Flight of Wine

 Princess Prada posing for the camera during nap time.

 Our Flight of Wine box that my grandmother and I shared at the Aviary Downtown

After I came home from a business trip, I found this onion had sprouted. Pretty cool pic!

Magic Soap

 For the past two years my fiance and I have used the Dr. Bronner's Magic Bar Soap religiously for our shower bar soap. Now, I've branched out and am currently experimenting with the liquid Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap...same ingredients, all natural - pure - sustainable - no dyes - no detergents - etc.... I threw away the chemical overloaded bath products, such as the shaving cream, shampoo, lotions/creams, makeup, and the list goes on and on. What I found was that the Dr. Bronner's liquid soap actually works as a great all natural shampoo and body wash. I prefer the Tea Tree and Hemp Rose scents, as well as, Peppermint and Almond. I love this stuff! My next line of defense against toxins will be to make my own organic lotion...stay tuned!

Rupert the squirrel

Rupert, our outside balcony pet squirrel, received a treat on Valentine's day, as well. I gave him a strawberry and he nibbled it all up!! Happy Valentine's Day!!

Valentine's Day treats

 This year I gave my fiance delectable Valentine's day treats throughout the day! I started off with the "I'm Bananas 4 You" breakfast (mainly because he is out the door by 6:15 a.m. and, frankly, I needed my beauty sleep). So no over-the-top breakfast, just a healthy potassium-enriched banana. (Might I add that he loves this for breakfast) ; did I mention we are health nuts.(Most of the time - reference object b - the cake:))

 Homemade cinnamon vanilla mini cake with homemade cream cheese frosting and strawberries on top. I love the card - thanks to my parents!

 And Princess Prada had to make an appearance, sitting in her doggy throne

 Sergeant peering out the window at our squirrel, Rupert

 A fun and creative way to make Valentine's day boiled eggs - take one chopstick, two rubber bands, a recycled portion of a milk or juice carton, and viola, you get "heart shaped boiled eggs"!!

We also made homemade sweet crepes for dinner that evening. Why go out and have a not-so-romantic dinner among everyone else who decided to eat out for Valentine's day, when you could spend the night at home, pillow talking with your loved one and indulging in some authentic French fare -- did I mention my fiance is part french. I am indeed a lucky duckling!

Puppies at play (2)

 On this snowy morning, I thought I would post a few pictures of my pupsters in the snow/lounging (mainly lounging - which is what Prada and Sergeant do best!)

Princess Prada has her dashing red and white sweater on, ready to run in the snow...Sergeant had to go in early, his little paws just can't hack the frost bitten air and snow. As for Prada, I swear she could run all day, which is exactly what her and I did (but just for 10 minutes :)).

We came in and she went right for the quilts and blankets, burrowing under neath them as quickly as possible. We will often find her sleeping upside down, which is shown in the above pic!

My little darlings are posing for the camera!

By the way, in light of the cold and snowy weather, thought I would add that today is National Weatherman's Day. Found this excerpt on the NOAA website.  "February 5 is National Weatherperson's Day, commemorating the birth of John Jeffries in 1744. Jeffries, one of America's first weather observers, began taking daily weather observations in Boston in 1774 and he took the first balloon observation in 1784. This is a day to recognize the men and women who collectively provide Americans with the best weather, water, and climate forecasts and warning services of any nation."

Enjoy!

Good Belly for your belly

Lately, my morning routine has consisted of: waking up, taking the dogs on a walk/feeding them, stretch/yoga, and drinking a shot. Yes, you heard me correctly! But not the typical shot you would find at a local bar or pub, a liquid probiotic shot. You see, this past October I embarked on a cleanse for my body and decided to try a liquid probiotic versus a pill form. Ever since, I have been drinking one shot of this yummy stuff every morning, which acts as a "mini cleanse", if you will. This starts off my morning (my "me time") with a positive note and stays with the me the entire day, providing me with a "good belly"! I also appreciate that this product is made in Boulder, Colorado and is organic, as well. I buy this at my local grocery store, in the organic refrigerated section. What healthy cleanses do you do for your body? If you are looking for a change, you should definitely check this Good Belly product out!

Apple Oat Muffins Recipe - Deliciously Healthy!!

