I Did It! Blue Monday

GIVEAWAY: I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new Wednesday linking party. Click HERE for up to 5 chances to win!


It's Blue Monday today at Smiling Sally's! When you're finished reading my good news, head over there for more blue-themed posts!

Two Blue Mondays ago, I challenged myself to get back into a skirt that I love but haven't been able to wear. I told you all that I'd update today...and yes, I did it! You can read the original post here.

In all, I've lost 8 pounds since that post! You'll be asking how I did it. Well, I did it the best way possible. I ate about 70% fresh fruits and vegetables each day and drank lots of water. The other 30% of my diet was made up of whole grain pancakes and sugar free syrup for some breakfasts and grilled chicken to go with some dinners. Yes, I snacked now and then and yes, there were a couple mornings when I had gained. However, it all evened out in the end and I'm feeling pretty great about that!

Here's the picture I promised. My husband took this this morning before we left for church.

Happy Blue Monday, everyone!

How to Freeze Basil: Easy Tutorial

                         
I adore basil. It is my most favorite herb! In fact, I love it so much that the name Basil has been on my "names for little boys" list since 1999!

I just finished putting some freshly picked basil away in my freezer and thought my readers would enjoy an easy tutorial!

It's only recently that I've begun to use fresh basil and while the dried-in-a-jar variety is fragrant and delicious, it doesn't hold a candle to my homegrown!

You will know that your basil is at it's best "picking state" when it gets buds on it and begins to flower. 

 Clip as much off as you want but leave a few leaves to soak up the rays for more plant growth! Something to keep in mind with basil: the more you clip, the more you get as basil grows back two new stems for every one that is clipped!

Pick off the big leaves and carefully wash each one. Be aware that little bugs like to hide in the shady places under the dark basil leaves. Wash both sides and run your fingers along to wipe off any dirt or....baby snails!

Take a moment to look for any that might be trying to get away!!

When you've washed all the leaves, place them in a colander and shake or use a salad spinner if you have one.

Then lay them out in a single layer on paper towels or napkins and pat dry--soaking up as much water as possible.

Next, place the leaves in a food processor, if available, and pulse until they're the size you prefer. I don't have a food processor so I used my Pampered Chef Food Chopper.

You'll want to add a little bit of olive oil to the basil to keep it from turning black in the freezer. (It doesn't affect the taste...just the appearance) If you are using a food processor, you can add it in as you're chopping the basil. I just poured some in the bowl when I was done chopping with my food chopper and mixed it up with a spatula. The amount you'll need will vary depending on what you plan to do with your basil, but I just used enough to cover each piece.

Finally, you'll want to decide how you're going to divide it up to freeze. It is wise to freeze each recipe size separately. I divided mine up to have a couple good spoonfulls in each container. I plan to put it in pasta sauce and my pasta sauce must feed a family of 9!

You can freeze your basil in small containers, if you have them. I used these two:

Notice they're not fancy! I got one at the Dollar Store for my daughter's baby food and the other is a little Rubbermaid-type lunch box one. You just need something that will be airtight to avoid freezer burn. If I didn't have these two containers, I would have used sandwich bags and then just placed all the bags into one large freezer bag.

**Update: Several readers have mentioned another great freezing method. You can also measure your basil out into ice cube trays and freeze it that way. Then, once it's frozen, pop all the little cubes into a freezer bag to be taken out individually for soup, sauce and more! I will be designating a tray specifically for this as I imagine the tray would eventually take on the wonderful aroma and color of basil! (Though that little taste of basil in lemonade or iced tea might not be too bad??)

Herbs will keep for many years but you'll get your best flavor if you use your basil within the year. Here are a few facts about basil:

**Basil comes from the Greek language and means "king". Basil has been called the "King of the Herbs"

**Basil is highly poisonous to mosquitoes, (Yay!) but safe for rats (bummer!)

**Basil is thought to be a great treatment for arthritis and has antioxidant and anticancer properties.

**Basil will affect the taste of tomatoes if planted too close together. This could be a good or bad thing--depending on what you're doing with your tomatoes!

Never Be Afraid to Burn a Candle...

I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new linking party! Read through for details!

For a creative thinker, inspiration can come at the least likely of times. It can sneak up on you when you're not expecting it and begin to weave it's way through your thoughts. One thing is for sure about inspiration: it makes itself known and demands to be fed.










Last Saturday, I was blessed and inspired by a post I read at a new-to-me blog, My Place to Yours. The author talked about the importance of not waiting for "someday" to arrive but, instead, to seize the day while it's here. She used the illustration of a pink candle sculpted like a rose that she'd been saving in a drawer rather than setting it out and burning it---and enjoying it. Please take a minute to read her post here. You will be so blessed!











She challenged each of her readers to do the same--to find that "pink candle sculpted like a rose" and burn it. (Of course we don't all have that exact candle but you get the idea...) Here is my story of my rose candle:

When my mom bought Whitey's Carmel Corn a few years ago, we went through the gift shop upstairs to make some order out of it and get things displayed and ready to sell. Amongst the faux flowers and assorted trinkets (the previous owner was a florist, I believe), we found the cutest little candle sculpted like a rose. I have a feeling that it is probably a fairly old candle---probably from the 1950s or so, from the look of it.

As mom has changed her displays up there over the past couple of years, the candle has moved from one spot to another...but has never been purchased. Recently, mom gave me a couple of boxes of things from her gift shop and that candle was included. When we got home from our visit with her a couple weeks ago, I set the boxes in the hallway to go through later. A few days later, my little daughter, Avalon, came toddling through the kitchen with that candle in her hands. Afraid she'd take a big ol' bite out of it, I took it away and set it on the counter. Later on that day, as I was cleaning up, I mindlessly tossed it in a sack in the hallway---the yard sale sack.











Fast forward to last Saturday as I'm reading the above-mentioned post. As soon as I was done reading her candle story, I knew which one I'd want to feature. But wait! Where did I stick that thing anyway? Suddenly, it dawned on me. (That's how long it takes sometimes to come back to consciousness when you've got as many things on the brain as I do!!) I began pawing frantically through the yard sale sacks in the hallway, hoping the candle wasn't in one of the ones that my husband had already donated to the church.

Luckily, I found it...and this is what I did with it:



I blew it out after a few minutes, of course, as I want to make it last awhile. I was reminded of a great lesson this week. My mom has a saying that goes something like, "Never be afraid to pick a flower even though you know it will wither." My new saying is, "Never be afraid to burn a candle..especially if it's been sitting around for 60 years!"


GIVEAWAY: I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new Wednesday linking party. Click HERE for up to 5 chances to win!

Linking up today with Susan at My Place to Yours and...