Yesterday, the rain actually held off for most of the day which was nice. We got a lot of gardening done and hit up the nursery for some flowers.
I bought some Impatiens, Geraniums, and Bellflowers to plant in the front garden. Before this, mom and I did a lot of weeding and prepped the bed with some topsoil leftover from my veggie garden.
Things are shaping up around here! We almost seem like civilized home owners now. ;)
Check out the spinach…it’s shooting up! I didn’t expect it to grow so vertically!
Update: Many of you have said it has gone to seed and bolted. 
SAD! Do you think it’s done for the summer months?
The kale grows outward and it’s getting nice and full.
Yummy lettuce…
This romaine lettuce is the biggest one so far:
Sadly, I lost two lettuce so far…they just wilted up and died. No idea why!
The 2 Spanish Onions and 1 Red Onion continue to do well.
And the cucumbers in the back are spreading fast.
Eric has been working away at the deck as usual!
The rails are now all in and he is working on the top piece of the railing.
This morning, Eric said to me that he is losing motivation to finish the deck… words that no wife ever wants to hear! ;) I’m trying to help him when I can and bring him lots of beer. :) I think he is quite intimidated by the 3 staircases he has to figure out…I’m so impressed with what he’s done so far though. It will be nice to have it finished and then he can take a break with renos for a while.
After gardening, I made a huge batch of the Back on Track Salad…one of our favs!
I made a few modifications this time, using some black beans, fresh dill, more lemon juice, and red onion. It was awesome with the dill and extra kick of lemon!
I just love how versatile this salad is…you could adapt it so many ways and it’s always a crowd pleaser.
Eric picked up a Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf to go along with lunch. Sadly, it wasn’t vegan due to an egg wash!
I had a bowl of the Back on Track salad and an Ezekiel wrap with veggies, avocado, and hummus.
Unfortunately, my Aunt Jenn and family couldn’t make our dinner get together because Julia got sick with a bad stomach flu and was up all night. Poor girl! :(
We had a pretty low key night and relaxed with some beer and wine.
Eric BBQ’d chicken for him and my mom and I had a veggie burger. We had the Back on Track salad and Sautéed Crimini mushrooms with garlic and olive oil on the side. I picked up some mushrooms from a local mushroom farm and they were great. I really need to make Sautéed Crimini mushrooms more often…they are one of my favourite side dishes. I also loaded some onto my burger.
A delicious and filling meal!
For dessert we each had a Whole Wheat Vegan Chocolate Cupcake with Spiced Buttercream! My mom couldn’t believe they didn’t have any eggs because they are so light and fluffy. It’s magic!
By the way, they also froze very well. I froze them for 2 days and then let them sit on the counter to defrost for a couple hours. They were still fresh as can be. :)
Today, we’re heading out to do a little chandelier shopping (window-shopping?) and then I think my mom and I are going to bake. Sundays just don’t get any better… Enjoy your day!
BEAUTIFUL garden!
Have fun shopping and baking! :)
sauteed mushrooms make EVERYTHING better! studies have shown that people can replace a portion of the meat in a dish with mushrooms & feel the same amount of satiation! gotta love that umami!
Oh love that…I love them on a burger. Very great texture too!
Your garden looks great! The kale is growing upward to ‘go to seed.’ You don’t want that. Just chop off the tall shoots then the plant’s energy can go towards making leaves rather than making blossoms and seeds. Good luck!
ohhhh thank you! I was wonderful about that!!
wonderful = wondering ;)
Your garden is so lovely! The romaine looks adorable.
Eric has done such a wonderful job on your deck! I love how it looks so far.
That sounds like such an amazing meal! I love the sauteed crimini mushrooms! They are so yummy!
The deck looks so good, keep up the good work Eric! I hope for your sake it doesn’t turn into a completely finished deck with no stair case ;) My husband has been known to do things like that. Drives me crazy!
have a fun day with your mom.
haha Eric has been known for that too at times…
Your garden is looking amazing! My mom just constructed a raised vegetable garden, and I’m looking forward to fresh veggies like yours :) Have a fun day baking with your mom!
I echo Kendel’s comment – I think about the spinach. The spinach is entering a new stage of life where it’s trying to reproduce (a.k.a. make seeds) — probably thanks to the hot weather! I keep chopping mine off as Kendel suggested because it’s also been really hot here. I suppose I’m delaying puberty for the spinach kiddos??
The increased day length and warmth are making your spinach bolt. You really can’t prevent it except plant earlier. The quality of the taste goes down. I would harvest the leaves you can and then enjoy your kale for greens.
Those flowers really light up – so pretty. As for the deck, you should take some pictures and photoshop you and Eric into them, barbecuing and sunbathing on the deck – you know how men love bikinis, that might get him motivated :-)
Sounds like a perfect Sunday to me. I love how you and your mom are having such a great time together.
Looks like your spinach has gone to seed. You can’t really stop it I don’t think. Usually I plant some spinach and then plant some more a couple weeks later so when the first stuff goes to seed I still have some. Usually spinach likes colder weather so when it gets really hot it goes to seed right away. I usually stop growing it in the middle of summer and then plant again when it cools down in the fall. You can at least still eat the leaves that are on them. Are those green onions?? They look huge. Mine are still tiny. I think your deck looks beautiful! great job :) And that variation on the salad look so good :D
Thanks!
You’re so right. You’ve got all the makings for a wonderful Sunday! It’s gloomy here again today, but we had a super fun dinner at our place (That I cooked!!! :D YAY! I’m BACK. – Note to self: don’t tear muscles, esp the kind you use for EVERYTHING. HAHA) and today we’re ‘reading the paper’ (read: reading all our online news/ blogs), then having a leasurely brunch on the patio… followed by dinner at a good friends. Don’t you love when someone else makes you tasty food ?? I do 8-)
PS Your veggie garden looks great Ange! Makes me want to get a few more pots and complete my herb garden now that I can actually use them again.
that salad looks truly fantastic!! :)
Have a great Sunday!!
PS. You are going to have SO much kale. I planted 1/2 that and had kale for everyone in my town!!!!!!!!!! hehe :) It’s awesome. I also let some of it go to seed this year so that I can pass on the amazing seeds!!
haha it should be a kale party every week on my street!
Angela, your garden looks so great :). Those veggies look delish! Don’t you love it when you’ve got company in the kitchen? My mom is not a lover of baking/cooking, but every now and again she will give in and spend a Sunday getting creative and prepping meals with me. I dearly love that time we have together <3 P.s. Let Eric know he's doing a fantastic job so far by the looks of the pictures!
I think you should try to motivate Eric with more beer and some that amazing cherry, banana, coconut butter bread of yours! It’s kind of epic :-)
Thanks for the reminder about the Back on Track salad! This led me to the Back on Track II post with the whole gamut of salads to try. Just what I needed for summer salad inspiration!
Darn those egg washes. I used to hate that when I was vegan! Don’t they know that olive oil has practically the same effect? Oh well, at least you had a yummy lunch!
I see a TON of kale chips in your not so distant future.
You are going to be eating your veggies in no time! My romaine leaves are so cute and tall, too. Lots of yummy eats mmm..im coming over to eat all the leftovers ;)
Your garden is lovely and I love your deck railings! Too bad about the egg wash on the bread. Your pictures are fabulous, as always!
It’s so cool seeing all the goodies growing finally~It gives this warm comforting feeling ;) Eric is sooo talented! He amazes me with his diligence. Has he basically learned this type of stuff by himself?
Yup he teaches himself on the internet…