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The other night, I made a side dish that was my best bite of food this year. That friends, is a bold statement coming from me.

All the food I cooked all year long and my best bite came from a can of beans!

As we move deeper into fall, I crave warmer comfort foods. When it’s chilly, the last thing I want to eat is something cold.

Last Monday, I made chicken stuffed with garlic, artichokes, and spinach with a little cream cheese to hold it together.

I am trying to get out of the habit of making a starch as a side dish. I made Tuscan white beans.

After deciding that would be our side with dinner, I read through ten or so recipes.

In keeping with my usual Julzie fashion, I took what I liked from some recipes and combined the ingredients to create my own version.

Boom! Best fucking bite of the year! Hands down.

My taste buds and palate which were pretty good before clean eating, are now miles above where they were.

I can taste everything clearer if that makes any sense. Food tastes more pure. I can’t describe it.

What I can describe is my creamy Tuscan white beans.

I started by sautéing three or four cloves of minced garlic in olive oil on low heat. I didn’t want the garlic to brown.

When the garlic was fragrant I added one can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans. Next, I added half a cup of chicken stock.

I covered the sauté pan and simmered the beans, stock, and garlic on low.

Next, I cut up a tomato from my garden and snipped a couple of pieces of basil. With all the warm weather we’ve had, my garden and flowers are still growing — it’s glorious!

I added the tomato to the pan and gave it a stir, then, continued to simmer the beans covered for 10 minutes.

I added the sprigs of basil and covered the pan and let it simmer on the lowest setting for another 10 minutes.

Within five minutes, the kitchen was filled with the smell of fresh basil which is one of my favorite smells and immediately reminds me of summer.

I turned off the heat and let the beans chill out while finishing the rest of our dinner.

Before I turned on the heat again, I added a handful of grated Parmesan cheese to the beans.

Since the cheese and beans can be salty, I waited until now to season the beans which needed a small amount of kosher salt.

I slowly warmed up the beans and watched the Parmesan cheese thicken up the beans. Mmmm!

I wanted to make absolutely sure that I could recreate the same dish and was it really my best bite of the year.

The answer was a big yes to both of those questions.

This is one of those dishes that came from my soul. I took many of my favorite ingredients and worked them into a magical dish.

There are plenty of Tuscan bean recipes out there, many with sage, without tomatoes, and in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Italian styles.

One thing for sure is this type of dish is extremely economical, good for you, and delicious!

I will be making these beans often or adding a little more chicken stock and turn it into a soup. Yum!

I struggle like the rest of us trying to come up with new things to make everyday.

Clean-eating recipes have inspired me to try new things and have already given me lots of ideas.

I have around forty fall & winter recipes saved in my notes. As always, if I find a winner I’ll be sure to share it with you.

Have a great upcoming week guys! 🍁

We replaced our hummingbird feeder with our first bird feeder, which is located outside the window of our back room.

It’s a story up from the ground so we don’t have to worry about bears being a problem.

We started getting repeat customers who told one friend, then they told one friend, and so forth, and so on, like that shampoo commercial from the 80s.

While enjoying our tea in the mornings, we watch our customers arrive for breakfast.

We have polite customers who patiently wait in line for their turn. We don’t even need a number system like at the butcher shop.

We serve up a mixture of different seeds, nuts and dried fruits to our customers. They seem to like what’s on the menu.

If only people were as easy to please as our bird friends, we would have our own restaurant.

People always ask us why we don’t open a restaurant, and the answer is simple: “We are smart enough not to do it.”

Have a wonderful Saturday guys. Keep your eyes open for the simple things in life like the customers at our feeder.

Just south of a small town called Wallingford, VT is a hidden gem, you guessed it, the Sparkle Barn, which I will call SB for short.

I went into the SB many years ago and rushed around looking at stuff. I was with Marty and he was waiting for me in the car.

Last Friday, I offered to make a delivery up in Rutland, VT. I planned to stop at the SB and really look around, which I did twice.

