This house is so us. I feel so comfortable here. Little things that used to drive me nuts at our old house (like dishes in the sink) seem to fit well with chicness of this house. Not that I’m not keeping it immaculately clean! Just that I feel much more relaxed here – must be the porch!!
I did some GRANOLA making today!! Finally!
Remember when we stayed at the South Street Inn and I raved about their buckwheat granola? Here it is. And here’s the recipe in a small batch:
I had a serving in some creamy milk for a snack. Oh-so-good and super crunchy!
Then I did laundry. Love laundry!
Here’s the basement. I’ve never had a basement in my life! (Childhood and beyond). Sure is convenient for all those household things.
Like my shelves for cleaning supplies and food storage.
And my nice laundry area. [FYI, I am obsessed with the new Method pump laundry detergent!]
Here’s Matt’s corner of the basement. Lots of storage and beer stuff. He’s been tidying it up even better than this all day.
So that bowl? It’s a salsa bowl. Er, Salsabol.
Sent to me from Salsabol. Similar to the Cali bowl, it’s got a curved lip. Upon learning about it, I immediately thought "Oatmeal!" but it did work really nicely with salsa.
The lip worked great. But I really just love the shape 
Wish it came in KERF green and blue!
We enjoyed a few chips with drinks – brew for him
Mocktail for me
And rain for us all
He drank, I swang!
Dinner tonight started with a craving for roasted cherry tomatoes. Mixed with an Aztec theme with the corn chips and salsa, so I added millet and beans, plus lime. Leftover roasted corn. Oikos. More salsa. It was totally awesome.
Seasoned with cumin, chili powder, sea salt, pepper
Microwave moment: how do you reheat beans!? I put them in a glass container and put them in the oven with our roasting veggies. Worked like a charm. It did mean dirtying up an extra bowl, but that’s worth counter space for me!
The veggies (tomato, eggplant, zucchini and squash) were roasted in Garlic Gold (obviously!), salt and pepper for about 30 minutes at 400*.
The millet was simmer – 1/2 a cup in 2.25 cups water – for about 25 minutes. I don’t know how to cook things either, so I Googled "How to cook millet" and found a great little article by Dr. Weil that told me the grain to water ratio. Wish I had used broth and more salt though! Doh!
Millet is my favorite grain!! Well, tied with wheatberries.
After dinner I wanted something sweet – but our new "living simple" lifestyle means we have NO FOOD in this house! No more chocolate chest. No ice cream. No bags of chocolate chips. Everything was eaten or given away when we moved. Guess that means no dessert for me!
I also studied my RD materials for a while this afternoon (and may have fallen asleep on the couch!) so I’ve earned some reading for pleasure time this evening 
{ 86 comments… read them below or add one }
LOVE the granola in a jar shot. EVERYTHING is better in a jar!
Awesome bowl! I love the concept!
Hope you will still have chocolate “stashes” in your new rental, ’cause life is a bit less sparkly without a bit of fine dark choc after dinner
It’s so great that you love your home! I couldn’t imagine moving somewhere and feeling iffy about it.
Dinner look delicious! Glad you are so settled already. Have a nice relaxing evening.
House looks very cozy and inviting. Funny that you never had a basement before…it’s an essential when you have a gas- or oil-burning furnace! And yes, very useful for storage too!
Why does living simple = no food?
Yea I’m a little confused…what do you mean no food? Why no chocolate or sweets?
Because in our old pantry we had food going out the wazoo. It was a mess and it overwhelmed me. Who needs 6 kinds of BBQ sauce in the fridge!?!? I’m just trying to be more mindful of food I bring in the doors to keep things more simple.
That I completely understand. Should have seen the food my husband brought when he moved in. Took me forever to get rid of it all.
That dinner looks divine. A great meal for the weekend.
What a yummy dinner! I’ve never tried millet before.
If you like Method’s new pump laundry detergent, you should try Seventh Generation’s one, which I just purchased this week. It’s my favorite cleaning company. They’re based in Burlington, Vermont, and are a pretty green company. Not sure if their products are sold in Virginia, but here in Massachusetts we can find it at natural foods stores, and Target.
Do they have a pump too? I like the pump and the smell of Method’s a lot
It does – not sure if it’s the same kind of pump, but you place it on its side to pour out the detergent. I think they sell different scents, but I bought one that is scent-free. I prefer soaps that don’t have smells – I think they’re more natural that way.
Now you can just bike down and grab some frozen yogurt for dessert
Haha. This was definitely discussed as an option tonight
But it was raining!
Sounds like delicious granola! Homemade’s always better than storebought when it comes to stuff lik that
Sounds like the perfect Saturday! I’m so happy for you!
I would love to have a basement – I grew up having one and love the storage options!
I love Method detergent – I use Sweet Water – I have never seen the pump option. I will look for it when I run out of my current bottle.
