It is Wednesday and that means CSA!  We got some great veggies in the pick up today.  White and red new potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, spring onions, 3 pints of raspberries, 3 cucumbers, sugar snap peas, swiss chard and about 5 pounds of green beans!

Since it is just me in the house this week, I will freeze most of the veggies. As a matter of fact, the raspberries are in the freezer on a cookie sheet as I blog!

While The Baby and my Mother were here, we (I) decided we must go pick strawberries.  We went to Miller Farms Market and picked for about 2 hours.  It was hotter than heck and humid to boot, but we persevered.  I think the amount of strawberries we picked was worth it. 

All together, we picked 12 pounds.  We only paid $1.00 per pound!

Our bounty!



Ready for the freezer!

 The baby decided to make a Strawberry, Rhubarb bar!  It was delicious!  She had never tried this recipe before, but was happy she did!



There is still some in the freezer, come on over!

Yum!

I am seriously thinking about picking strawberries tomorrow.  The season ends Friday and at $1.00 per pound, I can't resist!

I know I have been blogging a lot about food lately.  I suppose the CSA has got me going in that direction.  I hope to get to my sewing machine tomorrow - I have so many projects on my list of things to do.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you had a great day!

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It is Tuesday and that means Tuesdays with Dorie.  The recipe for today is Oasis Naan.  The recipe comes from the book "Baking with Julia."

I actually made the recipe last week.  My daughter, The Baby, was home from college and we decided it would be a fun adventure!  We both love baking, but our skills are somewhat limited.  So with great anticipation, we began the adventure!

We used our Kitchen Aid to mix the dough.  Although I love kneading, we decided it was the best option for the recipe.  We had a house full of company and didn't want to spend too much time in the kitchen,

The beginning of the rising process

When the dough doubled, we rolled the naan out, got our forks in hand and pricked them all over.  The Baby and I had fun with this part, we decided to have a race to see who could prick the dough the fastest!  As you can tell, we are not the most serious bakers!

In the oven the bread went.  I am so glad to have a gas oven.  It heated up to 500 degrees perfectly.  Our biggest challenge was getting the bread off the board and on the stone.  One or two of them folded over.  By the last batch, we had the technique down.

We opted for sesame seeds as a topping.  We are not big fans of cumin and had run out of scallions.  I think the final product came out pretty good looking!

We ate the naan with Beef Shish Ka Bobs and grilled vegetables that evening.  The naan was a hit! 

I look forward to making the next recipe, French Strawberry Cake.  Sadly, my daughter is off working for the summer and I will make the cake on my own.  I am glad we had this experience together and I know we will have more. 

Thanks for stopping by!

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Home Alone

No, I am not talking about the movie!  My Mother and The Baby left yesterday and Big is on a trip.  So here I sit, all alone!

I miss them all, but I don't really mind being alone.  It gives me a chance to get caught up on things that I let slide while the house was full. 

The Baby turned 21 on the 23rd of May.  Her day was spent opening presents (Big and I bought her 21 gifts), picking up vegetables from the farm, trying a new restaurant and having vegetarian lasagna (made with love by Big). 

The Baby's boyfriend drove in from West Virginia to spend the weekend with us.  Having him here was a nice gift for The Baby.

Marshall and The Baby

Saturday was spent visiting a couple local vineyards.  I never knew Virginia was known for its wines.  It was a special "grown up" gift for The Baby.  Her first legal drink!

After a tasting at Hartwood Winery

The Baby and her first legal drink

I will post more in the next day or so.  I have some more photos I want to share.  Our produce from the CSA has been fantastic.  I will show you the photos and tell you about our strawberry picking adventure!

Tomorrow I will be my first Baking With Julia post.  I am so nervous about it!  Wish me luck and come back to see what I "cooked up"!



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Kohlrabi Slaw

I only have a few minutes to post.  My Mother arrived late yesterday afternoon and brought with her a case of bronchitis.  So our plans of touring and shopping are being changed. 

Of course, tomorrow we will celebrate The Baby turning 21!  Where does the time go?

The Thai Inspired Kohlrabi Coleslaw was great.  I made a few changes to the recipe in order to use up some of our CSA produce.  I encourage you to try the recipe and also to visit Spicie Foodie, the site I where I found the recipe.

Photo courtesy of Spicie Foodie.com

Thai Inspired Kohlrabi Coleslaw (my version)

1 purple and 1 green Kohlrabi, shredded
1 small carrot, shredded
1/2 cup shredded radishes
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp sesame oil (or vegetable oil)
1 Small red or green chilie, finely chopped (I used cayanne powder)

Toppings
crushed peanuts
basil, fresh mint or parsley (I went with parsley)

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix all the dressing ingredients until well combined.  Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, toss the vegetables then pour the dressing over them.  Toll gently till coated.  Cover and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes or ready to serve.