It’s impossible to see everything everywhere! From outside, to the entryway, to the second floor, and in all the small rooms and nooks.

Many vignettes with merchandise are placed accordingly, such as the cat, whales, and dolphins, Swifty stuff, and lots of magical stuff for healing, chakras, Hinduism, angels, witchcraft, and VT stuff! Whew!

I chose a card with a Monet cat on the front and two stickers for my water bottle, a raven, and one that says, “Sage that shit.”

Right away, I could think of 10 people who would LOVE the SB. That does not include people with children. If I had a granddaughter I would have left broke.

I sent my friends from next door a couple of photos, and David replied, “Lol, oh my goodness!” I did not know such a thing existed – where is that??”

Well, there is David, and it’s not too far away. ☺️

Yesterday was a magical day for me. It felt like a day in the making for centuries, deep down inside me.

I recently came out as a witch and was excited as yesterday’s event unfolded and came to fruition.

About a month ago, one of my friends and belly dance students, Emily, told me about an event sponsored by the Solomon Wright Library in North Pownal, VT, where Emily is the events coordinator.

The event was called a “Witches’ Walk” in remembrance of Vermont’s only witch trial on the eve of the Fall Equinox. It happened, you guessed it, in North Pownal, VT.

It was believed that Widow Krieger was a witch, and she was tried as such in 1785. After finding her fate, she was dropped into a nearby ice-topped river.

The people believed that if she was a witch, she would float, and if she sank, she would be innocent.

Of course, she sank like anyone else, but she was saved and lived for another five years.

She was accused of being a witch after her husband passed away because she was different. Wow, right?

I’m very different and left wondering how long it would have taken them to put me on trial. Good thing I would have sank too. 😂

When Emily told me about the witch walk, I was already working on my Halloween “costume,” which turned out to be my formal witch attire since I already owned everything except for my hat.

I was excited to finally dress the part of my recent coming out. The outfit put itself together.

The hat I picked up for a couple of dollars and let my creativity happen. I ended up choosing dried flowers and seed pods from my gardens.

For my formal attire, I wanted a Victorian look, so I used one of my skirts from my costuming, which bustled in the back.

My dance partner, Kathleen, and I came partially dressed to our regular Saturday dance practice before the witch walk.

We arrived just in time. We were both surprised by how many people were participating in the walk.

There were so many types of witch outfits, including many little girls who looked adorable.

A tale of the trial was read and the group walked across a bridge where the widow Kieger was dropped into the water below.

Afterward, Kathleen, my friend and dance student Maria, and Emily, the events coordinator, danced to a slow song called “A Witches Song.”

The music brought the four of us together in a way that didn’t happen often. We didn’t just feel the music, we were the vessel of the music.

This was when I knew after centuries of waiting, the time had finally come for us to dance together again as witches.

I’m sure you may not know what to think about that, but when I say I am very different, I am. Believe me.

Maria’s husband and my sweet friend Jon Katz, also my writing mentor, took some amazing photos of us at the event.

Jon took all of the photos in this piece except for my “usies”which is a selfie with me and another person. We made it up.

Jon captured the very essence of what unfolded and how we felt. Definitely, how I was feeling at the time.

I took some traditional selfies at the event like usual.

People were moved by our performance all saying how they could feel our dancing and noticed how in-tune we were with each other.

I’m not sure yesterday’s performance and walk could ever be topped, I just know I was so glad and grateful to be a part of it.

Ever since last night, Marty has been getting notifications on his phone that a person is on our front porch. 🤣

I have modified my notifications anyway, so they’re not bothersome to me.

I have been saving materials to use to stuff Mr. Pumpkin since July, when I started getting itchy the first Halloween.

Truth be told, I’ve alway started thinking about the next Halloween on November 1st for as long as I can remember.

I haven’t made Mr. Pumpkin since the kids were young. Yes, I missed him, but our lives were too hectic to be screwing around making Mr. Pumpkin.

Well, he’s back and bigger than ever. Lol. I had fun making him yesterday afternoon and I was glad Sam was here while I was building him.

