Beach Treasures and Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing

Beach Treasures and Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing

What do you look for when you’re at the beach? Sea glass? Smooth white stones? Perfect seashells?

clam shell

I love how at first glance a beach can look like pristine sand or a blanket of water-smoothed pebbles, but once you get down on your hands and knees there are SO many treasures and delights to be found.

I look for different things according to the beach I’m exploring.

When I lived in Portugal I found hundreds of teeny-tiny shells about the size of a lentil. I collected them and have them safe in a pretty glass jar.

In Italy and the Balkans I looked for smooth sea glass in shades of green, turquoise and blue. I have those bits in a different jar.

Crab shell

In Washington I always look for the shells that are like a purple watercolor inside, and display them in a pale gray dish on my coffee table.

seashells

After a long day of exploring in the wind and sun, I love coming home to something hearty and healthy with bright colors and flavors like this Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing. It’s so simple to make if you don’t mind a bit of chopping.

Just drain and rinse two cans of black beans and add whatever diced fresh veggies you like. My favorites are sweet bell peppers (capsicum to my Aussie readers), sugar snap peas, and celery, with lavish amounts of fresh cilantro. Then I toss everything with a simple dressing ofย  lime juice, olive oil, and a good, grainy mustard. I made it for the family I’m staying with and they cleaned up every morsel. ๐Ÿ™‚

Black bean salad

What are your favorite treasures from the beach?

Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing

Ingredients:

2-3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 stalks celery, diced fine
1 red or yellow or orange bell pepper, diced fine
1 cup sugar snap peas, sliced fine
2-3 scallions, sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Dressing:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Combine beans, vegetables and cilantro in salad bowl. Toss to mix.
  2. In small bowl combine remaining ingredients and whisk until emulsified.
  3. Add dressing to salad and toss to incorporate. Best eaten right away.

 

Letting Go of Anxiety Down by the Seashore

Letting Go of Anxiety Down by the Seashore

Where is your favorite place to go wandering when you’re stressed?

Mine is the beach…or the woods…or around a pretty lake tucked up in the mountains…but especially the beach.

This weekend I got to go to a beautiful, rocky stretch of Washington coastline when I agreed to help chaperone a birthday party of giggling little girls armed with lime green plastic buckets, York Mint Patties, and Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips.

rocky shoreline

They had a marvelous time finding all sorts of treasures along the beach: crabs, clams and “Oreo rocks” (ones with black and white spots).

I went treasure-hunting too, only I used my camera instead of a bucket. I found weathered bits of driftwood, barnacle-encrusted rocks, and vivid green strips of seaweed draped along the shoreline.

And I sat. Just sat. Happy to let the sea breezes and gently lapping waves lull my stressed self into rest.

I’ve been stressing something fierce lately and don’t like it one bit.

barnacles

I let anxiety about one traumatic event spill over into anxiety about everything. I let that experience cause me to doubt myself and be afraid of the future. I let a few bad things in my life overwhelm all the wonderful good.

I let those bits of darkness blot out the sun.

Being at the beach yesterday reminded me of how far I’ve strayed from peaceful well-being. With each cry of a gull, gust of salty air, and spray of seawater my body relaxed and my anxious thoughts settled. It was so lovely to feel totally, completely at rest again that I wanted to cry.

driftwood

Driving home I knew that I wanted to hang onto that renewed peace and security. It was good to know that peace did not arrive because of a change in circumstances but simply through resting, being in nature, and thinking on true things. If I could find peace at the seashore, I could find it anywhere.

So this morning I drove to work early and sat in my car for a while writing, thinking, tearing up a bit when necessary.

  1. I wrote down my fears and they weren’t nearly so scary once I actually got them written down.
  2. I wrote down truth to combat those fears and felt braver and stronger.
  3. I wrote down good things I am going to do based on those truths and oh, the peace came flooding in.

So today is a good day. A braver, stronger, happier day. And I am grateful.

What do you do to regain your peace when it’s been rattled?

Thoughts by the Creekbank

Thoughts by the Creekbank

Hello luvs! Happiest of Fridays to you!

It’s been quite the week, dear friends, and I’m so glad for Friday and sunshine and fried potatoes with sausage and apple vanilla tea and a movie night with dear friends and naps in the sun and the hope of getting better.

