Living Simply
Many times, while walking through the produce section, I’ve looked at acorn squashes  and wondered what to do with them. Recently my son made us brunch that included this Stuffed Acorn Squash. It looks quite interesting, don’t you think?
The original recipe does include the sausage which gives it a lot more flavor.
The squash tasted very similar to a yam or sweet potato and was quite filling.
Very very good! Ya’ll need to try it!
I recently came across a video called Describing Colors To Blind People. It made me think about my childhood and how I used to pretend that I was blind by closing my eyes to “see” if I could find my way around. I never tried it for very long and always bumped into something.
But — how would you describe a color to a blind person? This video was made by a man whose blind. It’s an interesting video.
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The video also reminded me of a story in the Bible …
“They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?â€
He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.â€
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying,“Don’t even go into the village.†Luke 8:22-26
I look forward to the day when both physical and spiritual blindness are lifted from our eyes.
Now, if you want to talk about strange combinations of food (at least in my mind) then let’s talk about a Tuna Egg Salad. I wouldn’t have put these two ingredients together as it just wouldn’t have entered my mind.
The salad tasted quite bland to me and I’m not one who likes spicy food. It needed something and it could be the Cajun seasoning that we did not use (mainly because of my aversion to spicy food).
So — I’ll take the blame for the blandness of this recipe. Next time we make it, I can add the Cajun seasoning a little at a time to see if it tastes better than it did this first time.
Or — if you happen to try it, let me know how you make it and if you follow the recipe to a T.
Yes, it’s happening. Slowly but surely, spring is coming to Minnesota — and not just because the calendar says so.
The ponds and lakes still have quite a bit of snow on them but I expect that by next week everything (unless it snows again) should be thawed.
As I was standing in front of this pond, I heard pecking. A red headed woodpecker was close by. Soon, I spotted him in a group of nearby trees. I walked quietly until I was almost beneath him then snapped this picture.
Do you see him? Neither do I. Â (laughing)Â Just as I snapped the picture he hopped around the tree. I must’ve taken ten pictures and each time he would hop around the other side of the tree. Bummer.
There is still other wild life to be seen though. This morning I looked out the window and spotted this turkey and did he ever have a surprise for me. He is fatter than most of the ones that walk around here. Actually, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one as fat as this one.
As he kept walking, all of a sudden, his wings spread ever so wide. I mean WIDE! I’ve never seen anything like it before. What does it mean? Could he, uh, she be pregnant?
Normally the wild turkeys are in groups but I only saw one other one in the vicinity. Could it be a mating call action? Â If you know, please do tell.
Looking to my right, I saw two deer walking up the street. They’ve been around all winter and recently we saw a herd of 12 deer.
This afternoon, as I was sitting quietly on the sofa, out of the corner of my eye, a huge white gray bird flew by. I got up right away to see what it was but I was a tad too slow for this quick bird.
From the colors of the wings, it looked like a bird I saw in July 2011 — a bird whose identity still is a mystery. It could be a hawk or a falcon. Click here to see that picture.
Our bird feeder still has not received any real visitors unfortunately. But I know the birds are coming as I can hear the soft chirps in the air.
Welcome to Minnesota spring!
Did you think I’d be talking about cows grazing? Â You’d be wrong. Â (laughing)
Since we’ve been on the paleo diet, we try to find healthy snacks that we can eat and my son came upon Graze.com. The company is based out of the United Kingdom and was started by 7 friends who wanted to make healthy snacks.
Here is what a recyclable Graze snack box looks like:
Each box comes with four healthy snacks and you can choose the types of snacks that are sent to you. Yes, they are mailed directly to your home weekly at a cost of $5 U.S. a week. There is no contract and you can stop the service any time (make sure you read the terms of service to be sure you know what they are). But, if you’re like me, you’ll look forward to your next box.
Here’s a closer look at the Oatbakes that you see above:
And here’s a picture of an actual item once I removed the plastic:
There are two different boxes to choose from — a light box or a snack box. The light box has lower calorie snacks.
