Junque Yard: picture blog of what's blooming in the garden

I accidentally posted these garden pictures in my other blog, and then forgot to put them here where they belong.


Don't get old people, you won't like it:

Evening Primrose (yellow) and Oriental Lilies (orange)

Siberian Irises

I love it when my sage is in bloom!

Trilliums make my heart happy.

The original caption on this was "the pansies are winning!" But is it really a race?? :)

Snapdragons, petunias, begonias, violas. OH MY!

Return of the Junque

It's been almost 6 months since I've posted. I constantly have ideas to write about, and they are all stored in my brain, but I haven't been getting them out at all lately in favor of learning.

During this past winter, I've studying and researching lots of stuff. Most of it health related, like I've become fascinated by essential oils for healthy and beauty. Also learning more about herbs in applications not just for cooking, but how they can add health and heal the body.

I  hated to be the person that learns something new and shiny and passes it on immediately without knowing how the results work. I mean, I could always preface it by saying, "This looks fascinating!" and let you make your own choices. And if you follow me on FaceBook, you see me do that all the time, but I just felt that I should sit back, reflect on findings, tweak stuff, etc, before just putting it out there.

However, with the weather (finally) turning warmer (it was a long, cold winter followed by a long, cold, RAINY spring), and me up to my elbows in soil and garden projects, again, I find myself neglecting this blog that while small, is still dear to me, and I need to force myself to share again.  :)

it doesn't help that in the past I've trained myself to get up early and blog during the wee hours, outside with my cup of coffee while the birds chirp.  That's impossible during half of the year here in the midwest, so I need to train myself to write inside like a normal person if I ever plan on being consistent. Which, if you know me, is tenuous at best.

Here's a teaser of some of the stuff I want to write up in the near future:

• Updates on the No-Poo experiment.  If I can get a comment from the ladies that did the original with me, I break my nose attempting an cartwheel of joy!
• My very favorite Rosemary Hair Rinse that I talk so much about that some of my friends want to strangle me when open my mouth about it.
• My extremely long-term experiment in going off commercial deodorant, and how I kept people from running away from me while I was detoxing.
• How I figured out that essential oils aren't just for smelling, and what I really do with them.
• My gardens, and what I've done around here lately to turn my Junk yard into a Junque yard.
• As always, recipes for meals that I love.
• Getting rid of commercial cleaners, and my deep, abiding love of one cleaning agent that won't turn the world into a mess.

...and much, much more.


So if you see me futzing around on Face Book, you have my permission to yell at me to, "GO BLOG, YOU LAZY BITCH!"

LOL.

Here's a snazzy pic of one of the irises from my garden. Pretty cool, huh?

Year End Review of Junqueology

Hello my friends,

Boy have I neglected this blog! I generally get busy in the early autumn, with harvesting the gardens, and canning the bounty it brings forth, and then....I get tired.  LOL.

Winter is a slow time at the micro-mini ranch, as it is for most people who garden in cold climates, but I thought I'd give you all a little update, mostly for myself to get me back into the "mood" of blogging again. Maybee this winter I'll be more motivated to write - espcially if the plans in my brain bear out!

1. I've been getting more and more into making home remedies for medicinal and for beauty, using  natural oils, essential oils, and general household items. I've been collecting tons of recipes, and working out some stuff on my own. If you want to see what I've been learning, I have several Pinteret pages.  Take a look at some of my stuff:

Alternative and Natural Beauty Ideas

Alternative and Natural Home Remedies: Internal

Alternative and Natural Home Remedies: External

Herbal uses and Essential Oils

I've also been researching more on gardening, especially Heirloom seeds (non-GMOs), and organic pest control.  Here are my gardening pages on Pinterest if you want to have a look:

Gardening: Fruits, Veggies, and Herbs

Gardening: Flowers and Landscaping Ideas

Gardening: Organic Pest Control Tips

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I've devoted a significant time over the last year to learning and following the Paleo Lifestyle. Also known as the Anscestral Diet, or The Primal Blueprint, there are a tons of ways of saying that I've been trying to kick my addiction to processed foods, particularly those containing wheat and other grains.  I started another blog with a few friends, and you can read about our ups and downs as well as get food ideas and recipes that we developed by going over to:

Paleo Lifestyle in the Real World

and our companion Facebook support page: Paleo Lifestyle in the Real World on FB.

