My Veggie Garden

February 28, 2013

The entrance to my side kitchen garden

By Sheila

I come from a family that loves to garden.  I think it’s really an extension of loving the outdoors and loving to eat.  My Grandma Lola had a garden that I think would feed a small country.  Two of my aunts are Master Gardeners, and so am I.  This is a program sponsored in each state by your land grant college.  It is specific to your area, and provides all kinds of research-based information regarding successful cultivation for where you live.  In my part of Arizona, the only “down-time” for a gardener is really July-September.  This is a mindset that takes some getting used to for all the transplants that put down roots here.

The mesclun mix is our favorite; a seed packet variety of tender greens. Note the drip system; a must in the desert!

My vegetable garden is a fairly small space.  It’s right outside the kitchen door, making it very handy for harvesting.  I planted my winter garden in November, and have been enjoying the freshest lettuce varieties since the middle of December. We have Romaine, Red and Green Leaf, Arugula, and a Mesclun mix of loose-leaf lettuces that provide us a wide variety of salad greens all winter.  In addition I have radishes, Swiss chard, spinach, kale, carrots, peas, green onions and bush beans.  A variety of fresh vegetables providing food and fun for us for months.

Newly planted; a few transplants, lots of seeds, and of course a flower border!

While I am the gardener at our house, my husband likes to harvest the goods, and he is very enthusiastic and appreciative of the bounty.  He has a great partner-in-crime in our almost four year old granddaughter Camryn.  She loves to pick everything, but especially the pretty red radishes.  Her Papa has taught her to look for the red tops breaking through the soil and how to gently pull them out.  Not that she will eat them!  She will feed anything to her little sister Paige, though.  And Paige can make a carrot from the garden last for hours gnawing on it.  We are going to plant strawberries soon, and I hope she’ll like to eat those.  I confess to outright garden bribery when my nephews were little.  My brother was instructed to always call before he came over so that I had time to get to the store to buy strawberries to “plant” among the strawberry plants.  Those boys thought I was the best gardener around and loved to look for new strawberries to eat when they came over.  And so easy to pick!

Last year's spring garden; can't wait to plant the tomatoes!

I didn’t have the time, patience or inclination to garden when I was younger, but I get a great deal of enjoyment out of it now.  I like the tranquility and beauty of a garden.  I like the magic that happens with a handful of seeds thrown in the soil.  Especially the giant hollyhocks and the nasturtiums that I planted from seed once and they continue to produce more plants, year after year.  I like the renewal that starts this time of year, when plants that you thought might be dead from frost, start to show a little bit of green.  And like my friend Bob, I find it very satisfying to prune stragglers back into a better form.  Mostly, I find it very relaxing to wander through the garden with my basket and my clippers, pulling weeds, picking produce and watching the hummingbirds and the butterflies share my little corner of the world.

Camryn requested that we install this scarecrow, "'cuz she's not too scary, Nana"!

 

My Favorite Money Books

By Sheila

You can see how well-worn my original copy on the right is!

People sometimes ask me what my favorite books are.  I know generally they are talking about the greatest novel ever written, but my mind always jumps to my favorite books on money.  I re-read these books every so often, and each time I gain some new insight or grasp a new way of thinking about money that I am now prepared to do something about.  All information about money does not apply to all of the people all of the time.  It depends on where you are in your financial journey through life.  Something that you may have discounted as too complicated or not applicable at one point, may be just what you need now.

One of my all-time favorite books on this subject is Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez.  It was first published in 1992, but a revised edition was printed in 2008, with more updated advice for this millennium.  It provides a perspective about money that helps the reader decide what the real value of work is, and what items are worth trading that “life energy “for.  In addition, the authors lay out a concrete plan for determining “how much is enough” for each individual, and how to reach the point of financial independence, based on what is important to you.  While many financial experts do not agree with the investment advice in this book, the concepts are profound and worth thinking about.  If you like this book, check out Getting A Life by Jacqueline Blix and David Heitmiller.  Theirs is the story of these principles put into action. 

