GardenSpotlight

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.....

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.

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

Just a quick post here.  So remember how I said I have more time for baking during the winter?  I decided to surprise Jenn with one of her favorite things this morning....Cinnamon Rolls.  Not sure how I like them though....they're yummy enough, but I think I would adjust the recipe based on the air in the house.  Since our air inside is drier with the wood stove on, I may add an extra egg or more oil to the recipe next time.  Jenn said hers was perfect, but I thought mine was dry.  This recipe was for my bread machine on the dough only cycle, so it could just as easily be done by hand, only you'd have to mix and knead by hand, allow to rise until doubled in bulk about an hour or so, then punch down and knead again for 1/2 a minute, let rest for 10 minutes (all rest/rising periods are covered with plastic wrap and kept away from drafts) and follow directions as below.

It's snowing a little bit today.  Fine, misty, white flakes drifting through the air.  It's cold too, though not as cold as it was the last few days.  28 degrees today....it was in the single digits the last few days.  We've got the woodstove going in the house .....it's on pretty much all the time so we don't have to use fuel oil very much.  While I miss the summer months of growing, harvesting and selling and dislike the cold, I do enjoy being home and not having to run everywhere this time of year.  I have time to visit with family that lives far away.  There's more time to spend with Jennifer in a mom & daughter kind of way...shopping, movies and of course, Jennifer's music.  Winter days are spent quietly (hopefully quietly) also catching up on bookwork, tidying the house and cooking and baking.  Things I don't get to do during our growing season.  Jennifer decided to join the school's cheer team this year, so lat...

I was at the grocery store last night picking up a few staples...onions, potatoes, etc.  I wanted to get a few items to snack on at home and for school lunches.  I'm so tired of the same old things and there are so many preservatives in everything.  There are some things that you don't think are in there too, but the manufacturers disguise them under different names.  Take MSG for example....many of us know it's not good for us and try to avoid it.  It gives me headaches, as does Aspartame.  But did you know that something can say "MSG Free" and still have MSG in it?  It may be written as "Autolyzed Yeast" or "Autolyzed Protein" or some other name...there are lots of them.  Even processed organic foods can have these things in them!  For a great informational read, check out The Elephant Journal  . So back to my shopping....I got the great idea to make my own granola bars instead of buying them at the store. I figured it had to be rela...

So last year was very hectic for my family and I.  Meanwhile, my "Aunt" started a new blog after retiring from the TV industry.  I really wanted to read her new blog, especially after hearing about all the rewards and recognition she had received for it.  Finally today I got to sit down and check it out.  OMG  I love it and I didn't know she had such a sense of humor....we don't get to see each other often enough.  So check it out and feel free to drop a comment or two.  There's lots of great recipes and hilarious humor... http://MsToodyGooShoes.blogspot.com Love you Amy!