I watched a car slow down almost to a stop to look at what was on our front porch. 🤣

I am participating in a witch’s walk on Saturday, sponsored by the Solomon Wright Library in Pownal, VT.

We are actually dancing a song in the middle of a circle not as belly dancer but as respectfully dressed witches.

It will be my first outing in my “real” witch attire, so it is not really a costume as much for me.

If you are local, the library’s website has more information about the witches’ walk.

I love hot cereal, but whenever I ate it, I was hungry like a grizzly bear an hour or two later.

So, I haven’t eaten it even on this chilly morning that have been in the 40s here in Vermont.

Then I learned about chia seeds. You know those seeds that sprout on some cheesy figurine head? 🎵Cha-cha-chia.

This morning while snuggling up in the loveseat with Nelly and my cup of tea, I looked up some recipes for chia oatmeal.

All I really needed was the ratio of oats to liquid and the amount of chia seeds to use. The rest was up to me to create.

Here’s how I made my breakfast. This recipe is for one serving so double or triple it if needed.

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats plus 1 cup of water or milk of your choice—I used whole milk—a pinch of kosher salt, a tsp of chia seeds, 1/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, or whatever you like.

Over medium heat, I brought this to a slow simmer and let it cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

I added two chopped pears from our pear trees and a tbsp of maple syrup. I let it simmer for a few more minutes until the pears warmed. It was perfect and delicious.

There are endless possibilities when making this recipe, such as adding apples, raisins, shredded carrots, bananas, or any kind of fruit, nuts, or berries.

Taste the oatmeal before adding the sweetener of your choice. I was surprised how sweet it was even before I added the maple syrup, which gave it that delightful maple taste.

This is going to fit the bill for breakfast or a snack in the evening when the weather gets cold for good soon.

Clean eating just got a lot better for me, offering me a whole new category of food to explore.

I’m off to Norman’s Attic, a craft, tag, and garage sale event at hour town put on by St. James Church.

It’s in keeping with the tradition of Norman Rockwell holding a sale at his home before moving to Stockbridge, MA.

Afterwards, I have bellydance practice with my dance partner, Kathleen, and then a tea party lunch at her place to celebrate both our half birthdays.

What a fantastic day! The weather is simply gorgeous again.

Have a great weekend guys!

After going through a complete transformation back in March after I removed a vortex from our house, I was in the best shape of my life, mentally and emotionally.

I’ve been filled with joy and feel lighter after being able to finally forgive my mother for the years of abuse I endured.

Then came my physical transformation that began at the end of April after having strep throat.

I began to lose weight since I gave up drinking. I realized I had been self-medicating myself with alcohol since I was 14 years old.

I lost my taste for alcohol and knew I was done with it. I didn’t need it anymore. I NEVER imagined this would ever happen since I liked to drink.

I didn’t get fall down drunk, but I would feel my shoulders relax and get that familiar buzz. I drank every night starting at 5 pm.

The weight began to fall off of me. In week one, I lost 6 lbs and 5 lbs the second week. I was amazed and thought well damn, I wish I did this years ago.

It took me until July to realize all the weight I was losing wasn’t just from not drinking anymore; it came from not binge eating at night when I got a buzz.

Right after the initial week of not drinking, I began making better food choices during the day. I had no cravings at night anymore.

When it comes down to it, even though we weren’t eating processed foods, I was cooking like a chef in a restaurant using tons of butter.

I wasn’t eating any fresh fruits, and the fresh veggies I ate were cooking in, you know what. Butter. Damn, how terrible.

Even though we cannot eat gluten, we ate gluten-free bread, which wasn’t nutritious for us. We were not eating enough seeds, nuts, or grains.

Initially, I started looking at “clean eating” blog posts and recipes. Everything seemed easy enough to prepare and had enough flavor to satisfy us.

I made little changes, like not cooking with butter but using avocado and olive oil. I still put butter on my corn on the cob, toast, which we rarely have, and baked potatoes.