Doc told me yesterday that I was dying before they got the right meds in me this week. It was a sobering thought. Made me sit quietly and do a lot of thinking.

I have a park down the road from me that is a good place for thinking.

I wandered through the trees and looked up into a glowing canopy of green.

I rounded a corner on a little trail I found and discovered this lovely perch. I clambered aboard, found a good sitting spot among the moss and ferns, closed my eyes and just sat. The trickle of water over stones, birds singing merrily, sun warming me up beautifully, it was just what my heart needed.

And I thought you might like it too, so I took a shaky little video. If it makes you seasick, just close your eyes and listen, the creek sounds wonderful. ๐Ÿ™‚

Wishing you a beautiful weekend. xo

Pink by the Creek and Asparagus Roasted Tomato Quiche

Pink by the Creek and Asparagus Roasted Tomato Quiche

Hello dear ones. ๐Ÿ™‚

Yesterday I had a good day, a beautiful day, all sunshiny and happy with an extra long lunch hour. I was finally well enough to get out a bit, so I drove to one of our city parks and found a bench right near the creek. I just sat for a good, long while, grinning my head off as I basked in the feel of sun on my face and the sounds of gurgling creek, kids dashing about, and wind rustling through the trees. It was so good to be part of the world again.

Pink was the color of the day with profusions of cheery blossoms everywhere, their papery petals so striking against the vivid green and velvety leaves.

Even the magnolias were out, the tightly wrapped buds reaching up for the sun, just waiting for one more day or two before they burst into bloom. Who would think that such thick fuzzy husks would hold such glorious blossoms. They remind me of rich ladies shedding their fur coats to reveal gossamer evening gowns. ๐Ÿ™‚

With all that lovely fresh air and sunshine I was happy to dig into my lunch, a scrumptious hodge-podge of a quiche I had thrown together with leftover bits and bobs in my fridge: 5 eggs, oven-roasted tomatoes, crispy roast asparagus, flaked salmon, and creamy chevre. Mmm, mmm, good! Add a few drops of green Tabasco and it’s a perfect spring-is-really-here celebratory meal.

What is your favorite thing to eat after an afternoon at the park?

Gluten-Free Asparagus Roasted Tomato Quiche

Ingredients:

5 eggs
8-10 oven-roasted tomato halves (click here for recipe)
handful roasted asparagus (steamed will work just as well), chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup salmon, flaked
1/2 cup Chevre, chunked (feta would work well too)
seasoning salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Beat eggs with seasoning salt. Set aside.
  3. In greased pie plate layer tomatoes, asparagus, salmon and chevre.
  4. Pour beaten egg over ingredients, jostle them a bit to let the egg get in all the cracks.
  5. Bake for 45 minutes.
Looking Up and a Bit of Cracker Salad

Looking Up and a Bit of Cracker Salad

Sometimes when I’m walking in the woods I forget to look up. I get distracted by a gurgling stream or finding treasures on the forest floor. But when I do remember and turn my gaze up to sky and branches, I inevitably smile.

I did it recently, just as the sun was slipping behind the trees and I loved how the branches were etched against the sky, looking almost like pieces of lace.

 

How was your weekend? Mine was painful physically but so lovely in all other ways. I have much to be grateful for.

  • a bright and shiny turquoise balloon swaying in the blast of my heater
  • good talks and scrumptious food with kindred spirits
  • a gorgeous bouquet of roses on my counter
  • a drive in the sunshine
  • Old Time Radio mysteries to entertain me when I rest

I’m also grateful for comfort food like Cracker Salad. It’s a family favorite and one I tend to forget about until a sudden craving hits. Such a thing happened this weekend and I hustled to the grocery store to get the fixings. It’s simple as can be, so easy you hardly need measurements.

Break up a sleeve of saltine crackers (I use whole-grain to assuage my conscience) into a bowl, add sliced green onion, two diced tomatoes, fresh ground pepper, and a big spoonful of mayonnaise, mix it all together and eat immediately.

What is your favorite memory from this weekend?

Cracker Salad

Ingredients:

1 sleeve whole grain saltine crackers
2 green onions, sliced
2-3 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4-1/3 cup mayonnaise
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

  • Break up crackers into medium bowl.
  • Add remaining ingredients and stir until well-mixed.
  • Serve immediately.