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Eco-Friendly Road Trip: Tucson, Arizona and Santa Fe, New Mexico

June 15, 2010 0

We just arrived home from our road trip to Tucson, Arizona and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Whew! That was a long drive, but worth missing the cold and rainy weather here in Colorado. We were met by fantastic weather, beautiful scenery and fabulous food in both Tucson and Santa Fe. It was relaxing to have a few days away with my boys. Here is the breakdown of our long weekend trip.

Day 1

We woke up in our casita (that I rented via Airbnb) and enjoyed the peace and quiet on our patio while we sipped our coffee, watched the birds play in the bird bath, lizards crawling on the trees and our dogs playing in the yard.

Then we ventured out to spend the day in Tucson. We visited the Historic Sam Hughes area, large downtown, did a little shopping on 4th Street and enjoyed a fantastic late lunch at Maynard’s Market and Kitchen. Maynard’s Market and Kitchen is in Historic Downtown Tucson. Maynard’s Market stocks locally sourced products and the kitchen side boosts home style meals with a emphasis on seasonal foods. Think – your favorite classic recipes, with a sophisticated, haute twist. I enjoyed the Cheese Tartine, a grilled Jarlsberg peasant bread served open faced with marinated red onion, fresh tomatoes and watercress. Really? Does it get better than that?

+ Maynard’s Market and Kitchen
400 N. Toole, Tucson, AZ
520.545.0577
www.maynardsmarket.com

Day 2

We spent the day checking out the local scenery and immediately fell in love with the Saguaro Cacti. I have spent most of my life living in lush green areas, so I was unprepared for the landscape of the desert. I found the mountains and valleys full of those anthropomorphic cacti, The Saguaro, fascinating. They are very prolific across the Sonora desert and they looked as if an alien species had taken up residence there. We enjoyed driving in Saguaro National Park and seeing the mountain side covered in these large alien like plants. We couldn’t help but giggle.

Later that evening we had dinner at Cafe Poca Casa, it is Mexican food restaurant with a twist. It’s bold, imaginative and when served, looked more like artwork than food. We ordered the plato Poca Cosa, which is a trio of dishes chosen by the chef. The menu is written on a portable chalkboard that the server presents to your table with the menu changing daily, you never know what you are going to get. My favorite dish was the chicken with a dark mole sauce, it was the perfect mix of chocolaty sweet and spicy. Fantastic, right?

+ Cafe Poca Cosa
110 East Pennington Street, Santa Fe, NM
520.622.6400
www.cafepocacosa.com

Day 3

We enjoyed our third day in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We spent our time strolling the plaza, looking at the fantastic turquoise jewelry, snapping pictures of the lovely stores, galleries, restaurants, boutiques and churches.

We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Cafe Pasquale, a tiny restaurant that seats only fifty people at a time. The restaurant is fun, brightly colored and festive. The food was fabulous and they only offer high quality organic and naturally raised beef, pork, eggs, dairy, produce, sugars, flours, maple syrup, flavorings and spices. My favorite was dessert – it was Eben’s turn to choose dessert and he chose the Strawberry Shortcake, which was hands down the best that I have ever tasted. Think – organic cornmeal shortcake stacked high with fresh ripe organic berries and homemade cream. Yum. Yum.

+ Cafe Pasqual’s
121 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, NM
505.983.9340
www.pasquals.com

All in all, it was a lovely way to escape for the weekend with my family. Want to see more pictures of our trip? Click here to see pictures through the eyes of a nine year old, all our pictures were taken by Eben on this trip.

How was your weekend? Did you eat any fabulous foods? Go somewhere new?

Have a Lovely Green Weekend

June 11, 2010 0
Maynard’s Market and Kitchen

Hello Everyone. How has your week been so far? I am in Tucson, Arizona! We decided to take an impromptu trip through New Mexico to Tucson, Arizona yesterday, and here we are. We thought it would be fun to jump in the car and enjoy the weekend in the desert. And it has been! Plus, Mr. Weatherman said that we were suppose to have bad weather in Colorado this weekend. Have you heard, I am not a fan of bad weather? So here we are. The best part, we don’t really have an agenda, we are just going to see what we think of New Mexico and Arizona. We are currently having lunch at a fabulous restaurant called Maynard’s Market and Kitchen. Thank you to my lovely friend Rikkianne at Chakra Pennywhistle for the recommendation. Isn’t it fun to visit new places?

I reserved a home on a farm with a pool in Arizona via Airbnb. Have you heard of Airbnb? Airbnb is known as the “eBay for space.” Basically, it is an online marketplace that allows anyone from private residents to commercial properties to rent out their extra space. You can rent a house, apartment, bed and breakfast, castle, tree house or even someones sofa. How fantastic is that? I love the idea of staying somewhere besides the traditional hotel room.

I will definitely take some pictures to share with you of the place that we are staying, plus tons of pictures of our road trip.

Do you have any special plans for the weekend?
Do you like to take impromptu trip to places you have never been to?

Have a great weekend.

How to Make Your Own Milk Jug Garden Soaker by Guest Greenie Kris Hackbart

June 11, 2010 0

The tomato plants are finally in the garden, as the last frost date is finally past.ally past. Since Sweet Greens reminded me that plants should be watered from the bottom, especially tomatoes, I thought I’d share my new low-tech watering system. Milk jugs!

Simply rinse out an empty milk jug (or any jug) and poke a few holes in the bottom with a thumb-tack. Fill the jug from your children’s wading pool (not chlorinated), your rain barrel (if you are so lucky!) or the garden hose. Set the jug between the tomato plant and whatever else the children planted. Fill the jug every other day or as often as needed. You can use smaller bottles for hanging plants, and a five-gallon bucket works great for new trees.

Enjoy your produce!

Thanks for having me!

Find more from Kris at her blog The Big Boat.

Green Dad Gift Idea: Bicycle’s Eco Edition Playing Cards

June 10, 2010 0

I thought this deck of Bicycle’s Eco Edition Playing Cards would make a fun and simple Father’s Day gift. The Bicycle Eco Edition Cards come in a fully recyclable case and deck. The cards are made from sustainable forest papers, starch-based laminating and vegetable-based ink. Plus, I like the look of the packaging more than the traditional cards.

What are you giving Dad for this Father’s Day?

Do you have any special plans for him?

Green Family Fun in the Rhubarb Forest by Guest Greenie Kris Hackbart.

June 10, 2010 0

Have you ever heard of Pie Plant? Here is our little Pie Forest.

Most people know the Pie Plant as Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum). If you live north of Texas, your grandmother probably had a plant or six growing in her yard. It’s the first veggie that pops up from my Minnesota garden, a sure sign of spring. This weekend Little M and I went logging in our personal Pie Forest.

Little M is pulling out the stalk, really just the petiole of the leaf, and it’s a big one! This particular plant has pink and greenish stalks, some have a more reddish color. The stalk of the plant is the part of the vegetable that we use to make yummy goodies.

Little J likes Rhubarb Crisp, Daddy likes Rhubarb pie and some people really like Rhubarb Sauce. I like to wait until the strawberries are ripe in the fields and make Straw-barb jam. The two Rhubarb plants that we have in our garden came from the Daddy’s Grandparents’ garden. They just keep growing and growing all summer long. The original plants up north get so big that the kids can play in the shade! Rhubarb is easy to grow, fun to pick, and delicious to eat, you should definitely grow a Rhubarb Pie Forest with your family.

PS: Just don’t eat the leaves! They contain toxic amounts of oxalis. However, you can compost them.

Do you love Rhubarb? Do you have it growing in your garden?

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