Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Joys of Mid-Summer

This time of year, I just love my job :~). Since my husband and I both teach, we get several weeks off in the summer. It is so awesome to have some kick-back time. We try to make good use of our time, but it's nice to just be more relaxed! Our young friend, Andrew spent the night last night, so we stayed up late watching "Kindergarten Cop". It was great, and I hadn't seen it in a while. Unfortunately, it did make me realize how quickly our time back at work is coming. . . .so I really want to enjoy the rest of my time off.

It's mid-summer, so it is wickedly hot here in southeastern NC! We slept in a bit this morning, had awesome TexMex omelettes, then we went outside for a while. I picked peas from the garden while the guys vacuumed the pool. The we swam and exercised for a while. The guys left, and I spent another 30 minutes or so scrubbing and treating the pool. Then I grabbed a Jude Deveraux book and actually started reading!!!!! Right out in the sun by the pool. My mother-in-law does this often, and I understand why! After a while, though (about 30 pages later), it got pretty hot out, so I came in and showered. By then, it was getting close to lunch-time, so I jumped on my bike, rode about 1/4 mile up to the mini-orchard and picked some pears and a few figs. I had in mind to do roasted pears and figs with goat cheese.

I decided to do it in the form of a salad, and it was SOOOOO good -- absolutely beautiful! One of the days when I realized maybe I really should photograph my food -- at least sometimes. It was gorgeous! So today, I'm sharing that recipe with you. I hope you make it and I hope it's a s beautiful as mine, and that you enjoy yours as much as I enjoyed mine. Here's to mid-summer and days off!

A Mid-Summer Pear-Fig Salad (for 1)


2 cups lettuce (I used an organic mix of spinach and arugula)
1 pear
3-4 small figs
olive oil
balsamic vinegar (mine was fig-orange infused)
goat cheese
honey
thyme
salt
pepper
walnuts

Line your plate with a couple of cups of lettuce. In the meantime, slice your pear into 8 slices and cut figs in half. Drizzle with olive oil. Put pears on a pan and roast off at 350 degrees. About halfway through cooking, turn pears over, and add figs to the pan. Roast for another 10 minutes or so. When the fruit is browned slightly, arrange it beautifully on the bed of lettuce. Drizzle any leftover oil from pan onto salad. Cut about 3 nice slices of goat cheese and arrange on the salad. Drizzle olive oil over the salad. Then give the salad a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Drizzle a little bit of honey over the top. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. Give a little sprinkle of thyme. Tope it off with some chopped walnuts. AMAZING!!!!!! Wonderful blend of crunchy and soft, earthy and flavorful, savory and sweet.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Old videos and popcorn

We're here in Durham with my sister and her family. We watched the babies so they could have a date night. When they came home and got the babies to bed, they surprised us with our wedding video moved to digital format. We had not watched it in years, and it was fun -- not necessarily listening to the really crazy Southern accent I had 22 years ago, nor the dramatic tendencies that made my wedding vows sound like Dorothy's monologue from the Wizard of Oz . . . but fun. Sad, in places, too, to see people alive, talking and moving that are no longer with us, and people who have been through very difficult changes over the last 22 years. Sad, to see people we've lost touch with . . .but overall a really pleasant, fun experience. (It really helps to be able to laugh at yourself! :~)

After the video debut, we enjoyed some air popped popcorn. I've lately been making a spice mix that I really enjoy. I spritz my air-popped popcorn with my own olive oil spritzer (available at Pampered Chef or other kitchen specialty shops). Then I mix cayenne pepper (just a little), cinnamon (a good amount), coarse ground black pepper (or finely ground if you prefer), and salt to taste (or leave out). Spritz a little, sprinkle a little, turn with your hands, and then repeat until popcorn is coated with spice mixture to your taste. I find it very yummy and flavorful without adding tons of fat and salt. You could certainly try other combos as well. I can't wait to try some others. I'm envisioning cocoa powder in my next concoction :~) Popcorn is not a bad snack done this way! So indulge and enjoy!

22 Years and Counting. . .

This weekend, Shane I celebrated 22 years with a lovely grill-out and canoe ride on the Lumber River. The weather was gorgeous for mid-summer, and it was a lovely way to spend our anniversary. . . .22 years of changes. This healthy living change has been one of the best we've made -- and one we've made together!

Right now, I'm fluctuating between 174 and 177 -- 59 - 62 lbs total lost. I had hoped to see more movement this summer, but am finding it hard to fit in actual workouts. I am much more physically active -- bicycling, walking, canoeing, etc., but aside from my Tuesday night workout with the girls, not really fitting in the actual intentive, intensive workouts that I need to be doing. . . .I still have too far to go to stop now, and my team is counting on me at Bod4God, too! I have got to get myself together!

We have been eating very well, though, most days -- grilled out 2 meals this weekend, which is always fun -- and fresh! I also made a roasted veggie salad for lunch one day that was really delightful! I had some cabbage in the fridge, some noodle beans I needed to use, a relatively large zucchini, and some fresh new potatoes. I roasted each veggie on its own pan (although you could probably do it all on one if you wanted. . .) I just drizzled each with EVOO and salt and pepper. When they were well-roasted and tender, I combined all the veggies in a large bowl, with another good drizzle of EVOO and a few dashes of balsamic vinegar. I added a fresh bell pepper and jalapeno, chopped. It was really awesome -- a great meatless lunch. You could leave out or switch out veggies and it would be equally marvelous -- try it! You might just like it! Enjoy!