Taking a Veggie-Break

I’ve decided to take a break from Veggies…. At this point, not sure when or if I will be back.

So much on the go right now: a new part-time job, training courses, working on my new cookbook and also a crochet book (woohooo!!!) among other things.

I also find myself spending waaaaaaaaaay too much time, staring at a computer screen every day, in the past few weeks. Not good for any of us, is it?

I will continue to post on a fairly regular basis at My Poetic Path and of course hope you will stop by for a visit there, now and then. Hope to find the time to visit some of my fav blogs on a sporadic basis.

I have noted though, that a number of my fav blogs have been rather quiet of late; perhaps other bloggers finding that regular posts are just not getting done as they would like.

Also, WordPress seems to be acting up quite a bit lately, making posting more time-consuming (sometimes downright frustrating-eg: my sidebar woes of late, still need to click a post to bring the sidebar back in line!!!) which also has been taking some of the fun out of posting.

In the meantime, I wish you all well and thanks so much for all your support, friendship and encouragement along the way. It’s meant more to me than I can express.

Do stop by to reference the archives or just to leave a comment to say hello and how you are doing. I will be checking in when I can.

Huggs, until we meet again, G   

Calling all felines and feline lovers!

I have written a poem especially for our lovely Mr. Cheddar.

Hope you will stop by :  Ode to Mr. C

Wishing you all (four and two legged) friends a great day!  

Earth Hour on Earth Day?

Just thought of this tonight (still Monday night as I type this). Rather late to post about this idea.

I do hope that some of you will join me and Joe and the kitties, on Tuesday 22nd, Earth Day and show your support by participating in another Earth Hour between 8-9pm, your local time.

In case you weren’t aware of this recent global event, be sure to check out the Earth Hour site to find out about the first one. And what an amazing event it was!

Here’s the post I wrote about the first Earth Hour (yes,we did participate)!

I think this would be a small but significant way to show support for: Earth Day and all that we have to be grateful for, on this our beautiful but endangered planet.

Do let me know if you were able to participate in Earth Hour on Earth Day. It’s only an hour, but what a difference an hour can make.

Happy Earth Day!       

Photo courtesy of: Flickr

Stressed Out! Keep reading….

Ooooommmmm…..

Why is it that on our most stressful days we seem to crave a bit of solitude and nature, more than anything?

At least that’s the way it is for me.

This beautiful photo really caught my attention as I looked through the 100’s of choices on flickr, in the category: calm and serene.

Is there anyone who wouldn’t like to reduce their stress level? Equally important, the enormous and long-term impact that stress has on us: physically, mentally and emotionally.

This About.com- quick stress test (see link below ) was quite revealing.

I “scored” in the range: “ok but could do better”. At the end of the quiz, there are scores of articles and resources to check out ; related to your own particular problem areas of stress, based on the quiz.

The Stress Test

Another great resource site/blog for stress management tips, nutritional facts and news updates and many, many realistic positive change suggestions :

Living Stress Free, Naturally, hosted by my talented and knowledgeable blog bud, Michelle.

What is your best stress-relief tip? How often do you follow your own good advice in terms of truly dealing with stress in a proactive way?

My stress-busting tip for the day:

Hug someone you love as soon as you can. And remember, your pets need hugs too!

Sending a big hug to all of you, G

Friday catch-up!

Well,here it is, Friday already. I hope you’ve all had a great week.

Mine’s been jam-packed (but in a good way). More on the details of all these new-found pursuits in a little while.Suffice to say for now: some new work-related training and also outside work pursuits have been added to my schedule.

Part of which will now include a room full of beautiful yarns to ponder!

Have I piqued your interest? Stay tuned….

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to a couple of “chill days” this weekend; catching up on some crafty stuff including getting my “sewing for the summer” plans firmed up.

I am also stash-busting in the fabric department and hope to have one day a week designated as Crafts Only: sewing, knitting, crocheting, jewellery-making etc,etc. NO computer, no real work, no unnecessary chores. If I could conjure up an 8th day for each week, I know I could make this a weekly reality. I’m still gonna try though.

Seems that if we don’t plan ahead for fun pursuits, the next thing another week has flown past and the “good stuff” never happened.

Any suggestions for “squeezing” out more time from each day, do tell. Giving up sleep is not an option btw. Other than that, I’m a listening!!!

Another one of my fav things to do obviously is to cook. And again, I am making a committment to try for one new recipe every week.

This is a new main dish recipe which I created a couple of weeks ago and I hope you will try it and enjoy it, very soon:                         

“Green Lentil, Tomato and Veggie Bake” 

                                                                                 

With the goodness of lentils, rice and lots of veggies with an interesting hint of spices to make this one a bit special and different.

If you like “meals in a casserole” to pop in the oven and forget about, as much as I do; I’m guessing you’ll be adding this to your main dish regular file. At least I hope so.

Do let me know how you and your family enjoy this one.

Wishing you all an abundant and productive week.  Huggs, G

********

Green Lentil, Tomato and Veggie Bake

Easy, colorful and delicious. A complete supper from the oven.

Serves 4-6 generously.

1 C. green lentils

1 C. brown rice (your choice of variety)

2 T. vegetable oil

3-4 cloves of minced garlic (to taste)

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 large carrots, finely diced

2 large stalks of celery, finely diced

1-19 oz. can of diced tomatoes or whole, chopped (drain and reserve juice)

1-2 tsp. dried thyme leaves, to taste

1/4- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, to taste

1/2- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, to taste

1-2 tsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning blend, to taste

sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1 vegetable soup cube

Topping:

1/2 C. whole wheat or multi-grain coarse breadcrumbs

3/4 C. grated sharp Cheddar or Mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning blend

Thoroughly rinse and drain lentils and also the rice and set aside.

Grease a 2 1/2 Qt. casserole or ceramic baking dish and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large frypan or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onions, garlic,carrots and celery for 5 minutes until slightly softened. Add drained tomatoes and spices and simmer for 2-3 more minutes.Add reserved tomato juice (add enough water to make 4C. of liquid in total) and vegetable soup cube and stir to thoroughly combine all ingredients. Adjust seasonings, to taste.

Transfer to prepared baking dish. Cover and bake for 40-45 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. While casserole is baking, combine topping ingredients. Remove cover, sprinkle with topping mix and bake for 10-15 more minutes uncovered, until golden and crunchy on the top.

                                

“Green Lentil, Tomato and Veggie Bake” recipe: © 2008 Geraldine Hartman. All rights reserved.