Garden Update - 2013

"Be as simple as you can be;  you will be astonished to see how uncomplicated and happy your life can become." Paramahansa Togananda.  When I started to analyze why I have not been blogging quite as much, this quote seemed to fit.  If I give myself the chance to slow down, breathe, laugh with my kids, and dance to the music I can find great joy.  And with 3 kids and a full-time job sometimes slowing down can be difficult but the payoffs are huge.

My garden is my happy place and right now we have a VERY prolific garden which includes broccoli, 30 pepper plants (wide variety of peppers), 40 tomato plants, pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, sweet peas, green beans, asparagus, zinnias, sunflowers and cauliflower. 

Here's a picture of the garden on June 20th:

Greta on June 20th - the skeets were REALLY bad that day

Six weeks later:

Greta in the same spot 6 weeks later - wow!

I'm 5 foot 6 and many of the tomato plants are taller than me

 

 

 

My tomato plants include a WIDE variety of heirlooms. 
This tomato plant is called a BORAGE.  It started out as a runt but with some
organic fertilizer and TLC it was soon over 5 feet tall.  The flowers are purple, lavender and occasionally hot pink.  I can't wait to see the end product.  By far this is my favorite plant in the garden.

 

Today's harvest includes a bunch of different peppers, broccoli and sweet peas featured on my Grandma's platter

Green beans have been abundant this year so I was able to preserve a bunch (pressure canning) for the winter.

Some of my favorite things in the world include running with friends, reading by the fire (it's cold here today), taking a little nap, laughing with the family, and gardening and I've had all that today so I'm feeling pretty darn blessed.  What are your favorite things?  How's your garden?

Thanks for reading,

Kristin

Bi-Monthly Book Review

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”    Doesn't this quote sum it up?  I'm not sure who wrote it but I love it.

Below you will find the books I've read over the past 2 months - 1 is the lowest score and 5 is the highest.

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn - 5 stars

-Charles William Eliot

 

As you know, I'm a total reading fanatic and when I am without a book I feel lost.   The quote above really captures how I feel about reading.  Often I hear, "how do you have time to read?" to which I reply:  "I do not watch tv, movies, and I read every night before I go to bed to prepare me for sleep." 

 

Before I digress anymore, here's my list of books:

 

Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

The story of 2 lovestruck magicians and their adventures in the night circus.

 

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn 

Very entertaining mystery with a psychological twist.  Highly recommend.

Women, Food and God, Geneen Roth - 2 stars
Non-fiction read on how to connect to your true hunger. 

Night Circus, Erin Morgenstein - 2 stars
Two lovestruck magicians are engaged in a night time circus.  For some reason I didn't love this book.

The Woodcutter, Reginald Hill - 3 1/2 stars
A very interesting novel about a man, the woodcutter, and his adventures.  Very good book but it took me a full month to finish it (kinda' long).

Sugar, Salt and Fat, Micheal Moss - 4 stars
A non-fiction book about how the food giants add sugar, salt and fat to make us eat more (hence, buy more).

Brotherhood, Deepak and Sanjiv Chopra - 1/2 star
True story about Deepak and his brother Sanjiiv growing up in India but I did not care for the writing.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Jenny Lawson -5 stars
A mostly true story about this quirky, hilarious blogger - LOVE!  Warning though - she swears a lot so I'd skip this book if that bothers you.

I haven't been blogging much because I've been spending all my time preparing for Graham's confirmation party, watching the boy's baseball games, gardening and work. 

Our Family Picture at Graham's confirmation - poor Gus is getting squished!

That's it for my review:  I'd run out and read Gone Girl and Let's Pretend This Never Happened if I were you!

What book are you reading?  I'd love to hear.

Thanks,

Kristin

More Asparagus

The asparagus season will be done by the end of this week, but luckily we pickled asparagus (recipe here) that we'll be able to enjoy this winter.  This week we tried a few new delicious asparagus recipes including asparagus hummus and asparagus egg frittata.

 

 

 

Hummus and Veggies on my Grandma's platter

I just read a book that I found enlightening and frightening called Sugar, Salt and Fat.  In the book you learn quickly that every food that is not whole or home-made basically contains crap ingredients (with a few exceptions) - even HUMMUS.  Now, I am a hummus freak and was shocked that the brand of hummus I've been eating for years contains GMO's (genetically modified organisms) so I'm determined to start making my own with in-season ingredients and you can find this recipe here.

Asparagus Frittata on my Grandma's dishes

This picture does not do this frittata justice, but it was quite delicious and the leftovers were even better.  Both times I covered this delicious egg bake with my home-made salsa (yum, yum).

