Aqua Fresca.

If you've never had aqua fresca, it is definitely something worth trying. On our wonderful Sewanee day trip, we drank mango aqua fresca with our dinner. And when we got a huge watermelon in our CSA, I knew what I would be doing with it.

For this cucumber-watermelon aqua fresca, I scooped out the fruit & juice of half of a watermelon & placed it in the blender (seeds included... it would be too time consuming to pick out all the seeds). I blended it on high until it was a smooth texture. Then I strained it through a wire strainer to get the liquid separated from the pulp & seeds. Added a bit of water & about 1/2 a cucumber, thinly sliced. Give it about an hour or so for the cucumber to give its flavor to the aqua fresca. Then, enjoy! I don't add extra sugar because the fruit is naturally sweet enough for me, but you could add sugar or, preferably, simple syrup. 

There you have it- the perfect summer drink! (and it's good with some vodka in it, too...)

Another Summer Salad

As I previously mentioned, I love summer vegetables. And one reason is because they come together so perfectly in raw salads. The possibilities for light, flavorful, summery salads are pretty much endless with summer's bounty. And so I give you another of my favorite summer salads. It's basically bruschetta in a bowl.

For this salad, just toss together:

• tomatoes of any type, cut to your own preference
• diced onion
• chopped fresh basil
• chunks of fresh mozzarella
• good quality extra-virgin olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix it all together and eat plain, or pile it atop slices of freshly toasted bread. 

Doesn't get much better than that. 

Favorite Summer Salad

So, I know I haven't posted about food and or crafting projects in a while. A lot of that is due to the fact that I never found my camera charger when we moved into the new house. It's also due to the fact that we have been so incredibly busy & I haven't had time to blog or craft as much. But, we've definitely still be cooking a LOT. 

We're doing a summer CSA with Bountiful Blessings Farm, as well as getting weekly groceries from the East Nashville Farmer's Market (Kenny's Cheese, Delvin Farms basil, Peaceful Pastures eggs, & Provence bread). So, we've been able to thoroughly enjoy the amazing bounty of summer. I love summer vegetables. I think tomatoes might be my favorite summer crop.... but I also love love love basil, corn, and summer squash. It's all just so wonderful. 

So, I introduce to you my absolute favorite summer salad. Now, I did cheat a bit by buying some avocados that are definitely not grown here in Nashville. But, a girl's gotta have an avocado from time to time, right?

This salad is the perfect summer salad. It's light & refreshing, and so jam packed with flavor. It's vegan, raw, and filled with nutrients. 

So, here it is: my favorite summer salad.



oh, the colors!



So many textures and flavors.



Who doesn't love a jar full of cilantro?!



All you need for this salad are:

• an avocado
• a handful of cherry/plum tomatoes
• two small ears of corn
• 1/4 onion (any kind will work... I used white)
• a handful of fresh cilantro
• the juice of 1/2 a lime

Mix all ingredients & you've got summer in a salad.

In other news, Cohen is as perfect as always. He got a bath today, as well as some good walks. He's learning how to lie down, and he starts puppy school in a couple of weeks! He's pretty much the cutest thing ever, and he adores us. It's like a constant confidence boost. And also a lot of cuddling. 

Ingredients.

Tonight, Nathan & I watched a film I've been longing to watch: Ingredients, an excellent documentary about the importance of the growing local food movement.

I must say, I am so glad we finally watched it. This film not only pointed out the incredible injustices--economic, environmental, medical, etc--of the current state of food in our nation, but it also showed the hope available in local farming & gardening. Watching this film didn't necessarily teach me anything new... I already knew how unhealthy and inefficient our food system is in this nation. What this film did do is give me a sense of empowerment regarding what I choose to consume. Ingredients reminded me that I have the right to eat well, and with that right comes the responsibility to support my local farmers.

I am so happy that we are supporting a local farm & getting incredibly fresh, organic, sustainable, delicious produce in return... It's really a great deal. And Nathan and I are already planning how we're going to cultivate and support ourselves with the garden we'll have in a month or so. I must say, working in a garden/farm to grow healthy & beautiful food is one of the most rewarding and powerful experiences. Working with Nashville Food Project has been such a blessing, and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands dirty in my own yard.

