csa

This is the first year our family has subscribed to (signed up for?) a CSA.  (Community Supported Agriculture)


{This week - clockwise from top left: Rainbow chard, kale, young carrots, radish, kohlrabi, young cabbage, mesclun mix (spicy greens including arugula, lettuce and mustard), new potatoes.  And ironically a little girl's hand holding a tootsie pop - not part of CSA. ;] }

This is our 6th week of 19 getting fresh, lovely, leafy goodness from a local farm.  I'm really enjoying the surplus of veggies in our fridge and the challenge to use things we wouldn't normally buy.  When we received our first few CSAs, I was not super excited.  Still dealing with morning sickness, lack of motivation, and just feeling blah.  I didn't usually want to spend much time in the kitchen and I felt like I was just wasting our veggies.  Thankfully we are past all that (for the most part.)

One thing I have struggled with is properly storing the items to ensure they stay fresh for a little while.  Not sure why it took me 6 weeks to google "how to store ____" but that's super helpful!  I would usually just prop them all in a bowl of water, or just lay them on the bottom shelf.  I liked seeing the greens from all the veggies each time I opened the fridge.  Now I've learned that leaving the tops on root vegetables (carrots, radishes, turnip, etc) sucks all the nutrients to the tops and the root gets limp and undesirable.  I've learned to cut the tops off (after I photograph them of course!) and store the veggies in water in the fridge.

I've also preserved some things by freezing (garlic scape pesto, blanched greens) and pickling (garlic scape refrigerator pickles.)

I've learned so many things about different veggies and am looking forward to trying some new recipes.

What are your favorite recipes with seasonal veggies?

Vacation, in phone pics.

The hubs had this well off from work and we had several fun mini adventures!

grilled pizza

Summer in our home means lots of grilling.  We just love to grill.

We use charcoal.  Mostly because the grill cost us $25 at Target last year, and even though it's more time consuming and can be a little picky, we've come to love the flavor and the classic-ness about it all.

One of our absolute favorite meals to grill is pizza.


(Tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, asparagus and mushrooms!  This one was mine, for those of you who know about my semi-picky eaters.)

 It's really hectic in a fun kind of way, but if you had a nice big table next to your grill, with all your ingredients and utensils ready for you, it would be a lot easier.  Apparently we prefer to run in and out of our apartment like chickens with our heads cut off.  The biggest thing is having everything ready to go before you start cooking.  This is how we grill pizza. 

Step 1) Make or buy dough.  I divide one dough ball into 4 sections and shape them into rounds, but the more misshapen they are the more rustic and gorgeous they end up.  (The smaller pizzas are easier to handle, fit on our grill, and let us each have our own individual pie.)

Step 2) (This step could also be done ahead of time) Prepare all your toppings.  Veggies may need to be sauteed ahead of time because the grilling is so fast that they don't really get a chance to cook on the pizza.

Step 3) Grease the grate (I'm not going to lie we don't always do this.) of your already hot grill.  It has to be hot!  If it's just warm the dough will stick.  I like to spray each side of the pizza dough round generously with olive oil spray too.  Place dough on grill.

Step 4) Cover grill.  Don't walk away.  The dough cooks super fast and you need to flip it over.  The top will start to bubble and you can check the bottom by grabbing an edge with your tongs and peeking.

Step 5) Flip it over then immediately place your toppings and cover your grill.  Pretty much once the cheese is melted, the bottom will be done.  (Once again, check the bottom by peeking with your tongs.)  You need to keep a close eye on your pizza unless you like it quite charred. ;]

Step 6)  Slide off onto a plate, repeat with the rest of your doughs and enjoy!



Oh, and then with your extra dough round, brush it with coconut oil and cook it on the grill like usual, only minus the toppings.  Then bring it inside and add more coconut oil, powdered sugar, and cinnamon.  Oh goodness.  "You can make more dessert."  Ziva said. ;]

Welcome summer!

Just a few instagram shots documenting the first day of summer around these parts!

 

Happy summer!

