Summer Salads

I’m trying to figure out where the day went! I think it was the fastest Wednesday ever. This weekend I’m in a wedding, my family is coming to town, and I get to hang out with my best friend growing up … so I don’t mind.

BADSEED Stash

One of the many fun things Erik and I did this weekend was go to BADSEED and stock up on veggies.

If it’s not already apparent lately by my posts, we haven’t had meat or dairy for the past month. It was partially inspired by Forks Over Knives and hearing medical reasons as to why a “whole foods plant based diet” is beneficial to your health. But you know us, we like to experiment with foods so it’s not all that crazy for us to up and start eating vegan.

That being said, lots of veggies are in order!

The highlights included: kale, arugula, zucchini, tomatoes, beets, turnips, fava beans, and chard. All local, and fresh.
In fact, perhaps these are my very stalks of kale right here at URBAVORE farm in the ground

Anyways, doesn’t it all look delicious??

I love the naturally beautiful colors of fruits and veggies!

Veggie Time

Thus, a lot of different salads have been consumed … they’re simple, have lots of variations, are really healthy, and can be so refreshing on hot summer days.

We’ve been using a lot of avocado dressings and cashew cheeses with our veggie-based meals. Both are so good, especially cashew cheese. I should have been eating it a long time ago, vegan or not!

What’s your favorite avocado and/or cashew-based “cheese” and dressing??

2011 Urban Farms & Garden Tour

Finally I’m blogging! I meant to post this on Sunday, then I meant to post it on Monday, but here I am posting it on Tuesday, ha.

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen the oh-so-anticipated Urban Farms & Garden Tour didn’t go quite as expected:

Apparently we didn’t read the “fine print” that some of the locations were only on Saturday, and of course we realized on Sunday … whoops! We mostly were sad to have missed stopping by Home Contained Edible Yard & Landscaping and the Urban Farming Guys.

But here are some key stops from Sunday. My mother-in-law came with us, and though it was very hot, it was fun!

Hoop Dog Studio

Our first stop was to the Hoop Dog Studio Garden. This garden is joined with an art studio, which was also opened so we checked it out first.

Hoop Dog Studio Garden

The garden was very eclectic, whimsical, and artistic with fruits and vegetables spread out amongst all sorts of bottles, chairs, pots, and art. This garden has enough to feed 10 people year round (including chickens with eggs).

Hoop Dog Garden was really neat to walk around, you could never guess what was going to be around the next corner. These pictures can definitely speak for themselves:

Raspberry sighting … yum!

Above: I loved all the blue bottles scattered about.
Below: Erik playing a “drum”?

Switzer Neighborhood Farm

And for the next garden highlight … the Westside Community Garden that is Switzer Neighborhood Farm. We’ve driven by this garden space ever since we discovered our favorite KC neighborhood a couple years ago that is Westside.

Thus, we were excited to check this garden out, as we didn’t even have a clue what it was or who tended it.

Turns out, it’s a community garden tended by area neighbors complete with rain barrels and hoop houses. I’m glad we stopped by and finally heard the story behind the garden!

It was a great weekend!

Friday we hung out and did all kind of things (if we’re friends on Foursquare, you would know, ha), and the garden tour was a perfect way to end it.

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Today the weather was SO beautiful I decided to work on my deck. Once I got out there, it was WAY too bright and shiny, and I could NOT see my computer screen at all. But since I had already brought out my laptop, a separate mouse, separate split keyboard, a foot pedal, earphones, my phone, and a drink, I was not about to go inside right away.

Thus … I lugged a photography umbrella outside with me to keep my laptop in the shade, ha. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And despite my staying in the shade all day, I’m afraid I walked inside at 5:00 looking like a lobster! I’m pretty sure it was worth it though.

Week in the lens of Instragram: 6/25/11

I don’t seem to ever tire from Instagram photos! Here’s a quick snapshot of the week behind the scenes:

{Nelson-Atkins Museum}

{Fresh cold summer strawberries}
{Working outside}

{Food at FUD}
{Portobello mushroom wrap & cashew ice cream}

{Agave hibiscus snow cone via Fresher than Fresh}

{Delicious salad complete with fresh garden herbs & hemp seeds}

Enjoy your weekend!!

As soon as the sun comes out, we’ll be hanging out at the Urban Farms & Garden Tour