Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Soup

So, I have been frequenting Lazy M farms for the past few weeks now. I haven't had much trouble going through the basket that Kathy provides me. We have roasted the beets, we've BBQ'd the fennel, we've given the kids the carrots, but somehow, this week, we had too many leftovers. I got home with this weeks produce, only to realize the bottom shelf of my fridge was already occupied with STILL FRESH veggies from last week. What was I going to do? I couldn't waste them. I couldn't throw them in the compost. What could I do? I could make a veggie soup. Although, I've never attempted such a feit. How would I make it? What would I add? I decided that no matter what happened I wouldn't be upset at the outcome. This is how it all began.

I peeled and cut carrots, celery, and added some Bright Lights swiss chard from this weeks basket. I threw this into a pot on my stove with about 3 quarts of water. I cut green garlic, scallions, green onions, and beets from last weeks basket, with some zucchini from this week. I used all the herbs from last week, tarragon, basil, and parsley. I decided not to use the mint. I added some organic "Better than Bouillon" chicken bouillon and organic tomato paste to the water. I also added onion powder, onion flakes and garlic powder.

I let this simmer for about 4 hours. It was AMAZING. I could not believe how much the kids loved it. They both had two servings.

Looking back, this would have been a great vegetarian soup had I used a veggie stock, but I just didn't have any on hand. Next time!!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Lazy Shannon, Lazy M Farms

So, I'm not really sure what has been keeping me from my blog. I would like to use children, work, school and a recent move as great examples of why I cannot take five minutes out of my busy day to post to my readers, but really... that's just not the case.

I have completely lost sight of what is important. Yes, my children are still important, but being green and environmentally friendly just has not been my top priority.

Until, that is, my good friend Amie introduced me to her friends Kathy and Bill from Lazy M Farms in Danville. Kathy and Bill have done what we all wish we could do. Built an entirely organic garden open to close friends and family as a co-op (if you will) that provides anything from the basic fruits to unusual vegetables. This AMAZING opportunity has reopened up my pallet, as well as my passions for all things organic, natural and good for the earth.

I look forward to posting more about the farm, and all things green!

HOLD ME TO IT!!!!!!!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

To my son

To Grayson. Happy 4th birthday.

(an insert from your baby book)


"I couldn't wait to hold you for the first time. The wonder about what you would look like was finally over. It was love at first sight. All 10 fingers and 10 toes. You were perfect from the first moment.

We brought you home to start our new life as a family. Gently caring for you and learning what it really meant to be a mommy and a daddy. Countless baby books read. Hours of preparing, and now it was time to put everything to use.

We worried about every noise you made. Every small hiccup,every little cry. We checked on you countless times while you slept and stared at you every second we could.

Sooner or later we begin to understand that the love we have for you is much bigger than we could have ever expected. We begin to know that love is strong and fragile, endless and forever.

You are the most important thing in our lives."


Happy 4th birthday Grayson. You are the most amazing thing that has ever happened to this family. You cease to amaze me with your sensitivity and compassion. I can't wait to spend more birthdays with you!

Monday, March 7, 2011

(Not so) Organic Dairy Report

One thing that I try to stick with on a consistent basis is organic foods for my children. Although there may be times that I grab non-organic bananas from Costco out of convenience, I ALWAYS buy my milk organic. Today I was shown a link that rated Organic Dairy products with detailed descriptions of there practices of farming. I was more than shocked to read most of these reports, but was down right flabbergasted at what I read about Horizon Dairy Farm. This is another great example of researching your products and not taking a label for granted!

I hope you find this link useful.. Make sure the brand you use is NOT on the lower part of this list!!!

Organic Dairy Report

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Teething

I can't believe I allowed 3 months to go by without any posts. I can blame being a busy mom, but I simply have not put any effort in to my passion lately, and this shall soon change!

I've decided to post today, because I have been dealing with my daughters teething for a few weeks now and I'm ready for some helpful suggestions. This comes at a particularly difficult time because I also weaned her from breastfeeding earlier in the month, so usually I could simple bf her and everything would be dandy. That is no longer the case. She has the bottom two teeth and the top four are either breaking skin or bulging. She has started to drool, gnaw on her fingers, wakes from her sleep and acts like a stage five cling-on during the day. I have been giving her Tylenol during the nights, but really don't want to continue with giving her over the counter meds. I know they recently recalled the Highlands teething tablets, so I'm curious to see what other natural remedies there are.

I have hear of the amber teething necklaces, but there are so many options; color, lengths, etc. Which one works well, where should I buy from and has this really helped you?

Thanks in advance for any help. I promise to post more often. My mind is full of information I can't wait to share with everyone. I also have a few give-aways on the back burner! Stay tuned!