A Very Bookish Birthday

Yesterday Clint and I celebrated our 32nd and 26th birthdays, respectively. If the day was an indication of the year to come, then I'm liking the look of 26. I'm liking it a lot. My birthday was filled with so much love that I'm positively overflowing from it all.

I told my sister that my one birthday wish was for Vivian and I to Skype with her and Briella, my brand new niece! Briella Ann was born on October 7th, but since we live exactly 724.06 miles away from each other, Skype is the closest I can get to this little sweetheart for now! Getting to see her was a wonderful birthday gift. Isn't she absolutely beautiful and just as sweet as could be? Vivian was so excited to "meet" her cousin! She got really hyper and turned into a little wild woman. I could barely keep her contained. She wanted Briella to come over and play!

Clint came home early from work, and while Vivian was taking an extra long afternoon nap for us we shared our free birthday entree from Moe's - yum! Then we exchanged gifts with each other. I had gotten Clint a nice new pair of wool socks, and he gave me . . .

. . . a book about making my own clothes that has been on my wish list for ages! Since my parents got me a sewing machine for my birthday, he couldn't have picked out a better gift! I can't wait to get into it and start experimenting, but I'm forcing myself to finish Briella's quilt and some long overdue birthday gifts before I embark on any other projects. Clint is a really good gift-giver. He puts a lot of thought into it and always comes up with exactly the right way to say, "I love you."

My mother-in-law gave me a little money to buy myself something, so I marched myself and Vivian right down to our local independent bookstore, Avid, and just happened to catch them on their one year anniversary! I finally picked up a copy of one of my all-time favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird, and also chose Wendell Berry's Bringing it to the Table. For Vivian I picked out a simple animal board book and also another BabyLit board book, Dracula. I thought it was fitting with Halloween just around the corner. Have you seen these BabyLit books yet? They're amazing! They are board book versions of classics. Our first one was Jane Eyre (another all-time favorite book of mine, and is probably Viv's favorite book too), and we also have Alice in Wonderland. I'm planning on A Christmas Carol for a stocking stuffer, and the other two current BabyLit books are Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet. And I hear three new one are due out in the spring. I'm not excited or anything.

I also received a completely unexpected package in the mail from my dear Sharon.

Three board books for Vivian about famous artists (how amazing is that?! I especially adore the van Gogh one) and an awesome quilting book for me! This is another book I'm refusing to let myself get into until I finish some of my lingering projects! The package also included some amazing fabric, selections that are just exactly my taste. (Sharon is another really good gift-giver.) They will be included in the quilt Sharon, Maggy, and I are all sewing our own versions of together. And check out that handmade card! It's easily my favorite thing from the whole package. So creative and full of love! And I literally had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I opened it. She included TWO unbelievably beautiful pendants from her etsy shop Wrought. I was blown away by her generosity, creativity, and friendship.

I also received sweet cards, texts, and facebook posts from other friends and family. I was totally feeling all the love!

And finally, I'll include a few photos from our hike up Tray Mountain on the day before our birthday. What more could I wish for than to spend a beautiful fall day in the mountains with my two favorite people in the world? Nothing, there is nothing more I could wish for.

Pre-hike. Just before setting off!

At the summit! Viv sure does love her dad.

Standing tall on the highest point of the mountain.

Vivian has started pointing at everything. I just can't help but squeeze her and kiss those sweet cheeks!

The Test Drive

It's been far too long since I last posted, almost two months! You can blame it on this little munchkin.

At the botanical gardens last week. She LOVES plants! We were there for three hours, and she was completely engrossed the entire time. Can't wait to plant her own little garden together next spring!

She has been demanding every second of my time. Clint and I think we named her quite appropriately - Vivian means "full of life" and has the same root word as vivacious, which means "lively and animated," and vivid, which describes something that is strong, clear, and bright. I think all of these are good descriptions of the little personality we're seeing more and more of each day!

Needless to say, I haven't had much time to spend in the kitchen either, but the limited time I've had has been nothing short of scrumptious. For a bit over a month, I've been experimenting with what I like to call a "vegan test drive." Basically I haven't been eating animal products (but I do still eat honey) except in situations where it's unavoidable (like when I'm a guest in someone's home and it's either not possible or impolite to maintain my eating preferences) or where a non-vegan treat is irresistible (which happens sometimes when you have a bad sweet tooth and work at a bakery, even though we have awesome vegan baked goods). I'll have to get into why I'm doing this in another post on another day!

