Life's a Peach, Honey.

So, I'm late.  I was totally hoping to get to the office early...  But instead of some cold cereal, the girls opted for fresh oatmeal.  In order to earn points toward that illustrious mother of the year award...I am whipping up some quick oats with a dash of honey, and peaches that needed to be used - desperately!  Top it off with some cinnamon, and voila - quick breakfast that I might even steal a bite of!

So, to recap:
1 3/4C water - bring it to a boil
1C organic oats...I like the Whole Foods 365 brand
4 peaches, peeled and flesh chopped up
1t (or so) of cinnamon
2t (or so) of honey

Both the peaches and the honey are from Springdell Farms...my fave!

Prepare the oats as directed, then add in other ingredients, top with cinnamon, and enjoy!

Have a great day everyone!

Blueberry Breakfast Cookies

Good Saturday Morning!!!

So, I first have to share that my mini me thoroughly enjoyed part of her mommy and daddy's Green Monster yesterday...

This morning, my little perfectionistas in training (poor things!) made blueberry scones with me - now named Blueberry Breakfast Cookies!  We took a recipe from King Arthur Flour's website and modified it a bit.  We replaced the vanilla yogurt with plain non fat greek yogurt, the granulated sugar with sucanat, and the sugar sprinkled on top was turbinado.  We also used whole grain pastry flour instead of the unbleached white/white whole wheat flour.

They were absolutely delish - they passed the Beppo Test.

More on the Beppo test:

So my dad's name is Beppo.  Well, its Joe, but instead of Grandpa, he chose Beppo.  In Italian, Beppone is slang for Big Joe, so Beppo it is!

Beppo is kind of set in his ways, and likes what he likes...mostly Fritos scoops, which I treat as the evil empire in our house.  Needless to say, embarking on our clean eating adventures was a bit of a challenge for him, but he has been a great sport and tried everything.  So one night at dinner, we were talking about some of the recipes I've been making/creating, and how some have been pretty successful (while others have not!), and the way I judge them is by Beppo's approval.  So we decided that the recipes we post on Perfectionista Gone Mom should have some sort of Beppo Rating.  Like, "This recipe gets 4 Beppos!" 

Keep a look out for the official Beppo rating system...coming soon to PerfectionistaMamma.com!

If you haven't already, please subscribe to Perfectionista Gone Mom and keep up with the latest healthy recipes and fun adventures!  See you soon!

Holy lettuce, Batman!

OK, I will admit, I am a novice back yard farmer.  I didn't actually start anything from seed this year, and I sure can't claim to have even light green thumbs.  So, honestly, I don't even know if this is normal...

But check out my lettuce!  Its growing vertically!  I think its because I haven't harvested it yet, what do you think?  Its coming down today, baby, and its all salads, all week!

So, left to right is cukes and zucchini, romaine lettuce, green curly, red, and iceberg, and all the way to the right is tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.  I need a crash course in gardening!

My apologies for a lapse in posting...Jason had his shoulder surgery on Monday, and then we hopped in the car to attend funeral services for Pop in NY.  It was fantastic to see everyone together, and to have a chance to celebrate an amazing 93 years of life.  I've been playing the role of pseudo nurse and chauffeur all week, so hopefully I will be back in the swing of things ASAP!

Friday recap & a tribute to Pop

Well, it has been a rather busy Friday!

Worked the first half, then got my hair did, then picked up our CSA share at Springdell Farms, brought it home, met Gloria from be:Spangled to go to the Gem & Jewelry Show to get some supplies for a few orders I have, then made dinner (a delicious recipe from Cooking Light's latest issue - will go into this at a later date!), then packed the kids and car to go on Jason's belated birthday sunset picnic, then to Kimball Farm for ice cream, now home to get some most needed rest!  PHEW.  Here is the photo recap:

Today at the farm I got a fantastic lesson on how to harvest and stagger my lettuce.  Now I know for next year!  Thank you! And stay cool!!!

Today's large share from Springdell Farms.  So awesome!  And Jamie, I am praying for rain!!

We love 'our' farm!

Daddy's sunset picnic dinner!

We got some sad news tonight that my husband's grandfather passed away.   An amazing man, Pop Haley was the former Station Master at Grand Central Station in NYC.  The first time I met him, Aunt Chris had taken Jason and I over to see him and Nana.  I set the table for lunch, but forgot the napkins.  He kindly reminded me that his mother always gave him a napkin :)  He always made me laugh...and that's what I'll remember about him.  A serious man, with a huge heart, and a sharp wit.  And, he loved to sing, especially the song about Madelyn...she'll love that when she gets older.

