent more time than we probably should have finding good deals.  We hit up the Duluth Junk Hunt when she was in town, which was successful for me, not so much for her, and we were hoping to get in a little junk fix up the shore at a flea market on Sunday, but they'd already closed for the season so we had pie instead, which I have to say, is not a bad alternative.

I'm slowly filling our home (which is an antique treasure in and of itself) with items that have been previously enjoyed...not necessarily antiques, because they're not worth a lot of money, and often times I paint them or re-purpose them away from their intended use.  

I still love looking at Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware - but now just for inspiration and ideas on how I can make some of those looks work in my home for way, way less.

The Half-Marathon Bachelorette Party.  I love, love, love the stool.  

And you can't ever go wrong with a vintage yellow Fiestaware bowl.

I knew I wanted something different and mis-matchy in my kitchen.  I collected all sorts of random chairs over the summer (my only stipulation was that they had to be functional, because I'm not really a fix-it girl and they had to be under $10).  I half consulted Uriah on color options and painted.  I did not use a primer.  They are a little chippy in spots, but I love that, and each has a different fabric on the seat.  I still have two more in the cottage that need to be painted, but the weather isn't really conducive for that now, so that project will probably wait until spring.

I bought the map print at an antiques shop that was more like an uncomfortable episode of hoarders - but since it was only 75-cents for two or three huge maps, I say - hoard away, sir!

These are my most recent thrift store purchases (as in: today).  Finn has discovered puzzles and I need more serving dishes for Post Thanksgiving 2013: Turducken II.  This Corningware dish is a 2-1/2 quart - so deep! - it will hold Potato Casserole just fine, I think!  I also found a pair of vintage pillowcases to make our flannel sheets feel a little less wintery.

Last weekend I got this old metal milk crate to put my piano books in (which had previously been in a precarious pile on top of the piano).  Once I got it home, I thought of about six other places that I could use those crates, they make awesome storage!  I will be on the look-out for these in the future.

My favorite thing to look for is vintage table cloths.  

I feel a little like a 1950's house-wife when I have a table cloth on my kitchen table.

Mostly, though, I like the feeling of giving something old a new lease on life.  Yes, the table cloths have stains on them, but that's probably because they were part of years of great dinner conversation.  My dining chairs need some wood glue fixes every now and then, they're a little wobbly and sometimes pieces fall off of them, but they have character and I can repaint them in 5 years if I get sick of their color (I probably won't though, they make me feel so happy when I look at them!).  And instead of buying a whole new set of sheets just for some happy pillowcases, I found a pair for a dollar!  I've had to dig a little and I've had to dig a lot, I've had to go out and search through some random (and a few questionable) garage sales.  But truthfully?  That's the fun part.  

That's what makes each item I find and add to our eclectic and mis-matched little home a treasure.  

Strawberry Insanity

It's been a whole lot of strawberries up in here lately.  The last time we went strawberry picking was 2 summers ago, Finn couldn't walk and it was a hot Iowa day.  Needless to say, we didn't last long in that patch.  We tried to go last summer before we left Iowa, but by the time I got myself organized and had carved out some time in the midst of packing, we were too late.  It's just as well, I wouldn't have had time to do anything with those strawberries last summer anyway, I was just being optimistic.

This year was different and our bounty was 10-fold what we had two years ago.  I've got a board devoted to all things strawberry on my Pinterest page and I can't wait to try a few new recipes.  I managed to make 3 batches of jam.  I used this recipe from The Pioneer Woman because it's really easy and because it's in her new cookbook, which my husband gave me as a surprise "just because" gift last spring, so it was readily accessible.  The pages are now slightly sticky and stuck together.  Try not to shudder at the 10-1/2 cups of sugar per batch.

I've got a list a mile long of what I want to make with all of these strawberries - and considering I have about 5 gallon-sized bags in the freezer, it will surely take me through the winter.

• Strawberry Popsicles are top on my list (although we've been hovering in the high 60s, low 70s, so it hasn't really been hot popsicle weather up here).
• I want to make some more Strawberry Syrup for ice cream and for pancakes and for waffles (and really, anything else I can think of to throw some strawberry syrup on - oatmeal, vanilla pudding...).
• I really want to make some biscuits to go with the jam, and if I'm making biscuits, I might as well make some Strawberry Shortcake - or an alternative, Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake.
• Last summer, to celebrate Julia Child's birthday, I made Strawberry Millefuille, which I will totally be making again because it was so light and amazing. 