Here is one of my current favorite test drive meals: quinoa "taco meat" with avocado, sprouts, salsa, and sunflower seed sour cream, all on a giant swiss chard leaf (harvested straight from the garden). It's filling, easy to throw together, satisfying, and just plain good! I could eat about three of these, even though they're huge! Good thing I never have enough time to get that many down :)

Wet Your Plants

My dear friend shared with me this sign she saw at a garden center: "Spring is here. We're so excited we wet our plants!" I must say I concur! At the time of my last post, Clint had just built the frames for my raised beds. This past weekend, he filled them with a truckload of deliciously-rich-with-compost soil, and I finally got to plant my first garden!

I know you're going to be a little surprised about this, but I went a little overboard in my planting (all from seed). I planted, or have started inside, four varieties of heirloom tomatoes, heirloom lemon cucumber, a flower petal salad, four varieties of basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, lavender, heirloom summer squash, heirloom sweet pepper, heirloom okra, cardoon, heirloom purple carrots, spinach, red romaine, heirloom curly kale, borage, swiss chard, beets, broccoli, mesculun, beans, heirloom peas, milk thistle, calendula, chives, lemon balm, cilantro, dill, and echinacea. I promise I held back. The list of what I didn't plant but wanted to is just as long. Maybe we can add another bed or two next year.

Yes, I have a superman husband, and Vivian even helped too!

And, our CSA starts in two weeks, and the farmers market reopened this past Saturday! Yes, I'm definitely wetting my plants. Are you wetting yours? Have you planted anything this year?

As of Late

Well, obviously I don't have nearly the time to blog as I did before The Viv. Sorry about that! She's zonked out at the moment though, so I thought I'd post some quick food-spiration. So here you have it, an actual original recipe of mine. But that's not as exciting as it sounds. I had an empty kitchen but was hungry for something healthy, so I pretty much just combined everything I had, and it was delish! Without further ado, I give you Black Bean & Pesto Quinoa.

Black Bean & Pesto Quinoa
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 zucchini
2 cups cooked black beans
8 oz arugula pesto
Raw sunflower seeds

• Cook the quinoa
• Cube zucchini and combine on cookie sheet with black beans. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in a 350 degree oven till zucchini is slightly browned and beans are crispy.
• Thaw arugula pesto in a sink of hot water. (Haha, I had this in my freezer from the abundance of arugula I was getting in my fall CSA share. If you don't have frozen arugula pesto on hand, just make pesto like you normally would but sub arugula for basil!)
• Once everything is cooked, roasted, and thawed, stir it all together, top with sunflower seeds, and enjoy!

 I also made this amazing, and I mean amazing, Edamame and toasted Coconut in Avocado recipe from Joy the Baker. This is a recipe I plan to repeat at least once a week; it's that good!

Last weekend Clint, Vivian, and I spent the majority of our time outside, and my super fantastic amazing husband built me two raised garden beds! I absolutely cannot wait to get planting!

And here's Viv in her retro Baby Banz. They're perfect for all her adventures!

A Very Special Gift

Family and friends have been beyond generous and supportive of Clint and me as we have welcomed our new baby into the world. We've been almost smothered with gifts, cards, and prayers over the past six months or so! One of the most special gifts we received is this handmade quilt from my very dear friend Sharon.

The quilting and binding are all hand stitched, and Vivian's full name is beautifully embroidered in one corner. There is so much love and friendship in each of those individual stitches and in each piece of fabric chosen that I was overcome with emotion when the quilt arrived in the mail and I tore into the package. Viv is so lucky at have such a wonderful auntie, and I am so thankful to have such a wonderful friend!

Vivian (when she was a newborn) is obviously quite content wrapped up in so much love.

The beautiful hand stitching of her name

If you love the quilt as much as I do, you should check out Sharon's portfolio. I can guarantee it'll blow you away. She's one of the most talented and creative people I know, and her portfolio perfectly represents her unique style and skill!

