Happy Friday folks! I’m happy it’s the weekend and what’s even better is that it’s a long weekend which includes my son’s birthday. I know we already celebrated last weekend but we still want to make his day extra special. We have plans to make a special breakfast then head to Bird’s Hill Park. The boys plan to bike around and play at the park while I run 9 miles with some friends. After my run we are going to hit up a local farmers market and browse around. The Pineridge Hollow farmers market (link) has a few animals to pet and live music so it should be a fun morning. After lunch the boys plan to build a big Lego set with Chad that Ashton got for his birthday. We will finish off the day making some homemade pizza and maybe have a bonfire.

This weekend also marks the end to summer as Chase and Ashton are heading to school next week. I have been in a bit of denial about the fact that my oldest will be going to school full time and will be spending more time at school than with me. This whole letting go thing is tougher on me than I thought it would be.  I’ve enjoyed being home with him these past 6 years to watch him grow into the independent young man he is and look forward to watching him evolve in the next chapter of his life.

With summer coming to an end and my garden in full bloom I have a boat load of tomatoes to eat so I have to come up with creative ways to eat tomatoes daily. I don’t really have a green thumb but have been planting a garden for the past few years and this year our garden includes beets, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and a few herbs (basil, thyme and mint). I think it’s awesome when you can just step outside the door and grab some veggies. I made a super easy fresh salad twice this week and it’s a total winner around here. Give it a try and see for yourself.

Garden Tomato Basil Salad:

Ingredients:

Makes 4 servings

• 2 cups of garden tomatoes, chopped
• 1- 540 ml can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp basil leaves, chopped
• 2 tsp oil olive
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp apple cidar vinegar
• ½ tbsp honey

Directions:

1. Place tomatoes, basil and chickpeas in a serving dish. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, apple cidar vinegar and honey.
3. Pour dressing over salad.
4. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

I would love to hear what is growing in your garden this year?