There are no cheat days or foods that are taboo since we eat everything in moderation.

That doesn’t mean we eat “cheat” foods often, but when we eat out at our friends’ houses, it’s nice to just enjoy the delicious food that is always served.

We eat lots of salad with fresh fruits and veggies. I use salad dressing more sparingly.

Eating so many fresh fruits and veggies has brought my taste buds alive for the first time. I have an excellent palate, but now it’s even better.

I eat slowly and savor my food, not shoving it down like I did for years. Since last year, I have stopped rushing around, period. It’s a beautiful thing.

We eat lean beef, pork, chicken, and shellfish. Marinades and dry rubs impart a great deal of flavor to our meals.

We don’t feel the need to eat a starch with every meal like the way we grew up doing.

Potatoes, rice, or pasta were always served as a side dish. Many nights, we had a salad with our protein or just vegetables.

Am I starving myself to death like I did when I was in Weight Watchers 20 years ago? Not at all.

I am not counting points or longing for food like I did back then.

I am simply eating until I am full. This means my fork goes down the second my brain sends the message that I am full.

It doesn’t matter how good or how much food I have left. Most nights, I leave 1 or 2 bites on my plate instead of cleaning my plate. Again, old eating habits.

I only weigh myself once a week. I had an issue when I went to Weight Watchers and weighed myself numerous times a day without any clothes on.

That was a big problem, huge! I will never do that again after realizing how fucked up that was.

This week, I weighed in at 115 pounds, down from 158 pounds, for a total loss of 43 pounds!

Can you imagine my small frame carrying that much weight around? No wonder why I was so miserable how I felt and looked to myself.

Am I losing this weight and keeping it off for vanity’s sake? While I love how I look, I am doing it so I can breathe and have no lung disease symptoms.

My pulmonologists told me I had improved since the last pulmonary function tests I had the first week in April.

Another reason for staying on track is my gut health. I have never had a healthy gut before. How do I know? I am no longer lactose intolerant. Weird.

I will never change my routine of having one cookie with a small glass of whole milk before bedtime.

I’ve been doing that since I was little. I no longer have to buy Lactaid milk or take lactose pills while eating dairy products.

This in itself is wild to me after having lactose issues since I was nine years old.

In the end, the question is, “Do I feel better? “Am I sleeping better? Do I look better? Do I have more energy? Does my skin look better?”

The answer is yes to all those questions. I feel grateful that I have had a total body and mind transformation since March.

I am a completely different person who is happy, healthy, full of joy, calmer, and full of gratitude.

Marty is still in disbelief at how different everything is for me. I feel and look like I did in my 30s again.

Not bad for a 57-year-old. 😉

I wanted to share this wonderful part of my journey with you guys. You have read about my ups and downs, frustrations, and emotional struggles over the last three years.

Now is the fun part of my journey. How could I not feel grateful and blessed?

Have a nice night my friends.

The weather here in Vermont has been hot and cold, depending on the day or hour.

On Sunday, I picked all the red peppers in my garden and pulled out the plants. Some tomatoes are hanging on and turning red.

When my friend Ann was here last week, she picked the pears off our trees while I was at belly dance.

She took some back to Jersey and made pear sauce. Mmmmm! She also picked a bunch for me.

I went outside and found more pears dropping from higher up on the tree. They fall on the grass, and Nelly nibbles on them. When she’s done, it’s the bee’s turn.

I found a perfect pear and squealed with delight. When I compared it to the other pears, it was the size of an actual pear you would find in a store. Yay!

After picking the peppers, I roasted them on our grill. When I was happy with the char, I put them in a bowl and covered them with film.

I let them sit for 15 minutes or so and peeled off the skins. Next, I opened the peppers and got rid of the stem, seeds, and membranes.

I put the peppers into a mason jar and added olive oil to cover the them.

The roasted red peppers are stored in the refrigerator until we are ready to open them when the weather gets colder.

I’ve roasted red peppers many times, but these were MY peppers. I am proud as a fucking peacock.

