So, it is that time of year where the seed companies are sending out their catalogs full of glossy photos of beautiful vegetables, flowers, and herbs. We got our first catalog of the season on Friday and Bry and I have been thumbing through it all weekend, oggling the colorful vegetables. This spring’s planting will require a bit more thought since we will be moving in July/August due to my finishing grad school. So, we must plan for crops which we can harvest before that time. It seems like our main focus will be herbs, peas, and lettuce. We have already started on the lettuce front. One of our potted house plants wasn’t doing so well, so it was composted and the soil in the pot amended. In the pot went a few red romaine seeds and a few spinach seeds. Now, if we can keep the cats from pawing at the dirt until the seeds germinate, we will have a lovely coffee table centerpiece planter of salad greens. Yum!

The past two weekends I have been freezing stone fruits, mostly peaches but some cherries too. I wanted to put the recipe up here so that I wouldn’t forget.

Process of Freezing Peaches:

1. Wash peaches off.
2. Remove skins by boiling in water for 45-60 seconds and then removing to an ice bath. Skins should peel off with little effort.
3. Once skins are removed cut peaches in half and remove pits. I should note here that there are some varieties of peaches in which the pits are easier to remove than others. The white peaches seem to have harder to remove pits. At this point, you can either keep the peaches in halves or cut them into slices.
4. Sprinkle peaches with citric acid or lemon juice (enough to lightly coat). When you stir the peaches up with the citric acid they should look shinier, sort of glossy. This will keep the peaches from browning.
5. Dissolve 3 cups of white sugar into 6 cups of boiling water. Let cool.
6. Spoon peaches into 1 qt bag (note it takes about 4-5 peaches to fill 1 qt). Then ladle enough of the sugar water over the peaches just to cover.
7. Place in freezer.

We have been buying peaches in 1/2 pecks (yes, a half-a-peck-a-peaches … say that 10 times fast), which is about 12-15 peaches and we are able to get three quart ziplock bags to freeze.

Update on the 50 Book Challenge: While traveling to Colorado and California I was able to finish reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  It was a really great read and has inspired me to try harder at keep our (Bryan and I) food chain as local as possible. Since we moved to a new house right in the middle of the growing season we do not yet have a vegetable garden. So, Bryan and I have been taking Saturday morning dates to the local Farmer’s Market. Bryan also brings home a couple of bags full of fresh veggies each week from the garden-farm he works at. I think my favorite so far has been the acorn squash we bough last week. Here is the recipe for the most amazing acorn squash I have ever tasted.

1. Take 1 acorn squash and cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and pulp in the center.
2. With a fork, mash together 1/4 c. soften butter (that is 1/2 a stick of butter), 1/4 c. brown sugar, a palm full of ground sage, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Smear the butter mixture on the insides of each of the acorn halves.
4. Place in a baking dish and bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees F.

We have one more acorn squash at home and I can’t wait to make this again. It was so delicious!

Updated list of books read so far this year:

here is my updated list:

1. The Shack by William P. Young
2. Omnivor’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
4. Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
5. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
6. High Five by Janet Evanovich
7. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
8. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
9. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (link)
10. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
11. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
12. Dead Until Dark by Charaline Harris
13. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich
14. Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
15. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich
16. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

So, like the good little nerd that I am I had done our taxes early.  I had gone onto Turbo Tax and filled out everything at the end of January. I was waiting until the end of February to make sure all necessary paperwork had come in before sending of the e-file. This evening I go back to Turbo Tax’s website to submit the e-file. First, I find that some unnecessary tax form is being added on to our taxes (Teacher Reimbursement form) because I had looked at it during the process. Didn’t fill out anything; just looked at it and realized that I didn’t qualify.  So, that was the first annoyance.  Second annoyance came when I started trying to file.  First, I find that they no longer have the Basic service for $14.95. You either have the free service (only filing 1040EZ) or you automatically get bumped up to the Delux service for $29.95. Well, you know Bryan and I being cheap won’t stand for this.  After a mild freak-out moment on my part, I pop on over to the H&R Block site.  Hooray! They have a free e-file service as long as you don’t want any of their extra assistance (which we don’t). So, I got through and redo the taxes.  Best part is, H&R Block found a better way for me to claim my tuition and fees for grad school that resulted in us getting a larger rebate!  Woohoo!

