Baking Soda and Vinegar

Cleaning agent extraordinaire!! Life is smelling sweet again in the chicken coop.

FYI

The apartment still reeks of rotten melon, ugh. A late night at work and I am greeted by stench. I am going to ignore it tonight and go to bed. Tomorrow, busting out the baking soda and vinegar....I will prevail!

Hmm, did you know......?

So do you know what happens when an aunt, who is notorious for giving away produce that is nearly past it's prime, gives you a watermelon and you leave it on the counter for two days? Amazingly enough, it spontaneously combusted. Yep, sure enough. I was washing dishes last night and I hear a loud pop, then a cat goes flying across the room. I turn around to see the watermelon split in half, pieces every where and lots of watermelon juice all over. (Of course, my cell phone was sitting there, taking a swim in the juice.) I thought, hmm, that's weird...so I walk over to clean it up and the smell tells me why it blew up.....note to self....cut the watermelon up right away!! Yuck, yuck, yuck! To top it off, it was 10:30pm, so I just put it in the trash to deal with later, and by the time I got home from work today my entire apartment smelled of rotting melon...blagh..so a quick trip to the dumpster and lots of open windows.

Tomato Leaves

So recently a friend of mine mentioned that she had purchased a soy candle that was tomato leaf scent. I told her I don't think I had ever bothered to smell tomato leaves. So I recently decided to take a whiff...oh wonderful. I am reminded of the simple pleasures nature has to offer yet again. This is a photo of my slowly ripening hearty cherry tomato plant. I love the smell. To twist a common adage, take time to stop and smell the tomato leaves today...you won't be disappointed.

Beans and Eggs Recipe

Now, with permission from the lovely Mary, the beans and eggs recipe I showed before. (Here is another poor quality photo showcasing my friend, Rachel, enjoying her dish, darn flash on the fritz.)

Cook beans until crisp tender. (You may steam them, boil them, whatever you prefer, we used the leftover beans from the night before.)

Fry an egg (to your preference, I go over medium) for each serving of beans.

Place a piece of cheese on top of each egg (Mary suggested cheddar, I had provolone, so that is what I used. ) Place in oven for until cheese melts. (I went with 350 that seems the catchall temp.)

While this is baking, for each serving saute one TB of butter, three TB of red wine vinegar, and one TB of dijon mustard. Whisk until creamy. Spoon desired amount on each serving. We found making 3-6-3 version for 3 servings a bit too much, so you may not need exactly one per serving depending on how much sauce you like. Also, I used spicy brown mustard instead of dijon, because, well, that's what I had so that's what I used.

Another variation I am excited to try is to switch out the beans for asparagus, yummy.....actually, I haven't eaten dinner yet, I may have to make this...

A gift idea.

So I tried to paste a photo but I am unable to figure it out. I did send the info somehow, which explains the 2-tier post. I am interested in using less plastic, yet I pack my lunch nearly day, I have mostly plastic containers, but I found the website http://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/ and found the 2-tier tifin with plum brown carrier and sidekick for $34.95....hmmm, seems like a good birthday gift. It seems that someone's birthday is within three weeks....perhaps some family or friend type might be seeing this..makes you think huh... In all actuality the site has a plethora of neat products to check out if you are thinking about a life without plastic as well.

2-Tier Tiffin Combo Pack with Sidekick and Plum Brown Bag | Life Without Plastic Boutique

2-Tier Tiffin Combo Pack with Sidekick and Plum Brown Bag Life Without Plastic Boutique: "We want to make sure that you have all that you need to stay good to go. When you purchase this Combo Pack, you get a sidekick, a 2-Tier Stainless Steel Tiffin Set* and a bag to carry. A great way to have all that you need for wherever you're going and eating.

Dimensions: Assembled: 5 1/2' H x 6 1/2' D (14 cm H X 16.5 cm D) Top Unit height: 2 1/2' (6.4 cm) Bottom Unit height: 2 3/4' (7 cm) Liquid Measurements: 4 3/4 cups (1.1 L), each unit

Sidekick Dimensions: 2 1/4' H x 2 1/2' D (10.2 cm H x 6.4 D) Liquid Measurements: 1/2 Cup (118 ml)"