Avocado Slaw

I love avocado, so much I could be the chick on the Subway commercial with the knitted avocado sweater. This recipe just kind of happened, and I loved it. It's great by itself of served on top of a taco, burrito, or any other Mexican arrangement of meat cheese and beans. 

Avocado Slaw

2 cups of shredded cabbage

1-2 diced fresh tomato

2-3 avacado  depending on size

Juice of 1 lime 

1 tbsp. of cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne 

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Salt and pepper 

Mix her up and serve cold.

Enjoy! -Meg

Cold Brew Coffee

It's getting hot in South Alabama, not that I am complaining after the worst winter ever. I love coffee, black, rich, lukewarm coffee. (If I drink it hot it burns my tongue, I don't see how they do it). I've been reading a lot about cold brew coffee so I decided to give it a shot. I'm addicted. I've also never really been into cold coffee drinks, seeing as how they are usually overly sweet and as much as I love sugar, I don't want to drink it. 

So here's my recipe, taken from bits and pieces of other places. 

Cold brew coffee

5-8 tablespoons of coffee depending on how strong you want it.

(I use anything from Gevalia to Folgers. We don't have many coffees to choose from where I live. 

3 cups of cool water, filtered if you prefer.

A few sprigs of fresh mint (optional)

If you don't have a French press, just grab a quart jar and a lid or some Saran Wrap. 

Pour in the coffee and mint

Then add water

Cover but do not plunge the press down...if you are using a jar just cover.

Wait 12 hours. 

I usually just make it at dinner and finish the next morning.

Grab a coffee filter, a wide mouth jar and a strainer.

Press down coffee if using a press, then pour over into container.

Boom. You're done.

Now you can keep it in the fridge for up to a week. I add a little coconut or almond milk to mine. You can add ice and water, you can heat it, add stevia, or simple syrup. All of that is up to you. 

The coffee will taste a little different in that the heat didn't change the chemical compound of the bean. Also it keeps all of the antioxidants in. 

Enjoy!!!

-Meg

Weezy

Since my last post about love, I must say things in my life have shifted quite drastically. As some of you may know, or even if you have simply read my blog, my husband and I have wanted a baby for quite some time now, well, almost two years to be exact. Just like most months, my period came a few days late, and instead of rushing to the store for a pregnancy test the day it's late I decided to wait. I figured it was nothing and I would yet again be disappointed by another negative test, and the repeat cycle of drowning my sorrows with another bottle of wine and pandora radio. So on Sunday February 16, at approximately 7 pm I took a test...and I noticed a faint positive and immediately ran to buy two more before I got my hopes up; all three positive. At that moment I began to fall on my knees and thank God for what I had been praying towards for so long. It finally happened. My husband was at band practice at the time, so I basically walked around in a circle until he came home. I handed him a brown paper bag with all three tests inside. We were both speechless. 

The next day I decided to go take another test at the doctor's office to make sure, I received a "Congratulations! You're pregnant!" They estimated me at about 4 & 1/2 weeks. I have never been so excited. We decided we couldn't wait to tell our immediate family and close friends so we did that very night, knowing that it could be a risk we were taking. Why live in fear though right? 

I began noticing a few symptoms but I didn't mind them a bit. We talked about baby names, and all the other details that come with the news of finding out you will be a parent. My brain was clouded with warm fuzzy feelings of being a mother, I couldn't focus on much else.

About a week and 1/2 after I found out, I began bleeding, and heavily cramping. After being quite worried I called the doctor as soon as they opened, and they basically said lay down and it should stop. I couldn't wait so I decided to see another local doctor who was willing to see me.

I went in fairly positive that it was probably nothing, and had blood tested. I had to wait an hour to find out my results. My husband decided to go back with me. While sitting in the purple room listening to the awful classical music swirling in my head fear set it. As soon as the doctor sat down I heard the first few words and the rest were hazy after , "your numbers are very low." 

My heart dropped, I felt so sick, and like my world was crashing down. He then checked me and confirmed that I was indeed having a miscarriage. I looked at my husband and fell apart. All I could think was how can two people with as much love as us, with no real health problems,  have this happen? 