Anywhoo, I would like wish you all a Happy 2013. Here's hoping we all are happy and healthy through the coming year!

I swear I'm making a poster of this and putting it up in my kitchen

Junque Food: MATERS!

We are heavily in the midst of canning season here at the micro-mini ranch.

So many things to can, so little time!

If you have the canning bug, than this scenario is very familiar to you:

I had between 7-10 gallon sized freezer bags of tomatoes in the freezer. Since tomatoes don't ripen all at the same time, it's necessary for me to freeze them for awhile until I have enough to do a canning session.  The hubster and I had planned on doing up the tomatoes this past Sunday.

And then I went to the Saturday morning Farmer's Market.

And bought another bushel of tomatoes.


!!!


I couldn't help it!! They were extremely affordable, and we were gonna be canning anyway!!!

BTW, if anyone wants to know how much a bushel of tomatoes is, it's about the equivalent of a paper grocery bag filled to the top.

With a zillion tomatoes.

And it's heavy.

When it was all said an done, By the end of Sunday night, we had canned 17 quarts of tomatoes That's QUARTS. not pints. it's a lot. See here:

I googled this image, and it came off kitchn.com's website, but the URL is from apartmenttherapy.com. I hope I've given all credit where it's due here.

In addition, I also processed and canned 4 quarts of pickled banana peppers.

I was pretty chuffed by the end of Sunday.

And sore.

And tired

More pics later.  LOL

Junque Yard: Wanna see my Pumpkins?

Last year's pumpkins were a smaller variety, and I had great success with growing them and making pumpkin puree for pies. They also produced the best seeds for roasting and eating.

My only complaint about them was that the rind was sooooo tough, I needed a chain saw to cut through them.

Ok, that might have been a slight exageration.  However, I did have to call upon DaHubster to use his massive bulging biceps to help out his wife....

....ok, I'm back. Sorry, got lost in a fantasy for a minute there.  Heh.

This year I tried a different variety of pumpkin.  It was a variety I got from my "Seeds of the Month" club from Mike the Gardner Enterprises.

Don't judge me.

Anywhoo, I didn't realize that this variety of pumpkin grows to HUMONGOUS sizes.  I have a pumpkin that's too large for me to lift. It has to weigh over 40lbs.

Where's DaHubster? (drool)

This shot doesn't really show how massive it really is.  Those leaves could be worn as hats!

This dude is about 10lbs, and was hiding in a bunch of weeds.

this little dude is about 5 lbs.

this one is the smallest of the bunch, but it's a really pretty shape.

Junque Food: Lacto-Fermented Pickles

Hey Folks!

I've been on a quest to make REALLY GOOD dill pickles.

I've done the canning thing, and I don't care what recipe you bring me, any pickle that is water-bath canned (meaning heated up to process) SUCKS.

Don't give me that "alum" and "grape leaves" bull-crappy...if they get heated, they get soggy.

I hate soggy pickles.

Do you remember those old fashioned deli style pickles?  The ones that were in a crock on the top of a deli counter? I do.  Big, fat pickles that crunched, and were sour and garlicky, and your mouth would water just by looking at them?

Dang, I need a napkin.

Well, folks, the secret is out. Those really good, and CRUNCHY deli-style sour pickles were "lacto-fermented."  This means they are made the same way sauerkraut is made - but putting them into a brine of salt water and spices, covered and left to ferment for about a week.

I've made one successful batch, and before that a not so successful batch.This was partly because the recipe I used had the salt to water ratio too high, so I adjusted it the second time to much better results.