One other thing I loved about Ingredients is that it acknowledges the financial constraints that making eating locally & organically so incredibly difficult for many Americans. And because our nation, government, and society have not deemed local, sustainable agriculture as a right for all Americans, it has become an upper-class luxury in some regards. But this film directs us toward how to make fresh food possible for all. It must be something that our nation deems worthy of focus. To me, it is vital. I struggle with how to live this out in my own life, when bills seem never ending, and take-out sounds easier than cooking. Yet, I know that I need to try as hard as I can to remember how much I owe it to myself to eat well, straight from the ground.

Also, I ate an asparagus straight from the ground yesterday & it was literally the most delicious asparagus spear I have ever tasted. It was tender, as if I had just poached it. And the flavor was almost unbelievable... It had a nutty flavor I've never tasted in asparagus before. That experience in & of itself alone justifies eating fresh from the ground.

Anyways, you should watch Ingredients. I hope that my generation can help refocus the national attitude toward agriculture. Here's to trying.

Do I sound like a hippie? I know, I know.

Colorful.

I love being surprised by nature. I love how the natural world sometimes seems to contradict itself, particularly in terms of its beauty. Like being in Mississippi after Katrina and seeing the most beautiful little lonesome flower growing next to a pile of wooden debris from the destruction of an entire town. Or, on a smaller scale, vegetables that are surprising and inspiring when you cut them open to see a vibrancy you never imagined from a normal root vegetable.

Meet the watermelon radish. Looks like a normal root from the outside:

But when you cut into it, you find the most stunning shade of magenta:

The photos don't even do it justice. It's so pretty!

And what about rainbow chard. Have you ever seen chard greens with hot pink or orange stems? They're something else...

I'm glad that nature likes to mix it up sometimes. :-) It's pretty impressive, to say the least.

Lazy Sunday.

It does seem rather unfair that I have now had two colds this season. Isn't one enough?! I guess that's what happens when you work in the environment in which I do. Teachers & social workers.... Virus havens. Grrrr.

At least it hit over the weekend, so I've been able to have a lazy Sunday combatting the sore throat and congestion.

Mmmm, lazy Sundays, my favorite! They always begin with cinnamon rolls and coffee, and they end with Downton Abbey and cuddling with my best friend. What day could be better?

Today, we did have an hour or two of productivity, in which we washed & prepped our CSA veggies and made broth out of the unused stems & leaves.

We make a lot of recipes that use vegetable broth, so why not make it ourselves? And this gives us a way to utilize every bit of the veggies we got!

Making veggie broth is pretty darn easy. Just boil a pot of water with veggies in it (we used carrots, 1/2 an onion, beet stems & greens, turnip stems & greens, a bay leaf, and some salt), covered, for about an hour. Strain it through cheesecloth (or a coffee filter), and voila! Next time, if we make more, we'll freeze some of it to use later.

Our broth turned out this gorgeous rich color because of the beet stems... Isn't it pretty? It'll add a nice color to whatever we use it in.

The rest of our Sunday was, admittedly, very lazy. Some cuddling, tv-watching, napping, reading, etc. All the good stuff. :-)

And the cats enjoy lazy Sundays, too...

The lovely Brussels Sprout!

I have discovered that I like brussels sprouts! They're simple yet have a complex range of flavors, and they're kinda cute, right? The only way I've ever cooked them is a simple oven roast, but I decided to get a bit more fancy. I found this recipe on my favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen.

With this recipe, I browned some brussels sprout halves, then simmered them with shallots in white wine. After fully cooked, I used the remaining liquid to make a Dijon sauce. Ohh goodness, something delicious happened during that process. They were so incredible. I'm craving them right now, as I write this. If you like brussels sprouts, you've got to try this recipe!!

And of course, dinner wouldn't be complete without some gruyere cheese toast. Oh, yum!

I would probably deem this one of my favorite CSA dishes yet. It definitely makes dishes much yummier when you start with some quality, fresh-from-the-ground veggies. Thanks to our farm, Bountiful Blessings, for bringing us such quality produce.

As the Super Bowl commences, I will be in my yoga class and then coming home to watch Downton Abbey (on PBS), which is going to be so much better. :-)

Don't worry, we still eat.

