How does your garden grow?

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Sewfrench

Ours grows in a container.  Well, many containers.  On our deck.  We don’t really have a place to put in a *real* garden so this works well, for us.  With deck irrigation, it’s a no fuss, no muss garden.  We have to be careful and choose seeds and plants that work with our short season, but there are so many to choose from, the decisions can be difficult.  This spring, now summer, has been unusually cool and damp and our picks, so far, are really loving it!

Amanda’s strawberries have been very tasty.  Well, they were, until our friend, the baby chipmunk found them….  Since these are everbearing berries, I’m guessing we’ll be watching him grow up….  If he lives.

A pot of basil.  I see lots of pesto, for the freezer, in our future.

One pot of arugula.  We’ve had two cuttings of it, so far.  As you can see, it needs cut again.  It has such a nice, spicy, peppery taste.  One of our favorite salads, arugula topped with a few strawberries and yum!  Oh wait, we may or may not have strawberries….

A  box of leaf lettuce and one of spring mix.  We do salads pretty much every night, especially in the summer. Simple greens tossed in a homemade balsamic dressing, we can make a meal on that alone!

We just got our organic, heirloom, Green Zebra tomato plant from our friend at the Farmer’s Market.  We can’t wait to enjoy his goodness!  He’ll top the cage before we know it.  He is one of the sturdier varieties that can withstand the North Shore winds.  Well, mostly…

And a container of cucumbers.  Not sure how that’s going to play out, but they were free seeds for some kind of fancy white cukes and we thought we’d give it a try, we had the container, so what the heck.  I wonder if chipmunks like cucumbers?  They like green strawberries, I know.

Cilantro, cilantro, cilantro!    We love cilantro.  Hope to make some of it into a freezer pesto for the winter months. Trimmings also work nicely in smoothies!  Very fresh, green and cleansing.

Another planter of lettuce.

And Petunia Pig.  Though she’s not sporting petunias this year, she’s still a cutie all dressed up in lobelia!

A Thai chili pepper plant surrounded by thyme and sage.  The pepper plant has two peppers almost 2″ long, so far.  We’ve got a jalapeno plant too, not pictured.  Yes, there are even more pots of plants…

A pot of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.  And dill.

A geranium we’ve been bringing back to life, every year, for 10 years.

More basil, baby basils and two planters of freshly seeded lettuce.

And……. my Edamame plant!!  Thank you, Krystal!  I expect 1/2 pound of good eating off this plant.  As of this morning, he has quite a few little, tiny, white blooms.

He looked so lonely in that big pot, all by himself…  He is now surrounded by more thyme and rosemary.  We may have to move them out eventually, but for now they appear to be getting along well.

We dry the rosemary and thyme to use all winter long.  Last year we ran short, that shouldn’t happen next year, as you can tell.

What are the must haves in your garden? Do you mix it up and try something new every year?   Anything we should know about?

However your garden grows…..  Enjoy.  The growing *and* the eating!

Our newest, most favorite salad dressing of the season.

Balsamic Vinaigrette 2011

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, the more aged the better

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c of the best olive oil you’ve got

Mix everything, except the oil, together.  Whisk the oil into it, in a thin stream, until emulsified.  Do not think you’re smart and do in a blender or food processor.  It won’t work, trust me.

In a large salad bowl, toss your greens lightly in sea salt then toss in some of the dressing. Plate with a few strawberries and some fresh Parmesan shavings, if you do cheese.

Enjoy the deliciousness of summer!

Posted in Eating, Gardening, Recipes | 7 Comments

WIP Wednesday

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Sewfrench

Conquering Mt. Washmore…

2 loads down, 5 to go…

Soaking up some D3 and weeding the seawall….  Three quarters done on this side of the walk….

I tell you gardening and weeding is much more fun with new Gardening Gloves.  Got these in the mail yesterday. My nails are just getting over the last round of abuse and these make me *want* to put on my yard gloves!  They are just heavy enough without being too heavy, have a good grip and stretch, to fit, beautifully.  I *Love* them!!  And besides, there is no chance of new ones being contaminated with poison ivy……

Check out just a couple of our pots of herbs.  Though it’s been cool and damp, here, I think they are okay with that.  They taste good, anyway, LOL!

We’ve had company, this past week, and have been having too much fun visiting to get much of anything else done.  So I was excited to finally get the pillow shams I was working on, last week, zippered, corded and finished.  One more thing off the ever lovin’, ever growin’ pile….  Thinking I am in love with this pattern idea.  Just about ready to start whacking away on scraps for altogether something else…..