Once a week, we get a box in the mail. I always look forward to what’s in the box. After trialling the snack, you go online and let them know what you think about it. Here’s the statement from the website.
“The food in your box is selected based on your own preferences. For each of our foods, you tell us whether you like, love, or would like to try them. We put together your box based on these ratings ensuring you always receive the food you like.”
Eventually, the snacks are tailored to exactly what you like. This is an easy way to try different things like, say, peppered pistachio nuts. (I didn’t like them but my husband did.)
The idea is so simple and makes snacking a snap! Leave them in your car for a healthy snack while you’re running to and fro. No more McDonald’s french fries or shakes!
In order to try Graze, you need to be “invited” by a current member until the company “launches.” Members are given one “code” to give out.
Unfortunately, we’ve used up our one code. Â Awwww ….
It’s always refreshing to have a casserole for brunch, isn’t it? Recently we had this Tex Mex Hash Casserole that was quite tasty. Admitted, it doesn’t look very good in the photograph but don’t let that fool you. The old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover” rings true with this casserole.
The combination of sweet potatoes and ground beef make this perfect for a paleo breakfast/brunch.
So far, we’ve had an interesting variety of foods — no boredom here.
If you’ve been reading my posts, you’ll know that I really really really like lamb. And, also, that I really really really like squash. So — when you put those two together, you have perfection! (Well, at least in my eyes …)
The Peppery Herb Lamb Sausage had a little kick to it, i.e. spicy tasting. It does have 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper that adds a burst of flavor to it. But, don’t let that deter you if you don’t like spicy foods because I don’t like to use any spice in my food yet somehow this was a big hit for me.
The squash has cumin and coriander in the list of ingredients and made for a perfect combination.
There were no leftovers of these two recipes. Sigh! Next time we need to make a double portion.
What a great paleo dinner this was!
We were finally able to hang the Wingscapes Bird Feeder that my mother-in-law gave us for Christmas.
The snow is thawing, albeit ever so slowly, so the only place we could hang it is outside the sliding glass doors and over the deck. It’s not the best place to hang it since we’ll get bird poop on our deck once they come to feed. So, it’s a temporary place until we can figure out where to permanently place it so that only the birds can eat from it — no deer or squirrels.
It sure is a pretty bird feeder and I’m glad it has a timer to allow food to come out when we’re around to view the birds.
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It is rare when we have the same meal twice on this paleo diet that we’re trialling. The variety of recipes that we’ve tried is unbelievable.
It reminds me of a friend I have in Seattle who got married and his wife told him that she would never cook the same meal twice in a year. So, for 365 days he had a different meal every time he went home.
Isn’t that extraordinary? It takes a lot of thought and planning not to cook the same meal twice.
Today we had Salmon Patties with Onion Rings and a Winter Citrus Salad. Â Yes, I know winter is technically over but the salad can be had any time of the year or whenever you can find pomegranates.
“You must not get out much,” I can hear people say, because the combination of ingredients in this salad again overwhelmed me with delight.
Oranges, pomegranate seeds, almonds, fennel … wow! And this was the first time I ever tasted pomegranates. Can you believe that???!! It’s true! Hmmm … maybe I don’t get out much. (laughing)
And I really liked the salmon patties. They were a little on the soft side — not very firm — but that didn’t affect the taste.
I didn’t expect my son to make paleo onion rings also. That was the biggest surprise to me. Granted they are baked and not fried so don’t have the same crispiness to them but they were good nonetheless. The recipe calls for almond meal instead of regular flour so the taste is a tad different but not much.
Paleo, paleo — so many new things to eat on this paleo diet.
There are many steps one needs to take before starting to remodel a bathroom and when the bathroom is the master bath, it makes it even more important, especially if you eventually want to sell your house.
My husband suggested (which I hadn’t even considered) to go to open houses and look at what new materials are being used. So, last weekend, we headed to the 2013 Parade of homes. The houses we looked at were all new and ranged in price from $375K to $735K.