 

I also like The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko, Ph.D. This book debunks the myth that people that spend a great deal of money on expensive status symbols are obviously millionaires.  In fact, not keeping up with the Jones’ is a key contributor to many people becoming millionaires, according to the extensive research explained in this book.  Not that this should come as a surprise to any of us, but some of the habits of the typcial millionaire might surprise you.  A very interesting book that opened my eyes regarding wealth and status.  The implication here is that according to Forbes magazine "nearly anybody with a steady job can amass a tidy fortune".  There is something very powerful to be said for keeping your expenses reined in.
 

And for investment advice, I like Charles Schwab’s New Guide to Financial Independence.  It’s easy enough for an amateur like me to digest, yet a thorough explanation of investment options and advice to consider in order to have our money working  for us, instead of working for a paycheck all of our lives.  I like the section that suggests some specific ways to estimate how much money you will need to retire, and how much you will need to save to achieve that goal.  Very practical and easy to grasp.

I have purchased Your Money or Your Life several times and given it as gifts.  I think I even remember dropping it in the bathtub a few times, as you can see from the state it is in.  It has been well-read.   Of course, I bought the last two books at the Goodwill.  $1.50 vs. $25.00?  I love that!  It gives me an extra big thrill to buy a book about being wise with your money at a thrift store!

What are your favorite books about money?  Have you read these?  What are your thoughts?  I’d love to hear from you!

Tinga de Pollo (Spicy Chicken!)

by Ann

We have a busy, exciting week in store -- this is "wedding week" for our dear niece Megan, and her fiance, Aaron.  Amanda and Eric, the first out-of-towners arrived on Friday from Germany where Eric is a pilot for the Air Force.  Wanting to be able to spend some time catching up with this niece and her hubby before the wedding related festivities get going, I planned an informal family dinner so we'd have a chance to see what they've been up to without having to compete for their time.

What to make for dinner?  I wanted to do something simple and and southwestern, so decided on "Tinga de Pollo," a recipe that was shared with me by a Culinary Arts teacher whose Hispanic students introduced it to her.  Be forewarned! It is very spicy! The flavor-packed chicken can be made into a burrito, tostado, taco, or served on top of a bed of lettuce.  Spanish rice, black beans, salad, guacamole, chips, and a multitude of garnishes were also served.

The ingredients for Tinga de Pollo are few -- basically just chicken, onion, tomato, and a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  I was very reluctant to add as much onion as called for, but once cooked it does not seem too "onion-y" at all.  The recipe calls for 3-5 onions.  I used three and a half, one at the beginning of the cooking process, and the remaining sauteed with a bit of garlic prior to adding the chicken and sauce.

The small can of peppers packs  A LOT of punch!!

Yes, this seems like w-a-y too many onions, but it all works in the end!  Cook  them until they are soft prior to adding the chicken.

I knew that the dish was very spicy, and wasn't sure that my guests would all be brave enough to eat it that way, so I kept some of it out plain.  Because of that I was reluctant to add all of the sauce at once, so I added the sauce to the chicken gradually.

Once we were ready to eat, everyone grabbed a plate and tortillas, got chicken, rice and beans, and moved  on to get the toppings (see below) 

Tinga de Pollo

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts, skin removed if not skinless
2-4 chicken bouillon cubes, or the equivalent
3-5 onions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T oil
6 medium fresh tomatoes, or the canned equivalent
1 7 ounce can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2-3 c water

Directions:

1. Cook the chicken breasts in a crock pot or in enough water to keep moist with the bouillon cubes for a bit of extra flavor and 1 onion, roughly chopped until thoroughly cooked.
2. Cool chicken and shred meat with two forks.
3. Heat oil in large skillet and cook remaining onions and minced garlic.  (I used 2 and a half more large onions – it seemed like A LOT of onion, but it worked out great.)
4. Place tomatoes and entire can of peppers in sauce in blender, processing until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add the chicken and tomato to the onions in the pan, and cook until the sauce is evenly distributed.  Add broth from when the chicken was cooked if needed, but the chicken should be somewhat dry once the sauce is added.  If there is extra moisture, cook until it is absorbed.

Serve:

With tortillas, chips, tostado shells, or on salads with sour cream and avocado slices.

Yield:  LOTS!  It's amazing how much five shredded chicken breasts and a pan of onions can feed -- if you serve it with what I did, this could easily have been dinner for ten or more people.

I will also include my recipe for Spanish rice.  I came up with this back in my teaching days when my students needed to make large quantities of rice for events.  It is simple and good, I don't even like rice very much!

