Little of This, Little of That

Our schedule has been rather chaotic of late with a fundraiser for an upcoming mission trip, preparing for a short albeit much needed mini-vacation, preparing for the new school year agenda for the kids at church, house-guest, etc. I said all that to say this: meals at home have been rather hit & miss, finding us eating out, or grabbing something on the run and my body is craving some normalcy in the food department.

The summer squash in my little garden is starting to wane but I still get to harvest at least every other day. The other night I just wanted veggies . My Honey is more inclined to want meat with his dinner, so I roasted some chicken. I cut the squash up in thick slices and put them in the steamer basket of my rice cooker. I added a little water to the pot you usually cook the rice in, added a little sea salt, a sprig of Sweet Basil and a sprig of Tarragon and let it steam away. The whole kitchen smelled divine and the squash absorbed the flavors of the herbs…..yum!!! I swear, I could have just stood at the counter and eaten the squash right out of the steamer and been a very happy (foodie) camper!

I made a new discovery that now bears the title of "My New Favorite Find". It is Great Value (Wal-Mart brand) All Natural Southwest Spicy Mustard. This stuff is good and so very versatile! I've used it on sandwiches (of course), sausage wraps, and even canned salmon I broke into large chucks. I'm not big on canned food but canned salmon can be handy as well as healthy. Broken up in large chunks, topped with a little of this mustard and sitting on thick cucumber slices made for a delightful light lunch. It had the depth of flavor from the salmon, the tangy sweetness of the mustard and the must have crunch of the cool cucumbers to round off the meal.I stumbled on the mustard one day while purchasing a variety of mustard for the sausage wrap sale and trying to be economical. It is, indeed, a great value! Give it a try.

I've been reading suggestions for healthy road trips snacks. My Honey is like a kid; if you keep the snacks flowing he's a better traveling companion! We are about to embark on a 14 hour drive and are on a shoestring budget for the trip so I'll be packing all the food for meals and snacks. I need to keep my Honey happy but I'm not willing to let junk food come along for the ride. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear it.

Frankly, I can't wait for summer to be over, school to resume and menus to feature fall foods! Late fall is my favorite time of year and, eating seasonally, just the best! Lots of food to tweak! Stay in touch!