The other reason is because I, um, sort of forgot about them, and they sat in the brine for 3 weeks before I tasted them. So they were infinitely salty, and basically inedible.

Live and learn!

I printed out the recipe I used, but I didn't save the URL, so I can't give the author credit. I'm sorry.  If you happen on this recipe, and it's yours, please tell me and I will give you all the credit you deserve.

Sour Pickles

These are a favorite of many and a lot of people miss them when going on a Paleo diet, but the naturally lacto-fermented kind is perfectly healthy, curncy and sour. This version is flavoried with garlic and dill. Your garlic will too lacto-ferment and can be enjoyed afterwards as it will be packed with flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon (16 cups) picking cucumbers, unwaxed ( I didn't have a gallon of pickles, I just used what I had, which was probably 5-6 cups)
• 2 bunches of fresh dill (I didn't have any fresh, so I used dried, and way more, about 5-6 heads)
• 16 cloves garlic (I used about 8)
• 3T pickling spices (peppercorns, mustard seeds, bay leaves, cloves) (I used all but the cloves)
• 5 or 6 T of sea salt (I used 5)
•  12 cups of water (distilled if possible, but it's not necessary. I have city water, and they came out just fine)

Preparation

1. Soak the cucumbers in cold water for a few hours, then scrub them thoroughly to prevent any mold from forming during the fermentation process. (I also cut the tips off the cukes so that they wouldn't be bitter)
2. Place the cucumbers,  dill, garlic and spices in your fermentation jar and sprinkle a bit of sea salt as you go a long (I did not add any extra salt, only what was in the brine).
3. Prepare the brine of 5T of sea salt to 8 cups (I raised that to 12) of water, making sure to stir well to dissolve the salt and fill the fermentation jar with the brine so it covers the cucumbers.
4. cover the jar and place it in a warm spot in your kitchen and allow the cukes to ferment for 5 to 10 days.
5. A good way to know when it's ready is to taste it during the fermentation process. It's ready when you are satisfied with the taste.

Ok, so let's talk about a few things:

1. it's best to use a glass container or an old fashioned crock. Metal will interfere with the fermentation process. I did see (and will reference below) a YouTube video where the author used plastic containers, and he said his results were just fine. I'm not gonna get all up in your business about it. The important thing about the container you use is that you have to have a lid that covers well and makes the pickles stay under the water. In the olden days, hypothetical Grandma would put her pickles in a crock and cover it with a plate held down with a stone. I put mine in an old crock-pot crock and inverted the dome lid it came with to hold everything under the water. Worked like a charm.
2. Once the pickles taste the way you want them to taste ( and mine did after 3 days, so please test early and often), you can move them from your fermenting container to a smaller one with just enough brine to cover, and then refrigerate them.  This will slow the fermenting process, and keep your pickles from getting moooooooshy.
3. You cannot can these pickles. Well, I mean, you can, but that means heating them up, and they will get moooooooshy.  Just eat them.  And then make more.  Seriously. They are easy, healthy, and best of all TASTY! I took some into work with me last week, and got some pretty darn good reviews.
4. In my picture above, I also added some banana peppers to see if they tasted good lacto-fermented. they got bitter, so I'm not recommending them

 Here are a couple of YouTube Vids that I watched when I was coming to grips with purposefully fermenting food items that I was going to eat:

Musings from the Junque Pile: Where the heck have you been?

It sure has been awhile, huh?  What the heck have I been doing with myself?

Well, I had a bad bout of bronchitis. Those of you who read my face book status, I didn't really have the bubonic plague, or SARS. Swine flu was iffy, and the doctors really did think I might have had whooping cough, but thankfully no.  Just bronchitis. But, finally I feel human again.


If I had a dime for every time I heard, "Hey. I thought with this new diet you're on, you are supposed to be healthier," I would be so rich right now.

So I got that going for me!

