Hi There,

We were out of town last weekend, so I'm making my "Sunday Night Post" ....Wednesday afternoon. 


In the Yard:

 The past week has been kind of rainy around here so I don't have too much to update.  Here are a few highlights: 


This is our lovely nectarine tree!  It was a baby shower gift from my friend, Chelsey!  We cannot wait to taste the fruit this year!  (notice the topped tree across the street?  grumblegrumblegrumble...)

FINALLY some broccoli rabe is coming up!  I heard that brocc will grow in any soil and with almost complete neglect.  It has been almost 3 weeks since I planted and was starting to have grave doubts about my newbie gardening skills.  I also see hints of peas (which I'll try to grow up the wall of the garden shed...) and lettuce.  

In the House:

The exciting news on the bathroom reno project is that we picked out our tile!  This was a first for me and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  We took advantage of a clearance sidewalk sale for the main tile (cheeep @ 49 cents/sq ft..) and then had fun finding an accent tile.  Here's what we're going with:

*the NOT so exciting news is that we're going to hold off starting the reno for a month or two because of some big purchases (plane tickets for a family reunion, new carseat for quickly growing baby...etc.)  Plus, we're building a shed for my parents and that has to be done asap.  :-)  Small house....even smaller budget means we get to play the "priorities" game.  *smile*

In the Kitchen:

So my plan was to take some pictures of the yummy food I knew I was going to be enjoying during my weekend in Seattle...but I just plumb forgot.  Soooo...this is what we had on Monday night:


Beef Barley Stew

I tend to buy small amounts of barley because we just don't go through it fast enough.  ...not really sure why; we all love it!  

In a pot, I threw together: 

1 onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs brandy (it just makes beef dishes DELISH!)
1 tsp dried oregano (or any other spices that sound good to you..)
salt (to taste...it depends on what kind of stock you're going to add later...)
pepper, to taste

*I didn't have any other veggies on hand...remember...it's a MONDAY evening after a busy weekend and baby is a whine bucket.
And at this point, you should add your ground beef.  I totally forgot (despite the name of the recipe) and threw it in AFTER adding:

1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and juice
4 cups beef stock
1/2 cup pearl barley

 Basically, I boiled the beef...which turned out to be a good thing for a newbie eater. 

Simmer for an hour or so, and enjoy:

I like mine with plain yogurt.  Steve likes his with Parmesan cheese.  Owen likes his, well, in a small bowl....and it turns out he didn't really like all that tomato action.  *sigh*


See you next week!