Spring Garden Update Plus an Easy Green Smoothie

So, last year our garden was a bust.  Between the heat, my pregnancy, and the condition of our soil, our plants just didn’t want to produce.  I am really hoping that this year is different.  I think our soil has improved much through the winter… we also added some compost and peat moss to help it maintain moisture.  Last year, our garden boxes were like the Sahara. 

So far, I have planted a mixed variety of lettuces, kale, carrots, and arugula of which the kale and lettuces are growing already.  I also bought a swiss chard plant which seems to be doing well.  I am so excited to make green smoothies with our very own garden produce (recipe at the bottom)!  

Kale

Lettuce

We also have two rhubarb plants in the alley but I don’t think we will be getting a crop this year. 

Our seedlings just aren’t doing great indoors so I am thinking we will be buying plants this year.  Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are on the list.  Basil and rosemary are some herbs that I really want to grow too.  We already have mint and what seems to be cilantro growing in odd places in the yard. 

As always, our raspberry garden is in full force.  I added a golden raspberry stock to liven up the variety! 

Golden Raspberry

We plan on using the entire side of the house to plant pumpkins this year.  We are already excited for roasted pumpkin seeds!

Our peach tree survived this year and hopefully we will have some deliciously sweet peaches come August!  

Peach Blossom

Elise got her very own peony this year!  It is a coral peony and I am very excited to see it bloom!

Cross your fingers that I will have lots of garden updates this summer.  Also, some rain dancing would be greatly appreciated!  

Green smoothie recipe:

-2 cups of greens plus some liquid (I use water but any kind of milk or juice would work)

-2 cups of ripe fruit and veggies (banana, oranges, strawberries, apples... anything goes really)

-add-ins (chia, flax, protein powder, wheat germ, anything you want)

-Blender or bullet (I use the bullet)

Blend the greens and the liquid first then add in your fruit/veggies and add-ins.  Blend until smooth!  Enjoy!

Garden Update No. 1

Last week, we finally got to plant our veggies!  

We are a wee bit late but better late than never.  Here is a list of what we planted:

~Black Krim Tomatoes

~Cherry Tomatoes

~Early Treat Tomatoes

~Carrots

~Ceasar’s Lettuce blend

~Baby Red Lettuce blend

~Poblano peppers

~Anaheim peppers

~Tomatillos

~Eggplant

~Serrano peppers

~Bell Peppers

~Habanero peppers

~Cucumbers

~Summer Squash

~Zucchini

~Watermelon

~Peas

~Cantaloupe

~Pumpkins

~Fennel

~Okra

Wow!  I didn’t realize how much we actually planted until I wrote it down!  Our raspberries are coming in nicely and I am starting to think that we need to plant a different strawberry plant next year, as we only have a few plants with fruit (but squirrels or rabbits always eat them before I get to them anyways). 

No sprouts from the seeds yet but I’m hoping to see some in the next 4-5 days.  Our seedlings are acclimating well. 

I wish we had put in a watering system but maybe that will be next year’s project for the garden. 

Our peonies have popped and instead of having them fall to the ground outside, I cut a few stems and made an arrangement for our kitchen! 

I also noticed this amazing rainbow while I was trying to get some pictures of the newly planted veggies.  The pictures really do not do this rainbow justice; I'm pretty sure this was the most amazing one I have ever seen.  It was almost turning into a quadruple rainbow.

We have ONE whole peach growing on our peach tree!  I’m actually pretty surprised we have the one due to that May 1^st snow storm.  I was noticing a lot of ants crawling around that tree about 2 weeks ago but when we got home from our trip, I found all these little ladybugs instead… and no more ants!

 

I love being outside but with the temps soaring so early this year, I'm not quite sure how much I will be able to soak up the sun.  At least there are early mornings and late nights that I can appreciate!

Happy Gardening!

DIY Outdoor Fountain

I love the soothing sound of water.  I have wanted a fountain for a few years but they are just so expensive… that is unless you make your own.  

