Solstice and New Beginnings

First, I'd like to wish everyone who bothers to read my random ramblings a very blessed and joyous Yule!

Overall 2015 was a difficult year for me. I feel hopeful, however, for the first time in a LONG time, that 2016 is going to be better. I'm usually pretty jaded when it comes to New Year's celebrations, I have never really seen the point in wishing for things to be better when I know that they probably won't be. This year I think it's finally time to let go of some of that cynicism and acknowledge the gifts that I have been given.

I was finally able to leave a job that was killing me (physically, mentally, and emotionally) and was able to gain an opportunity that will hopefully lead to much less stress, more happiness, and more opportunity to develop my skills and move forward in my career. It took a lot of work, time, and a LOT of patience and faith, oftentimes when I felt like I had none left, but things finally WORKED. THANK YOU to my husband, my family and friends, and my coven for being tremendously supportive, for working magic, praying, and sending good energies my way, for being understanding when I needed to retreat to my fortress of solitude, and for challenging me to never give up. I love all of you more than I can say. Also, THANK YOU to the folks who gave me this opportunity, whom I doubt will ever see this.

VICTORY IS MINE! :)

Adventures with CSA: Week 16 (Summer 2015)

This week's share included red lettuce, a bag of arugula, a bunch of curly kale, more beans (YAY!!), white potatoes, a couple onions, a head of garlic, bell peppers (red and yellow), 6 poblano peppers, a bunch of parsley, and a bunch of lemongrass.

I am a huge fan of poblano peppers. I have tried growing them to no avail several times, so I am pumped to have some. Chile Rellenos is one of my most favorite Mexican dishes. I am going to make this: Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Poblanos

For the bell peppers and onion, I think I may make pepper steak. I am going to omit the sugar, and serve it over brown rice.

The beans and garlic I am going to use to make my grandmere's recipe, which is pure comfort for my soul. The beans are par-cooked and then sauteed over low heat with a little EVOO and butter, and LOTS of sliced garlic. The garlic gets all caramelized and the beans brown on the outside...SO good!!!

I may end up steaming and freezing the kale for later, since I just cooked the bunch I got a few weeks ago. I'm thinking it will get used in a nice pot of beef and barley stew this fall. The lemongrass I also may freeze.

I am not a huge fan of arugula, but I may look on Pinterest and see if I can find any good salad recipes that use arugula. I feel guilty not making use of things from the CSA.

Adventures With CSA: Week 15 (Summer 2015)

This week's share was again abundant and included: tomatoes, a bag of arugula, bell peppers (yellow and purple), sweet carmen peppers, yellow and green beans, fresh ginger, an onion, bartlett pears, and a sweet dumpling squash.

The bell peppers were used in a big pot of chili, which my husband and I have been eating off of this week. The weather has been much cooler recently.

The beans got roasted in the oven with a little olive oil and Penzey's roasted garlic sprinkled on them, and that was my lunch yesterday before work. I'm hoping we get more this week. I LOVE green beans. LOVE them.

The ginger is going to get used in a pot of soup with chicken, carrots, celery, onion, lemongrass, and cous cous. I'll probably make that Friday evening.

The tomatoes will probably get used for salad, either caprese or tomato-cucumber.

Adventures with CSA: Week 14 (Summer 2015)

This week our share was very plentiful! It included: a sweet baby watermelon, a small spaghetti squash, a big bunch of curly kale, a bag of arugula, a bunch of various kinds of tomatoes (heirloom and hybrid--so many I had to grab a bowl to put them in because I ran out of space in my hanging basket), a yellow onion, several varieties of eggplant (oriental and fairy tale, which I am also growing in my garden), many colored sweet peppers, a bunch of lemongrass, a bunch of basil, and a bunch of parsley.

Not sure what color the watermelon is, but it will get cut up and eaten. Nothing is as good in the hot summer weather as cold watermelon!

I am going to roast some of the tomatoes, peppers, and the onion and then freeze them to use at a later time: A Peck of Peppers

The spaghetti squash I will roast and eat myself. My husband is not a squash fan. I'll probably have it for lunch on Saturday. I love squash!!

