Good eat: Homemade quick dinner : A vegetarian dish with mushroom and herb pasta dish

Hello dear!

Today I wanted to talk food! If you are a regular around here you already know that tasty food and meaningful eating is one of my passions (smiles)! So I simply wanted to end this week by sharing a simple dish that I find myself making quite often lately, and for good reasons!
1) My husband and children love it!
2) The ingredients can easily be "prepped" ahead of time!
3) Most of the ingredients can be precooked and refrigerated or even frozen!
4) Either I cook it from scratch or precook some ingredients, the dish is simple and quick to make!
5) The dish is versatile and can include any meat/seafood of your choice or nothing but herbs.
6) This dish is an excuse for me to use my fresh herbs and fill the house with the natural and wonderful aroma of nature's best culinary herbs!






The dish I am sharing was made with:
oil
precooked pasta
1/2 pack of mushrooms
1/2 tomato
1/2 green pepper
some fresh and dried herbs such as basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley,oregano,cilantro
garlic
salt


Off to a great start: Culinary herbs from my kitchen garden!
I selected the following from my herb garden: Basil,thyme,rosemary,oregano. It always smells good when I chop them...

 I am getting things set up by having sort of a " Mise en place"! I have already washed my tomato and green pepper with a mixture of water and white vinegar. I actually rinsed my herbs with the same solution even though my herbs are from my own kitchen garden I still rinse everything! No E-coli in this kitchen because I am a stickler on rinsing everything I use! Even if what you purchase is prepackaged you should still rinse before cooking/eating because you don't know how well it was rinsed! Better safe than sorry!

I put a little bit of oil in the wok, once it's hot it's time for my mushrooms...

Mushrooms

Oh...dear... it already smells so good around here....

Mushrooms and fresh herbs

 Under normal circumstances I would have added some fresh garlic, everything taste greater with garlic, if you ask me. I held off on the fresh garlic because I am pregnant and I am taking it easy on the strong flavors!

Mushrooms with herbs, green peppers, and tomatoes.

 I throw in the pasta, spice them with some more herbs and add a little bit of salt. I mix it all up and work it really good!
The herbs I selected are dried herbs from my spice cabinet that I also call my natural medicine cabinet. They are : dried parsley, Italian seasoning, dried oregano and dried basil, humm...the food looks so colorful and will taste pretty flavorful.

The pasta were precooked a few days before and refrigerated! Thankfully I saved time that night.
A few evenings prior to fixing this dish I actually fix the same dish with just a minor difference. Days before I used some precooked onions,mushrooms and green peppers.

 I did not add tomato to the dish on that night so I added some oil to the pasta as I was mixing my dried herbs. This time around, by having some tomato in it, it created some 'juice' to my dish and kept me from adding olive oil when mixing the dried herbs in.
Here, even though I saved time on the pasta, I still had to make everything else from scratch!

 Spicing things a little with a touch of chili pepper from my kitchen garden!

Chili pepper

Voila! Ready to chow! Like we say in French ..." Bon appetit"!

Mushrooms and pasta

Scrapping the wok for some leftovers....I want to cry...there's no more!

" C'etait trop bon" ( It was too good)

Try it and tell me what you think! There's nothing like some fresh herbs to take a simple dish to the next level!
Like I mentionned earlier, I fix some variations of that dish quite often for my husband and oldest son who love the fresh herbs in the pasta. Some days I add meat, or shrimp ,most days it's just herbs alone in the pasta. We rarely eat meat so we are cool with a pescetarian or vegetarian version! With the right seasonings the dish is still very tasty! I just use whatever ingredients I have and adapt my dish to what's available! I can do without any meat or seafood as long as I have the fresh and dried herbs! Thanks to my kitchen garden I no longer lack fresh herbs!

There was a time, years ago, when I would easily get  frustrated for not having any herbs while cooking. I would be cooking something and need some herbs for a dish but lacked the time to run to the store or would have to spend a lot to buy a bunch when all I need was a few leaves! Having a herb garden for the past 4 years have made cooking more fun and delightful! During the winter I cut most of my plants and freeze some herbs to make sure that I still have some to enjoy during the cold weather.

Do you have a simple mushroom and pasta recipe you would recommend? What's your favorite culinary herb?
Happy and healthy eating!

N'na

Simple ways to an Eco friendly and Green lifestyle!

Summer time makes it so easy to live eco-friendly! So if you are considering going Green this summer here are simple ways to get yourself rolling in the righ direction!

#1 Get moving and enjoy the great outdoors.

Between walking, swimming, riding a bike  etc, we should now have more good reasons to enjoy being outdoors and leave the confinement of our homes. Honestly with summer now here, there are fewer excuses to be lazy and sit around doing nothing! So get out and try new things, learn how to swim, join a team, or simply go on walks around some familiar neighborhoods and see what’s new out there!

Yesterday I went on a walk with my family in an area that’s very familiar to me and I was surprised to see some things that I haven’t noticed before. One was the sculpture above. And the following things....