Again, this recipe was loosely based on the recipe found at Spicie Foodie.   I think I played with the spices a little until it was the way I knew my family would like it.   It was really good and will be on our list of foods to eat again.

Have a great one!  I am off to make Cream of Asparagus Soup and Artisan Bread!  Perhaps I can squeeze in some sewing too!

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Time with The Baby

My time with The Baby has been wonderful.  Thursday we did some shopping.  Mostly for groceries. 

On Friday, we stayed home and putzed around the house.  She read a book and I did my usual housekeeping and gardening.  It was a wonderful day.

The Baby is a big fan of elephants.  So we decided to spend Saturday at the zoo in Washington, D.C.  There is not admission to the zoo, since it is a part of the Smithsonian.   Parking was $25.00!

I read this elephant plays the harmonica, but we did not see it!

The Baby and I at the end of the day!  Boy were we pooped!

We all had a wonderful time.

We were pretty tired Saturday night.  To wrap up our "zoo" day, we watched the movie, "We Just Bought a Zoo."  It was a good, family movie.  We laughed a little and cried a little.

For dinner tonight, I roasted a chicken, some beets and potatoes.  

The beets were a part of our CSA.  They were so tender and sweet.  So much better than anything purchased from the store.  I added some rosemary and thyme that I picked for our garden.

My Mother will arrive in town tomorrow afternoon to be a part of The Baby's birthday celebration.  The Baby's boyfriend will arrive on Friday of this week.  I am planning a day of winery tours for Satudary.  Since The Baby will be 21, she will be legally allowed to have a glass of wine!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

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Yesterday

Yesterday was a fantastic day!  The highlight was when The Baby arrived home!  I am so glad she is home.  I think it has been a couple months since I have seen her.  For us, that is a long time!  She will be here for a couple weeks and then off to West Virginia to work till the end of July.  We will have her home again for a week or so before she leaves to attend her Senior year in college.

This weeks CSA included some kohlrabi.  I must admit, I have never cooked it and not really sure if I have eaten it.  I found a wonderful recipe for Asian Kohlrabi Slaw over at Spicie Foodie.  I will let you know what the verdict is.  We also received:  spring onions, napa cabbage, sugar snap peas, turnips, 4 pounds of asparagus and I am not sure what the leafy green thing is in the front of the photo.  It has a very spicy taste to it.  I think we will try it in a salad.  If you know what it is, let me know.

The Baby turns 21 on the 23rd of May!  One of the gifts we will give her is this hot iron holder.  The holder is lined with heat resistant fabric, the kind your ironing board is covered with (if you go near one of those!)  I found the fabric at a quilt show over a year ago.  It is Japanese and I just loved it.  When The Baby saw the fabric, she also fell in love with it.  I am glad I found a purpose for it.  I found the pattern over at Sew 4 Home. 

The kitchen has become a hot spot in the house!  Since we joined the CSA, I have been challenged to try new foods and recipes.  I will not say I am ready to be a top chef, but I do enjoy putting a good meal on the table.  I have decided to join a few blog challenges.  One is over at Moms Crazy Cooking.  It is a once a month challenge that requires you to search blogland for a recipe, try it and blog about it.  This month is all about smoothies.  I made this one with some leftover fruit we had.  I added some of the homemade yogurt to it.  It was yummy.

Finally, I wanted to show a photo of our guest room.  Since my Mother will be visiting for The Baby's birthday, I thought I would hang a few things on the wall! 

Hope you all have a wonderful day.  Mine will be filled with cooking and lots of hugs and kisses from my wonderful daughter!



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Busy Sunday

Hello all!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday.  We will celebrate the day on Wednesday of this week.  The Baby will be home from college then!

It was a productive day for me.  I made crock pot yogurt.  I have read about it many times and finally decided to try it.  It was easy and fun.  It is also very delicious and inexpensive!

For dinner, Big and I had pork chops, Sugar Snap Peas from the CSA, and mashed potatoes and rutabagas, also from the CSA.  It was a great meal.

I did some garden work also.   I purchased some herbs at the farmers market last Saturday and finally got them in some pots.  We have a lot of bunnies in the area and I am not sure if they will eat the herbs or not.  In West Virginia, we worried about deer, here it is bunnies!

My faithful gardening companion with her stick!

At the end of the day, when I could no longer stand, I sat.  I sat and sewed.  I had started this tossed 9 patch while we were in the hotel waiting on our house.  I hadn't picked it up since then.  I am hoping to finish it soon and use it in the sun room.

Hope you had a great day!

Cynthia L.

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