Pearled Barley Tabbouleh and Chickpea with Tomato Salad

May 27, 2015May 28, 2015 | Megan

This is the salad I served up tonight for dinner and it is another delicious offering from The Scramble*. I realize that I’ve been on a salad recipe kick for quite some time here on the blog, but honestly, when I look at the dinner options on this fabulous meal-planning site the salad is what I want to share most, so I do!

Everyone in my family gobbled this up. It will be a go-to this summer without a doubt. I’m pretty sure I said this last week, but I’ll say it again: this salad would be the perfect side to bring to a summer soiree or a BBQ. Light, fresh, healthy, and simply delicious.

Hope your Wednesday was a good one!

XX, Megan

Ingredients for Main Dish

1 1/2 cups farro perlato (or use pearled barley), (4 cups cooked), or use quinoa for a gluten-free version
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 – 1 1/2 lemon, juice only, about 1/4 cup
1/2 – 1 tsp. minced garlic, (1-2 cloves), to taste
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
1/2 cucumber, peeled and finely diced (about 1 cup)
15 oz. canned or cooked chickpeas-garbonzo beans (drained and rinsed)

Serve with Fresh Fruit Salad

Cook the pearled barley according to the package directions and set it aside to let it cool. (Subbing pearled barley means you will have a slightly longer cook time, between 40-50 minutes. Plan accordingly.) Meanwhile, in a large measuring cup combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the barley, stir in the herbs and scallions. Transfer the salad to the refrigerator to cool while you chop the tomatoes and cucumbers. Stir them into the salad with the chickpeas. Serve the salad immediately or refrigerate it for up to 3 days.

Just couldn’t resist sharing this stunning photo of our morning. Spring in the mountains is breathtaking!

1. Cook

Cook the barley or faro according to the package directions. Barely cook time here.

2. Mix

Juice the lemon, and mix the lemon, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper in a large measuring cup.

3. Chop

Chop the scallions, parsley, and mint. Add this to the barley. Chop the cucumber and tomato. Add this to the salad.

4. Refrigerate

Refrigerate the salad until chilled before serving.

5. Accompaniment

Blueberries or a fresh fruit salad are the perfect compliment to your tabbouleh salad!

6. EAT!

*The Scramble is a meal planning service to which you can subscribe here. For a fantastic price you will receive 5 weekly meals which means 5 recipes (main course plus a side dish), complete grocery list, the ability to tweak the number of people you are making for, and full nutrition facts. PLUS tips as to how best to PREP your meal beforehand, add a punch of FLAVOR, and how to SLOW COOK almost every recipe if you’re especially slammed that night. This wonderful service really does live up to it’s name. You can come home at 6 p.m. and be sitting down to a DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, HOME COOKED meal by 6:30 p.m. most nights.

Mondays in May, Get Moving: Rest, Relaxation, and Remembrance

May 25, 2015May 25, 2015 | Megan

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Finishing off my series Mondays in May, Get Moving! Today is a the perfect end-cap to our go, go, go get moving this month because today is all about REST. Literally.

In any good workout or training regimen perhaps the easiest piece to gloss over is not the actually working out– moving, running, biking, hiking, paddling, walking, weight lifting– it is more commonly the REST that we forget to infuse into our routine.

Here again, there are copious amounts of articles and information about the importance of rest and rejuvenation as you work hard to shape your body: here, here, here, here, here.

Rest is key to any workout regimen because this recovery time gives your body the chance to maximize all of the work you have done. Rest also doesn’t mean that you need to sit around on the couch all day. Take the chance to take a break from your more rigorous workouts by spending some quality time engaging in fun, relaxing activities with family and friends. Could there be a better time to do this than on a National Holiday?!?

The other, even more important piece of this day, Memorial Day, is REMEMBRANCE. Today we remember the service men and women who have served our country in any and every capacity. We remember others of our dearly departed. We visit gravesides and place flowers. We contemplate the great circle that is life.

Today I am grateful for my Grandfather, Earl Erwin Burnison. Earl served in the navy during World War II on the USS Mt. McKinley. We are grateful for his service to us and his service to our country. Grandpa on this Memorial Day, and always, we REMEMBER.

We also RELAX! Here are some of the things we’ve done this weekend to relax and celebrate with friends and family.

Mountain drives, marshmallow roasts, multiple train rides, a trip to the zoo, and a barbecue in the garage to escape the rain! (Photos below.)

Happy Memorial Day to you and yours!