I’ve gotten another couple of sewing projects a little closer to the finish line and fabric for my newest, latest and greatest idea decided on and ordered up!  It may look like I’m not doing anything, but I am, albeit slowly….  I just can’t share, yet…..

Now it’s back to work…..

What about you, what are you working on today????

Posted in Gardening, Sewing, WIP | 2 Comments

More Birthday Goodness

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Sewfrench

The Ultimate Egg Salad enjoyed on an incredible fresh baked croissant.  Need I say more?

Chop, chop, let’s get at it!
Egg Salad 

8 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1/3 cup mayo

1 TBS Deli style mustard or Dijon

1 TBS or more fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp dried dill weed

1 tsp paprika

1/2 stalk of celery, small dice

equal parts sweet onion, such as Vidalia or a red onion

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Mix it up, let the flavors meld for a few hours and enjoy with a sliver of onion and a leaf of crunchy lettuce on your choice of bread.

Or……

if you are feeling really special you should plan ahead and splurge on these next time.

My father-in-law has incredible taste.  He sent me a box of these mini croissants, from Williams-Sonoma for my birthday.  He knows good stuff, when he tastes it, I have to tell you.  These were one of Oprah’s Christmas picks, a few years ago, for very good reason. Our house smelled like a Parisian bakery all morning!  Pop however many you want to serve, out of the freezer, into a pan, the night before.  They thaw and rise, like magic, while you get your beauty sleep.  A quick bake in the oven and you have the lightest, butteriest croissant this side of Paris.  In Paris, they throw them out after two hours. These hold up a bit longer.  Well, until the last is eaten as an afternoon snack, anyway…. Delish!

Homemade strawberry jam works well on them, too.  Just sayin’…

And if you are blessed like myself, you can enjoy them with flowers like these.  Thanks Paul and Christina!  They lasted for almost two weeks!  Gorgeous, I say, just gorgeous!

Posted in Birthday, Cooking, Eating, Family, Recipes, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

WIP Wednesday

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Sewfrench

Work In Progress….  That’s what Wednesdays are for.

It means I need to get moving, on the productivity front, because the week will be gone, before I know it, and another week of grand ideas will have slipped away with nothing to show for…

As you can see we are at the cottage, creative space tends to be the floor of the office/loft. When creative juices flow, you just have to go with it.  It’ll work….  And you just gotta love that teal carpet…  It came with the place, just so you know….  Carpet and crafting, not so hot.

How many of Robert Kaufman‘s 216 Konas can you count?  LOL, I look like an addict….

Anyway……….

There are a lot of big ideas laid out there, now just to get moving on them…

First up for the season

quilted decorative bed pillows to go with a quilt we made last summer.  That’s Kona Cotton in Bone and a variety of Kona blues with a few prints from the never ending stash thrown in for texture.

Machine quilted lines at 1/2 inch apart.  That’s tight.  And full of character!

I’ve always wanted to do one of these freehand, tightly, quilted projects.   I am so glad I started small, because these two pillow tops took a LOT of thread, time and I definitely needed earplugs.  But, I am loving the look!

I also wanted to try one of these stacked book style quilts, but since there is no pattern, I needed to figure it out.  So I believe that was killing three birds with one stone!

Now only if I had remembered to pick up zippers, I might have them finished before next Winesday….

I mean Wednesday.  Ahhh…

Posted in Cottage, Crafting, fabric, Quilting, Sewing, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

What is better on a cold and rainy day

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Sewfrench

….than a bowl of tomato soup?

A bowl of homemade tomato soup goodness.

That’s what I’m talking about.

Tomato Soup
printer friendly version

3 good-sized shallots, sliced and diced

3 smaller garlic cloves, chopped up

A sprinkling of cayenne flakes

Saute these up in a half stick of butter

When they are softened, and starting to brown, deglaze with a large splash of white wine

Cook down a bit then add the tomatoes from 3 pints of home canned, whole tomatoes, or 3 16 oz cans of Italian tomatoes, reserve the juices.

Break the tomatoes up a bit.

Add about a cup of chicken stock from your freezer stash, or from a box, that’ll work.

About a TBS of pesto is a great add in, too, especially if you happen to still have a freezer full from last season.