So, standing here on my electronic soapbox, I would like to say, “Screw you Turbo-Tax! Your reign of being my preferred tax filing service has ended due to your greed in increasing your prices. H&R Block, congrats! You get to take their place, for now!”

One of my favorite dishes these days is Chicken Piccata. A few months ago I had it in a restuarant and loved it. Since then I have been working on perfecting a recipe of my own to make at home. Before the recipe a little bit of history …

Piccata is not originally from Italy. Much like chicken parmesan and pasta primavera, it was created in the United States, probably in the 1930s. The term piccata is a Milanese way to describe a meat that is flattened and pan-fried. The lemon and capers used in piccata, however, are common to Sicilian cooking.

— from Mahalo.com

Here is my recipe for Chicken Piccata:

• 1 lb of chicken scalloppine (chicken breasts pounded flat, can buy them flatten if wish)
• 1-2 cups of flour (all-purpose is fine) with salt & pepper mixed in to taste
• 1-2 eggs beaten with a tablespoon of milk
• 2-3 cups of Panko crumbs (or crushed up oyster crackers or bread crumbs)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 cup white wine (or 1/2 cup white wine + 1/2 cup chicken stock)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 sun dried tomatoes (if in oil, don’t add the oil)
• 1 (14 oz) can of quartered artichoke hearts
• 2-3 tablespoons of capers

In three shallow dishes/bowls place flour/salt/pepper mixture in first bowl, beating egg with milk in second bowl and Panko crumbs mixed with Italian seasoning in thrid bowl. Bread the chicken scallopine by first coating with flour, then dipping in egg, and finishing off by coating in Panko crumbs. Let chicken sit for 2 minutes while you heat a large skillet.

Melt the 3 tablespoons butter and add the olive oil. Add the chicken. It will only take 3-4 minutes to cook each side on medium high heat. If using thicker slices of chicken, lengthen cooking time appropriately. Remove chicken after each side has cooked and browned.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Let melt. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of flour. Deglaze the pan with the wine and lemon juice. Add the onions. Let cook until soft. Add the garlic, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and capers. (Note: Some people are more fond of capers than other, experiment with the amount of capers to see what amount suits your palate).

Add chicken back into pan. Cover and cook for 5 minutes lowering to medium heat.

Serve chicken and sauce over pasta. Dish is especially good over garlic-spinach fettucini noodles.

Bryan and I (mostly Bryan) grew some organic broccoli this fall in our garden and it is so good. Normally, I don’t like eat broccoli raw. The stuff you buy in the store always has an odd taste when eaten raw. But straight from the garden it is awesome eaten raw. So crisp and fresh with a hint of sweetness. Delish!

Here are some pics:

Our garden for summer/fall 2008 was very successful. We installed a drip irrigation system on a timer this year. There was much more growth this year, and the harvests were much more bountiful. We are attributing most of this success to the drip irrigation system. Some of the problems we had this year:

1. We had too much of everything!
   The watering system was great, but we had way too much crop. We did not know what to do with half the veggies. We got a dehydrator as a wedding present and have been using it like crazy; sundried tomatoes, dried habaneros to make into hot pepper flakes and hot sauce, dried basil, dried peppers, etc. But despite our best efforts, we still had too much and a lot of good veggies went to the compost pile. I think our solution is going to be having more variety of plants with less numbers of each type of plant.
2. Did not harvest frequently enough.
   This is sort of related to the first problem in that we had too much and kind of got sick of things after a while. However, in the case of the zucchinis, if we had harvested more frequently, we would have harvested the zucchinis when they were smaller, and would not have had to deal with figuring out what to do with mega zucchinis.
3. Zucchini Vine Borers & Aphids!
   This pesky little pests have killed off our zucchini plants prematurely two years in a row now. We have been searching for an organic pest control method for this problem, but obviously have not found one that works. Next year, I would like to try Garlic Fire Spray.