I have been using this strawberry ice cream recipe for a couple of years.  It's easy and really, really good. Especially paired with the lemon ice cream that I made a couple of weeks ago.

Uriah requested that I make my mom's Strawberry Glaze Pie, so I did.  It doesn't take a lot of arm twisting to get me to make pie, and since he requests sweet things so infrequently, I like to oblige when I can.  I think my love language is food.

If you find yourself with a plethora of strawberries and need something to make - this pie is a summer staple. Clearly we couldn't even wait to dive into it!  You wouldn't necessarily have to use whole strawberries, although my mom always says it makes for a prettier presentation and I tend to agree.  A simpler solution would be to fill the pie crust with sliced strawberries and pour the glaze over them.

• Baked pastry shell for a 8-9" pie
• 1 cup strawberry juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablepoons cornstarch 
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups (or more) strawberries

To make the juice:  Measure 1 cup of strawberries, crush them, and add enough water to measure one cup.  Simmer for about 3 minutes; strain, discarding the strawberry pulp and keeping the juice.  Add water to the juice if necessary to measure 1 cup.

To make the glaze: Cook the juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick.  This part takes a bit of patience because it takes time for it to get to a thick syrup consistency.  Cool the glaze.

To assemble the pie:  Slightly wash and hull 2 cups (or more) of strawberries.  Arrange in the baked pie shell.  Coat with glaze and chill 2-3 hours.





Could someone please tell these two to stop growing?  2011 and 2013:

It's been a whole lot of strawberries up in here lately.  The last time we went strawberry picking was 2 summers ago, Finn couldn't walk and it was a hot Iowa day.  Needless to say, we didn't last long in that patch.  We tried to go last summer before we left Iowa, but by the time I got myself organized and had carved out some time in the midst of packing, we were too late.  It's just as well, I wouldn't have had time to do anything with those strawberries last summer anyway, I was just being optimistic.

This year was different and our bounty was 10-fold what we had two years ago.  I've got a board devoted to all things strawberry on my Pinterest page and I can't wait to try a few new recipes.  I managed to make 3 batches of jam.  I used this recipe from The Pioneer Woman because it's really easy and because it's in her new cookbook, which my husband gave me as a surprise "just because" gift last spring, so it was readily accessible.  The pages are now slightly sticky and stuck together.  Try not to shudder at the 10-1/2 cups of sugar per batch.

I've got a list a mile long of what I want to make with all of these strawberries - and considering I have about 5 gallon-sized bags in the freezer, it will surely take me through the winter.

• Strawberry Popsicles are top on my list (although we've been hovering in the high 60s, low 70s, so it hasn't really been hot popsicle weather up here).
• I want to make some more Strawberry Syrup for ice cream and for pancakes and for waffles (and really, anything else I can think of to throw some strawberry syrup on - oatmeal, vanilla pudding...).
• I really want to make some biscuits to go with the jam, and if I'm making biscuits, I might as well make some Strawberry Shortcake - or an alternative, Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake.
• Last summer, to celebrate Julia Child's birthday, I made Strawberry Millefuille, which I will totally be making again because it was so light and amazing. 

I have been using this strawberry ice cream recipe for a couple of years.  It's easy and really, really good. Especially paired with the lemon ice cream that I made a couple of weeks ago.

Uriah requested that I make my mom's Strawberry Glaze Pie, so I did.  It doesn't take a lot of arm twisting to get me to make pie, and since he requests sweet things so infrequently, I like to oblige when I can.  I think my love language is food.

If you find yourself with a plethora of strawberries and need something to make - this pie is a summer staple. Clearly we couldn't even wait to dive into it!  You wouldn't necessarily have to use whole strawberries, although my mom always says it makes for a prettier presentation and I tend to agree.  A simpler solution would be to fill the pie crust with sliced strawberries and pour the glaze over them.

• Baked pastry shell for a 8-9" pie
• 1 cup strawberry juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablepoons cornstarch 
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups (or more) strawberries

To make the juice:  Measure 1 cup of strawberries, crush them, and add enough water to measure one cup.  Simmer for about 3 minutes; strain, discarding the strawberry pulp and keeping the juice.  Add water to the juice if necessary to measure 1 cup.

To make the glaze: Cook the juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick.  This part takes a bit of patience because it takes time for it to get to a thick syrup consistency.  Cool the glaze.

