Strawberry Lavender Lemonade
May 27, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Beverages, Grow Your Own
We started growing culinary lavender in our garden two summers ago, then last summer had to move the plants to pots to make room for more vegetables. One of my lavenders didn’t fare well, but the other two were doing splendidly until the uber snow storms of 2010. They look rather spindly now, a mere shell of their glory last spring when the bees played among the purple flowers. So I’m starting over with a few new plants in the garden and hopefully a better location for them, and maybe we will once again harvest some beautiful lavender flowers next summer. At least I had a few buds leftover from last summer. Read more
Chicken Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Snow Peas, and My Thoughts on Carbon Steel Woks
May 11, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Asian, Main Course, Poultry
My carbon steel wok is 13 years old and a treasured part of my kitchen gear. I found it for $5 on a clearance table and snapped it up, and that little bargain has proven invaluable over time. It wasn’t my first wok as I had given the nonstick woks a try, but after going through two of them and throwing them away due to peeling, I decided to go with carbon steel, which seasons over time similar to a good cast iron pan. It’s on the smallish side, about 12 inches across, but the size has been perfect for our family, up until recently. Read more
Zabaglione with Strawberries and Moscato
May 7, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Dessert, Grow Your Own
I can’t think of Mother’s Day without also musing on strawberries, probably because the beautiful red fruits come into season around this time and they seem like such a wonderful treat after cold winters. Strawberry season is also one of my children’s favorite food times of the year and we can’t resist celebrating with luscious strawberry desserts, though we are also happy simply biting into a sweet juicy strawberry. Read more
Slow Cooker Paprika Chicken
April 22, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Main Course, Poultry
Though the days are getting warmer and the summer daylilies have just started to bloom, I still feel the urge to pull out the slow cooker on cool spring mornings. When most of our days are swirling with activity, it gives me a sense of accomplishment to get a meal going in the slow cooker. I know that dinner will be ready later and I can focus on the boys and their needs or the endless to dos and errands and avoid the rush to get something ready for dinner at 5 p.m. when they are all standing around the kitchen telling me that they are starving. Read more
Creamy Asparagus Soup
April 19, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Soups & Stews
“I don’t like that.”
Those words popped out of Monkey Boy’s mouth when I said we were having creamy asparagus soup for dinner, before he had even seen it. This is his new favorite thing to do at every meal. Anything he doesn’t recognize is automatically assigned to the “don’t like” category, which is growing longer than my arm. Read more
Asparagus Quiche with Mushrooms and Shallots
April 12, 2010 by Andrea
Filed under Breakfast, Vegetables
If I had to choose a favorite spring vegetable, it would be a tie between asparagus and snow peas. Pencil-thin asparagus stalks look so pretty on a plate and like snow peas it tastes delicious either fresh or cooked. Though we don’t yet grow our own asparagus, the thought has crossed our minds on several occasions. We keep looking around the yard trying to decide where we want to put everything we want to grow, and we just haven’t chosen a place yet for asparagus. Things are getting tight in some spots so we have to think carefully about how plants will work together before building more beds and putting in anything else. Read more