This week has been so hectic. Work has been super stressful, and I had chores, appointments, and plans every day after work this week. Despite the busyness, most of my evenings were actually very enjoyable, like my Monday night dinner date with Stephanie, a Wednesday night dinner date with Marie, Lauren, & Sarah, going to the Nashville Symphony with Nathan on Thursday, and having Caroline over to watch Disney's 101 Dalmatians on Friday. Nonetheless, I kept myself too busy this week to post on our tasty creations! But don't worry, we're still cooking & still eating plenty. :-)

Here is one of my favorite new dishes: warm butternut squash & chikpea salad, from Smitten Kitchen.

I usually opt for soup with butternut squash, but a friend of mine made this salad for us one night, and I fell in love. The flavor combinations are fabulous, and it's a dish that requires ingredients I either already always have, or can use in multiple other dishes. Oh, I just love it! And it's pretty:

This recipe is super easy. Just peel & dice 1 or 2 butternut squash, toss them in olive oil, salt, & pepper, and roast them in the oven until soft. Meanwhile, combine a can of chickpeas, some diced red onion, & chopped fresh cilantro. The dressing is a combination of lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, garlic, & water. Mix the dressing, then toss everything all together & eat while warm. It is so incredibly delicious, and is certainly one of my new favorite dishes. Yum!

We also tried a new soup recipe from Vegetarian Times. It was interesting (good interesting). The ingredient list includes cabbage, pine nuts, arborio rice, white beans, and spices. It was a nice, mellow, nutty soup. I enjoyed it, but it's probably not something I'll make all the time. Definitely worth the adventure, though!

Truthfully, we've been eating like champs. I just have been really bad about taking pictures & blogging about food, or anything else for that matter. Sometimes I just want to live and not have to worry about documenting it. And in those moments, that's exactly what I do! And I feel pretty good about that. But when I have time & can remember to, I enjoy sharing my adventures & reflecting on my days.

And for dinner tonight: Dijon braised brussels sprouts & creamy carrot soup!!! :-)

A wonderful weekend.

This weekend was a truly wonderful one. I had time to relax, moments to share with friends, and lots of food!

Friday night after work, Nathan & I stayed in and lounged around the house--one of our favorite pastimes.

I started my Saturday early, at an 8am social justice committee meeting. I attend these meetings every week (except for my holiday hiatus), but this week was particularly special because of the guest of honor- Reverend James Lawson. He is an incredible man, and was one of the strongest leaders of the civil rights movement. He was right alongside MLK, and he continues fighting for racial justice today as he did those many years ago. He is a huge inspiration to me and many others, and I could hardly even believe that I was sitting right next to him, listening to him speak wisdom to the struggle for racial justice in Nashville. What an amazing, empowering, encouraging way to start my day!

If you aren't familiar with Lawson's work, here's a video!

After an incredible morning, I got to end my Saturday with dinner Stephanie & her sister Sarah at a new Nashville restaurant, The Pharmacy. It's in East Nashville where I work, and it is SO good. They have amazing beers, phosphate sodas, and all kinds of burgers. Highly recommended. After dinner, we went to see one of our friends' band, Humming House, play a show at the basement. It was a great show, and it was so nice to see so many friends there.

I finished up my weekend with resting on Sunday, going to yoga, cooking a killer dinner, and then watching Downton Abbey. Who could ask for more?!

Oh, and the food...... Ohhhh the food. I'll post pictures from our killer dinner later, but for now, here are a few yummy snacks I made:

Though guacamole is known as a summer party favorite, avocados are actually in season right now, so of course I got some.

Making perfect guacamole is so easy. I just gutted an avocado into a bowl, added some diced red onion, finely chopped cilantro, a touch of lime juice, and lots of salt. Using a potato masher, or even a fork, just mash up the ingredients & go to town. Best snack ever.

Now, another great snack is coleslaw. I used my heavy-duty food processor with the slicing and shredding attachments, which my awesome mother-in-law got me for Christmas. Making coleslaw is a lot of fun with that thing. Somehow though, after all was said & done, my kitchen looked like this:

And it was perfectly clean before all of this!