I gathered my things and left out, while seeing pregnant women in the waiting room that already have about 6 kids swarming around them I honestly wanted to punch them right in the face. It just so happens that as soon as I walk out of the doctor's office my mother who knows nothing yet is pulling up to drop off my grandmother's prescription. I didn't say a word and she knew what was wrong. My husband, mother, and I sat in silence for 3 hours. That same night in the news was a story in Mobile about a mother throwing her 2 day old baby in the trash and the baby not making it.  The next few days were basically a blur, filled with family and friends taking care of me and bringing me food. Thanks to them I made it, a special thanks to my niece who saved me at that very moment by just laying with me. 

It's odd how common miscarriage is because you rarely hear people talk about it. Just the word "miscarriage" sounds wrong, like the woman did some thing bad to their body and just weren't fit to have a healthy baby. Until it actually happens to you, you won't hear much about it, but hearing stories of other people going through the same thing actually helps.

The thing is most people don't realize, at the moment you find out you are pregnant, you are attached mentally and physically to the little life inside you, and when told that life is no more, you have lost a child, not just a little ball of cells or embryo or whatever term makes it sound less human. And it hurts like hell. I honestly have to say I have never been through anything this difficult. Though through this at least I now know I am capable of getting pregnant, which is wonderful.

My husband and I decided to get away for the weekend and I packed lots of wine, while we headed for the lake at a very kind friend's lake house. It's odd how little things can slowly stitch back together your soul; laying by my husband, music, seeing the water. All of these things helped. You see what your love with someone really is in a time like this. I have to say my husband and I have never been closer and I thank God he is stronger than me, in that I know he is grieving too. 

My husband Shannon and I at Lake Martin, beginning to feel a touch better.

The view

I know this is long, but I want to share this for a few reasons; one is to help myself. Another is to show you all who have never been through this to hug and kiss your children and thank God they are here. Also, if you are pregnant , no one wants to hear you constantly complain about being pregnant, there are plenty of people who would gladly trade places with you in a second. And last, for those of you who may have gone through this, I am writing for you also.

It's also funny how things happen in your life that are symbols of other things, while pregnant, I bought a coconut, thinking it would be cool to drain and drink the water, and eat the meat, as I had never done it before. After showing it to my husband and talking about how excited I was he pointed out a small crack, and shook it, no water inside. I was still hopeful that it was still fine so I sat it on the table. The day that all of this happened, I noticed the crack had became larger, and I popped it open, and as I had held onto a little hope, it was indeed rotten inside. It all hit me at this point of the unfair and never ending cycle of life. 

All of your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

-Meg

Valentine's Day

Lots of us view this as just another corporate holiday to spend more money on silly things like candy, flowers, or other crap that will either make someone's ass bigger or wilt and die. If you're single, it's viewed as a day that sucks big time and we spend our day dwelling on how much you're against this dumb day. But the fact of the matter is that it's a day to celebrate the most important thing in the world; love. We all need it, we all want it, no matter how much it can sometimes hurt. 

There are four types of love mentioned in the Bible; Agape, Eros, Philo, and Storge. To sum them up simply, Agape is God's love for us and our love for other humans selflessly. Eros is sensual love, Philo is a connected love, beyond affection, say with friends. Storge is love for family. These are all important and on a day to celebrate love we should not only think of those we share Eros love with. We receive love from our friends, family members, and on a good day, even total strangers. If there is one thing worth living for, that four letter word is it. It can make us smile, laugh, cry, scream, crazy, and even babies. So maybe I am cheesy or whatever for wanting to do something special on this day to celebrate love. 

My father, who is by far the least romantic (though highly affectionate) man on Earth; gives me a card and candy every Valentine's day. Usually the card included many misspelled words and the candy is some he wants a diabetic bite of. Though he always wants me to know he loves me. I thank God every day that I have such a wonderful husband to spend each day with, always telling him I love him. If there is one word we could use more in this world, "love" is it. I know I will catch flack for my annoying mushyness in this but who cares!? 

Love you all.

-Meg

January

So I have been absent from blogging over the past couple of months.  I have been busy being unemployed and working on things at my house, mixed with a little bit of time wasting also, I will admit.  It has been difficult not working and having an income, but now that I have graduated, I will start subbing at the local city schools in February and hopefully an art position will open soon in the fall.  

I took on quite a few projects on my time off.  One of them was organizing my disgusting closet under the stairs.

Yeah, it was bad.  Half of the stuff was things I have needed to go through since Shannon and I first got married.

Yeah, much better.

