by on July 23, 2012   •   28 Comments Pantry & Spotlight Ingredients

Garden Grow: Summer update from my backyard

If you popped ’round to visit me, it wouldn’t be long before we wandered into the back yard and over to the garden. It has the ability to draw you in, to sit on its edge and breathe in the deep scent of its basil.

Welcome to a brief visual tour of my garden. It’s nourished, but neglected, wild, yet still yielding. Every year is a learning experience, with mistakes and triumphs both recorded by hand in a little journal. I don’t consider myself a gardener, but my love for tender new lettuce leaves, sweet baby carrots, and fresh herbs in abundance drives me to plant every spring.

Here’s where those seeds took me this year.

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by on April 23, 2012   •   36 Comments Pantry & Spotlight Ingredients

Spotlight Ingredient: Spinach (Recipe: Spinach Ricotta Shells)

As the Dowager Countess innocently inquired “What is a ‘week-end’?” on Downton Abbey, I too have experienced my days merging together into one blur. However, I haven’t been idly sipping tea and sacking servants, rather I am so immersed in the routine of feeding-burping-changing-bouncing Clara, that most days feel the same.

We’ve passed that six-week milestone together, Clara and I. She is more alert and smiling sweetly, stealing my heart every time her little mouth turns up at the corners. I have so enjoyed the early days, but truth be told, I’ve missed blogging, and I can’t wait to get back into developing recipes and sharing them with you.

I have to extend a big “thank you” to the guest bloggers who helped fill my shoes while I took some time off. Annie, Kelsey, Andrew, Jan, Katie, and Jessica – thank you for sharing your expertise with my readers! You’ve enriched this space and lent a different perspective on everything from freezer cooking and finicky eaters, to fresh mozzarella and feeding tweens. So, thank you!

Now let’s talk about spinach. It’s one of the earliest spring vegetables, and as my son loves to remind me, is a super food. That alone is reason enough to make this pasta for dinner tonight.

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by on April 6, 2012   •   6 Comments Pantry & Spotlight Ingredients

7 ways to source your summer produce outside the supermarket

(This post was originally published in March, 2011.)

It is freezing as I write today, but that hasn’t stopped me from gazing out on our future garden spot and visualizing the raised beds full of lettuce, zucchini, herbs and tomatoes. Winter still has a few more weeks to rage and blow before it gives way to spring, however, one can’t help but think about pending arrival of fresh greens and tender fruits.

April is a good time to start making plans for how you will source your summer produce. If you live in the city, now is the time to sign up for a spot in the community gardens. If you are more rural, you should be putting in a seed order right about now. Not into gardening, but want farm fresh vegetables? Then perhaps you should be calling around and getting your name on a list for a CSA basket.

The first crisp asparagus spears and strong rhubarb shoots will be poking up through the ground before you know it. Here are seven ways to source your summer produce that don’t involve a shopping cart and a supermarket.
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by on March 26, 2012   •   51 Comments Pantry & Spotlight Ingredients

Understanding Egg Labels 101

Editor’s Note: With the arrival of Clara, I’m taking a short maternity blogging break. I’m excited to welcome several guest writers, among them, Katie of Kitchen Stewardship. Welcome, Katie!

It brings my heart great joy to see frolicking chickens. You may think I’m exaggerating, but the chickens at my favorite farm prefer to hang out in trees and lay their eggs anywhere but the hen house, so “frolicking” is pretty accurate.

The eggs laid by these happy chickens are truly the best in my city – a deep yellow, almost orange yolk, and so much flavor it spoils me. I find other eggs almost tasteless now that I’ve experienced the product of hens who eat bugs and grass, run around, and act like the chickens God created them to be.

I’m sure going straight to the farmer is not a realistic option for everyone, so when you’re standing in front of the egg display at the supermarket, how do you choose from among the baffling number of options presented to you?
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by on March 7, 2012   •   18 Comments Pantry & Spotlight Ingredients

7 Ways to Use Homemade Greek Spice Blend (Recipe: Stuffed Peppers)

Written by Shaina of Food for My Family.

Spice blends can be great timesavers in the kitchen. Ingredient lists for a single dish can shrink by eight-plus items just be replacing it with “____ spice blend.” Aimee demonstrated how the possibilities on creating your own spice blends are endless. Still, you may be thinking, “How often am I really going to use that spice blend?”

If you’re anything like our family, you might not eat the same meal more than a few times a year, so you may be wondering if you’d ever use the store of spice blends in the freezer. The answer is that it is entirely possible, even without eating the same meal on a weekly or even monthly basis. Variety is the spice of life, and it’s not always the spices that need to have variety.

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