Early release for me!!

The benefits of being salaried at work means that when I don't have patients in the afternoon I get to leave early (at least when the boss is out of town ;) ) And I had tons to get done on my to-do list.

First I headed to staples. My new purse I got from a purse party, Thirty-One, had started to un-ravel at the seams. The company was great and almost immediately had a replacement on for me. The just asked that I send back the damaged one and even sent me a UPS tracking sticker for return postage!



After dropping that off, I headed to Marshall's. It has been so long since I have been shopping.
I came home with some goodies... a new pair of running shorts (I was looking for a new skirt, like runningskirts.com), dress socks (in desperate need for new black socks), and this....

A key holder... I love the antiquey look of it. Right now my keys just get thrown into a glass bowl and Wally's are who knows where. I am excited to get this put on the wall.

When I got home there was a package for me and I new exactly what it was...



From nuttyguys.com 

I had gotten a groupon a few weeks ago and have been looking through the website deciding what I wanted to get. I ended up with: mixed nuts butter toffee, sunflower seeds, dried pineapple cubed, ginger crystallized, and wasabi almonds. I think I am most excited to try the wasabi almonds!!

Since I was home early I figured the dogs deserved to go on a nice long walk and that's just what we did.. through the woods. I let them off the leash for a little while so they can stretch their legs... Those guys can RUN!!

When we got back, they got dinner and I headed out to pain this... My new chicken coup... A patient of mine has 2  chickens that don't get along with the rest of the pack and she has 18 chicks that need the space she has been keeping them. Wally was more than excited when I told her she offered them to us and quickly began putting this together. I must say he is pretty talented. This coup is all recycled material from his work and our house. It has a metal roof so the snow won't get stuck which means no shovelling. Yes, up here in New Hampshire they get TONS of snow that sometimes requires it to be shovelled off the roof so it won't cave in. Today I got busy painting it... Not too bad if I don't say so myself.

 I thought I would throw in a picture of my little garden...

 My pups relaxing after their adventure today. Calvin looks a little brown because he is probably covered in dirt! 

 I was reading about everyone's iced coffee and I was inspired to make some. I did things a little differently. I did my research about cold-brew iced coffee and it sure was worth it.


Cold Brew Iced Coffee from: SmittenKitchen
2/3 c. coffee grounds
3 c. water

Stir together, cover, and let sit for 12 hours or overnight.
Strain twice through a coffee filter, fine mesh sieve, or sieve covered with cheesecloth. (I used a coffee filter and it worked perfectly).

In a tall glass: fill with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water. Add milk if desired.

I must say this was the most delicious iced coffee I had ever made. It is well worth the 12 hour wait.

Yesterday was the first day of my Local harvest CSA pick up. This week was tons of greens including this on Pak Choi, aka Boc Choi. I had no idea what to do with this so I immediately jumped on the internet and did some searching and found this receipe.

Pak Choi and Rice

 1 small onion, 3 cloves of garlic, and I used 5 jalapenos and 3 banana pepper slices sauteed in a little EVOO.

 Left over pork spare ribs that were cooked in the crockput with some extra BBQ sauce... in separate pot...

 Add chopped up pak choi to soft onions... steam for about 5 minutes... the website said to be careful not to overcook or the pak choi will lose its flavor (which is definitely a distinct one).

 The complete meal consisted of:
- steamed rice
- smashed butternut squash
- pork in BBQ sauce
- steamed pak choi with onions, garlic, and jalapenos

The jalapenos were a substition for pimentos, which I didn't have. It was a good change in flavor from the onions. The pak choi was interesting texture but I don't know if this is something I would buy on my own. I still have a little more to use. Hopefully we don't get more of this next week.

We also got, arugula, spinach, lettuce, chives, parsley, and beet greens... Can't wait for more fresh food!!