fruits and veggies

Strawberries are out at the farmer's market and pop up stands have started popping up all over the city. Most of the time I try to eat seasonally, even if strawberries and tomatoes are in the market in December. It doesn't mean that it's good for the soil or for me. I think we have seasonal foods for a reason. I get the vitamins I need in the winter with butternut squash and beets and kale and in the summer with tomatoes, strawberries, and zucchini. I like to enjoy the foods of the seasons. Aside from all of that, I couldn't help myself from picking up 3 pints of strawberries on Saturday. I've been eating them with yogurt in the morning and plain at night.

I've had this recipe on hand for a couple years now and finally got around to making it. It's out of Martha Stewart magazine and hers is definitely more beautiful than mine but I like the rustic look of it and it was absolutely delicious! I could have eaten the whole thing. It was just what I needed to get my tastebuds ready for summer.



Last weekend we (mostly Steve) did some yard work in preparation for the spring/summer planting season. We need to get our seeds going and in the ground which means we had to pull out the winter garden. The whole thing was kind of a mess. We let it go early on because most of our root veggies didn't have loose enough soil to really grow (live and learn) and the other Brassicas we had were eaten alive by aphids. We did get a head of cauliflower, some broccoli, and our artichokes are still going strong. There were lots of weeds and leftover vegetables to be pulled. I went to pull up the measly carrot tops and had to fight the soil a little and to my surprise a lovely carrot came up with it! I pulled them all up and was so excited to see that we had our own little surprise crop of sweet nantes carrots!



Steve cooked them up that night with some oil, garlic, and herbs and they were so delicious. Fresh picked that morning and in our bellies at night. This is how we like our fruits and veggies, fresh and sometimes in pastry form.

Frog Balls

This was my first attempt at home canning and in a week or so I will know exactly how the end result turned out. I tried to do some internet research on why they are called frog balls and I came across this story that states "they are round like meatballs and green like frogs, therefore they must be frog balls."



The process was super simple. I don't have a home canning set or anything of that nature, I just used what was available in my kitchen. Luckily we were given a beautiful new stock pot as a wedding gift (thanks Pop!) so I used this to sterilize the jars and can them. In another saucepot I steamed the brussel sprouts and also used this to simmer the brine. Other than that I just used a pair of tongs and some silicone pot holders.



The whole hands on time was probably an hour. After the jars had completely cooled I drew up a little label, put them through my xyron (turns them into stickers) and then they were done.



I absolutely can't wait to try them, and my hand at other pickled and canning projects. This summer I definitely want to make and can some tomato sauce from homegrown tomatoes. The art of canning and preserving is having a resurgence in the urban homesteading community. I am excited to see where this takes us. A pantry full of home canned goods!



And in other news, look at these gorgeous artichokes we have! I didn't think we would get any once I read that the plant has a 4 foot deep taproot and we didn't dig enough to let that grow but we have one large globe and 3 little babies! Maybe we should cut the big guy and let the energy be given to making more little guys.

bruschetta

Our good friends Eddie and Wayan have us over for dinner quite often. Wayan is a fantastic cook and always makes us the most delicious meals. Last night was one of these times. We were asked to bring some pre-dinner/bocce snacks and I wanted to make something that would utilize the bell peppers from our garden.



I just love the way these purple peppers looked with the tops cut off.



A bell within a bell. Almost as good as getting a double yolk.



Once again, Ina came to the rescue. I decided to make her sweet pepper and Gorgonzola bruschetta. The peppers are sauteed in olive oil until soft and then mixed with basil (I used lemon basil from our garden) and capers. Top the toasted baguette with the peppers and finish with a small chunk of Gorgonzola. I assembled everything at home and then popped them in the oven for a few minutes once we arrived just to melt the cheese and warm the whole dish. Yum yum!

home grown herbs

We have a large pot that we circulate herbs in. Currently there is chive, thyme, and lemon basil. We also have oregano in the ground along with a very large rosemary bush that we inherited from my brother. Per recommendation from our good friends we have been watching Jamie at Home (Jamie Oliver's show on Food Network). In his episode for tomatoes he has this really amazing looking bunch of dried thyme. Steve and I were wondering where he would have acquired it from and how we could get our hands on some. Then I realized in another show that he was drying some himself in the background so we decided to make our own as well. So we have thyme and oregano drying now and I can't wait to report back with how we use it and how it compares to the supermarket stuff.

seedling

we have started some seedlings for our winter garden! there is broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, cabbage, broccoli raab, and artichokes. more to come in the garden that doesn't need to be started indoors.



isn't it funny how they all look same when they are babies but so different when they are big kids?

also, steve decided to smash up a whole san marzano tomato from our summer garden and plant it in a pot and this is what came up.