the seeds are started

The seeds are started... here we come spring!

my garden

So we have been doing a lot of traveling lately and my poor container garden has not been doing so well. :(...although I have had my first harvest of cherry tomatoes, or maybe I should say tomato. (not plural) Below is a picture of my poor plant dying, but no worries it is on the road to recovery.

Tomato plants are so moody. If you skip a day of watering they look so frail, but can pop right back up to normal with in less then a day! Love it! Along with my yummy tomatoes I planted a few marigolds to keep pests away. In separate containers I have enjoyed chives, basil, rosemary, cilantro and some beautiful pink zenias. Below is a picture of my yummy herbs and sad dying zenias. boo. :( Thank goodness there are farmers markets because this container garden was not all it was hoped to be. :)

On the upside I did happen to take a few pictures of my pink zenias before the dry out. Arn't they cheerful! Sorry I know, I know...I was just a little sad though. This is the fist time I have ever actually grown anything from a seed. So sad to see it die.

...and another thing that makes me smile...the lettuce bowl that was given to me from a good friend who had to move...spinach, kale, something else that sadly was eaten by a bug and yummy edible flowers that taste like the creamsicle soda pop candy things I used to eat when I was a kid. Sorry I have no idea what the name is, but they are surprisingly delicious.

Have a good week!

Salsa Canning

There is nothing better than fresh summer taste in the middle of winter. I have always wanted to try canning, but always thought it looked so complicated. I read up on it a little bit and realized that it actually seemed pretty simple! So I got a whole bunch of fresh locally grown goodies at the farmers market and found a good recipe. I spent a few hours last night making this black bean and corn salsa that I found in Seasons magazine.(In this recipe you may need to adjust the acidity. I used lemon juice.) I thought I would only make a small batch for my first time to make sure I did everything right since I am usually not a very precise cooker. I always seem to change the recipe a bit...but with canning safety I had to make no mistakes. :) I do not have a pressure canner, I just used the large pot boiling method and it seemed to turn out great! I might do it again later this fall and make some applesauce. yum!

Local Freshness!

My favorite part of the weekend is the farmers market. Look at these pictures!...so much color! They really look this good in person...and even better, they taste as good as they look! :)

There is just something about cooking/preparing food that you either grew yourself or know who grew it. Over the past 4 years or so I have developed a huge love for buying food locally. When putting something in my body it is a big deal where the food came from and how it was treated when grown. When I buy from the market I am able to talk to the actual person who grew this produce. It's kinda neat when you think about it.

Over at Heather Jane's blog she is doing a Go Local 2009 challenge: preparing at least one meal a week with fully local ingredients. You can check out the details here. Below is my lunch; just your basic strawberry salad with a couple different kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, sunflower seeds, and strawberries. You can see how red and juicy those strawberries are in the center as opposed to your store bought berries that have a little white. Oh boy, I sure am going to miss it when berry season is over, they are my absolute favorite! Ask any of my friends from growing up...they sometimes would buy me a package of strawberries for my birthday. :)

Wordless Wednesday "Neighborhood Blooms"

eat rhubarb

Last night my fantastic neighbor introduced herself to Thad as he was grilling out back. She is pretty old and must have not remembered meeting us before, but since she thought we just moved in (we moved last July), she brought over some homemade rhubarb cherry jam. Yummy!! She is super sweet and thoughtful. She also mentioned that she has tons of rhubarb growing in her backyard and we can go and pick our own anytime we want. I was super excited about this and also realized that I have never picked my own rhubarb. I think the only time I have ever tasted rhubarb is my grandmothers rhubarb sauce back in the day, or strawberry/rhubarb pie from Perkins. Oh, I can not wait for the day I can experience my own garden. :)

I came across a website a while back that tells you what produce is in season each month and gives you recipes to choose from with that food in it. Eat the Seasons. -go check it out! It has been very helpful to look at before I go to the store. Why should we eat what is more local and in season?...well it's always good to support our local economy, but it also tastes better, fresher, and is more nutritious. Specifically rhubarb is in season april through july and here is some fun info I found coming pretty much straight from Nick, an editor from the website...kind of fun to know the facts. :)

"The outlandishly colored vegetable that thinks it's a fruit. Rhubarb makes deliciously comforting puddings but its sharpness works extremely well with meat and oily fish dishes (the duck recipe below is a resounding success).Forced rhubarb (grown in the dark) has yellowish leaves. The field-grown variety has greener leaves and is less tender but often more flavorful.HISTORYRhubarb was used as a medicine in ancient China. It was brought to Europe by Marco Polo and has been eaten as a food since the eighteenth century.BIOLOGYRhubarb is a member of the family Polygonaceae and is related to sorrel. It grows best in cool climates and the effect of forcing was discovered by accident at the Chelsea Physic Garden early in the 19th century.NUTRITIONRhubarb is a good source of fiber and contains moderate levels of vitamin C and calcium. Studies have linked the fiber from rhubarb in the diet with reduced cholesterol levels.TIPSBUYING:Choose crisp, firm, plump stalks with good color.STORING:Kept in the fridge, fresh rhubarb will stay in reasonable condition for 1-2 weeks. Raw and cooked rhubarb freeze well.PREPARING:Wash and trim both ends of the stalks, and discard the poisonous leaves. Rhubarb, in particular the later field-grown variety, is very tart and requires considerable sweetening. As with other relatively acidic foods it is recommended that it is not cooked using aluminum pots."