The eggplant dish I made with the baby eggplants was AMAZING and super easy, so I may make that again using the eggplant and some of the tomatoes from this week and freeze it for consumption at a later time when I don't feel like cooking. I need to get more freezer containers and a sharpie to label all the things.

I have not cooked with lemongrass before, but I know it is used in Thai cooking, so I'm thinking that and the basil may get used in a Thai-inspired dish. Time to hit the Pinterest!

The kale I will likely just saute like I did a few weeks ago with a bunch of garlic, it was so good!!!

Adventures with CSA: Week 13 (Summer 2015)

This week has been pretty awful. I realized when my husband brought home the CSA share yesterday that I really look forward to discovering what we got every week. It's like a tiny bright spot in an expanding sea of shit. :P

This week's share included lettuce, swiss chard (rainbow), heirloom and hybrid tomatoes, two massive potatoes, a green pepper, a bag of hot peppers, an onion, a fat shallot, a bag of baby eggplants, a bag of okra, and a baby watermelon (not seedless--this one was pink, not the amazing yellow variety from last time).

I'm definitely going to make some home made salsa with some of the tomatoes, onion, and hot peppers.

Everyone who knows me knows that Indian cuisine is my favorite food--I'm not descended from Indian heritage at all, but my ex introduced it to me in my youth and I've been steadily trying new things through my late teens and 20's and into my 30's now. I was vegetarian when I was younger so I loved the diversity of choice it offered compared to other types of cuisine--and I was veggie before we had the wealth of options there are now--where people would sneer at you if it came up in conversation. Anyhow...the spices and flavors of Indian cuisine are so amazing! One of my favorites is baingan bharta, which is made with roasted eggplant. My local favorite Indian restaurant uses the baby eggplants when they make it. It is pure comfort food as far as my soul is concerned.

Anyhow, I think this dish is going to happen, like, TODAY: Fried Eggplant with Chickpeas and Mint Chutney

And this: Aloo Bhindi Bhujiya Potato and Okra Stir Fry

The chard will probably get sauteed with the shallot as a side dish. I do love sauteed greens. T sauteed a bunch of kale last week with a whole head of garlic sliced up and thrown in ala the style of my grandmere's green beans, which is again pure comfort food--the garlic get all soft and caramelized when you do it over low heat for a longer period of time. OMNOMNOM.

The baby watermelon got cut up immediately (again) and put into a bowl in the fridge--it is good, but not as sweet as the last (yellow) one.

Adventures with CSA: Week 12 (Summer 2015)

This week was insane at work, and I haven't had much time to cook at home. So I'm going to cook a bunch of things this weekend and early into next week.

This week's share included: Lettuce, heirloom and hybrid tomatoes, asian eggplant (3), green peppers, onions, a yellow doll watermelon (!!!!), a bag of okra, fresh ginger, basil, parsley, and cilantro.

The watermelon is AMAZING. I cut it up into a bowl and stuck it in the fridge. I wish it was seedless, but it is absolutely the sweetest and most delicious watermelon I've ever tasted. I HAVE GOT to learn how to grow this myself next year.

The eggplants I am going to grill. I absolutely love eggplant. I am growing fairy tale variety in my garden, but they are still very small and not ready for picking yet.

The tomatoes and basil is going to become caprese salad, I just need to get some fresh mozzarella.

I think I'm going to use the cilantro, peppers and the onions in fajitas with chicken.

I don't think I've ever cooked with fresh okra before. For me, okra goes in gumbo.Reading online, I am seeing a lot of positive things about roasting it, so I may try that.

In exciting Pagan-y news, I am going to be starting an online class with a group of really fine folks working our way through the Poetic Edda, using the lense of a particular deity in exploring different perspectives/points of view about the stories. I am going be to working with Ran and Her lense, which I am super pumped about! I had my first experience of Her at the beach this summer, and am really excited to get to know her better!

Happy weekend!

Adventures with CSA: Week 11 (Summer 2015)

This week's share was not as big and bountiful as past weeks have been--they are turning over some of their fields, and giving folks a chance to catch up on using their produce. This week we got a bunch of kale, some nice big heirloom tomatoes, two green peppers, six sweet banana peppers, red, white, and purple potatoes, red and white onions, garlic, and a bag of carrots.

