Sunday, August 18, 2013

R.I.P Troy

Well, Troy, Mason's dwarf hamster, has crossed the little hamster rainbow bridge. It was sad. He was a pain in the little furry-hamster-butt (both of us will readily admit), but it is still sad to lose part of the family. He got a proper burial and now we will never sign up for hamster ownership again ;)


                                            


Moving forward..

I seem to have quite the aspiring chef on my hands! Mason has really enjoyed learning new recipes, recreating some, and inventing his own this summer! Last year at the Potato Fest he indulged in a pirogi (here we go with that word again!) sandwich. Ever since his first bite he has wanted to make his own. So, a year later I managed to pull together all the ingredients (hey, I'm busy) for him to make this "amazing" sandwich. And this is what he came up with..


He enjoyed it. I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. I was SO happy, though that he had the desire to get into the kitchen to cook and create!! I am so proud of him!

I found bananas!! Lots and lots of bananas!! Years ago I used to find these bags of overripe bananas at the grocery store all the time, then they just sort of disappeared. I picked up a few items today for the week and I spotted the "old ripe banana" cart sitting right in the middle of the produce aisle!! I screamed a little and darted straight for it as if I had competition (obviously these bananas have been around for so long, no one wanted them, that's how they landed themselves into the sad looking cart!). No worries, I wasn't fighting off any sweet old ladies to score this deal (sadly, I admit I have used my ability to speed walk to my advantage when I see a good produce deal. Shamefully, it has involved the elderly). I wanted so bad to take all the bags of bananas but for fear of being looked at as a "banana hoarder" or a "crazy banana lady", I refrained. I know that I would use them all, but..I guess I would let others have a chance at baking some amazing banana bread or cake or enhance their own smoothies. I don't want to be greedy, now!

So, here is my big deal:

Ready for the cost?? $.99 a BAG!! For $1.98 I got 24 bananas (.8 cents a banana!) Some of them are still fresh enough to last a few more days. The others, I peeled, cut in half, and froze. Mason drinks a lot of smoothies (I do, too), he can whip them up in a flash for a quick, healthy snack, so this makes the smoothie dollar stretch that much further!

All in all it was a pretty good weekend. I have been daydreaming about Maine so much lately, I really want to be there right now! Check out this photo that was posted by an amazing photographer from Maine:


That has to be the most perfect picture, ever!!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Hello!!!

So, apparently blogging once a year is my new thing. That's just how I roll. I would bore all of you with a life update, but I will sum it all up in one word: INSANITY.

I am working on a laptop without a "T" key, so let's just say, "Mason had some_hing _o do wi_h i_ ".

I decided to blog this morning because my inner (frugal) genius decided to rear it's wonderful presence into my kitchen this morning. I was making my annual summer "Panera Salad" and just as I was getting ready to throw away the strawberry tops, that "genius" (I will call her Wilhelmina, for lack of a better name & that is the first name that popped into my head (kind of strange, huh?)) yelled at me to "STOP"!! I was just as confused as you are reading this, but I decided to go with it. I found this new yogurt at the store:


I was THRILLED ECSTATIC!! I usually get the SO Delicious brand, which actually lives up to it's name (if I start to dream about almonds then I will know this yogurt will also live up to its name), but I am always up to trying a new dairy-free yogurt! So, as I was pondering Wilhelmina's demand to not throw away the strawberry tops:




I took out a smaller knife and diced up the sides of the strawberry tops and had enough to make 2 yogurt parfaits!! One cup of yogurt was stretched to two parfaits (with the addition of yummy blueberries!). I turned scraps into two breakfasts (yes, I am patting myself on the back-High 5, Wilhelmina!!).


I will add granola before I eat it (I have an abundance of granola thanks to amazing deals at Big Lots!).

I am trying so hard to switch to organic produce on the 12 most pesticide-absorbing fruits and veggies. I have been reading articles left & right about what these horrible pesticides do to our bodies. With what I see on a daily basis in my line of work, I do not want to be on the other side of that. I will do what I can to prevent all of that. It seems like EVERYTHING is bad for you, though. I watched Dr. Oz the other day (not recommended unless you want to become a hypochondriac) and the entire hour was dedicated to all kinds of cancers, what causes them, what doesn't cause them, etc. Soda is bad (duhh.) for pancreatic cancer, meats are bad (double duhh.), the water we drink, the air we breathe, the plastic container our lettuce comes in, tin foil, makeup, hair dye, lip gloss, waking up (not really!), etc. etc. I know I can't live in a world where this consumes me, I have to live a good life & do what I can. It is just so sad how so many chemicals, additives, etc. are added to everything. Let's live simply!

On a much happier note..I LOVE perogies! However, since becoming vegan, I can't find any vegan ones. I have adapted and have made perogi pizza. Yum! It is one of our favorites around here. It has become second to my new favorite dish that I decided to make yesterday:


Perogi Lasagna!!

SOOOO GOOD does not even start to describe this! It is layered with homemade (organic!) mashed potatoes, sauteed onions & mushrooms, sauerkraut, and vegan cheddar cheese. OH my...
Mason happens to think it is an "11" on a "1-10" scale! It is definitely a keeper! Now I am hungry for leftovers :)

Ok, so how did I do? I am a little rusty in the blogging area & honestly I should be studying, but come on, it's Sunday morning!
Enjoy some good food today!!

P.S I realize that Perogi is spelled 25 different ways in this post, but I believe in the real world it also has 25 different spellings, so I just decided to honor every spelling of the word :)