The garden is still maturing, but even so, we have had some pretty amazing meals from it. The salad bar is still producing faster than we can eat. I now have a couple of lettuce trees in addition to some more normal lettuces. Jerry is crazy about the dark leaf peppery one. I am not as fond of it so I am making sure that it is torn into small pieces before going into the salad. *FYI...if you don't have a salad spinner, I highly recommend you get one. They are the best way to get the water off of your freshly washed lettuce.
The cherry tomatoes are maturing daily and we have a new crop to harvest each time we go outside it seems. Yesterday I broiled them three different ways so we could get an idea of how to prepare them instead of always having them in salad. This is pretty important as Jordan and Jacob don't care for tomatoes in their salad. I did three varieties yesterday. All started with a drizzle of olive oil. One batch then received fresh basil, salt, and pepper. The second batch received fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. The last batch was feta cheese. Our favorite was the balsamic vinegar one. I couldn't believe how sweet the tomatoes were! The feta cheese was tasty, but the texture was weird. The cheese was hard after being under the broiler. The basil only batch was fresh and lovely, but there was just something about the balsamic vinegar batch!!!
This is our first really big attempt at a garden. We have had tomatoes and peppers before, but this go around we have some eggplant and that has been an experience. We purchased these plants at J and P here in Mechanicsville. They have been incredibly healthy and are absolutely covered with eggplants. There are bees buzzing around them as the plants continue to blossom, promising more eggplants in the future. We have only eaten three of the eggplants, but they are tasty! We used a couple in a veggie scramble with onions, pepper, and the last time with some okra. I also grilled one of the eggplant with herbs and olive oil. I must say, the grilled eggplant was wonderful, but I blew it when I didn't use fresh herbs.
Jillian loves sun dried tomatoes and with the bumper crop of Roma tomatoes ripening in the garden, I Googled how to make them this way. I think we have a handle on it, but there are several options ranging from using a dehydrator (we don't have) to actually using the sun, a hot car, or the over (all of which I do have). I think the oven is my first choice as I can control the temp and the bugs that way. Will let you know all about it when we get started.
Monday, July 4, 2011
July 4, 2011
The garden is still maturing, but even so, we have had some pretty amazing meals from it. The salad bar is still producing faster than we can eat. I now have a couple of lettuce trees in addition to some more normal lettuces. Jerry is crazy about the dark leaf peppery one. I am not as fond of it so I am making sure that it is torn into small pieces before going into the salad. *FYI...if you don't have a salad spinner, I highly recommend you get one. They are the best way to get the water off of your freshly washed lettuce.
The cherry tomatoes are maturing daily and we have a new crop to harvest each time we go outside it seems. Yesterday I broiled them three different ways so we could get an idea of how to prepare them instead of always having them in salad. This is pretty important as Jordan and Jacob don't care for tomatoes in their salad. I did three varieties yesterday. All started with a drizzle of olive oil. One batch then received fresh basil, salt, and pepper. The second batch received fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. The last batch was feta cheese. Our favorite was the balsamic vinegar one. I couldn't believe how sweet the tomatoes were! The feta cheese was tasty, but the texture was weird. The cheese was hard after being under the broiler. The basil only batch was fresh and lovely, but there was just something about the balsamic vinegar batch!!!
This is our first really big attempt at a garden. We have had tomatoes and peppers before, but this go around we have some eggplant and that has been an experience. We purchased these plants at J and P here in Mechanicsville. They have been incredibly healthy and are absolutely covered with eggplants. There are bees buzzing around them as the plants continue to blossom, promising more eggplants in the future. We have only eaten three of the eggplants, but they are tasty! We used a couple in a veggie scramble with onions, pepper, and the last time with some okra. I also grilled one of the eggplant with herbs and olive oil. I must say, the grilled eggplant was wonderful, but I blew it when I didn't use fresh herbs.
Jillian loves sun dried tomatoes and with the bumper crop of Roma tomatoes ripening in the garden, I Googled how to make them this way. I think we have a handle on it, but there are several options ranging from using a dehydrator (we don't have) to actually using the sun, a hot car, or the over (all of which I do have). I think the oven is my first choice as I can control the temp and the bugs that way. Will let you know all about it when we get started.
The cherry tomatoes are maturing daily and we have a new crop to harvest each time we go outside it seems. Yesterday I broiled them three different ways so we could get an idea of how to prepare them instead of always having them in salad. This is pretty important as Jordan and Jacob don't care for tomatoes in their salad. I did three varieties yesterday. All started with a drizzle of olive oil. One batch then received fresh basil, salt, and pepper. The second batch received fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. The last batch was feta cheese. Our favorite was the balsamic vinegar one. I couldn't believe how sweet the tomatoes were! The feta cheese was tasty, but the texture was weird. The cheese was hard after being under the broiler. The basil only batch was fresh and lovely, but there was just something about the balsamic vinegar batch!!!
