Southern- Scenes: March 2012

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Lemon Lentil Soup

I recently tried this recipe in my efforts to diversify my eating habits. For once, I went straight by the recipe. Not being a huge fan of coriander or cumin, I would scale back on these spices. And I know, it IS another soup recipe. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, diced
4 celery ribs, diced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
2 cups red split lentils, rinsed
8 cups water
cilantro and parsley leaves for garnish
1/4 - 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over low heat. Add onions, celery, garlic, bay, lemon zest, cumin, coriander, cloves and 1 teaspoon salt. Stew covered over low heat until veggies are soft.

Add lentils and water. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes until lentils are tender. Generously season with lemon juice.

Serve with lemon and fresh parsley and/or cilantro for topping.

Random shots of the boys

I have actually remembered to take pictures of the boys the last times we have seen them. They are getting so big! Spence has grown so much since Christmas! Here are a few random shots over the last month.

Cookies with Characters

Duck feet

Snuggling G-Daddy

Our old toys, still fun to play with

One can never pet Tutu too much...

HEY!

Watcha lookin at?

Really knows how to pull it all together

No, his eyebrows were not waxed. It took some scrubbing to remove the mask!

Pants optional, judgement free zone

Teacher Appreciation Day

Party Hats

Monday, March 26, 2012

Weekend Review

This past weekend was gorgeous in Birmingham! This was the first weekend in quite some time that both of us were in town with nothing to do! We tried to make the most of our time and weather. Saturday was "Paws in the Garden" at Aldridge Gardens to raise money for a local humane society. Our foster, Cecily, was going to spend the day with her rescue group and meet potential families. We dropped her off and spent some time walking the gardens, so pretty. Unfortunately, Cessy barked all day, from 9:00am to 4:00pm! I honestly do not know why she does this. She does not bark at our house?? And not one of the potential families showed up to meet her :( I hope she finds her home soon.

We had a great sushi lunch and then it was time to get busy. Well for Tim at least. I cannot go outside for any length of time without a gas mask. I love this time of year with all of the flowers but constant sinus infections are no fun! Last year we made a garden in our back yard. We did not take into consideration the issue of weeds. And by the way, they can take over. This year T decided to do things differently and build raised beds. He had his work cut out for him...

The before. To say, we let the garden go, is a bit of an understatement.

Supplies

The soil mixture

Progress

Ready for the plants

TA-DA! The finished product!

Random shot of azaleas in our yard. Do not remember them as pretty as they are this year!

We received news that our niece, Allie placed 1st overall in her State gymnastics meet! She wioll be going to Regionals. We are so proud of her! So here's to a a great Spring and Summer filled with many veggies!!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Roasted Eggplant Pasta- Looks are not everything!

Last Summer, I grew eggplant for the first time. As with all other veggies, I am the only one in our house that eats eggplant. Needless to say, I experimented with several recipes. Roasted eggplant was super easy and very good. Cut, roast, blend and you are done with little clean up! However, this dish will not be winning any awards for beauty!

Veggies cut for roasting, I added onion.

Parm grated and ready to go!

Veggies roasted and cooling

Everyone into the food processor for a blend. I used basil in place of mint.

It may not be pretty, but it was tasty!

Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Guys Night Out, Harlem Globetrotters!!

Last night the Harlem Globetrotters came to town and Big T was kind enough to take JD! I was sent texts and pics throughout the game so I knew they were having a great time. Their seats were behind the Globetrotters bench so they were very much in touch with the action! JD said his favorite part was when one of the players flipped onto the court from the basket! From Dip n Dots to autographs, a good time was had by all!

View from seats

Cookies and Cream Dip n Dots

Spirit Fingers

Halftime purchase

Getting autographs after

He referred to this player as Cee Lo :)

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Quinoa Casserole

Lately, adding more protein and decreasing carbs has been a high priority to me. I came across this recipe while getting my daily Pintrest fix. I used soy milk instead of milk, Greek yogurt for the mayo and vegtable stock for chicken. Of course telling myself that I was making it even more healthy :) I cannot tell you how good this was. Do yourself a favor and make it! If you do not like broccoli use another vegetable. Enjoy!

Pic from Joyful Mamma's kitchen

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Homemade Laundry Detergent

My good friend Laura at grizaland ( see her recipe) blogged about making your own laundry detergent. I had considered this but did not know how it would work with front loading washers. So after using the last of our bottle of store bought detergent, I went for it! I can safely say that I have been using for over a week with much success! I love the fact that there are only 3 ingredients and that I am not paying a ridiculous amount to a big chain store!!

This is not cheese, it is grated soap

The finished product

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

POLYVORE!!

As if I need another time consuming obsession, today I found one. This site allows you to create different concepts through fashion, interior design etc! Time wasted will be infinite... It is cool that the site also tells you where to find the items you like. So it is helpful as well or at least you can tell yourself that as you spend hours creating all your fabulous designs!