Gratitude and Grains

This morning Miss V and I went on a short walk. She wore her best friend Fern's eggplant hat to stay warm, and I bundled her up inside my fleece. These little outings are now the highlight of my day! Needless to say, life has become much simpler around the Ross household since she was born just over a month ago. (FYI, simple does not always mean less stressful, hardy har har.) Sometimes that simplicity seems mind-numbingly boring, but it's really the most wonderful thing in the world. This time that I get to spend so intensely connected with my daughter will be gone in a flash, and I'll be reminiscing about her newborn days. I was reminded of how precious all of it is by some shocking news I received today. My step-cousin died suddenly this morning (they're not sure of the cause yet, possibly a heart attack), leaving behind three gorgeous children and an amazing wife. I'm giving Vivian lots of extra snuggles and smooches today and am feeling extra grateful for my wonderful husband Clint. I hope if you're reading this you take a little extra time today to show love and gratitude to those who are special in your life.

It's been a while since I've posted any food deliciousness, and I don't have any pictures or fancy reviews today, but I will share links to some yummy recipes that have been happening around here lately! I've unintentionally been exploring lots of new and different grains, and let me tell you, there's a whole lot more to breakfast life than oatmeal! You should pick a recipe or two out of the list to share and enjoy with those you love!

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, and Soy Free Mac & Cheese. This was so good we made it two nights in a row.
Crunchy Kale and Coconut Bowl. My first time eating farro. A new favorite.
Barley, Walnut, and Pear Salad with Raisins. I didn't have high hopes for this one, but it rocked my socks off!
Buckwheat, Chickpea, and Sweet Potato Jamaican Jerk Wrap. Was delicious as leftovers on a bed of spinach.
Toasted Four Grain Cereal. There's a tiny bit of prep the night before, but in the morning you just turn on the stove and within a few minutes have a warm, nourishing breakfast.

I have a lot more amazing recipes on my Pinterest page if you like what you see here!

To the botanical gardens we go

Vivian has had her first outing! Clint, my sister, Viv, and I ventured to the UGA Botanical Gardens on a beautiful, spring-like day last week.

My new favorite photo. I love babywearing.

Jess got some great photos inside the conservatory. (There isn't much blooming outside yet except for the daffodils.)

It felt so good to get out of the house further than a walk around the neighborhood!

Viv stayed zonked out till the very end. Then she had a bit of a meltdown. Other than that it was a great trip.

Working up ideas and the courage for our next outing. (It's nervewracking taking a newborn out!) Any suggestions?

Lately

Motherhood is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've never been more exhausted, had greater demands to meet, put myself aside so completely . . . or been happier. Viv and I are learning each other and bonding more every day. She's such a wonderful little person already, and I've gotten to focus so exclusively on her thanks to my unbelievably supportive family. My parents came to stay with us for a week, taking care of all of the cooking and cleaning and answering my every beck and call. I'll blog more about their time here once I get the pictures from it.

Just before they left my sister arrived to take over their duties. She's a great photographer (with extremely reasonable prices!) and has been doing Vivian's newborn photos in addition to taking care of us. I can't wait to post those either, but until they're finished I wanted to share one of the delicious recipes she's cooked up! This veggie powered quinoa bowl is packed full of amazing nutrition and the flavor to match it. Makes good new mama food, and it's a recipe I'll definitely be saving to make again! It's a great one-dish meal too. I hope you try it and love it as much as I did!

Vivian Callaway Ross

We welcomed our precious Vivian Callaway Ross into the world at 3:30 am, Wednesday, January 18, 2012. She weighs 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and is 19.5 inches long. As you may well know, she had a rather, well, unique birth, and I just have to tell you about it in its entirety.

Our little beauty, cozy and content.

Just before week 30, we were told that she had IUGR, intrauterine growth restriction. Basically that means that she was extremely tiny, measuring below the 5th percentile size-wise. It was recommended that we induce labor early, at week 37, to avoid a higher risk of stillbirth. We went through weeks of agonizing decision-making, praying, and appointments, and decided NOT to induce. We felt it was the best and wisest choice for Viv in our specific situation, and decided to let her come on her own timing. But then, our "due date" came and went and we began rapidly approaching the 42 week mark. 42 weeks is like a glaring "do not cross" line in pregnancy because the risk of having a stillborn baby increases 12 times at this point. Sunday, January 22 was our do not cross line. If Viv wasn't going to come out on her own by then, we were going to have to induce. I have to admit I'm terrified of pitocin, so after talking with my midwife I decided to try taking castor oil. If we were going to have to interfere in the process, I wanted to try gentler and more natural means before resorting to pitocin.

