Garden Bounty

The garden has been growing by leaps and bounds in the warm weather! Everyday it seems something new is growing or ripening. We have enjoyed zucchini, tomatoes, pole beans, and even a hot pepper, not to mention the neverending supply of herbs. There’s also a bunch of lettuce and swiss chard ready for picking, hidden beneath the zucchini plant. (All pics below taken on my phone, which explains the blurriness.)

The Green Zebras tomatoes are abundant but we’re finding them a bit tart for our tastes. The Garden Peach tomatoes are amazing though, thin-skinned, soft, juicy, and sweet. They’re more yellow than peach-colored though:

I harvested a large quantity of herbs the other day, gave half to Tom’s cousin, and saved the other half to use fresh or dry. The rosemary plant is just a monster, and the oregano/thyme are like weeds! On second thought, fresh oregano was perhaps a mistake as we rarely use it in our cooking. The lemon thyme has a nice aroma but is a bit strong for everyday dishes. Perhaps dried and used sparingly, it will be a nice accent for brightening up winter meals!

What herbs do you think we should plant next year, or what new plants should we add for the fall growing season?

Dining in SF and Napa

Tom and I were in San Francisco and Napa last weekend, celebrating our one year wedding anniversary (yay)! While we were there, we had the most amazing food! We didn’t have a single bad meal, although there are some dishes that were more memorable than others. Here are a few of our favorites:

Goat cheese scrambled eggs over olive-oil drenched toasts (Il Cane Rosso at the Ferry Building in San Francisco)

Clams with fava beans and aioli in a hot pepper/basil broth (Zuni Cafe in San Francisco)

Olive-oil poached mushrooms with radishes and leeks in a sherry vinaigrette (Ad Hoc by Thomas Keller in Yountville)

Veal osso bucco with saffron risotto and fresh peas (Ad Hoc)

Cornmeal pancake (Alexis Baking Company in downtown Napa)

Enormous raspberry and pistachio macarons (Bouchon Bakery in Yountville)

Pork belly and white beans in pasta (Oenotri in downtown Napa)

A Garden Update

With the weather warming up, the garden has been growing like crazy! Just a few weeks ago, there were still patches of bare earth and little greenery. Suddenly, there is an explosion of green – almost too much green as it’s getting a little crowded in there! The picture below is from about a week ago and there is already much more new growth today:

The containers are also filling out. We replaced a couple with pretty ones from Home Goods – only $20 each as opposed to the $60-80 price tags we were seeing at the garden and hardware stores! These have now been moved strategically about the yard so as to make room for a new patio set from Target. When it’s not eight bajillion degrees out, I’ll try to get a picture of the current setup.

And just in case you’re interested, here’s how the Topsy Turvy is doing – not bad but not growing as fast as one of the same variety planted in the ground in the main garden. The zucchini plant, however, is taking over the yard. I am scared.

As the garden proliferates, we’ve been able to harvest a few things. The herbs are pretty handy but what’s more exciting are the radishes and strawberries! Check out the radishes peeking up above the soil – that’s how you can tell they’re ready. You can also see a green strawberry in the background:

We pulled many of the radishes to make room for other vegetables to grow. They were really tasty sliced thin and tossed into a pasta salad, although not as peppery as I had expected.

We also plucked a Siamese twin strawberry! It was very ripe, almost overripe, but unfortunately not very sweet. Anyone know any tricks for growing sweeter strawberries?

Can’t wait to eat even more fruits (and veg) of our labor – or rather, Tom’s labor, as I stay out of the garden as much as possible. My black thumb might act up from sheer proximity…

First Harvest

We harvested from our garden for the first time recently. This lovely little radish grew a bit faster than its brethren and had the honor of being eaten first! We ate it with a dab of butter and a sprinkle of Maldon salt. Yum! It was surprisingly mild but tasted otherwise like a radish. Success!

In other news, it’s finally Memorial Day Weekend! It’s the iconic start of summer with cookouts galore. Here’s what we plan to do cook up this weekend:

Just kidding! We’re grilling up plain old hot dogs, chicken legs, and corn on the cob. But in case we run out of food, there’s always two pugs and two cats being fattened up as we speak…

Getting Crafty!

