Spring is in the Air: This Year's Container Gardens

Earlier this winter, Container Gardening by Stephanie Donaldson arrived, a book I wishlisted on BookMooch.com. It's a huge collection of 150 of really simple but fabulous container gardens.




My parents, apparently growing busier and busier with every year, asked me to start seeds for them this year and provided me with a Jiffy Seed Starter Greenhouse with 72 plugs.
I've never done this before, as I usually start my own seeds directly in containers. I'm an apartment dweller and my space is extremely limited. Furthermore, the one time I planted my parent's entire garden it was a direct sow. So...this is going to be different and interesting.

Although I've decided on three definite container gardens, I'm starting my seeds along with my parents seeds in the Jiffy. Most of my seeds all arrived a few weeks ago, but I just planted this past weekend. Most are from Burpees and some are from containerseeds.com.

Here's what I've got going:

Salad Bowl Garden: tumbler tomato, chives, little gem lettuce, salad bowl lettuce, cilantro plants (was supposed to be parsley but im not a fan of it)

Fruit and Flowers Garden: Alpine strawberry plants, bright red petunias, helichrysum petiolare (variegatium)

Herb Garden: Sage, rosemary, mint tarragon, lemon thyme, dill, creeping thyme, and basil.

My parents gave me red pepper, dill, and basil. I'm also planting some wild flowers I picked up at a little boutique in the great white north years ago, hoping they've not gone bad.

Alrighty -- that's it for now. I'll post pics once they've sprouted (otherwise we're just looking at soil).

Mushroom Barley Soup is Good Food

Organic criminis and shiitakes from my CSA box

+

a brand new food processor (yippee)

+

tying to find more vegetarian recipes

= mushroom and barley soup

Meh --- boring but tasted perty darn good!

My recipe (adapted from two recipes combined):

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 white onion finely chopped

1 pound shiitakes mushrooms

1 pound crimini mushrooms finely chopped

1 tablespoons soy sauce

1 cup pearled barley

3 cups peeled and sliced carrots

½ cup sherry

9 cups vegetable stock (homemade –look out Martha!)

Sprig or two of fresh rosemary

Sprig or two of fresh thyme

1 Bay leaf

Salt n Pepper

Sautéed garlic, onions til soft. Added mushrooms and soy sauce. Added sherry then reduced until all liquid absorbed. Added barley, carrots, sherry, veggie stock, herbs and brought to a boil. Reduced heat and simmered covered 30 minutes. Served with Salmon and asparagus.

I’m now officially obsessed with looking at and taking pics of food. Food porn.

Up next: tomatillo salsa (mild because I’m a heat wimp).

The Cuisinart Smart Stick is Souper!

I am on a small appliance kick! When I moved, with my "new life" I wanted to get rid of some of the "old", and I ended up donating or tossing about 80% of my things. While I have not bitten the bullet and gotten a Vita-Mix (one of my dream small kitchen appliances) yet, I have replaced a few necessary items like my food processor (it's on its way - hoorah!). Alas, everything I have chopped or blended has been by hand.

Enter, the Cuisinart CSB-87 Smart Stick Hand Blender. Ta da!!!





I really wanted a blender but decided upon the Smart Stick instead because of its versatility. I love this thing! It blends and thickens soups and dressings really quick and easy and its an immersion blender so you can stick it right inside the pot you're cooking in! And it's super easy to clean.

Smoothies are a breeze! My morning shake I created is fabulous and it's all organic: hemp protein, fresh raspberries, unsweetened apple juice and a little greek yogurt. Is that a smoothie or is that a shake? Well it tastes good at any rate.

The cons: I learned the hard way NOT to try to whip potatoes with this thing. It kind of liquefies them and makes them into a goopy, pastey substance. I'm still working on the chopping aspect of this thing. I still haven't tried it on ice yet.

Overall, I use it daily and it's a keeper!

Olive Oil Tasting?? Who Knew??

To kill time before watching Slumdog Millionaire, Mosel and I went to We Olive in Belmont Shore for an olive oil tasting. I heart Olive oil-- it is truly a staple in my diet.

What is We Olive you ask? It’s the cutest little store that sells olive oil (mainly from California as well as olive oil from all over the world). They also sell olives, dipping oils, vinegars, tapenades, and bath and body olive oil-based body products like soap and candles.

Mosel asks me, “Are we going to be doing shots of olive oil?” LOL I honestly had no idea what was in store.

Olive oil tasting is much like wine tasting. First they pour the olive oil sample in a tiny plastic cup. Next you hold the sample, top and bottom between your hands, in order to warm it. Then you swirl it, sniff it, take a sip, aerate it in your mouth and swallow. Supposedly this is the only way to taste the true flavor of the oil.

