What’s Trending in the Harding House, May 2012 Edition

Up first, the what’s not…. Ants.  I freaking cannot stand ants.  They are lovin’ Will’s high chair right now.  If you’ve got any eco-friendly tips on how to manage these things, lemme know.  They are going DOWN.

And, now onto what’s hot…

Vegan Week: No longer a one-time affair, I aim to do a vegan week once a month.  For me (and consequently my husband when he eats at home), Vegan Week will begin on Sunday, May 27th.  I’ve already discovered some great vegan meals, but am open to new ones if you’ve got them.  The best vegan meals, I’ve found are the ones that are coincidentally vegan and not intentionally vegan.  Here are a few that I’ve enjoyed making during regular and Vegan weeks:

Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto over Whole Wheat Pasta from ohsheglows.com
Tamale Shepherd’s Pie from theppk.com
Couscous Salad with Black Beans, Mushrooms, and Corn from marthastewart.com

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Reorganizing and Redecorating.  I’m cleaning up shop at the Harding house while the hubs has been out of town.  The first thing I tackled was the office and cables, next I redecorated the dining room table.  Not sure what my next project is going to be, but I thinking maybe the coffee table….

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Granola Balls: We used to buy granola bars in bulk; now, I make granola balls in bulk.  I have two recipes that I love, a vegan and non-vegan one.  Trust me when I say that the first option is only by happenstance vegan.  I put two balls in little snack size ziploc baggies, and keep them in my pantry.  Don’t laugh when I tell you I make triple batches of both whenever I run out.

What I love about each of these recipes though is you can eyeball all of the ingredients.  If it turns out dry, add more wet ingredients or vice versa.  Also, you can sub any kind of dried fruit, chocolate chips, sweetened shredded coconut for the mix-ins.  Have fun and use what you have on hand!

Oatmeal Honey Peanut Granola Balls (Non-vegan)
http://www.charlottemomfavorites.com/2012/04/bake-sale-goodies.html

Oatmeal Cranberry Granola Balls (Vegan)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flour (I like unbleached all-purpose, but whole wheat or oat flour would be fine too)
1/4 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup dried cranberries.

Stir all ingredients together, portion into balls and roll.  Keep in airtight container for up to two weeks.

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Google Reader and RSS Feeds.  Seriously, where have these been all my life?  I recently went on a subscribing rampage for all of my favorite blogs.  Simply click on that little RSS icon on a blog and select your Reader of choice (I like Google Reader but that’s just me).  Then whenever I get time, I bust out my device of the moment (iPhone, laptop, iPad) and get to reading.  I get caught up on all of my favorite blogs and don’t have to remember to visit the individual websites.

Shameless plug: if you are into this whole RSS concept, you can subscribe to Charlotte Mom Favorites!  Use the RSS icon located at the top right of the blog; it’s the first social media icon.

Or if you’d rather, just use the good ‘ol fashioned email version.  (You have to sign up for that too… it’s in the green box).

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So, what’s hot and not in your home for May???