Howdy folks, long time no see.  I warned you last time that posting would be sporadic as we prepared to move, but even I didn’t foresee this much down time.  The last several weeks have been. . .odd.  First of all, for the sake of transparency in a matter I’ve already talked so much about, I made a big mistake.  If you have been reading for awhile, you know that I’m taking shots for a B12 deficiency.  Well, February’s self-administered injection didn’t go so well.  I hit a big, honkin’ nerve in my leg and within a few day I was down like a lame horse!  So, that was fantastic; it is beginning to get better but is still amazingly uncomfortable to touch, walk on, look at :).  The doctor said it was just an unfortunate accident, could happen to anyone, blah, blah.  It felt like she was just being nice, that I am incapable, and should leave it to the professionals in the future.  At least if they hit a nerve, I don’t feel quite so moronic!  On the plus side, I just got my 3 month blood check results in, and my B12 is up from 164 to 275; hooray!  That is nowhere near enough to get off supplements, but it is improvement.

In other news, rental hunting is hard these days.  Properties are flying off the shelf in a matter of hours, not days, here in the D.C. area.  However, after a few let downs, a few scary neighborhoods, and a few “let’s chuck it all and grow coffee in Hawaii” moments, it looks like we may have found a place.  I won’t feel secure until we have signed the dotted line, but the situation is looking good and the apartment itself is wonderful.  I’m thinking of calling it the Mustard Seed, first, because the building it is in is mustard yellow, and second, if it comes through, it will be a pretty tremendous step in this leap of faith we have been taking (in which there were definitely moments of despair and doubt).  We should know definitely by this weekend, so stay tuned!

So, enough about that, I promised you a recipe.  How about two for the price of one?  Today for lunch I had this

inspired by this.  Mine is just toast with goat cheese, beets and lots of arugula but the recipe in the link looks like a fantastic way to do it up a bit more.

For lunch dessert (that is a totally normal and acceptable thing, right?)  I had this,

a mango parfait with goat’s milk yogurt, quick, homemade granola, and a sweet dollop of maple syrup.  To make this granola you will need:

3 cups mixed g.f. oats, chopped nuts (I did almond, pecan, and walnut), and seeds (flax and chia seen here)

1/4 heaping cup coconut oil

2 1/2 Tbs. maple syrup

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1 Tbs. coconut, shredded or flaked

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Mix oats, nuts, and seed together in  a large bowl.  In a small bowl stir together oil, maple, and vanilla.  Pour oil mixture over oats and stir with spatula to coat.  Spread mix over lined baking sheet and bake in oven for 15 minutes.  Add coconut and stir to combine.  Return to oven and bake for additional 15 min, checking ever 5 minutes to stir.   Remove when golden brown.  Cool completely before storing in an air tight container.