Spanish Rice

Ingredients:

2 c chicken broth

1 t garlic salt

½ c salsa

¼ t cumin

½ t chili powder

¼ t ground oregano

2 T dehydrated onions

1 c converted rice

Directions:

1.      Bring first 7 ingredients to a boil. 

2.      Add rice, and bring back to boil.

3.      Cover tightly, and simmer 20 minutes, until all liquid has been absorbed.

The guests of honor with my mom, Amanda's grandma.

P.S. - I tried to find a translation for "Tinga" on the Internet with no luck -- but there are lots of similar versions of this recipe available online.  It's popular for good reason.  

Camo and Lace

by Heather

I've been seeing a lot of camouflage fashion in magazines and blogs, but camo and lace together? The juxtaposition of lace and camouflage...the dichotomy of the feminine lace and the military-inspired camo -- just couldn't resist it when I saw this infinity scarf online at Nordstrom's juniors' accessories. 

Nordstrom infinity scarf; Loft jacket (old); Chicos tank

White House Black Market jeans, and sunlight playing games on my jacket

I am in LOVE with my new black, gold, and bling Michael Kors watch! Three bangles from Nordstrom

 Aldo boots and a Rebecca Minkoff purse

I love wearing scarves so I've been trying to increase my repertoire of scarf ties by watching videos and looking at pictures. Below is one of my new favorite ties, using an Ann Taylor scarf.

The navy and orange scarf below from Banana Republic gets wrapped easily around the neck and the ends drape over the front.

This is not a hard one to do (below); it's just hard to see what I've done. Moral of the story is use a different scarf to demonstrate this tie and put it against another color! I included it just because I love the color orange and the white birds flying all over the Norstrom's scarf.

Another Banana Republic scarf (yes, it's the same pattern as the orange and navy one but I so liked the colors that I had to get this one, too) in one of my favorite ties.

If you're scarf-challenged like me, try watching the short video from blogger Wendy Nguyen (Wendy's Lookbook.com). She's one of the most beautiful and fashionable bloggers out there with a truly inspirational story (read more about that at her blog). 

25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 minutes at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LYAEz777AU&feature=player%20embedded

Another short video "16 Ways to Tie 4 Scarves" can be found at:

http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/scarf-video

There's a great blog with pictures and videos on how to tie scarves at:
http://www.maitaispicturebook.com/

My plan is to try a new way each time I wear a scarf and maybe with a bit of practice, I'll have several more in my skills set.  With the weather the way it's been across the country, I think we'll have at least several more weeks of scarf-wearing weather.

Love,
Heather

Game Night punch recipes

by Ann

The food table filled with lots of great treats.  

Being in charge of big events is fun, but it is also a relief when they are over!  That's how I felt Tuesday evening at about 10:00 p.m. when the last counter was being wiped down in the kitchen of  the "women's clubhouse," a building in my city's historic district where the service organization I am in meets twice a month.

Generally the meetings consist of planning fundraising or community service events, and a lot of business that is necessary, but not what I'd consider fun.  Don't get me wrong -- we value the friendships made among club members, and we manage to find some fun in everything we do, but with the exception of one or two meetings a year, they are all about getting business done.

This year's president asked me to be in charge of one of the "fun meetings" with the only stipulations being that I don't spend much club money to pull it off and that everyone has a great time.  At this particular meeting members invite potential new members and make sure that they leave with an upbeat impression of our organization.

Each table had a different game or activity.

Assisted by six of my best pals in the club we pulled off a very fun game night with six rotations of different games at tables with color-coded balloons, lots of great food, a couple of punch recipes I am including in this post, and the grand finale of singing an upbeat version of a girlfriend sing-a-long to the tune of the Village People's "YMCA."

There is a rule at this clubhouse that very minimal alcohol is allowed; a provision made for champagne toasts at wedding receptions held in the building.  We occasionally take the concept behind that exception and make it fit our purposes -- as we did on Game Night with a white sangria punch.  (With that said, I made sure that the empty wine bottles went home with me rather than be placed in the trash where the owners might not be as liberal with their interpretation of stretching the rule....) 

Although I plan to share with you my dear friend Ginny's great white sangria recipe, what I am most enthusiastic about is the fruit punch recipe that I will list first.  

