Sunshine Found

Today is a gloriously pretty day.  Blue skies, not too hot or humid.  J and I headed to the farmer's market today.  I picked up some itsy bitsy tomatoes for salads, two heads of red leaf lettuce, 4 medium round red tomatoes perfect to make sandwiches to go with the bread I'm baking tonight, 2 containers of red skinned potatoes, and 2 large bunches of purple basil which will be getting made into purple pesto.  I'm planning on having G make me that pesto pasta a lot, can you tell?  I also picked up a 9th item (I usually get my allotted 8) because I was told to.  I'm guessing that they had an abundance of cantaloupe, so I was told to take one as a 9th item.  And really, who's going to turn down ripe, local, organic cantaloupe?  I'll freeze more melon balls for G! 

Then we ran some errands, and I stopped into Trader Joe to pick up 5 things of butter (I was down to a pat which is considered catastrophic), some raspberries, and a flatbread for my lunch and dinner.  I picked the wild mushroom with black truffles and mozzarella and it's delicious as usual.  I'll eat the other half for dinner with a salad.  And I also picked up these:

I love hydrangea.  Some day I want a backyard filled with hydrangea, peonies, hyacinth, tulips, and English garden roses.  I bought this tea pot from a thrift store last year specifically as a vase (it doesn't have a lid, otherwise it'd be used as a teapot, it's gorgeous!).  It's from American occupied Germany (so it's old) and it's just the perfect centerpiece with these flowers.  I needed something to just make me smile.

I'm off for a nap and then onto baking bread, making a spice cake, and making more tomato paste.  Should be a delightful evening!

Blue Skies And Rain Clouds

What a metaphor for my life really.  First, let me explain that yesterday while on the phone with my husband, there was a sudden commotion, and he quickly told me he had to go.  At first I thought perhaps he had been called by a higher up, but realized soon after that no, my husband was in a bunker waiting for an all clear.  My heart raced a bit, but I was glad he was okay.  Then last night I went out to listen to some rock bands and go dancing.  I crawled into bed after 5 this morning and had to be up and out no later than 9.  

So, I don't know if it was the exhaustion or what.  But it was a beautiful day, blue skies, and I am glad I was wearing my sunglasses.  As I was walking around the farmer's market my eyes welled up and I just wanted to sit and have a good old fashioned cry.  I got to my CSA farm's booth and they had these strawberries and I kept thinking that this is what he's missing.  I'd never gone to the farmer's market by myself, and it suddenly seemed a lonely and overwhelming place. 

I picked up the strawberries along with red leaf lettuce and green leaf lettuce, 2 bunches of radishes (to be spread with butter and sprinkled with fleur de sel as a snack), some spinach, some arugula (all large, not "baby"), and some broccoli.  I had grabbed some cash and so I walked about, eventually laden down with sour cherries (for a tart or liquer), two containers of sweet cherries, tiny zucchini and yellow squash, sweet peas in their edible shells, regular farm fresh peas shelled, and local tomatoes.  Nothing too large--- I'm hoping by the time that watermelon is in season (around late June/early July) that I can bribe a friend to come and enjoy watermelon blended with vodka in the back yard. 

I stopped at a local cafe, grabbed some iced tea and Irish oatmeal (an odd combo for sure, but hot drinks have not been ideal when I insist on sitting outside everywhere).  I'm headed out to Trader Joes in a bit in order to pick up the rest of the ingredients for ratatouille.  I never did make it last year (other than our ratatouille pizza), and I thought today it sounded like the perfect dish.  The peas will be eaten soon as a delicious pasta dish. 

I reached home, putting away the produce, and sinking onto the sofa to finish Lunch in Paris.  Suddenly, a pitter patter of rain was heard as it gently fell on the sidewalk outside.  I had made it home just in time.  And the skies reflected the morning's emotions, it felt cleansing.  I appreciate the sunshine because of the rain.  Three more months, and it will be G carrying the load from the market.

Squash Fritters

 *In searching to see how much I had talked about something, I came across this draft from last summer that I had never posted (I have sooo many drafts that never make it to here, usually because I get busy and forget).  But thought you might want some inspiration for this coming season!

