Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead & My 3 Day Juice Fast

I watch a lot of documentaries and I always try to take them with a grain of salt, but this one really struck a chord with me.Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is a film about Joe Cross (who also happens to be the director) and his journey to better health. At the beginning of the film he is overweight, tired, on multiple medications and basically feels fat, sick and nearly dead! Since he is so drastically overweight (about 100 lbs) he decides to attempt a 60 day juice fast. The requirements on the juice fast are that he cannot consume any solid food, only fruits and vegetables in juice form. We're not talking about store bought juice either. We're talking about freshly juiced fruits and veggies for maximum nutrient intake.

Harvested Mini Bell Peppers & Stuffed Mini Bell Pepper Recipe

Last I wrote the mini bell peppers were beginning to turn yellow and in anticipation of a harvest I had discovered a recipe for stuffed mini bell peppers. I was able to harvest some peppers and try out the recipe and now I'd like to share! I found the recipe at this blog. It's delicious! First of all I love all of the ingredients. It could even be made without the bacon for a vegetarian version and would be just as tasty. The feta gives it a nice saltiness so I don't think there is any culinary reason for the bacon in there. In other words, it's just bacon for the sake of bacon! But most people don't mind that at all.

Harvested Serrano Chili Peppers and Mini Bell Pepper Update

I'm just popping in here to write a quick update on two of my plants. My serrano chili pepper plant had a nice amount of full grown peppers ready to be harvested so I picked some yesterday. I'm so excited to make some salsa with them! It's still flowering and producing peppers, but I'm not sure how long that will continue. I also still have the two outdoor serrano chili pepper plants (which are in my parent's backyard) that have their first peppers appearing. My two outdoor mini bell pepper plants are also starting to form little peppers. The indoor mini bell pepper plant is doing fantastic! The two biggest peppers are starting to turn yellow which means that they are just about ready to be harvested. 

The Indoor Garden Expands to The Outdoors

The last I updated about the indoor garden everything was moving along nicely. Since then, I've moved some things outdoors. The tomato plant was outgrowing the space that I had for it in my front window, I had some pepper plants transplanted into my parent's backyard and I also planted cucumber seeds in my parent's backyard. It's been an interesting experience to see the plants begin to flower and set fruit. The carrots were recently harvested and they tasted delicious. Although, they were smaller than I had expected (more on that later).

Mango Salsa

As summer gets into full swing, and the variety of in season fruits and veggies increases, I will most likely be posting more recipe blogs and less environmentally friendly related blogs. Not that I haven't been making new environmental changes to my life, but I've been trying out so many new recipes and I want to share them all! Well, the good ones at least... This mango salsa is perfect for summertime. It still has the spiciness and freshness (from a habanero and cilantro) of a tomato based salsa, but the mango adds a nice fruity layer. I discovered this recipe in my favorite cooking magazine... Fine Cooking! Beware of the habanero, it is one of the hottest chili peppers. It is only about 2 inches long (see picture below), but it packs a punch! For this reason, see my safety tip after the recipe.

Chicken Cutlets with Bell Pepper Ragout

I received my June/July copy of Fine Cooking and as usual flipped through and drooled over all of the awesome recipes inside. One of the recipes that caught my eye was Chicken Cutlets with Bell Pepper Ragout. This section of the magazine provided some great seasonal recipes utilizing boneless skinless chicken breasts. The main ingredients for this recipe had me running to the grocery store! It combines chicken, tomatoes, bell peppers and onions. Sounds delicious, doesn't it?

Indoor Garden Update

The indoor garden is coming along just as planned with the exception of the stubborn mint and the addition of a few new plants. I got a strawberry plant for the boyfriend's sweet tooth and a lime basil plant for my Mojito tooth. I never heard of lime basil before, but when I saw the seed packet I had to have it! I immediately imagined it in various cocktails, teas and pasta sauces. Also, I had been waiting for my potato tubers to come and they finally arrived earlier this week. I will be planting them today and I'm so excited!