The banana peppers will get stuffed. I absolutely love stuffed banana peppers, they are one of my favorite dishes on the planet. Here's a good recipe for those: Hot Sausage Stuffed Banana Peppers

I'm going to use the carrots for a sweeter treat: Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies

The potatoes and garlic will go into this: Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken with Potatos

We're cooking out for our gaming group today so I will likely slice some of the tomatoes for burgers.

The kale will probably get sauteed and eaten as a side, maybe with the chicken.

Not sure what to do with the green papper. They may get cleaned, chopped, and frozen for soup at a later time.

Adventures with CSA: Week 10 (Summer 2015)

Happy Thorsdaeg! Today in our share we had some really exciting things! MANY tomatoes (cherry--orange and red, hybrid-red, and heirloom-yellow), lettuce, parsley, green peppers, garlic, a red onion, a bunch of green onions, leeks, green peppers, and SWEET CORN!!! (5 ears!)

I am going to make more tabbouleh using cous cous this time with the green onions, parsley, the cucumbers from last week, and some of the tomatoes.

The lettuce and some of the tomatoes will become the BLTs I spoke of last week--the head of lettuce from last week did not survive--it got frozen in the lower drawer--the crisper was full to bursting! (and still is!)

If there are any tomatoes left, my aunt just sent me a recipe of my late grandmother's for uncooked fresh tomato sauce with basil for pasta that marinates in the SUN. So THAT will be happening if possible---if not I will patiently await more tomatoes!

The green peppers, some of the garlic, and the red onion are going into a batch of hot italian sausage for sammiches.

The leeks may get frozen for later use in potato and leek soup once the weather turns a little cooler--it's one of my husband's (and my) favorites. I do have a bunch of potatoes in the house as well--maybe I will get inspired and make some to freeze over the weekend.

The sweet corn will just get cooked and eaten. I have a great recipe for corn salad but since this is my first sweet corn of the CSA season--it's going straight in my BELLY!

Adventures with CSA: Week 9 (Summer 2015)

WE FINALLY HAVE TOMATOES! Not just in our csa share, but some coming in on my plants in the garden!

This week's share included two medium size tomatoes (one is bright red, one is darker purple), a bag of orange cherry tomatoes, a head of lettuce, a yellow zucchini, two cucumbers (oh the cucumbers, they are never ending!), two green peppers, some white potatoes, a bunch of dill, a bunch of kale (the fancy kind with ruffly leaves), a bunch of leeks (I think there's two or three in the bunch), and a small, beautiful head of cabbage. A beautiful harvest for Lammas to be sure!

The tomatoes and the lettuce are going to become BLTs. I just need to get some good bread and nice, thick bacon from the store.

I need to harvest the cilantro in my garden and put some more seeds down, so I may make some pico de gallo using the orange cherry tomatoes. Will need to get some jalapenos as my plant has some tiny ones starting but they are still not ready. I may chop up the peppers and some onion and make fajitas for dinner one night next week, with the pico on the side and some really good corn chips. Omnomnom!

The potatoes, leeks, and dill want to be together. Some kind of delicious potato-ness will be created.

The cucumbers will become cucumber salad. My friend sent me a good recipe for one. I can also slice some up and eat them with baba or hummus.

I think I am going to make kale chips with the kale, as well as peel and slice the beets from last week's share and also make those into chips: Sweets and Beets

The cabbage...Hmm. A few weeks ago I had cabbage coming out of my ears. Maybe I'll make this. I could throw some sliced yellow zucchini in this, too.

Adventures with CSA: Week 8 (Summer 2015)

I had to go pick up this week's share myself because my husband is currently at Gen Con. If you don't know what that is, look it up! I got stuck in awful, awful traffic coming home, and it made me appreciate him bringing our share home every week!

This week's share included lettuce, cucumbers, more pickling cucumbers, a summer squash, a bunch of dill, several beets with the greens attached, red potatoes, garlic, a bag of carrots, and a green pepper.

I still had cucumbers left from last week's share, so I sliced one up right away and shaved and sliced some of the carrots and ate them with some baba ghanoush for supper. Yum.

