Not so comfort food #4 Beet juice

Hello, it's Monday again. Oh oops, no it's Wednesday or Thursday.. when you are mama days get mixed up sometimes or all the time. I've been trying to incorporate more veggies in our meals  And today's new food is Juice. Home made real juice.
I'm so glad that I put juicer on the Christmas list and got it ! Thank you ,nana!)
I've been painfully suffering from juiceless life for 2 years. What ? Go to the store, you'll say. Oh, I know there is great selection of different juices: from concentrate, with added minerals, citric acid, all natural ,even organic but the thing is none of them (just some organic brands) taste like juice should taste to me! I've been spoiled for 22 years. When i was a kid we were Eating best seasonal fruit and veggies right from the garden, sitting on the mulberry tree chatting with my friends and munching on deep purple mulberries. We snacked with warm, sun kissed plums right from the neighbour tree, we got stung by bees because the juice from sweet honey pears was running down our fingers and attracted the little pollen seekers.we were to busy to care. we knew what garden has best plums, where we could get best cherries. Our dog ate apricots from under the tree while we were playing outside. In my teenager years we stuffed our faces with black currents and gooseberries to cover alcohol The sour cherry tree right outside my house was so full that after picking 3 buckets we just had to leave rest on it. We just simply run out of jars and room in the cellar. My grandma, babushka, made delicious juice from all kinds of fruit, jam, preserved fruit... My mouth gets watery as I'm writing this...

Today we have apple, orange, carrot and beet juice. Adding beet to my juice was little unusual at first but  it gave it nice rich red color and when we tried it we understood it was a great decision!
Yum!

Spinach pineapple smoothie. Not so comfort food #3

I have two demons in me. One is obsessed with baking, sweets and all kinds of pastries. And another one is all about healthy food, less sugar, less flour more veggies, more fresh foods. So how can I live with  all of them and not go insane. There is my solution to this problem. Weekends are for cheating. Cheating with baked goods, crunchy and gooey cookies and crumbly pies. All the rest of the week is for green and filled with fruit yumminess dishes.
 Last weeks I've been totally hooked on spinach smoothies! They are delicious, sweet and refreshing and color is definitely gorgeous! And they leave cute green mustache on Rus's face)))(not to mention that they are great for you!)

Salmon Veggie Pie. Not so comfort food#2

Today is Monday and it's time to try something new.
While reading food memoir "Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking" by Anya Von Bremzen I was mezmorized by description of kulebyaka(Russian pie with meat,fish stuffing, it's definitely on my to cook list because at first I 've never tried or saw it, and it has ridiculous stuffing,  dough inside the dough!  ) so back to today's dish. Reading about kulebyaka just reminded me about fish in the fridge and lunch time in just two hours with no food prepared. So here we go Salmon Veggie Pie.

Puff pastry dough, layers of dill and parsley, white and sweet potatoes , salmon, cheese and egg+ milk + spices mix inside. Yum!

Not so comfort food #1

I saw this picture on the Pinterest in the beginning of the year.

 It's a great thought. So this year I'll try to step out of my comfort food zone. Stop making the same things over and over again. Of course I'' ll leave my favorite dishes but every weekend or (Monday cuz Chris is usually off then) I m going to cook something new. There is 52 Saturdays in 2014(there is also 52 Mondays) so by the end of the year I should have approximately 50 -52 (or 100-104 if count Saturday and Sunday! Hu... should I challenge myself??!?) posts with tag #food2014.

Handmade Christmas Stockings

This year I couldn't stop making stockings . They are so much cooler than store ones. Last year I made stockings for Ruslan and Scrappy,and couple more for Mom and Dad and Sister. This Christmas people got them as gifts from me and my fam. I enjoyed making them so much that I already have giant stocking project for next year and need to go fabric shopping asap while all those holiday fabrics are on sale. Anyways let the show begin!

Christmas tree 2013

We happily spent evening decorating our Christmas tree in the beginning of December. And It's almost time to put it away.. Some people do right after Christmas, some wait New Years Day and some or me wait as long as they can. Hold on I want to keep the magic for little more.. When I was growing up (oh my saying this gives me chills, it means that im grown up already ? weird feeling) we would decorate our Christmas tree a week before New Year( Christmas in Ukraine is celebrated on 6th of January and it's more religious holiday, gifts are given on New Years Eve) and it would stay all wintry and beautiful in the living room at least till the end of January. One Year we put it away in the end of February, believe me we weren't ready just needed a place to put huge dining table for my sis birthday. So I'm still waiting ...  lets keep the magic alive for little more..

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 2014 is here! May it be filled with great moments, good friends, lots of family time and tons of smiles! Be Healthy and Happy!!!!!