On Sunday we picked up some squash blossoms attached to mini squash at the market.  But they wilted a bit before we could stuff them and fry them.  So instead, I chopped the mini squash and the blossoms up, added them to a batter of 1 pullet egg, a little bit of flour, salt, garlic powder, and combined well, then dropped into hot oil to fry.  They cooked quickly and made a nice light dinner for us Monday evening. 

I have been posting a lot about food lately.  Since joining the CSA, we have more veggies than I know what to do with (well, I do use them all up!).  Last night I threw in the last of our chicken stock that I had frozen with some cooked beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, lettuce, yellow squash, and a can of Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes.  Stirred that all together, seasoned, and it's today's veggie soup with crusty baguette for lunch.


I've been enjoying learning more about vegetables that I had never eaten before.  In truth, I have loved nearly every vegetable I have come across these past few years, even brussels sprouts and collard greens!  So the CSA just adds to my vegetable education.

There's A First Time For Everything

Yesterday G and I filled up our day with fruits and veggies!  First to the farmer's market to pick up our CSA.  We got enough tomatoes to last us a lifetime, some onions, eggplant, butternut squash, and a couple heads of red leaf lettuce.  We also walked about, grabbed some radishes from one stall, a baking pumpkin from another, and some red cockscomb from a flower stall.  Apparently I can hang it to dry and it will keep it's red! 

Then we headed up to Pennsylvania to an orchard.  It was a beautiful drive, I blasted Sara Bareilles new album, and enjoyed just basking in the sun.  I knew G wanted to try his hand at being the photographer for the day, so I dressed cute to impress.  Dress from Target worn as tunic, with red rose clip from F21.  Wore this over skinny jeans with flats (I wanted to wear my boots, but my feet were killing me).

Why yes, I do have a large rose on my dress!

First we stopped off for a picnic at a table under tall, tall trees at the orchard.  Same thing as our indoor picnic, and just as satisfying.  And yes, I brought wine in a mason jar.  I figured we'd keep it simple.  But the whole time I was asking G to please not speed because all we needed was to get slapped with an open container charge!

Setting up the table.

I love clotheslines!

Then we headed off to pick our own apples!  I had never done this before and whoa excited!  We rode out on a tractor, were told to go ahead and taste the Jonamacs (a Jonathon and Macintosh hybrid), which were delicious.  We filled up one basket with those and another with Golden Delicious.  Then it was time to wait for the tractor to return, which led to goofing off pics!

I was playing Eve..."come here G!"

The tractor took us back, we picked up some Dutch pretzels, honeycomb, stick candy, baskets of 2nds of apples and pears, and some beeswax lip balm.  It was a fun day, we ended up with over 20 lb. of apples, some of which I used to make something special for G.  But more on that later! 

It's Sunday

And not only am I not at mass, but I'm cleaning around the house.  Sophie is sick today, has been since last night, and that coupled with my foot causing me to consider how addictive tylenol is made G think it might be best to stay home today.  But instead of being idle, he brought me a bagel with cream cheese in bed.  We've snuggled Sophie and Audrey (because what you do for one...).  And G is brushing Sophie out (she's been shedding more than usual with this heat), while I'm vacuuming up the problem.  Seriously, I am unsure why she isn't bald yet!  Audrey thinks the vacuum is something to chase and she darts out from under furniture to attack.  But only when it's on.  

Last night I made a veggie quiche with tomatoes, zucchini, baby eggplant, onion and gruyere.  I hope it tastes good (I made it for our lunch today).  I was sad that last night I had to throw out the two large eggplant I had, along with some roma tomatoes.  I waited too long to do anything with them.  Next week at the farmer's market I am hoping to pick up enough ingredients to make ratatouille.  Red pepper, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and red onion.  Mmm!

I've come to recognize that two things make me happy and content.  A clean, organized home.  And keeping busy.  I hate the days when all I have to do is sit around, maybe checking e-mail.  I love the days (and they seem more common in the winter, perhaps it's hibernation) when I sit and knit a scarf or work on a doll for my niece, all while I have something in the oven and something on the stove.  I think that's why I enjoy the Little House stories.  They were so busy!  I'm making a list of all the homemade Christmas gifts I want to make, along with things I want to make for our home.  The list is daunting, but in a good way.  And with the help of earl grey perhaps I'll get it all done!

Oh, and for those others who are Catholic out there, when we miss mass we find it helpful to look up the daily readings and take some time to read them and discuss.  You can also listen to mass on EWTN.com.

