Day 351- Valentine's Day Dinner

I came home after a long day of work to a delicious Valentine's dinner made by my wonderful husband. He used scallops, which I love and made a perfect gluten-free salad that was just my style. Happy Valentines day to everyone!

Baked Scallop Citrus Salad:

Ingredients:

• 1 pound bay scallops
• 4 cups organic spinach
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 orange, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1/4 cup shredded cabbage
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix olive oil, honey, rice vinegar, and mustard together and chill
2. Saute scallops in a little bit of olive oil with garlic for 3 minutes
3. Place scallops in baking dish, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper
4. Bake scallops at 350 for about 10 minutes
5. Mix spinach, avocado and oranges with the citrus dressing
6. Top with baked scallops, and enjoy

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 212- Mau lo'a...Happy 1 Year Anniversary to My Husband!!

Today is my one year anniversary; man how time flies! A year ago today, I was saying, "I do" to the love of my life, celebrating with the people that mean the most in my life, and taking the first step in my "forever" with Devin Keoni Ryan.

I have always been the girl that claimed that marriage doesn't change anything. After being in a relationship with Devin over the last eight years, I couldn't figure out what being married could actually make different. Sure, we would have to file taxes differently, I wouldn't be able to participate in the bouquet toss at weddings anymore (which is probably a good thing, cause I always was the one to catch it), I would have to go through the lovely process of changing my name on EVERYTHING, and without fail the "so when are you going to have children" questions would begin. Besides all that, everything else I imagined would stay the same.

Once we became married, to my surprise something did change. I can't completely pinpoint exactly what that change was, but it was there. It's been awhile now since I thought about this feeling (about a year to be exact), but I remember the sense of peace that I felt. I have never been a jealous or controlling person, so I don't think that this peace was because Devin was officially all mine.

I think that this peace had to do with how completely right we were for each other, and how ultimately happy I am when I am with him. It was a reinforcement that what we just did, the promises that we made to each other, were what was suppose to happen. Devin is my forever, and that became more clear than ever to me. My peace, my happiness, and my love for Devin grew more than I knew possible. Marriage created a bond that I could actually feel and appreciate. Marriage created change that I had argued was not possible.

Devin, thank you for an amazing first year of marriage. You have made me incredibly happy, and I cherish every day with you. I can't wait to spend my forever with you!

Mau lo'a,

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 191- Apartment Gardening

My husband and I talk about having a yard where we can plant our own garden, but for the time being we have to make due with our small apartment balcony. Devin claims to have the green thumb in the relationship, so he has taken over attending to our makeshift garden. I have to admit I am pretty impressed with what he has achieved in such a small space. We have plenty of herbs to season our meals and eventually even avocados that he started from an avocado pit. The inside of the house looks much like our balcony with plenty of plants thriving and taking over the place. Below I have provided some pictures of our balcony garden to show-off what we have done with the space that we have:

Orenago, Chives, and Cilantro are the three newest additions.

Oregano~

Chives~

Cilantro~

Mint~

There use to be three different types of mint mixed in here; chocolate, peppermint, and lemon mint, but I think that the peppermint took over. The only thing left from the chocolate mint is some of the branches.

Avocado Tree~

There is also an aloe plant hiding in the background next to the Jasmine we have growing.

Rosemary, Sage, Thyme~

Chili Peppers~

These we keep inside since they don't do well out in the sun.

We also have basil, but it's at the end of it's life right now so it's didn't look that great in the picture.

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP

Day 128- Recipe: Baked Salmon by Devin Ryan

My husband surprised me with a delicious dinner last night that I thought would be perfect to share this evening.

So here is what Chef Devin calls his:

Sal Mon de Devin...

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion
• 1/2 Clove of Garlic
• 6 Fresh basil leaves
• 1 Yellow Bell Pepper
• 1/2 Cup Sliced Mushrooms
• 1 Bunch Baby Bok Choy
• 2 Small Yellow Zucchini, sliced
• 1 Lb Wild Caught Salmon
• 2 Tablespoons Organic Butter
• Cayenne Pepper, to preference
• Fresh Black pepper, to preference

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Lightly saute vegetables with a little bit of olive oil, starting with zucchini and onions.
3. Once onions become somewhat translucent add the remaining vegetables, except garlic and basil leaves
4. Place salmon in a baking dish
5. Sprinkle salmon with cayenne and black pepper
6. Top with fresh basil leaves and garlic
7. Add butter to the top of the salmon
8. Add the sauteed vegetables to the salmon dish
9. Bake for about 30 minutes or until salmon is cooked to your liking

Pura Vida!

Alica Ryan, NTP