We have been thinking about what we want to plant for next year. Here is what we have:

• 3 roma tomato plants
• 1 heirloom tomato plant
• 1 tomato plant that produces tomatoes good for making marinara sauces
• 1 or 2 habanero plants
• 4 basil plants
• 3 or 4 pepper plants each of a different variety
• 1 zucchini plant
• 1 yellow squash plant
• 1 Japanese eggplant plant
• 4 okra plants (planted around the yard, not in the boxes)
• 1 cucumber plant (one that sprawls less)
• 1 cantaloupe vine
• 1 types of beans (pole of bush, haven’t decided)
• 1 butternut squash vine
• leeks & onions scattered throughout garden

We already have some strawberry plants that will winter over and produce a crop of strawberries in the spring.

The other thing we would like to try next year is to get a rainwater collection system going.

My office mate was just commenting on wanting to make her own marinara sauce, so I thought I would post my recipe so that others might enjoy it.

Erin’s Marinara Sauce

I should say, that I don’t think the sauce is ever exactly the same each time that I make it, but here is the general idea.

2 tbsp butter or EVOO
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced (you must decide how garlicy you like your sauce, I always use at least 4)
2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
5-6 fresh basil leaves, shredded
4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar or dry red wine (each gives a different flavor, both good)
salt & pepper to taste

OPTION 1: Put all the ingredients into a crock pot and set on low for 6-8 hours.

OPTION 2: Melt butter or EVOO in a large stock pot on medium high heat. Add carrot, celery & onion. Cook until soft. Add garlic. Cook until you smell the aroma of garlic and butter (or EVOO) mingling together. Add the crushed tomatoes, spices (bay leaves, basil, parsley, oregano, salt & pepper) and balsamic vinegar or red wine. Cook until starts to bubble, then reduce to medium low heat and let simmer for 1 hour covered, stirring occasionally.

Optional: Sometimes I will add some mushrooms into the sauce as well. Depends if I have any on hand when I make the sauce or not.

You could also add meat. In the past, I have added chicken that has been boiled in water spiced with Italian seasonings, salt & pepper and then hand shredded and added to the marinara.

For about a year now, I have been making my own cleaning products from vinegar, water, borax, baking soda, and Dr. Bronner’s castille soap (I used the lavendar scented one). Originally I switched to making my own cleaners because it was so very much cheaper. However, I have since found that these cleaners are actually more effective than the ones you buy in stores, and they don’t have an overpowering smell. Indeed, I can no longer walk down the cleaning isles without getting a headache from the noxiousness of the smell of the cleaners.

Anyhow, that is not why I am writing this. The other day, Bryan was listening to Dave Ramsey and he told me about a woman called in to celebrate becoming debt free. Dave asked her what she had done to pay off all of her debts so quickly. She said that it was a lot of little things and one example was that she started making her own household cleaners, including making her own laundry detergent. Dave started saying how that was a bit extreme, but she went on to say that she actually really liked it and would continue doing so even though her financial situation had considerably improved. Hearing this just made me smile. I am glad that there are other people who were motivated to switch to green cleaners because of the cheapness of it, and I am glad that there are other people who have stuck with it because it is more effective and safer for the environment, etc. The one thing that kind of annoyed me is that Dave said that she was being a bit extreme. But Dave is always saying that in order to get out of debt quickly, you should go extreme with “gazelle-like intensity”.

So, while I am on my little blog soap box let me give some of my cleaning solutions and some others swiped from Ideal Bite and Vinegar Tips.

