Lately + Hello Fresh Winner(s)

Stephen and I went out for what we think might be our last date for a while on Friday night. We hit up a restaurant that has tons of beer on tap and some pretty cool BBQ foods (with tons of vegetarian options). I even got an alcohol-removed malt "beer" beverage because, well, I miss the ritual of it all.

We snapped this photo which has all my friends and family thinking the baby is so low that I will go a.n.y day now. I assure you, though, it's got to be an illusion. Though I carry low to begin with, it's not exactly as intense as this photo makes it seem! (I decided to preregister with the hospital for delivery just in case.)

The next day, when we asked Ada what she'd like to do for a family date, she immediately screamed "Chuck E. Cheese!!!" You're just as surprised as we were! I guess she heard about it from friends and we pass it on the road quite often. So, we sent tons of dollar bills down the token machine and played games. In the end, I think we spent like $30 and she "won" a cheap slinky I could have bought at the dollar store. (Oh, and she broke it already. LOL.)

But she had fun! And I am really good at this game:


The next day, I got pretty crafty. More nesting, I suppose.

I had been seeing all these photos of hospital door hangers, and it gave me the idea to do door hangers in the upstairs hallway for my girls (!!!). We piled in the van and headed to the craft store. Ada helped me pick out the flowers, prints, and ribbons. Then during nap time, I gave myself a ton of burns with the glue gun.


I love how they turned out.


Oh, and today I am also announcing the winner of the Hello Fresh giveaway. I decided to choose TWO winners -- CONGRATS!

Sarah N. says "I would love to try a meal service like this but they are so expensive I haven't been able to justify it. I can see it being useful during an especially busy or stressful time though. The meals look delicious and just a few meals from a service like this might be enough to get my cooking creativity going again and break me out of a dinner rut."

Angie L. says "I have never tried a food service like this, but I'd love to! I'm also pregnant and losing motivation to make and create meals. This would be so helpful!"

I am planning to do a review of last week's box sometime soon -- hopefully tomorrow or Friday. I liked it even better than the first. Some of you were also asking about the size box we get. We do the one for two people versus four and then we do supplement (very little) to make it feed the whole family.

Happy Wednesday!

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Warm Apple-Fennel Salad with Roasted Opo Squash

Yesterday, I dazzled and amazed you with the freak show-worthy size and weight of that opo squash. Today, I'd like to tell you: It's worth more than novelty. Opos taste great! I was quite surprised when I cut into the flesh and found the texture was much more like a zucchini or eggplant. I guess I was expecting it to be hard, more like an acorn squash. I kept my plan simple and roasted large coin-cuts in the oven until they browned and became slightly crispy.

Lesson learned: Don't let weirdly shaped, oddly large produce items intimidate you. Forge ahead and make something delicious.


The instructions for roasting are really as easy as I just wrote above.

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line a rimmed cooking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil.
3. Slice the opo squash (or eggplant, zucchini, etc.) into as many coins as will fill the pan.
4. Then drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
5. Cook on one side until lightly browned. Then take out and flip onto the other side. Cook until well browned.
6. Serve immediately.

Anyway, our friend Kevin was over, as I mentioned yesterday, and we wanted to feed him more than roasted squash. But it was early afternoon, so a full-on dinner wasn't really in the cards. No worries, though. I whipped up a warm apple-fennel salad for all to enjoy.

This dish works well for two large servings, or as a side for four.


It features some pretty awesome ingredients, too:



WARM APPLE-FENNEL SALAD (with KALE)

What you'll need . . .

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Four heaping handfuls of kale
• 3 to 4 small apples, chopped
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• Equal amount of fresh fennel, chopped
• 10 pitted dates, chopped
• 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Method . . .

1. Prepare your crispy kale by heating the 1 tablespoon of olive oil over high heat in a stock pot. Throw in the kale. Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, but allowing parts to get crispy/burned a bit, until you reach your desired crispy kale-ness. Keep in the stock pot -- you'll be putting everything back in here later.
2. Chop all your other ingredients and toss into another pan, spritzed with a bit of oil. Cook over medium-high heat until everything is a bit tender, but still somewhat crisp, for around 5 to 8 minutes.
3. Then mix together the grape seed oil, apple cider, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes.
4. Throw the veggies/fruits into the kale pan. Drizzle everything with the oil mixture. Cook over medium heat until warmed.
5. Serve with the roasted opo squash coins for a light dinner.

