Dinner from the Back Yard

What a wonderful evening.  Friends recently gifted us a hammock they were no longer using so Dann set it up for me Tuesday evening!  I was able to enjoy some time in the hammock along with some time in the garden and kitchen - what more could a girl want?  Maybe a husband who cleans for her?  I had that tonight too, while I was weeding, picking produce, watching the ladies and swinging in my hammock Dann was busy doing a load of laundry and cleaning our main bathroom.  Now if only every night could be so splendid.

Tonight's harvest included the first of our corn, along with some basil, fingerling potatoes and kale.  So guess what we had for dinner...can't guess?  Shame on you!!

To start with I cleaned the potatoes and set them in a pot to boil.  While the potatoes boiled I put some oil on the stove and added the basil to help infuse the oil with the basil for adding to the potatoes once they were cooked.  Meanwhile I put a pot of water on for the corn and set another pot with a little oil on for the kale...yes, that is a lot of pots!  Guess what Dann is doing now while I type this entry? 

So a run down on the recipes:

Potatoes with basil infused oil:
Boil potatoes until tender
While potatoes cook set 1-2 Tbsp of oil over a low heat and add 2-3 sprigs of basil (should have used this on the corn to...)
Drain potatoes, add salt/pepper to taste, pour oil & basil over, mix well.

Corn, The Jersey Girl Way:
Bring water to a boil
Add a dash of sugar (honey)
Add Corn
Return water to a boil and cook 3 minutes
Season to your taste (butter, salt, other)

Kale, A Clean Eating Magazine Test Recipe:
The full recipe will be in the October Issue of Clean Eating, but I had the chance to test it tonight.
Ingredients:  Kale, Goji Berries (we used dried cherries), Coconut Oil, Shallots, White Pepper, Cashews, and a little Broth
Slice shallots and saute in oil.
Add Kale, turning to coat
Add broth and cover, braising for 5 minutes until kale is bright green
add berries and pepper
Serve topped with cashews.

Swiss Oats with Berries for Breakfast

I found this recipe several years ago thanks to the Zonya Foco's TV show on PBS.  Zonya's cookbook includes lots of quick, easy and healthy (diabetic conscious) and delicious recipes.  However, this is the only recipe from the book I do without measuring - my favorite way to make anything, add a little bit of this and a little bit of that to make it suit your tastes.

What I love most about this recipe is while it is FABULOUS in the summer with all the fresh fruit that is available, it is just as divine in the winter with dried or thawed fruit (ie, it doesn't have to look pretty). 

The base is as simple as pouring some oats in a bowl and adding enough milk to cover them (you can estimate about 1/3 cup of oats per person for those that insist on measuring).  Add honey and ground cinnamon (or nutmeg, or other seasoning) according to your taste, remember you are adding fresh fruit so you may not need that much honey as you think when using local, fresh produce.

Soak the oats, milk, honey and cinnamon mixture overnight.  In the morning add an array of fruit and dig in.  This is also a great dish for dessert.  Make a little or a lot, the oats keep well in the refrigerator for a few days, just add your fruit when you are ready to eat!  Best served cold in the summer, could certainly be heated for a few moments in the winter months.

Our Swiss Oats this week has been topped with black raspberries and blueberries from our acre.  I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

Pasta with Kale and Hot Italian Sausage & Garden Update

The last two nights have been beautiful.  Dann & I have arrived home from work, spent a little time working in the garden and then let the ladies out for an evening stroll.  They enjoy taking a short walk which involves them (ok, and us) eating as many black raspberries as can be reached, and then stopping by the end of the potato bed for a nice long dust bath (them, not us).  During bath time Dann & I grab our chairs and sit nearby chatting about the day and dreaming of days to come while we watch the ladies throw dirt everywhere and listen to them purr.


The garden is doing great, the corn is taller than me now, I see tons of baby pumpkins and little green tomatoes are everywhere. The beans, cucumbers and squash are all starting to come in and I harvested six bulbs of garlic last night.  While greens (kales and lettuces) are still a daily treat, the added variety is just around the corner (ok, the pumpkin is more than just around the corner, but it is so cute!!).

 Oh, did I fail to mention the berries?  I have been enjoying the fruits of my labor from my wrangling of the briar patch back in the spring.  The black raspberries on the trimmed limbs are much more plump than those on the yet to be tackled side of the patch. AND our blueberries have started coming in!  YUM!