I’ll be honest with you -- a lot of them tasted like fresh cut grass or wheat grass. Some of them had a peppery finish. I really had no idea that olive oil was so complex.

I purchased an Arbequina olive oil from Spain (I’ve already killed it). It was absolutely wonderful. Good stuff, Maynard. I'd suggest you limit your tasting to 3 to 4 samples. I got kind of queasy afterward but I think I had way too many. I will say it was very unique experience and I would definitely go back for another tasting.

K Cups!!!

I’m addicted to coffee, although I truly have cut down and am now mostly drinking green tea from Two Leaves and a Bud.

I have not owned an automatic coffee machine in over 5 years. I grind my own coffee beans and use a French press because it provides a more intense, flavorful coffee and I require it strong. Some mornings, depending on the laze or time factor, I’ll drink tea simply because it’s much faster.

Every time I get around those single serve coffee brewing systems, I get small kitchen appliance envy. Whilst in Cancun, I spent a great deal of time at the hotel coffee bar where there was a professional single serve espresso machine. I knew I had to get one when I got home to use on those days when I wanted something quick and easy.

Well, I now am the proud owner of a Keurig Special Edition Gourmet Single Serve Coffee Maker (the B60).


Had I known it would come with an 18 Kcup variety pack, I might have held off on purchasing Timothy's Extra Bold Rainforest Espresso ( I got a really great deal on Amazon).


My first cup (Green Mountain Coffee’s Dark Magic) which was from the included variety pack, was very mediocre, I’m hoping the Tims will be much better or else im stuck with 48 kcups.

Now, the K-Cups are pretty expensive. After doing a little research I found this money saving device that allows you to reuse your K-cups and fill them with your own coffee. Brilllllliant!

Hopefully this wont end up in the small kitchen appliance graveyard next to my juicer….

On the way...

My first olive oil tasting

Worlds largest crab cake

I stuffed my face: Wine and Food in Cancun

What I'm drinking now

Baby's First Massage

Herb Brined Roasted Chicken

This is my second attempt at brining. My last brine was just a simple sugar and salt solution. This time, I opted for an herb brine since I received loads of rosemary and thyme in my CSA box that I need to get rid of. I also had a chicken in my freezer that needed to go so I could make space for some other goodies.

The brine consisted of: water, 1 cup kosher salt and 1/2 cup sugar.

And to that I added:

fresh thyme

fresh rosemary

fresh parsley

2 bay leaves

1 head garlic

1 onion

black peppercorns, crushed

2 lemons

I simmered that all together so the salt and sugar would dissolve, brought it to room temp, then chilled it in the fridge. After it was chilled, I added the chicken to the brine, and kept refridgerated for about 4 hours. Next, I rinsed and patted the bird dry then rubbed it down with butter.

I think my bird was a 4 pounder. Then I roasted it in a large roasting pan, breast down, for 15 mins @ 450, 60 minutes at 325, then flipped it breast side up for another 20 mins. I really need a meat thermometer -- luckily it came out perfect!

The skin was really crunchy, the meat was super moist and tender and I could really taste the herbs and the lemon. I cant wait to use the carcass for stock. A chef I was chatting with told me chickens don't need to be brined but I think if you have the time or you're roasting chicken for a special occasion, it's worth the effort.

Long time no post!

I haven't written in a long time, so here is a quick update:

Firstly, I got promoted to feature writer at Suite101.com on the topic of daycare. It's been an interesting transition from contributing writer to feature writer. More work --- but I'm getting the hang of it and loving it. My sister and I are also working on getting a magazine published. It has nothing to do with anything delicious but its smart and will help so many people.

Secondly, I graduated and finally got my masters degree, part of the reason I've been slacking with the posts and on just about everything else I used to do regularly. See grad pic below...and giggle.

Thirdly, I have replanted everything, again from seed. I now have arugula, mesclun, basil, dill, and mint growing. And I also have four kinds of flowers growing: marigolds, johnny jump ups, impatiens, and nasturtiums. Hope I spelled everything right. Will post pics soon.

And finally, I've been experimenting in the kitchen. I learned how to make the perfect standing rib roast this spring. I also experimented with brine and boy does that make a HUGE difference in how tender and juicy your chicken comes out. Last night I made a super spicy, fresh tomatillo salsa (first time). I could drink the stuff.

More to come!

I'm writing again!

Hey all. This is way off topic, but I am now a contributing writer for a wonderful website called Suite101.com. I write for the "children's books" topic and I believe the link to my articles is below! Hope you check it out!

Writing Jobs at Suite101

Latest Day Care Articles by Carla Snuggs