From the weekend

Saturday we had the most beautiful first beach day of the season.  The weather was perfect and the company wasn't too shabby either. ;]  Z loved playing in the sand, having a picnic and running down the beach.  She was a little timid of the waves, but she sure did giggle when she was on daddy's back in the ergo and he ran from the waves!  <3

Home

We got home late Sunday night from a church missions trip to rural New York. 8+ hours there and the same back. 4 nights in a hotel and we used cloth the whole time. Z did really REALLY well on the ride, had a little trouble getting to sleep in the hotel and really started to come out of her shell more. I'm pretty sure her vocabulary increased on the trip too.

{I just can't help showing off that fluffy bum. And for clarification, we are in a parking lot in this picture. =]}

{Lots and lots of Ergo time - mixed with plenty of Mama (and others!) chasing.}

{We got some rain.}

{& Z learned to sing along with the radio}

I had a great time catching up with Karen and hope that the work we did at their church is a huge blessing. I know I was blessed to just be there and to see others pitching in to do God's work, while sometimes I had to just take a break to be with Z.

We're trying to get back into our daily rhythm now and it's getting easier each day. I breathed a big sigh of relief when I reminded myself that our housework/laundry/getting everything put away didn't all need to be done on Monday. We're just easing back into daily life. =]

{Ps sorry for the ginormous photos. I'm just too lazy to fix them... =/}

Strawberry-Rhubarb Ice Cream

Mmmm. Sooo I came upon this recipe in my Taste of Home magazine and decided to try it. I however do, not own an ice cream machine, so here is a little tutorial for making it with your Kitchenaid Mixer. (Or you could use a hand mixer.)

The recipe:

• 10 Servings
• Prep: 45 min. + cooling Process: 20 min. + freezing

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed
• 1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons strawberry gelatin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• In a small saucepan, bring the rhubarb, 1/2 cup sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until rhubarb is tender. Remove from the heat; sprinkle gelatin and cinnamon over rhubarb mixture. Let stand for 1 minute. Stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Stir in marshmallows.
• In a large saucepan, heat the milk, salt and remaining sugar to 175°. Remove from the heat; stir in cream and vanilla. Refrigerate until chilled. Pour into cylinder of ice cream freezer; process for 10 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Add rhubarb mixture; freeze according to manufacturer's directions.
• When ice cream is frozen, transfer to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving. Yield: 5 cups.

Editor's Note: If using frozen rhubarb, measure rhubarb while still frozen, then thaw completely. Drain in a colander, but do not press liquid out.

Nutrition Facts: 1/2 cup equals 300 calories, 18 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 68 mg cholesterol, 95 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein.

Here's what I did:

-Prepared my ingredients. (Minus the mini-marshmallows...not my thing.)

-Here's the rhubarb, sugar, water, cinnamon and gelatin on the left, and the milk, salt, sugar, vanilla and cream on the right.
-The two combined.
- Poured into the kitchenaid bowl and placed in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
- Whipping the mixture.
-Return mixture to freezer until it starts to freeze around the edges, whip, repeat several times. (Until you achieve your desired ice creamy thickness.)
- Enjoy!

Spring = LOVE

Buds!!!


Remember my favorite tree from my 'Winter Wonderland' post? Looks a little different now huh? The picture doesn't even do it justice. It makes it look like an overcast day when really it's super sunny and 84 degrees!! (Maybe I should'nt have taken the picture through a screen...=P) Anywayyyy I'm so excited for DH to hang up my hammock chair soon! (A lovely little contraption we picked up in Cancun on our honeymoon.) It's great to sit in and swing in the tree and just read or chill. Love it. It did live in our livingroom the first few months after we got it. But it ended up not really matching the decor... Lol.

So today is on of the first days that I've reallllly wanted to wear shorts and a tanktop. Unfortunatly, my summer clothes are still sucked up in one of those space saver bags in a cupboard behind our bed. I tried tugging on the bed. No such luck. I'll make sure DH gets them out tonight though! Yipee! I am loving this weather!