Happy 2012!

I wasn't able to blog this past year, but that is going to change! In an effort to become less wired, I have turned off my Internet. What is it they say, you make a void and something else will fill it? Well I have filled this void with things I love. Reading, writing, cooking, and spending times with friends.

In a bid to lose weight and become overall healthier, I have completely changed my eating habits. Along with doing the local, natural thing, I was doing before, I have also gone gluten free for a couple of months, to see I feel better. Last year someone questioned if I might not have a dairy allergy, but a gluten intolerance. We shall see!

It's one week gluten free and so far it's not been too bad. I am already making these wonderful meals and this just makes it a little more challenging, but the meals are never the less still wonderful.

The above picture is an example of one of my meals this past week. Rotisserie chicken, quinoa and brown rice pilaf with fire roasted peppers, and a salad made with walnuts, cranberries, feta and raspberry vinaigrette. I also created a wonderful pan seared steak fillet, sweet, caramelized onions. As side dishes I made an arugula, green olive red onions, almonds, and herbed feta salad with homemade Dijon vinaigrette. I also oven baked some sweet potato fries, that was spiced up with a little Cajun love. The dinner was a huge hit with my son. He informed me it is a definite do again. Unfortunately I didn't remember to take a picture, before I dived in, so you are going to have to take my word that it was gorgeous and delectable.

I am becoming a big fan of quinoa and hope to find many more yummy recipes for it's use. I am also having a ball coming up with delicious, yet health dishes. I spend hours researching and so far the results have been spectacular. Even my son has become a fan of my healthier menus. I'll continue to post pics of the meals, along with some recipes. Hopefully the picture quality will improve.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for when to start your seedlings. I have charted my schedule by using the Farmers Almanac. Last year's results were very good, but I am aiming higher for this next year. Can anyone say canning??!! I can't believe I'm actually excited about canning my own food, but I really can't wait to start. I thinking it's a natural move in my choice to be more organic, less processed.