Spinach Pesto with Scallops

I've made this recipe a few times in the past but rarely use fresh spinach let alone spinach from my backyard!

I sauteed some scallops in oil, garlic, and basil (from the garden). I added some spinach leaves (from the garden) about 1/2 through the cooking process and kept adding some every 30 seconds or so. I smushed up quite a lot of spinach leaves and basil (both from the garden) as well as some garlic in my chopper thing. Tyler cooked the pasta. I added the smushed stuff to the pan, cooked it all together briefly, and then mixed it into the pasta. And... yum! :)

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Natural Pesticide - yay!

I just found this on wordpress.com. Natural Pesticide! Just what I need as our spinach, swiss chard, and lettuce seem to be yummy to more than just us. Here's the recipe and a link to where it came from.

Here is my recipe: Mix 1 gallon of water with 2 tablespoons of neem, and ½ teaspoon each rosemary and lavender essential oils (I used organic version of all the oils). You can also add a couple of tablespoons of phosphate-free liquid dishwashing soap. Mix thoroughly and pour into a spray bottle. Spray over every part of your plants, mixing frequently to keep the oils and water from separating.

http://herbanlifestyle.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/make-your-own-pesticide/

last night's dinner

mmmmmm! :) Steak & chicken kabobs. Tyler made some cous cous, too.

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Salads!

So far this week Tyler and I have enjoyed wonderful and incredibly fresh salads with our lunches. In the morning I've been taking a few minutes to go outside and cut leaves, wash them, and pack them for lunch! Here is a photo of the leaves (organic mixed salad and organic spinach) right after I washed them yesterday:



On Tuesday afternoon I showed quite a few coworkers. I'm incredibly proud.

Pesticides, ugh.

I recently read a study linking the presence of pesticides on fruits and vegetables with ADHD. The best time to avoid certain fruits and vegetables and to eat organic produce is during pregnancy due to the significant development taking place every second. I would assume this would still hold true for a few years into a child's life and they're obviously continuing to develop... Not that once you hit a certain again I think it's okay to start consuming pesticides. It can be hard to afford organic or be too picky about food so at least there is a pinpointed time when it is best to put forth the effort. Today I found a list of the "best" and "worst" fruits and vegetables in terms of pesticide content.

Things like this frustrate me to no end. Why must our country be so darn focused on profit making rather than the general well being of the people? Pesticides exist to increase profits (less bugs, more crops) but we very well may be creating a generation of kids with attention problems and potentially other disabilities. Who knows how these things affect us but the people at the top are constantly focused on making things more profitable. I think that's disgusting.

Home Improvement.

I could really do without spackling the dinning room ceiling due to the previous owner's ability to stick a piece of drywall to the ceiling with bubble gum shortly after walking all over it and leaving footprints (due to the owner before that neglecting a leak in the roof that may or may not have turned into a hole).

I had enough of that - so I watered the garden in back and the plants in front at 11pm. A neighbor walked by and commented on my "midnight yard work".

Tiny Vacation!

On Saturday we took a day trip up to Duluth. I had not yet been that far north in Minnesota (gasp!). We spent some time there driving around and found an Indian place for lunch. We then went along the north shore and stopped at Gooseberry Falls and at the Split Rock Lighthouse. We took Honey with and I think she had a wonderful time. I was very proud of the way that she behaved in such a different environment with so many people, new smells, and other dogs. It was supposed to be around 90 degrees in the Twin Cities on Saturday and only 2.5 hours north in Duluth it was supposed to be in the 70s. Since we were right on the shore of Lake Superior the entire time it didn't get much warmer than the mid 50s. I thought that was an interesting span of temperatures for one day and for such a short distance. I've included some of the most interesting photos below. :)[gallery order="DESC"]