{visiting back home}Nana's house part 2...trying new greens

{visiting back home}Nana's part 2

trying new greens

at Nana's (see part 1)

she had a winter veggie bed with among other things,broccoli, brussel sprouts & red cabbage. the plants alone are beautiful, but

i LOVE raw greens

& couldn't help noticing the gorgeous, broad, thick, very nutritious & delish looking leaves.

we started munching on them & loved them.

 my mind immediately went to work on how else they could be used to eat beside nibbling them raw off the plant.

or FOR COMPOST *GASP*

(when i got home i researched the leaves to make sure they were safe to eat. not only are they safe, according to my research, they are even more nutritious than the actual veggies)

as much as i love gardening i've never grown my own brussel sprouts.

had no clue they grew under the plant leaves!

A FUN SURPRISE DISCOVERY!

(they as well as the leaves are fantastic in curry lentil, quinoa & veggie stew (below) & alone simmered in balsamic dressing)

love the beautiful leaves & color of this red cabbage

the broccoli leaf as well

we made veggie leaf chips.

washed & dried the leaves very well,

coated with olive oil

& sprinkled with salt.

baked in preheated oven at 200 degrees.

these leaves are very thick & dense so it took @ 40 mins.

i didn't have nutritional yeast (or lemon juice) here to sprinkle on a little "cheesy" flavor.

would have been even more fantastic.

we ate them ALL right out of the oven.

sooo good!

the leaves are much more nutritious raw so i added them to salads.

(make sure you take your time & chew raw greens slowly)

{curry lentil, quinoa & veggie stew}

sorry no recipe just dump a bunch of veggies & & greens (don't forget the leaves)

in water & olive oil. 

boil to make a broth.

(ex:broccoli, carrots, onions,garlic, bell pepper, celery, brussel sprouts, greens, cabbage, kale, chard... wish i had okra!)

 add lentils & quinoa.

season to taste with curry & spices.

let it cook thoroughly.

serve with brown rice (GF)

this was a salad i made using what i had & took over for lunch before riding horses.

it's so quick & easy.

 you can make many variations of it from whatever is in your pantry.

chopped raw kale, canellini beans, albacore tuna, black olives, carrots, diced red onion & oil & vinegar dressing.

mix it all up & let set a few minutes before serving.

i think it is better at room temp.

i would definitely substitute any kind of the above greens.

cant wait to grown my own,

they are def a new fave!

{visiting back home} Nana's house part 1

{visiting back home}

at Nana's part 1

my Aunt's aka Nana house is the place our family always gathers & have for years. 

everyone LOVES Nana's house.  

this family gathering was a funeral brunch for my Grandma's. grim reason for having a gathering, but my fam loves getting together for any reason & sad occasions become happy, fun & crazy reunions. (see my brunch dish here)

(tried to spare too many pics)

we had family come from ALL over, some i haven't seen in close to 20 years.

 being the nerd mama i am...i printed out a list of questions for my girls to interview family members they may or may have not met.

it's amazing the family history lessons we learned but the big bonus was the 1st hand black history lessons we learned.

really brought the history close to home & made it real for us all, not just the girls.

a small part of the "monkey bunch",

many had already left.

me & two of my cousins...

it's been YEARS!

my Daddy.

looks like he's reading...he's actually catnapping :)

my cousin "Guido".

it's been FOREVER & EVER!!!

we used to visit him in NY when we lived in CT when we were younger (I was in high school). he still lives on the East Coast. it was such a fantastic treat to see him.

Ahhh!!!

the visit wasn't nearly long enough!

Grammy (my mama)

catnapping with 3...

who should be napping.

Nana & my horse-loving girl 2.

this is how it ALWAYS goes at Nana's house

:: the horses Mickey & Misty, 

& the sunset (or well beyond)::

1 being brave on Misty.

my little cousin...

she's a true horse-loving girl!

another little cousin

*in his cowboy voice*

anybody gonna get on a horse-say?

*i heart my fam*

{visiting back home} the 1st blue egg...& we missed it!

{visiting back home}

our chickiegirls start laying eggs!

we totally babied our chickiegirls when we brought them home.

kept them indoors under heat lamps, held them constantly, helped them roost...all the good chickie owner stuff!

spoiled them eventhough we knew they wouldn't lay for at least 6 months (like we were supposed too!)

then of course He sends us this pic

(while we are still away from home mind you)... 

the chickiegirls 1st eggs!

we only have 2 chickiegirls left Fluffycheeks & Georgia, but they have been producing well.

so He send me this pic...

which said

"i'm actually starting to like the chickens."

(quite a big deal for Him.)

the chickiegirls have been happily running wild in our backyard "free ranging" while we have been away

(the dogs are with us, so they are safe).

they started laying on the ground so he made them this cozy laying box.

he's been such a good chickiedaddy, feeding, watering, gathering eggs every morning,

then he sends us this pic...

