Pesto Cubes - Save your herbs!

We have an issue that I think many people our age have - it is difficult to eat all of our herbs before they go bad. It tends to be more cost efficient to buy in bulk for fresh herbs (and in the summer time I take advantage of fresh as opposed to dry). But they can come in some pretty big bundles. And after a bit you can get sick of eating that same herb on everything. We even tend to buy a couple at once - usually basil, cilantro, and parsley. So 2 people with bushels of herbs who really only eat dinner at home. So when I saw multiple postings on Pinterest suggesting freezing pesto, I went for it.

Here is the scenario. I came across some parsley that was on its way out when I was sorting through leftovers in the fridge for lunch (We love leftovers in our house! They tend to function as second dinners and lunch the next day for me. Leftovers never go to waste). The entire cast of character includes parsley, lemon juice, Romano cheese, olive oil, and a little salt. All of these things went in to a food processor until they were pesto-fied (that just means smooth and mixed well).

I then poured that pesto in to our deep silicone ice tray and let freeze for 4 hours. Then they were placed in a freezer storage bag with the date and details, waiting for a day when we had no clue what we wanted didn't want to make anything super intense... Then came dinner last night. I was tired, The Mister was tired, but tilapia was ready to be dressed for dinner. 

I threw 2 cubes in to a nonstick pan with 2 Tilapia. Cooked and shredded the fish and placed some rice beside it. Veggies of your choice on the side.

 My favorite thing about this idea is that you can do this with any herb, really. And you can make several different kinds of pesto to throw in any dish - pasta, veggies, proteins of your picking.

Chris LOVED this meal. He said it was the best fish he has had. Honestly. And it was so easy to make. So get to saving your herbs that are a day away from the trash can and freeze some pesto!

Here is the recipe for my pesto (super flexible! add almonds, more garlic, other spices, switch up the cheeses...):

Parsley Romano Pesto with Lemon

1 cup parsley (curly)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 medium lemon
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup grated Romano
Pinch of salt

1. Put ingredients in your food processor until the consistency you prefer - I pulse mine for about a minute.
2. Freeze in your preferred container (muffin tin, ice cube tray...) or serve right away!

 Enjoy!

The Hutch - Revisited

Lets talk about that hutch again.

We told you guys about our hutch before - here, here, and here... Remember? We had BIG plans! This was our latest to do list:

Glass in the doors - Hubby wants to find some antiqued glass

Magnets to keep doors closed (so we can nix the twine)

Resquare and support doors

Resquare and support lower desk

Line drawers with pretty paper

Repaint due to my staining fiasco and messy rag handling

Wax up those drawer guides

Well, things have changed. We wanted to get all of that stuff done to put it in our new place! But, we are living in this place and have decided that the hutch would just take up a lot more space than we are willing to give up and it isn't necessary anymore because of all of the cabinet space we have in our kitchen. In our old apartment, we had a total of 4 cabinets and a pantry. Now we have more than triple that.

We don't want to be those people who allow beautiful pieces to waste away so The Mister is finishing the list and will sell it in his Etsy shop! The base is a saved, antique desk and the top is a custom, hand built piece. And let me tell you it is coming along nicely.

I look forward to showing you guys where this goes! The list has already dwindled down, so it shouldn't be too much longer... see:

Glass in the doors - Hubby wants to find some antiqued glass

Magnets to keep doors closed (so we can nix the twine)

Resquare and support doors

Resquare and support lower desk

Line drawers with pretty paper

Repaint due to my staining fiasco and messy rag handling

Wax up those drawer guides

Whoever decides to purchase this will have a unique, custom, sturdy piece built with lots of love.

Road Trip!

5 days off for The Missus and available vacation time for The Mister meant a vacation was in store. We threw around several ideas - fly to New York, go to D.C., visit family on the coast... but we wanted to go somewhere neither of us had been before. This is how we went on a road trip to Tennessee.

What I wanted from this was relaxation and Chris wanted adventure and relaxation. The original plan was to make stops in Little Rock, AK, Memphis, TN, and Nashville, TN. My favorite part of what actually transpired was that we made it super flexible so things could change easily if we wanted them to. We kept it flexible by not booking any hotel rooms or making any appointments. This is definitely not THE MOST cost effective way to plan a trip, due to the fact that it is usually cheapest to book any trip as far in advance as possible to save the most money, but it kept our trip spontaneous!

We went hiking in Arkansas, visited Beale Street and the Gibson factory in Memphis (and ate some delicious BBQ), then decided we really wanted to go back to Arkansas, but instead visit Hot Springs, we didn't have anything to move around or cancel. Lola came with us so we found pet friendly hotels and locations, and made sure to pack her crate, food, bowls, and toys.

We had an amazing time that was totally us. I learned more about my mine and he learned more about me - and I'm still surprised by this because of just how long we have been together!

Here are our tips to having a fun, memorable road trip:

• Remember that the amount of planning you put in determines how flexible your schedule can be. Try to pick out 1 or 2 things you DEFINITELY want to see/do and then gear your time around that.
• If you are crossing state lines, stop at their welcome centers. They usually all have maps and lists of the top attractions to visit while you are there.
• Always look at the times your desired activities are available to you! I really wanted to take a soak in the baths at Hot Springs, but we were there on a Sunday and they all closed early in the day. Don't make my same mistake!

• Pack snacks and drinks and entertainment for the drive! But take advantage of the local cuisine.
• Things you already have at home are best because they will cut down on unneeded expenses.
• Entertainment can be songs (don't always rely on the radio!), recorded books, lists of random questions to learn more about your travel buddies, stuff for hobbies you may have like knitting, taking photos, drawing, reading... but don't do some of these things if you get car sick like yours truly. We stuck to questions, recaps on our favorite memories, stories from our childhood, and music.
• A cooler is always a great thing. Pack things you already have that may even go bad while you are gone. If you would rather not pack all perishables that may go bad while you are gone (we didn't pack our cilantro - there was no need for that on our road trip) give them away or throw them away so you do not come home to a stinky kitchen.
• Never forget cell phone chargers, a charger for your camera, clothes for all sorts of weather situations that you may run in to, and a first aid kit.
• Things we packed that were specific to where we were going, like hiking for example, are bug spray, sunscreen, fishing poles, a picnic blanket, a travel pillow, hiking shoes, hats, sunglasses, and a ball to play fetch with Lola.

I hope you all are turning over potential road trip destinations in your mind right now. If you would like more details, I am sure I will share them here soon. But specific requests will receive specific responses!! Happy planning.