What's sad is when I began to pull everything out, my entire den was filled with stuff. It's so easy for things to get cluttered in life, when you just hide them in a closet. I added these super easy shelves, and it made a huge difference. 

I also hung a few of Shannon's (oh and one is mine) guitars above the sofa to have a little more space.

Levi's favorite spot. 

I also decided to hop on the teepee wagon and make these teepees for my pets.

There are tons of tutorials out there on how to make these, I combined a few different ones.

So onto the next project- my kitchen. It was a mustardy yellow, and I became very tired of it. I never dreamed I would paint anything in my house white; it always seemed so boring to me. Yet, I noticed most of kitchens I saw and adored were white. So I went for it.

I am in love. It's so bright and simple. The actual color is natural cotton by Valspar. I still don't have kitchen cabinets among other things but this little touch has made it easier to deal with. 

Oh and look at this cute little Pyrex dish I thrifted.

So now that I'm finished sharing projects, I have to share a recipe, and since it's national handwriting day I decided to handwrite the ingredients.

I worked at a bar and grille for 4 years in our little town and one of the best things there was the blackened chicken, so this is inspired by that. I actually cooked a lot of chicken for this and cut up half for green salads, and used other half for this.  

To start, coat your chicken in extra virgin olive oil, then heat your cast iron skillet. While it's heating, pour the blacked redfish seasoning along with salt and pepper. Lay both sides of chicken in seasoning and cook until done. 

Next, chop up 1 apple, about 3 stems of celery, and broccoli. Add all of the ingredients to the shredded chicken, along with remaining ones. A tip to easily shred the chicken is to put in kitchen aid mixer with paddle attachment until it's shredded to the point you want it. Has to be hot still to work well. Serve on toast Orr crackers or lettuce. Enjoy. 

I'll try not to stay gone so long this time! 

-Meg

Coconutties

It's freezing here in Alabama, literally. It has been colder than I remember it being in a long time and Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I have been trying to keep warm today and spent most of it inside making food for tomorrow. It's truly crazy how times flies by more and more everyday. I cannot believe Thanksgiving is almost here and the year will be ending soon.  I have so many things to be thankful for this year and I won't bore you to death with a long list like everyone is doing these days (sorry if you are one of those people, it's very wonderful to be thankful for all of those things).  I will keep my list short and sweet, I am most thankful for family and friends. Without them life would be one boring, unfunny, sober place to dwell. So here's to all of you, you know who you are...much thankful for your place in my life and mine in yours. 

On to the important thing about Thanksgiving... Food! These coconutties are a favorite of mine. They are also pretty simple and easy. They are like an almond joy but with no almond. 

Coconutties (this is a stupid name, but that's what everyone in my family calls them in loss of an official title for them).

1 bag of shredded coconut

3/4 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup of powdered sugar

1 tbsp. crisco (yep, crisco)

I tsp. vanilla extract

1 bag milk chocolate chips

Start by mixing coconut, sugar, milk, and vanilla with spoon or paddle attachment. 

Should resemble this...

Mix well, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

 

While waiting, line a cookie sheet with foil. After they mixture has cooled use a small spoon to spoon out small proportions.

Use hands to form small ovals, then place on cookie sheet. May need to wash your hands every so often to get the sticky off so ovals form better. 

Stick back in fridge for about 30 minutes. 

Melt chocolate and crisco in double boiler on stove. The crisco just this out the chocolate and makes it easier to dip, plus it makes it taste even better!

 

You could use dark chocolate if you prefer.

Remove coconut from fridge and using a fork dip each into chocolate coating the whole thing, then place back on lined sheet.

Refrigerate for about an hour at least. Now, eat them. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Much love,

Meg

Applesauce

So one of my favorite things has always been applesauce. I can remember eating a huge jar full each week. It is one of the easiest things to make, and perfect served warm on these chilly November nights. (Yes it's actually been pretty chilly in Alabama at night). 

Stovetop Applesauce

6-8 apples (any kind will do)

1 tbs. cinnamon

I tbs. nutmeg

1/2 c. Brown sugar

1/4 c. Honey

3/4 c. Water

If you are just cooking for 2 like me, 2 apples are just the right amount for 1 serving each.

Peel apples and chop up into bite sizes pieces. Add to boiler with remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer for just a few minutes. 

At this point you can either leave in chunks, or break them up with a blender or whisk. 

This will stay good in the fridge for about a week. Enjoy! 

Meg