Amazing Fall Salad!

I whipped this one up in just a few minutes using the ingredients I had on hand. Please note it's a raw kale base, and I'll tell you how I massaged the kale so it isn't harsh tasting. You can always use spinach or lettuce. Use whatever ratios you like.

Ingredients: 
Kale
Pomegranate seeds
Beet - wash, peel and shred it raw
Toasted pumpkin seeds (or other winter squash seeds). Use roasted & salted sunflower seeds as an alternative.
Radishes, sliced thin

For the kale: 
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt

Additional dressing options: 
Balsamic vinegar
More olive oil
Pepper

How to prepare the kale: 
1. Wash kale and pat dry with dishtowel.
2. Cut or tear leaves off the stem. Discard stem or save for soup. Cut/tear leaves into bite sized pieces, 3" or smaller.
3. Place leaves in medium bowl. Add 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp olive oil and a few dashes of salt. Increase amounts if using a whole bunch of kale.
4. With clean hands, mix and smush 1-2 minutes until the kale has darkened. Congratulations - you've massaged it well!

Now add other solid ingredients and toss. Add olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pepper to taste.

Mysteries... I digress.

This year has brought many mysteries into my life. Here are four so far:

1. Mystery key return: When I was out of town on a trip, a key to my condo appeared in my mailbox. It was on a familiar keychain: a plastic tag that held a slip of paper on which my mother had written my address number (not street). My mother had indeed visited to collect mail during my trip, but was not the one who had placed the key there. In fact the key was "her" copy but had been missing for some time, and she was as perplexed as I was about the key's reappearance. I asked my condo neighbor if she put it in my mailbox and she had not...

2. One day I stopped at Denny's in Petaluma for a cup of coffee on my way home to San Francisco. (Clearly I am no coffee snob.) I sat at a booth and grabbed a sugar packet, only to find that it was empty... and sealed. I thought surely this meant something special for me. (The next packet I selected did indeed contain sugar.)

3. A couple of weeks later I was in a Thai restaurant in Mountain View, and reached into the bowl of (wrapped) mints on my way out the door. Can you guess what happened?! Yes, I grabbed an empty, sealed mint wrapper! I handed it to the nearest staff person, who shared my surprise and understanding that there was something special about this occurrence.

4. Today I received a call on my mobile phone from a woman who asked "Who's calling?" and over the next 30 seconds we held an odd, broken conversation wherein she said my phone had just called hers, and I could only guess that my unlocked phone dialed her from my purse. I told her my name and she didn't seem to know who I was. When we hung up I looked at my calls list and saw that my phone had NOT called hers, but it DID share the same area code and exchange as mine.

My coworker Chris has ideas of how #1 and #4 could be explained, but they are too boring to note here.

Please share your fun explanations or your own mysterious stories in the comments!

What is green, has endless combinations and can be consumed on the go?

Green smoothies are all the rage these days. I've made them so many times this year that I decided to bite the bullet and get a Vitamix blender. (You can buy certified reconditioned machines for much less than new ones at www.vitamix.com.) The Vitamix arrived just before I went to house-sit for my mom, so I haven't used it much yet! Smoothies can be made in any blender or using a hand-held model.

Today I used an immersion blender to make this yummy concoction with some fresh veggies and some slightly older fruit that needed to be used up.

Recipe serves 2:

1 2/3 Cups almond milk (add to blender first)
5-6 large red lettuce leaves (2 or more cups)
1 carrot (shred first if not using Vitamix)
2 strawberries
1 nectarine
1" piece of ginger (shred first if not using Vitamix)
4 pcs ice

If your smoothie is too thick, either add more almond milk or strain so it becomes a juice. Use the back of a spoon to help push the juice through the strainer. Save the fibrous parts for soup or baking, or feed it to your pets. My dog loves to lick the jar- but I need to make sure she can't reach the blades!

DIY Snazzy Recycled Notebook

Here is a beautiful, quick and easy way to make your own covered notebook with reused materials!

