I buy lots of berries during summer, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries... you get the picture. And they all come in those holey plastic containers, which for some reason I have a hard time throwing out (kind of like the long cardboard tubes that come with paper towels). So toss them in the pantry and on occasion, when Mr. Z goes for some chips, they all come tumbling out. He grumbles and asks why on earth I am saving useless containers.

Well, now I know! To portion out spinach from our CSA (Driftless Organics) for green monster smoothies throughout the week, of course!


I washed and dried the spinach then portioned it into four different containers (ok... so I know what I'm going to do with four of the 80 containers in the pantry).

I figure each morning I can pull one out, toss the spinach into the blender with some yummy fruit and call it good (then wash the container and put it back into the pantry...).


We also got potatoes in our CSA box this week. Aren't they pretty?


I used them to make potato and kohlrabi au gratin for Sunday dinner.


It was very tasty! I love Sundays that include lots and lots of baking and tasty food!

Oh no she d'int!

Oh yes I did! I openly admit it... I made a boxed cake.


There is a surprise party tonight for Farmer Ted - he's turning 60!


Luckily he doesn't read the blog, he doesn't even own a computer, and if he did own a computer, he'd likely never stray from the "Tyra Banks" google image search page. So I think I'm good.

I'm in charge of the cake and his favorite cake is yellow with MILK chocolate frosting. He's very clear about it being milk chocolate and not dark chocolate, or any other kind of chocolate for that matter.


(See Betty in the background in all her pink glory? She's kind of sad she didn't get to help out with Ted's birthday cake. It's ok Betty. Duncan took care of this one, but I promise you get the next tasty task!)


Now, why did I decide to go with pre-packaged, artificially flavored, preservative filled tastiness rather than true food deliciousness? Honestly, time and audience. Do you realize you can make a cake in less than an hour and only dirty four dishes?! It's amazing!

And the birthday boy will be the first to tell you how "country" he is. Even if I told him this cake came from a box and a tub (which I won't) he'd rave over it for days and call me "Susie Homemaker" for the rest of the month.

There are many reasons why I bake, but the number one reason is to make people happy. And I'm certain this cake will do the trick! Well, the cake and maybe a picture of Tyra Banks.

Game on!

Equisoccer season is in full swing! Pixie and I took our place on the field this week for the very first time under saddle.


She did a GREAT job with the ball. Dealing with the other horses was another matter. It will take time for her to get used to maneuvering the ball around other horses. Usually, when she's around other horses, she's the boss. When she's under saddle and there's a soccer ball involved, I'M the boss. It will just take a little time to get used to that...

But seriously, get that ball in front of her and her name's Pixie Hamm.


See the resemblance?


Striking!!

Weekend

Whew! What a weekend. I'm too tired to come up with anything witty to write, but here are some pictures to tell a story...


Bought protein powder at the co-op. I'm going to try it in our green monsters. I'll keep you posted.


Helped Mr. Z in the yard. Shoveling rocks is rough. Wearing a tiara while you do it makes it just a little bit more fun!


Riding lesson on Pixie. Practiced trotting and transitioning to a canter. She is so fast!


Sunday dinner. So yum! Sweet potato ravioli, pork chops and greens.


My view from dinner. What a satisfying end to a weekend of hard work!

I hope you had a great weekend!

Greenies

Mr. Z has been working hard to make our lawn look beautiful. Mulching, shoveling rocks, laying that black fabric that goes under mulch and rocks. You know, general landscaping work. Last night he requested a big fruit smoothie for breakfast this morning. I was more than happy to fuel my little worker bee!

I threw together some spinach, strawberries, Greek vanilla yogurt, banana and frozen pineapple in the blender. Added a tablespoon of ground flax seed and came up with these green beauties:


I took mine to go and will have it as a mid-morning snack at work.


I put Mr. Z's in the fridge.


I'm headed to the co-op after work today and will load up on spinach. We're heading into a marathon weekend of yard work and there's no better fuel than green monsters!

Happy weekend!

Favorite new jam.

I have lots of favorites.

Some are lifetime commitments:
Favorite Muppet - Miss Piggy, Est. 1983
Favorite Ice cream - Orange custard chocolate chip, Est. 1998
Favorite Color - Pink, Est. 1999
Favorite Husband - Mr. Z, Est. 2006

And some come and go like Lady Gaga's hair styles:
Favorite Song - Sweet Dreams (1982), Cold Hearted Snake (1988), Ice, Ice, Baby (1990), etc.
Favorite Sopranos Character - Dr. Melfi (November 2006), Adriana (December 2006), Silvio Dante (January 2007) Mmmhmmm... I watched 5 seasons of the Sopranos in one winter.

Well, this month I discovered a new favorite. A favorite jam. It's so tasty and goes very well with peanut butter on Ezekiel muffins.





Looks good, but can't forget the black gold!


What are some of your favorites?

I've made it!

Finally. I have a soccer trophy of my very own.


I have two little brothers who grew up playing soccer. For years my mom washed and carefully folded colorful t-shirts adorned with family tradition: the number 8 and "Hutch" written across the back. My dad played football in high school, he was number 88 and all his buds called him "Hutch." My brothers proudly followed suit.

Growing up, our foyer was littered with cleats and shin pads and stinky duffel bags were sometimes forgotten in the back of the minivan. My dad broke many lawn chairs, forcing them to rock back and forth in nervous excitement during games. On a family vacation to Scotland, one of the first things my family purchased was a soccer ball. The boys (dad plus two brothers) played in the wide open green space bouncing the ball off their heads, knees and feet.

We are a soccer family, and I'm so glad to finally be part of it!