Local Harvest is a great website that helps you search for local produce in season...or click here for another site and information about farmers markets near you. Hope you all had a super weekend...now I must go enjoy some toast with rhubarb/cherry jam. :)

Spring Spring

I have been looking at a bunch of wonderful ideas that have to do with spring because I am so excited that it is finally here! Some days in the midwest it still does not feel like spring, but the sun has been shining this week and Easter is this weekend and it gets me in the mood. Below are a bunch of links to great websites, projects or etsy finds that have to do with spring. I did not want to forget these for future reference...so it is always good to blog and mark them down so I can find them again someday.

Here is an easy seed starter tutorial.

If you are growing anything you probably have these started already, but I thought this was a great tutorial that I wanted to remember.

 baby hat and  flower stacker toy....super cute for the kiddos.

birdie wallpaper silhouette...love it!

Here is a great tutorial on how to Make your own kite.

   

...and we all know there will be spring cleaning going on at some point. Here is a spring cleaning guide, and a great idea for storing all the STUFF we have...

personalized storage baskets.

Also click here for yummy stuff...so cute! 

Happy Spring! We are off to Stillwater to see family...have a good Easter!

love-

Wheatgrass

It was actually pretty nice a couple days this week, but I know not to fool myself...it always seems to get cold again this time of year. I decided I needed a little bit more green in our house and i found this great idea from mom in madison. Wheatgrass!...it sprouts and grows so fast its a lot of fun to watch. I literally woke up every morning this week and went straight downstairs to look how much it has changed.

It is so easy to do, and I chose to do it in glass so i can watch the growth process. All you need is a little sand, potting soil, wheat berries(i found organic from our farmers market),plastic wrap and a container to plant in.

First soak the wheat berries in room temperature water for 8-12 hours-drain and change the water about half way through. Then fill the bottom of your pot/jar with one inch of sand.(this is to keep it from getting waterlogged) Then put about 2 inches of potting soil layered over the sand, and then top it with a thick layer of wheat berries. I think I may have put too thick of a layer-as the grass has grown and it has been pretty crammed, and too thick of a layer makes it easier for mold to grow....so just enough to cover the soil. Water lightly and then cover loosly with plastic wrap and place it in a shady spot. 

march 2

Spray with water morning and night. Berries should sprout after the first day; after sprouted you may remove the plastic wrap and keep it in a window to get light. In a few days you should have grass! Continue to spray with water every morning and night. Once the grass is growing you may want to rinse it out everyday to prevent the lower berries from molding.(fill the jar with cool water then use a finger to drain.)

It is so much fun once the grass starts growing, it can grow like an inch or more a day! You can trim it when it reaches 4 inches or so...this makes for some green in the house during these long winter months...you could also snip it and add it to smoothies, or if you have a grinder some people grind it and take shots of it...I don't know enough about that, but my step mother does that. Just beware of the overwhelming scent it gives off when snipped. :)

march 4

march 5

march 6

march 7

Its always nice to have a little more green life in the house when its cold outside. :) Have a good weekend.

Big Day!

Today Will is 5 months old!! Wahoo!...I can hardly believe how fast he is growing...and he is getting quite the little personality. :)

We got a new aloe plant...exciting...exciting!

...and in the studio I have been overwhelmed with so many ideas. I made lots of small baby blankets "Linkys,"(with hopes to sell). They have a super soft backside and a link in the corner so it doesn't fall out of the carseat or stroller.

Here they are all rolled up. I had so much fun using these modern designer fabrics I ordered from the fabric shoppe

..and my new favorite spring bag!! My mom gave me some new fat quarters she found on sale and these bright floral patterns seemed perfect for a new big bag to carry all the baby stuff I have to carry around now. I don't like to follow patterns; I just figured it out as I went...so there are lots of mistakes. I will be making lots more to figure out exactly how I want it to look.

Have a splendid day,

Grow!

It's not too early to start a herb garden indoors! I figured when they start to grow more abundantly it will be about springtime and i can replant them in separate pots! I love having a little green around this time of year!

He Loves Me!!