Coming Home to My Own Corner of Paradise Friday, September 4, 2009

Can I take them home with me?

 I love to travel. I love seeing how other people  live and am always so astounded and pleased to see how similar people are all over the world. It doesnt matter if we live in mansions or mud huts, people want the same basic things in life; sated bellies, happy families, love, a sense of well-being. There is something comforting in this fact no matter how many thousands of miles you are from home. We can find connections anywhere, if we want to.

fresh veggie market crepe. perfection

 

That being said, i love to come home from my travel. I have not once landed at PDX and thought CRAP I’m home! This last trip was no different. Of course I am always a little sad to have ended my journey and am always discombobulated from time changes and airplane food. But it sorts itself out when i ease into my own bed and wake to see what has been happening around home.

 

On my first morning home, I ventured into the garden to see the girls and my veggies etc. I found some beautiful produce and a very bald chicken. Poor Gladys molted and there were feathers everywhere! Her poor little body was covered in quills without feathers and she looked like a very angry porcupine. I was so happy to be home! even with the dead rotting possum under my house…yup

whats for dinner

The following week i spent unpacking, readjusting to work and catching up on sleep. This is also harvest season! i came home from a land that is teaming with beautiful foods to a home that is teaming with beautiful foods! I felt soooo lucky to live here.

The farmers market on saturday morning was at its peak. I walked around in a delighted daze listening to music, people watching and sampling everything i could get my hands on!

     

After we left the market, we headed to Sauvie Island to pick peaches. I wanted to learn to can and figured peaches would be my first attempt at this mysterious piece of my heritage.

Kruger Farms is always entertaining and this time the Mobile Beer Bus was open…so why doesnt this come into the neighborhoods like the icecream trucks? i could totally see adults chasing it down the street with their empty mugs held high.

The peaches were ripe and juicy and the fields had so much bounty.

 

At home Jill and I blanched and pealed peaches. We sliced them up and boiled gallons of  water. It was stressful! I imagine it will get easier as i become more confident that i wont poison myself or my loved ones.

I think they look really pretty. and i added some cardamom pods to give them just s smidge of spice.

tomorrow i return to the land of Crete  to describe my incredible “slow” day in the Amari Valley…sigh

Welcome to the Jungle Wednesday, July 29, 2009

it didnt seem that long ago that i was looking at my garden and it was small and cold and wet. poor thing. Now i look at it and i havet o push aside small jungles to get from point A to B. my tomatoes are coming, the cukes and zuchs are huge. i have a bumper crop of raspberries and strawberries and still eating blueberries. Things are pretty amazing. Here are a few pics

Bon Appetit!

Fresh Licked From the Garden Monday, July 20, 2009

A Summer Wedding and all it Entails Tuesday, July 14, 2009

This summer my dear friend Sami got married…2 days ago to be exact. It is always so special when someone you love marries someone you adore and respect and you are invited to participate in their lives as they prepare for the big event.

It has been ages since i posted on my blog but i am back and am dedicating this to Sami and her enormously amazing event.

In June, i had the honor of hosting a garden party in my back yard from Sami and her close girlfriends. With Stacey, Heather and Kaatje’s help we transformed the weed patch (my back yard) into a beautiful oasis of tea cakes, cucumber sandwiches and lots of champagne.

 

2 weeks later Sami and Kevin were married in their beautiful backyard. i have never weeped at a wedding but this one caught me in the right mood and i watched most of the ceremony through a curtain of tears and eyelashes.

Kaatje, Stacey and I got to decorate the cakes! Sami set us up in the basement which at first i thought was weird but as more and more people arrived and it got crazier upstairs i was so relieved to be hidden in our secret den. Sami is a smart cookie. We decorated 8 cheesecakes with flowers and blue glaze it was GREAT! 

so the night was spent dancing under the stars and twinkle lights laughing and celebrating with friends and family. What a HOOT!

For the Love of all Things Asparagus Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Last weekend my friend Megan and I co-hosted a little gathering of friends to celebrate Asparagus! All we asked from the invitees was to create a dish made with the key ingredient. Ohhhh we were blessed! We had it in quiche, puffed pastry, wrapped in filo with brie, in amazing salads and pastas. The company was wonderful and we sat out in the garden  late into the evening with a fire, some dogs, some chickens, a banjo, a singing ax man and a little whitney houston.  It was perfect.

 

i made Asparagus pasta and it turned out really great!

here is the recipe if you are so inclined.

Asparagus Pasta

2 cups of Cake Flour (very important for light soft pasta)
1 cup of regular flour ( i used more)
zest of 1 lemon
Tbs fresh thyme
1 cup of blanched pureed asparagus (make sure it isnt over cooked to keep its beautiful color)
4 egg yolks.
pinch of salt

toss all of the above in a cuisinart. if the dough is sticky, add more flour.

dump on a surface and knead dough for about 5 minutes until smooth

wrap in plastic wrap and set on counter for an hour

use your pasta roller as instructed to make the pasta.
i let my pasta sheets sit for about 30 minutes to dry up a little before i made my noodles

this pasta was a little bit stickier because of the asparagus but it tasted AMAZING!

i just added a sauteed onion, chopped proscuitto, asparagus , white wine and vegi stalk to make a light sauce with parmesan of course.