*sigh*

Anywhoo, I've also been enjoying the last of the summer weather. We've finally cooled down a little bit, and this last week has seen our area *FINALLY* get some decent rain.

I've been picking green beans like a mad fiend. We've been blanching them, then vacuum-sealing them for the freezer. It's nice, because I put a little pat of butter and my usual spices in there, and ZIP! off to the freezer they go! Ready to be boiled or steamed and ready for the dinner table.

I like that.

This week, I'll be posting pics of the garden, and a couple of recipes and things I've been working on the kitchen.

I'm ready for fall, and to getting back into writing again.

Go me!

Junque Yard: What's happening at the Micro-Mini Ranch

It was such a pretty morning the other day that I had to snap a shot. 

My tomatoes are finally starting to ripen. My beans, pumpkins, melons, and zucchinis finally have blossoms.

Harvest is going to be late this summer, but I will have something to show for our efforts.

I think the excessive heat this year caused the cycle to slow down. I have lots of green leaves everywhere, and I made a point to water more than I normally do, which was good because we've had a drier than normal summer.  But everything is growing, and for that, I'm thankful.

Now, I'm trying to figure out what fall crops I want. Definitely spinach, carrots, and I'm thinking broccoli, maybe cauliflower. 

I hope those things take well to growing in containers, because the pumpkins, zukes, and melons are taking up all the space in what we refer to as the "back 40." 

That's inches folks, I don't call it the micro-mini ranch for nuthin'.

Junque Food: Attempting Sweet Potato Chips

photo from www.examiner.com

This was originally posted in my other blog: Paleo Lifestyle in the Real World

 I'm always up for trying a Paleo version of junk food.  When I saw this recipe for homemade salsa with sweet potato chips, I knew I'd have to try the chips. I've made my own salsa before, and it's fine, but until my own tomatoes are ready for "salsifying," I can wait patiently.

But I couldn't wait to try to make chips. Crispy, crunchy, salty chips. Mmmm....

Sorry, I got lost for a second there.

I apologize, but I didn't take pictures of the process, but if you click the link above, the Amazing!Paleo chick does a great job of showing the process.


Thankfully, we'd recently purchased a mandolin to make even slicing of the sweet potatoes easy. I am not a precision slicer.

I followed Amazing!Paleo's directions to the letter, and was mostly happy with the results, except my chips did not all get crunchy. I waited for them to cool down, like the directions said, but several stayed limp, especially on the middle of the bigger chips.

So tip #1: I learned is that the skinnier the potato, the better off you are going to be for the crispiness factor. The wider the potato, the longer it's going to be to make them crunchy. Or you're just going to have to deal with limp chips. No Bueno.

Tip #2: The recipe on the blog says 10 minutes, give or take, on 375F.  The next time I try these, I'll do it longer at 325F. Lower and slower would DEFINITELY the way to go. I was in danger of incinerating my chips if I left them in longer than 12 minutes.

But I have to say, that despite the edges of a lot of the chips being burned, and the middles not being crunchy, the sweet potato chips tasted AWESOME. Seriously.

I will be making more of these. They will be a welcome addition of a treat to our Paleo Lifestyle.

Enjoy.

Junque Food - Almond Milk & Flour, part 2

It doesn't look pretty, does it?

It's the paste left over from blending soaked almonds with water, this is what is strained out of the almond milk.

I had heard that this paste could be dried and made into almond flour, or as a protein powder for smoothies, etc.

Of course, when I went looking for a recipe to do that, all I could find was people using slivered almonds, or taking the skins off the soaked almonds in order to make it more "flour" looking.

I didn't do either. I should be hanged as a bad example.

I took the leftover almond paste and spread it thin-ish onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and let it dry. This took about 3 days. Then I pulsed it in the food processor until fine. And it looks like this:

So it's not all white and pretty like everyone else. I bet it can still be used just like other almond flour.  And I will use it, and let you all know if the skin makes it bitter or whatever.

