Garlic Avocado Barley Risotto

Leftover barley, part of an avocado to use, lemons in the fridge... I decided to experiment...

Here's what I came up with:

GARLIC AVOCADO BARLEY RISOTTO

The following recipe serves 1. Quantities easily multiplied.

Ingredients

1 c. cooked barley

1/4 avocado

1 clove of garlic (minced- fresh or in a jar)

lemon

1/4 c. cottage cheese

salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions

Blend avocado, garlic, and lemon juice in a small food processor. I used the juice from 1/4 of the lemon but it was a little too lemony and I recommend less for one serving. 

Add cottage cheese and continue to blend. 

When smooth, mix with cooked barley in a bowl and top with lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Reasons I Blog

The blogging honeymoon is over. It was a fun start, I had lots of ideas, and I experimented with redesigning the basic Blogger template. As the novelty starts to wear off, I thought about shutting down the blog, or at least just not posting. But I had been thinking about blogging for a long time. Maybe I shouldn't give up on it too fast. So I decided to take a look at reasons I want to blog.

Here's what I came up with:

1. Writing has been a constant for me through many seasons of my life. I have journaled consistently ranging from writing about my day to writing of deep feelings. My journal is always with me, and blogging gives me a new platform to write on.

2. I want to begin to share my thoughts. I used to think I had to have my life together in order to share with others. I had to have my exact words planned before I could speak for fear of being misunderstood or saying the wrong thing. But some, or even most, of the best conversations are unplanned. You never know which stumbled-over words are going to have a big impact. 

3. To build relationships with like minded people. Yes, I have many like-minded people in my life and I don't want my blogging relationships to come at the expense of real, in-person relationships. But we have been given the internet and almost unlimited ability to connect with others. We should use it. 

4. To explore a new creative avenue. A new outlet. Design and more writing. 

5. To read other people's perspectives in hopes of broadening my own. 

6. To continue to find my authentic voice and learn more about myself. 

Why do you blog? What keeps you reading blogs?

I Zested a Lemon with a...

I have been staying at my parents' house more often lately. This means more kitchen gadgets and counter space and therefore, more cooking! I am trying to explore cooking as an additional creative outlet for me and have been enjoying it.

After a trip to the store (maybe a couple), I was ready to create. Until I realized I still didn't have everything I needed.

I wanted to zest a lemon. 

I had the lemon. 

But I didn't have a zester. 

(I may or may not know what a zester is or looks like, but it seems like one of those things you would know if you saw. )

I wasn't about to run out to the store again, so I looked around for something that would work. A knife seemed dangerous. So I put the knife away. And then...

I saw it. My solution. 

The Cheese Grater.

Zesting. Grating. 

Sounds pretty close to me. 

And close enough it was... I zested the lemon with a cheese grater.

Fast forward. Next day. Baking cookies. (Another one of those things in the English language that doesn't make sense... why do we say we bake COOKies? Anyway...)

I wanted to make circle sugar cookie cut outs. 

Dough? check. 

Preheated oven? check. 

Rolling pin?.. um... 

Circle cookie cutter?.. um...

(I do have a vague memory of possibly breaking the rolling pin handles off. Oops.)

Again, not about to go back to the store. So here was what I found around the kitchen as my solution.

Rolling pin- Round glass. 

Cookie cutter- round tupperware lip.

Doubling up the kitchen gadgets' functions worked quite well. Come back later to see what I created after all this!


Have you ever used anything around the house for something it wasn't made for? How did it work? Any other ideas of what I could have used?

Summer's Like the Weekend... Happy Saturday!

I don’t know about you, but June flew by! I don’t even know where it went. I started getting stressed/frustrated/mad/worried that it’s already July and I haven’t done anywhere close to all the stuff I wanted to do this summer. My summer bucket list is still quite long…

But even though it’s already July… It’s also only July. And the way I see it, summer is kind of like the weekend. 3 months. 3 days.

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June is like Friday. Super pumped that school is over, ready to have fun and relax. We have the whole weekend/summer ahead and tons of stuff we want to do. Maybe a little more free time and lots of possibilities.

July is like Saturday. Still relaxed. Maybe a mixture of productivity and fun. You know you have stuff you need or want to do, but you also know you have another day.

August is Sunday. The day a lot of people say, “Oh crap! Work/School is tomorrow and I still have a ton to do!” August is potential freak out month….

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But it’s only July. It’s not freak out time yet. So be mindful of the things you want to get done. But remember to have fun and relax. It’s not freak out time yet.

Enjoy your Saturday!

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