Though I'm not a huge fan of cold salads, warm ones delight me. This one's unique because the fruit gives it an extra punch of flavor -- so the dates and apples are definitely key. The dressing can be adjusted to meet your specific tastes, and if you come up with something great -- please let us know!

What's your favorite salad? Are you like me -- a vegetarian who isn't a huge fan unless there's tons of avocado? Or do you eat one daily, maybe even twice a day? We'd love to know! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.


Also! We're happy to report that -- as of today -- we've reached over 2,000 subscribers! Stay tuned later this week for details on a special giveaway, featuring a copy of Caitlin Boyle's new book: Operation Beautiful.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Recap Week, Day 1: A Budget-Friendly Life

Welcome to recap week! We thought we'd devote an entire week to giving you the best of (never home)maker that you may or may not have already read. We had some great posts when we started out, and as we've grown, they've become buried and forgotten. While we work on better searching and discovery for these posts, manually putting this info together seems like the best approach.

Now, there's a recurring theme on this blog . . . and it revolves around budget. We're always looking for ways to save money. And through the years, we've certainly learned a thing or two about how to get the most for less. So we decided to round up a bunch of our penny-pinching posts for you. Their focus is broad -- anything from saving bucks on kitchen design to slashing grocery costs. Getting a little DIY on home design to honing your culinary art -- so we hope you'll take some time to learn and explore.

And if you are curious about how to save money in other ways that we haven't yet covered, let us know! We're always looking for post ideas from our readers. Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

• Foodies and non-foodies alike will enjoy learning cost-savings techniques in Cooking and Baking on a Budget: How to.
• In Small Space, Smaller Budget: Serious Solutions, we cover all kinds of ways to make even your tiniest rooms feel large.
• No need to call in help -- exposing those gorgeous hardwoods is only a few steps (and dollars away). DIY: How to Rip Up Old Carpeting Yourself.
• Fitness fanatics can use a little Zero Dollar Strength Training to add to their workout schedules.
• If you spend as much time in this room as I do, a little investment can go a long way. Learn some tips and trips for Kitchen Glamour on the Cheap.
• Take a room from drab to fab with some paint and molding. It's easier and cheaper than you'd think! Inexpensive (Architectural) Details with Impact.
• No need to buy expensive containers. Learn about creative and Smart, Sensible Storage for Bulk Foods.
• You have plenty of other stuff to stow away, too. Check out Cheap, Chic Storage: Exposed.
• Zits getting you down? Story of my life. Thank goodness for Frugal Foodie Face Cures: Apple Pie Mask.
• We're fighting back against expensive grocery bills. Costly weekend out-to-eats, too. Slashing Our Grocery Bills: Recap and Progress.
• Love the one you're with . . . for less. Enjoy these Budget-Friendly Date Ideas.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

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READER SPOTLIGHT: Eating, Gardening and Living in Bulgaria

My name is Casey Angelova and I am an American living in Bulgaria. I have a blog called Eating, Gardening and Living in Bulgaria, which I write about my adventures learning to cook, grow and live in abroad. Today I would like to share with you all two vegan recipes from my blog.


The first is a beet and cashew croquette with tahini sauce. 10 years ago, I made a beet salad, which was my first beet experience and I wasn't too crazy about it. However, I've since warmed up to them. While not really a croquette, this dish was inspired by a restaurant in Sofia, Bulgaria. I tried, rather successfully to re-create the recipe.

You can find all the details and instructions here.


The second recipe I'd like to share is a dessert. Though it was a challenge to use dates, ginger, and couscous in a recipe, I came put with a tasty vegan pudding.

You can find the recipe here.


Casey's blog is all about the the trial and error process of learning how to cook, grow and live in Bulgaria. If you'd like to check out more, just visit http://www.caseyangelova.com/. If you'd like to be considered for a Reader Spotlight, just check out our info post with all the gooey details.

PS: Image credit for the map of Bulgaria is here.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

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