Apple Oat Muffins with Dried Cherries and Black Walnuts     by Natalie

Ingredients:

1 large apple, peeled and diced

1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, uncooked

½ cup brown sugar (light or dark works)

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves

½ cup black walnuts (chopped and toasted)

½ cup dried cherries (dried cranberries could be substituted)

1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt or organic low fat yogurt

2 farm fresh eggs

¼ cup Almond milk (cow’s milk could be substituted)

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 cup natural applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1.      1.  Move oven rack to the middle position. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2.      2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour through cloves), then stir in walnuts, cherries, and diced apples.

3.      3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and      stir just until combined.

4.      4. Grease muffin tin or use muffin cups (I used a 12-cup plus a 6-cup muffin tin). Divide batter among the cups. If desired,  you can top the muffins with dried cranberries, oats, and/or black walnuts. Bake until muffins begin to brown around  edges and are firm to the touch (20-25 minutes). Remove muffins from the tins and allow to cool. Store leftovers in an  airtight container. 

Ingredients for the above recipe

  

Hand mixing the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients

 Stir just until combined...over-stirring can cause a more dense/hard product. We want fluffy results!

Enjoy!

An old English experience

We recently dined at the Farmer's Gastropub, an authentic English gastropub here in the states. The term "gastropub" is a "portmanteau of gastronomy and pub", a fairly recent British term. In fact, this very pub was voted "The Best Gastropub" outside of England, which enticed me even more. What I particularly enjoyed about this establishment was the passion for using local farm to table methods, from right here in the Ozarks. Their goat and other various cheeses come straight from Terrell Creek Farms, which was a lovely farm and spring that I traveled to as a little girl. My grandmother's estate is located just down the road from this farmstead, where my brother and I would visit and wade in their cool spring on hot summer days, catching minnows. I enjoy dining at a restaurant which creates both new and old memories to arise, good memories that is!
This gastropub also uses various organic vegetables/fruits/dairy products, and also utilizes hormone - free and grass-fed meats. I recently read that they also recycle everything they can and give left over food to a local farm, to reuse. They also provide compostable to-go containers, which I fully appreciate. The regular styrofoam that most restaurants use for their doggy bags contain very harsh chemicals. Never warm up leftovers in styrofoam, especially the microwave, because harmful toxins are released from the styrofoam into your food, YUCK!!!!!  
We had a warm goat cheese and apple butter concoction for our appetizer, served with warm crunchy bread from Artisan's Oven ( a local bread bakery), and for the main entree, my fiance had a grass-fed burger, and I, of course, had the veggie burger. They even served us the infamous smashed peas, which is what you would receive if you were eating at an authentic restaurant or gastropub in good old bloody England. All in all, the atmosphere was fun and vibrant and the food was interestingly unique and tasty. As one would say in England, this was the bees knees.

Broccoli Cheddar soup warms the soul

Homemade broccoli cheddar soup has been an absolute hit in my household this past winter. It's super easy and anyone can do it. This literally takes me around 30 minutes to make. This soup is especially tasty on a cold winter's eve, and helps to warm the soul!

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 Medium heat: add one diced yellow onion to a 1/2 stick of melted butter. I usually add at this time 6 cloves of minced garlic, but that is totally up to you. I appreciate the flavor that garlic gives this dish, but if you can't stand the taste, just omit it :)

 After 4 minutes of cooking and stirring, add 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 2 cups half and half, 4 cups whole milk, 4 heads of broccoli (cut into small florets), and salt and pepper to taste. Stir up all the ingredients, so that they are mixed together, creating wonderful flavors! Bring the soup to a simmer, then reduce the heat to LO, and cover with a lid. Stir occasionally, so that the dairy products do not burn. Keep this up for 18-20 minutes.

 Now it's time for the best part, (drum roll!!!!) the cheese!! I use a mixture of all natural cheddar and Vermont white cheddar cheeses (grated)...some brands worked better than others for me....my favorite was the Sargento brand (2-3 cups of cheese, depending on how cheesy you like your soup)! Stir, Stir, Stir and do not, I repeat, DO NOT increase the temperature, otherwise the cheese will curd, or coagulate, which does not taste so good. This happened to me when I added my cheese to the pot when it was still simmering, and when this happens its not too appetizing to taste chunks of cheese. I like my soup smooth and creamy!! Once the cheese is melted, (about 2 minutes) the soup is ready to enjoy!!

And here is a cute little pineapple upside down cake my mother baked for my fiance and I the other night. This is one of my father's favorites, so when she had leftover batter, she decided to bake a mini cake for us! Delicious!!!