Cook down, stirring as needed, until thickened and the tomato flavor has intensified. If it gets too thick add in some of the reserved tomato juices.

Now season with salt and pepper, any earlier may make it a bit too strong.

Top with a chiffanade of basil, some fresh chives, dill, parsley… whatever needs trimmed.

And a shaving of Parmesan never hurt anyone who doesn’t have a dairy issue.

Serve it up with some of that beautiful handmade onion and rye bread you got at the farmer’s market, this morning, and you’ve got a satisfying meal for a cold rainy day.

Homemade tomato soup, does it get any better than that?? Letszeat!

Homemade tomato soup

Posted in Cooking, Eating, Family, Gardening, Health, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

And I thought I didn’t like Potato Salad…

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Sewfrench

Until now….

Photo courtesy of Amanda, as barter for dinner…

I am in love.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner I could eat this stuff!

I’m not sure why I was never crazy about potato salad, but I wasn’t.  Potatoes are just so……  potato-ey.  Never a big fan.  I prepare them, lots of ways.  Others seem to enjoy them.  To me, they always seem so simple.  There are so many things I enjoy more, until now.

We have altered, played with and finally perfected the perfect potato salad, in my eyes.

Here goes…

The Perfect “French Riviera” Mashed Potato Salad

2 1/2 pounds of redskin potatoes, somewhat peeled, makes things easier, you will see

2 hard boiled eggs

1 1/2 cups of mayo, don’t even think about using salad dressing here

2 TBS of Deli syle mustard, we like Boars Head Brand, Dijon would probably work

4 green onions, sliced

6 dill pickles (4″ size) , chunked up in about 1/4″ – 1/3″ pieces, chunky is good

1 stalk of celery, sliced and diced

2 TBS fresh dill

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

Dice the potatoes and boil until tender.  Drain and put through a ricer or food mill.  This is why you want them at least partially peeled.  The peels get hung up and need removed, from the ricer, or the holes become all clogged.  I suppose you could just mash them, if you have to, but ricing them makes them so much fluffier…  All potatoes should be riced in my book.  I believe this is one of the keys to making this recipe be SO good. While the potatoes are still warm, give them a good mixing to get ride of the ricer trails, if you know what I mean!

Add the chopped boiled eggs, pickles, celery and onions to the potatoes.

In a separate bowl, mix the mayo, mustard, dill, salt, pepper, and paprika.  Am I missing anything?

Pour the dressing over the other ingredients, stir and hide.  In a corner.  With a spoon, or not.  Just sayin’….

It’s great warm, room temperature or chilled.  The length of time between it being finished and how long it chills is heavily dependent on just how quickly you can get it out of everyone’s view…  It is that good.  And then some.

As we head into this long Memorial Day weekend may we all pause a moment and reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.  It’s not just about barbecues, picnics and potato salad but a National day of observance, one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.  Just one day.  We owe them that.  Now more than ever.

Have a blessed weekend!  And some Potato Salad!

Posted in Eating, Recipes, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

I love it when I am not in charge of dinner….

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Sewfrench

Cooking is so much more fun and even easier with new gadgets.  Don’t you think?

I live in a household of people who think the day isn’t over if you haven’t eaten at least one egg, preferably two….  And on those days, when neither have had eggs for breakfast, it’s looking like breakfast for dinner is a high probability.  And on those nights, I’m not required to cook, so I say, YES!!

We were recently hanging out in a favorite Up North Kitchen store when Amanda happened upon these cute little egg poaching cups.  We’ve poached eggs, the old fashioned way, in the past.  You know vinegar in the water, egg in a cup, swirl the water, slip the egg in…  but they are never easy or fun…  We generally will do an over easy fried egg, instead of poaching….  Maybe we are missing something…  Not sure…  But holy cow, these little cups really do the job for you!  Perfectly poached eggs every time. And cute never hurt anything, I say.  Add a schmear of butter, oil, non dairy butter, your choice.  Break in an egg, slip the cup into the boiling water and cover for 6-8 minutes depending on how you like your eggs.  We like them at about 7-8 minutes.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy…

Toast up some English Muffins, add some fresh spinach, a beautiful slice of fresh tomato and top with an egg and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper.  Some like it with a slice of fried up Canadian Bacon tossed on, but you will only find that on 1/3 of ours….

Top with a simple to make, never fail, why do people think Velveeta is an ingredient in Hollandaise, Hollandaise sauce and you are in for a mouthgasm…  A side of Peter’s world famous hash browns and what more could a person ask for???