I also love Craigslist! You can find so many great things on there. I was looking around on there last weekend and decided to look up large pottery.  To my surprise I found a listing for a new and very nice piece for only $5.  Here it is.

I couldn’t pass it up so I went and picked it up.  When I got home I looked up a few DIY fountains.  I took a little from one design and a little from another and came up with this fountain.

The whole project only cost $40 and took around two hours.  Here are the supplies:

1 – Large pot -$5 if lucky like me

1 – container fountain kit (this comes with the pump, extender pipe, fountain nozzle, Epoxy, and pump filter) $19 at Lowes

1 – Bag of river rocks (I probably would have gone for the nicer looking rocks if so keep that in mind) $4

1 – Plastic Plant container/bowl (the size will be determined by the mouth width of your planter, mine was 18” wide) $9

1 – Spray can of clear acrylic sealer - $3

Plus bowls or additional planter to hold up the fountain pump so that it reaches 2” above the rocks – I had these in my garage

Drill with a large drill bit

I should have taken a picture of all the supplies together but I didn't...

First seal holes (if any) in your planter.  I used the Epoxy that came in the fountain kit and so far it is working great. 

After the sealer dries, spray a couple coats of acrylic sealer (according to package directions) in the planter to protect it from any water damage.  I did this the day before I built the fountain so that it had at least 12 hours to dry.

Drill multiple holes in the bottom of your plastic plant container.  This allows water to fall down and get re-pumped.   Drill a hole large enough for the pump extender pipe to fit through. Also drill a hole in the side of this container to hold the power cord.  I also made a slit with scissors.

I drilled a few more in the outer edge before I assembled the fountain

Play around with the height of your pump and make sure it works before you go any further.  Just make sure the extender pipe reaches ~2” above the rim of the pot.

Wash your river rocks… they are usually pretty sandy and gritty out of the bag

Once you have your pump where you want it.  Place the plastic planter to fit over the pump and sit on the rim of the pot.  Situate the cord in the hole you drilled in the side of the plastic planter.

Fill the plastic container with your river rocks.  I will probably add more rocks just to make it look prettier.  Fill the fountain with water to about 2" below the rim of the pot. Place a nozzle of your choosing over the extender pipe and plug your pump in. 

TA-DAH you have a fountain that sounds and looks awesome!

I spent a few hours on my patio yesterday just enjoying the sounds and reading a book.  

37th Monthiversary - Gaia bistro and Glacier Gelato

We woke up to a sunny day on May 2^nd and were finally able to uncover our peach tree and saw little glimpses of Spring start to come back from our May 1^st snowstorm.  I made some French toast in the morning and we hung around the house trying to figure out where to go for dinner that night.  

This pregnancy hasn’t been the easiest for me to try anything new so finding a restaurant isn’t the easiest task and it usually takes quite some doing.   We decided to go to a little place on Old Pearl Street in Denver, Gaia Bistro.  This place is known for their brunch and outdoor dining experience, which we have yet to try but is on our list for the summer.  It just started serving dinner earlier this year.  Lucky us!

Walking up to the restaurant, you feel like you’re visiting an old friend.  Their ambience is very inviting.  They have about 12 tables on the patio but all are separated from the street by a picket fence and the garden in front secludes the tables from each other.

We were the first ones in the restaurant that evening and we were offered a table outside or in.  We opted for inside because the temperature had dipped.  The cook was cutting up ingredients in the open kitchen in the back as we were seated at a nice little table in front of a window. The menu is very eclectic ranging from Ceviche to Caribbean spiced chicken.   Water and bread were brought promptly.  The bread was very good and I think it came from the bakery down the street. Local, Local, Local!

I had looked at the menu online and really wanted to try their Green Chili Cheesecake with tortilla crisps.  I am so glad we got that as an appetizer.  It came out a bubbly, cheesy goodness in a very appealing arrangement.  To say the least, we didn’t leave a crumb.

For dinner, I ordered the Stuffed Poblano with black beans, red peppers, red and green chili, and crème fraiche.   I always forget to snap a picture before taking a bite but I will work on that.  It was very good and reminded me a meal we had in Palisade, CO.