Love the new crockpot – does it have a timer so it will go on at a certain time?
Yes, it’s programmable
Dinner looks awesome! You two are so organized after only a few days. Props for that.
Yum dinner does look great. Went to Cville today, tried Arch’s (on the Corner) gooey brownie topping. I might have dreams about that stuff! So delicious. I was also looking at races with a friend today… thought this sounded cute (your chocolateless-ness reminded me): http://charlottesvilletrackclub.org/calendar/ChocolateChase2010.pdf
Oh fun! I definitely have to find some races to run this fall.
I love the shape of that bowl *and* the color. Great! I actually saw “your” (haha) Cali bowls at the store the other day and almost bought some, but I’m trying to cut back on spending this summer. Can’t wait to get new dishes when I move again!
Wow, I have been reading your blog off and on for a few months but somehow I just caught up with the fact that you live in Cville! I am in the process of moving there. I would love any insider tips you have figured out. Thanks!
Oh fun! No real tips of yet – keep reading and you’ll see more of the city!
I thought I’d seen it all but now there’s a bowl for salsa? Hah.
Southern living = porch swing to me!
Squee, I have millet in my cupboard right now!!! I’d been told that you have to toast it first in a skillet before simmering it in water though.. I’m guessing you didn’t do that, and it was fine?
I didn’t do any of that
That granola looks great and so does dinner!! I must try millet — Edible Perspective loves it, too. Glad to hear you’re happy at your new pad.
Mmm, that dinner sounds delicious and looks it, too!! I’m glad to hear you’ve settled so well into your new home
I love roasted cherry tomatoes and your new bowl…genius!
i did laundry today too – but i did NOT love it!
What a fun bowl! Basements ROCK, and I can’t imagine living in house without one. However, I am totally jealous of your porch. That is one thing I have always wanted.
Hey Kath,
Love the new house. Our home and where we live is similar but in Michigan. Anyways, I ran across these pics of a laundry room a while back when I was working on our basement. I thought you might like them because you can do this inexpensively and even if you are leasing.
http://www.countryhome.com/decorating/realliferedo/laundry-shelf-project_1.html
BTW, THANK YOU for the idea on the mason jars. I bought 24 today and switched all my little bags of stuff over. My cabinets have never looked so good!!!
Kim
Wow, that’s so gorgeous!! I don’t think we could do something that fancy – but perhaps I need a cute lamp or something!?
home made granola is the best
You can also heat up beans in a non-stick pan with a little water and olive oil….slip it around a little…works faster than the oven…
Whit
Kath, if you find you really miss your microwave, why don’t you just put a smallish one in the basement? A good friend of mine has a small kitchen like yours and they have their micro in the garage.
Love your house – I wish we had a nice porch and swing like that! So nice and relaxing.
Great idea! I think we’re going to skip it for now, but the basement would be a great place.
I lived for 4 years in college without a working microwave, it takes some creativity (and time!) but you can make it work. I agree with other comments about possibly getting a small one to keep in the basement, for microwave “emergencies”.
The granola looks great and I totally agree with you about not having tons of food in the house — I get that way with salad dressing (not any more, I make my own!), for a while I had 8-10 bottles of different kinds that I used once and never again.
The thing I hate the most about salsa in the bowl is when it falls over the edge as I scoop. This fixes that problem.
I miss having a basement. Nice to have things stored but still accessible. We used to play in ours as a kid because it was cooler in the summer.
I adore this Aztec-y/Mex-y bowl dinner idea! Genius, I tell you! I have bookmarked it for use with Adzuki beans – I haven’t ever bought them before because I didn’t know of a super-fun recipe off the top of my head to use them in! I am so jealous of your cool and bikeable lifestyle right now…..I just moved and mine has been stolen from me!
I can’t get over how terrific and quaint that porch is!
Love your fiesta bowl for dinner, looks like it’s bursting with spice, flavor, color, and whole grain goodness. I’ve yet to try millet, but I tried your soaking method of preparing wheat berries the other day and it worked like a charm. Thanks again for posting that tutorial!
I found Cali bowls where I’m at on vacation! I was so excited.
I bought the Method soap at the store a month or so ago, and while I LOVE LOVE LOVE the size, the convenience and the one-hand distribution, I didn’t think it got my clothes as clean as standard Tide…what do you think Kath?
It seemed to this time, but I’ve had trouble with that in the past.
You definitely need a folding table for your laundry. It will make it so much easier to fold the clothes and take them upstairs.
You can always buy a microwave for downstairs if you really feel you need one. A small table in Matt’s corner would be perfect. (Sorry Matt)
I don’t fold laundry!
Your house is so charming. I just love it. You are so lucky. I love that salsa bowl. Will that be available on open sky?
You LOVE laundry? I love clean clothes, but I wouldn’t say I love laundry
Happy you are happy with the place!
