Seasons Change - Be Happy Like the Butterfly ♥

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."
Author Unknown


"The fluttering of a butterfly's wings can effect climate changes on the other side of the planet."
Paul Erlich


I am such a summer girl. As we approach the colder months and it's a cold rainy day today, I thought of this photo I took in my garden, when I was surrounded by zinnias and marigolds and the gorgeous butterflies and fat bees were everywhere. We were all happy in the sunshine, my basket full of tomatoes and herbs, and the day seemed wonderfully endless. I love long days. 

Starting a little indoor herb garden

But I have some tricks up my sleeve to help me stay happy through winter. I stitch and craft a lot. My embroidery and cross-stitch goes off the charts! I have several plants on my greenhouse sunporch including a fat pot I've started which I call my little herb garden, planted with parsley, dill and basil. I like pretty coats and scarves to make it more fun to be out in the weather. We always take a lot selfies when the first snow hits! And I love good movies, and it's the perfect time of year to get cozy, wear fun slippers, get out my knitting, and watch Meet Me In St. Louis.

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch Cozy

Garden Bliss

Taking care of your garden is like taking care of yourself. Sometimes you're kinda low-maintenance (like when the balance of rain and sunshine is perfect!) and sometimes you require quite a bit more attention to keep yourself green, growing, and giving. There may be more weeding and watering to do when the world around you is out of balance--but there's always the beautiful harvest. It sustains you.

See? A lot like the garden.

My garden seems to give back to me all summer long. It starts with the early crops, like the herbs, lettuces, and radishes, and keeps on going with flowers for the table, constant cherry tomatoes to snack on, basil for pastas, pestos and bruschetta, and spaghetti squash any night of the week.

Tip: always grow basil and tomato together, they are companion plants.

Spaghetti squash is easy--just boil it until slightly fork tender on the outside, then slice in half, discard the seeds, and use a fork to shred out the beautiful golden strands of yummy squash and toss it with olive oil, garlic and Parmesan--top with basil. Delicious and low-carb too.

Spaghetti squash

 Sometimes I get busy--tired--lazy and don't want to deal with the heat and the bugs...but my garden has not let me down. I make it out there, and I'm always happy and I actually get more energy from it too. Until the other day, I didn't really know why. I thought it was just the fresh air and sunshine.

Then I found out about "earthing."

"Earthing" is the practice of staying in contact with the earth's energy that nature freely provides us--a natural form of anti-aging medicine. I love to just kick off my shoes and feel the warm earth and grass in my toes, so I guess I've been earthing and didn't even know it! I've read that a good thirty minutes of earthing is all you need. Seriously, this info is out there, so you can look it up, but it is interesting, no? When I was little we ran barefoot outside almost every day. We just called it, "playing outside."

I'm "earthing" in the garden!

I'm celebrating the last days of August because I'm starting to realize that time is going to be limited on the goodies from the garden. My bento box lunches always have something fresh lately.

 And what could be easier for dinner than just tossing together some pasta, olive oil, splash of Italian dressing, fresh basil and cherry tomatoes!

 My garden has also given me some HUGE sunflowers! When their beautiful heads start to dip down, it's time to harvest sunflower seeds and dry them. I'm excited.

 
I have some beautiful leeks growing and these can stay in the garden even when there's snow on the ground. So I'll be making my leek and potato soup to warm us up this winter. Our whole squash patch has become squash planet...we have zukes, cukes, eggplant and pumpkins! At least one of the pumpkins is going to be a Halloween decoration.

Take care. Keep your life weeded, watered and sunny, and you'll keep growing and blooming.

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Grow

Save the Sugar Slaw

I barely remember planting cabbage in the garden. I have never grown cabbage before and it was definitely an experiment. But, today, there it was, in all its glory next to the chive patch--this big, gorgeous head of cabbage! 

We picked it, and set it aside for a bit, because I was busy canning a dozen more jars of salsa--the tomatoes are coming on in bushels. But once the salsa-making got under control, I decided to try a sugar-free coleslaw recipe, since one of the things that bugs me about coleslaw is how high in carbs it is!

Sugar-Free Coleslaw

4 cups shredded cabbage

2 tablespoons low-fat mayo

about 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons Splenda or other sugar substitute

salt and pepper to taste

Toss it all together and enjoy. That's it!

I LOVE this coleslaw. Of course, I realize, I am eating cabbage that was picked less than an hour ago, which I'm sure contributes to the incredible flavor. But still, unbeknownst to future attendees of bbq's at my house, I'm serving this slaw! And next year, I'm planting a whole cabbage patch.

Eat from the garden today.