This is our first really big attempt at a garden. We have had tomatoes and peppers before, but this go around we have some eggplant and that has been an experience. We purchased these plants at J and P here in Mechanicsville. They have been incredibly healthy and are absolutely covered with eggplants. There are bees buzzing around them as the plants continue to blossom, promising more eggplants in the future. We have only eaten three of the eggplants, but they are tasty! We used a couple in a veggie scramble with onions, pepper, and the last time with some okra. I also grilled one of the eggplant with herbs and olive oil. I must say, the grilled eggplant was wonderful, but I blew it when I didn't use fresh herbs.
Jillian loves sun dried tomatoes and with the bumper crop of Roma tomatoes ripening in the garden, I Googled how to make them this way. I think we have a handle on it, but there are several options ranging from using a dehydrator (we don't have) to actually using the sun, a hot car, or the over (all of which I do have). I think the oven is my first choice as I can control the temp and the bugs that way. Will let you know all about it when we get started.
July 4, 2011
The garden is still maturing, but even so, we have had some pretty amazing meals from it. The salad bar is still producing faster than we can eat. I now have a couple of lettuce trees in addition to some more normal lettuces. Jerry is crazy about the dark leaf peppery one. I am not as fond of it so I am making sure that it is torn into small pieces before going into the salad. *FYI...if you don't have a salad spinner, I highly recommend you get one. They are the best way to get the water off of your freshly washed lettuce.
The cherry tomatoes are maturing daily and we have a new crop to harvest each time we go outside it seems. Yesterday I broiled them three different ways so we could get an idea of how to prepare them instead of always having them in salad. This is pretty important as Jordan and Jacob don't care for tomatoes in their salad. I did three varieties yesterday. All started with a drizzle of olive oil. One batch then received fresh basil, salt, and pepper. The second batch received fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. The last batch was feta cheese. Our favorite was the balsamic vinegar one. I couldn't believe how sweet the tomatoes were! The feta cheese was tasty, but the texture was weird. The cheese was hard after being under the broiler. The basil only batch was fresh and lovely, but there was just something about the balsamic vinegar batch!!!
This is our first really big attempt at a garden. We have had tomatoes and peppers before, but this go around we have some eggplant and that has been an experience. We purchased these plants at J and P here in Mechanicsville. They have been incredibly healthy and are absolutely covered with eggplants. There are bees buzzing around them as the plants continue to blossom, promising more eggplants in the future. We have only eaten three of the eggplants, but they are tasty! We used a couple in a veggie scramble with onions, pepper, and the last time with some okra. I also grilled one of the eggplant with herbs and olive oil. I must say, the grilled eggplant was wonderful, but I blew it when I didn't use fresh herbs.
Jillian loves sun dried tomatoes and with the bumper crop of Roma tomatoes ripening in the garden, I Googled how to make them this way. I think we have a handle on it, but there are several options ranging from using a dehydrator (we don't have) to actually using the sun, a hot car, or the over (all of which I do have). I think the oven is my first choice as I can control the temp and the bugs that way. Will let you know all about it when we get started.
The cherry tomatoes are maturing daily and we have a new crop to harvest each time we go outside it seems. Yesterday I broiled them three different ways so we could get an idea of how to prepare them instead of always having them in salad. This is pretty important as Jordan and Jacob don't care for tomatoes in their salad. I did three varieties yesterday. All started with a drizzle of olive oil. One batch then received fresh basil, salt, and pepper. The second batch received fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. The last batch was feta cheese. Our favorite was the balsamic vinegar one. I couldn't believe how sweet the tomatoes were! The feta cheese was tasty, but the texture was weird. The cheese was hard after being under the broiler. The basil only batch was fresh and lovely, but there was just something about the balsamic vinegar batch!!!
This is our first really big attempt at a garden. We have had tomatoes and peppers before, but this go around we have some eggplant and that has been an experience. We purchased these plants at J and P here in Mechanicsville. They have been incredibly healthy and are absolutely covered with eggplants. There are bees buzzing around them as the plants continue to blossom, promising more eggplants in the future. We have only eaten three of the eggplants, but they are tasty! We used a couple in a veggie scramble with onions, pepper, and the last time with some okra. I also grilled one of the eggplant with herbs and olive oil. I must say, the grilled eggplant was wonderful, but I blew it when I didn't use fresh herbs.
Jillian loves sun dried tomatoes and with the bumper crop of Roma tomatoes ripening in the garden, I Googled how to make them this way. I think we have a handle on it, but there are several options ranging from using a dehydrator (we don't have) to actually using the sun, a hot car, or the over (all of which I do have). I think the oven is my first choice as I can control the temp and the bugs that way. Will let you know all about it when we get started.
July 4, 2011
The garden is still maturing, but even so, we have had some pretty amazing meals from it. The salad bar is still producing faster than we can eat. I now have a couple of lettuce trees in addition to some more normal lettuces. Jerry is crazy about the dark leaf peppery one. I am not as fond of it so I am making sure that it is torn into small pieces before going into the salad. *FYI...if you don't have a salad spinner, I highly recommend you get one. They are the best way to get the water off of your freshly washed lettuce.