Just a basement tip, since you say you have never had one: Don’t keep anything low on the ground that is precious and irreplaceable (like family photos). I lived in a townhouse where the basement flooded regularly and my bedroom was down there so it was big fun. My neighbor’s basement flooded the other day because the power went out and the back-up battery in the sump pump was dead.
Noted!!
Oh, I love granola in milk.
It’s an awesome snack. That little bowl is so cute, and I love the concept behind it. Too funny. 
I just adore that porch swing!
I don’t quite get the “curved lip” part of the bowl…? But it’s still quite a cute bowl
Your house is just so beautiful. And that granola… wow, I think I need to make some now 
Wei-Wei
I think your feeling of zen to the house proves you definetly picked the right one for you guys
Granola looks great!
I can’t wait to try the granola recipe! I was inspired by the canning seminar you went to and ordered the Ball Discover Canning Kit and it’s awesome!! I just made a yummy organic honey plum jam:) Thanks for the tip on a great product!
Awesome! I can’t wait to try something myself
It already looks like you’ve lived there forever! Nice to see you are settling in so well.
I grew up dreaming of having a front porch, complete with swing. When I was in university, my parents built on a wraparound porch. When the day comes for me to live in a real house, a porch is on the top of my list. Glad you’re liking yours so much.
Hi Kath,
We have no whole food stores in the small town I live in. I saw in the natural frozen section Sprouted Breads. I am just wondering if you have ever tried them and if the nutritional value is worth the $5.00 a loaf? I have wanted to try them but really not sure if it is worth it seems I am on a very strick budget.
They are very nutritious, but if you’re on a tight budget, I’d just go with 100% whole wheat (do you have a trader joe’s? They have sprouted breads for less). Or learn to make your own bread!
No we do not have a Trader Joe’s near us either. I am trying to make healthier choices with what we have in our some what small grocery store. I do buy 100% whole wheat but I did not know if there was something special about those breads. Thanks for the help.
Some might argue they are healthier, but I think WW is just as good
Mmmm…love millet. We had some the other day cooked in coconut milk with a Sweet potato-lentil stew. Total yum…like oatmeal for dinner.
Hi Kath, I was off reading your blog for a while and now that I’m back, I was so confused when I saw you moved to VA. I just figured out why you moved to Cville reading your old post… congrats on opening your own Harvest bakery, that’s awesome!!!!
I live in DC, like two hours away from Cville. I wonder if you plan to do some races in the near future… I’d love to run with you sometime
Thanks for catching up organically
I’d love to run together sometime. I’ll be up to DC to visit Emily and we can do some races.
yeah~~~ when are you coming? I’d love to meet you again ( we met in Foodbuzz last year) and doing a race together would be awesome!
Not sure when! I’ll let you know
looking forward!
I reheat beans on the stop top in a small pot with a little bit of water.
I love that you have mason jar fever. I have been storing food in mason jars forever. I actually have a set that I scored in a thrift store that were made the year I was born. I had to get new lids for them but they were still really cool. Target has some gallon size ones that are really cool too. I bought one to store brown rice spaghetti in and it is the perfect fit!
Dinner looks great! I love doing the grain + beans + veggies combo. It works everytime!
Oh wow, I have to make this granola! I adore buckwheat.
your dinner looks amazing btw!
That dinner looks so good! Right up my alley! I would have reheated the beans on the stove, but I would say if the oven was already on and it worked…go for it. I think the no microwave thing would be hard for us, but mostly because of the boys. We don’t have a toaster oven anymore and I am the only one that is ok with that. I like broiling toast…the others are too impatient. I am glad you enjoy your home!
Such delicious eats! I have that same pan from William Sanoma, except mine is the cheaper “professional” version. The coating gets all weird when I wash it in the dish washer. Does anyone have any tips for me?
I don’t think you’re supposed to put them in the dishewasher?
That’s so funny you’ve never had a basement-I’ve never NOT had one! And since we finished ours complete with a kitchen-its certainly stretched our living space. And its made our upstairs (main) kitchen remodel painless.
That looks delicious! I am on the hunt for more vegetarian dinners and this is on my must do list. There is NOTHING better than homemade granola. On the list as well
The granola looks good!
I have never lived in a house with a basement before either. I’d love to have one someday!
I know that this is a food blog, but I feel like every time I come here I get so many organization and decorating tips, which makes me feel so much more on top of stuff! Thanks for including those other aspects of your life, Kath!
And I thought OATS were your favorite grain;)
Oh. Yeah!
If you haven’t already picked one up, I highly recommend the “bulk basics” guide at Whole Foods. They provide them for free in the aisle with the bulk foods. I keep mine with my most used cookbooks and reference it frequently. Cooking times and water:grain ratio for all types of grains, plus cooking various legumes and ideas for using other bulk items, like dried fruit, nuts, and seeds!
Oh that granola looks great!