Mike had the Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Polenta cakes and a spinach cream sauce.  I think the only complaint here was that there weren’t more shrimp!

The food, ambience, and service were all very good.   

Walking out of the restaurant, I took a little tour of the grounds.  I was delighted to see in their “backyard,” two large garden boxes.  I love when restaurants grow some of their own food!

We opted to forgo dessert at the restaurant but ended up going to a new Gelato place near our house.

Glacier just opened up in February of this year and it has been a big hit with the neighborhood.  They offer you as many samples as you please but it is very hard to make decision from the, at least, 40 flavors they have, which also change daily.  I opted for the Caramel Straticella in a cone and Mike, who had a difficult time deciding, had Sea Salt Caramel Vanilla in a waffle cone!  

Yummy, yum, YUM!  I would recommend any of these eateries to Denverites.  We will definitely be back to Glacier and will have brunch this summer at Gaia.

Monthiversaries and Love

The first of every month is a day I always look forward to.  Mike and I officially began our relationship on April 1^st 2010 (yes, April Fools Day)!  Mike wanted to take me out on our one month anniversary and ever since, that day has just stuck for us to celebrate our relationship.  Today marks our 37^th month anniversary, or how we like to refer to it, monthiversary.  We have a few ground rules for monthiversaries:

1) We go to a restaurant that we have never eaten at on a monthiversary.  This allows us to try new and different restaurants every month.  That’s it… that’s actually the only ground rule.  And actually we have broken this rule since I became pregnant because of cravings and food aversions.

We have found some pretty amazing restaurants in the past 36 months and I wish I had started this blog a long time ago so that I could have shared with all of you the ones that we have tried.  I do remember a few of the really exceptional ones though…

On our first monthiversary, Mike took me to a local restaurant called, The Saucy Noodle.  This is a great family owned and family centered restaurant.  My family actually fell in love with this place after I recommended we go there.  They even catered my college graduation party.  The baked polenta is probably my favorite dish on their menu along with their breadsticks and Spumoni Ice Cream for dessert!

Another really good restaurant we have been to is Potager, which fittingly means "kitchen garden."  This is a locally owned restaurant with seasonally fresh foods.  Actually, if you go to a farmer’s market around town, you can expect to find some of the vendors that the restaurant uses for their fresh ingredients (listed right on their menu).  Their menu changes monthly and they always have 3 or 4 different specials every night.  The two menu items that really stuck out to me were the pumpkin ravioli with browned butter and buttery Parmesan cheese and the Ginger pear cake with chocolate ganache.  Both items paired their (very original) ingredients very well and each dish melted in your mouth.  I keep trying to get the recipe for that ginger pear cake but haven’t succeeded.

D Bar Desserts is another awesome place for a date night.  We had actually gone to Wahoo’s Fish Tacos this monthiversary and decided to go out to dessert afterwards.  This place is famous for their original desserts but they also have a dinner menu, which I’ve heard is also pretty good.  The owner is a chef from FoodNetwork and he was actually there the day we went.  We ordered three desserts and every one of them were to-die-for!  They also have a rotating menu based on fresh ingredients but they always have a few staples that stay along for the ride.  I ordered the “Cake and Shake” which was a very rich “old fashioned” chocolate cake with a rich dark chocolate ganache.  It also came with a tiny-sized chocolate shake with little malt balls in it!  I also ordered a seasonal dessert (which I can’t remember the name of).  This was by far my favorite.  Even though I loved chocolate at that time, this dessert was so light and summery and hit the spot.  It had just enough tartness to go with the light and fluffy cake (almost cornbread type cake) with a peach sorbet that made you go “WOW”!  Mike orderd the MC², which was a trio of milk chocolate desserts.  I only had a small taste of his but he finished it all up.  We didn't really say a word during our eating of desserts except, "mmmm", "wow", "oooh"...We both have quite the sweet tooth! 