I’ve always wanted to be a crafty person. Especially since buying my own house, I have been filled with dreams of making my own curtains, pillowcases, etc. However, my crafty skills are… well, lacking. Case in point, Exhibit A, the hooded sweatshirt I made for Max (although in my defense, I was not using a pattern):

In case the picture above doesn’t convince you, let’s take a look at Exhibit B, the sweatshirt on Max:

That is not a happy puppy… see how the arms are too close together? There was no way he was going to walk in that thing, although he did look rather cute!

I thought maybe I was being overambitious and set my sights on what I thought would be an easier task: hemming pants. Unfortunately, I had no idea stretch fabric had a mind of its own and I’m pretty sure I’ve ruined the hem of my new pair of yoga pants. This turned me off sewing completely until I decided to seek professional help and enroll in a beginner’s sewing class at a nearby fabric store!

It has changed my life. Seriously. I was apparently threading the machine incorrectly and failing to follow the proper steps to straight sewing (e.g., pinning your fabric and ironing hems). Once I corrected those things, I could not believe how easy sewing became! As proof, see Exhibits C through E below for projects I have completed recently:

Tote bag*

Inside of tote bag with cellphone pocket and handy magnetic snap

Envelope-closure pillowcases**

I cannot begin to describe the feeling of achievement I get from making these things on my own. I can’t wait to tackle even more sewing projects – maybe another attempt at a hoodie for Max??

* Another post coming on how to make this bag

** Pillowcases made using these instructions

Linguine with Braised Pork and Greens

I love pork butt. Oddly, this cut usually refers to the shoulder, not the actual pig behind, which I also love. Really, I’m a fan of all things pork. In particular, pork butt is inexpensive and meltingly tender/flavorful when braised. The braised, shredded meat can be used for tacos, pulled pork sandwiches, and even pasta!

This dish was a hit with my out of town guests over the weekend. The pork and sauce were combined with wilted kohlrabi greens (they taste rather like collards) and linguine for a hearty one-dish meal.

To make the pork, I wanted to try something different from my usual braising liquid of Coke (yes, really) and seasoning of Cajun spices. This time, for the braising liquid, I used some leftover rose wine (white would have been preferable, but it didn’t affect the taste) and some chicken stock. For aromatics, I tossed in some frozen tangelo peel (cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine), a small bundle of fresh picked thyme, 2 bay leaves, and 4 large cloves of roughly chopped garlic. I also chopped a carrot and a stalk of celery to toss in the pot. After 3 hours in the oven, it was falling apart and ready to be shredded and tossed in the fridge! The carrot/celery and liquid were blended together with my handy dandy Bamix immersion blender, then strained for the pasta sauce. It sounds complicated, but it’s really not. Check out the basic steps for braised pork below!

Braised Pork Guidelines

1 pork butt/shoulder, larger fatty pieces removed
braising liquid (Coke, chicken stock, wine)
aromatics (herbs, citrus peels, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf)
spices (Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, plain ol’ salt and pepper)

Preheat the oven to 300F. Heat an oven-proof pan on medium-high heat and sear the pork shoulder on all sides (for faster cooking, cut it into large chunks first). Season with spices as it’s searing. Remove from pan and add any vegetables, if using. Saute, adding oil as needed, until slightly browned.

Return pork to pan and add enough braising liquids to reach halfway up the sides of the pork. Tuck in remaining aromatics, tying herbs together for easy removal. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer, then place in the oven for at least 2 hours depending on the size of your pork until easily pierced with a fork (I estimate about 45 minutes a pound although this 2 pound shoulder took longer).

Discard bay leaves and herb stems. Shred pork and serve with vegetables, or blend the veg with the liquid to create a sauce. Can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a few days.

Buttering Up the HOA

Tom is a member of the board for our Home Owner’s Association (unsurprisingly, he’s the youngest by probably 20 years). The board meets once a month, rotating meeting locations between the houses of the various board members. A couple of weeks ago, they met here for the first time. The hosting household usually provides snacks, so I made cookies.

