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Romantic Bouquets

Romantic Bouquets
Valentine's Day is Coming!

The Language of Flowers

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                The language of flowers, known as “Floriography,” a term coined in the Victorian era, is an age old art form.  King Charles II brought it to Sweden from Persia in the 17 th century.  The Japanese call it “Hanakotoba.”  So what is floriography?  Quite simply, it is the association of certain flowers with specific meanings.  Flowers are infused with symbolism through their rich mythology and distinctive characteristics.  Let’s look at some flowers that may be familiar to you.                 Alstroemerias resemble miniature lilies and are often called Peruvian Lily or Lily of the Incas.  This well known flower is found in a beautiful range of colors and is popular as a cut flower in bouquets.  The alstroemeria symbolizes friendship and devotion because the leaves grow upside down and twist as they grow out from the stem, so that the bottom is facing upwards, much like the growth of our friendships. In general, this flower is relatively inexpensive to purchase when co
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Kale and Tomato Soup

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one of our hand-made wreaths We've been so busy making wreaths and kissing balls for the Christmas Season. It's been very cold and a bit snowy of late.  A couple days ago, I surprised my husband with a crock pot of minestrone for lunch down at the farm.   He said it really hit the spot with this cold weather and has requested more crock pot goodness!  Today I made Kale and Tomato Soup for him as I wanted to use up some left over kale, which is very sweet and tender this time of year due to the cold weather.  We've been growing kale in the greenhouses all year along with other greens.  This recipe is super easy and really only takes about 15 minutes on the stove, but I elected to saute and then add to the crock pot for obvious reasons already stated.  Of course...it's always great to come home to an already cooked meal in the evening, so our crock pot is always working.  As a matter of fact, I have two of them! Kale growing in our greenhouse 1 medium/large on
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Italian Pods of Goodness

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Romano Beans....Italian  Flat Beans....These beans are flat, broad and string-less and have a bit more flavor than regular green beans.  We grow them on the farm mostly for our family, but lately they've been a big hit at the farmers' markets we attend.  When giving customers a chance to sample, about 90% will pick the Romano bean to purchase over the other.  We've been harvesting them by hand for about two weeks now, and I finally had a chance to fix some for dinner tonight. You can steam or saute them with garlic, or add them to salads if you like.  They are tender and cook quickly when picked at the right stage.  If you are growing them in your own garden, you should harvest them regularly, at least every other day, at about 4 or 5" in length and when the bean seeds inside the pod are just starting to show some definition.  If you let them get too large where the seeds are really bulging, they can be tough. Tonight I sauteed them with garlic and onions and ad
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Frisee

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Frisee (pronounced Free-ZAY), also called Chicory, is a salad green in the Endive family.   Unlike other endives, its leaves are long and curly rather than cylindrical shaped.   The leaves are skinny and light green, turning to a creamy white towards the center of the plant.   While slightly bitter, like Escarole, it is not as bitter as its cousins Radicchio (Italian Chicory) and Belgian endive and can be used fresh in salads or cooked.   Frisee is very high vitamins and minerals, including folate, vitamins A & K, and fiber.   Toss chopped frisee with orange segments and pomegranate seeds, or radicchio and pears for a winter salad. Top frisee with lardons (French term for small, matchstick cut pieces of pork lard… or bacon cut from the belly of the pig), vinaigrette and a poached egg. Sauté frisee until wilted and combine with chopped walnuts and goat cheese.   Frisee will keep, refrigerated in a produce bag, for one to two weeks.   Since we grow Frisee, we of course had to t
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Nan's Farmer Omelet

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My husband and I like to experiment with ingredients from our farm, especially over the summer when produce is abundant.  A bit more scarce now from the farm, our ingredients today came to us by way of the grocery store.  Last week Hubby made an omelet with sweet potatoes...it was great.  Today I took his lead and tweaked it a little.....
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Have Your Cake....

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We went to my in-laws' home for Super Bowl Sunday.  It was my job to bring dessert.  After roaming the aisles of the grocery store yesterday and not seeing anything I liked, I decided I was going to attempt to make a cake.  I remembered at home I had a Hershey's Cookbook.  This was no ordinary cookbook.
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Enjoying the Snow!!

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Oh what fun! I just couldn't resist posting these photos of a friend's Golden Retrievers out enjoying the snow earlier. Mary-Ellen raises Golden Retrievers for show....they are beautiful, intelligent animals and the breed is fantastic with children! You can connect with Mary-Ellen via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kinderval
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