Our wonderful Tomatoes!

Well, it's about that time when the close of the tomato growing season comes to an end and boy did we have a great crop this year.  It's amazing how many tomatoes we actually grew and I have had a blast coming up with different ways to add them to certain dishes, or actually just eating them like an apple on some occasions.

Look at all of them!  

If you had a great crop of tomatoes like we did, your house probably looks like ours, canning, drying, cutting, and preserving as much as you can before the colder weather hits.  Besides the dehydrating and canning, here are few more ways to add tomatoes into your daily meals.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes:

Toss tomatoes and peeled, whole garlic cloves in extra virgin olive oil, just enough to coat them, and roast in the oven at 400°F.  Roast until the cherry tomatoes start to swell and break the skin a bit (15-20 minutes).  Remove from oven and allow to cool some before serving.  Add these on top of angel hair pasta or fettuccine.

Tomato Sandwiches:

Spread toasted potato bread with a butter-mustard (1 tbs. of butter mixed with 1 tbs. of mustard), layer on tomatoes and sprinkle with a dash of sea salt to your liking.

Tomato/Feta Salad:

Toss together romaine lettuce, artichoke hearts (chopped), tomato wedges, fresh lemon juice (to taste), and Feta cheese.  Sprinkle the top of the salad with fresh, chopped chives and serve.

Stuffed Tomatoes:  

Recipe HERE!

ENJOY!

Eco-Tip:  Join a reading group.  This may not seem like much of an "eco"-type tip, but reading is one of the best things you can do for yourself.  You did well by reading this tip and this blog to begin with. :-)  Reading is the gift that keeps on giving, and there is no better time than to start now.  If you aren't sure what books to start with, why not start with the monthly selection for the SNORTH Reading List.  

    

Road Trip: Downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas

Chumming around in downtown Hot Springs with Will, Kayla, Skylar-Braden, and John.

Skylar checking out the porch on the Fordyce Bathhouse in Bathhouse Row.

The water in down town Hot Springs is always nice and toasty warm.

We decided to hit a carriage rid around downtown after walking around for a bit.

Hot Springs Carriage Co.

The old train station in Hot Springs is now the Transportation Depot.

The horse was pretty used to taking people around in downtown and wasn't spooked by the traffic, which was impressive.  His name was "Grady" and he did a fantastic job!

Our carriage driver's name was Matt Miller and he was a hoot!

Bridge Street, “The World’s Shortest Street” (as designated by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not in the 1940s)

After the carriage ride and having a few laughs with Matt Miller, we headed over to the Arlington Hotel to have a few drinks before walking back.

Skylar had a lot of fun with the revolving door in the front of the hotel.  The only revolving door he has seen has been at the Portland Airport and it was a large one with lots of people.  This one was neat to him because he could push it without any help.  It scared him at first, but once he made it around it thought it was super cool.

We all had a drink of some sort and then headed back down to bathhouse row.

We passed the Wax Museum, it was closed, but these wax figures of the Bush men were begging to have their picture taken.  Politics aside, they seemed almost life-like.

A wall painting of the old trolleys that used to frequent downtown Hot Springs.  Interesting enough, the mules that pulled this particular trolley were named Mike and Dot.

After downtown Hot Springs we headed back to Will and Kayla's house in Caddo Valley.  Skylar rode with Will and Kayla and once there he was crashed out after about 10 minutes.  Will gave him a shirt to sleep in that read, "Real Men Wear Kilts."  haha!

Will and Kayla have such eye-catching wall art and British items throughout their house, along with Will's massive collection of British and Army figures that Skylar loved playing with.  I couldn't help but snap a few shots of things that caught my eye.

How cool is that?  This British flag replica of Union Jack is actually the top of a storage box in their home.  

The following morning the boys headed over to the local barber shop to get a haircut.  What's funny about the trip was how Will talked Skylar into cutting his hair after growing it out for so long.  It was a nice haircut, but Skylar said the only reason he wanted his haircut was because Uncle Will was getting his.  :-)

The before and after.  Unique Barber was such a great place to get a haircut too!

