This Week's Theme: Grape Tomatoes!

I bought a bunch of grape tomatoes at the grocery this week and then when I was meal planning and perusing recipes I happened to come across three different recipes to use them in. Odd. Its as though grape tomatoes were meant to be this week.

Is there some cosmic significance to all of the tomatoness this week? Could the sudden abundance of tomatoes in my life have some hidden meaning?

The dream dictionary lists this info about "dreaming' of tomatoes:

To dream of eating tomatoes, signals the approach of good health. To see them growing, denotes domestic enjoyment and happiness. For a young woman to see ripe ones, foretells her happiness in the married state.

Well, shit fire! If all that is true and applies to the waking hours then dammit I'm in for some goodness in the next few weeks! Ya hooey! Sounds good to me so let's just go with it,mmmkay?

I've got three recipes I'll be sharing this week:

**Chicken salad with Grape Tomatoes

**Flounder Packets with Lemon and Tomatoes

**Couscous with Grape Tomatoes

Speaking of tomatoes...the seedlings are growing in the starter tray and ALMOST ready to be transplanted into the garden plot. I've got the soil all worked over in the plot and ready for the seedlings and seeds to be planted. So far everything but the peppers have sprouted.

I planted two different types of tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, brussels and peppers in this batch. I don't have the tray in front of me, but I might have planted some onion too-or I might be saving those seeds to go directly into the garden with the cucumber seeds...can't remember. Oh well.

Got some mesculin greens mix started in a window box too.

I want to get some summer squash and corn started too. Probably start those the first week in April.

I need to get the circle dug up and the bricks installed for the herb wheel also. If the weather cooperates I'll get all of this and some tree mulching done over the weekend.

Back in the Saddle Again

Hello, my name is slackadasical. I'm BAAAAAACCKKK!

Meh-wow, it has been a ridonkulously long time since I blogged. I'm not sure what happened-but I do tend to have a personality reminiscent of the latest Katy Perry song. You know how it goes, "You're hot then your cold, you're yes then your no. You're in then your out, you're up then your down..." That's me. I often times dive head first into things-full throttle-balls to the wall-can't get enough and then over time I get bored, stagnant and really just completely over whatever the latest passion is and I dump it off in some corner only to collect dust until the next time something sparks my interest in it again.


I've still been cooking just not really feeling inspired by anything as of late. I haven't really crafted much in the last couple of months either. I did make some fantastic ornaments at Christmas time and I hope to work a few arts and craft fairs later on this year and possibly sell some of them.


So I think I'm stepping out of my cooking rut and back into the recipe test kitchen again. Spring is near and it will be planting season again as well. I really hope I can find a way to get a large garden working this year. the drought and extreme heat really made it difficult to sustain the plants last year late into the summer. I've collected a few more books this year though so I'm hoping I will be off to a better start and can find ways to keep things going even if we do suffer yet another dry summer here in Georgia.


I am obsessed with planting dandelion greens and some radicchio this year to throw into fresh soring mix salads. I also want to plant squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, onions, carrots, beans and some herbs.


I'm big into ginger and nutty flavors, Asian fusion style foods and oh yes...baking.

Over the next few weeks I've got a few things I need to accomplish to get rolling in the growing fooding and loving year of 2009.

Growing
1. Open up the gardening books and sketch out a plan and schedule of planting.
2. Make a rain barrel
3. Rent a tiller
4. Price soil, seeds and tools.

Fooding
1. Cabinet organization (It gives me kitchen zen)
2. Get a few new gadgets and tools
3. Re-stock the freezer and pantry

Loving (and living)
1. Reorganize the house (I'm so much nicer when things are organized and uncluttered)
2. Keep working on the basement
3. Get some things up and sold on Craigslist
4. Finish the bedroom sanctuary
5. Make STUFF-all kinds of stuff-just keep making it

Foodie Blog Roll

YAY! I've just been added to the Foodie Blog Roll! Go....ME! I'm truly excited about it. Seriously, though if you love food (like we all know I do) check it out either with this link:


http://www.foodieblogroll.com/


...OR its also over on the left sidebar of my blog. If you've got a food based blog you might want to consider applying to add yours to the blog roll as well. Its a great way to help drive traffic to your blog.


I've already been carousing and stumbled upon some delicious, creative and interesting new blogs like My Tasty Space doesn't her food look fabulous?

OR...Cake and Commerce-she has beautiful pictures of food and restaurants and whatever else you could want that deals with FOOD.

There's a ton more...I could go on forever, but I have to get back to browsing them myself. Enjoy!

Simply Saturday

Ahhh...




That's about the best way to describe today. Its rainy and cool and...quiet. The husband is at work, the child is napping and I could be doing something productive and domestic like vacuuming mattresses, washing baseboards, or tackling this mountain:


But nooooo, you know because I so enjoy being rebellious and all, I have instead opted to produce this random meaningless blog and indulge in some of this:



You're with me now, right? I threw some Boney James on for background noise and voila! Zen hath arrived.

Check out the present my sweet boy gave me this morning-he wrapped it himself with a Spaghetti Warehouse kids menu coloring page. He's apparently frugally innovative like his momma!

Here's what was inside:

A jewel! The boy is good, right? Way to win over a ladies heart with giant jewels! Oh, he threw the pirate ship in because as he told me "its a treasure!" This kid is smart y'all!

What else, what else? Oh yes, scrapping. I scrapped recently and here's what I came up with:

Nothing spectacular, my creative juices weren't really flowing that day. It took hours just to get to a starting point. I think I'm going to start working on some 8x8 pages. I've got plenty of single pictures that I'd like to highlight on smaller pages.

Finally, to just be completely random and out there...check out my sparkly gold flip flops! Don't focus on the feet, I'm in desperate need of a pedicure.

This Old House

I love this old house. Its located within a block of the town square right on the main street. Its nestled amongst other old homes that have had owners that have resisted the trend of remodeling and updating. All of the houses on the road have massive front porches with ceiling fans and rocking chairs. The elementary school is on the same road and its the same road that the town parades take place.

If I have to live in a suburb-can I live in a house like this? Its not fancy its not big. Its just what I need. Its got potential.

It would be so nice to have big giant potted topiary style trees on that porch and black wicker furniture with thick comfy cushions. I could walk to the used bookstore or the little java joint on the weekend. I could watch a parade from my own driveway. I could walk Red to school in the morning and still make it to work on time. I could sit on that porch sipping on an icy glass of honey lemonade and paint or scrapbook or read books to myself or Red. I could blog on that front porch! We could go to the Mexican Restaurante and have salsa and chips and sangria and get a little tipsy and walk home safely!

Did I forget to mention its for sale? Yeah, its for sale. Ahhhh if only. Its just not in the deck of cards right now, but eh-one can dream right?

I bet it has wood floors too. Doesn't it just scream "I HAVE GORGEOUS WOOD FLOORS!"?