Garden Stuff

We have had great success with our garden this year. It's been super exciting to have fresh vegetables to use every night. Of course, now I'm running out of ideas on how to prepare zucchini.

A walk down memory lane if you will--

You might remember our garden looking like this:

It now looks like this (who knew cantaloupes were fence climbers?):

Our fresh produce looks like this:

Grant cutting up our first cucumber looks like this:

Grant's Yard Projects

Grant has outdone himself with the yard projects.

He knew I always wanted a small raised bed for vegetables, but he couldn't imagine letting his 9 months pregnant wife climb up an unstable hill to get to the garden (how kind), so he decided that he needed to make stairs. And stairs he made:

The beginning of the stairs. Behold the Carolina red clay. I hate this stuff.


Project 1 completed. My contribution was the plants.

Instead of a simple raised vegetable garden, Grant decided that we needed a retaining wall/raised garden that extended the length of our yard. I thought this was a fabulous idea because we back up into a chain link fence and for years have discussed what the best option of hiding this ugliness was. The solution- a retaining wall/raised bed!

The backyard before the raised bed.

Raised bed completed!!

The fun part, of course, was planting vegetables and flowers. It's so big, but we filled it up nicely, I think. We also planted ivy to climb up the chain link fence. It will be a battle to keep it from growing in the garden, but one I'm willing to handle to cover the chain link.

The view from the other side.

Remember this project from past posts? Well, the trellis is finally up, staked and has cute little vines growing on both sides.

Grant fell in love with the moss on one of his visits to Lowes. He had to put a moss garden behind the trellis. I think it will look so cool when it fills out.


This is the view from the driveway. It's so pretty when you first drive up. I'm so excited that after 6 years, we finally are starting to make this yard look good.

Things . . .

It's been awhile since I've written anything. I'm a slacker.

I got a wild hair to sew some cute, trendy headbands-- I have a feeling I'll be doing that tonight. (But first, I must walk my two miles on the treadmill. No crafting until exercise is done.) I've been thinking about things to go in my birth center bag. Headbands seem like a top priority to me, especially cute handmade ones.

Grant has been working incredibly hard on the most beautiful raised garden/retaining wall. It's magnificent and will hold tons of veges. He's also made a set of stairs that lead up to the garden. I can't wait to post some pictures of his handiwork. It really is incredible. He also is making me a compost bin and even ordered some worms. I told him that this might have to be his project for awhile as I will be busy with baby soon.

I'm training someone to take my place at work. Believe it or not, I'm a little sad to leave this place. I have really found my niche here and feel like I actually know what I'm doing (it only took 8 years)! I only have 2.5 more weeks to go. Don't worry, I'm going to love staying at home.

Baby bump updates soon!

Honest Scrap!

Here are the rules:

1. Must thank the person who gave you the award and list their blog and link it.

2. Share "10 Honest things" about yourself.

3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.

4. Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

***

1. The person that gave this award to me was Kellan Vernon! We've known each other for a long time! We both danced together at Providence Baptist Church and attended a ballet class together (many, many years ago)! She's a new mommy to a precious little girl. You should check out her blog (linked to her name)!

2. 10 Honest Things about me:

(i) For the most part I do not care for music. There are very few songs that grab my attention and move me. Very, very strange, I know. I can't listen to the radio while driving because it makes me crazy, so I listen to books on tape instead. I have, however, really enjoyed the Glee soundtrack. One of the first CDs that I actually like (almost) every song on the list.

(ii) I love almost all vegetables and fruit. I grew up eating them and love them to this day. It's hard for me to name a vege or a fruit that I don't like- hmm, not a huge fan of green bell peppers or ripe bananas. That's all I can think of. Ooh, a salad would be so good right now.

(iii) At first, I didn't think I wanted children. Even when I was a kid, it never really crossed my mind. I'm just not a "kid" person per se. But then we had a change of heart! Although, I'm still not comfortable with children not related to me, I love to pieces my nieces and nephews and already adore my own soon-to-be-here child.

(iv) My favorite tv show is So You Think You Can Dance. I am so in awe of what those dancers can do. Sometimes I get inspired and stretch for an extra 20 seconds!

(v) I grew up wanting to be a veterinarian. I am a paralegal. What went wrong?

(vi) I love surprises. I hate when people spoil something for me. I never peek at wrapped presents. I never search for unwrapped gifts. I wait until the last possible moment to "open"/"know" my surprise. Hence, my lack of desire to know the sex of our baby. I know some women count down the days until they get to know what gender their baby is. Strangely enough, I have no such desire at all. I can't wait to be surprised on the day that he or she decides to join our family. (Disclaimer: I totally understand why people want to know though, and I would never judge anyone's decisions!)

(vii) I don't feel like I have a hometown. I also don't feel like I can attach myself to any one label- Southerner or Westerner. I was born in dairy farm country in Texas, grew up in middle class Hawaii, but have lived the majority of my life in North Carolina. I don't feel particularly connected to anyone state. I love them all for different reasons. So don't ask me where I'm from, because you get many answers!

(viii) I never eat in my car. I think it's gross.

(ix) I can only fold clothes on a freshly vacuumed carpet. I don't know why. I don't try to understand why.

(x) I am super excited to cloth diaper my baby. I hope that it is something that the baby likes too, because it sure can save us a lot of money. We bought a new washer/dryer system in 2008 with a sanitary option on it, in preparation for cloth diapering. Can you tell it's been on my mind awhile!


