this little life of mine

This evening I cooked up a couple recipes from the Fall 2008 issue of Clean Eating magazine:  the Thai-Style Tofu and Noodles and the Garlic-Sizzled Kale Saute.

 
I found some extra firm tofu that was already cut into cubes at the store which saved me some time, and had all the other ingredients at home already which saved me some money. It was actually really easy and fast to make and turned out delicious! I will definitely be making this again.

 The kale was pretty easy and inexpensive, too. However, I forgot to cut up the kale before cooking it and didn't have an extra pan after making the tofu, so I had to use a large pot instead, so while it turned out okay, it wasn't spectacular. Also, I'm not sure I really like the flavour of kale (I much prefer Swiss chard), so I probably won't make that one again.

Still, it was a pretty successful dinner, imho, and it was fun to be in the kitchen cooking something new, different, healthy and delicious!

 
During the recent Sweetheart Stroll through downtown Atascadero, I discovered a new shop containing antiques, art by local artists, and other sundry items. I particularly liked this old violin they had displayed on a table outside.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I'm reading the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I'm excited to read this book, but sad at the same time because it means the end of the series and the final time I'll read about these characters I've come to love and care about. Still, I'm devOURing this book at a record pace! It's just so good, I can't put it down!

Anyway, here's my teaser from page 98:

"Oh, no," I whisper as I catch sight of the hospital. What used to be the hospital.

While I'm not entirely thrilled that my 3-day weekend is coming to a close, I accomplished so much I can't help but feel satisfied and happy. I got my taxes done and mailed (and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, thank GOD!), finally baked up that last tub of cookie dough I bought through a Christmastime fund-raiser a couple years ago (Chocolate Chunk and they are delicious!), bought groceries (most hated chore EVER!), and got a mani-pedi (and boy did that feel good!).

So what better way to celebrate my sucessful weekend than with a delicious clean and healthy meal? So I whipped up the Balsamic-Glazed Cracked Pepper Salmon and Sweet & Sour Chard w/ Pineapple from the Fall 2008 issue of Clean Eating magazine.

Both recipies were super quick and easy to make and tasted fantastic! I baked the salmon instead of frying, and while it still tasted good, I think it affected the appearance of the salmon and the consistency of the glaze. Still, so long as it tastes good, I'm not too concerned about how it looks! (Frankly, I'm just thrilled my cooking skills have improved to the point that I'm not burning dinner and setting off the smoke detector all the time!)

Mom and I recently came across my father's coin collection, which turned out to be cooler than we thought! We knew there was a silver half-dollar or two and some silver dimes from the 60s, and a couple 1976  BiCentennial quarters, but I had no idea there was anything as old as this!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week I started book two of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire. To say these books are amazingly exciting, adventurous, romantic and a totally exhilirating thrill ride is an understatement. And because I'm late to the game, 90% of you alread knew that! Anyway, better late than never, right? Here's my teaser from page 159:

I'm foggy but I can guess what he means. With the fence going on and me showing up late and the Peacekeepers waiting, he thought I'd made a run for it, maybe with Gale.

For the past several years, my good friend Weetabix has been hosting a Christmas card exchange, which I have always enjoyed participating in. I mean, who doesn't love getting Christmas cards in their mailbox? Or, just getting cards in general? A card is so much nicer to see sitting in your mailbox than another bill! Am I right?

Miz Bix enjoyes getting cards, too, apparently because for the first time ever, she held a Valentine's Day card exchange!  I initially contemplated buying cards, but then in a moment of creative mania, I dragged out some blank cards, rubber stamps, paper and ink, and put together a couple rather nice (imho) cards for the exchange:

 

I really enjoyed making the cards, and found that the activity kinda stirred a part of my creative being that had been in sleep mode for some time. So. I think I might start stamping again. Yes, I just might do that.

I've been staring at this heart in the tree for weeks now and finally got around to getting the shot. It was a lovely morning, too, with a pinkish, purplish glow to it. You have to be standing in just the right spot in order for the oak's branches to align perfectly to create the heart, otherwise all you see are plain ole branches!

What could be better than spending a beautiful spring-like day downtown snacking on chocolates, sipping delicious wines, listening to great music, and visiting some funky new shops? Umm, nothing! That's why my mom and I went up to the Sweetheart Stroll in downtown Atascadero this afternoon, and, boy was it fun!

 
We discovered several awesome new wineries this time around including Vines on the Marycrest . Their Summertime blush was delicious and by far our favourite of the day! I plan to purchase a bottle or two to enjoy this summer on the back patio!

 
We also enjoyed the Savignon Blanc from the Frolicking Frog (and rubbed the froggie's back for good luck!).

 
The Vinho Doce from Pierce Ranch Vineyards (who came all the way from Monterey!) is a dessert wine, which I normally don't like as they're very sweet and syrupy. However, this selection was very yummy and went really well with dark chocolate!

 We also tasted wines from two other new vineyards (at least new to us): Ranchita Canyon and Hidden Oak.

Along with the newbies, our tried-and-true favourites Castoro Cellars, Norman Vineyards and Christian Lazo were there to taste as well.

 There was some great music by a band called Those Guys - I mean, who can argue with a rockin' jazz flute? They had people dancing on the sidewalk!

We met a lot of really wonderful people and everyone seemed to be having a great time! Who could blame them, though? It was a beautiful warm, sunny day, the wine and treats were flowing and there were so many new shops to browse, as well as some old favourites, one couldn't help but enjoy it!

Cheers!