OMG! 

Fluffycheeks 1st blue egg!

yes, we've been waiting for the egg laying,

but even more exciting was waiting for the 1st blue egg!!!

we missed it all! 

AHHHHHHH!!!! 

WE NEED TO HURRY HOME!!!

{friday flowers}

spring is on it's way

i took these pix from my Blackberry while the girls & i were out walking the doggies.

nice to find nature even in the city.

martha's delish strata...but my style :)

before

after

today our family had a funeral brunch for my Grandmother's brother.
i never follow recipes (accept for baking), but i used

martha's strata 

recipe loosely as a guide...then pimped it.

i have made this dish different ways & it's great for bringing.

so what's different?

(sorry i HATE typing recipes, so you will have to refer to the link above)

*of course i have more people to serve so i increased all the ingredients. i decided to add even more cheese too.
*i used a mexican cheese blend along with the parm.
*i tore the english muffins into pieces too make them go farther. which makes the strata into more of a casserole.
*i used turkey breakfast sausage instead of canadian bacon. have used turkey bacon & turkey ham before.
*i sauteed a white onion & bellpepper before i browned the turkey sausage. cooled it & added it to the milk & egg mix. usually i add other veggies or a jalapeno at this step too.
*i also added ortega chilis, a dash of soy sauce & garlic powder to the milk & eggs mix. usually i add worcestchire sauce, but i dont have any here.
*for full effect i let it all soak in in the fridge overnight.

*DOWNRIGHT FANTASTIC*

i heart my doggies {a special winter coat treat}

I heart my doggies!

yesterday i took the big doggie girls to the self wash. it was a fun little outing & a few mile walk in the sunshine.

But man the bath took about 2 hours & was ALOT of work. their hair just kept coming out. i had to unclog the drain like 20 times.  when we were done the place was covered from floor to ceiling with hair.

the guy said "this was the longest dog wash EVER!" & "i've never seen a dog shed so much"

(me either sir!)

don't know if it's the new food we are trying or the major change in temps, but this morning i made my girls a special treat to help get their winter coats back in shape & help with the shedding.

back home in So Cal the weather changes are milder, they feast on our avocados & get other goodies like flax, omega oils, etc...

i was very surprised to learn that raw eggs were not good for dogs (like everyone, including me thought), but are great when they are cooked.

i actually like cooking for them (anyone really).

after i cooked turkey sausage for our breakfast, i used the same skillet & fried one egg each for the girls in olive oil. added a omega-3 fish oil tablet & plopped it all on top of their food. (don't worry i shared a few bites with little Ollie too).

a cooked egg a few times a week & the fish oils daily should do the trick in time!

think they enjoyed it?

our old girl Kahlua...loves ALL things food!

our new girl Mahalo loved it too.

she came to us in October...

 (after A LOT of work)

  she's a keeper :)

 UH DUH!

it was gone before i could even snap the pic!

Kahlua's has always has major shedding. i heard about this brush, did some research, read the reviews & i am thinking it may be a good investment.

our gluten & dairy belly blues experiment

can not believe im posting this pic that makes me look like im totally pregnant [not.a.chance]

but ....

...it shows my point.

i've had stomach probs for years & my 5 yo ALWAYS complains about her stomach, but even more so recently. i thought she just had a nervous stomach.

 about a month ago i felt absolutely terrible, bloating, nausea, stomach aches esp at night, etc...(i'll spare the details).

i started researching gluten, celiacs disease (which is becoming extremely common in my age group), wheat intolerance etc...& journaling what 3 & i ate.

i self diagnosed the two of us. then decided to go gluten-free, we're not dairy people but cutback even more on dairy & coffee for me (even though i only drank 1/2 a cup occasionally not daily).

(also with my water keifer in addition)

with the way we eat, it was actually pretty easy. i'm a label reader anyway. trying new products is fun for me as is coming up with new food ideas. 

within just a few days we felt tons better. even the physical transformation was amazing. FLATTER STOMACH!!! 

AHA! right?

BUT in order to prove the test, this week i added gluten & little dairy back.

& VIOLA! 

you get the picture above & we feel terrible again! 

so after a little detoxing 3 & i are slowly going as gluten & dairy free as we possibly can. 

(except for plain yogurt maybe).

*according to my research you should not remove gluten from your diet unless you are bothered by it & the others don't seem to be affected (except that one guy, but he wont admit it!)

*ok, ok...i will admit to putting on a few pounds this trip...unlike our little So Cal village THERE'S TAKE OUT HERE & we've been visiting our faves!!! AAAAND my mama's delish homecooking...she fries everything, bakes the best desserts & LOVES her chili dogs nights & fish fry!