Bright And Sunshine-y

I crawled out of bed at around 9 this morning for the farmer's market.  If I knew G could have picked out the veggies himself I would have stayed in bed.  It obviously ended up being a great day, and I snapped some pics to share!

I love the flowers, whether it's at the market, or along the way!

Local peaches, plums, and grapes are prevalent now.

Peppers!  Our CSA has a ton (this wasn't even all the kinds they have).  We still have plenty from previous weeks that I'm cutting up to freeze for pasta and such this winter. 

These were curry squash.  No idea how to cook them, so came home and looked it up.  Hopefully they have them again next week!  You cook them like a squash (pumpkin) pie!

We picked up some of the tiny eggplant to stuff.

 The crowds are always crazy!

G carrying out watermelon home.  The one in his left arm is a yellow watermelon!

Stopped at Einstein Brothers Bagels for breakfast.  We ended up getting a baker's dozen of bagels plus two of the smoked salmon cream cheeses.  We're planning to freeze some bagels, and enjoy the others this week.  We each eat half of one....hence the funny pic.

Have you been to a market lately?  If not, I think they're a great place to see what is locally in season right now!

Courses

I think the one thing that differentiates my husband and I from many others we know is that we delight in extending a meal as long as possible.  To help with this, we eat in courses.  Tonight for instance I had a bunch of veggies to use up, and some leftover turkey kielbasa.  So I cut up all our red potatoes (it turned out to be enough for about 4 meals for both of us!) and began roasting them in the oven.  While they roasted, I sliced thinly a white onion I had on hand and in a pan with hot olive oil began to caramelize them. (Later, once they were caramelized I added chunks of the kielbasa to brown a bit.)  While that continued I cut up the broccoli and cauliflower we had, grated leftover Gruyere, and sat that aside to await time in the oven.  I put a pot of water with corn on the burner to boil.  Finally I sliced up the 1 1/2 portobello mushrooms left from Saturday and quickly sauteed them in a bit of butter.  While that cooked (shortly, so they were still firm) I sliced a tomato, plated it, drizzled our new amazing olive oil (it's literally green rather than golden, and tastes like the nectar of the gods) along with a bit of balsamic.  

Our first course was the sauteed portobello mushrooms on a petite plate.  It was delcious, full of flavor, small in quantity.  Our second course was a two inch piece of the kielbasa on top of a scattering of caramelized onions and a side of 8 small pieces of roasted potatoes with sea salt.  Our third course was the roasted cauliflower and broccoli with Gruyere.  Then we moved onto the fourth course of a half of an ear of corn, no butter.  Instead we ground salt and pepper onto our plates and squished the corn into it before each bite.  Our final, fifth course was the tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic.  

Our dinner took us about an hour and a half.  We ate very small portions of many things, and neither of us was full when we were done.  Instead we were both wonderfully satisfied.  I quickly squeezed the remaining half of an orange (from the fruit salad) into a glass and made an orange presse for G and I to share.  He headed out to continue weeding our jungle of a backyard, and I came in to watch a chick show.  We had enjoyed a leisurely meal along with a very small glass of red wine conversing about world politics (I hadn't heard about the attempted assassination of Iran's president....serves me right for not reading The Post today).  

We normally would have coffee or tea afterwards, but with the heat we thought it might be unwise.  What do you do to extend a meal? 

Mixed Up Salad

I have been eating a lot of caprese salads and a lot of salads with tuna and red onion.  Tonight I decided to mix it up.  Fresh mozzarella, red onion (super thinly sliced), roma tomatoes (love my CSA!), fresh basil (from my CSA), with fresh black pepper and extra virgin olive oil and we split a can of tuna in olive oil.  I was worried about it tasting good together, but after the first bite we realized this will now be a weekly meal for the summer.  It was delicious, perfectly satisfying, and a light meal that doesn't leave us feeling sluggish. 

Now I'm off to continue reading "A Good Year."

CSA Farm

Yesterday the owners of the farm we get our CSA from held a get together where you could bring a picnic, the had a band and were giving tractor tours of the farm (as well as you were able to walk around all you wanted).  G and I didn't bring a picnic (though next year we're going to go all out with lobster tail, roasted potatoes, corn, wine, etc.) but we found some shade to sit and listen to the music.  It was a band that played a lot of everything, and pretty good too!

