A Glance in the Rearview Mirror (April 2012)

What a great month on the blog! If you missed any posts from the past few weeks, you’ll definitely want to catch up. My days have been full of preparing our garden, teaching BarreAmped classes, and starting a new part time job at Vintage Remedies. I also took a vacation to Asheville, NC to see the Biltmore with my grandmother and eat my way through the city (or at least that’s what it felt like!) Hopefully I’ll get around to posting some local restaurant reviews here so any Asheville natives or visitors can check them out. Some of our favorites were our local grass-fed burgers and sweet potato fries from Green Sage (and the sourdough French toast with walnuts the next morning for breakfast):

And our Sunburst Salmon Omelet with goat cheese and Strawberry Tarragon Goat Cheese Hotcakes made with local flour from Overeasy Cafe:

Also, the gardens at the Biltmore were insane. I almost passed out in the azalea garden from inhaling so deeply. It smelled so wonderful! These beauties were in the conservatory:

Growing Green Series Recap

One of the most exciting things on the blog was the Growing Green series I joined with Broccoli Cupcake, i Dream of Clean, and The Frugal Seed. All month long, each of us posted simple tips to go green, save green, think green, and teach green. My contributions were 5 Simple Tips to Green Your Backyard, 20 Simple Ways to Save Money on Your Utility Bill, a (Non) Disposable Challenge, and a post titled, I Wonder What My Neighbors Must Think.

If you want to join in on the (non) disposable challenge, it’s not too late! Simply commit to not buy anything disposable for the next month. No paper towels, no paper napkins, no trash bags, no tissues, no plastic baggies. (Toilet paper is still allowed, though!) If you run out of something inside the month long parameters, either go without or get creative to find ways to use things you already own (or buy reusable, preferably used or repurposed, items like glass jars from the thrift store).

Food Food Food

Recipes this month covered just about every meal. I started with breakfast (Carrot Cake Porridge – a great way to eat your veggies first thing in the morning), moved on to party appetizers (Goat Cheese Pepper Poppers – gone in a split second at my friend’s birthday celebration), turned to a main dish salad (Not Too Creamy Egg Salad – perfect for making a large batch to keep in the fridge for lunches), and ended with an epic dessert muffin (Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins – the whole orange goes in the blender. Talk about easy!)

Urban Homesteading and Otherwise Being Politically Incorrect

The hubby and I are having so much fun living in a house with a yard. I was pleasantly surprised by all the reader’s comments on this post who use a reel mower to cut their lawn as well!

I also took a stand against a vegan diet being a healthy one. What are your thoughts on the issue? Click here and leave a comment!

On the Book List

I finally finished reading Folks, This Ain’t Normal by Joel Salatin! My goal has been to read at least one book each month this year. Folk, This Ain’t Normal was supposed to be my book for February. I just finished in mid-April. Granted, it’s a 350 page book, so cut a girl some slack. I guess I’ll just have to double up and read two books in a month soon.

For April, I’m almost finished with The Vintage Remedies Guide to Bread. This book is revolutionizing the way I look at bread and grains in general! It’s incredibly well researched and easy to understand. And it’s fascinating how much misinformation is out there about bread, grains, and gluten. After all, grains made up 53% – 75% of the diet of ancient civilizations. It nourished and sustained them for generations. What happened? Get the real story and learn how to make your own healthy bread at home with minimal effort. (Seriously. I’ve already tried it and I love it!)

Looking Ahead to May

I’m excited to share that I’m in the process of a blog redesign! I figured it was time for something fresh. Hopefully May will be the month to unveil it!

I also have quite a few great recipes ready to post. The one I’m most excited about at the moment? Rosemary Lemonade made with zero refined sugar.

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Which post from Laurel of Leaves was your favorite this past month?