Walk With Me

Yesterday I took a nice long walk around the neighborhood.  An hour and a half to be exact.  Meandering slowly up and down streets capturing beautiful things.  Plants and trees, bushes and bees, butterflies and flowers.

It was everything a walk should be.

 

And yes, I also walked along the new walking path.  I honestly just can't get over it.

I do hope that everyone who takes their children there teaches them that artificial grass and trees are a novelty.  Not the way of the future.  This Counting Crows song is on my playlist as I walk and is one of my favorites.  

I think of it every time I walk by the new walking path which most people think looks nice, but since when is artificial normal? It will not provide shade or the absorption of heat in summer.  It does not provide shelter or food for feathered friends and insects.  It will not purify the air.  And there are toxic properties to it that I am sure will be leached when the extreme heat of summer sets in, not to mention the amount of glue that had to be used to tack it down.  I just wonder if anyone on this project really did their homework?  

I promise I won't mention the walking path again.

As you can tell, it just really hit a nerve with me.

Wishing you all a wonderful day surrounded by all things natural and beautiful.

Spring Break Has Sprung

Of course, as is always the case, I left the office 2 hours later than everyone else on Thursday.  A straight 6-1/2 hours at my desk trying to get everything done, but finally, I could officially say that Spring Break had begun.

Lunch out with hubby and then an afternoon walk was a nice way to start it off.

 The refurbished walking path closest to our house is open and tonight they had a grand opening.

But no matter how hard I try, I just can't like it.  An instragram friend from Egypt called it visual pollution which totally sums it up for me.  The artificial grass, fake trees and the vibrant walking path are not soothing or peaceful or appealing at all.

Thank goodness we still have the other walking path.

So far the weather hasn't been the greatest.  Very windy yesterday and just rather dull and dreary for the most part. Yesterday was spent in the kitchen experimenting and cooking.  I made my very first herb bread using fast rising yeast.  The recipe is from my China Study Cookbook so it is vegan, no added oil.  I used zaatar in place of the herbs since we have a lot of it on hand.

(Zaatar is a Middle Eastern spice blend of dried herbs, sesame seeds, sumac,

salt and other spices.  Each country has its own mix.)

It turned out great!  I made a curried vegetable soup to go with it and used olive oil and balsamic for dipping.

I also cooked up some fresh beans that I bought last Saturday at the farmer's market.

My husband and son loved them which was a surprise to me.  I cooked them with diced potatoes in vegetable broth and seasoned with garlic powder and black pepper.  Simple and delicious.  I also made a fiesta cornbread, another recipe from the cookbook, also vegan, no oil.

 And finally, mujadara and salad with dried mint.

Friday seems to my day to cook up a storm.

Today I did some much needed (much hated) spring cleaning.  7 hours of it to be exact.  Ugh!  But if I do some every day, I imagine I will feel better in the end.  At least that's what I tell myself.

We walked for an hour tonight and made sure that we passed by our neighbor's house with all the beautiful flowers.  Very much needed to clear the unappealing walking path from my mind.

My reward after today's hard work was an ice cream sandwich also bought at last week's farmer's market.

It's vegan and paleo and absolutely delicious!

I plan to blog hop and crochet the rest of the evening.

Hope you are having a super Saturday!

Best wishes,

Birds From The Balcony

One of my favorite things to do on a good weather day is bird watching right from our balconies.  Fortunately, we do have trees around us and in the morning and late afternoon the birds are quite busy chasing each other, singing their songs and flying from tree to tree.  To me it is a very peaceful time.  Of course, it's also a chance to use my Canon to get up close and personal without them expecting a thing.

 

When I first looked at the above pictures I gasped.  The red stains made me think that somehow the birds had gotten hurt, but when I realized they all had the same sort of stains, it finally clicked.  I had recently been finding berries on the balcony and wasn't sure where they were coming from.  Sometimes the boy upstairs throw things from the roof so I suspected it was from him.

 It finally dawned on me that directly off our bedroom balcony is a tree filled with berries.  I hadn't paid much attention to it and don't ever recall it being loaded with so much fruit before, but the birds are obviously having a field day with it.  Turns out it is a mulberry tree.  