To assemble the pie:  Slightly wash and hull 2 cups (or more) of strawberries.  Arrange in the baked pie shell.  Coat with glaze and chill 2-3 hours.





Could someone please tell these two to stop growing?  2011 and 2013:

Fish Tacos with Grilled Corn & Avocado Salsa - and also, some nostalgia.

When we got back from Kansas City last weekend, our cupboards were bare - as in, I put Old Mother Hubbard to shame.  I had obviously done a great job of cleaning everything out of the refrigerator before we left, and Uriah obviously did a great job of eating frozen pizzas for a week.  So immediately after unloading every single thing from my over-stuffed car, I sat down to figure out what we would be eating this week.

I knew Uriah would be grilling at least once or twice (because again - frozen pizza. For a week.), so I wanted to take full advantage of the hot coals. I planned for Fiesta Grilled Chicken Salads with Creamy Jalapeno Dressing (I'll blog this little darling later this week - it also utilizes the Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa), Grilled Veggie Sandwiches, and Fish Tacos with Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa.

Corn on the cob - or "corn on the bob," as Finn calls it - was on sale this week and I stocked up.  It's pretty easy to grill, just peel back the corn husk layers so you can remove all of the silky inside corn hair (what is that stuff called?  I'm sure there's a technical term for it...).  Then just put the layers of corn husk back around the cob and stick it on your grill (on indirect heat, a term I learned from my husband - it means not right over the coals.  I feel smart when I talk in grill-lingo.), turn occasionally, until you get some nice charred parts to the kernels.  I have heard that some people put butter or a little bit of olive oil on the corn before peeling the layers back up, but I don't.  I think it grills just fine and I really didn't want to add an extra fat to my meal.  You also wouldn't necessarily have to use grilled corn for the salsa, I've done it with frozen corn, that I've thawed, too.  I have never used canned corn.  I do not cook with canned vegetables.

So, anyway...this is seriously the easiest dinner ever.  In the time it took the oven to preheat and my tilapia fillets to bake, I made the corn salsa (using previously grilled corn).  I served it with a big bowl of chopped up summer fruit (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, pineapple) and it was perfect and light.  Everything was done within a half an hour.

• Grilled Corn Salsa Recipe (I did not have a jalapeno in the house, so I omitted that this time, but it does give the salsa a little extra kick)
• 4 tilapia fillets - about 4 oz. each
• Olive oil
• Chili powder
• Chipolte powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 8 Fajita-sized flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Place tilapia fillets on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and lightly with the chili powder and chipolte powder.  If you want a spicier fish, use more chipolte, but keep in mind, a little goes a long way - I only seasoned one side of the fish.  Bake in oven for 6-10 minutes, or until fish turns white.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile make the Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa using this recipe.  

To put together your tacos, warm the tortillas in the microwave at 20 second intervals until warm but not hot.  Place 2 warmed tortilla on a plate, roughly chop or break apart one tilapia fillet and place half on each of the tortillas.  Put 2 tablespoons of the corn salsa on top of the fish and roll.  Repeat with remaining tacos and fish.

A look back:  Little piggies at almost a year old | June 2011

When we got back from Kansas City last weekend, our cupboards were bare - as in, I put Old Mother Hubbard to shame.  I had obviously done a great job of cleaning everything out of the refrigerator before we left, and Uriah obviously did a great job of eating frozen pizzas for a week.  So immediately after unloading every single thing from my over-stuffed car, I sat down to figure out what we would be eating this week.

I knew Uriah would be grilling at least once or twice (because again - frozen pizza. For a week.), so I wanted to take full advantage of the hot coals. I planned for Fiesta Grilled Chicken Salads with Creamy Jalapeno Dressing (I'll blog this little darling later this week - it also utilizes the Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa), Grilled Veggie Sandwiches, and Fish Tacos with Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa.

Corn on the cob - or "corn on the bob," as Finn calls it - was on sale this week and I stocked up.  It's pretty easy to grill, just peel back the corn husk layers so you can remove all of the silky inside corn hair (what is that stuff called?  I'm sure there's a technical term for it...).  Then just put the layers of corn husk back around the cob and stick it on your grill (on indirect heat, a term I learned from my husband - it means not right over the coals.  I feel smart when I talk in grill-lingo.), turn occasionally, until you get some nice charred parts to the kernels.  I have heard that some people put butter or a little bit of olive oil on the corn before peeling the layers back up, but I don't.  I think it grills just fine and I really didn't want to add an extra fat to my meal.  You also wouldn't necessarily have to use grilled corn for the salsa, I've done it with frozen corn, that I've thawed, too.  I have never used canned corn.  I do not cook with canned vegetables.