So, Tuesday afternoon I mixed castor oil into a milkshake and gulped it down. Four hours later, I was paying the price (and if you know anything about castor oil you know what I mean!). Around 8:00 that evening it felt like a bowling ball was sitting in my pelvic girdle. Figuring it was either more castor oil effects or just the very very beginning stages of labor, I went to sleep. I woke up at 1 in the morning on Wednesday, with the strongest "practice contractions" I'd felt yet, and went to the couch to sleep so I wouldn't disturb Clint. But I couldn't sleep - the sensations were too strong and frequent. So then I thought, "Hey, these aren't practice contractions, this is early labor!" Knowing that stage can take a while and wanting to labor at home as long as possible, I didn't wake Clint up till around 2:30 am. I told him that we should probably finish packing our bags for the hospital. As he began gathering toiletries to add to our awaiting bags, I found myself unable to help or even stand. I was having contractions every three minutes at this point, lasting about a minute each.

We had planned to have an unmedicated birth, and at this point I was seriously doubting my ability to stick to that. I thought that if the easy early stage of labor was this difficult, there was no way I could make it through active labor and delivery. I didn't even know if I could make it to the car, and I was so disappointed with myself because I wanted a natural birth so badly but couldn't handle it when it actually came. Clint continued getting everything ready while I squirmed on the bed, trying to breathe through each contraction and stay as relaxed as possible. I thought I should try to use the bathroom before our hour long drive to the hospital, so I staggered into the master bath, which has a toilet separated from the rest of the bathroom. Basically a toilet in its own closet. These "early labor" contractions got even stronger and then the obvious hit me - I wasn't in early labor, I was in active labor!

Clint came to the door telling me we needed to go, and I told him I didn't think I could make it to the hospital. (Poor Clint - can you imagine hearing that!) He sweetly encouraged me that I could do it and to just come out when the next contraction ended. A few minutes later the labor completely took over my body, and who knows what kinds of noises Clint was hearing from outside that bathroom door. Our hospital had told him not to try to make it there, but to go to Athens Regional instead (which is like 15 minutes from where we live). Clint called them to see what we should do, but by the next time he came to the door, I knew we weren't going to make it anywhere, no matter how close, because I could feel the top of Vivian's head. "Clint, I can feel her head. She's coming!" I told him. "What?! You can feel her head? What do you mean?" Was the reply. He walked away from the tribal sounds coming through the door so that he could ask the hospital what to do, and then I just totally gave in to the birth - I had no choice! I looked down and saw her black hair. Two more contractions and she suddenly came right out, and plunk, INTO THE TOILET! She flew right past my hands and took a dive into the awaiting toilet bowl. I grabbed her, held her up in front of me, and waited to see if she was breathing. She started breathing and squirming, so I yelled, "Clint, she's here! Clint! She's here!" (Or something like that. Who knows what I really said.) He opened the bathroom door and saw me standing there holding her in the air. I don't know how he didn't pass out from shock, but he called an ambulance to come get us and got a towel to wrap her up. I just sat on the toilet holding her till they came, Clint doing everything he could to make sure we were all ok. The ambulance got there in about five minutes and whisked us off to the hospital, where Vivian became quite the celebrity. I really was expecting a news crew to burst into our room any second to capture the story of the Toilet Baby.

We're back home now, where it all began Tuesday afternoon with a dose of castor oil, enjoying and loving Vivian to pieces. We are beyond grateful to God for this gift. There is nothing in the world like being a parent and holding your newborn. She's the best and most beautiful thing ever, and I just love how she came into this world - this girl is hilarious already! More and better photos to come . . . stay tuned!

Neat Things

Here are a few things I've been really enjoying lately that I wanted to share with you!

This blog: Progressive Pioneer. Just her Bookshelf on the right side of her blog had me hooked!

Clint introduced me to the band Future of Forestry. It's made up of a Native American guy, a Caucasian guy, and an Asian girl. I love all their layers in every sense of the word.




Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life. I just got this book with an amazon.com gift card I had, and it's awesome! Brendan Brazier is a professional triathlete and two-time ultra marathon champion, and he's vegan. He explains how it all works in this book. (You don't have to be an elite athlete to benefit from what he has to say. In fact, he doesn't talk much about obtaining peak athletic performance; it's more about maintaining optimal health.) It's easy to read and simple to understand. Check it out, I think you'll love it!

