Garden Update!

My backyard garden has had its ups and down over the past few weeks.

The green bean seeds sprouted and are growing nicely; they are about 4 inches tall today.  The sunflower seeds have also sprouted.  I planted started plants for green peppers, tomatoes and zucchini; those have responded nicely and continue to grow.

little green bean plants

The cucumber seeds did not do anything; I believe they died.  BUT.... yesterday I was at my mom's house and we went on a walk in the neighborhood.  One of my mom's neighbors was selling cucumber starter plants for $1 a plant!  The neighbor said that she had way too many to fit in her garden so she was selling the extras.  I picked up a few healthy cucumber plants!  

I planted carrot seeds and I think they started to sprout; there are little green grass like leaves where I planted the carrot seeds.  

I also made some more improvement to the garden: I bought a small fence to go around the garden.  I don't want the bunnies to be able to eat my veggies.  I live in a suburban neighborhood, so I don't have to worry about larger animals getting in my garden.  So I bought a fence that's about a foot and a half tall.  Home improvement stores and Wal Mart sell these kinds of fences.  You just stick them in the ground.  I also put tomato cages around my tomato plants.  I'm not really sure what the tomato cages do, but I know it's important!  

garden plot with new fence!  This plot has green beans, cucumbers,  zucchini, and maybe carrots! 

This plot has green pepper plants and tomato plants.  It's kinda hard to see the tomato cages in the picture, but I
promise they are there! 

The biggest thing that I have learned so far with my garden is that it is VERY important to water the plants a TON!  If it is not raining, you MUST water you plants!!!!  I normally water first thing in the morning and then again in the evening.  That seems to be working for now.  

I have come to really enjoy my garden.  It gives me something to do and I have a good excuse to be outside.  I'm looking forward to when my veggies come in!  I can't wait to cook with the food I grew in my own back yard!

Slow Cooker Pork Dinner

I decided to go to yoga for the first time in a long time(too long a time).  My yoga class was from 5:30p-6:45p, right over dinner time.  So I decided to throw something in the slow cooker to have ready for dinner when I got home.  I had some pork, potatoes, and carrots and made up a great dinner.  I was inspired by a roasted potato recipe that I made a while back.

Ingredients:

Pork, whatever cut you like, however much you want to make

2 cups new potatoes, cut in half

1 cup carrots, cut into bite size pieces

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

4 tablespoons dijon mustard

2 tablespoons olive oil 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary 

salt and pepper to taste

Start Cooking:

1.  In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar, mustard, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. 

2.  Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on high for about 2 and a half hours.  Or on low for twice the time.  

Tips and Hints:

1.  I made extra to use for lunches and for the rest of the week.  

2.  This also freezes really well.  

Enjoy!

Mother's Day in the kitchen

My little sister just got home from college yesterday.  Hannah goes to a college located in the mountains of North Carolina.  She loves it there, but it's a long way away from south central PA.  It worked out great that Hannah could be home for mother's day this year.  We bought our mom and new stereo for her gift; her old one was on it's last leg.  Our mom isn't really into "things."  She likes experiences more than material things.  So we decided to spend the day in the kitchen together.  We made a whole bunch of stuff, but I would like to share one of our favorites: fresh guacamole.  

Ingredients:

2 avocados 

1 tomato, diced 

juice of 1 lime

green onions, thinly sliced 

cilantro, chopped

salt, to taste 

Start Cooking:

1.  Cut the avocados out of their skin and place in a medium bowl.  

2. Use a fork to mash up the avocado.  You can make it smooth or chunky, it's up to you. 

3.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients.  It's really up to you how much green onions and cilantro you want to add.  I suggest starting with a little bit, tasting, then adding more if needed.  

finished guacamole! 

Tips and Hints:

1.  Store in the fridge, in an air tight container.  Guacamole will last a few days this way, if you don't eat it all first. 

2.  Serve with corn chips, nachos, tacos...  

Enjoy!

 

chocolate chip banana muffins

Chocolate makes everything better!  A statement that I always believe to be true.  When my sister and I were little, our mom would put chocolate chips in healthy foods to get us to eat them.  It worked!  And I'm sure it will work for other picky kids, and some picky adults too!  I still put chocolate chips in many different recipes.

My mom has been making these chocolate chip banana muffins for as long as I can remember.  We are not sure where the original recipe came from; what I am going to post is mom's adaptation to some unknown original recipe.  

Ingredients: 

1 egg

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/3 cups mashed bananas.  use a fork to mash the bananas.

1/2 cup chocolate chips.  You can also substitute chopped nuts or raisins, but who would want to do that?