I wonder what I should make?

I could use it to coat fish, or make cookies (eventually, I don't think I have enough to make a batch yet. this is about a cup and half that you see in this picture.

Or muffins. The list is pretty endless.

And I need to make more almond milk.  That's right I didn't tell you about the Almond milk itself.

It's fabulous.  I didn't sweeten it, because I wanted to try using it in scrambled eggs. The store bought almond milk is all sweetened with "cane juice," which is code for sugar. Sugar comes from canes, people. Don't let those labels fool you!

But I digress.

Store bought almond milk is too sweet to make scrambled eggs. So I figured I'd test it out with homemade unsweetened almond milk, and it worked just peachy! I can have creamy eggs again! Woo Hoo!

Now, the Paleo blogs I've been reading have made good use of  blending dates into a paste and using that to sweeten things. I even saw a recipe for making coffee creamer using either almond milk or coconut milk, and sweetening it with date paste.

I am going to try this as another way to get off the commercial creamer that I am addicted to. If I can, that will be the last bit of corn syrup that is OUT of my diet.

And then I will do the chubby girl dance, for sticking it to the man for their totally yummy, but ultimately horrendous for me commercial foods.

*nods*

I know this blog is not very coherent, but I'm not quite awake yet this morning.

Junque Food: Salmon Filets with Broccoli Slaw

(this was originally posted on my other blog. You can see it at: http://realworldpaleo.blogspot.com/ )

Tonight I was home late because I'd gone grocery shopping after work. My lunch and p.m. snack were but a faint memory. I was tired, foot sore, and cranky.

And hungry.


But I did not want to make dinner.


People tell me that part of the problem with sticking to a Paleo-esque diet is all the prepping and cooking, and planning, and shopping...


Honey, I did South Beach when it first came out, and followed the memu in the first edition of the book for the first month before I felt confident enough to mix it up on my own. And I was cooking for 2 other people in the house who were also doing the diet - so I know from prep time. And cooking, and shopping, etc. ad Nauseum.


But it seriously, doesn't have to be a big-assed deal. Take tonight, for instance, I didn't want to cook, so I made the quickest thing I could thing of.

I made Salmon Filets and Broccoli Slaw.

Isn't this a beautiful dinner?


It really does taste as good as it looks, too. I know, because DaHubster is behind me making yummy sounds as I type this.

The salmon filets were cooked my favorite way - half pan seared, half poached. That sounds complicated, but all you do is get a skillet really hot, with a tiny bit of oil. Then put the filets in the pan flesh side down, cooking for two minutes. Flip the filets over, pour in chicken stock halfway up the side of the filet, cover, turn the heat as low as it will go, and let it finish cooking about 4-5 minutes. I threw some green onions in there before covering, too.


Easy, right? And it took all of 10 minutes.

The slaw took maybe 10 minutes as well, and here it is:

• Buy per-shredded Broccoli slaw from the store, and if you are so inclined (as I was), an additional bag of shredded carrots. I only used a handful of the carrots, btw.
  
• Slice up 1 or 2 green onions
• Mix in a bowl.

Dressing for slaw:

• 2 parts Red Wine Vinegar (or lemon juice if you don't use vinegars)
  
• 1.5 parts good olive oil
• about 1 teaspoon brown mustard (for emulsification)
  
• about 1/4 teaspoon honey (to cut the acidity)
  
• Spices to your liking. I used salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and oregano

Put into a jar with a lid and shake. Then lightly coat your slaw.

Viola!

Now, as far as vinegar not being Paleo, well...that's your determination to make. I use it, and I don't think there's too much a problem with it. It's technically not "of the time frame" but I haven't heard any overtly negative reactions bodily too it, so I'm not really worried about it.But if you do not want to use vinegar, lemon juice is a very good substitute.


So really, it was 15 to 20 minutes of prepping and cook time. And I have to tell you, I am not feeling so cranky anymore, now that I've eaten that.