I pretty much used an entire head of Napa cabbage (all but the 2 cups I reserved for use in a dinner recipe!), so I ended up with a LOT of slaw. I decided to try two different dressings for the slaw. I don't like mayonnaise based slaw, so I went with two vinaigrettes--cumin mustard vinaigrette and sweet soy vinaigrette. For the slaw with the soy dressing, the addition of some cashews is perfect! My slaw just has shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, diced yellow & red onions, and the dressings. It's the perfect salad for a side dish or a stand-alone snack. I LOVE it!!

So. Much. Slaw.

Well, the weekend has come & gone. I'm feeling pretty recharged & hoping to make it through what I anticipate is going to be a difficult week at work. Please consider sending along a prayer, good thoughts, etc., our way this week as we work with some very difficult & saddening situations. I need some strength for it... Luckily the past 5 months in my position have toughened me up significantly. I guess that's good?

And, some happy news- I officially applied to be a Big Sister with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. I'm just waiting to see if I'm accepted! Fingers sooooo tightly crossed. :-)

The mythical vegetable

I always knew that beets were a real vegetable, but until this week I had never seen one in real life. And I had certainly not tried to cook with them! You see, my dear mom hates, hates, you might even say detests, beets. She used to tell this story of an awkward dinner where everything had beets in it, so you can imagine that we never ate beets in the Stone household. They were like a mythical vegetable... I'd heard of them, but never had seen proof of their existence. Honestly, I can't say that I was ever saddened by this or felt like I was missing out on something. Let's be real, beets are just kinda weird.

Then, whether destiny or coincidence, we ended up with beets in our CSA this go-round. I was determined to make something good out of them. And also determined to do it without having to go to the grocery store for ingredients (this, mind you, was out of pure laziness, not creative ambition or anything honorable). I researched how to best prepare beets and some feasible recipes, then tweaked them based on what I had in my kitchen. I'm surprised to say, I actually liked the dish I made. I honestly was just hoping to not hate it, but I legitimately enjoyed it! Honestly, I don't see myself craving beets a lot (or ever), and they certainly don't threaten to replace asparagus as my #1, but I made a satisfying dish out of the dreaded beet, and by that I am contented.

Also, beets make for beautiful photos. They're so vibrant!

The roasted beets.

Now these are some really pretty collard greens!

A little chiffonade of the greens.

Jeez, so colorful!

The final dish. Sautéed onions, collard greens, and roasted beets over couscous!
A little Gorgonzola on top balances out the sweetness of the beets.

Isn't it a pretty dish?

Mission accomplished. I'm proud to say that I unveiled the mystery behind the mythical beet.

In case you now have a deep desire to make this dish, here's what I did:

• Roast beets (I used 4- 3 red and 1 golden) in aluminum foil with olive oil, salt, pepper, & thyme for about an hour at 400 degrees F.
• Sautee about 1/4 white or yellow onion in olive oil. Add in one minced garlic clove. Add salt, pepper, & thyme to taste. 
• Once onions start softening (but not browning), add in fresh collard greens, preferably cut in a chiffonade. Cook until greens start to wilt. 
• Add in beets, cut to whatever size you prefer. Cook on low heat for another 10 or 15 minutes, adding oil if it becomes too dry. 
• Serve over couscous or quinoa, with a bit of gorgonzola or another sharp bitter cheese (this helps balance the sweetness of the beets). 

How about it, Ma? You gonna try some beets soon?! :-)

In other news, everything is well at the Dryden household. The cats continue to melt my heart daily with their cuteness. Nathan has started the semester at Vanderbilt, and he is keeping himself busy with classes, working at the library, and interning at The Nashville Food Project. He also continues to be an incredible husband/man/friend. Marriage is awesome, duh. And my job is going really well. I feel like it gets better every day. I'm able to accomplish more and help more people every day that I add experience and knowledge to my tool belt. I love what I do. Today I had a triumphant moment: after a long victorious day of getting paperwork done with clients, I helped someone find affordable medication, and I got our agency 100 prescription discount cards! Yay! A good day, indeed.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (AKA- I haven't posted in a while!)

So, life has been very busy lately! (I would've said "life has been crazy lately!", but that is not appropriate language to use in my line of work.)