1/3 cup veggie oil

1 teaspoon vanilla 

3/4 cup white flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup wheat bran 

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon salt

Start Cooking: 

1.  Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease 12 regular size muffin tins

2.  In a medium bowl mix together egg and sugar.  Then add bananas, oil, and vanilla.  Mix well.

wet ingredients

3.  In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients(dry ingredients).  

dry ingredients

4.  Pour banana mixture into the dry ingredients and gently fold.  DO NOT over mix!!!  If you over mix, your muffins will be tough, dry, and chewy(eew!).  

wet and dry mixed together

5.  Spoon the batter into the greased muffin tins.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Mine normally take about 18 minutes.  Muffins will be golden brown when done.

6.  Let cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin, then turn out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.  

finished muffins!

Tips and Hints:

1.  DO NOT over mix the batter!!! I know I said it before, but this is the key to good muffins!  

2.  Can't eat them all before they go bad?  These muffins freeze really well.  Cool completely, then freeze.  Thaw out when you are ready to enjoy! 

Enjoy!

Gardening Adventure!

As some of you know, I moved into a great new house this January 2012.  Along with my great house, I got a nice back yard, with lots of open space.  I then got the brilliant idea of planting a veggie garden this year.  After some planning, and looking into all the details, I felt a little overwhelmed with everything.  But I thought, what the heck, I've made it through worse!  So started my gardening adventure!   

This morning, I spent two and a half hours working in my yard; weeding the garden bed, edging it with rocks, finding old boards to make walking paths with, and a brief run in with poison ivy(oops!), and finally planting some seeds.  So far I have planted green beans, cucumbers, carrots, and a few kinds of sunflowers, all from seeds.  Lets hope they make it!  

My garden, as of today

And this is what I have to show for 2.5 hours of work!  Doesn't look like much yet, let's hope it starts looking like something worthwhile soon!  I bought some tomato and sweet pepper starter plants that I will be adding to the garden in a few weeks.  

I hope to cook a lot from my garden.  No farms, no food, right?  Can the same be said for backyard garden plots?  I also hope to buy and cook locally and in season this summer.  Stay tuned for more garden adventure updates and local/in season cooking posts!

   

Fresh Salsa!

I love fresh salsa in the spring and summer, one of my favorite snacks.  And my favorite thing about it: you can make it just the way you like it.
Here is my recipe for my favorite fresh salsa:

Ingredients: 
tomatoes, whatever kind looks freshest at the market or grocery store
red onion
limes
black beans, canned
avocado
fresh cilantro

Start Cooking:
1.  Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.  Chop the onion into very small pieces.  Chop the avocado into small pieces, about the same size as the tomatoes.  Finely chop a handful of fresh cilantro.  Put all of this into a bowl with a lid.
2.  Drain and rinse the can of black beans.  Add about half of them to the salsa mix.
3.  Juice the lime directly into the salsa mix.
4.  Gently mix everything together with a spoon.

Tips and hints:

1.  Store in an air tight container in the fridge, will last a few days, if you don't eat it all first! 

2.  I like mild salsa.  If you like hot salsa, add some chopped up hot peppers to your salsa.  

3.  Fresh is best!  Shop local if you can.  If the ingredients don't look fresh at the store/market, wait until they get new produce in and buy then.  Your salsa will taste much better with fresh ingredients!  

Enjoy!

Green Beans

My entire family always gets together for Easter at someone's house, my mom's, my grandparents, my Aunt and Uncle's house.  This year we all met at my Aunt and Uncle's house and we were each asked to bring a dish and I was asked to bring a veggie dish.  I didn't want want to do the regular green bean casserole.  I think they are kind of mushy and boring.  I hate mushy green beans.  So I came up with a new recipe.  

Green Beans with Tomatoes and Garlic 

Ingredients: 

fresh green beans

cherry or grape tomatoes, whatever looks freshest in the store

fresh garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Basic fresh ingredients 

Start Cooking: 

1.  Snap the stem end off of the green beans.  Cut the tomatoes in half or in quarters, depending on how big you want them.  Mince up some garlic, it's up to you how "garlicey" you want your dish.  

2.  Put everything in a large pan, along with some olive oil.  You just want enough olive oil to coat the beans.  You do not want the beans to be swimming in the oil.  Saute until the green beans are tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Finished Beans!  

Only about half of my green beans were eaten at the dinner.  I made a TON and there were also a few other veggie dishes.  I loved them and my Aunt loved them.  I like my green beans more on the crunchy side, some people like them more tender.  If you are making this for a large group, I would go more on the tender side.  

Enjoy!