So, anyway...this is seriously the easiest dinner ever.  In the time it took the oven to preheat and my tilapia fillets to bake, I made the corn salsa (using previously grilled corn).  I served it with a big bowl of chopped up summer fruit (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes, pineapple) and it was perfect and light.  Everything was done within a half an hour.

• Grilled Corn Salsa Recipe (I did not have a jalapeno in the house, so I omitted that this time, but it does give the salsa a little extra kick)
• 4 tilapia fillets - about 4 oz. each
• Olive oil
• Chili powder
• Chipolte powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 8 Fajita-sized flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Place tilapia fillets on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and lightly with the chili powder and chipolte powder.  If you want a spicier fish, use more chipolte, but keep in mind, a little goes a long way - I only seasoned one side of the fish.  Bake in oven for 6-10 minutes, or until fish turns white.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile make the Grilled Corn and Avocado Salsa using this recipe.  

To put together your tacos, warm the tortillas in the microwave at 20 second intervals until warm but not hot.  Place 2 warmed tortilla on a plate, roughly chop or break apart one tilapia fillet and place half on each of the tortillas.  Put 2 tablespoons of the corn salsa on top of the fish and roll.  Repeat with remaining tacos and fish.

A look back:  Little piggies at almost a year old | June 2011

On my mind today: Gardens and rain and furniture.

It is rainy and foggy and a little bit chilly today.  Good for growing grass and flowers, I suppose.  I have already cleaned my kitchen (mostly, anyway.  I still have the floors to do.  I always run out of steam  by the floors and wish I could leave them for a merry house elf to finish.), I've started on the bathroom, stripped the beds and made a pot of chicken noodle soup.  Day, accomplished, I'd say.  But probably not since I still have to finish the bathroom and the kitchen floors and re-make the beds.

Finn has been napping all afternoon.  Literally since right after lunch - and we ate lunch before the noon bells rang because he was starving and losing his wee toddler mind.  Growth spurt, I suppose, but maybe Uriah and I wore him out yesterday with all of our furniture shopping.  We have been trying to find a set of bunk beds, either to split apart and put one in each of the kid's rooms or just leave together in Finn's room.  Furniture shopping is not our forte and we had to take a snack break half-way through.  I may have lost my own mind over the insane number of handicap parking spaces in downtown Duluth - as in: every single meter had a handicap sticker on it.  Turns out, what look like handicap signs are really just notices that handicap parking stickers have a certain amount of time to park at the meter - maybe free of charge? - and everyone else can park there, too?  I don't know, I'm guessing.  All I know is after about 3 circles of two different blocks, I finally made Uriah back up into an empty space, I shoved our quarters into one of the damned meters with the white handicap sticker and we walked another block to the furniture store.  We did not get a parking ticket and I apologized twenty times to Uriah for the harsh words I spoke out of hunger.  All that to say we did not purchase anything yesterday.  6 furniture stores and not one purchase.  But, at least we have an idea of what we might want.  I guess.  Or we just wasted an afternoon watching Finn climb the bunk bed ladders and pretend he was a fireman.

So, while Finn naps his Saturday away, I'm ignoring the kitchen floors that are screaming to be swept, and I'm playing with my garden pictures instead.  I inherited the most beautiful gardens with this house last summer and I'm just trying to keep them alive.  And trying to figure out what's planted in them.  Green is shooting up everywhere, along with some red leafy things and some purples and yellows, and the lilac and hydrangea bushes are budding, and the lily of the valley are going to be everywhere very soon.  I could look at those gardens all day long and constantly find something new bursting up through the soil...as long as I can keep the bunnies and the deer away, that is.

It is rainy and foggy and a little bit chilly today.  Good for growing grass and flowers, I suppose.  I have already cleaned my kitchen (mostly, anyway.  I still have the floors to do.  I always run out of steam  by the floors and wish I could leave them for a merry house elf to finish.), I've started on the bathroom, stripped the beds and made a pot of chicken noodle soup.  Day, accomplished, I'd say.  But probably not since I still have to finish the bathroom and the kitchen floors and re-make the beds.

