PORTOBELLO BROCCOLI AND RED PEPPER MELTS

I hope everyone had a fun Father's Day. We made this recipe as part of the "5 week vegetarian challenge" and again on Father's Day with some homemade sweet potato fries. (Recipe coming soon) I enjoyed seeing the look on John's face when he thought I was preheating the oven on to 500 degrees in the middle of June. His exact words were, "I always wondered what broil meant." I hope you enjoy. It's pretty good.


Ingredients
1 small head broccoli, cut into small florets
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 portobello mushrooms caps, sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 red bell peppers, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 small garlic clove, crushed through a press
4 thick slices of focaccia or ciabatta bread
4 ounces Gouda cheese, thinly sliced

Directions
Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. On a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, toss broccoli with oil; season with salt and pepper. Broil, tossing once or twice, until broccoli begins to char, 4 to 6 minutes.

Add mushrooms and bell peppers to sheet; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Broil, tossing once or twice, until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes more; set aside.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Place bread on a work surface. Dividing evenly, spread with mayonnaise mixture, and top with vegetables, then cheese. Place on baking sheet, and broil until cheese is melted and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

recipe modified from Martha Stewart

5 WEEK VEGETARIAN CHALLENGE MEAL PLAN

We did it! We completed the vegetarian challenge, without breaking a sweat. I am so excited to share with you the meal plan and some recipes. For a printable version of the meal plan click here. It wasn't as hard as I had anticipated, and I only anticipated it being difficult because we would have to come up with a lot of new recipes for variety. But as soon as it began I welcomed the challenge. I really enjoyed trying new things, like making risotto for the first time. And I can tell you I feel better- not just because I know I was kinder to the environment- but because I feel like I have more energy, because I had fun cooking, and because I enjoyed not having to stress over "what's for dinner." We will probably keep this up for quite a bit. I plan to make a 5 week meal plan for each of the four seasons, so I always have recipes with seasonal fruits and veggies handy. For now we are happy flexitarians.

To make it easier for readers I tagged all of the recipe posts with the label "5 week vegetarian challenge" and you can find most of these recipes by clicking here. You can see the term "leftovers" in the meal plan, I set it up this way for 2 reasons. The first being, if we had leftovers they got eaten, and the second reason was to offer a "free space" each week. For example, if a social engagement came up on a Monday and we were scheduled to make the Grilled Portobello Sandwiches, we would just swap that day with the leftover day from that week. The same goes for "salad," I stuck that in to help us eat the rest of the raw veggies we usually have lying around. We eat a large veggie salad at least once a week anyway, so that really worked for us.

LAST MINUTE FATHER'S DAY GIFTS

1. Kindle Fire HD
2. Handsome Coffee
3. Siskiyou Cabin Spray
4. Memphis Rub
5. Stuffed Hamburger Press
6. Coastline Bottle Opener
7. Credit Card Wallet Razor
8. Big Green Egg BBQ Grill
9. The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches

ALOE + ROSEWATER FACIAL SETTING SPRAY

The summer heat has really started to set in, which means my makeup is usually melting off my face.  A few weeks ago I talked to an esthetician who recommended a facial setting spray and listed a few brands she liked. She said it basically sets your makeup for the day and can really help those with oily skin. After reviewing some of her recommendations I wasn't loving some of the ingredients. But renewed my search when a day of heavy yard work left my fave looking like Gangie - See here for reference.  I then came upon a product that was not only ingredient friendly, but I thought I could make myself. If you aren't into making your own beauty products you can buy it here. 

Ingredients:
Witch Hazel
Green Tea
Rose Water
Aloe Vera (natural, in liquid form, not the gel)
Distilled Water
Essential Oil

Directions:
Pour 1/3 cup witch hazel into a 3 oz misting bottle (usually in the travel section of the drug store). Then  add 3 tablespoons of green tea, strained. Next combine 1 tablespoon of both aloe vera and rose water.
Add a few tablespoons of distilled water, and a few drops of essential oil if you prefer, it is for fragrance only.

After applying your make-up, Lightly spritz face and let dry, don't touch your face or move. (I made the mistake of looking down and got mascara on my under eye area)

CHOOSING THE RIGHT BACKSPLASH

Have you ever fallen into a design rut? It’s easy to find a style or trend you love and sooner or later you realize it has popped up in a few rooms in your home. One trend I keep seeing repeated is white and marble subway tiles in kitchen backsplashes. Don't get me wrong, I really love that look- I do it for clients all the time, but I am starting to feel like a one trick pony. It is a simple part of your kitchen that can make a big splash (no pun intended, but hey that was pretty clever!) if done right. Here’s some inspiration to help you (and me) get out of the subway tile rut.

Add a touch of pattern

Try a natural touch like pebbles or bricks.

Mix it up with metal

Renting? Try painting a backsplash it’s affordable and far from permanent

*Note two of the images have a watermark so I know where they came from-- but the rest were saved on a file on my computer before Pinterest (how did we even live before Pinterest) If you know the source please send it to me, I'd love to be able to link them!