May 8, 2013

Boozy Tea Party!

I am usually very skilled at killing plants. Though my intentions are good and I try my best to keep them alive, they’d much prefer to croak than endure my underwatering/overwatering/too much sun/not enough sun/is this the right kind of soil efforts. If having a green thumb is necessary to sustain the lovely gifts of nature, then I’m all fingers. Until now. About a month ago I was given a gorgeous peppermint plant and somehow have been able to prevent the thing from succumbing to it’s Jaime-induced demise. In fact, it’s growing like crazy! So what’s a girl to do with all this beautiful mint? I decided to have a nice, little tea party. Mint-themed, and with gin. Heck yeah!

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April 15, 2013

Asparagus & Quinoa Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

This salad highlights the transition from winter to spring by combining tangy, juicy oranges with tender, nearly-sweet emerald spears of asparagus. It’s the baton hand-off in the relay of seasonal life. Orange tips it’s hat in farewell while asparagus extends it’s arms in a welcome “Hello”…Spring has arrived!

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April 2, 2013

Roasted Carrot Risotto

I was recently given a huge amount of carrots (we’re talking about the size of a small toddler) from a couple farmer friends of mine. The carrots had surprisingly survived the winter and I got to be one of the lucky recipients. My family loves carrots…in a major Bugs Bunny sort of way. So aside from packing them in lunches, I’ve been coming up with recipes that feature these lovely, orange-gold vitamin A-packed veggies. I’ve made a Spinach, Carrot and Brussels Sprout Pizza, Indian-spiced Carrot and Black Bean Stew, and Carrots and Brussels Sprouts with Penne and Peanut Sauce. We might be starting to turn orange at this point…I guess we’d fit in with the tanning-for-spring-break crowd. And yet, we just can’t get enough.

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