At first, I was thinking of making chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips. Well, that plan was quickly put to bed when I realized I didn’t have any cocoa powder, nor did I have white chocolate chips. Or regular chocolate chips, for that matter. I did have a half bag of shredded coconut from a batch of Cooking Light’s Coconut Lime Banana Bread (looked and smelled amazing but was not banana-y enough because I only had 2 bananas instead of 3, also was too wet, probably because I subbed extra yogurt for the missing banana…). I also had a mishmash of other cookie add-ins such as Heath chips and pecans. A quick search of the Internet revealed these yummy Oatmeal Toffee Cookies. I didn’t have enough Heath chips, so I substituted 1 cup of sweetened, flaked coconut.

These were AMAZING! Chewy coconut and oats, crunchy pecans, sweet-chocolate covered toffee bits… heaven. The board thought they were pretty delicious too – although they were perhaps a little more enamored of our furry babies. Then again, who wouldn’t love this face?

Sleepy Daisy with a hint of tongue

Corn and Black Bean Salad

I love being able to create flavorful, exciting dishes from simple pantry ingredients and a few fresh items. Last night, we needed a side dish to go with fish tacos. I tossed together canned black beans,  defrosted frozen corn, diced fresh tomato, minced green onion, fresh chopped cilantro, and lime juice (squeezed a couple weeks ago and frozen). After cooling in the fridge while I cooked the fish, the flavors had melded nicely – not to mention it looked great!

Corn and Black Bean Salad

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn, defrosted and drained
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
small handful cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, minced (both parts unless you want less onion flavor, in which case use only green parts)
1/4 cup lime juice (use more or less to taste)
salt and pepper

Mix. Chill. Eat.

Our First Garden

This is really Tom’s AOR (area of responsibility) but I wanted to post these “before and after” shots of our garden. It’s our first year gardening after chopping down an unruly bush on the patio and clearing out its rocky base to create a 4×4 foot brick-lined bed. Unfortunately I didn’t get a shot of the bush before we hacked it to pieces, so the “before” shot is really just the garden in its very beginning stages.

Tom went a bit crazy with buying seeds and plants, so we’re exceeding our 4×4 garden by quite a bit… he’s resorted to containing the rest in terracotta planters which I fear are taking over our patio:

Additionally, there’s a small diamond-shaped patch by the fence that he’s coerced into a mini garden of sorts (that dirty-looking cup is filled with beer to kill slugs):

What have we planted, you may be wondering… I wonder that myself, daily, as more and more plants begin to call our backyard home! Here’s the list:

• Herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley)
• Tomatoes of every variety (6 plants, 12 seedlings that have yet to make it out of the house into the ground – where they will go, I have no idea)
• Zucchini
• Peppers (bell and hot)
• Cantaloupe (totally random, I know)
• Strawberries
• Greens (spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce)
• Radishes (German and French breakfast)
• Pole beans
• Pest-repellents (nasturtium and marigold)

Tom himself may be authoring some garden-related posts at some point… that is, if he ever comes in from the backyard. Anyone else have a green thumb (I certainly do not)?

Favorite Dinners – Curry

There are a few dinners I make over and over again because they’re easy, tasty, and filling. Curry is one of our ultimate favorites. I throw in whatever meat and vegetables are available (usually chicken with potatoes, carrots, onions, and something green), add curry powder (Madras) or cubes (Japanese) or paste (Thai), then add liquid to create a sauce (coconut milk is a favorite, although broth or plain water works fine). Serve over rice.

Chicken curry in adorable pig bowls from my cousin in Hong Kong

Some tips for curries:

• Sauteing the curry powder with the vegetables helps toast it and bring out the flavor.
• Curry cubes are less “curry-ish” and more of a brown gravy, so I usually add curry powder anyway.
• Curry paste tends to be much spicier, so be careful how much you use! Coconut milk is a must to tame the spice.
• Coconut milk is also a great thickener. If using water or broth, add cornstarch unless you like your sauce thin. Curry cubes contain cornstarch already.
• Simmer for at least ten minutes to help the flavors blend. To avoid overcooking your meat, sear it briefly before you cook anything else, remove it, and return it to the pan when you add the liquid.

What are your favorite dinners?