XX, Megan

Science Friday: Invisible Ink

May 22, 2015May 22, 2015 | Megan

Happy Science Friday, Friends! Today we’re experimenting with INVISIBLE INK!

TRUTH: it was not as cool as I had hoped. I don’t know what I expected. Maybe I just believed it would be MORE dramatic than it was.

TRUTH: Who cares! It was still so fun for my littles! Little P exclaimed more than once, “I can’t even SEE anything I wrote! It’s totally invisible.” Plus, the three-year-old only lasts for so long in any experiment. 🙂

TRUTH: It was so simple to put together, I’d do this again on a rainy day in a heartbeat.

I hope you have a Fabulous Science Friday!

XX, Megan

To begin, there are several recipes for invisible ink, here. Pick you poison. We went with straight lemon juice. Gather a lemon, salt, paint brushes, paper, crayons.

Cut the lemon.

Squeeze 1/2 the lemon profusely, with great concentration, into a dish.

Commence in writing/drawing your SECRET MESSAGE in lemon juice on your paper.

When you are finished encoding your message, cover the lemon juice lightly in salt.

Dust the salt off after a few minutes, and allow the paper to dry completely.

Lightly color the entire picture/message/drawing. (That big Y on his paper was part of his SECRET MESSAGE!)

The SECRET MESSAGE should be a slightly DARKER than the rest of the color!

Science Friday, WE LOVE YOU!!!

Mondays in May, Get Moving: Manual Labor

May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 | Megan

Yes. I originally had a book review of The Invention of Wings scheduled for today. I will return to that review in June, because today is another MONDAYS IN MAY, GET MOVING post! Yes, admittedly, I forgot that this was the programme until this morning!!!

Today I want to talk about a form of work, or working out that ISN’T as dear to my heart, but CAN be an INTEGRAL part of good fitness, good health, and an overall good work ethic. I am talking about the merits of MANUAL LABOR.

I hope to encourage us all (me especially!) not to forget that physical activity can also be motivated by WORK. Case in point, my everyday since returning from Palm Springs (yes, it was a harsh awakening back into the world of home ownership).

I have to be honest and state that outdoor chores are not my very favorite endeavor. For me, it seems much more straightforward, easy, manageable to get my work out at the gym or on a dedicated activity such as running, biking, swimming, or paddling.I am not one to wake up in the morning and say, “Hmmm, what am I going to do in my yard today to burn some calories.”

Maybe I need a paradigm shift! Maybe I needed this shed, fence, deck project– otherwise known as #shedfencedeck– as a reminder that good old hard physical labor can be a GREAT WAY to GET ACTIVE and GET MOVING!!! (And wear yourself out! I am pooped after all of our labor!) I am willing to guess that many of you Refined + Rugged readers are already well-versed and maybe well immersed in the ways of yard work, garden work, manual WORK!

Every Spring construction and renewal are a HUGE part of the daily life of many, many of us. So what I’m saying is that many of you are probably saying, DUH. I already knew that I could smash some calories and get fit while I upkeep my home and garden. DUH.

For those of you who are a bit more skeptical I’ve complied a list of some the top manual labor calorie burners. As well as linked to some expert opinion articles to bolster my stand: here, here, here, here, here.

MANUAL LABOR CALORIE BURN (outdoor)

Shoveling snow: 400-600 calories per hour

Heavy yard work (landscaping, moving rocks, hauling dirt): 400-600 calories per hour

Raking and bagging leaves: 350-450 calories per hour

Outdoor construction and remodeling: 250-300 calories per hour

Gardening: pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc.: 200-400 calories per hour

Mowing the lawn: 250-350 calories per hour

Washing the car: 175-250 calories per hour

MANUAL LABOR CALORIE BURN (indoor)

Major cleaning (turning mattresses, washing windows and blinds): 175-250 calories per hour

Moderate housecleaning (laundry loads, mopping and sweeping, vacuuming): 150-200 calories per hour

Light housecleaning (dusting, straightening up, taking out the trash): 120-170 calories per hour

Child care: 300-600 calories per hour (depending on how old the kids are and how active they are)

If you don’t want to jump into yard work just yet, pick an indoor chore to stay active and fit. I mean, if I can burn up to 600 calories per hour playing tag with my boys, why not? If I can get a physical boost from Spring Cleaning I had better go after it!!!