 

Eco-Tip:  Cell phone are such a huge part of today's lifestyle and with a new style coming out every 6 months to a year a lot of cell phones end up in the wrong places.  Instead of adding to that pile why not recycle those old cell phones and help cut down on electronics that get tossed into land fills everyday.  For information on how to recycle your old cell phone look to eCycles through the EPA.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

Brandon's Chicken Fajitas

As I am still mentally stuck in the festivities of birthday mode here in my house, I thought a nice Chicken Fajita recipe I learned from my very hipster/chef friend Brandon would be in order to keep the spirit of the season for the weekend going still.  This recipe is super simple and only requires a bit of time for the chicken to cook fully.  Of course, if chicken isn't your thing, you can always swap out for beef or pork. (Or imitation meat like this HERE)


What you'll need:

1.  Chicken (Pork or Beef)
2.  Worcestershire Sauce
3.  Onion (Diced)
4.  "Fajita Seasoning"
5.  Salt and Pepper (to taste)
6.  Whole Lime (Cut in half or purchased Lime Juice)
7.  Minced Garlic

•Cut the chicken into stripes, long, narrow stripes work best because the chicken will cook faster.

• Place the chicken strips into a medium-sized skillet and cook over medium heat.  Add Worcestershire Sauce, salt, pepper and Fajita Seasoning to the chicken as it cooks.

 •  Add the lime juice, freshly squeezed from a whole lime or 100% juice from concentrate. 

• Cook the chicken till almost done and add minced garlic along with the diced onions.

 • Cook until onions are soft and chicken has soaked up most of the juice in the skillet.

• Serve on a flour or corn tortilla along side guacamole, sour cream or even a bed of black beans.

Enjoy!

Eco-Tip:  Get out and walk more!  Walking is a great way to burn calories and if you live in a city, you can walk to locations you would normally take a car.  For this and other tips on living more green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.

    

Food safety tips to keep in mind in the kitchen

Food safety is important in any kitchen, no matter how novice of a cook or professional you are.  Food safety falls under the category of everything from meat prep to handling of knives and everything in between.  Here are five food safety tips to keep in mind when handling or cooking any type of food.

• Wash each item you use for food preparation such as cutting boards, dishes, utensils and even the counter tops whether the food touched them or not. This is important before moving onto handling other food items thereafter. A half a slice of lemon rubbed on cutting boards after you wash and dry them will help cut out bacteria as well.
• Never thaw or defrost foods at room temperature in your sink or your counter top. Thawing foods should be kept in the refrigerator or thawed under cold running water. And never ever marinate foods at room temperature. Always marinate foods in a refrigerator due to bacteria setting in.

• Regardless of the expiration date, never use cans that are bulging or badly dented. Air leaks can happen with these dents and bulges and allow bacterial growth to take place.

• When using sponges and dish rags be sure to wash them regularly and dry them on hot in the dryer. The heat from the dryer will kill any additional bacteria that was missed when washed in hot soapy water.

• Always place your leftovers in shallow containers when placing in the refrigerator. Shallow containers will allow for quicker cooling that can reduce bacteria growth while stored.

• Additional, always check the expiration of your spices and seasonings. Some spices can be frozen while others that you use regularly need to be watched. Never use spices that are more than a month old.

Follow these and other quick kitchen tips can help reduce the bacteria and illnesses that come with cooking.  Sanitize often and always clean up as you go when preparing foods.  Cooking is fun but, safety is a must!

As the temperatures dip a bit this weekend, give this comfort food recipe a try!

• Potato and Onion Chowder

Makes 8 Cups

1 tbs. vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cups fresh or frozen asparagus, chopped

1 large potato, peeled and diced

3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 can (15 ounces) cream-style corn

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

1.  Heat the oil in a medium pot and saute the onion, asparagus and the potatoes over medium high heat for about 10 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and corn to the mix and cook until the potatoes are tender.

2.  Add the frozen peas and simmer for an additional 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and ladle into serving bowls.  Sprinkle tops with cheese and serve!

Eco-Tip:  Before the weather turns cold, raining, and windy take advantage of nature's clothes dryer while you still can.  For this and other tips on going green visit, The Earth and Me Go Green.