Finished notebook, outside

You will need:
4-6 sheets of "waste" paper with printing on one side
Cereal box or other reusable paperboard
2 yards of yarn (one color)
1 button in a contrasting color
Scissors
Hole punch
Extra large needle (e.g. for embroidery or yarn)

Finished notebook, inside

Steps:

1. Fold waste paper in thirds as for putting in an envelope.

2. Cut along creases. Then cut strips evenly in half.

3. Punch two evenly spaced holes near the top (short) edge of the papers. Use your first punched pages as a stencil for the others, so they line up in a stack.

4. Make sure your pages are all blank on the same side.

5. Thread the needle with 1/2 yard of yarn. Bind the paper stack by weaving back and forth through the two holes and criss-crossing over the top. Knot in back.

6. Cut an 8x6" piece from the front or back of your cereal box. Fold in half.

7. Punch 2 holes in right side of cereal box (face up) aligned with holes in paper. I punched the left side, which is better for lefties. (Oops! I'm a righty.)

8. Repeat step 5 to attach paper stack, but tie final ends together with stack binding so ends are hidden.

9. Cut off bottom inch of cereal box below paper stack, on that half only. Fold cover to close notebook and fold longer flap up, so it envelops the bottom of the notepad.

10. Thread 5" yarn through a button, leaving the ends long and even. You may need to hand-thread if the button holes are small.

11. Re-thread ends together onto needle and poke hole in the center of the flap from the front to the back. Thread through and remove needle. 

12. Knot ends together- it's OK to leave 1/2" loop of yarn before the knot. Tape knotted end down inside flap.

13. Cut 1 yard of yarn and tie ends together so you have a large circle/strap of yarn. Tie a small knot in a loop to permanently attach strap around button.

14. Wrap strap up over the front, down the back and secure by wrapping around button 2-3 times. 

Voila!

Welcome Lilliput Snoopy Gauss!

Lily at 3 years with a well-loved toy

Lily's Story

While on a visit to northern Mexico in 2009, a family from Southern California came across "miniature poodle" puppies for sale on the street. The mother and daughter convinced the father to buy one. Sadly, once back home they neglected the puppy to the point of abuse.

When Lily (not original name) was 7 months of age the father begged a relative (Susan*) to take the "stinky", matted dog away. Being an animal lover, Susan agreed to find Lily a new home. Her mother was willing to adopt Lily and raised her with love and tenderness.

Imagine waking up to this face every day!

Unfortunately the story doesn't end there. Susan's mother was diagnosed with cancer, which ended her life in May of 2012.

Lily went to live with Susan's family (including other pets) in a rural town in Southern California. Before long, Susan found that Lily was being attacked by larger dogs or coyotes when roaming in the backyard. This animal-loving home was ultimately not the right fit for Lily either.

Susan was committed to rehoming Lily with a trusted friend or family member. After a few months of fruitless searching, she mentioned Lily in a Facebook comment on her friend Amy's page. This is where I come in.

Amy is a friend of mine who recently adopted a dog. I saw a photo she'd posted on Facebook with her dog, with Susan's comment below it. I immediately contacted Susan and within two days determined that Lily might be the perfect pup to clinch my decision to get a dog!

Lily coming home with me

My mother offered to drive with me from San Francisco to meet and retrieve Lily over a 4-day weekend. Susan and her family greeted us with open arms and sweet Lily was happy to meet us as well. I was pleased to see that unlike many people's online dating profiles, Lily was even cuter in person than in her photos.

Nothing is perfect, however; my mom's 60lb male standard poodle's idea of play was intimidating to Lily. This was a concern because my mom and I are each other's go-to dog sitters. I decided to take Lily home nonetheless, as I knew I could separate them if needed.

While my mother took the driver's seat of her Prius, Lily made herself at home on my lap. She seemed to bond with me in no time flat, as if she knew I would keep her safe.

The next day we made it home to San Francisco to begin Lily's next chapter. I can confidently say that Lily loves my (our!) home and neighborhood, and we plan to live happily ever after!

*Name changed

-Ilana

P.S. It took weeks but thankfully Lily grew to tolerate and even play with my mom's dog Rafi.