I give you breakfast for dinner….

Winning, Duh!

Super Simple, Never Fail Blender Hollandaise

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 pinch cayenne

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup melted butter

Place egg yolks, lemon juice, cayenne and salt in a blender.

Heat butter until bubbling but do not brown.  I use the microwave for this, don’t arrest me, please.

Cover blender container and turn on motor to high; blend for 3 seconds; with motor running, remove the center part of the blender lid and add butter slowly, in a steady stream, taking 30 seconds to pour the butter in.

Serve immediately or keep sauce warm by placing blender container in warm water.

Makes enough sauce for 6 eggs, 3 people, at our house.

So what more could you ask for????
Okay, maybe we do need a dessert…  Dessert never hurt no~body…

A Non Dairy Red Velvet Cupcake

with Non Dairy Faux Cream Cheese Frosting (You can use the real deal if you choose, we don’t)

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 TBS cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (substituting 1/3 c coconut oil for 1/3 c vegetable oil works well and is healthier, more than that might be too heavy)
  • 1 cup almond milk or your choice of non dairy *milk* or the real deal.
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons red food coloring (easily left out)
  • 1 TBS white distilled vinegar
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Faux Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1 pound non dairy cream cheese, softened, Tofutti  is a good one, we actually used a different one, just can’t remember what it was, eek…….
  • 2 sticks non dairy butter, softened, Earth Balance, is the best one, we think
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 cups powdered sugar (We used 4 c and it wasn’t quite stiff enough)

Preheat the oven to 350°  Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake papers, or 24 miniatures, which we did, with no papers required when the pan is oiled well, besides we didn’t have any of those tiny papers handy…..

In a medium mixing bowl, sift/mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, milk, eggs, food coloring (if you use it), vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, for full sized ones, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Faux Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, or butter substitute, and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.  Frost and enjoy.

Going dairy free can still be delicious!  If I do say so myself…..

Posted in Cooking, Eating, Family, Recipes | Leave a comment

Morel Asparagus Risotto aka Birthday Dinner

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Sewfrench

Local ingredients, morels and asparagus.

The Main ingredient, hand carried from Italy,. So not local, but we covered the transportation. That counts for something, doesn't it?

Chicken stock

Saute up, stir frequently while adding broth slowwwly.

Add in two incredible chefs.

To equal one incredibly happy birthday girl!

Real birthdays are not annual affairs.  Real birthdays are the days when we have a new birth.

Here’s to hoping you have a real birthday today and every day!

Cheers!

Morel Asparagus Risotto

8 cups strong chicken stock

3/4 pound fresh asparagus stalks, trimmed and blanched

1/2 pound fresh morels

2 TBS olive oil

2 TBS butter

2 garlic cloves minced

1 c finely diced onion

1 1/2 c Arborio (risotto) rice

2/3 c white wine

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper

  1. In a heavy saucepan, bring the stock to a slow, steady simmer over moderate heat. Lower the heat and maintain the simmer.
  2. Cut the asparagus tips to 1-inch and set aside. Cut the remaining asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces.
  3. Clean the morels, cut them in half or even quarters.
  4. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed, broad, medium saucepan over moderately-high heat. Stir in the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic, asparagus stalks and the morels and sauté for about 1 minute, or until they are well-coated with the fat. Add the rice and sauté for a few minutes to thoroughly coat the grains with the fat and are slightly toasted, do not burn.
  5. Deglaze with the white wine.  Cook down until almost all the liquid is gone.
  6. Add 1 cup of the simmering stock and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, about 5 minutes. As each addition is absorbed, continue stirring and adding stock, 1/2 cup at a time, until the rice is tender but still al dente. You should begin tasting the rice after it has cooked for about 20 minutes, it could take as long as 30 minutes, depending on the age of your rice.  You may or may not use all the stock.  Just before the rice is ready, stir in the reserved asparagus tips, 1/2 cup of the cheese and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper and top w/additional cheese.
  7. Enjoy!
Posted in Birthday, Eating, Family, Morel, Recipes, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Cupcakes. Need I say more?

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Sewfrench

is for Cupcake, that’s good enough for me.  C is for cupcake….

Catchy tune, if you every watched Sesame Street, anyway, wouldn’t you say? Okay, the words might not be right, but cupcakes are really better than cookies, anyway, don’t you think???

What more can I say?