Enjoy.

Junque Food - Almond Milk & Almond Flour

I should be waiting until I actually *do* the project, but I can't wait! I'll keep it short, though.

I love Almond Milk, and I've been buying the Almond Breeze for my yummy drinking needs (it's a little sweet for cooking with).  However, if you look at the label, you'll see that it's got all kinds of preservatives and cane sugar. So not in tune with my burgeoning Paleo Lifestyle.

Now I read a lot of blogs, particularly of the Paleo and Gluten free lifestyle, and I know that people make almond milk all the time.  But my question to all you lucky people who do is:


How the heck do you afford it?  Almonds are freaking expensive!

And my local grocery stores only have raw almonds sporadically. But at nearly $8.00 a lb, it's not feasible enough to get some for munching on (I'm not a huge breakfast person, so I rely on a handful of almonds to get my protein intake started each day), some for almond butter that DaMan likes to use occasionally in Smoothie recipes.

So I bit the bullet and bought what I thought was a pretty good deal on bulk almonds online. 10lbs for $30.00, with shipping at $11.35.  We'll see what they are like when I get them.

This means I will be able to do what I've wanted to do for a long time. Make my own Almond Milk!!!

But not only that! I'll also get to make almond flour from drying and grinding the left over almond pulp from making the milk.

Do you know what that means???

I can have the occasionally CRUNCHY food again!  Almond flour can be used to coat veggies for baking or roasting, you can also use it in place of all-purpose flour for baking, too.  Heck, a whole new world will open up!

I can't wait for those almonds to get here....and I'll keep you posted on how things go...  :)

*bounce*bounce*bounce*

Musings from the Junque Pile - Hawks!

I was doing my normal early morning outside with the laptop thing, when something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.  I looked over at my back fence, and saw a small-ish hawk sitting there.

Now, every now and then, I hear a hawk's cry, but usually they are tucked up in the trees, and you very rarely get to see them, unless they are flying high in the sky, floating on the air currents.

Never have I seen one perched on my fence, especially so close to me.

But then, another one landed on my backyard neighbor's garage roof. And then a third landed, and they proceeded to bounce around the surrounding neighbor's fences,

I think they were scoping out an oblivious squirrel, but they hung around long enough for me to grab my phone and take a few pictures. Though, I couldn't get close enough to get *really* good pics.

However, I'm pretty chuffed at what I did get:

Musings from the Junque Pile - Lost Post from Last weekend

Note: I wrote this last weekend, and forgot to post it. So here's some late goodness....

My buttockals are whipped.  Yesterday, I did a major weeding of the garden beds, then DaHubster and I drove out to Mukwanago (?), for their once a month flea market dealie during the summer. It's a picturesque 40 minute drive from us.

Then we drove to a state park that's another 30 mins away, but there were no places free to park and get out and take a look around.

We stopped for dinner at an awesome restaurant out that way called "A Fork in the Road," which has really great food. I've been there before, and it never fails, great food, great service, and I love the decor.

Then we drove down to a touristy lake area down by the Wisconsin/Illinois border, which DaMan had never been too, and it's been several years since I'd been there. It was super over-crowded with self-entitled maroons, so I promised him we'd drive back there in the autumn, when they've all gone home and the trees have turned. 

I slept like the dead last night, and woke up at 4:30am sneezing with a head full of snot. No way was I getting back to sleep.

So I'm now outside, enjoying the last of the nice weather before the next heat wave kicks in this afternoon.

*sniffle*

Junque Food - Yummy Mom's Mo' Relish

Isn't this gorgeous?

This relish is bounty of nature's goodness. We used to call it Moe's Relish, after a family friend who made it for my mom several years ago. Since we haven't had it in awhile, and my Mom made this yesterday, I decided to switch it up and call it Mom's Mo' Relish.

It is totally worth the extra apostrophes, I promise.