What new things have you discovered lately?

Oh Dreary Day

This is the second day in a row for gray, cloudy, rainy weather here, and it makes it so hard to get anything accomplished! Weather like this makes me want to lay on the couch watching movies and eating bonbons all day. (P.S., the trailer for The Hobbit came out today! I don't know how Clint and I are going to wait another whole year for the movie's actual release!) To try to avoid doing that, I instead whipped up this Wild Rice Salad with Oranges and Roasted Beets this morning and tucked it away in the fridge for lunch.

There's no cure for the doldrums like whole, fresh foods! I hope you're finding space amidst all the sweet holiday treats for some wholesome goodness like this salad.

In the continuing saga of the Ross household appliance meltdown, the part we needed for the washer arrived, so Clint dutifully went to replace the broken part this morning, only to find that the brilliant company sent us the wrong part! So now my poor husband is stuck out in the cold garage trying to rewire the wrong part to fit our washer. Something that should have taken 20 minutes to fix is now extending to an unforeseeable amount of time, and all the while our laundry pile continues its silent invasion of the house . . .

Anticipation

Time is ticking away! Baby ________ is almost here and my anticipation is mounting daily, if not hourly! I've been frantically reading last-minute books, packing hospital bags, resting some each day, discussing middle names, spending time with Clint (he's off till spring semester!), and all in all just tying up loose ends. These are some of the results of all the activity.

This adorable cloud and raindrop mobile came straight from Maggy. She made one just like it and gave me all her leftover supplies. Now that it's up, I see that I need to add one or two more raindrops, but how cute is it?

I made that changing pad cover with leftover material from the curtains and a scrap of fabric Maggy gave me. Those little fabric baskets toward the corner hold all her diapers, and Clint installed the picture frame shelf my parents brought from my old bedroom which I can't wait to fill with photos of our baby girl.

I made this bunting out of a wool blanket I had and scrap fabric. I think it's so fun and celebratory!

There are a few more things I've made, but that's all I have photos of now. More coming soon!

Just Checking In

My sincerest apologies for the cyber silence! I have much to share with you: my new favorite salad dressing, an amazing potato soup recipe, an update on the wonderful baby shower I had last weekend, curtains I made for the baby room, etc. But to tell you the truth, we're in rough shape over here at the Ross household! Clint has been sick for over a week now. He just can't seem to shake this virus! He has a cough that's preventing him from sleeping at night, which is why I think he can't seem to get well. We're hitting him with every herbal remedy I know, but without any rest his body can't get ahead. Then today I had my blood drawn at a prenatal appointment and passed out. And I mean out. They had to snap two of those sticks under my nose to wake me up! I had a very nice dream while I was out though. It was all very dramatic and humorous, but I feel pretty lousy now. Oh well, at least the blood sample is done and over with. We are at 33 weeks today . . . nearing the end! She's moving around a lot and hopefully getting ready to come out soon! I can't wait to share this special time with my parents and brother when they're here next week for Thanksgiving. Then it will be full steam ahead to finish getting everything prepared for the birth! It seems like there's still so much to do and learn!

Rich

Love this man.

Love this baby.

Sweet face

Little foot

I'm a rich woman.

A Feast!

We're having friends over for dinner tonight! I love hosting dinner parties, probably because I love food, and I think it's the perfect connector between people. I also love when my house is perfectly clean and everything is in its place :)  My only problem is that I tend to go too big and end up over-doing it. But I guess that's an ok problem to have. Tonight I'm keeping it simple enough and getting as much as possible done ahead of time. The menu includes Goat Cheese Cashew Encrusted Chicken, Emerald City Salad, Thai-Spiced Pumpkin Soup, a dinner salad from fresh CSA produce I'll be picking up this afternoon, and Vegan Cocoa-Coco-Nut-Nut Cookies. These are some of my favorite recipes, and I'm excited to share them with you!

Goat Cheese Cashew Encrusted Chicken
However many chicken breast you want
Salt and Pepper
Dijon mustard
Goat Cheese
Crushed cashews (original recipe calls for macadamia nuts, but two stores were out of them so I subbed cashews)

• Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil shallow baking dish and season chicken all over with salt and pepper. Place in baking dish and brush Dijon mustard on top. Cover with a generous portion of heavenly goat cheese. Crush cashews and sprinkle over goat cheese. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 5-10 more minuted, until cheese is golden brown and chicken is cooked through.

