Garden Update (6.5.13)

The weather's been cooler, so things don't seem to be happening as fast, but on the upside, I've still barely had to water, and I bet the rhubarb season is going to be long this year. There are 4 pounds of rhubarb in my kitchen right now, just waiting to be turned into delicious treats. Here are this week's developments:

Tiny baby bell pepper!


Green beans:


Zucchini:


Tomato:


Carrots:


Sugar Snap Peas, with PEAS on them:


What about you?

Market Day (6.1.13)

Another beautiful day at the market with my girl this morning! We hopped right out of bed, got ready, and walked out to the bus stop (little detour to Starbucks on the way). We got there around 7:45, and it was already hoppin'! Strawberries are here! We had a little picnic breakfast of rhubarb muffin and fresh strawberries. Cool breeze, warm sun, soft grass, sweet strawberries. Heaven.







She grabbed a strawberry and squished it in her tiny little paw; see the strawberry juice running down her arm? That's my girl.

Here's what we got, clockwise from the top left:



Fingerling potatoes: $4.50
Baby kale: $4
Arugula: $4
Rhubarb (2#): $8
Spring onions: $3
Lettuce: $5
.8 lbs skirt steak: $15
French breakfast radishes: $3
Peonies (3): $10
Strawberries (3 pints): $15
Asparagus: $3

Baked goods, not pictured:
Bread: $6
Rhubarb muffin: $3
Rhubarb focaccia: $3

Total: $86.50

Menu ideas:

Strawberry purée for Anne
Broiled skirt steak and pan-roasted potatoes
Lots of salad
Toast with butter and radishes
Frittata
Rhubarb breakfast cake

What about you? Did you start your weekend at the market?

P.S. this lettuce is bigger than my head. A lot bigger.

Lovely Links (May 2013)

1. Our flight was delayed out of O'Hare at the beginning of the month, and walking around we discovered this big urban garden! So cool!
2. My good friend from high school hosted a New Orleans-style shrimp boil. Eating food out of a tarp has never been so good.
3. Mother's Day brunch; crab cakes benedict.
4. My sister-in-law graduated from Notre Dame! Congratulations, Caiti!!
5. Peonies are back in season! They are my favorite!!! This photo looks like a painting, I think.
6. "Hey, Pappi... what's on your face?"

The State Theatre in my hometown, Traverse City, Michigan, was listed among the top ten movie theaters in the world! TC 4 EVER!

Rhubarb frenzy is in full swing; I made these two rhubarb shrubs, and then I took the solids from the cooked one (discard? moi? no thank you) and mixed them into this gelato! I want to make this breakfast cake next.

Loved this post on dressing yourself in story. I'm working to detach myself from things that are unimportant in order to reduce the clutter in my life and home, but some items just hold so much emotion!

Food is so evocative; this post, recreating food eaten while traveling had me itching to hop on a plane and explore. Africa may have to wait, but I am all over halibut cakes.

Has the aesthetic value of food blogs (the photos, cute writing style, frequency of posts) trumped the quality of content and recipes? An interesting read.

A friend of mine from high school wrote a book! It looks awesome and I can't wait to read it to Anne!

Wouldn't this lobster potato salad be perfect to take to an outdoor concert this summer? I'm putting that on my summer bucket list.

Parenting: are Americans doing it wrong?

Bike a Bee! Entrepreneur in Chicago who sets up and maintains hives all over the city... on her bike!

Anne (aka the Modern Mrs. Darcy) has put together an amazing summer reading list. I am so excited to get reading.

Fun, bright summer crafts!! I want to make all the things!

Adding this s'mores ice cream to my to-make list of ice creams. It's getting looooong!

These would make a great fifth wedding anniversary gift (the wood anniversary).

I am looking forward to seeing how this garden tower works out, and I'm desperate to try the homemade recipe for gardener's salve!

Happy June, everyone! Happy summer!!

Garden Update (5/29/13)

Lots of rain lately = less trips up the stairs with a baby and two 2-gallon watering cans. Feeling thankful. I gave everyone on the roof a fish/kelp/bat guano/worm casting liquid plant food today. That was the first time I've fertilized at all (although I started with an organic potting soil that I'm pretty sure came with food in it).

The raspberry bush wasn't supposed to fruit this year, and maybe it won't, but don't these look like little flower blossoms? And aren't flowers just baby fruits? We shall see.



Green beans and zucchini:





Basil that I sowed when I planted this tomato seedling last week are sprouting! I'll wait a couple more weeks and sow seeds in the other tomato pot, in hopes of lengthening my harvest!