Chickens!!!

And baby chickens!!!

The original barn that had been built by the owner's great grandfather burnt down last summer.  They built this gorgeous one in it's place, but it was a huge loss.  

Overall we had a great time!  Next year we'll plan a little better, clear our schedule a little better and spend the whole afternoon/evening there.  But we had to go home to cook some crab!

Farmer's Market Bounty

Garret and I were out the door by 7 this morning for one reason and one reason alone:  tomatoes.  Our tomatoes from our CSA last week were absolutely delicious, but when we had gotten there at 10 they had been nearly out.  Well today we made it in plenty of time to grab a variety of tomatoes (including some larger ones that need to ripen a bit, but we've found these tomatoes ripen beautifully).  I now have small tomatoes, big tomatoes, and mid sized ones I like to cut up for salads or pasta.  We also picked up more broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, and read leaf lettuce for salads this week.  We still have zucchini, an onion, garlic and peppers left from last week so we're set!  

I threw on a quick outfit this morning, along with big sunglasses to hide my tired and smudgy eyes.  Comfy is the way to go for the market, but you don't want to look a mess! So I threw on the pearls to jazz it up.

And this stop sign was very near the market.  Can you tell why it's the neighborhood we want to live in?  It's only a handful of blocks from us, but is very full of families and life, with cafes and such (it's near the college).  There was also on the same block a garden on the grass between the sidewalk and the street, complete with lettuce and tomatoes.  I would so do that! 

My Husband and Conversations With Little Old Ladies

So we went and picked up our CSA this morning.  In the pouring rain.  And let me pause here and tell you that the one thing that freaks me out more than anything else is getting my feet wet in rain water.  It's dirty and it grosses me out and I freak out more than a little bit.  So off we went under one umbrella and we picked up a whole bunch of goodies, including what I needed to make ratatouille for the first time (and oh how I wish the rats around here would help explain how to make this dish well).  

But we didn't bring money, well no more than $5.  So of course the butter I was wanting to try was $5.50.  Of course.  So we came back home and I told G, "Please go get money and get some butter and mozzarella cheese for me."  This was said knowing that there was no way in hell I was going back out in those puddles.  I smiled nicely, and G who desperately wanted this fresh local mozzarella cheese agreed heartily.

My husband is an older person magnet.  My grandmama thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread, and so do all her friends.  He's the sweetest gentleman with them and they are always all a twittering.  So of course walking back with his butter and cheese to the car (a couple blocks away) he is stopped by a little old lady who tells him "that butter is soooo worth it.  I bought some unsalted and I took it home and put it on my corn on the cob and it was wonderful.  Of course I put salt and pepper, but there wasn't any extra salt in the butter."  This conversation continued.  And on.  

Then when he was off and walking again a woman sweeping her porch accidentally hit some furniture and it startled G and he looked up.  So the woman smiled real big and waved.  I am certain had he been on the same level as her it would have prompted a conversation.  

I don't type any of this to complain.  G and I actually love older people, and have been known to stop in the middle of a store to discuss heirloom vegetables in an array of colors for 20 minutes or so with someone.  We can admit we sometimes run behind schedule because we love old people, particularly those with that spark, that happy smile that calms one when thinking about growing older.  We indulge.  But shouldn't we?  Isn't that our duty as the youth, to indulge those who have gone before us?  And really, you get the best tips on vegetables!

Middle Eastern Meets Indian

So we picked up as part of our CSA last Saturday a couple large bunches of spinach.  We were wanting to make Palak Paneer without the Paneer (Indian spinach and cheese dish...paneer is the homemade cheese).  So last night I made that and mujadarrah (lentils with rice and browned onions, a Middle Eastern dish).  The two of them together was heavenly, and we seriously had to restrain ourselves from eating it all.  It made a tasty lunch today and we still have rice and lentils left over!

French Sort Of Summer

Due to the lovely CSA,  G and I have been eating so many veggies lately.  And we've also been searching through our favorite cookbooks for recipes.  So my goal this summer is to go through as many recipes in Joanne Harris' The French Kitchen, and The French Market.  I have both books, in Brit format with weights rather than cups, and everything we've tried has been delicious so far. We found that hot cocoa is much improved with the addition of a little red pepper!

These are both the links to the American versions.  If you are interested in the Brit version with the weighted measurements, let me know.  I may do a giveaway, since I had the paperback version before I had the hardback!

