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Here is my favorite pictures so far of Matt and the kids from the wedding just a week ago:

Don't they all look so handsome?!

LOOK how dressed up they are! What little honey bears!

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Summer is a time of eating fresh greens from the garden or CSA. For being outside whenever you can. For wearing less clothes. For sunshine and lazy days. At least in theory! It's been QUITE busy here for us in Worcester! Below is a perfect summer recipe that my friend Terry gave me a while ago. I might have sent this before, I don't know, but it's a great thing to do with all the radishes that come this time of year.

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While many people are utilizing this tip, it's good to point out nonetheless:

A lot of our garbage is caused by food packaging when you stop and think about it. Stop! Think about it! :-D

(PLUG: *OUR* food packaging, by the way is BIODEGRADABLE!)

If we can purchase items in bulk, using reusable containers, we'll be greatly reducing our own trash. For those of us that have to pay for our garbage (i.e. it doesn't come out of our taxes or HOA fees) we all find many ways to reuse items, give it away to stores/schools that will repurpose it or compost the food scraps in our yards along with grass trimmings and leaves, etc. A great store for repurposing items here in Montpelier is called the ReStore. That place kicks butt. It's particularly awesome for birthday parties, in my humble opinion! There's also places around here that repurpose other items as well such as building supplies, office furniture, etc. When we lived in other parts of the country, people were encouraged to throw stuff out. Garbage was picked up 2x/week in one state we lived in. To me, that kind of practice really perpetuated a "disposable" mentality.

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Avocados. When avocados go on sale, purchase a bunch of them. If you want them to ripen faster, put them in a paper bag and WATCH! They will ripen all at the same time. Don't fret. Cut the avocado in half, peel the skin and take the seed out - put them in a freezer bag/container ET VOILA! You'll have ripe avocados for smoothies, puddings, dressings, etc. You can add a bit of lemon as well or even some powdered vitamin C if you'd like to try to retain the green color after they've come out of the freezer. I honestly don't care about the color. They will darken when they defrost and/but you won't want to cut them up and put them on your salad (they will be very soft). But like I said, they are perfect for making a bunch of delicious items and you've benefitted from a little bit of work and a good sale. Ta-DAAA!!

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now for the raw recipe this week

Todd's Waldorf Supreme

2 of your favorite apples, chopped
2 medium - large tomatoes, chopped
1-2 ripe avocados, chopped
1 cup radishes, chopped
sweet onion, chopped
Small drizzle of olive oil
Pinch of celtic sea salt
Dash of cayenne pepper