So on nights like tonight when I don't want much hastle or fuss I turn to a quick easy meal that allows me to use my freshly harvested garlic along with some dinosaur kale from the garden.  The sausage is from the farmers market and the pasta and cheese are from that scary store...Wegmans. 

Pasta with Kale and Hot Italian Sausage


Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Add the Kale during the last 30 seconds of cooking.  Strain and set aside.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan heat some olive oil, add freshly crushed garlic to taste (I used 2 small cloves as fresh garlic is just that - fresh - a nice POP of flavor!).  Heat through.

Our Hot Italian sausage is leftover from grilling the night before so I simply broke it up and added it to the oil and garlic during the last minute of cooking.

Combine pasta, kale, and sausage mixture stirring gently.  Serve with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

For a light refreshment with your dinner why not add some frozen berries to your wine?  My only problem now is that I'm drinking trying to get a berry....  Bottoms up!

Soulful Thoughts I

It's been a sad week.  A dear friend lost her husband to cancer this week.  John was too young as so often is the case.  And as I have sat here this week, too far from my friend to provide the physical comfort of a good solid hug and much needed love, I keep coming back to a verse I fell in love with when I was about 8 to help hold myself together - I Corinthians 13:12. 

So many people look to this chapter for the "Love" verses - "Love is patient, Love is kind..." which Love is and Love should be, but this is not what I see in this chapter, the verse I love is often over looked...and let me preface- that I don't know that my interpretation is in line with any scholars on the topic, its just that - my interpretation...

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face;
For now I know in part, but then I will know fully,
Just as I also have been fully known."
I Corinthians 13:12 

Taken in pieces here is how I see this passage -

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face":  I can't see God's reflection clearly in my life, but I know He's there. I see reflections of Him in my actions and reactions.  More importantly, this verse promises me that one day I WILL see Him face to face!!

"For now I know in part, but then I will know fully."
I only can understand bits right now of God's plan, small bits at that.  But things like why a dear friend's husband is diagnosed with brain cancer so young or why I never really got a chance to know my father-in-law before he passed away or why so many loved ones have had miscarriages or why two of my friends have lost their father's to Picks disease (not so rare a disease in my circle) are so much harder to grasp.  One day, when I am face to face with God, as promised in the first part, I will know and understand these things, Fully.  And in that lies my trust that there is a greater plan.

But the last line is what seals it..."Just as I also have been fully known"  God knows me.  He knows you too.  And elsewhere in the bible He promises to never test us beyond our capacity (Karin's paraphrasing).  These trials that come our way are not meant for cruelty or because somebody did something, they are part of God's greater plan that I can't grasp just yet, but I have a greater faith in God than I do my own limited understanding, that part I do know now.

30+ years later this verse still grounds me.

Kale Chips

I fell in love in June, with Garlic Scapes and Dinosaur Kale.  It was my first time having either of them and there is no turning back! 


If you like garlic and you like asparagus you will LOVE garlic scapes.  With the flavor of mild sweet garlic and the texture/consistency of thin asparagus there is nothing that compares.  WARNING though, garlic scapes must be cooked long enough (about 2 - 4 minutes on the grill) else you will have a bitter garlic flavor.  Trust me, I know.

As a lover of broccoli, I can't get enough Dinosaur Kale, also known as Lacitano Kale.  This kale variety has a soft yet firm texture that stands up well in cooking (steaming, roasting, sauteing, any way you like it).

What better way to enjoy these two delights than together?  For breakfast or dinner I saute a bit of onion and garlic scape, once softened, I add some kale and heat it through.  If the entree is for dinner I stop the cooking there, if it is for breakfast I scramble some eggs and pour them over the greens and cook until the eggs are just right. 

As I looked over my garden this evening I was amazed at all the blooms and mini vegetables.  By the end of the week we will begin harvesting zucchini, which will be followed shortly by blueberries, beans and potatoes.  I have dreams that the cucumbers will grow over night but they are just so tiny and cute right now - 1/2 an inch long and all spiky.  But in the meantime I am content with my loose leaf and butterhead lettuces, kale and herbs.

Another Kale recipe to try is Kale Chips compliments of Epicurious.com

• 12 kale leaves, rinsed, dried, cut lengthwise in half, center ribs and stems removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Preheat oven to 250°F. Toss kale with oil in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange leaves in single layer on 2 large baking sheets. Bake until crisp, about 30 minutes for flat leaves and up to 33 minutes for wrinkled leaves. Transfer leaves to rack to cool.

Emphasis on dried added by me based on experience.  Enjoy!