A couple of years ago I was in charge of punch for our club's scholarship recipient recognition event where the families of the kids who are awarded scholarships come for a lovely program that highlights the accomplishments of all of the recipients receiving money from our club.  As always, I searched the Internet for a recipe.  I don't like sweet punch.  If there is sherbet floating in punch I run the opposite direction.  The recipe described below is the BEST non-alcoholic fruit punch I have ever had.  In my humble :-) opinion, I have improved it by decreasing the sugar by a whole cup.  Believe me, the way I have it described is plenty sweet, but know that the original recipe called for 2 1/2 cups of sugar.

Hmm.... Should I have Sangria or fruit punch to drink??

Fruit Punch Extraordinaire

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c granulated sugar
6 c water
1 3 oz packages of strawberry gelatin powder (or one 6 oz box)
1 46-oz can pineapple juice
2/3 c lemon juice
1 quart orange juice
2 2-liter bottles of lemon lime flavored soda

Directions:

1. Bring the sugar, water, and gelatin mix to a boil in a large pan and boil for 3 minutes.
2. Stir in fruit juices.
3. Divide punch into two gallon-sized ziplock bags and freeze them for at least 8 hours.
4. Let each bag of frozen punch sit at room temperature for about an hour and then place it in a punch bowl with 1 2-liter bottle of soda.  With a spatula or potato masher break up the frozen punch into pieces.

The frozen bag of punch on the counter at the clubhouse -- retro tile, huh?

Yes, I use a potato masher to break up the frozen punch into the  soda.

Each frozen bag and bottle of soda will serve about 25.

The punch will stay slushy for at least two hours.  It is amazingly tasty -- especially my version with less sugar.

As for the white sangria -- that was a huge hit as well.  In fact, a quadruple batch of it was polished off by the end of the evening, while there was still punch left from my first frozen baggie batch of fruit punch.  I think that speaks more to the crowd that the tastiness of the beverages!  See below for that recipe:

Ginny's White Sangria Punch

Ingredients:
8 oz Martinelli's sparkling cider
8 oz mango nectar
2 oz triple sec
2 oz apricot brandy
24 oz Savignon blanc
juice of 1 lemon, freshly squeezed
juice of 1 orange, freshly squeezed
fruit for garnish - cherries, strawberries, oranges, pineapple, lime, etc.

Directions:
Mix and chill all ingredients other than the sparkling cider which you will add immediately prior to serving.
Add ice* and fruit to serve.

*Since I had the freeze-punch-in-baggies concept going, I put some of the Sangria in regular sized baggies, froze it, and added the frozen product to the pitcher with the rest of the sangria prior to adding the Martinelli's.  No sense in watering it down with ice!!!

The event is over and was a huge success --
One more big project to check off the list!  Woo - hoo!

Winter into Spring Decor

by Heather

At this time of the year I find it a little difficult to decorate seasonally here in the Valley of the Sun because even though the calendar says "winter" the temps might suggest "spring." My so-called "winter decor" always seems to be somewhere between the two seasons. I still have the woolie throws and furry pillows out, but verdant accents of apples, pears, and flowers have crept in.

Some of these pictures were taken right after Valentine's Day when I still had multiple vases of roses and tulips in bloom (see Valentine Table for Two post on 1/31/13).  I shared the living room pictures of "Winter Decor" back on January 24th, so let's start in the front dining room.

The little dropleaf table in the front dining room (someday this will be the baby grand piano room) gets loaded with books, mercury glass vases entwined with wire, and a large Pottery Barn jug filled with faux blossoms. 

The silver candelabra sitting on the small zebra print footstool was a gift from a colleague (thank you, Michelle). She found it for $10 at the local Goodwill store and knew that I would love it. I do! It's even been camping (or should I say "glamping") with me.

The roses lasted such a long time after Valentine's Day. Here are some against the lighted black cabinets from Ethan Allen. The three-bottle-holder was a find from Michael's.

BEFORE

The picture above was taken immediately after Valentine's Day; below is what it looks like today. 

AFTER

The apples and tulips may be faux but the lemons and grapefruits are 100% real from the trees of one of my colleagues. Thanks, Joyce!

