Struggle Bus

For anyone who has watched me attempt to walk and navigate stairs the past few days, I lame my blame on these cruel weapons of torture:

After nearly a year hiatus, I finally pulled my good ol' soccer gear out for a co-ed game on Sunday. And despite training for and running 5Ks, the game still kicked my butt. It may have also had something to do with the triple-digit heat index, but I don't think the heat has anything to do with the dead weights I've been dragging around below my waist for the past few days. All I can say is thank goodness we had subs.

I've got lots of this to look forward to though--I had just been a "sub" on the team, but one of their full-time girls had to quit so I got bumped up on the roster--which means a game tomorrow and another one on Sunday. Oh, and did I mention I'm running a 5K on Saturday? My legs (and feet!) are going to hate me.

Vegetable City!

Okay, so maybe we don't have that much yet, but we're certainly making progress in our little garden!

We've got a few little squash trying to make their way out of the woodwork--super excited for them to ripen!

I counted NINE little tomatoes yesterday morning! These two are definitely the biggest, but they still have a ways to go, which is good because with the number of tomatoes that are growing I'm going to have to learn how to can some salsa and marinara sauce!

This guy is the first official piece of produce to be picked from the garden! He measured in at a healthy eight inches, and actually surprised us a little bit because a few days ago he was only two or three inches long. If all of our squash/zucchini ripen that quickly we might be eating vegetarian for a few weeks!

Everything else looks to be progressing pretty well--I saw the first sign of a flower on our of our pepper plants, so hopefully they'll be pollinating and producing peppers soon!

Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon

Friday night was a momentous occasion at our house, and what better way to celebrate a special event than with a little vino?

Now, I know that champagne is usually the go-to celebration drink for most people, but I have a husband who is not to fond of champagne, so it's wine for us. We've had this little gem sitting in our cupboard for nearly two years now because we were saving it for a special occasion, and finally had reason to break into it Friday night as we crossed another item off our 101 in 1001 list--Darrell's car is officially paid off! Over the past couple of months we've been making some aggressive payments to it, and were able to get it paid off over a year and a half before we were "scheduled" too. Definitely looking forward to not making that payment each month....more money for wine?

Anyway, this wine, as we had expected, was pretty great. It took me a few sips to get used to it because for the past few weeks I've been drinking a fair amount of sangria, as this was (as you would expect) no where near as sweet. Or fruity. But still oh so good. I've heard people throw around the word "full-bodied" when referring to wine, and I think this wine would definitely fit the bill--even small sips had plenty of flavor and body! It did have a slightly acidic smell that I was concerned about at first because I thought the wine had perhaps fallen victim to cork taint, but (fear not!) it was perfectly drinkable. I think I was just taken aback initially because it's been so long since we've opened a bottle of red (they are just marginally different from the moscatos I've been making sangria with). Guess we'll have to remedy that by drinking wine more frequently--and we're off to a good start this week with a Chardonnay chilling for dinner tonight!

Pink Sangria

Doesn't that just scream summer to you? I needed something cool and preferably fruity for our 4th of July outing at the lake, and this fit the bill perfectly. And like the dessert that I made for the 4th, this recipe was also a little bit improvised and made up. But fear not--I made it again last night for a get together with some girlfriends and it's been an all-around hit!

Pink Sangria

3 cups pink lemonade
2 (750) mL bottles of wine (to keep it light, I used a sweet white--in my opinion, a Moscato worked better than a Riesling, but it may just have been the variety I bought. A blush would probably work well too)
1 cup lemon-lime soda (I forgot this the second time and it still tasted fine!)
4 shots of Triple Sec (optional)
2 lemons, sliced
16 oz frozen strawberries or raspberries

Combine all ingredients in a one gallon pitcher except the soda and allow to chill for at least two hours. Add the soda and stir well just prior to serving.

There's just a little bit left in the fridge right now, and all this talking about it has made me thirsty... It's five o'clock somewhere, right? Bring on the weekend!

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie and a Possible Pest

So this is really more of a good idea than a recipe. And really, where can you go wrong with ingredients like this?

Protein? Good
Potassium? Good
Calcium? Good

Throw it all in the blender with a little honey for some sweetness if you desire...

And within in seconds you have this tasty drink by your side!

I really don't have more of a recipe than that; I secretly hate using measuring cups and spoons when I don't absolutely have to. I've made this twice in the past two days and it's been a little different each time, but with a combination of peanut butter, honey, and banana, it's hard to screw up. Unless, of course, you make it too runny (I strongly dislike runny smoothies). I always start with less milk than I think I'll need, because it's way easier to add more milk if necessary than take excess milk out.

And now, on a totally unrelated note, does anyone have a clue what this is?

It's got the fairly standard build and wing structure of a dragonfly, but I can't find any information about one with these particularly distinct colorings. It sounds like dragonflies are welcome garden visitors because they eat other pests--but I had seven show up literally overnight, and have never seen ones like this before, which concerns me slightly. Any help?

All-American Trifle

Happy 4th of July! I hope you have been enjoying wonderful weather for your three-day weekend like we have--couldn't be nicer!

I (shockingly) volunteered to bring dessert to our family festivities, and since I couldn't find a recipe that I was particularly sold on, I decided to improvise with one of my own. And it turned out pretty great! What's even better is that it could be easily adapted to any holiday by using different colored berries, or even using a flavored pudding (or just adding food coloring to a vanilla pudding!)

All-American Trifle
(adapted from a whole bunch of different recipes to create one of my own!)

2 packages instant vanilla pudding
3 cups cold milk
1 container whipped topping
1 pan of brownies, cooled (I just made mine from a box mix)
4 cups assorted fruit (approximately)

In a large bowl, combine the pudding mix, milk, and whipped topping. Whisk to combine. Cut brownies into bite-sized pieces. In a glass bowl (or trifle bowl), layer ingredients, making sure to go all the way to the sides for a pretty presentation. Chill until ready to serve.

Super easy. Since you can't see the bottom of the bowl too clearly, I started with a layer of brownies, then did raspberries and blueberries, topped with the pudding, and repeated. We also served it with additional whipped topping, which I almost think could be mixed into the pudding if you choose. Whatever suits your fancy--which is the beauty of this recipe!

Pico!

What's a girl to do with an out-of-control cilantro plant?

Make some pico de gallo, of course!

Hopefully in a few months we'll be able to make some with tomatoes fresh from our garden, but for now, store-bought ones will have to do. We didn't really have much of a recipe, just threw together four tomatoes, a red onion, two jalapenos, and cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste. The result? It was good. Not great, but definitely a good snack. Darrell and I both agreed that it was missing something, but couldn't come to an agreement on what. But hey--we'll have plenty of time and cilantro (and hopefully tomatoes!) to try out a few different variations this summer until we come across one that is great!