I made 3 jars of these. (Pickling cucumbers, dill, garlic)

The red potatoes will get quartered and roasted in the oven with herbs, likely some more of the dill (it was a big bunch), and some of my Penzey's Roasted Garlic Seasoning.

The rest of the cucumbers, the green pepper, and my first small harvest of black cherry tomatoes from mt garden will go into this. I am going to use different herbs as I don't have any parsley, omit the olives and the bouillon, and go light on the feta to cut down on the salt.

The squash last week went bad before I could grill it, so that's my plan for this one.

Not sure what I am going to do with the beets. They are a newer veggie to me. I saw a recipe where they are cooked with their greens, and since these ones have the greens attached, I think that's the way to go.

Adventures with CSA: Week 7 (Summer 2015)

We had a hold on our share last week due to being on vacation at the beach. This week's share included a big bunch of thai basil (which smells heavenly), a large bulb of garlic, two smallish sweet onions, 3 bulbs of kohlrabi, a yellow summer squash, three *large* cucumbers (one so large we thought initially that it was a zucchini!), a bunch of pickling cucumbers, and two medium heads of cabbage.

My husband says, "What are you going to do with all that cabbage?"

This. (cabbage, garlic)

And THIS. (cabbage, garlic, and the onions)

I may end up freezing one of both of these for eating when the weather gets a little colder. We will see.

The squash I will probably grill, now that we have propane.

The big cucumbers will probably become cucumber salad.

The pickling cucumbers will obviously become pickles.

The thai basil I will likely use to make that thai basil fried rice I made before the last time we got it. This bunch is bigger, so more basil-y goodness.

Not sure what I will do with the kohlrabi, I may just peel and shred it and throw it into the cucumber salad. Gotta say it's not my favorite veg so far. We'll see how the pickles I made last time turn out.

Adventures with CSA: Week 5 (Summer 2015)

This week we got more lettuce (shocking), several yellow squash, a huge bag of garlic scapes, a big bunch of sweet basil, a sprig of fresh oregano, two bulbs of kohlrabi, a bunch of broccoli, and a bunch of kale.

Since we're leaving for the beach for a week tomorrow morning, I grated the squash and put it into freezer bags and stuck it in the freezer. When we get back, I plan to make this: Summer Squash Bread (I doubt that I need to use an entire cup of sugar in this, tho--yikes!)

The scapes and the basil are going to become pesto--I have a huge genovese basil plant in my garden that I can harvest to add to the pesto if needed also.

The kale I am thinking about making into kale chips to snack on during our long car trip tomorrow. My husband will not eat them but I like that kind of thing.

The kohlrabi I will likely pickle: Fridge Pickled Kohlrabi (I have no carrots, but that's okay

The broccoli I will likely steam for supper this evening. Thinking about grilling some chicken thighs and making baked potatoes and broccoli on the side.

Not sure what I will do with the lettuce and the oregano, I may offer them to my best friend who is watching our home and kitties while we are away.

Next week our share is being held, so I will be back for week 7--they are saying we should start seeing tomatoes soon! :D

Adventures with CSA: Week Four (Summer 2015)

This week we got two kinds of lettuce, a bunch of kale, a bag of thai basil, a summer squash, a head of fennel, and two heads of broccoli.

This week's recipes:

Creamy Broccoli Salad (broccoli, going to use raisins, not cranberries, and a little bit of sweet vidalia onion instead of red, because that's what I happen to have. Also sugar, not truvia. Taking this to a 4th of July cookout tomorrow)

Pasta with Fennel, Kale, and Lemon (fennel, kale)

Thai Basil Fried Rice (Thai basil, I will probably saute the squash on the side)

The lettuce is the thing that I have the most trouble using up from week to week. If I can find some nice tomatoes, I may make BLTs. I absolutely love BLTs with summer tomatoes. Best. sandwich. ever.

Adventures with CSA: Week 3 (Summer 2015)

This week's share includes collard greens, lettuce, napa cabbage, broccoli, red scallions, snow peas, cucumber, and parsley.

Grilled Chicken Thai Salad (Napa cabbage, some of the red scallions, leftover cilantro I bought for the tacos I made last week)

PF Chang's Knock Off Mongolian Beef (some of the red scallions, and I will serve it with steamed broccoli on the side)

Tabbouleh (Rest of the red scallions, leftover tomatoes I bought last week, parsley, cucumber. Also can serve over lettuce.

