April 8, 2014

Recipe: Harvest Grains Salad with Feta and Spinach

This recipe came from our friends Kaylee + John who made it for a Superbowl party. I've had it saved in my phone and had been meaning to re-create it and I finally got that chance over the weekend. Originally made with quinoa, I ended up switching up some ingredients based on what I had in the kitchen. I used the Harvest Grains Blend from Trader Joe's that had been sitting in my pantry for a few months now, just waiting to be used. The blend mixes together Israeli couscous, split dried garbanzo beans, orzo and quinoa - super hearty and filled with good whole grains. 

This salad is good just on its own - I've been piling it with spinach and love the salty crunches of cashew with the sweetness of the raisins. Make a whole batch on Sunday and you've got lunch for the rest of the week! 


Harvest Grains Salad with Feta and Spinach
  • 2 cups cooked Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend, cooled (Quinoa would be good too!)
  • 1 cup golden raisins or cranberries
  • 1 cup cashews, broken into pieces
  • 4 oz of feta cheese, crumbled
  • 2-3 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

for the dressing:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 
  • 1 tbsp water
  • salt and pepper, to taste 

Mix the cooled Harvest Grains, raisins, cashews and feta up. For the dressing, whisk up all the ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour dressing over the salad mix and stir to combine. When ready to serve, stir in the spinach. Makes 5-6 large portions.

March 11, 2014

ellie's favorite things

dog things

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

It's been seven months since we've got our little Ellie bean and she has grown up way too fast!  Through this harsh winter, we tried to get her to the dog park if it was anywhere above 10 degrees - which felt like never. If we had to spend evenings indoors, we tried to tire the girl out with tricks + treats and lots of "catch" inside the house. Puppies of all kinds tend to have a lot of energy and since our girl is an Australian Shepard, she is FILLED with energy. Honestly, she could be at daycare all day, come home exhausted, take a 5 min nap and be ready to play again.

This girl loves to play tug and catch, though she is not the best about bringing the ball back. We found that she loves to chew on Simply Orange containers so the Crunchcore (4) was the perfect toy for her. She also loves her peanut butter or cream cheese filled Kongs (8) + bully sticks (5). Since the pup has a sensitive stomach, she has been sticking to a grain-free diet and pumpkin pops (frozen pumpkin) as a treat. These are just a few of Ellie's favorite things.