2nd Mile

I don't even know where to start with this one.... It's slightly confusing and I don't even know the whole story.... So this is my story...

My dear friend Tiffany and her husband, Dave, recently took over a ministry called 2nd Mile. It, to my limited understanding, is like Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Craziness. But awesome. It is funded by donation and most all of the work is completed my volunteers. Their first project as leaders was Brentwood Elementary in East Palo Alto. Generally speaking, East Palo Alto is not the best neighborhood and has low socioeconomic standing. So the school was in need. For this project over 700 people showed up to help over the two days. I wish I had some pictures of the school before and after but I don't. The whole exterior was painted including most of the trim. The bathrooms were painted along with the gym. New landscaping throughout and updated playground equipment. The front office, Principal's office, counselor's office, library, and conference room also got a makeover. I'm probably forgetting something. It was such a busy weekend.

Tiff asked me to help her out with the project but taking charge of the teacher's lounge. So it was my job to redesign the room and buy the necessary items.

Here are some pictures from my first trip to the school:

It was pretty boring. I talked with one of the teachers and she expressed how depressing the room was and how she spent as little time as possible in the room. I wanted to change that.

I forgot my camera the first day of the project. That day we cleared out the room and painted.

Here are some pictures from halfway through the second day. At this point we have most of the new furniture in the room.
Here is the crazy work table I made. It is two Expidit shelves from Ikea with a door on top. In this pic you can see the way we connected the three pieces. Just flip over the door and it all fits together. That way if it needs to move it just comes apart.




The new kitchen is amazing. It was done by professionals the week the school was on spring break.


Yea! It turned out great and the teacher's love it! But what a busy weekend!

Another box

Another box has come and gone. It is surprising how fast we eat the produce. We are loving mashed sweet potatoes lately. And now with the nicer weather we have been grilling. Zucchini and broccoli are great on the grill. I made some chicken and wild rice soup yesterday with the carrots and celery. I gave the kiwis away to our favorite cat sitter. The only thing left are the green peppers will be used this week in some fajitas. Yum!!

Interesting day

Well I've had an interesting day. It included some great sales, the farmer's market, and even an 911 call!

So I'll start with the call.... I was just leaving the farmer's market after picking up my steaks when I heard this woman yelling "call 911! Call 911!" So I did. There was a small crowd gathering and I remember learning in psych about something to the effect that when there is a group of people everyone assumes someone else will call and therefore no one calls. I wasn't going to let that happen. And really, no one else was calling. Everyone was just telling the mom to "do this" and do that". I don't really know what was happening but it appeared that a young boy passed out. It didn't look like a seizer but I didn't see the beginning. I was also relieved to see that he was breathing. I really didn't want to have to use my CPR knowledge (watch out everyone- I'm a dental hygienist!-haha). One thing though, that phone call was stressful! Before I was able to tell the operator where we were or what happened she needed to have me tell her my phone number twice! Really? I know I have a weird number (from Ann Arbor) but couldn't we do that once the ambulance is on the way? Oh well. I think the kid will be fine. The fire truck and ambulance were there in about 5 mins. And then I left. Too much excitement for me!

But the first thing that got my heart going today was this:

I found a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress at an estate sale for $5! It's not in the best shape but it is the type of dress she became famous for. So why not! I am going to clean it up and hopefully it's not too huge.

Here is the rest of my score:
2 huge curtain panels for $10. I hope they wash up nice. Not sure what I will do with them but it was a ton of fabric to pass up. 2 more vintage dresses, a wrap skirt, wool sweater, sweater skirt, and about 3 yrds vintage fabric. It was a good morning.

Produce Galore!

My box came this week! Yea!

After emailing on Saturday, I received an email on Tuesday saying that they were sorry that I got missed and we would be getting a box this Friday free of charge. Yes! It even came at a good time, about 10am. I didn't get the first box till late at night.

This is what I received:

2 pink lady apples, 2 meyer lemons, 2 avocados, .5 lb strawberries, 1 bunch red radish, 1 napa cabbage, rainbow chard, carrots, celery, romain lettuce, red spring onions, 1.5 lb jewel sweet potatoes, asparagus, 2 pears (I don't know what type)

So lots of greens. The recipes this week were: Red Chard Enchiladas, Lemon and Asparagus Fettuccine, and Broccoli and Rapini with Lemon and Shallots....and none of them are available online! I just checked. Sorry guys.

One thing I can't wait to make is mashed sweet potatoes. I don't have a recipe but will look for one online. I am going to the farmers market to pick up some steaks (local and grass fed) that Adam ordered tomorrow. So one meal for the week will be steak, mashed sweet potatoes, and salad or asparagus. Yum!

Speaking of asparagus, I thought I would share my (apparently) famous recipe for them. I almost always make them this way and everyone asks for the recipe! I even get phone calls about it! I find it funny because it's so easy. But they are a big hit. Especially with the Gross' (I'm not so good with grammer/english and that ' is probably in the wrong place-don't judge!).

Courtnay's famous roasted asparagus

1 bunch asparagus

olive oil

garlic salt (cali style)

pepper

optional- lemon, white wine, fresh garlic

Pre-heat oven to 350. Trim asparagus and place in an 8x8 backing dish. Drizzle olive oil to coat (maybe 2T). Sprinkle garlic salt and pepper over. Shake 'em up! And bake for 15 or so mins until they are done like you like them. A splash of wine or lemon is a good flavor too. I would add this before cooking. And if you use fresh garlic just mince and make sure to add a little plain salt too (omit the garlic salt). Enjoy!

Box where are you?

Well my box of fresh vegetables is missing in action. I don't know what happened so I emailed the farm. I changed some of my preferences yesterday and maybe that messed up the delivery? I decided we didn't need to pay for lemons or oranges since our fridge is over flowing with ones from the neighbors trees. Hmmm.... when it comes I will post some photos again. I hope it comes soon!

Breakfast Success!

The Cheddar Chard Omelets were a great success! Adam ate his so fast I couldn't even think about getting a picture. I didn't have cheddar so instead I used parmesan and pepper jack and left out the hot sauce. Over all very good! I definitely recommend this recipe.

CSA

As I was laying in bed unable to sleep the other night I was contemplating the lack of vegetables Adam and I eat. I try to have at least one vegetable with dinner but that is not enough considering we don't eat many others throughout the day. I also hardly eat fruit. It was so bad that even Adam mentioned how he thought we needed to eat more vegs and went out and bought asparagus. At first I figured I would amend this but making a point to going to the farmers market and buying random vegs every Saturday. But I have tried that before and get nervous about buying unknown and leave with only bread and flowers instead. So I remembered about the CSA's that I had heard about in the fall and decided to check them out. I didn't do a lot of research but the little I found I was how most have limited subscribers, you pick up the box, and a year commitment. I didn't want that. I wanted the box to be delivered and to be able to back out if needed. So I found Capay Organics, Farm Fresh to You. They are a larger operation and source some of the produce from other farms but for the most part it is all northern Cali or close and it's all organic. One great feature about the website is they have many recipes for the various vegs. This is great because I will need some help. And a flyer came in the box today with farm updates and recipes for the items in the box. Yea! Looks like we will be having Chard and Cheddar Omelets tomorrow!

In our box we received: 1 large leek, 2 navel oranges, 2 fuji apples, 2 small cauliflower, 2 mucot tangerines, 1/2 lb strawberries, collards, red chard, mixed baby lettuce, 1 bunch carrots, 1 bunch asparagus, celery, and 2lbs yellow potatoes