I go to the TN Aquarium and rivefront quite often and yet those were new to me...

Interesting art! Don't you think?

Aren't stairs a real eco-friendly way to exercise? I have never been up those stairs before and it led to a dead end with a garden full of daililies blooms

After descending the stairs I noticed something interesting on the wall...something I just realized ( while selecting pictures for this post) is visible on the left handside of the picture below. Do you see these squares on the left?

There were exactly 12 squares like the  two below. Each square depicted something different.

                    

Truly my biggest surprise was this collection of engraved art. My husband and I  had never noticed them before and we were totally baffled because we have been to the Tennessee Aquarium area so many times..Isn't it weird how things can be there in front of us and we just never 'see them'? I will share all the engraved art that I photographed  in a future article so if you are curious to see what was engraved make sure to come back soon!

Cherokee sculpture @ the Tennessee Aquarium

Cherokee sculpture @ The Tennessee Aquarium

See, walking and being outdoors is a pleasant way to live eco friendly, so many beautiful things surround us! This spot was beautiful and going up was truly a work-out in disguise!

Below is someone obviously enjoying the weather who crossed our path on the glass bridge!

I have found that the best time to be outdoors is early in the day or in the later part of the afternoon. Our Sunday family walk was in the later part of the day and feeling some breeze was a great relief from the scorching heat we felt earlier in the afternoon. With the sun setting after 9 pm it gives plenty of time to enjoy being outside without burning up!


For more images on the beautiful downtown Chattanooga check   http://goodhealthdiva.blogspot.com/2011/04/sunday-walk.html  and http://goodhealthdiva.blogspot.com/2011/05/benefits-of-exercising-introduction.html

#2 Grow a garden and eat more organic homegrown and healthy produces.

With summer time also comes the opportunity to grow a kitchen garden and enjoy some organic homegrown produces. One of my neighbors grows some corn, okra and squash amongst other things. Here is his lush and fruitful kitchen garden!

Kitchen garden

Personally, I stuck to container gardening because it’s low maintenance and less commitment! I have a wide selection of herbs from oregano, to basil and rosemary just to name a few. Herbs are for me a must have, they smell so good and the aroma they bring to home cooked meals is irresistible!

Oregano and Stevia in Containers.



Kitchen garden: basil



I am also growing some produces that we are all watching grow and enjoying with great excitement such as tomatoes, chili peppers, Green peppers, Cucumbers, blueberries etc.

For related articles please read http://goodhealthdiva.blogspot.com/2011/04/benefits-of-gardening-my-edible.html and enter the benefits of gardening in the search box for more articles on gardening!

My tomatoes are bringing me much satisfaction.  

Kitchen garden: tomatoes

Kitchen garden: container tomatoes plant

and the Green peppers are finally starting to show some promises.

Container kitchen garden:Green peppers

I have yet to enjoy some cucumbers but judging by the numerous yellow flowers it’s just a matter of time.


Kitchen garden: Cucumber

#3 Collect Rain water.

 

Collecting rain water is an amusing project for children and it’s such a simple thing. Considering that the cost of a rain barrel or the space for one might discourage some I think the use of small buckets or even cooking bowls is a simple solution to those who want to do it but have limited space or a limited budget!

I have not yet invested in a big rain barrel but instead I am making use of small buckets that I found at a Dollar Store(for just $1.00). After a rain I simply collect the water to water my container plants, outdoors as well as indoor plants benefit better from this natural water than they do from tap water.

Did you know that rain water is even recommended for shampooing our hair as it's said to be better on natural hair than tap water is!

#4 Dry things outdoors and give the drying machine a break!

Another Eco friendly gift from the summer time is the opportunity to maximize nature’s gift of free solar heat and limit our use of the dryer and dry things outdoors as much as possible. If you lack the space or privacy for a clothing line you could still make use of folding racks for small items like wash clothes, kitchen towels, baby items, or socks etc.

Folding rack

Folding rack: eco friendly living

Folding racks fit easily on a small balcony or on a deck and during the winter I still use them for sweaters and other delicate items by placing them near a vent or in a very small room like a ½ bath where the heat can speed the drying process overnight!

In hanging clothes outdoors I would not suggest hanging your bras and lingerie for all to see unless you have a privacy fence and very few visitors! If you live in an apartment, in the USA in particular where people are less adapted to eco-living as they are in Europe, please do not hang clothes on the railing of your balcony because it’s 'tacky' and the Leasing/ Management office might fuss about it!

#5 Hydrate and recycle.

Hydrate!!! Drink plenty of water!!!

The hot weather forces us to hydrate more frequently and with that we see the increase of bottled water or bottled drinks which we can and should recycle diligently!

Recycle very diligently!

 Talking of getting hydrate, please keep water at the top of your list because sodas will actually dehydrate you.

A better alternative to commercial bottled water would be to add a filter to your faucet or purchase a water filtration system and get your own carry on bottle.

Water bottles

#6 Have a yard sale or shop at one!