1. All purpose cleaner: 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar + 2 cups water + 1/4 tsp Dr. Bronner’s liquid castille soap. I put this in a spray bottle and clean just about everything with this: windows, mirrors, countertops, stove, sinks, etc. You can make a separate cleaner that is only for windows and mirrors that leaves out the Dr. Bronner’s, but I like have one simple cleaner that does everything. Besides the amount of Dr. Bronner’s is so smaller, it doesn’t cause any streaking on the windows. Actually, this leaves absolutely no streaks, which is something Windex (despite it’s claims) didn’t even do.
2. Toilet bowl cleaner: 1/4 cup baking soda + 1-2 cups vinegar. Dump the baking soda in first, then pour the vinegar in about 1/4 cup at a time. Everything will fizz up, which is kind of fun to watch, then you let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then come back with your favorite toilet scrubbing wand, give the bowl a light scrubbing, flush, and your done.
3. Floor cleaner: 1 cup vinegar + 1 tablespoon Dr. Bronner’s castille soap + hot water to 3/4 fill bucket (about 1 gallon) + tablespoon lemon juice (if want a lemony smell) . I am a huge fan of the old mop & bucket method of cleaning floors. Sorry Swiffer, but you disappoint in so many ways. I have a mop that has the microfiber cloth strips and I think it does a great job cleaning my kitchen & bathroom floors, and when the mop head is a little too dirty I just throw it into the wash with a load of rugs or towels. A note about the lemon juice. I currently do not add the lemon juice to my mixture because I have a lavendar scented castille soap, so the smells would clash.

Other tips (these all come from VinegarTips.com):

1. To shine chrome sink fixtures that have a lime buildup, use a paste made of 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar.
2. Make your own scouring cleanser by combining 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon liquid detergent. Add just enough white distilled vinegar to give it a thick but creamy texture.
3. Clean and deodorize a drain by pouring in 1 cup baking soda, then one cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let this sit for 5 minutes or so then run hot water down the drain.
4. Remove mineral deposits from coffee makers with white distilled vinegar. Fill the water reservoir with 1 cup or more of white distilled vinegar and run it through a whole cycle. Run it once or twice more with plain water to rinse clean. (Check the owners’ manual first.)
5. Discourage ants by spraying undiluted white distilled vinegar outside doorways and windowsills, around appliances and wherever you find the pests coming in.
6. Clean grout by letting full-strength white distilled vinegar sit on it for a few minutes and scrubbing it with an old toothbrush.
7. Kill germs all around the bathroom with a spray of full-strength white distilled vinegar. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
8. To remove grime, mildew, and scum from the tub, tile, shower curtain or door, wipe with undiluted white distilled vinegar. Rinse with water.

Bryan and I bought a new tent yesterday. One that is more suited for camping than our tiny backpacking tent that you can barely sit up in let along move around comfortably.

Anyhow, we set up the tent in the back yard so that we would know how it all works before we tried to set up this Friday when we go camping. After we got it set up we were much impressed, as were the cats. Each of the cats came around and checked it out. Twyla even took a nap in the tent for a while.

When Piglet went into the tent, she found a giant flying arthropod, which to our best guess at the time was a hornet. This thing was huge and scary looking. Pig immediately started swatting at it and chasing it around the tent. Thinking it was a hornet and that it could severely injure Piglet we started freaking out calling for Pig to come out of the tent.  Enthralled by the new attraction, Piglet was ignoring us completely. I quickly ran inside for our stash of kitty treats which we keep around for just such occasions. What is more inciting to a crazy kitty than chasing a giant stinging hornet, getting some kitty treats! All I had to do was shake the bag and she came running out of the tent to get some treats.

Piglet safe, we still had the dilemma of getting the large scary bug out of new tent. I wanted nothing to do with getting it out of the tent. Bryan, much braver than I, volunteered to shake the tent from one side in hopes of aggravating it to the point where it would fly out the door on the other side. Bryan boldly shook the tent, angering the hornet into a frenzy. When the hornet flew out the tent door, Bryan ran like an Olympic sprinter back into the house. We both watched from the dining room window for evidence that the hornet was truly gone. We saw it buzzing around outside and decided to stay inside for a while.