Black Eyes Pea Cakes with Collard Greens (collard greens, parsley)

The snow peas, I may end up throwing into a salad or just eating raw with some hummus. I like sugar snaps that way too.

Adventures with CSA: Week Two (Summer 2015)

This week's share included lettuce, spinach, kale, kohlrabi, green onions, garlic scapes, parsley, and strawberries.

Quinoa Salad with Kale and Feta (Kale, possibly some of the green onion)

Baked kohlrabi fries (Kohlrabi-I plan to make the spiced ones and serve them with burgers. They sounds amazing!)

The spinach and the parsley will probably go into a big pot of tortellini soup, since I have two big bags of tortellini in the freezer.

The garlic scapes I may make pesto with, my basil plants are producing pretty well and could probably use to be cut back.

The lettuce will be used for salads, wraps, and burgers + sandwiches.

I will probably clean and slice the strawberries for eating on cereals, etc. Those will probably go fast! :)

Adventures with CSA: Week One (Summer 2015)

Our very first CSA share is here!!! This is our first experience with doing this, and I am super excited!

For those folks who might not know, CSA stands for 'community-supported agriculture.' Basically, you contribute a fee to a local farm, and in return you get a share in their harvest during the season. Our CSA is through Edible Earth Farm in Tionesta, PA. We get our deliveries weekly and purchased a small share, although as I am beginning to understand, it's not actually small. Here's week one's haul:

So one of the challenges (which I accept, btw) of a CSA is that it requires a little more meal planning than I generally engage in, being that I work full time and then some and am generally running around like a chicken with my head cut off most of the time. So here's some of the recipes I am planning to make with our first week's bounty, which came last night:

Rustic Indian Lentils with Collard Greens (collard greens)
Radiant Bok Choy (bok choy)
Mushroom and Garlic Scape Quiche (garlic scapes--I may also throw some of the spinach in this)
Cheeseburger Quiche (this recipe comes from my mother and is a favorite of our gaming group; green onions)
Salad (Lettuce and spinach if there's any left)

I am looking forward to my weekly culinary adventures! :)

Spring musings

The winter weather finally broke last weekend, and now my thoughts are consumed with my dreams for my garden this summer. Also, my husband talked me into strongly considering and then purchasing a small CSA share from a local farm that drops all around our area--one of their drops is at the library he runs, and he got to see everyone coming in for their shares last summer. He also got gifts from shares that some of his patrons gave us which he brought home for me and I made good use of. I am very excited--the last two years my garden has not been very productive. I figure that this year, since I now have a share of a CSA, the garden will produce like crazy. First world problems, right? :) I'm totally pumped about eating interesting new things I have not gotten to try before...like rhubarb!

What am I hoping to grow in the garden this year? Here is my wish list:

1. Tomatoes (varieties yet to be chosen, I always do plants of these rather than trying and failing to start them from seed. Think I'm going to choose 3 plants max this year so I don't get overwhelmed)
2. Peppers (Jalapeno, poblano, and sweet banana)
3. Eggplant (variety yet to be chosen)
4. Landreth stringless green beans (have seeds to go directly into garden)
5. Boston Pickling cucumber (have seeds to go directly into garden)
6. Cucamelons (have seeds to go directly into garden)
7. Zucchini (bush variety, have seeds to go directly into garden)
8. Golden beets
9. Parisienne carrots (those small round carrots from France, have seeds to go directly into garden)
10. Jack Be Little pumpkins (tiny baby pumpkins, have seeds to go directly into garden)
11. Emily basil (a compact Genovese variety, have seeds to go directly into garden)
12. Slo bolt cilantro (have seeds to go directly into garden)
13. Bouquet dill (have seeds to go directly into garden)
14. Calendula (for pots)
15. Black-eyed Susan Vine (for hanging basket)
16. Purple Echinacea (have seeds to go directly into garden)
17, Solar Flash and Lemon Queen sunflowers (have seeds to go directly into garden)
18. Chamomile (have seeds to go directly into garden)
19. Bee Balm (have seeds to go directly into garden)