When we entered the first house, we recognized the builder as he was one we considered buying a house from a couple of years ago when we were in the market for a new house. He didn’t recognize us though. The style of house was pretty much the same as what he has built in the past so I didn’t expect to see too many new options.
We walked through the house and eventually came upon the master bathroom. Sure enough, the bathroom fixtures and tile were pretty similar to the ones we had seen in the past.
I have never liked the middle cabinet that builders install between the sinks, have you? The shape of the sink and the granite countertop looked nice although the granite might be a tad too dark for me.
The shower stall was tiled which is nice but the tile the builder used was too common. Nothing unique here. Oh — but wait. What’s that to the left of the shower stall?
This looks interesting. I had never seen robe hooks that were installed on a piece of wood. Normally people install the hooks on the wall or behind a door but this gives the hooks and the wall a nice clean look.
The placement of the corner tub looks pretty similar to ours. I wish that the fixtures were someplace else though. It makes it hard to get in and out of the tub unless you’re really tall. Any thoughts on why builders don’t give this more consideration?
As I was exiting the bathroom, I noticed a sign that said “NO PHOTOGRAPHY.” Oops! Oh well, I won’t mention the builder (his loss) since he doesn’t want people to see what he’s done. Or, perhaps he doesn’t want anyone to steal his design ideas?
Onward to the next house!
Looks like granite is still being used in a lot of master bathrooms. This one has a one handle fixture and different tiles as a backsplash instead of matching granite. I’m not sure it “flows” right but I do like the sink and the granite countertop isn’t too bad.
In this house, they used an old fashioned looking tub. The inside of the tub seems small though and doesn’t lend itself to “lounging” in the tub. Hmm … lounging in the tub … I don’t think I’ve heard anyone call it that before. (laughing) The one thing I DO like about this arrangement is that they have the fixtures in the back so you don’t have to maneuver around them when you get in the tub. Notice the tile around the tub itself? It’s rectangular and I think looks very pretty.
Here’s a closer view of the large tile around the tub. Yes, I do like these tiles.
The floor tile matches the rectangular wall tall but it’s shaped differently. The large tile on the floor looked really nice and gave the room an airy feeling.
The guest bathroom tub looked too small for soaking in and the tile, again, was “common.” Nothing special.
Onward to the next house! The countertop in this house looked like it was marble but I don’t believe it was.
Here’s a closer look … Can you tell if it’s granite or marble? It had a very soft feel to it.
The rest of this bathroom wasn’t very exciting so that was it for this house.
Onward to the next house! Â The house we looked at next was a LOT less expensive so they used cheaper materials. I am not sure what this next countertop was made out of — formica? Â It was plain white and they matched the mirror frames to it to help it “flow” but it just wasn’t very appealing to me.
They also added tile for the backsplash, perhaps to give it some pizazz? It didn’t work for me though. I did like the backsplash though.
This next house had an interesting feature that I really liked – a round corner tub which I found very appealing. The layout of this area is exactly like my bathroom with two windows on each side of the wall. I think the tile could use a little “umph” — (you know, pizazz)Â (laughing) — but overall I liked the arrangement. Â And did you notice that the fixtures aren’t in the way of your getting into the tub? Â Nice Mr. Builder!
Onward to the next house which also had some nice features that I would consider. First, the floor tile was nice and I liked that it was laid at an angle instead of straight. And look at the beautiful blue color on the wall! Ooh la la!
Next, I liked the granite countertop. It looks kind’ve old fashioned but I think I could work with it.
Lastly, the shower stall was quite different from anything I’d seen so far. Â (The tub wasn’t quite as exciting though). I like the way the shower has a glass divider and you walk “around the divider” to take your shower.
Here’s a closer view. Granted, the tile is a little bland but that’s something that can be taken care of pretty quickly. I like simplicity but not blandness.
And that was it for our new house tour. Is there one particular countertop, tub or shower stall you liked?
Our next step is to look at Bathroom Magazines. After that we should have a fairly good idea of what we want.