Having a yard sale is a great way to turn ' your trash' into someone else's treasure and vice versa.

Well, it's a good concept but when having a yard sale please please please do not sell broken items, clothes with stains or holes, or plain stinky and dirty things. You will be surprised how many people try to make a bargain out of cigarrettes stinking items or dirty things. I think it's rude and inconsiderate and just plain old nasty to sell things that are stinky and/or dirty! I CAN NOT STAND anything that's stinky and dirty. I love a good bargain but I am still picky when it comes to yard sales. I do not buy clothing at yard sale. My desire to live Eco friendly obviously has its limits. Clothing and shoes are the kind of things I don’t believe in buying at second hand stores, thrift stores etc but I enjoy yard sales and Craigslist when it comes to purchasing knick-knacks like baskets, vases, books in good condition, children’s toys, and electronics like TV DVD’s combo that are great for kids ‘playrooms etc.  

You can see above pictures of my last yard sales purchases (back in May 2011). A neighbor was getting set up for a yard sale while I was up early walking in the neighborhood! I have wanted this book from Kevin Trudeau "More Natural Cures Revealed" and already had  in paperbacks " Natural Cures "they" don't want you to know about". Paying just $1 per book is much better than regular price plus tax, don't you think?

One last word of advice, never go shopping (@ yard sales, thrift store...) without a bottle of desinfectant lysol and never go anywhere without Hand sanitizer. (Smiles) For real!!!!
 Even though I would deny having bacteriaphobia or bacilliphobia (grinning ), I strongly believe in desinfecting and sanitizing things. When I buy things from yard sales or second hands places,  I make sure to desinfect and wash them as soon as I get home! I don't even wear brand new clothes from department stores until I wash them (my theory with that is that there are packaging chemicals on them and many people have touched that item before I purchased it) . So when it comes to yard sales I take certain precautions by spraying everything, even books, with Lysol, and everything ,except for books, get washed with soap water and vinegar. Let's just say that I do not believe in recycling people's germs or any kind of germs for the matter! More people need to make it a priority to washing their hands and the things they come in contact with as that would keep us all in much better health.

That's all for my simple ways to live an eco friendly life! As you can see there are simple ways to live an eco-friendly life and be good to yourself and to the environment without being a Green fanatic!

              Happy Eco friendly & Green living and tell us what you think!

Is there anything here that you already do often or plan on starting? What are your personal suggestions to an eco-friendly lifestyle?

N'na

The benefits of gardening: A whimsical idea Monet would have smiled at....

A few days ago I went to my garden for our morning ritual, ritual that consists of heading there first thing in the morning to see what new bloom was birthed, taking some pictures and embracing the love from the flower garden....
As I was walking back into the house this fun idea occurred to me: To float some clematis in my birdbath! Strange idea!!!I know...but that's the thing about being in love with nature...it's okay to think out of the box! I do not have a lily pond so the idea was pretty cute and whimsical!

N'na's garden: Clematis & birdbath

I know it's not Monet's Lily pond at Giverny but I think that even him would have smiled at the sight of this birdbath...



I went as far as bringing some clematis in the house and ...

Talking of Monet this blurry picture  I took this morning before the rain could  make for Impressionist art don't you think?

I think that the following pictures would have definitely inspired our French Impressionist and I will show you why I am confident of that....

Cypress Gardens, South Carolina

Cypress Gardens South Carolina

Cypress Gardens South Carolina

Now you see what I mean? Below each one of my photograph I found a painting somewhat similar. I can't deny it Monet is my favorite Impressionist. It's obvious that him and I share a common affection for nature. What about you?

I don't have paintings to offer you, just pictures, so here are more pictures taken this morning....


N'na's Garden: Iceberg roses & Catmint

 My neighbor's mom stopped by yesterday morning and we talked about many of the flowers she was admiring, she was curious about my Lemon balm which you can see in the picture below. Lemon balm is an herb I planted in my garden a couple of years ago! It's a perennial herb and it faithfully returns every year with more leaves that I enjoy as tea or simply as a room freshener because the scent is simply divine!  Since I do not use any chemical in my garden and stick to homemade organic fertilizers it's totally safe to consume the herbs that I plant in my flower beds!

N'na's Garden: Iceberg roses

N'na's Garden Iceberg roses



The climbing rose below bloom profusely and is just a delight to watch, it's also quite a mystery because it kind of grow wild too.....humm the many surprises a garden reserves!!!

N'na's garden: Climbing Roses

Claude Monet said " I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers"!

I love photographing flowers and I think that I owe to flowers my interest for art as a whole!

Flowers make life so beautiful, someone said "one who plants a garden plants happiness" , I hope that in sharing those pictures with you this morning I have planted happiness in your day! These 2 geese below have been planting happiness in my days lately!

 I will have to find them a name, any suggestion?

Thanks for taking this small tour in my garden! I hope you found inspiration in many ways and that you caught on the happy vibe! Nature is greatly represented in Art and Monet is a great inspiration to me! What about you? Who is your favorite artist?

N'na