The beauty of this relish is that it's very versatile. This particular relish was make with zucchini, yellow squash, red and yellow bell peppers, celery, carrots, onion, and a few tomatoes. All finely chopped. A wee bit of olive oil, and your choice of vinegar.  This one has apple cider vinegar, but I believe it was originally made with Balsamic vinegar.  Spices are simple: basil, salt, pepper, maybe a little garlic. If you need to cut the bite of the vinegar, a tiny bit of honey or stevia will help it out.

See what I mean? You can totally use whatever you have on hand to make Mom's Mo' Relish. You can mix it up if you want, adding cucumbers, or get a little wild, and dice up a hot pepper or two. Change the spices to ones that you enjoy. It is literally a universe of veggie goodness in a bowl for your culinary pleasure.


What what do you do with it when you've made up a bowl of this garden goodness?

I am so glad you asked that question... (heh)

Mo's original relish was a condiment used for sandwich wraps. A tortilla, your choice of lunch meat, and a little cheese, then slather the relish on, wrap it up, and YUM!


But what if I'm attempting to do the Paleo Diet thing, Mrs. Junque? I can't have the tortilla, the lunch meat has nitrates in it, and the cheese is right out!!!

Well, yes, that's true. And we did pause for a bit, thinking about all the things we could put this relish on. We finally decided there wasn't much you couldn't put Mom's Mo Relish on.  I mean, really. Think about it!

Last night we had it on top of baked fish. Totally. Nummy.

This morning we are going to put it in an omelet.  For realz!

Grilled chicken?  You betcha!

So, if you can't find anything to put Mom's Mo Relish on, then you aren't thinking very hard.

This stuff is the cat's meow, y'all.....give it a try!

Junque Food - We've become smoothie monsters!

Why is it I never take a picture of the marvelous smoothies DaHubster has been serving lately?  Probably because I've been sucking them down too fast!

He drinks them for breakfast, and I usually have them as a morning or afternoon snack.

They are pretty easy to make. There are multiple recipes out there, but I find that they are basically the same. Most of the Paleo recipes have a green tea base. So I brew up a pitcher of green tea, and stick in the fridge, it lasts most of a week.

We also use an egg protein powder, mainly because it's cheaper than using eggs. It also helps my squick-y factor knowing there's no raw eggs in my smoothie. We use this version of the egg white protein powder:
Eggwhite Protein - 100% Pure Unflavored 1 lbs, though I see there are many varieties that are also flavored. I might have to to talk DaHubster into trying a vanilla or chocolate the next time we order it!

After that, the fun begins. We almost always use bananas and strawberries. We buy 2-3 bunches of bananas at a time, and slice them and freeze them for easy use. Same with strawberries. It's just passed strawberry season for us now, but I stocked up, and we froze and dehydrated a bunch for awhile. I wish we'd gotten more!

If you want a smoother smoothie (heh), go for some coconut milk. 1/3 to 1/2 a can is all that is needed for a blender full of smoothie goodness.

Just a note for those of you who are trying  out the Paleo lifestyle: make sure you read the label on cans of coconut milk.  Thai Kitchen brand is the only in-store brand that I've seen that is 100% coconut, with no preservatives. Usually, the preservative is Guar Gum, which in the scope of things, isn't so bad, but if you looking for pure, Thai Kitchen is probably your most affordable bet. Unless you go organic, which is too rich for my blood right now. Or make Coconut milk yourself, which I haven't yet tried to do.  But here's a recipe for those of you that want to try! :)  Gluten Free Coconut Milk from Elana's Pantry

Unsweetened cocoa powder is another thing we've tried. Just remember a little goes a looooooong way.  It gets bitter if you use too much. Try a half teaspoon first, and add more if you like.

If you want more nutritional goodness, try some crushed or powdered flax seed.

And for those of you that want a sweeter smoothie, add some honey. I did that in the beginning, when my tongue was still craving sweets. Lessen the amount of honey over time, and watch your taste buds come to life with the natural flavors of the fruits you put into your very own homemade smoothie!