I’ll let the tomatoes, basil, and herbs do their thing until the first frost. Summer is supposed to be back later this week with temps in the mid-80s.

The beets, lettuce, turnips, arugula, and spinach are growing nicely for a fall harvest.

I love gardening and have learned so much this year, not only about veggies but also about flowers.

I am saving seeds from my flowers for late fall and early spring plantings. Look at me go!😜

Fall is here…sort of anyway.

Our home was built in 1832, moved across the street, and placed where our house is today.

Do we have a scary basement? Every old home has one. Ours is a post-and-beam home built with rocks as the foundation, posts & beams, and actual trees!

Only half of our basement is dug out to standing height. It has a cement floor necessary for an oil tank and furnace.

The other half of the basement is a crawl space with a dirt floor. There is a section to literally crawl through.

We put down tarps years ago and use the space for storage, mostly for the boys’ old Lego, Brio trains, Play Mobile, Lincoln logs, my preserved wedding dress, and other holiday decorations.

I’ve been saving the toys for when I have grandchildren someday.

Why am I talking about the basement? I was excited to go into the crawl space last week and dig out my fall and Halloween decorations, which have been packed up there since 2014.

I was there to organize it about four years ago and struggled to hoist my 40-pound heavier body up to the crawl space.

Then I had to inch myself in slowly since it was a tight fit. I had a more challenging time getting out after being hunched over and whacking my head numerous times.

It was not a fun project and I vowed that I would never try that trick again. Never came last week.

I got into the space easily and moved around the crawl space without hitting my head. Getting out was even easier.

When I was done I stared at the opening to the crawl space. I couldn’t believe I had so much trouble the last time I went in there.

I didn’t realize how much 40 pounds was on my tiny frame and why I felt like shit for 10 years. Wow!

Anyway, I got out all the decorations and smiled as I went through the tote boxes which kept the items clean and safe.

I was grateful that when I put them in there in 2013, I did it correctly. I did the same thing with the Christmas decorations, too! Yay me.

I displayed the fall decorations and am waiting until mid-September to put out the Halloween decorations.

I rarely go down to the basement since we moved our laundry to the main floor, which I love, by the way.

I went down there yesterday to get something and I looked again at the opening to crawl space. I still cannot believe how fucking big I was! Ugh.

After having strep throat at the end of April, I lost weight quickly by quitting drinking and clean eating not to be skinny; I did it to live an everyday life again with lung disease.

In August, I did better on my pulmonary function tests, and my pulmonologist said that I was stable and had improved. Oh yeah!

I feel like I’m in my 30s again, not that tired, old, hard to move around miserable person I was at the beginning of April.

I thank God numerous times a day and live in total gratitude that I got a second lease on life and I’m using every second of it. ☺️

Happy Friday!

Up here in Vermont, the weather has been flip-flopping from summer to fall daily. It’s the best of both worlds for me since I love both.

One damp & rainy day last week, I craved stuffed peppers, one of my favorite comfort foods.

I had a bunch of green peppers that were colored with bits of red and yellow that needed to be used, pronto.

I looked up a recipe for clean-eating stuffed peppers and stumbled upon the one I used from the Clean Eating Couple. Here’s the link.https://thecleaneatingcouple.com/stuffed-pepper-soup/

Marty isn’t a fan of stuffed peppers so the soup version was perfect since it was quick to make with the same flavor.

The recipe came together quickly. Within an hour, the soup was done and the house smelled so delicious.

When I had a bowl of the soup, I was in heaven! Yum! It was exactly what I was in the mood for.

The recipe made a decent amount so I gave Noah and Aja some for their dinner too. They loved it too! Yay, happy dance!

The clean-eating recipe was very similar to the ancient one that I use for stuffed peppers.

This was a time when we were all eating clean since heavily processed foods didn’t exist yet.

I love sharing great recipes with you; this one is perfect for the colder weather months.

I hope you try it if you are a stuffed pepper fan. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Enjoy your Labor Day! ❤️🤍💙