Emerald City Salad is from my favorite cookbook I talk about all the time. It's a warm salad that involves wild rice and kale. What more could anyone want?

Here is the Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup recipe. I'm using my heirloom Long Island Cheese pumpkin and saving the seeds! It's going to be extra good. (I'm glad Clint doesn't like pumpkin - more soup for me!)


Vegan Cocoa-Coco-Nut-Nut Cookies (adapted from this recipe by Sketch-free Vegan Eating)
2 cups gluten free flour blend (recipe immediately below)

• 2 cups brown rice flour
• 2 cups oat flour (I didn't have this so I used whole wheat flour, making mine non gluten free)
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup ground flax

2 teaspoons non-aluminum baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder (buy fair trade!)
1 cup sucanat
3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water
Two handfuls chopped walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
About 6 ounces vegan chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another. Gradually add dry mixture into wet mixture. Stir in nuts, chips, and coconut. Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet and flatten a bit. Bake for 5 minutes, rotate cookie sheet, and bake 5 more minutes. Makes 24 cookies if you don't sample any of the dough!

Oh, and here is a photo from my trip to Maggy's! It was taken right before I hopped in the car to head home, and we were both trying not to boo-hoo. I miss those two girls like mad! And I'm totally jealous that they have another guest right now :)

One last piece of news - we are at the 30 week mark! Yup, I'm 30 weeks pregnant and think I'm starting the whole nesting thing. (Clint thinks I'm always nesting, but he hasn't seen anything yet!) I have such a strong desire to get everything perfect before the baby arrives. I have somewhere around 10 weeks to achieve it!

Still Alive

It's been two weeks since I've posted, but I'm still here! A lot has been happening since my last post - I visited my best friend in Virginia to help her take care of her newborn (pictures coming soon, right Maggy?); my wonderful husband installed a new operating system on my computer, so it was out of commission for a couple days; and we just celebrated our birthdays over the weekend - Clint turned 31 and I turned 25!

On the food front, I've been working to stock my freezer with good things to eat for after the baby is born. I don't know anyone here who eats the same food as me, and I'm going to need all the nutrition I can get during that time, so I'm stocking away! So far I have two different soups, salsa, pesto, hummus, peeled bananas to throw into a smoothie (Maggy's genius idea), and some vegan carrot muffins. I only have two more months left to load it up, so I still have a lot of work to do! What are some of your favorite meals to stock in the freezer?

When you're craving chocolate, eat beets instead . . . ?

Well, at least that's what I'm trying to do. I'm still sick. Feeling better today, but yesterday is the sickest I've been in about as long as I can remember. And because of that I'm craving comfort foods: chocolate, muffins, cinnamon rolls, breads, cookies, and all manner of junk. It's a good thing I don't feel (or look) well enough to go to the store for the ingredients because I would probably bake myself into a coma. But I did have beets on hand. So yesterday I detached myself from the couch just long enough to make this Luscious Beet Salad with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds from my favorite cookbook, Feeding the Whole Family. I just at the whole bowl for lunch. Recipe is below the picture.

Dressing:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
Salad:
4 large beets with greens
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 scallions, finely chopped

• Place all dressing ingredients in jar and shake well. Set aside.
• Remove greens from beets. Wash beets and place in large pot covered with water; bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer till beets are tender (about an hour). Set aside to cool.
• Toast pumpkin seeds by placing seeds in dry skillet over medium heat. Stir continuously with wooden spoon. When seeds begin to puff up and give off a nutty aroma they are ready. Remove from skillet and set aside.
• To prepare beet greens, bring another pot of water to a boil. Remove stems and submerge leaves in boiling water until leaves are slightly wilted but still have a bright color and a succulent, sweet flavor. Pour cooked greens into colander and let cool. Squeeze out excess water then chop into bite-size pieces.
• Peel beets by holding under a trickle of cold water and pushing skins off with your fingers. Cut into small cubes. Put cubed beets, greens, pumpkin seeds, and scallions in a salad bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

It's one of my favorite recipes and it's incredibly healthy, but let's face it, when it's chocolate you're craving, nothing else will do the trick. I'm holding on though, trying to starve the craving out.