We've been busy getting ready for the holidays, and have spent a fair share of time enjoying the season together. From holiday work parties to starting our own family traditions, we've been staying joyfully busy.

In other news, we got our CSA last Thursday, and it was my favorite bounty so far! Pictured below is our fare, plus a sneaky little cat waiting for an opportunity to steal a bite. From left to right: Brussel sprouts & greens, potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, spinach, kale, lettuce, & fennel. I cannot tell you how much I love spinach, and to have fresh, farm-grown spinach is basically a dream come true. YUM.

Brussell Sprouts & Greens! 

We've been trying to make our cozy little apartment as festive as possible without going overboard. I think it's perfect. Every night I can have a little piece of Christmas when I turn the lights on the tree. Mmmm. And now our stockings are full & the tree is overflowing with presents to & from our families!

Homemade stockings & snowflakes.

Our pretty sparkling tree.

My favorite snowflake.

So full! I wonder what awaits!!!

Corduroy loves Christmas, too!

Scented Glade candle sets the Christmas mood.

Oh, Christmas Tree!

This Christmas has been a very reflective one for me. This is my first Christmas as a married woman-- my first Christmas to share with Nathan fully. Some family traditions have shifted slightly; this is the first Christmas of my entire life when I won't be waking up on Christmas day at home with my family (okay, one year when I was a baby we were all in Naples for Christmas... but, you know what I mean). I'll be waking up with my husband and having Christmas at our home before going to visit my family for the day. Weird, right? It's so very bittersweet. I love my family so incredibly much, and I love the traditions we've built together. I love spending Christmas eve eating white chili & cornbread, exchanging presents with my sister, and going to bed excited for the next day. I'll miss those moments with my parents & sister, but I know that those memories of Christmases past will always be a rich part of what Christmas means to me.

This Christmas is also my first Christmas out of school, meaning my first Christmas without a lengthy break. It's strange- I thought that it might be harder to get in the Christmas mood while having to go to work every day until Christmas, but it's actually much easier to feel Christmasy and festive. For one thing, I have had no final exams or papers to worry about, which has been so incredibly wonderful & magical. Seriously, so good. But perhaps more importantly, I'm in an office with a bunch of awesome people who know how to enjoy the holidays & who are also just really fun. Our office is decorated, and I've been playing Christmas music at my desk. A lot of my clients are pumped about the holidays, and I've gotten to spend a lot of time this week getting them presents! It's been a very festive environment, and has really helped get me in the spirit.

And, most notably, this Christmas is my first Christmas working with low-income, mentally ill adults, and it is completely humbling my perspective. This month has been an incredibly hectic one at our agency. A lot of my clients have struggled to stay well, and I've seen some take pretty hard punches from their illness. This is a really difficult time for some of them: not only is it cold & dark all the time (depression gets worse), but the holidays puts a huge burden on them. I delivered some gifts today, and a few of my clients remarked on how this was their only Christmas present. But perhaps the most humbling thing I have seen and heard from my clients is their deep desire not to receive any presents, but their longing to give, & give abundantly. The population I work with is living with very little; their income is tiny, their illness are overwhelming, and for many of them, there is no family to turn to. Yet their deepest desires for the holidays are to be with loved ones & to be able to give them meaningful, expensive, personal gifts. For most, both of these desires go unfulfilled. My heart has been so deeply touched by my clients. Seriously, they're awesome people. I have the most fun job in the world- I spend all day hanging out with amazing individuals, talking with them & learning from them. And for some reason, they pay me to do it! All joking aside, it actually is an incredibly intense job, but I love it to pieces. My clients live with very little material goods. They don't get to go shopping for new clothes; they don't eat out; they don't take vacations; but they live fully & love well. It's taught me a lot. I have so much more than I could ever possibly imagine. Sure, we don't make "tons" of money, but we certainly have enough. And we have family support, insurance, cars, education... things that we should never stop being thankful and cognizant of.

Life is good. I was worried that being out of college would make me stop learning things.... boy, was I wrong. I'm learning a lot right now. And it's the fun kind of learning- from people rather than from books (Nathan would probably disagree on what the "fun" kind of learning is. haha).

I am so blessed by all the people in my life- my family, my friends, my co-workers, my clients. We seriously have it all. How did we get so lucky?