The cherry tomatoes are maturing daily and we have a new crop to harvest each time we go outside it seems. Yesterday I broiled them three different ways so we could get an idea of how to prepare them instead of always having them in salad. This is pretty important as Jordan and Jacob don't care for tomatoes in their salad. I did three varieties yesterday. All started with a drizzle of olive oil. One batch then received fresh basil, salt, and pepper. The second batch received fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. The last batch was feta cheese. Our favorite was the balsamic vinegar one. I couldn't believe how sweet the tomatoes were! The feta cheese was tasty, but the texture was weird. The cheese was hard after being under the broiler. The basil only batch was fresh and lovely, but there was just something about the balsamic vinegar batch!!!
This is our first really big attempt at a garden. We have had tomatoes and peppers before, but this go around we have some eggplant and that has been an experience. We purchased these plants at J and P here in Mechanicsville. They have been incredibly healthy and are absolutely covered with eggplants. There are bees buzzing around them as the plants continue to blossom, promising more eggplants in the future. We have only eaten three of the eggplants, but they are tasty! We used a couple in a veggie scramble with onions, pepper, and the last time with some okra. I also grilled one of the eggplant with herbs and olive oil. I must say, the grilled eggplant was wonderful, but I blew it when I didn't use fresh herbs.
Jillian loves sun dried tomatoes and with the bumper crop of Roma tomatoes ripening in the garden, I Googled how to make them this way. I think we have a handle on it, but there are several options ranging from using a dehydrator (we don't have) to actually using the sun, a hot car, or the over (all of which I do have). I think the oven is my first choice as I can control the temp and the bugs that way. Will let you know all about it when we get started.
The cherry tomatoes are maturing daily and we have a new crop to harvest each time we go outside it seems. Yesterday I broiled them three different ways so we could get an idea of how to prepare them instead of always having them in salad. This is pretty important as Jordan and Jacob don't care for tomatoes in their salad. I did three varieties yesterday. All started with a drizzle of olive oil. One batch then received fresh basil, salt, and pepper. The second batch received fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. The last batch was feta cheese. Our favorite was the balsamic vinegar one. I couldn't believe how sweet the tomatoes were! The feta cheese was tasty, but the texture was weird. The cheese was hard after being under the broiler. The basil only batch was fresh and lovely, but there was just something about the balsamic vinegar batch!!!
This is our first really big attempt at a garden. We have had tomatoes and peppers before, but this go around we have some eggplant and that has been an experience. We purchased these plants at J and P here in Mechanicsville. They have been incredibly healthy and are absolutely covered with eggplants. There are bees buzzing around them as the plants continue to blossom, promising more eggplants in the future. We have only eaten three of the eggplants, but they are tasty! We used a couple in a veggie scramble with onions, pepper, and the last time with some okra. I also grilled one of the eggplant with herbs and olive oil. I must say, the grilled eggplant was wonderful, but I blew it when I didn't use fresh herbs.
Jillian loves sun dried tomatoes and with the bumper crop of Roma tomatoes ripening in the garden, I Googled how to make them this way. I think we have a handle on it, but there are several options ranging from using a dehydrator (we don't have) to actually using the sun, a hot car, or the over (all of which I do have). I think the oven is my first choice as I can control the temp and the bugs that way. Will let you know all about it when we get started.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Summer 2011
It has been a while...
Jerry and I have been working like crazy on our garden (no photos yet). We have visions of summer meals dancing in our heads and we think that we will be canning and freezing as well so that we can eat "fresh" during the winter.
Last week, I made a cherry pie with the help of Jillian and Caitlin. The cherries were pretty small, but they were from our tree and that means they tasted like heaven to us. I didn't use a recipe for the pie, so I can't share however, the basic premise is that fresh fruit pie should taste like the fruit. I added a little sugar (the cherries are tart) and a little bit of butter and cooked them for about 7 - 10 minutes. The pie crust was homemade and we made a lattice top crust sprinkled with sugar instead of a solid upper crust. It was beautiful and tasty. The best part may have been that Jerry appreciated it so much. He is a fool for a pie and cherry is his favorite. I typically hate anything cherry, but fresh cherries do not in any shape or form taste like cherry soda, canned cherry pie filling, cherry jello, cherry chapstick, cherry limeades, and so on....
Jerry and I have been working like crazy on our garden (no photos yet). We have visions of summer meals dancing in our heads and we think that we will be canning and freezing as well so that we can eat "fresh" during the winter.
Last week, I made a cherry pie with the help of Jillian and Caitlin. The cherries were pretty small, but they were from our tree and that means they tasted like heaven to us. I didn't use a recipe for the pie, so I can't share however, the basic premise is that fresh fruit pie should taste like the fruit. I added a little sugar (the cherries are tart) and a little bit of butter and cooked them for about 7 - 10 minutes. The pie crust was homemade and we made a lattice top crust sprinkled with sugar instead of a solid upper crust. It was beautiful and tasty. The best part may have been that Jerry appreciated it so much. He is a fool for a pie and cherry is his favorite. I typically hate anything cherry, but fresh cherries do not in any shape or form taste like cherry soda, canned cherry pie filling, cherry jello, cherry chapstick, cherry limeades, and so on....
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