Pizza and Beer Night

Never mind the 6-pack and extra large pie from the local pizza parlor. This was a make-it-yourself night. My local Whole Foods is also home to a great little pub. If you know Pennsylvania, you know the odd beer-purchasing laws of the state (i.e. beer purchases are mostly restricted to buying entire cases from beer distributors), which is partly why I love WF so much. In the pub, you can buy large, individual bottles of some of the delicious microbrews or seasonal 6-packs from the walk-in fridge room; fill up a growler to go or enjoy a pint inside the pub. It's a small spot, and every time I've been there it's been full of people.

At the local bar, I enjoyed a delicious Belgian dubble, so I was excited to see one inside the fridge room. Ashley's been on a hunt for a random beer I had leftover after my neighborhood Halloween party - Three Philosophers. It's a cherry Belgian tripel. Whole Foods had it!

We were planning to make our own pizzas for dinner, originally on pitas, but then Ashley spotted the garlic naan. Best idea ever. The garlic flavor of the "pizza crust" added a little extra something to the pizzas. We bought a package of four and ended up using all of them (Ashley ate both for dinner; I saved one of mine to have the next day).

To start, we rubbed a little olive oil on top of the naan (the secret to all great pizzas!), and then the sauce. I used Muir Glen's organic pizza sauce, which already had Italian spices in it, so we didn't need to add our own. And finally, mozzarella cheese and we each chose our own toppings (he likes pepperoni and I like olives). Into the oven they went at 400 for about 15 minutes...perfect and tasty!

Chik Patties Parmesan

Confession: I am a wanna-be vegetarian. I seem to have commitment issues with my food relationship though. While I still enjoy a little bit of meat from time-to-time (except beef), I often opt for vegetarian choices when possible.

I love to make chicken parmesan, but this time I wanted a vegetarian option, and a shortcut (I know...seriously asking a lot, right?). Not exactly. I was able to get both with Morningstar Farms Chik Patties and the resulting meal was great!

Prepared as normal, I poured a little sauce on the bottom of a glass baking dish, then placed the Chik Patties on top, covered in more sauce and mozzarella cheese. In the oven it went at 350

for about 20 minutes. I have a gas oven and my broiler drawer under the oven is really shallow, so I was able to put the small dish in the toaster oven under the broiler for just a couple of minutes to completely melt the cheese. The meal was great! Overall, these aren't bad "chicken" patties and I will definitely try them in a few more recipes. The box comes with four patties.

Dear Blogger,

I 98% hate you and your 987385970235897243589724 screw-ups per day. Now I remember why I stopped posting.

Ashley's Man Sandwich

My man has his own man...man sandwich, that is.

Sure, he has the cupcake-making side:

But he loves some "dude food." His usual kitchen activity involves watching me cook, and then

being awesome and cleaning up the dishes, but he makes some tasty scrambled eggs.

The scrambled eggs in his man sandwich had mozzarella cheese and some Italian spices. The

potato roll was toasted to burnt perfection. His reasoning? Hot eggs have steam...steam makes bread soggy...bread needs to be extra toasted to avoid getting soggy. He also loves his Zing sauce...it's a sauce from NC my mom always used in her awesome bean dip. It adds a little kick to the food. Mmmm.

Summer Splendor

Summer's best - freshly picked blueberries

From the garden - Garden Peach heirloom tomatoes and basil with fresh mozzarella from the co-op.

Shrimp Caesar Salad - Romaine, avocado, shaved Parmesan and a squeeze of lemon
with shrimp sauteed in extra virgin olive oil, Old Bay and lemon. Dressing added after picture.

Mmm...Italian! Farfalle tossed with roasted broccoli and garlic, organic tomato sauce and mozzarella.

No better breakfast - a cheese omelette between toasted and buttered oat bread.

Garden blooms - marigolds, rosemary and mustard green blossoms. So fragrant!

My favorite fella...

...And a little bit of puppy love with a farm friend's new Rottie love bug, Annie.

Good food isn't just for people

As some of you may have read on (anne)vironment, I have a pup who has experienced seizures - one major seizure that impacted the right side of her whole body and a couple of minor/partial seizures that primarily affected the right side of her face. One of the best places to start when battling canine epilepsy is analyzing your dog's diet. I read label after label after label (and then some) to find the food that would best suit her needs, leaving out all of the unnecessary ingredients (which just so happen to be the ones that can be most harmful to dogs who experience seizures). After doing more dog food research than I ever thought possible, I decided that Dick van Patten's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet food was going to be the best for Wheeler. This food is free of gluten, soy, dairy, corn and animal by-products - all common ingredients in traditional dog foods. Because Wheeler's previous food was chicken-based, I chose the chicken and sweet potato version of Natural Balance.

To give her meals a little boost and extend the life of a bag of dry dog food (sure I want her to have the best, but the best is pretty pricey...), I cut up and boil sweet potatoes, then mash them in the food processor. I also make a pot of rice. Both of these ingredients are often used by those who make homemade dog food, so they are great to add, even if supplemental to dry food. Wheeler loves it, and cleans her bowl every time!

A week of campers

This past week was quite possibly my favorite week of the summer...so far...we'll get to the potential of future weeks later. I spent it with a group for 4th-7th grade campers. I look forward to planning this week of work all year because we spend every moment of our days outside exploring the great, big world around us. There's not a hill we see that we don't climb...not a creek we see that we don't wade into looking for aquatic creatures. We caught more frogs and minnows and crayfish than I could keep count of. And Mother Nature, what a sweetheart, she tucked away her fussy storms and sweltering heat just long enough for us to enjoy our week together hiking through many local parks. If you're a regular reader, you know how much I love that "non-traditional" exercise - time spent hiking, bike riding, kayaking, horseback riding, etc. rather than in a gym.

Sitting in a big Indian statue on top of a cliff at one of the local parks

Also thanks to the cooler weather, my neighbors and I have been able to get together for some cook-outs in our backyard fire pit. We grilled everything we could get our hands on, but I think the best was the squash and zucchini from the garden, coated in a little EVOO and a sprinkling of sea salt. Another night we went fresh and light, cutting up fresh mozzarella balls from the co-op, my heirloom garden peach tomatoes (grown from seed in my apartment over the winter!) and basil leaves from the garden. Yum! Although we forgot the s'mores supplies all the nights we cooked outside, I had one at lunch on the last day of camp when we grilled at state park after spending the morning in the creek.

The campers all complimented my grilling and perfect s'more-making skills.

Lastly, an interesting turn of events in life has left me with a lot of free time on my hands. It's the free time I've been pining for all summer, but never expected to have...but here it is. It can be a terrifying world when you're out there totally on your own. Rather than spend every free day worrying, I'll do what I can to make the best of it. I'm looking forward sending my alarm clock on a vacation and welcoming a new morning routine: awaken when the sun says it's time; enjoy a cup of coffee and bowl of Cheerios at the kitchen table without being rushed; take Wheeler on a nice, leisurely stroll around the neighborhood; and then...just find ways to enjoy my day. And hey...since I won't have any room for excuses like "I just didn't have any time today," I should be able to spend some time exercising every day. And maybe I'll get back to some of the volunteer projects I've loved and the biggest excitement of all...more time with my sweet Charlie.

So this is where I find myself after another week gone by. As my life is transforming, it seems this blog is too. I promise I still have lots of snack and meal pictures to upload...hopefully I'll tackle that by the end of the week. And checkout (anne)vironment, too! It is part of my plan to also pack a whole lot more into that poorly neglected project. Stay tuned, friends!