3. I am not going to name 7 bloggers to do this. But, if one of my readers wants to do it, just leave me a comment so I can see what you've got to say!

Green Potato Chips??

No, but the best alternative to potato chips. I would never, in a million years, believe that kale chips taste pretty much like potato chips. These little beauties are crunchy, salty and green. What could be better. Seriously, they lose the "kale" flavor when baked, so don't worry about it tasting too funny. This is a wonderful alternative to chips. And another great way to use the ultra nutritious kale.

The recipe

Kale-- cut or tear the leaves from the stalk into bite size pieces

Sea salt

Olive oil

* put the kale into a plastic bag or tupperware.

* drizzle olive oil over the leaves-- just enough to coat.

* sprinkle a little sea salt onto the kale (just a little- for some reason it gets seriously salty after baking)

* shake the bag or tupperware and get the kale coated evenly with the salt and olive oil.

* spread on baking sheet and bake for approximately 17 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Bake until leaves are crispy.

* enjoy!

Crazy Weather

Here is NC weather for you-- snow on Monday and sunny 73 degree weather on Friday. Actually, the wild temperature change doesn't bother me much. Having lived in Hawaii for 10 years, where the weather rarely fluctuates, I have immensely enjoyed the seasons that NC has to offer.

I can, however, say that I am ready for spring. I'm cold, I want to be outside again and I desperately need some sun. So, I'm ready for this weekend. This is also the month that I start my garden, so I want to start thinking about what I want this year. I really want to beef up on my herb garden this year-- last year I let it slip a bit. And I want to grow tomatoes and some other vegetables again this year.

Grant and I also want to work on our yard some. We have an ugly chain link fence that divides our property from the Shriner's Club, so it needs to be covered up. I decided that gardenia bushes would probably be the best option for us. After unsuccessfully trying climbing roses and jasmine plants, bushes seemed the next best option. Besides being my favorite flower, they are evergreen bushes and grow pretty tall. Hopefully, this will add some texture to our backyard. We also need to finish covering our slope with creeping phlox. This ground covering is so pretty in the spring- white, purple, pink and blue flowers cover our whole hill. Very nice. I also want to put some color in our front yard. I'll probably just get a big pot and put some flowers in there.

Well, I'm ready for spring-- are you?

Vacation

So, I decided to take the week of Christmas off from work. What a great vacation and much needed break. I have done so many things this past week-- I hope I can remember them all.

Grant and I cleaned out our attic- threw a lot of stuff away and made a trip to the goodwill. There is much satisfaction in completing a project. Grant and I almost never complete projects together because we have such different work schedules.

I have been experimenting with bread recipes this past week. Some have been successful and others have not been! I have pictures that I will post later. I love my new wheat grinder, but I am trying to find the right balance of whole wheat in bread recipes without the end result being a hard, thick bread. Still working on the balance. In the meantime I have made four wheat bread loaves, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, and a french artisan white bread (by far the most delicious).

I made homemade sauerkraut this week. It's still fermenting, but we should be able to try some in the next day or two. Did you know that homemade sauerkraut is super good for you-- one of the best fermented foods you can eat. According to the Weston Price website:

"Many sources say raw fermented foods are beneficial to the digestive system by increasing the healthy flora in the intestinal tract or creating the type of environment for them to flourish. Sauerkraut and its juice are traditional folk remedies for constipation. Fermentation actually increases nutrient values in the cabbage, especially vitamin C. Fermented foods are also said to facilitate the nervous system."

I discovered a store at the Farmer's Market that sells pasture fed, antibiotic and hormone free poultry, pork and lamb. I picked up some eggs, a whole chicken and some chicken parts. Made a chicken stock last night with the chicken and chicken parts. I am so excited to discover this store and hope to be able to get there at least once a month.

I finished two books this week. I have been so inspired by one of them-- I will have to blog about it later. All about traditional foods vs. industrial foods. I can't say enough good things about it.

I went to the flea market and stocked up on salts, herbs and green teas.

I know there are other things I've done, just can't remember them right now. I'll post pics of our Christmas and going-ons soon.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas with family and friends.

Kitchen Magic

So, while I wait to see if Hurricane Hanna will blow me away tonight, I decided to post a recent dish I made with vegetables from my garden and some lovely organic peaches (not from my garden).

Oh, how I love picking vegetables from my garden! These are the peppers and tomatoes that I picked for use in a mexican lasagna recipe (which can be found here). Don't they look fantastically juicy and lovely and all things pretty? Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

This is what happens when I chop the suckers up and saute them with some onions.

Now, I mix the little babies up with some rice. This would be great just as a side dish. So colorful.

Now that lovely mixture was introduced to the rest of the ingredients: ground turkey, flour tortillas, corn, salsa and cheese . . . lots of cheese.

Yum!!!!

Now these are some beautiful, organic, locally grown peaches.

I chopped them up and mixed the lovelies with some butter, maple syrup and cinnamon.

Threw some granola, flour, butter (lots and lots of butter) and sugar on top and voila . . . a sinfully delicious peach cobbler (here is the recipe).

He seemed to enjoy the entire meal. And really, that is what is most important. The enjoyment of cooking for your loved ones . . . not worrying about all the fat and calories that you just put into your mouth, nor the fact that you just gained an extra love handle. No, it's all about family!

Sun-Ripened Tomatoes

There is nothing more satisfying then going out to your garden and picking sun-ripened tomatoes. I feel most sure that they taste better than anything you can get at a store (and much cheaper too).



Apparently, I am not the only one/thing that likes sun-ripened, homegrown tomatoes: