Crafty Cucumber

Monday, 4 July 2016

Local Produce Box: Week 4

Our produce box was very full this week: snap peas, chives, garlic scapes, oregano, strawberries, beet tops, snow peas, kohlrabi, onions, romaine lettuce, nevada lettuce, radishes.....a very bountiful box indeed.

And here is what we ate:

(from left to right)

Mixed Green Salad (Romaine and Nevada lettuce) with Beet Tops - my own creation, topped with green onions and chives, and dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Kohlrabi and Radish Salad - recipe courtesy of this week's box. While it does not look like much, it was very good, so good that the girls asked for second helpings.
Garlic Scape Pesto - we got this recipe in last year's box and loved it so much that we were eagerly hoping for more scapes to come our way this year so that we could make it again. We add this pesto to angel hair pasta and top it with fresh tomatoes and pine nuts; it is absolutely delicious.
Lettuce Soup - an unusual recipe that came with this week's box. I thought I would give it a try as a means to use up some of the lettuce.

I also repeated a few recipes from last week: Pea Stir-Fry with Mushrooms and Almonds and Cucumber and Strawberry Salad with Snap Peas.

And with all that lettuce on hand, we had salad every day. I used the chives to make a Honey Chive Dressing; the recipe (from The Forest Feast) makes quite a bit and I simply stored it in a mason jar in the fridge and pulled it out throughout the week to dress our salads as needed - very handy indeed.

Everything tastes so much better when it is fresh from the garden. Needless to say, we are eating very well around here.

Sunday, 3 July 2016

27/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2016."

My two happy girls after another fantastic Canada Day camping weekend full of sun, sand, swimming, campfires, s'mores, mosquito bites, friends, forest walks, mud, imaginary games, and big smiles....

Joining in with Jodi for the 52 Week Project.

Thursday, 30 June 2016

Garden Notes

We really need rain. It has been weeks since we have had a proper rain and it has been a bit of a struggle for the garden. We put the sprinkler on the veggies every night, but I still think a good natural soaking would do wonders. And for the grass as well; our once lush lawn is looking a little fried at the moment.

Lack of water aside, things are growing well. The broccoli and cauliflower are huge. No crowns yet, but the size of the leaves looks promising. Did you know you can eat broccoli and cauliflower leaves? I have a recipe for roasting them that is absolutely delicious, when we get to that point in the season, I'll have to share it here.

The spinach is all but done, just a few remaining leaves that I will pluck off and add to a salad. And we have been harvesting our chard leaf by leaf as well and adding that to our salads. We are eating a lot of salads at the moment between what is in the garden and what is coming in our produce box.

Also, there are some small peppers hanging on the plants; I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the pesky squirrels leave them alone and let them ripen.

The beets and the kale are thriving. And thanks to the cage surrounding the strawberries we have been able to harvest a small bowlful.

How is your garden doing?

P.S. They are forecasting rain for tomorrow, when we are planning a camping trip...isn't that how it goes, you can't have it all, can you?

Wednesday, 29 June 2016

Off to a Good Start

Wreath decorating has begun:

There is so much more to do, but I do think I am off to a good start. I love how cheerful and happy the colors are and how well they look together. I learned a lot about color combinations while I was working on my Cozy Stripe Blanket and I am excited to use what I learned as I crochet decorations for my wreath.

If you are interested, the patterns that I used for my decorations are as follows: Triple Layer Flower and Leaves, Teeny Tiny Flowers.

Have a wonderful day.

Monday, 27 June 2016

Local Produce Box: Week 3

In regards to our local produce box, I am going to keep showing you 'what we got and what I made', does that sound okay?

I love to read about what other people are eating, what recipes they are trying, what ends up on their dinner table on a random Wednesday night, and I hope this is of interest to you as well. Getting a selection of local produce every week makes me feel connected to the local farmers that grow it and to the season when it comes to harvest, and I hope that sharing what is happening in my kitchen with you helps to connect us to one another through the common task that is preparing and serving healthy food to our families. Or maybe it just helps you with what to make for dinner this week, and that is okay too.

In this week's box we had: salad greens, romaine lettuce, chard, snow peas, radishes, strawberries, and green onions

And here is what I made:

(from left to right)

Cucumber and Strawberry Salad with Snap Peas - recipe courtesy of The Forest Feast, with a few variations to use what I had on hand
Pea Stir-Fry with Mushrooms and Almonds - recipe courtesy of last year's produce box
Romaine Salad with Shredded Carrots, Dried Cherries and Pecans - my own culinary creation
Rainbow Chard Quiche - recipe courtesy of The Forest Feast for Kids

There were also many other salads on the menu this week - an absolute necessity to use up all the salad greens, romaine, and chard that we got in our box, plus all the spinach from our garden....

And with those huge radishes, I made more radish butter toast....a new family favorite, for sure.

Tomorrow it is time to pick up our next box and I can not wait....