Carrots!



And the most exciting development: the peas are blooming!

Fresh and Frugal: Roast Chicken

This post is part of an ongoing series called Fresh and Frugal, in which I share practical ways to make it easy to eat well on a budget. Eating well can be thought of from a lot of different angles, from good health and nutrition, to mindfulness about the environment, to supporting local economies. We should be able to accomplish all of this without sacrificing pleasure or breaking the bank, and that is what these posts explore. _____________________________________________________________________



With the mercury rising, our thoughts turn to how to get dinner on the table without the aid of oven or stove. We don't have a grill, so I like to cook in bigger batches once a week. If I'm heating up the oven, I'll roast a chicken, bake a bunch of potatoes, and roast some veggies. These simple staples can be reinterpreted for a week's worth of interesting and delicious meals.




I use a very simple method for roasting. I season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper, and stuff with a quartered onion, a quartered lemon, and a few smashed garlic cloves, then rub the outside with about a tablespoon of softened butter and season it well with salt and pepper. I roast it in a 425 degree oven for a relatively short time (depends on the size of the chicken, but I use this as a guideline); the high heat ensures a crispy, golden skin and tender meat. There are plenty of variations, but I find this simple way to be the most conducive to reinterpretation.



Dinner #1: juicy chicken, baked potato, and whatever vegetable is in season.

When the chicken is cooled, I remove all the meat and store it in a container in the fridge. I then put the carcass, stuffing and all, in the crock pot with a bay leaf and a handful of rough chopped vegetables (carrots, celery, onion, parsnip, whatever's in the crisper), cover with cold water, and set on high overnight. Strain the stock in the morning, cool, and freeze for another use. The last time I made stock, I had a quart plus an ice cube tray (which I will use one at a time to add to baby food or in recipes that call for a splash of stock).

Dinner #2: Roast chicken sandwiches: toast two slices of bread, and spread one with mayonnaise. Layer some chicken on the mayo, and top with a crunchy piece of lettuce. Season with salt and pepper and top with the other slice of bread.

Dinner #3: Use chicken as a pizza topping!

Dinner #4: Chicken tacos or quesadillas.

Dinner #5: Toss chicken and roasted vegetables with cooked pasta.

Dinner #6: Big salad topped with chicken.

Obviously the number of meals you get from a single chicken will depend on the size of the chicken and the size of your family, but you can see that it's not hard to stretch your food dollar when you start out this way. And at $2.69/pound at Trader Joe's (as opposed to double that for boneless, skinless breasts), buying sustainable meat becomes a real viable option, no matter your budget.

Funny, Beautiful, Interesting, Kind. (Vol. 2)

For Mother's Day, Anne and I made these cute little watercolor handprint flowers to send to both of her grandmothers and mine. I put them in envelopes and sealed them, and since I couldn't find my stash of stamps, sent them with my husband to mail from his office. Somehow, the one for my mom slipped out of his pocket on his way to work, and we couldn't find it anywhere! I was really upset, and hurriedly made another one (not nearly as good as the first), and walked to the post office to mail it. Two days later, my mom received BOTH cards! Some sweet, thoughtful person had seen my hand-addressed card on the sidewalk, picked it up, put a stamp on it, and put it in the mail! I wish there was a way for me to thank them for going out of their way to show kindness to a complete stranger!!

What happened in your week that was funny, beautiful, interesting, or kind?

Market Day!

I thought it might be fun, as the market season heats up and I start buying the lion's share of our food there, if I started showing you what I got, and sharing what I hoped to do with it. In the winter I try to shop with a specific list in hand, having plotted out meals ahead of time. But in the summer, I do things the other way around: head to the market (with a limited wad of cash), buy what looks best, and plan meals from there.

This morning's haul:

1 5.5-pound chicken ($21.25)
1 dozen large eggs ($5)
1 pound asparagus ($5)
2.5 pounds rhubarb ($10)
1 bunch (about 12 ounces) rainbow chard ($3)
1 bunch (about 2 ounces) chives ($2)
12 ounces feta cheese (buy one, get one free! At $6)
2 peonies ($5)
1 loaf bread ($6)
1 rhubarb galette ($6)
1 cup coffee ($1)

Grand total = $70.25

My plans:

Asparagus, chive, and feta frittata
Roasted chicken (+ leftovers + chicken stock for the freezer)
Rhubarb shrub syrup
Rhubarb tart
Sautéed chard and fried eggs on toast

What would you make?