Now this little beauty pictured below was truly my saving grace yesterday (besides Clint, who was so compassionate and took such good care of me. I don't know what I would do without him!) It's the only thing that made me feel better. It's peppermint essential oil diluted in coconut and grapeseed oils as the carrier oils. You massage it into your temples and forehead for headache relief. It was the one thing that brought any relief and relaxation yesterday. And it's just cute, don't you think? Plus, it's easy to carry with you wherever you go. From now on I'll always be sure to keep a little container around as part of my herbal medicine cabinet!

Go DAWGS!

When I say, "Go dawgs," it really means, "I love you, Clint," because he's the only reason I give a hoot about football :) He loves UGA football, so I'm all in! Today is game day, GA vs. SC, Clint's dad is here watching the game with us, and my contribution to the festivities is this amazingly yummy (if I do say so myself) spread.

I've somehow been hitting the jackpot with delicious recipes lately, and today was no exception! These banana breakfast cookies really taste like a traditional cookie that's full of junk, but they're completely good for you. Vegetarian and dairy-free on top of that.

Or how about the caramel dip? It's the beginning of apple season, and with the cooler weather we've had recently I couldn't resist making a fall favorite. I bet you thought that was a bowl full of nothing but sugar though. But again, it's sweetness comes exclusively from dates and maple syrup, and I would take this over the traditional caramel apple dip any day! Recipe here.

And there's the trusty hummus recipe I posted here. You can never go wrong with that, and no game day would be complete without some sort of bean dip.

Another fall favorite of mine: spicy sweet potato fries. I didn't think I liked sweet potatoes because the only way I'd ever eaten them was slathered with butter, brown sugar, and sometimes marshmallows (which totally gross me out). But then I stumbled across this recipe and fell in love with the lovely yam. Be forewarned, these have a bit of a kick to them, but you can always adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
3 sweet potatoes, cut into strips
1T extra virgin olive oil
1T chili powder
1/2t cayenne (optional, but I like it)
1/4t sea salt
Preheat oven to 425. In large bowl combine all ingredients and mix till fries are evenly coated. Spread fried out in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 25-30 minutes or till crispy on one side. Turn tries and cook another 25-30 minutes till golden brown.

GO DAWGS!!

Appetizers

Yesterday some of Clint's family came over for an afternoon visit, and I made some tasty snacks to share. (I don't think anyone else liked them quite as much as me, but that's not all that unusual for the food I make!)

First I made flax crackers. Did you know that flax is the richest plant source of omega-3? So these are super good for you, really cheap to make, and don't contain all those mystery ingredients of prepared crackers. What's not to love?

In a food processor combine 1 3/4c ground flax seeds, 1c chopped celery, 1 1/2c water, and 2T dried oregano.

Spread onto lined dehydrator tray and sprinkle with salt. Dehydrate six hours or so at about 105. Flip onto mesh screen, score, and dehydrate another six to eight hours, till crispy.

Break along score lines and use to dip in . . .

this yummy Swiss chard artichoke dip. It's a great substitute for the popular sour cream laden spinach dip, but just as delicious!

Then I made my famous hummus. And when I say famous, I'm not kidding. People used to buy it from me in Savannah. I don't really want to sell it anymore though, so I'm going to share my secret recipe with you all. (I've found that the key to this recipe is the lemons. Use fresh, juicy lemons for the best flavor.)

Lizzie's Famous Hummus
Combine the following in a food processor, and adjust the seasonings to taste:
2c garbanzos (not canned - gross!)
1/4c tahini
4T EVOO
1 clove garlic
Juice of 2 lemons
1t cumin
1/2 t salt

Clint's mom brought stuff for homemade ice cream, and his grandmother brought a delicious pecan pie. So much for the healthy snacking I was going for, but it sure was tasty!

Anniversary!

Today is our three year wedding anniversary! I'm pretty sure I'm married to the most wonderful man on this planet, and I'm excited to share this special day with him. It has been an eventful three years. Most of which we don't have pictures from, but here are a few photo highlights.

Clint makes me laugh every day

See? Laughing all the time

Our trip to Cambodia was before our wedding, but close enough!

Trying to beat the self-timer setting on our camera :)

The last day of our honeymoon

Our trip to DC

In Fredericksburg, VA, for the premiere of Clint's film

Christmas 2010