Sweet T’s Summer Cut Saturday, May 23, 2009

Today was the day for Timmy’s annual hair cut. He just seems sooooo happy after it is over. They left a little hair left unlike last year when he was just a long pink doggie. So Handsome!  looking back at last year, Timmy has also gained some weight! YEA!!!

My chairs are multiplying so if you want to join me for drinks and sunshine, there is room for you now too. I am pretty sure this is going to be my favorite spot this summer.

Kudra is just lounging and keeping an eyeball on the chickens.  i suppose someone needs to eh? I think if she were human she would be more beautiful then Angelina Jolie. She already has the, ‘yes i am perfect, gaze away at my loveliness although i will look slightly bored” gaze down perfectly.

Spring Flowers Saturday, April 25, 2009

it may be cold outside but the market is open and i couldnt resist these gorgeous tulips! arent they beautiful?!

Power Tools and Figs Thursday, April 23, 2009

This last weekend really felt like Spring! Actually it felt downright summery outside. I spent an average of 8 hours inside and that was to sleep. I went a little crazy in the yard as you could note from my previous posting and it just kept going. i was like an energizer bunny and now my batteries are dead and i need to rest up.

The last couple of months i have been trying to figure out where to put some fruit trees. the shade factor in my yard is very precarious so i had to really think about it. I finally decided to lop down a HUGE Camellia bush in the back corner of my yard and WOW, i feel like my yard grew exponentially. now i have to hire someone to pull everything out and haul it away but i have the perfect spot for my Linden tree!

I also found at least 11 figs on my fig tree! last year i had a whopping 2 and they fell off when i poked at them too much (yes, just like hte lemon tree) i cant believe how a tiny little twig can produce so much fruit! i need to get her in the ground.

I am also in awe of my tulips this year. The winds picked up last night I thought the sun was going to disappear yesterday so i took a picture to remember them by

boxes, beds and sunshine Saturday, April 18, 2009

today is Saturday and i have been busy since sun-up.

I started my day with the farmer’s market. the traffic down to the market was awful and i was in a hurry so i was kind of grumpy when i got there. But when i turned the corner and walked into the market i had to stop for a second! it is the perfect place. The smells and sounds and happy people buying happy produce was just total sensory overload. As i mentioned earlier i was in a hurry so i only got a quick run-around and had to flee to the lumber yard but i will be back next week!!

next stop was the lumber yard where i met my 2 garden box builders Leland and Lamont, and we( read they) loaded up our wood and headed home. In very short order i had 2 beautiful garden boxes and now need to get some dirt! Arent they beautiful?! i was ready to help but in reality i was much more helpful staying out of their way.  it gave me the perfect excuse to clean up the chicken coop and start weeding. i have a lonnnggggg ways to go!

My green house is looking great andmy starts are almost ready to replant. The boxes are going to be used for things that like more sunshine like tomatoes, basil, zuchini and i maybe cucumbers

last night just before the sun set  i found my critters living in symbiosis. nothing makes me smile more, honestly and i am pretty sure Kudra was just trying to catch the last rays of afternoon sunshine and NOT waiting to catch dinner.

of course as soon as i took this picture i went back into the house to find this…HA!

More Reasons to Grow Thursday, March 26, 2009

I stayed home yesterday with my nasty cold..again. At 5  I pulled myself off the couch for an hour to meet with Scott. He is a living garden landscaper who i hoped would reveal the secrets of my garden to me. Although that didnt happen, he gave me some good suggestions all of which i knew but didnt want to believe. Sometimes you just need to hear it out of a stranger’s mouth. So the butterfly bush is out to make room for my Fig Tree and the raspberries are moving for a mega composting pile extravaganza. I am excited about this! He also designed a 40 foot garden box to edge my patio. This box will be in the most direct sun, double as seating for my friends and give me lots of fresh veggies.

After Scott left, i got more and more nervous about all the changes he suggested. At one point i was ready to scrap the whole thing and just continue on as i had planned. Then i opened this beautiful website called CULINATE. i read one of her articles about farmer’s market veggies and came across this;

Nutrients dissipate quickly. Broccoli loses 34 percent of its vitamin C in just two days. Asparagus making the refrigerated trek from California to New York arrives with only about one-third of its initial vitamin C.

Growers who sell to supermarkets can’t do anything about the nutrients, but some do try to combat moisture loss: they wax the produce. Waxes on cucumbers, peppers, rutabagas, melons, citrus, apples, and other fruits and vegetables keep moisture in and give the produce a shiny appearance.

According to Bryan Jay Bashin, writing in the magazine Harrowsmith, the wax is sometimes mixed with fungicides and sprouting inhibitors before it’s applied. The only ways to get rid of it are to scrub your vegetables with detergent or to peel them, which eliminates more nutrients.

I knew that wax wasnt the best thing to eat and i dont scrub it off with detergent or peal them but i had no idea that the nutrients disappeared so quickly. it made me much more motivated to get my garden box built so i could pull my veggies out of the earth and eat them that day. 

I also watched this beautiful interview with ALICE WATERS and good god do i want her garden…and her egg cooking fireplace!  I love all these places to find inspiration.

So Onward! i am ready to conquer the yard this year. My sprouts are starting to look like real things now too.