Simply Cupcakes, Traverse City.  Delicious, delectable cupcakes ….

Cupcakes are all the rage and while we were walking around downtwn Traverse City heading to Nine Bean Rows, for fresh bread, recommended to us by the olive oil shop Fustini’s, we came across our Facebook friends at Simply Cupcakes.  We wandered in to see what their offerings, of the day, were and they were all absolutely outstanding. Not that we tasted them all or anything like that….  But they definitely smelled outstanding.  The Lemon Love was stuffed with the most incredible lemon curd…  and the Mocha, oh my…  we will be returning soon.

As soon as we run there.

That’s like a marathon distance, from us.

That would be like 2200 spare calories to burn, right?  That must surely equal to a couple of cupcakes.  Don’t you think???

In the mean time, we can all just drool over what was…………

Toffee Caramel Crunch

Lemon Love

Mocha

Simply Delicious, decked out, with the octopus, for the Red Wings!

Hint of Mint

Banana Cream

Oh and just so you know Nine Bean Rows closes early.  Had to suffer by with some of Folgerelli’s homemade bread….

Such a shame….

Posted in Eating, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Living the Locavore Lifestyle

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Sewfrench

lo·ca·vore. noun \ˈlō-kə-ˌvȯr\. Definition of LOCAVORE. : one who eats foods grown locally whenever possible.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver made a pretty big impact on us all.  A highly recommended, educational and thoroughly interesting read.  A must read for any and all.  It should be required high school reading, min.  Seriously.  Do kids really understand where their food comes from and what goes in to the raising of it??  Do you??

Do read.

All the fuel that goes into getting off season food products to us??  Not to mention the chemicals, pesticides, and unpleasant working conditions that it takes to produce what we have come to expect to be available to us year round…..  Bananas, Kiwi, Avacados? Not to mention tomatoes???  Why do you think tomatoes are so mealy and no longer have the flavor of sunshine?  Besides not spending enough time soaking up all that sunshine, the flavor and texture has been breed, out of them.  They can now be picked green and shipped, cross country, so that we can have tasteless tomatoes year round.  Yay, us…  And we continue to buy them…  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good green tomato.  But I prefer them local.  Picked especially for frying.  Preferably off my own deck.

Seeds are no longer being propagated and being allowed to go extinct.  What is up with that?   Why are we allowing this?  Critters that no longer know *how* to procreate without artificial insemination???  It’s a crazy, crazy farm out there….  It scares me.

At this point, we are making more conscious decisions.  When it’s easy, it’s a no brainer and we go for it.  Other times we need to plan ahead, a little better.  But we just keep striving. Every little bit helps.  Don’t you think?

So….  after finally harvested enough of these beauties off of our property…

And these beautiful ramps dug right out of our sandy soil…

We created a delicious sauteed chicken and morel mushroom dish.
We used local chicken, our own ramps,  yes, our morels, garlic, which we do normally grow/have, but have ran out of and a variety of herbs, dried, from our deck, last summer.

Toss a few Michigan, baby, roasted potatoes with garlic cloves, on the side, and what more could you need???

Oh, okay, I hear you!  You thought we forgot something, didn’t you?!  A dish, for each, of sauteed morels, battered in egg, tossed in cracker crumbs with extra black pepper……. and a side of sriracha mayo, you didn’t think we’d forget that, now did you?

Oh my.  We should be spending more time mushroom hunting this time of year <<licking lips>>.

And dessert?  Yes, another, off our property ingredient.

Upside down rhubarb cake.  It was delightful besides being beautiful!  A sight to behold. Had a really hard time keeping hands off of it before it was time.   I think they thought this was a dessert first kind of night.

You can’t see the crispy crumbly, buttery crust, now can you?  It was there, trust me.  Yummy Yummy!  Even the non~rhubarb lover had seconds of this one!

Now to get those asparagus crowns planted……..  And the garden boxes ready, so that we can make an even better effort, throughout the summer and into next year.  And it won’t hurt when the farmer’s markets and Charlie’s finally open for the season!  Canning, drying, preserving, and supporting local farmers, whenever we can, for what we don’t grow ourselves….

Eating local never tasted so good.  Room for improvement, always, but it’s a start.

A darn good one.

And a darn good tasting one, at that.

It’s the most wonderful time of year!!  For a locavore, anyway.

Posted in Cooking, Eating, Morel, Uncategorized | 2 Comments