Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Dinner and Weeding

I've decided to write more posts and include the ways I make my own home a Harmonious Environment. On a daily basis, this is means preparing delicious and healthy dinners and maintainance of the home, so this is mostly what I will write about.

Last night, my husband and me had one of our favorite meals: roasted Plainville turkey breast, a big salad and yummy Whole Foods Ancient Grain bread.

We don't eat a lot of meat, but when we do, it must be pure (no additives or antibiotics) and the animals treated humanely. Planville's turkeys are delicious and they employ animal friendly practices. I have found that meat from animals who have led humane lives tastes better, as they have been less stressed.

I make big salads and they are the center of the meal. Since it's just the two of us, I vary the organic produce that I buy. I almost always make my own salad dressings, (basic vinaigrette), but I used the delicious "Chipolte Ranch" by Cindy's Kitchen (available at Whole Foods) because it's a great compliment with the turkey.

Turkey
Bake approximately 2 hours at 350 degrees (popper will let you know)

Salad--all organic
Romaine
Arugula
Mizuna
Baby Spinach
Celery
Radicchio
Toss, adding dressing sparingly ( a pet peeve--dressing should always be tossed in a bowl for even coverage. Never use too much--it makes salad wilt and is overpowering.)

Bread
Heat in toaster oven in foil--heating bread makes it come alive! Serve with butter or olive oil

That's it! Simple, fast, healthy and delicious! Sometimes I add a bit of salt and pepper to turkey, but I don't really think it needs it.

We will have this dinner two nights in a row (with turkey leftover for lunch.) I'll just heat a portion of the bread and make fresh salad.

I've been too busy with other projects to spend a lot of time on cooking right now. For one thing, I'm going to Colorado to INATS West in less than a week. INATS West is the trade show for New Age Retailers and I'll be doing a book signing for Harmonious Environment at New Leaf's booth on Saturday, June 23.

One big project is weeding. It's sort of an obsession this time of year for me. I have a decent amount of property and a lot of decorative rocks (over weed-resistant fabric). But, the weeds still manage to bust through and it drives me crzy! I have visions of not weeding everything before I go and coming home to a jungle! However, I have been diligently pulling and finally am feeling better.

But, then there are the really tiny weeds that just take too much patience...I refuse to use chemicals and have been experimenting with non-toxic alternatives. I mixed white vinegar, water and salt and applied that to weeds. It burned some of them, but I still needed to pull. So, I asked the list of fellow business owners at Coop America for advice. Lots of suggestions and I am going to try applying undiluted vinegar on a hot sunny day.

Time to end this post, as I am preparing for a party for tomorrow. Will report back on how vinegar on weeds went.

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