Fried Green Tomatoes

There was little to no drama in the making of these fried green tomatoes. But there was much munching and begging for more upon the completion of the saga.

Although the South is probably my favorite place to be, I have never actually tried these divine little creations made famous by a certain dramatic movie. The only reason I decided to make them is that I have, literally, hundreds of large green tomatoes in the yard. After asking for expert advice (thanks B), I learned I needed to harvest some greens to get the pants ripening.
So, the kids and I set out to find 6 of the largest green tomatoes. Results were more like 8-10.. the kids thoroughly enjoyed this task.

I sliced them about 1/3" thick, placed them on paper towels, and salted lightly. I let them sit there while I put the rest of the fixins' together. In order:

• white flour mixed with salt & pepper
• egg/buttermilk mix (2 eggs & about 1/2 cup buttermilk) salt & pepper
• Panko breadcrumbs mixed with cajun seasoning (Shout-Out for Panko- LOVE these crumbs!)

 I also heated up my old faithful cast iron pan, with about 1/2" of canola oil, really hot.
 Then, in usual breading fashion, dredge the tomatoes in flour, then into egg mix, then coat in bread crumbs. Pop into the oil and watch them sizzle. Turn them over after about 1 minute, and once both sides are beautifully browned, remove and place on paper towels.

Make an aioli or remoulade sauce, or something similar, dip and go!!

I made a sauce out of a little buttermilk, mayo, cajun seasoning, lemon juice and ketchup. Very good and easy! Enjoy!

Another thrilling topic- laundry

But it must be done- when you find something that rocks your mile-high piles of laundry, you simply must share, right!?
Coming back from camping- even if its just a one night trip, is laundry nightmare, or used to be. After our most recent trip I had the regular big bag of camp smoke infused fleeces and soggy socks, and as an extra bonus, a whole set of puked on toddler clothes, said toddlers pee accident pants, and other toddlers hot cocoa soaked PJ's. Yes, these are stains to challenge event me most seasoned house keeper.

In my previous life (pre-Shaklee), I would have, no doubt, ruined something with bleach stains, or, used something even worse- Oxi Clean.. have you ever gotten that stuff on your wet hands??? It burns like crazy!

So in my current, more sane, Shakleeized life I took the calm approach of pre-treat with strong Basic H, put a tiny little scoop of Nature Bright in the drum, popped the nastiest laundry in there.. .added my detergent and softener, and bam- CLEAN.  No stress, no burns, no worries. It works every time. It is safe for me, my family and the planet, and these are the best laundry products I've ever tried.

There, exciting laundry post complete.

A recipe, its been too long!

For the past month or so, I have in support of my hubby, tried low carbing my diet. The best part about starting a low carb diet, is to get over sugar addiction. What a difference! I was literally the biggest carb addict you'd ever meet. Sweets, breads, pasta, candy, you name it, I LOVED it. I never thought I could stop eating all that, but, I did. And it was not that hard. The first week I had mad cravings for random carbs, but I struggled through them with iced lattes made with whipping cream (yes they are as good as they sound). Nuts and cheese became the new snack of choice. Also lots of celery and lettuce. Romaine lettuce leaves with cream cheese- yum!
I've learned a few new tricks and recipes along the way, and since this is now the whole families favorite breakfast, I thought this would make for a good share!

Cream Cheese Pancakes (easiest pancakes you've ever made!)

2 eggs
2 oz cream cheese
pinch of stevia sweetener
pinch of cinnamon
a few drops vanilla.

Mix in blender (used my bullet type blender- pour right into pan from blender!)
fry in a little butter.
Serve with sugar free maple syrup, a little more butter, and my personal fave- LEMON JUICE.
Divine.

Enjoy!

Disinfectant- what an exciting topic... none the less..

It is incredibly important to research all chemicals you use in your home. Everything you use can impact your health and that of your family. Not to mention what it does to the planet!

Today I am going to run down some facts about disinfectants.  I will compare Shaklee's Basic G with Bleach. These numbers are easy to find, I have googled the answers and they are all there for the taking.

Shaklee's Basic G (Germicide) is a powerful cleaning agent with strong anti microbial qualities. Use only as directed, but DO use it.

Both Basic G and Bleach (most brands) are EPA Registered Disinfectants.
Basic G has a residual effectiveness of up to 3 days (in lab conditions using E.Coli on linoleum tile). Bleach, no more than one hour.
Basic G's shelf life is over 3 years. Bleach, up to one year.
1 Quart of Basic G makes 64 gallons of disinfectant cleaner. Bleach- 1 Quart makes 7.5 gallons.

Basic G has no corrosive properties, Bleach may corrode stainless steel and aluminum.
Basic G has a fresh and clean scent, Bleach gives off pungent, noxious fumes.

Basically Basic G out-performs Bleach all around. Except for the bleaching part. For that, you need Nature Bright!

Please share, and lets try to minimize the use of bleach. It will not just permanently stain your clothes/linens, it is also a toxic mess, dangerous for you, your family and your pets.

My Vegetable Garden

Living in a city has its drawbacks, I can't have the acreage of vegetables and pumpkins I dream of. But, I can have a small vegetable garden! This is my fourth year of being a back yard "farmer", and we all love it so. The kids and I plant the seeds in spring, and transfer the seedlings into the little fenced plot in the back yard (we have dogs, hence the fence).
We all love to harvest, and we are finally at a point this year where we can harvest something almost daily. We have at least one zucchini each day, tomatoes (4 varieties) are starting to ripen, jalapenos are ready as are the green beans. The strawberries never actually make it inside, since they are the responsibility of the toddlers.. 
We have tons of herbs that I use in cooking each day. We have tons of basil, rosemary, oregano, parsley, chives and even fennel. I can't wait to harvest the fennel bulbs this fall!

Now, all that said, I have had one little problem this year. Aphids. They showed up when the cabbages started forming. I started asking around with gardening friends and family, and got lots of great advice. I will not use any kind of chemicals or pesticides, ever. Well, of course, Shaklee came to the rescue again! I was surprised to hear that lots of people use Basic H in gardening! It is used as a deterrent for all kids of bugs, including aphids! And, lots of people use their waste water from cleaning the house(with Basic H) and pour it over the plants to enhance growth and greenery!
So, I tried it. I sprayed a strong dilution Basic H (50/50 water) all over the cabbages. The very next day the aphids were gone! I have since sprayed it on them about once every other day. No more aphids!! The cabbages look great!