Mike is working today and since he doesn’t get home until 7:30-8 we will have to postpone our dinner until tomorrow night.  We have to go with the flow and I’m sure that flow will get a lot more bumpy once the little one is here! 

Even though a relationship needs to be nurtured everyday, this type of ritual is important for us.  We look forward to this day all month and its fun to see the months fly by.  We do yearly anniversaries but these monthiversaries help with keeping the celebration of "us" alive!  I also think it will be good way to connect once the baby is here and will give us one-on-one time along with some baby-grandparent time… wink wink! 

I think we had a couple of glasses of wine on this occasion!

Happy May 1^st!   

And, Happy 37 months, Michael! I love you

Look out for my 37 monthiversary restaurant review soon!

Building Garden Boxes and Weekend Update

We had some amazing, beautiful weather this weekend in Colorado.  It almost seems like we skipped spring altogether and jumped right into summer.  The thermometer on our back porch registered 88° at one point; amazing considering snow was still melting in some parts of town.

We spent a good part of our weekend outside and finally got to build the garden boxes I keep talking about.  I obtained the plans for these boxes through a friend from school who found them on “Sunset” magazine’s website.  They were really thorough but we changed a few things.  Here is what we did…

We got a really good deal at a local lumber yard on the wood!  

Supplies for one 4’ x 8’ box:

(12) 2’ x 4’ x 8’ untreated cedar planks

(1) 4’ x 4’ x 8’ cedar post

(64) 3 ½ inch outdoor screws

Circular saw - recommended

A very powerful drill – recommended

Cut four (4) 2’ x 4’ x 8’ in half to obtain the 4 foot sides (this should leave you with (8) 4’ planks).  The other 8 planks should not have to be cut unless there is a big discrepancy in the length of the plank.  Cut the 4 x 4 x 8 post into 2’ sections.

Build bed upside down. Set a 2 x 4 x 8 on its thin edge on pavement, and place a 2-foot post at one end. Secure post with two 3½-inch screws. Repeat at other end of board. Repeat with other short board. Join short sides with an 8-foot board; and secure with two screws. Add other long side. Add additional layers of planks to each side.

These boxes are pretty easy to build as long as you have the right tools.  Mike learned from the first one to first drill a hole where the screw was going, just to make the screw go in a lot easier.  That was the biggest dilemma with the first box, we ruined a few screws and bits.  But the second box went a lot faster and easier.  Plus, we only had to make a trip to the hardware store once that day!

Mike did the majority of the work but I helped drill a few screws and measured all of the boards. And I ended up weeding yet again... they just will not go away!  

The end product looks great and I can’t wait to grow our veggies in them.  Almost all of the seeds have sprouted!  Just waiting on some Anaheim peppers.  

We both forgot to put sunscreen on so we both got burnt that day.  I hardly ever get burnt but with pregnancy I guess my skin is a little more sensitive to the sun… I thought I might have skipped that symptom… shucks!  I joked that we didn't get burnt while on a tropical island for 8 days but a few hours on a SPRING day in Colorado did us in.

I was pretty out of it after all that building, sun, and heat, so we stayed in the rest of the day and made a BBQ for dinner!  Teriyaki chicken (mine with cheese!), baked potato, and zucchini! 

Yummy, gooey cheese!

Sunday was a pretty relaxing day.  We ended up doing a few chores around the house in the morning.  Then we tried to find a few garage sales in the afternoon…which didn’t go so well.  Then we went downtown to see if H&M had any good maternity wear (which they didn’t) and walked around for awhile.  It was another hot day so we went  home and I took a short nap.  It was another BBQ for dinner.  Lemon pepper tilapia, grilled potatoes, and green beans!  Mike was also really excited to have me watch Star Trek (the new one).  I’ve been hesitant to watch it but it wasn’t too bad.  

That is about it for our weekend update.  We are expecting another freeze and possible snowstorm on Wednesday so I'm hoping that the peach blossoms that just got discovered will be okay through it.  I'm really, really wanting some delicious homegrown peaches this year!