An hour later, after the adrenalin and excitement had wore off, Bryan went back outside to start taking down the tent while I started dinner. To what to his wondering ears should buzz, but one gianormous hornet back in the tent. Amazing! The bugger had come back! That’s what we get for not zipping up the tent after it zoomed out. So, Bryan set back to the task of getting it out. This time, Bryan was armed with a stick. He circled the tent smacking the sides where the hornet landed each time. It seemed the hornet was more intent on staying in the tent this time. Bryan smacking a little harder with the stick. Finally the hornet landed in a spot where Bryan hypothesized he could hit the hornet at just the right angle to lauch it out of the tent door. Bryan took aim and wacked! The hornet did not make it out the door but instead lay injured on the floor of the tent near the door. Bryan glanced quickly at me and asked if he should attempt to squish it. In about half a heartbeat I ran through in my mind at potential scenario of what could happen if Bryan attempted the killing and what would happen otherwise. I told Bryan going for the kill would be best but only if he felt he could do it safely. Bryan rounded the sides of the tent and edged towards the opening. In one swift motion he stepped on the hornet. Surprisingly, one squishing does not kill that large of an arthopod. It took about 5 squishing before it was sufficiently immobilized (not dead though). Bryan fashioned two twigs into a pair of chop sticks and picked up the bugger and brought it over to the window where I had been watching. It was quite a nasty looking thing. It was still twitching and such. I told Bryan to burry it in the compost pile which he promptly did.

I felt a bit safer but still a little wigged out and a bit sad that we had to kill it.

This morning I tried to find a picture of the thing on the web, and found that it probably was not a hornet but an Easter Cicada Killing Wasp … I don’t know if that is scarier than it being a hornet or not. Anyhow, here is a picture. And, it isn’t looking big because it is zoomed in, it is a big big bug.

We have 4 amazingly large basil plants growing in our garden this year. What better to do with basil than make oodles of pesto. I’ve been experimenting and this is the knock-your-socks-off recipe I have come with.

Ingredients
3 cups of basil leaves
6 cloves of garlic
2 cups of walnuts
3 tablespoons of champagne vinegar
14 ounce can of quartered artichoke hearts (drained)
1-2 cups extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Anyone who has ever watched me cook knows I hate to measure things, especially when I am experimenting. So, these measurements are all approximate. The basil leaves are enough to fill my small salad spinner. The walnuts I just dump into the food processor until it looks like about 2 cups. The champagne vigegar I add a generous splash of (which I am estimating is 3 tablespoons).

Directions

1. Rinse basil leaves if picking from garden.
2. Place basil leaves, garlic, walnuts, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper into a food processor or blender and start the blending process.
3. Slowly add extra virgin olive oil until get a smooth pesto like texture.
4. Add artichoke hearts and blend again. The color and texture will look more like a paste than usual pesto, but will taste oh so much better.
5. Makes several cups of pesto. It will save in the fridge for about a week. If you want to hold onto it for longer than that, spoon the pesto into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen the cubes can be placed in bags and frozen for a couple of months.

Serving Ideas

1. Over pasta … that’s the obvious one!
2. Last night we had it as a garnish to a panko crusted fried pork loin chop.
3. Spread on a sandwich. I have used it as a spread on a grilled cheese sandwich. Delish!
4. Throw a tablespoon into your rice which it is cooking. Adds tons of herbalicious flavor.
5. Add a tablespoon to a salad dressing vinaigrette (I can post a recipe for a killer vinaigrette as well if anyone is interested)
6. Here is the best one …. blend some of the pesto in with some cream cheese and sour cream. Then stuff the mixture in to some mushroom caps. Place the mushroom caps onto a glass pie pan that has some melted butter on the bottom. Sprinkle some bread crumbs over the tops and cook in the over at 350 F for about 10-20 minutes. Bake them long enough that the mushrooms become tender and delicious but not so long that they burn. These little appetizers are like heaven in your mouth with every bite. Yum!!!