From Dirt to Dinner

One thing I've always loved about summer is the fresh fruit and vegetables.  Growing up with a garden, fresh vegetables never seemed like as big of a deal as I can now appreciate that they are.  I love the plethora of ways fruits and veggies can be prepared, especially when all you do is clean them off and then you eat them!

The vegetable garden has come a long way this year!

  Here is a picture of one of the salads I've made with our fresh lettuce!

 Swiss Chard from the garden with angel hair pasta & feta cheese. 

 More meals and pictures to come!

Are you gardening? Or shopping at a local Farmer's Market? Have a favorite recipe you want to share? Comment below or email me at shapedbymylife@gmail.com

A Quick Meal On A Hot Night

We don't have air conditioning in our house.  Today it was 90 plus degrees and after making delicious french toast for brunch I did not feel like cooking on the stove again.  So I didn't!

It took less than 10 minutes to prepare! So when you're hot and hungry and have these ingredients already at your residence, you're just a few simple steps away from a tasty treat. Toast a bagel (I used a garlic bagel, because I'm on a serious kick with them right now).  While this is toasting, wash your lettuce (fresh from the garden or packaged), open can of olives or chop whatever you'd like to add to said lettuce (I kept this salad pretty simple).  Once bagel is toasted, spread your choice of hummus on (I haven't made my own yet, so I used Sabra's Greek Olive hummus), sprinkle with feta cheese (Mediterranean), place lettuce and whatever toppings on plate, then mangia!

First salad from our vegetable garden!

A super quick and pretty healthy meal for lunch or dinner or even breakfast if you switch the salad for fruit (or not). I'm trying to no longer subscribe to what is categorized for me as appropriate and listen to my body more.  My body loves fresh veggies from the garden!

First Flower Garden

I grew up in a house with parents who took care of the yard, but gardening was and still is, my dad's pride and joy.  There are always flowers surrounding the property and a vegetable garden in the back yard that has changed size and shape over the years.  I grew up with access to fresh veggies and never knew how much I took that for granted until I began my journey of moving from one rental apartment to another for the past 4 years.

Now, moving into a house with my beau who already has both flower and vegetable gardens established, my excitement grew as we talked about what would be planted in the veggie garden, and I picked the front flower bed to claim as mine to plant to my liking. We headed to the Farmer's Market last weekend and started buying the last of the veggies to plant and I bought the first of the flowers I would plant.

Here is what the garden looked like before:

and after:

I planted many different flowers including pansies, snapdragons, marigolds, dahlias, and lavender to name a few. Do you have a garden? What have you planted this year?