What’s been Growin’ and Cookin’ this Summer

Tags

bread, CSA, garden, jam, pregnancy

Almost two months since my last blog post. What have I been doing this Summer? Slacking off? Cooking nothing? Living off rice and beans? Not exactly. My little garden has taken some of my time. Who would have thought 200 sqft could be so much work? But Luigi and I have also been cooking up a little something of our own. A little something that has zapped most my energy this Summer and had me spending more time on the couch than in the kitchen.  

Burger Me

Tags

Ad Hoc, beef, burger, CSA, grilling, melon, Summer, Thomas Keller

It’s only the second day of Summer and I already have grilled hamburgers under my belt. And not just any burgers. Burgers that I ground myself using Thomas Keller’s recipe. I am not a big meat-eater though; I am just as happy with a big plate of fresh grilled veggies as I am with a NY steak. I never usually even eat a whole burger (my husband and I will split one). But since my new house has a natural gas hook up for my BBQ, and the thing reaches 400F in 5 minutes flat, I thought what better way to break it in with a tender, delicious, juicy burger. That being said, ground beef freaks me out a little. I have worked in enough restaurants for the past 10 years to know where scrap meat goes. Also, the whole pink meat thing that has been surfacing around the internet the last couple months I find to be a real big turn off. So how can you enjoy a burger and know that is fresh and 100% pure beef from primal cuts of meat? Grind your own…that’s how.

Asparagus and Mascarpone Omelette

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asparagus, Breakfast, cheese, CSA, Kaia, Spring

I can’t believe it has been two weeks since my last blog post. I told my dad the other day that life just gets in the way! It’s not because I have been slacking, but because I have been extremely busy. Since I have gotten back from vacation the weather has been beautiful. This means massive yard work, and a re-construction of our new garden box (pics and post to come). Warm weather and the arrival of Summer also means Wedding Season. So 13 hour work days and 6 day work weeks are not uncommon. And when you are this busy, why not paint your master bedroom? Or offer to help cater your husband’s work party for 300 people on the side? Or host a two day garage sale? Why do I punish myself? I love the longer days of Summer because I can accomplish so much more, but sometimes I think I need to slow down and enjoy the season.

Spring Potato Salad

Tags

CSA, fava beans, pickle, potato, side dish, Spring

While I was on vacation this past month I missed the first pick-up of my CSA box. This is the first time my husband and I have belonged to a CSA, and I think up until last year we had never even heard of Community Supported Agriculture. Basically we prepaid for the Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons, and now we own a small share of local farmland. Every two weeks we pickup fresh local produce that has been specially set aside for us at our neighborhood Whole Foods store. We joined the CSA so we could support local Nevada farmers that use sustainable practices, eat produce that is at the height of its season, and save half the money of what we would pay at the store. Most of the produce from the CSA is harvested the same day we pick it up, so it is much fresher than what is at the grocery store and lasts a lot longer.