Couscous

For some reason, we don't often eat carbs with dinner. Not for Atkins or South Beach reasons, but more likely because I figure the two of us have had enough between breakfast and lunch that we don't need to add more for dinner. I love granola and yogurt, oatmeal, or cereal for breakfast, and I'm sure Jason is getting enough between sandwiches and sides at lunch. Most of our dinners are quite simple and this time of year, it's better that way - pan seared salmon with sauteed green beans and a tomato cucumber salad or grilled chicken with corn on the cob and sauteed squash and peppers.

All that said, I found a low fat recipe for a tropical couscous salad and decided to tweak it a bit for dinner this week. Couscous is one of my favorite grains and I should probably use it more often.

1 cup chicken stock (no homemade in the freezer this time, so store bought works fine)

1 cup whole wheat couscous

(or use the liquid to couscous ratio on the box you purchase....I think plain couscous is less liquid)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes, no stuff in a bottle please)

zest of one lime

2 TBS olive oil (doesn't have to be extra virgin)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder (or more to taste)

1 mango, peeled medium dice (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 cup pineapple, medium dice

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (this makes or breaks it for me, but if you don't dig cilantro you can use parsley...but who would do that?!?!?)

1/4 cup red onion, small dice

1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)

Protein of your choice: sauteed shrimp, chicken breast, grilled pork tenderloin - I seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, chili powder, and cumin

Bring stock to boil, remove from heat, add couscous, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and toss with the fluffed couscous. Top with your protein of choice and enjoy! We went with chicken that I just pan seared, let it rest while I put the salad together. Then sliced it thin and fanned it out on top.

For the WW girls....the couscous salad by itself is 4 points per serving and it should make 6 servings. Then just figure out the points for your protein!

Would You Believe Me?

Would you believe me if I didn't have the picture to prove it? Probably not. Lucky for you, I have no shame (and apparently our neighbor doesn't either). I saw the driveway empty tonight, so I snapped a few pictures of our neighbor's new deck. Nice? Right. The deck is built well. The yellow Adirondack chairs are cute. But the inflatable pool? Seriously. No, they do not have small children. It's actually two girls, mid-twenties. And Jason and his dad had the pleasure of seeing them assemble this pool.....in their bikinis. Took them 5 hours. In my opinion, only one of them was worth seeing in the bikini, but I'm just saying....

The view from our driveway behind the house is quite an eyeful.

The view from our deck is slightly better. I'm already planning to use those leftover pieces on the right over there from our old canopy to make a trellis and plant something to ummmm block the view.

Glazing Post

Just published a new post on glazing over on the pottery blog....check it out.

Back to Normal

My apologies for going MIA for a bit. Life handed us a few unexpected events over the past week, but I'm home and getting back into the swing of things. My grandma has recently opened up to the family about struggling with anxiety and other issues. As a proud matriarch, she did not want to burden the family, but now she is adjusting to new medication and the family decided it was important to stay with her during this transitional period. I am fortunate to have a flexible work schedule and the most understanding and patient husband in the world, so in a matter of hours, I was able to leave work for the week, pack a bag, and trade cars with Jason, so I could spend a few days with Nanny. I would not call caregiving my greatest strength, but it's amazing what God can do with what little we can bring to the table. I am also so thankful for wonderful friends and family who could offer helpful suggestions, different points of view, and a kind ear for listening. Love you all!

I got home late Friday night and was able to catch up with some friends for dinner downtown. Saturday was a big cleaning day. I said Jason was kind and understanding and compassionate (and a ton of other wonderful things), but he's not exactly concerned with vacuuming or mopping : ) That's okay. He worked on a few projects while I cleaned and cooked like a mad woman. That afternoon, we headed to cookout with friends and off to see the fireworks downtown. After a great sermon and patriotic music this morning, a grocery store run, and lunch....I am finally settling into our normal routine. I have some bookkeeping to do for the pottery shop, and ideally more pictures to take and items to list!, and Monday will be here before I know it.

Back to checking things off the to do list and getting back to normal....

New Post

New post on handbuilt pottery over on our other blog. Next up is a really cool one on how Mom glazes so stayed tuned...

Best Job Ever

Today was just one of those good days that makes me realize I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing. I'm almost done for the day and don't feel like I worked. I spent the afternoon meeting some fabulous people, chatting over a glass of wine (well not mine, but theirs : ), and talking about food and Greenville (two things I love!)

We have three rooms here for the night and they all made me smile today.

First up, we have a group of girls (two moms and two daughters) here for a girlfriend getaway. They are too cute for words and are the kind of people you just want to be friends with...well I would anyway. They love good wine and good food. And they love to talk about it. They ate at one of our best restaurants in town last night and let me talk them into eating at AGR (where I used to work) for tonight's dinner. They even wanted me to make the reservation for 5, so I could join them! If only. Reservations are for 8 pm or later because you drink during the day and then eat late. My kind of vacation. They were even offered free tequila shots this afternoon! And the Moms took them! Oh, and you must photograph everything (Amy knows this!) And as I sit in the kitchen typing this, I can hear them laughing and carrying on upstairs, just having a great time together.

Note to all my girlfriends: we just need to throw out some dates and start planning because they are making me jealous! Miss you all.

Our second room is a couple that visits about twice a year to see their son. We love our regulars. These are the kind that just make themselves at home as soon as they arrive and I love it. We talked about everything from real estate to the beach to restaurants. They even have property in Sunset Beach practically across the street from my parents (Devaun Park, Mom and Dad) so we talked about the area where I grew up and I loved every minute of it.

And our last couple is a local couple here to celebrate their anniversary, but with little ones at home they didn't want to be too far away. They don't look old enough to have graduated from college, let alone be celebrating an anniversary and have two young kids, but whatever....people say I look young, too. I'm okay with that. Even though they're locals she wanted to talk about restaurants. They don't get out much! She buys all organic and local if she can....she rattled off the names of many farms I know and we chatted about everything from local goat's milk to recipe ideas. So, of course, I made reservations for them at AGR also.

What a great night! Can't wait to have my own place....I'm taking reservations!!!

Summer Rings Have Arrived

I think I'm even more excited about this than Mom! We are introducing rings to our summer jewelry line! We have a few different styles to offer, but all of our rings are fully adjustable (easy for gift giving and easy to change hands or fingers for yourself!) The best part is they adjust at the top rather than under your finger, so no more pinching.

Here are just a few we listed, but continue to check back as we add more...

midnight blossom

lime-ade

hypnotic

vintage blossom

Men at Work

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy and Jason's Dad!

It seems this is typically how we spend our time with you when you come visit....


photos courtesy of our kitchen renovation last fall...


So, to our fathers, thank you for showing us your love with your hands, with your hearts, and with yourselves. We can't thank you enough for all you do!


So, this Father's Day wasn't complete without a project! Check out the new pergola Jason and his dad built on our back deck. (The previous canvas gazebo served us well for the past two seasons, but was not meant to be left up during a freak March snowfall...)

measuring and using those geometry skills to lay out a perfect square

setting the first postthe final post

cutting out the curve
setting the first cross pieces

the finished pergola!

We do plan to add a few trim pieces at the base of the posts to hide the metal brackets, as well as some plant stands attached to the posts, and of course some outdoor fabric to drape between the supports to give shade.....but all in good time. Didn't they do an awesome job?!?!