Junque Yard - My Daily "Salads"

I call them salads. I don't know what else to call them. They don't have lettuce or spinach or any leafy greens, though, so I don't know if they count as salads.

I'm gonna officially call them my Junque Salads, because the ingredients change with whatever I have floating around in my fridge, along with whatever I harvest from my garden.

Cucumbers are a must. I will be picking my first from the garden this week. I have my eye on two very sweet looking cukes that are just starting to plump up.

Banana peppers are a usual staple. I've been harvesting them for a week or so now. I hate hot and mild ones, and both are yummy.

My purple bell pepper plant is going gang busters! I can't believe I've got colored peppers already this summer.

I bought a bag of scapes from the farmer's market two weeks ago, and I'm still using them. OMG the best of both onions and garlic, in a little green tube. NOMMINESS!

Carrots are a must, and I always try to have some in the house. The carrots I planted a couple of weekends ago haven't started making an appearance yet, but when they do, their thinnings will make for yummy greens in my salads.

Green beans, broccoli, onions, kohlrabi....whatever else is hanging around gets chopped and thrown into the mix.

Dressing is simple, a little apple cider vinegar, a little olive oil, and a lot of spices. I'm partial to a little bit of salt, pepper, oregano, and Mrs. Dash.

You might ask, "Why no leafy veggies?" To which I answer, because this is what I take to work, silly person.  And I don't want to eat wilted veggies for lunch!

And you might say, "So why don't you leave off the dressing and mix it when you go to eat it at lunch time?"

And I'll reply, "Don't bore me with petty details, you whippersnapper!

The honest answer is that I get bored of leafy veggie salads quickly. This way, I can make it a day or two ahead of time, and have a few meals out of it. The dressing acts as a marinade, and all the veggie's and spices' have blended flavors.  I just throw a couple of slices of turkey or chicken breast on the top, and I'm ready to go to work with little to no effort in the morning.

It's all good.

Junque Yard: Things. They are a'Blooming!

'Maters! They are a'comin'

Tiger Lillies and the season's first Black-eyed Susans.

Day Lillies

Tiger Lily - close up

First Cukes of the season. Thanks to my neighbor, who gave me the starts

Banana Peppers...my favorite

Purple Bell Peppers, ready for picking.

One more tiger lily, because I love them...

Junque Food - staving off the boredom of salads

I always say that I love me a salad that I don't have to make. That rule gets relaxed in the spring when I pick my first greens from the garden. But it's short lived. I really do get bored eating salads quickly.

And I'm not talking potato salads, cole slaw, or pasta salads. Those are temporarily off the menu while I try this Paleo Diet thing. And if you haven't read me gushing about my personal experience with Paleo diet, click here: Do you eat what you grow?

Ok, back? Good.

So back to salads. I needed to wrap my brain around the fact that salad doesn't necessarily have to mean leafy greens. Particularly for lunches at work, where the leafy greens tend to not stay fresh and crisp by lunchtime.

Since my body craves "crunchy" I've been making salads that have whatever fresh veggies that I have around. Here are some of the things I've been using, in various combos:

sliced or julienne carrots
celery
banana peppers
brocolli florets
slived green onions
crushed garlic
cucumbers

And I usually toss it with a red-wine vinaigrette and a splash of garlic-red chili sauce. Occasionally I'll sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top for a little extra Oomph. Even though that's not Paleo, but it sure is tasty!!

I also made a pretty good better-for-you cole slaw this week. I had a bag of pre-shredded cabbage that I mixed with onion, garlic and a little more carrot than the teeny amount that comes in the bag. I dressed it again with the red wine vinaigrette in stead of sour cream and mayo. It was pretty darn good!

And the red wine vinaigrette turned the cole slaw a pretty shade of pink, too.

heh.

Share with some of your favorite non-traditional salads, please!