Have a great weekend - and don't forget to subscribe if you're reading!  And thank you!!!!

TGIF, Baby.

So, I teased you guys by telling you I went to Popovers on the Square in Portsmouth the other day, but I didn't post a photo of my delish breakfast until now...

Warm popover, maple butter, decaf apricot iced tea, and a fruit cup - which was really fresh fruit!

It was definitely what I needed after my drive up, and to get me ready for a productive day.  I will also say, Katy and I went back for lunch after our meeting with Seacoast Harley Davidson!  And...I took popovers home for the fam and our neighbors who just welcomed a new baby boy.  You have to share the love...

Today is Friday.  Thank heavens.  Seriously.  Short weeks are so productive, and exhausting at the same time.  Today is the first day of summer hours at work, so we work a little bit longer Monday thru Thursday, and Fridays we're done at 12:30.  So, its a great opportunity for me to work from home, start my days early, and not have to fight the New England Fridays-in-summer traffic.  And honestly, I don't have to worry about my curly hair going crazy in the summer humidity...my kids don't care that I have wild hair on Friday mornings!  I love that I work for such an awesome organization!

So, to start my day, I had coffee (yay) and 1 egg plus 3 egg whites scrambled with some baby spinach.

Now its time to log on.  I will try to remember to post pics of today's CSA pickup.  Maybe I'll even take photos at the farm!  Stay tuned...

Everyone have a great day!  

New stuff!!

While we were in Maine this weekend we took our traditional pilgrimage to Freeport and I swear my husband's "mother ship" - L. L. Bean.  God Bless Leon Leonwood Bean.

Both Jason and I got new lunch bags to transport our healthy clean lunches to work each day, and these awesome eco-friendly pouches for the insides - Snack Taxis!

My new bag - don't mind the messy desk.  Its the end of our fiscal year at work and man oh man are there papers!!!

  

My snack taxi worked perfectly for my Ryvita crackers!

And with the flurry of papers, I only got to sneak in some crackers with a can of tuna mixed with about a teaspoon of mustard.  "Dessert" was an apple with almond butter...and my mid day snack was Chobani 0% plain greek yogurt with some organic granola.  Tomorrow, I get to start my day with a meeting at Popovers in Portsmouth, NH...so I am saving up for their awesome popover and maple butter!

Popovers will definitely beat this one!

Maine Birthday Shortcake

We made it back from the wilderness!  We had a great time, and as adventures in the woods with 6 kids under age 6 would have it...taking pictures of dinner kind of slipped my mind.  I was more concerned with making sure there were no nuts or tree nut products in the food, and that every kid ate their dinner and stayed hydrated!  That, and I tore my cornea taking out my contacts on the first night, so really, I couldn't keep my eyes open to use the camera!  I was lucky to pull off cooking :)

Although I don't have photos, we did make a salad with our Springdell Farms lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes, topped with some steak, also from Springdell!  Then, for dinner the next day we made our Springdell burgers, topped with goat cheese and avocado.  That is my new fave burger!  We also had grilled zucchini and summer squash (from Springdell) and corn on the cob - from guess where???  We love Springdell!!!

The real treat came, however, when we headed back to Jason's parents house for his birthday, Neeny (his mom) had a treat in store for our girls - helping make homemade Strawberry Shortcake for Daddy's birthday - Papa's idea to eat local!

This is a hands on project and the girls loved it!

Here is the super delicious final product!

Happy Birthday, Jason!!!

Ahhhh, Vactionland

So here we go!  Off to Grand Lake Stream Maine...its a long car trip with two little girls, a yellow lab, and me who falls asleep easily in the car.  Sorry Jason!!!  He is the ultimate trooper :)

But, while we are relaxing with family and friends for a few days, we won't have access to a mobile/data signal, or the internet.  So, while I will be cooking with my CSA products and other healthy goodies, I won't be able to share it until Monday or Tuesday!  But - photos and tidbits about how to feed 12 adults and 12 kids (under age 6!), one with a nut allergy, healthy food while in the middle of the woods will be yours in a few short days!  Wish us luck!

Before we head out, though, I have to show you my reorganized pantry!  My Tupperware order came in and here are the before and after shots!  Look at all those whole grains, chia seeds, and other yummy things...all nice and neat!

and now...

Ignore the fact that you can see fluff in the front row.  My dad still thinks its a necessity when you have kids and there is only so much I can do.  Pick your battles to win the war...

Have a fantastic, well fed, and uber patriotic Fourth of July, and travel safe!