SUDOKU
Do These 3 Things to Enjoy August to the Fullest ATTENTION SPORTS AND NATURE LOVERS! Ahh, August — it’s still hot as heck, but the daylight is changing, and fall is in the air! If you’re a nature lover or sports fan like me, join me in these three August activities while you can. 1. Visit the beach — there’s plenty of elbow room. With kids back in school and vacationers heading home, the beaches are vacant for locals like you and me. You can enjoy the sand and surf right here in Virginia or squeeze in a last-minute vacation. If you do the latter, I highly recommend a weekend trip to the island of Kiawah off the coast of South Carolina or the Outer Banks islands near North Carolina. My wife and I just visited Kiawah in July, and it was absolutely beautiful. 2. If you’re a gardener, plan your fall planting. Summer is too hot to plant outdoors in Virginia, so instead, use this time to plan for cooler weather. I recommend skipping the big gardening books and starting your planning process online. If you’re a beginner gardener, you should first familiarize yourself with the plants that grow well in our area on a website like PlantVirginiaNatives.org . Then, Google the word “plans” plus the color, shape, or garden type you’d like to plan. (I’ve been Googling “plans for all-white perennial border.”) Finally, sift through the results for plants that match our local climate — like hydrangeas, hostas, and wisteria — and add them to your blueprint. This is a slow process, but it’s much more effective than going out to a nursery, buying a bunch of stuff, and throwing it in the ground without doing your research. You could lose hundreds of dollars of plants that way! 3. Get excited about baseball season. August is an excellent time to be a baseball fan because the pecking order for the playoffs is just starting to sort itself out. In your downtime, research your team’s new players, catch a game (I’m watching the Yankees play the Astros in New York!), and start thinking about your postseason bracket. It’s the best way to pass the time until football season. How do you like to spend the last few weeks of summer? Do any of my ideas appeal to you? Let me know next time we talk.
SOLUTION
SWEET POTATO JALAPEÑO POPPERS
INGREDIENTS
• 1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces • 1/4 cup unsweetened plant- based milk • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric • Salt and pepper, to taste • 7 fresh jalapeños, halved lengthwise and seeded
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. In a large saucepan, place sweet potato chunks in a steamer basket. Add water just below steamer basket and boil. Steam for around 10 minutes. Remove sweet potatoes, and let cool in a bowl before mashing. 3. In a small saucepan, whisk together milk, yeast, vinegar, and turmeric. Boil, then cook for 1 minute or until thickened. 4. In a blender, combine milk mixture and mashed sweet potatoes until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Spoon sweet potato mixture into jalapeño halves. Place on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
–Kevin Mottley
Inspired by ForksOverKnives.com
www.MottleyLawFirm.com | 3
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