ASPARAGUS FRITTATA

Garlic
Onion
Salt and Pepper
3 eggs
1/2 pound asparagus
3 large eggs
1/3 cup cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Saute onion and garlic until onion is clear.   Add asparagus and cook for about 3 minutes and add eggs.  Cook until the eggs are almost done, add salt and pepper, cheese and cook in the oven until the cheese is melted.  Delicious.

 

 

 

Greta's Room after a major purge session


We're still on track with  2013 Project Organization and this month we re-organized Greta's room.  I had a before pic (OMG) but it magically disappeared.  The other great thing is that I was almost out of items to sell on Ebay and by going through her room I discovered many items to sell and to donate. 


What's your favorite asparagus recipe?  If I get a chance, I hope to try another asparagus soup but I'm losing out on my window of opportunity.  I planted 13 asparagus plants though this Spring and they are thriving - I'm so happy.

Happy Sunday,

Kristin

 

Rhubarb Recipes

Now is the time to pick your rhubarb - wait a few more weeks and you will find your rhubarb to be too bitter.   The proper way to pick rhubarb is to reach down to the root and twist and the stalk easily releases.  When you cut rhubarb with a knife or scissors, you can harm the remaining stalks.

Not only is rhubarb delicious, it also has amazing health benefits that includes:

• Builds strong bones and teeth
• lowers cholesterol
• good source of fiber
• maintains a regular digestive system
• builds a healthy immune system
• prevents diabetes (high in vitamin K)

In years past I've made all sorts of different rhubarb recipes including rhubarb salsa, rhubarb salad and rhubarb salad dressing found here.    But this year, I've remained faithful to 2 different delicious recipes including rhubarb smoothies and rhubarb pie.

RHUBARB SMOOTHIE:

1 cup of rhubarb
1 cup of strawberries
1 cup of old fashioned oats or cooked quinoa
2 cups of milk / or soy milk
1 tablespoon of flaxseed
1/3 cup honey or agave nectar

Throw in a blender and combine.  You can also add spinach.

Rhubarb Smoothies in my Grandma's dishes

My Great Aunt Helen (founder of the Norske Nook)  has another winning recipe that we ALL love - rhubarb pie. 

Aunt Helen's Rhubarb Pie

4 - 5 cups fresh rhubarb
2 cups of sugar (or 1 cup sugar 3/4 cup stevia)
1/3 cup flour
3 eggs
1 double crust
4 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 350.  Place the rhubarb in a large bowl.  Poor the sugar over, add the flour and nutmeg, and mix it together.

Using your hands, in the center of this mixture, make a well for the eggs.  Crack the eggs into the well and beat them with a fork.

When the eggs are mixed, gradually blend them into the rhubarb and flour mixture until the rhubarb is partially covered.

Add the filling into the pie crust and dot with thinly sliced butter. 

Cover with the top crust and slit.  Sprinkle with a little sugar.  Bake for around 1 hour.

Place a pan underneath because it might bubble over.

Rhubarb Pie on my Grandma's China - LOVE lilacs!!!!

I'm in the market for rhubarb - I'd like to make some rhubarb sauce and can for a later date but I've used up all my plants so let me know if you know where I can get some.  Yes, I checked the farmers market but didn't have any luck.

What are you making with rhubarb these days??

Thanks for reading,

Kristin

The 2013 Summer Bucket List

Wooohoo!  Summer has made it to Northern Wisconsin.  Just this week I stowed away the winter jackets, hats and mitts.  Hopefully we won't need them for a few months.

With summer vacation comes our annual bucket list.  Without a summer bucket list, it is pretty easy be consumed by the busyness of day to day life (laundry, vacuuming, etc.) but with the bucket list in hand we have a plan to experience as much as possible.  Life is short, so we are going to live it up. 

• Como Zoo
• Mini Golfing
• Go Carting
• Valleyfair Amusement Park
• Concert at Big Top Chautaqua
• Copper Falls
• Pioneer Village in Cameron
• Noah's Ark in Wisconsin Dells
• Picnic in the rose gardens in Duluth
• Beach day on Madeline Island
• Berry picking in Bayfield
• Beach day at Friendly Valley Beach
• Chicago Museums

I asked the kids what they want to do for their bigger summer vacation this year:  either Mt. Rushmore or Chicago and they chose Chicago!

And our garden is finally done - 37 tomato plants, 20 pepper plants, etc. - since we have a new spot I'm really hoping and praying it does well!  I'll be sure to keep you posted.

The finished garden and new addition to our back yard - still a work in progress

What do you have for summer plans?

Thanks for reading,

Kristin