Too Much Thyme on Our Hands

Every year we (well really my husband) plants a small garden of a few veggies and a variety of herbs.  I mean, what’s better than from-your-own-backyard food?

We have some grass yard and then we have what we call “levels” in our backyard – 3 tiers of railroad ties filled with soil.  I think the original owners of our home created these tiers so there would be some plant-able yard over what I imagine is a giant boulder as we live atop a huge hill.  Anyways, the tiers are perfect for planting little gardens.

All of that said, for some reason, every year one of the herbs decides to grow like mad, like you have never seen before.  I have told you about our basil situation from a couple summers ago which was really great for pesto-making and tomato mozzarella salads…but THIS year we have a tremendous amount of thyme.  It’s amazingly fragrant but there just isn’t too much to do with that much thyme.

Does anyone have any thyme suggestions for us?

Sauteed Shrimp with Arugula and Tomatoes

We still found ourselves with boat loads of arugula a couple weeks ago from our CSA so we decided to make this recipe. Clearly my friend Martha is a huge fan of arugula because we seem to find most of our arugula recipes from her collection.  Anyway – you wouldn’t believe how easy this was to make and quick for a mid-week meal!  To bulk it up you could always serve over pasta, but we ate it as is.

Click here to find out more!

Sauteed Shrimp with Arugula and Tomatoes
from Everyday Food, June 2010

1 Tbs plus 1 Tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 C cherry or grape tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 oz wild or baby arugula (4 cups)
s&p
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until they blister, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add shrimp and cook, stirring often, until almost opaque throughout, about 4 minutes. Add arugula, season with salt and pepper, and toss until wilted, 1 minute. Add lemon juice and toss to combine.
Enjoy!

Monday Outfit

Back to work today after a wonderful, relaxing vacation!  I have to get in the mood to work again so I am wearing a fun, bright summer dress with one of my favorite old Kate Spade handbags (similar to the one below), great shoes, and bright bangles.  Have a great week!

Monday Outfit

Jaeger short sleeve dress
$155 – johnlewis.com

By Malene Birger plastic bangle
shoplesnouvelles.com

Stay at Home Date Night Appetizer

So I know I’ve talked about Brie en Croute before, it’s seriously one of my favorite foods, yum!  I recently found these little brie circles at our grocery store and a few weeks ago for our actual wedding anniversary my husband and I put our baby girl to bed and made a nice dinner together.  But for an appetizer…we made a tiny brie en croute for 2!

Fourth of July Strawberries

Happy Fourth of July!  If you’re looking for a Patriotic idea for today, here you go – red, white, and blue strawberries!  If you are on Pinterest you’ve seen these all over the Boards for months, but now it’s time to make them…

You will need:
Strawberries
Melted white chocolate
Blue sugar crystals

Simply dip your strawberries in the white chocolate 3/4 of the way up, leaving the top of the strawberry uncovered so red shows.  Then, dip the tip of the chocolate covered strawberry into blue sugar crystals and voila…

Enjoy!

Hot Pink Flower Pot

I saw a great idea on Pinterest recently to incorporate the trend of neon into home decor – spray painted flower pots in hot pink!  They were so easy to make, here’s the how-to:

Supplies:
Terracotta flower pot(s)
Painters tape
Spray paint in desired color, I chose hot pink

Simply tape up the section of the terracotta pot that you DON’T want to paint.

 

Put pot up on a surface you don’t mind getting paint-y and spray.  We ended up doing 3 coats of paint to ensure the color was really saturated.  Let dry overnight.

 

Once dry, plant away!  We planted white petunias, they look great on our front steps.

Monday Outfit

We’re on vacation!  I will be wearing summer-y, casual clothes all week…including my seersucker shorts I got a Land’s End for $15, similar to the shorts below.  Have a great week!

Monday Outfit

Calypso St Barth long top
$99 – calypsostbarth.com

Seersucker shorts
$20 – alloy.com

Jack Rogers stacked heel
$105 – bloomingdales.com

Essie nail polish
$8 – nordstrom.com

Couple Things…

At 12:30pm we are officially on vacation – can you tell I’m excited?!?  A little beach, a little family visit, a lot of relaxing!  Happy Fourth of July week, I have some fun posts planned for you all next week…

Have you read this very interesting (and very long but worth the read) article about women “having it all” or in the case not having it all…

What an awesome way to turn out the light!

I really like these simple, white, ceramics from Crate & Barrel, especially this can for storing homemade ice cream…

It’s hard to find really cute clothes with SPF, I LOVE this wrap jacket and it’s UPF 50!

The Top Hunt

I am always on the hunt for interesting tops for those occasions outside of work where you don’t want to be too dressed up, but you don’t want to just wear a t-shirt.  Well, I recently went on the “top hunt” at my favorite consignment shop in Newport, RI and found the coolest shirt, and better yet, it was new with the tags on!  It was the perfect top to wear on my husband and my night out this past weekend.

I love that it’s long, has an interesting neckline with the colorful tiny pompoms, and best of all…pockets!

I love a good consignment shop find.

Sauteed Spinach and White Beans

We had a lot of spinach from a recent CSA pick-up so we looked for a unique recipe to incorporate it into a side dish.  We found this recipe and it was really great, REALLY great! We used apple cider vinegar in place of the white-wine for an added flavor.  We halved the recipe and it was a good serving for 2 people.

Sauteed Spinach and White Beans
from Martha Stewart Living, April 2000

2 Tbs olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 Tbs minced garlic (2 cloves)
2 fifteen-and-a-half-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed
6 C (about 8 ounces) spinach, stems trimmed
4 Tsp white-wine vinegar (we used apple cider vinegar)
2 Tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
s&p
Heat a large saute ½ pan over medium heat, and add olive oil. Add diced onion, and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.
Add garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add beans, and cook until hot and slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and vinegar, stirring frequently until spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the thyme, and season with the salt and pepper. Serve.
Enjoy!