Finn has been napping all afternoon.  Literally since right after lunch - and we ate lunch before the noon bells rang because he was starving and losing his wee toddler mind.  Growth spurt, I suppose, but maybe Uriah and I wore him out yesterday with all of our furniture shopping.  We have been trying to find a set of bunk beds, either to split apart and put one in each of the kid's rooms or just leave together in Finn's room.  Furniture shopping is not our forte and we had to take a snack break half-way through.  I may have lost my own mind over the insane number of handicap parking spaces in downtown Duluth - as in: every single meter had a handicap sticker on it.  Turns out, what look like handicap signs are really just notices that handicap parking stickers have a certain amount of time to park at the meter - maybe free of charge? - and everyone else can park there, too?  I don't know, I'm guessing.  All I know is after about 3 circles of two different blocks, I finally made Uriah back up into an empty space, I shoved our quarters into one of the damned meters with the white handicap sticker and we walked another block to the furniture store.  We did not get a parking ticket and I apologized twenty times to Uriah for the harsh words I spoke out of hunger.  All that to say we did not purchase anything yesterday.  6 furniture stores and not one purchase.  But, at least we have an idea of what we might want.  I guess.  Or we just wasted an afternoon watching Finn climb the bunk bed ladders and pretend he was a fireman.

So, while Finn naps his Saturday away, I'm ignoring the kitchen floors that are screaming to be swept, and I'm playing with my garden pictures instead.  I inherited the most beautiful gardens with this house last summer and I'm just trying to keep them alive.  And trying to figure out what's planted in them.  Green is shooting up everywhere, along with some red leafy things and some purples and yellows, and the lilac and hydrangea bushes are budding, and the lily of the valley are going to be everywhere very soon.  I could look at those gardens all day long and constantly find something new bursting up through the soil...as long as I can keep the bunnies and the deer away, that is.

Keep calm.

People.  Easter is this weekend.

Are you kidding me?! I am ill-prepared this year.  My kids have nothing for their baskets.  In fact, I don't think I even have baskets (I may have tossed them when we moved).  We have dyed not a single egg.  They will probably be wearing rain boots to church because it is so melty outside.  I know this year my lack of preparedness has everything to do with the temporary job I took a few weeks ago and the fact that we just spent a week in Kansas City for spring break, but I need to get on this Easter train, and fast or someone will think the Easter Bunny hates him...

Here's my list for the next few days:

• Dye eggs.  We did this last year and I am never, ever straying again.  Ever.  Although this year we're going with traditional hard boiled eggs instead of hollowing out the shells and hiding them with surprises (because this year there are still one zillion inches of melty snow outside).
• Baskets.  Minimalist this year.  Books, chap stick, flip-flops rainboots.  No chocolate bunnies.  And no peeps (I hate those things) but maybe some Peeps Sugar Cookies.
• Buy some tulips.  Because nothing says spring like a vase of cheery tulips.

And that, my friends, is going to have to be plenty for this year.  Uriah will, of course, be working on Easter, and Finn and I will be making the trip to my parents on Sunday for a late Easter dinner and to start our work week again (did I mention my temporary job is 4 hours away?  Might that explain some of my fuzzy-headedness...and my inability to find time to blog regularly?!).

Happy weekend!  

People.  Easter is this weekend.

Are you kidding me?! I am ill-prepared this year.  My kids have nothing for their baskets.  In fact, I don't think I even have baskets (I may have tossed them when we moved).  We have dyed not a single egg.  They will probably be wearing rain boots to church because it is so melty outside.  I know this year my lack of preparedness has everything to do with the temporary job I took a few weeks ago and the fact that we just spent a week in Kansas City for spring break, but I need to get on this Easter train, and fast or someone will think the Easter Bunny hates him...

Here's my list for the next few days:

• Dye eggs.  We did this last year and I am never, ever straying again.  Ever.  Although this year we're going with traditional hard boiled eggs instead of hollowing out the shells and hiding them with surprises (because this year there are still one zillion inches of melty snow outside).
• Baskets.  Minimalist this year.  Books, chap stick, flip-flops rainboots.  No chocolate bunnies.  And no peeps (I hate those things) but maybe some Peeps Sugar Cookies.
• Buy some tulips.  Because nothing says spring like a vase of cheery tulips.

And that, my friends, is going to have to be plenty for this year.  Uriah will, of course, be working on Easter, and Finn and I will be making the trip to my parents on Sunday for a late Easter dinner and to start our work week again (did I mention my temporary job is 4 hours away?  Might that explain some of my fuzzy-headedness...and my inability to find time to blog regularly?!).

Happy weekend!