Yes. I spent my weekend staining every single board for our fence. That meant that a couple nights we were up until 11:30 p.m. staining and screwing! There are pictures below of all of our current projects: shed, deck, fence. You can see our late night fencing in the last shot. I love the dark of the night against the trees and the glow of the fence in the industrial work light we borrowed from our neighbors.

I don’t know specifically how many calories I burned, but I can tell you that my back and arms and hands ached every night it was time to crash into bed. Seems to me that my body was experiencing a really good, rather intense work out. No gym. No dedicated path required! What are your favorite WORK tasks?

Have you experienced the healthy benefits of getting up and putting some elbow grease into it? Whether IT is deep cleaning the carpet, remodeling your kitchen, creating a new garden space, or maintaining your current yard, how do you get moving with manual labor? I’d love to hear!

Have a brilliant Monday!

XX, Megan

P.S. I really need to give credit where credit is due here. NONE of these project would have happened without my SUPERMAN of a husband. He has the most incredible work ethic of anyone I have ever met. In his day job, and in his constant commitment to make our home and yard a beautiful space and place to live! I am one very lucky gal! Thank you, babe!!!

Mondays in May: Outside is Free

May 11, 2015May 12, 2015 | Megan

Continuing on with my Mondays in May, Get Moving series, today I wanted to talk about a mode of workout that is near and dear to my heart: OUTDOOR WORKOUTS.

I was lucky enough to grow up with parents who saw to it that we spent plenty of time outside. Camping, exploring, fishing, hiking, biking, running, and more. All were encouraged.

As I got older, I really got into my running game. I ran almost solely outside. A friend of mine and I recently compared notes, we both hit a wall on the treadmill at about 3 miles. Consequently, I hit the road.

This is not to say that I was EVER a high level runner. Never a pro. Never competitive. But I LOVED to RUN. I ran outside nearly every day.

A climbing accident my sophomore year of college put the brakes on my running for a couple of years. I shattered my fibula and cracked off the bottom of my tibia. After some extensive surgery and fancy titanium hardware, I now have a wonderfully reconstructed ankle.

After some intensive rehab, I continued running through my twenties. Completing one marathon and many, many 1/2 marathons, 10 milers, and more Saturday long runs than I can count. I logged countless miles with our Bob and double Bob strollers! (Truly wish I’d been better about using a pedometer just to have a record of the distance.)

I hit 30 and had to address the fact that my running days were over. I had a lot of pain associated with every step, and after longer runs my ankle would ache for up to a week. It simply wasn’t wise to keep pounding the pavement.

So the very same day my orthopedist told me that running probably wasn’t going to be my gig, my husband went to the local bike shop and picked out a sweet road bike for me.

Now let’s turn this toward the outside, shall we? The reason I touch on my running history here is that almost all of it was done OUTSIDE.

With the exception of a few aforementioned miles here and there on a treadmill in college when the weather was simply too frigid, icy, and snowy to run outside, I ran outdoors day in and day out.

Now that I cycle, I would say my ride time is split almost evenly between outside and the gym. I like it that way. I really love my gym classes, and the awesome workout they afford me.

But my heart was sold to the great wild long ago. I LOVE being outside to work, play, and live. (Don’t mistake. I also bless the name of indoor plumbing and hot showers.) One of the best parts of working out outside is that you can go wherever the wind takes you. Literally.

My friend Emily recently started hashtagging some of her outdoor workouts #outsideisfree. That’s “outside is free”, to the lay person. She really got me thinking about just how wonderful outdoor workouts can TRULY be! (Plus her pictures are fabulous, as well. Just makes me want to be running, riding, swimming right alongside her!)

Emily is an all-around athlete. She began her active career as a high school swim champ, but has since branched out into running, cycling, an all-around outdoors woman.

She’s always loved nature. I know that from our years as fellow graduate students. Her point is well taken. Gym time can be so needed, and really necessary for many climates. But if you want a great workout, look no further than that first step out your front door.

There is something so satisfying about escaping outside to get your sweat on. The wind in your face, the views for your eyes, the sound of your breathing and heart rate and hard work all happening en plein air. It is absolutely exhilarating.

So this Monday, rain or shine, heat or cold, wind or clam, I am challenging you to break out of your rut and hit the open road! Run, bike, swim, walk, skip, dance, saunter, jog, soft pedal– it doesn’t matter the pace you keep or the company.

Just go ahead and get outside. I think you will like what you see, how you feel, and look forward to the next time you hit the trail, street, byway, or thoroughfare!

Get out there!

XX, Megan