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.

pita

I was reading a post on The Tangled Nest about making your own pita. It turns out the recipe she uses is from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison which is a book I have acquired through Steve. It is chock full of fabulous recipes and is also a great reference for different vegetable cooking techniques. Looking over the recipe I realized how easy it was to make. I swear I will never buy pita again.



The recipe makes ten fairly large pitas but you could easily break that number down into smaller portions. Since the are not baked in the oven (which they can be) they aren't puffed and therefore not able to be filled. I did these in the cast iron which makes them more along the lines of flat bread. Plus they only take 30 seconds on each side.



Next time I will roll them a little thinner. They were a little too bready for the dinner we had planned with them. Hummus, olives, tomatoes, and chive yogurt dip. I can't wait to make more.



There is something about not only growing your food but making things fresh with your own hands that you could easily buy from the grocery store. We took a couple over to my parents and it is so much more satisfying to give and eat what you made than what you bought. They were so fresh tasting and tasted just as good the next day heated over a flame. Delicious.

vacation home eggplant

Our good friends hosted Steve's birthday bash at their lovely home two weekends ago and they have an absolutely amazing garden that I would kill for. It's a hundred times larger and better than ours. Every time we go up there (which is often and now considered our "vacation home") we reap the benefits. Whether it be fresh tomatoes eaten off the vine or being sent home with a bag of beautiful japanese eggplant. These are the same variety that we had grown but I think we left ours on the vine a little too long. Rachel had mentioned that she sliced her's thin and used them in a lasagna instead of the noodles. It sounded so delicious that I had to try it myself.



I sliced the eggplant on my mandoline and used some leftover marinara from Trader Joe's. For the filling I sauteed some spinach and mixed together some ricotta with salt, pepper, chili powder and nutmeg; sprinkled some Parmesan throughout and baked it for 40 minutes. It was so good. It didn't have the structure to it the way lasagna does so I would say it is more of an eggplant bake than anything.



We have been eating the leftovers for days.

angel's food

I know I didn't blog at all this past week and I am finally getting around to it on Wednesday but I was hoping to blog about all of Steve's birthday crafts but I left my camera at our friends house in LA and have yet to get it back. So, I used Steve's camera that is old with no flash (not that I use it anyway) to take some pictures of a delicious lemon angel food cake that I made for my parents.

Since they are being more than generous and paying for our wedding the deal was I have to make my dad lots of yummy desserts. He didn't specifically ask for this one but I made it for him anyway. At work we make our brioche and it requires a ton of egg yolks and we never have anything to do with the whites so I decided to take them home and make angel food cakes with them. The recipe is super simple and from the lovely Donna Hay. Her book is so wonderful and there is a picture for every recipe (my favorite!).



I didn't turn it upside down as soon as I removed it from the oven (because I took this picture) so it fell a little but I heard it was still delicious. While it was baking I rode my bike over to Grower's Ranch and picked up a pint of raspberries to go along with it.



As soon as I get my camera back I will post more on Steve's big birthday bash.

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!

mama b

Yesterday was my mama's birthday. To celebrate, my wonderful brother and his lovely wife hosted a little BBQ at their home. I was asked to bring a side dish and feeling up to the challenge, I tried a new recipe. Alice Water's Moroccan Sweet Potatoes from The Art of Simple Food . It was absolutely delicious. I topped it with some edible chive flowers from our garden. It went really well with the tri-tip and salad. It's served at room temperature so it was perfect for the hot sticky weather we've been having.



While looking for recipes to make in Ina Garten's Back to Basics , I came across a recipe for parmesan thyme crackers and made them to go along with the cracker and cheese appetizer. They are really just a savory shortbread and they tasted just like super yummy cheez-its.



I also didn't have a birthday card on hand and my mama loves all things handmade by her children so I took a cue from Wren Handmade and put together a little card with some adorable origami paper I picked up with my friend Rachel last weekend.



I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and give all your mama's some love.

I Like Pie

Earlier in the summer we went on what Steve likes to call our "engagement honeymoon". We had planned a trip for the end of June to Montreal for a friends wedding which led us to also visit New Haven (where this particular pie took place) and New York to visit some friends who have relocated to the East Coast. It just so happens he proposed 3 days before we left for Canada! On to the pie. Our friends we stayed with in New Haven have an absolutely adorable little corner house that has half of a mulberry tree hanging in their backyard. They had no previous knowledge of this until I saw all of these delicious treats hidden in the grass underneath the branches. We started collecting them off of the ground and tree before we decided that the best way to collect them would be to hold a sheet underneath the tree and shake it. After finding an unused fitted sheet (due to a large tear in the middle which was fixed with staples) we began collecting!



Once we had enough for a pie (and some snacking), we went inside and cleaned the berries.



I whipped up some pie dough and got to work. This was my first attempt at lattice work so please don't judge my haste and terrible proportions. For the filling, I used the berries, a little fresh orange juice and zest, and tapioca. Baked until golden brown and then we dug in. It was delicious if I say so myself! I hope to one day have a huge backyard filled with vegetables and fruit trees and if I am so lucky, I will have to have a Mulberry tree.