The rosemary topiaries below were moved in from outside after Christmas. The weather has been freezing overnight and I wanted them to live as long as possible.

BEFORE

I wanted to add a little more Spring to this tabletop vignette so I moved the topiaries out (okay, the truth is that I killed them). Anyway,  I thought since I love orange so much in fashion, I should add some into the home decor. The sweet orange flowering plants are from Fry's Grocery Store.

AFTER

 The orange tray and candle are from Z Gallerie. I'm not sure yet about this -- it's so much color for a house awash in neutrals. We'll see how long this lasts...

I change the vignette atop the entertainment center seasonally although the three hurricanes seem to have found a permanent home there. Right now they're joined by a small collection of birds, some of which are contained under wire cloches.

 

The mantel for the family room fireplace is on the to-do list for hubby. It's too narrow to allow for vignettes with any depth so I'd like him to construct a wooden mantel. Maybe I can learn how to do this myself?? Hanging hurricanes on either side are changed out with Spring candles and faux green apples.

The next time it's my turn to do a post about furnishings will be several weeks before Easter -- plenty of time between now and then to get out the bunnies and other Easter paraphernalia, right? And for the weather to get back to normal here. This past weekend, the temps were in the high 70s and low 80s. Today, I drove home from work in near whiteout conditions. Yes, here in Scottsdale, Arizona, it was snowing/sleeting/hailing (graupel) with thunder, lightning, and fog! I haven't driven in weather like that since I lived in Minnesota.  Crazy times!!

Love,
Heather

Money and Lifestyle

Show me the Money!

By Sheila

February 20, 2013

Although we are primarily a “Lifestyle” blog, let’s face it money is a big factor in your lifestyle.  When Heather and Ann and I met this week to talk blogging (okay, have Happy Hour), they encouraged me to delve into this topic in the name of frugality.  I admit to being oddly fascinated by money management.  I read lots of books on the subject; from basic personal finance to more complex investing and retirement planning.  I am always scanning the library shelves and Amazon for what’s new.  This is not to say that I am an expert by any means, but I will offer up some resources that I have found useful, and you might too.

As many of you know, we are in the newly retired and soon to retire and even can’t freakin’ wait to retire stages of our lives.  And by us, I mean the three of us bloggers and our husbands and many of our friends.  I won’t say who is in which category, however, except that I am in the last.  Don’t misunderstand; we have enjoyed our careers and are appreciative of the opportunities and benefits we enjoy from work.  And we are likely to continue to do some things along the way that either give us a reason to get out of bed in the morning or bring in a little extra cash or both.  But while that is fine and good, it is important to know where you stand prior to making some of these decisions.  I occasionally drive my husband crazy with financial updates, progress on goals, etc.  One of the greatest tools for this that I have discovered is Mint.com.  (You’re welcome, dear).

Mint is a free website that allows you to gather all of your financial data in one place.  It will give you real-time numbers for balances in your bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and investment accounts.  It will connect with Zillow.com to give you an estimate on the property you own, if you want.  You can add the estimated value of other items you own such as vehicles (or sailboats?) or whatever.  All you need is the online access to your accounts and you can set this up.  And you don’t need to be close to retirement to have this work for you.  Good for you if you are in your 20’s and are thinking ahead.  Want to retire early?  Set your goals, get to work and watch it happen on Mint.

Some of you are thinking, “That can’t be safe, giving them all that information”.  Well the key is, you can view this information in Mint, but you can’t do anything else.  You can’t move money; you can’t pay a bill, no transactions whatsoever.  I appreciate this when I am traveling, because I can check on my bank accounts without really getting into my bank accounts.  I don’t trust hackers at public wifi spots, but I do trust Mint.  You can have Mint send you alerts for when bills are due, accounts are low, etc.  It will automatically send you a weekly summary of your spending and your net worth.  You can set up budgets and it will categorize your spending and keep track of where you are.   You can set financial goals such as paying down debt or saving for a vacation and it will track this for you.  All in one place, real-time in seconds.  On your phone, your computer  or iPad.  I love it!

I am not a highly technical person, but I found this easy enough to set up and well worth it.  It is very motivating to see the mortgage getting smaller and the investments getting bigger so we can achieve our goals of retiring and enjoying the lifestyle we want to have.  Check it out at https://www.mint.com and watch your money grow!