 I've also noticed in the past few weeks a lot of baby birds.  Even though they are about as big as their parents, they are still being beak fed and learning how to fly.  So sweet!

Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. I will have even more time for bird watching.

Spring Break begins.

10 days of blissful freedom.  

I'm so excited.

Hope you are having a great week.

Sight for Sore Eyes

This is the walking path that is closest to our house.  At this time of year when it is used the most, it has been closed for refurbishment.  I'm all for improvement so expected great things.  Unfortunately, those who did the planning were not thinking clearly at all and certainly were not considering the environment.

When we walked by there the other day, I was disgusted and disappointed to see what had been done.  It's still cordoned off so it was hard to get a good picture, but the track has been painted like a garish rainbow, the trees in the middle are fake with fairy lights and the green stuff, it's basically a carpet.  All of the real grass was ripped out so they could roll out fake grass.  And that fake grass has to be glued down with what I am sure is toxic glue.  Now I know we live in a desert country and during the summer it is hard to keep things alive, but people waste water each and every day cleaning their cars.  This walking path is right next to a Hardee's where they wash the drive thru area with a hose every single day.   

The walking path is 1 kilometer around so you can image how much fake stuff has been used.  Such a waste.

 Fortunately, there are people who do care about the environment and their surroundings.  Our neighbor just around the corner has created a beautiful oasis around his property.  Everything is well maintained and cared for and the butterflies were having a field day when we walked by there on Saturday.

It still boggles my mind that anyone would think it is a good idea to create a fake landscape on such a large scale.  I for one do not even want to go there once it is open again.  I'm sure at night it will look nice with all its fake fairly light trees lit up but I much prefer a natural environment.

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles. 
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

Food is Fuel

Food is defined as nutritional support for the body.

I must say, I have had a lot of "support" over this past weekend.

Pumpkin soup.

Sauteed onion, canned pumpkin, almond milk, vege broth, salt & pepper, curry powder & nutmeg served with seasoned toasted rye bread.

Rocket salad with homemade honey mustard dressing and potatoes with cilantro.

Avocado and tomato with balsamic dressing and spicy pita chips.

 Grilled vegetable wheat pasta.

 Vegan mint mug cake.

 Raw energy bites (vegan)

Recipe found on instagram @chaesea

1 cup oatmeal, 1 cup shredded coconut, 1/2 cup ground flaxseed, 1/2 cup nut butter, 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, 1/3 cup honey.  Mix and place in fridge for 20-30 minutes to firm up.  Roll into bite-sized balls.

 Date walnut bread (no dairy; no oil).

 Zaatar spiced flax crackers.

Recipe found here.

I enjoy weekends because it means I have more time to cook.  More time to play around in the kitchen.  I enjoy making up my own recipes and trying new ones.  Good food does not have to be complicated.  I never make anything that takes longer than 20-30 minutes (not counting baking time, of course).

Yesterday morning I went to an Indian restaurant with Samantha who I met at one of the farmer's markets (and then we connected via Instagram).  The weather was so nice that we were able to sit outside and share a South Indian breakfast.  

Pani puri and rava masala dosa. 

(Today we are having a major dust storm.  Ugh!)

Samantha makes fresh nut milks which I am totally in love with.  She uses all natural ingredients and the flavors are just amazing.

Pistachio cardamom & saffron; pistachio orange blossom; cashew rosewater; cashew chai; cashew dark chocolate; hazelnut barley coffee; lavender almond.

Oh my!  They are all so good!  An indulgent, healthy treat.

 My tastebuds have changed a lot since going mostly vegan a year ago.  I'm not afraid to experiment with food.  Hardly do I ever come up with something that I can't eat.  Now my family is another story.  My husband tried the zaatar crackers but did not like them at all.  My 15 year old said they just looked bad.

Of course, food should be tasty and enjoyable, but beyond that, I believe that it should be good for us.  After all, it is fuel for our bodies.  

The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.

Have a healthy, happy day!