A million little pieces

Hi guys!  Even if you worked like a dog all day, I want to wish you a very merry Mental Health Monday!  Yes, today was my day off.  Twas a great summah day.

I woke up to unpictured breakfast sandwiches a la Jake, or honey whole wheat bread, 2 eggs over easy, tomatoes, basil and parmesan cheese.  Here's a fun tip for getting your significant other to cook for you: ooh and ahh over whatever they turn out and designate it their Signature Dish.  Falling short of flattery, offer to do the dishes.  It works a treat, I swear.

For lunch, I made a meal prepared with the help of my new toy from Gadgets: a spiralizer!  I have been having a lot of fun with this.  It's like a mandolin, but safer, as all of the sharp and pointy parts are contained in a chamber.  My favorite feature is the locking mechanism on the top (like a food processor), which makes everything stay securely in place.

See?
All you do is load the item-to-be-shredded onto the pointy teeth, which hold said item in place...

And give it a whirl! 

 Weeeeeeeee!

There was definitely a learning curve...

Summer squash fail.

But I got the hang of it pretty quickly, if I do say so myself.

CSA golden beet WIN!  

I lunched on an epic salad of ribbons and shreds.  The cucumber turned into a long curly scarf!

I topped baby spinach and the cukes with carrots, the beets, summer squash coins, sunflower seeds, basil, parmesan, raspberry white balsamic, Misto-ed olive oil, salt and peppa.

The perfect summer lunch.  I enjoyed it with some so-sweet CSA corn.

After a day of running, walking, reading, listening to podcasts, doing laundry, napping and grocery shopping, I dined on a million little pieces.  Featuring: Angela's Maple Baked Beans... in my new-old crock pot!

The final product, with its yummy, little-piecey brethren:

Cheddar-pumpkin seed Dr. Kracker flatbread (which I LOVED), more corn, sharp cheddar and a cranberry walnut roll.  Yes, I'd like some carbs with my carbs, please.  Hit the spot.

Can you guess what my little pieces dessert will be?  :D  I will post the picture tomorrow.  It is highly summery, but (very sadly) not ice cream.

Question of the Day: When was the last time you took a day to do just what you wanted?  Although today was a special day off for me, there were still a number of chores that needed doing.  The last time I lounged and did what I wanted all day, with no responsibilities, was probably sometime over the holidays this past winter.  Whenever I go and visit my parents, I can truly relax.  Plus, they do my dishes.