My sister inspires me. She has the most beautiful gardens and grows everything imaginable. I want to be able to go into my yard and pick my food instead of going to the grocery store!

Going to the grocery store is one of my least favorite chores (ok, along with doing dishes, laundry, vaccuming, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, well I can't think of one I love) ~ especially when two little ones are with me. Yesterday I went to the store and saw someone elses grocery list left in the cart. I thought for a second about ditching my list and using this one. If I hadn't planned out my menu for the week and taken the time to make my own list, I might have.

Sometime towards the end of the school year Andrew brought home a bean plant he had sprouted. He was so proud of it. We decided to plant it in a planter on the deck and now it is HUGE. It is even growing beans now. I'm not sure we'll get enough to feed the family but we can each have one or two...

He also decided to grow basil and cilantro. I loved looking up recipes to use them in. We used the basil the most. There is nothing better than fresh basil. Andrew loved putting it in our homemade spaghetti sauce. (pictured above) We also made a roasted potato, tomato, garlic, basil dish that was yummy.

The herbs all died when we were on vacation so now we just have our beans to look forward to. If someone has a suggestion on how to cook 12 beans that would be great.

Terri