 



Tonight we are making Rabbit with Red Rice from The French Kitchen.  Wish me luck as I've never cooked rabbit or red rice (or anything other than minute rice, really).  But I do love me some lapin!

Cooking our way through both will take some planning, and some recipes are clearly more suited for colder weather where you want heartier food.  And hunting down white pudding might be interesting (or perhaps I'll make my own!).  But I will update you along the way!

Zucchini Overload

Last week we picked up a bunch of zucchini as part of our CSA.  G and I both love zucchini and we estimated it would be good to steam and have as a side to dinners.  Unfortunately we had a lazier week and didn't steam any.  So Wednesday night I took zucchini, tomatoes, parmigiano reggiano, and some herbes de provence and ended up with this:

Which was the latter part to this meal:

The cheese are:  Irish Blue, Midnight Moon (a harder goat's cheese we love) and Barely Buzzed (a cheese with coffee and lavender).  G ended up eating almost all of the Irish Blue as I decided blue cheese really isn't for me.  I keep trying it, and always end up wanting to scrub my mouth.  But the other two?  Tres magnifique!  The Barely Buzzed had almost a chocolate undertone.  Yum!

Beet Salad

Red romaine with roasted beets, roasted chicken, tomatoes, onions, radishes, and goat's cheese.  No dressing needed!

Beets, The Magical Veggie

Tonight for dinner G roasted a chicken (all on his own, and it was delicious!).  We roasted some asparagus and some beets, and then sauteed the beet greens.  The only way I had ever had beets was in the veggie crisps (chips) in England.  The beets were my favorite though, so I thought I would give it a whirl.  

Oh. My. God.  Um, for those who know me, I love corn (That's a mild understatement, I tend to eat all corn on the cob within a 5 mile radius).  And beets.....they're like bright pink corn.  Amazing!  I tried stealing G's slices and he nearly stabbed me with his fork.  The beet greens were okay, more bitter than spinach or chard (according to G, neither of these has passed my lips much before either).  I wasn't a huge fan of them, but I'm willing to eat them until I am.  Tonight I drizzled on the hot sauce to eat them.  That worked out really well!

We had some white wine with dinner, then finished with an espresso.  Immediately we went into clean up mode, and I tore the chicken apart for soup and salad tomorrow and some pasta on Friday.  Then I took the carcass, some onion, carrots, celery, leeks, beet juice, and asparagus cuttings and boiled it all to make stock for tomorrow night's soup.  Smells scrumptious, and I'm proud of the person I've become.

This is not the women I would have envisioned myself as.  I have always baked and done well with that, but the more rustic cooking?  Um, no thank you.  I envisioned a faster life, one that now turns me off with it's overwhelming consumerism.  I like nice things, I do.  But I prefer to wait, make sure I want it, save, and then buy something to last.  I prefer fresh veggies, and non-hormonal meat (because who doesn't hate a chicken with PMS?).  I'm still living a very chic life, my frugal ways are what allow me the nicer things.  I've just recognized that to me, a great dinner with good conversation with interesting people is more chic than all the Louboutin shoes in the world.

Leaf Lard

This turned out amazing.  Seriously, I might even like it better than our normal quiche lorraine.  And that's a big deal. 

Summer Bounty

The farmer's market yesterday was amazing.  We picked up our bag from the farm and filled it with organic cilantro, red leaf lettuce, radishes, arugula, spinach, beets, red romaine, and spring onions.  We also bought some morel mushrooms to fry for dinner (mmmm!).

We woke up today and headed to mass, then off for coffee and the Sunday farmer's market.  There we picked up a dozen eggs, some onions with the greens still attached and leaf lard.  I rendered the leaf lard for dinner and we also got some cracklings.  

Summer is here, and I am so super excited for this week.  We're planning to do a couple slow weeks of no eating out, and only buying what we absolutely need (mainly food, toiletries).  I planned a week's menu of food tonight and honestly it involves only buying 4 things:  a chicken, celery, butter, and white beans.  We're also buying jalapenos to use with the cilantro to make salsa for next week (you can freeze it, so we're making it ahead of time).  Summer is a good time to do a slower, home-cooked period since veggies are so easy to get, and fruit is ripe for the picking.  Would you ever do a slow week of no restaurants/fast food?