Phase 2: The Garden

I was a busy bee this week trying out new recipes and working in the yard. My first project was to bake whole wheat bread. Umm...I did something wrong.

Here's a "before" picture. I have visions of lovely, giant, fluffy, tasty bread.

Here's the "after". Two bricks that did NOT rise.

But, I didn't let that stop me. I went to Facebook and sought advice on how to salvage this bread. The whole point of baking my own is to save money. So, I was not going to waste these two loafs. I got creative and improvised a bread pudding recipe. I served it to my husband, daughter and in-laws....and...BOMB! Then I thought, "Maybe, I'll make breadcrumbs!" But, who am I kidding? Those loafs live in the trash now. But I DID make a successful batch of granola. I over cooked it a little so the granola BARS, they were supposed to be, were just crumbled into plain ol' granola. I took that recipe and added raisins. Very tasty! I'm not too discouraged, it was my first try at a yeast bread.

So, the big news is that I have begun Phase 2 of the hippy movement. The fruit and veggie garden! My friend, Justine, whipped me into shape and did some research and shopping to get our garden together. She is also on the road to hippyville so we decided to cultivate our green thumbs together. We are late in the season, so we could not plant our long list of veggies and settled with the following:

1. Watermelon

2. Strawberries

3. Green peppers (possibly some red ones too!)

4. Tomatoes

5. Bush Beans

6. Mint

7. I'm forgetting one, I think....Justine, help me out here.

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!

We finished the day with some hilarious stories. Including myself almost falling into the muddy garden in a cartoon-like fashion. Complete with me yelling, "Whoa...Whoa!!" Then, of course, there was the make-shift fence we patched together to keep the rabbits out only to find out that it would NOT keep out the rabbits. I'll tear if down later. If you're lucky I'll snap a picture first.

What's next?

1. Our CSA box is on the way! Hopefully, our paperwork will go through and we can start our bi-weekly pick-ups next Wednesday.

2. A side of cow is in the works. We will be ordering a side of grass-fed beef from a farm in Smithville, TX and splitting it with 3 or 4 other families. It comes out to $4 a pound. Which is MUCH better than the $7 a pound you can buy it for in the stores.

3. Buying raw Texas honey in bulk via a co-op. (Also, much cheaper!)

4. Finding a good source for Fair Trade coffee and chocolate.

5. Visiting a local dairy to find out more about raw milk.

It all seems a little overwhelming, but Justine has jumped in with both feet to help out with the research and shopping. Which is a HUGE help, since I have two little ones scrambling around. We have big plans to have weekly meal planning and shopping trips to Sprouts together. I'm so excited! If you are planning a healthy overhaul in your life, my one recommendation is: Find a buddy!