another day in the berry patch

24 Thursday May 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in edible flowers, garden, healthy food, Lifestyle, quick meals, quick recipes, sustainable lifestyle

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

fast food, feeding backyard birds, flea beetles, food, garden, healthy food, quick recipes, red pepper flakes, sage flowers, sustainable living, Virginia

Word is out—the local berry patch is open for business. Each spring locals await the news. I like to attend opening day, as the first two rows of O’Neils are the best blueberries ever tasted. Donning long pants, shirt, and gnat netting I head out. This year’s gems did not disappoint. In just under and hour I plucked nearly four pounds of fruit.

Any berries found with worms went into my breast pocket for the back-yard birds. There are numerous fledgelings on the ground this week and they are so funny when tasting morsels for the first time.

When checking out, I always stock up on the limited edition berry patch honey produced by a local bee man. Yummy.

Heading home with pastoral views galore, I again am filled with gratitude for living in this rural paradise.

Back home I placed the berries in single layers on sheet pans in order to allow them to fully ripen at room temperature over the next twenty-four hours. This is a valuable tip, passed on to you—lessons from the grower.

Never cook or freeze blueberries.

This is sacrilege.

This fruit is perfect from the bush, and should only be eaten raw out of hand during season. Processing destroys the overall integrity of this prized fruit.

So much for jam, man!

Therefore, after twenty-four hours on the counter, these yummies go into a storage bag, unwashed, then into the fridge drawer. Only when I grab a handful, do I rinse what I eat. When the bag is empty, I then dream of next year’s harvest—another binge satisfied.

Try this berry zinger iced tea with blueberries. YUM!

(brew double strength and add agave while hot)

For lunch today I strolled the garden and found some lovely spinach, Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, and beautiful sage flowers.

Flea beetles are at bay now, so produce thrives.

Back in the kitchen, I began water for pasta and gently washed kale and a large handful of spinach. I steamed the kale for three minutes then added the spinach for another two. When the pasta was al dente, I rough chopped the greens and mixed both into the hot pasta then added a splash of olive oil, a dollop of sweet butter, sea salt and red pepper flakes. When this dish is cold, it will make a nice salad for tomorrow’s lunch. I will add my favorite dressing to it then.

If you have never tasted fresh sage flowers, you must. I promise a grand surprise. The subtle yet clear flavor is outstanding and memorable. These flowers usually never make it to my prep table, as they are wonderful eaten in the garden. I must create a few recipes—say sage flower infused vodka or sage flower ice cream.

OMG, if you have sage blooming in your garden, go taste now!

OK, this blog is complete.

Thanks for visiting and following—your comments are always appreciated. Have a happy and safe holiday weekend. Virginia is headed for her first 90-degree temps of this year. OMG!

the perfectly boiled egg

17 Thursday May 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in birds, healthy food, quick meals, quick recipes, sustainable lifestyle

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

boiled egg recipe, egg, egg farmers, fast food, food, free range chicken, healthy food, quick recipes, vegetarian

Most of us consume eggs throughout our lives, in one form or another. Today I pay homage to the ultimate simple food—the egg—and share the most effortless way to boil them perfectly. Let us begin with a tray of organic, free-range chicken eggs, please. If we support local egg farmers, even better. If we purchase industrial eggs, we are condoning inhumane treatment of animals—please see my blog entitled the thing about documentaries—and watch Food, Inc.

I will now step off my soapbox to share the most sublime boiled egg recipe your mom never taught…

If you can locate a thumb tack these days, one makes the perfect hole in the fat end of an egg. Just hold egg gently in one hand and poke the hole. Repeat for all eggs boiled for that meal.

Next bring a sauce pot to a boil using enough water to cover all eggs.

When water comes to a full boil, gently lower eggs, one at a time, into the water. Reduce heat to #3 (on a scale of 1-8) and set timer for anywhere from 3-10 minutes, depending on the doneness desired. I go a full 10 for egg salad.

When timer rings, pour off hot water. If you plan to eat immediately, with spigot on at a trickle (catch the run off in a basin for the garden), crack the fat end of the egg, and under the water, peel off the shell. I peel the ones I plan to eat hot, then store the rest in a bowl in the fridge. These stored eggs are the ultimate fast food on days when I am on the run and do not have time to prepare a meal.

Garden tip: Many back yard birds love to consume eggs shells, especially when they are nesting. Simply fine crumble the COOKED shells (never put raw shells out) and sprinkle on the edge of a shrub border, where they can be found easily—a calcium supplement for your feathered friends!

Are you hungry now?

Yummy eggs are indeed a beautiful food from the chicken to our tummies. Just make sure that the chicken has a wonderful life.

FACT: one whole egg has merely 80 calories, yet 6.3 grams of protein.

Bon Appetit!

Now I am off to bake granola for Saturday market.

Remember to roll your mouse over these images for further information.;-)

have you taken your stroll today?

16 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in Lifestyle, season, stroll, sustainable lifestyle

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Albemarle County, explore, stroll, travel, vacation, virginia countryside, walking

Have you enjoyed your stroll? Thanks for joining me today. Now go out and enjoy the rest of this wonderful May morning.

where am i anyway?

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in landscape design, Lifestyle

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

black angus cattle, board fence, broncs, broncs on vacation, cattle, Rodeo, vacation, Virginia

As I traversed my local landscape Sunday, where Virginia Black Angus cattle usually speckle farmland vistas, I spotted what appeared to be hay with horns—and not just any horns. Upon closer examination, fortunately with a board fence between us, the hay-with-horns revealed a massive hulk of bull. No bull!

Following further investigation, I learned that this and others in the same pasture are rodeo broncs on vacation. Lord knows, I could never throw a leg over one of these monsters—not for any amount of money nor the size of the belt buckle.

This lounger never moved as I clicked away and repositioned my body for multiple angles.

This bull’s hide is so tough, flies do not land…

Can we just imagine the stories this one could tell if only he could speak?

Where am I anyway? On my way home this afternoon, I spied a field filled with long horn cattle! I must do a drive by again, this time with my camera, as I think that I have wound up in Kansas or Oklahoma or Nebraska! OMG!

Times they are a changin’!

Remember to glide your mouse over images for further commentary.

Many thanks to Miranti for nominating my blog for this award. Please visit her site at http://highheelgourmet.com

Sunday lunch ~ fast

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in healthy food, Lifestyle, quick meals, sustainable lifestyle

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

certified organic, fast food, food, healthy food, oat groats, steamer basket, Sunday lunch, vegetarian

Sunday is my day to lounge in bed until 10:30, then I putter around the house foraging for an interesting breakfast. The usual breakfast of oat groats, nuts and dry fruits filled my belly, while I observed the garden and fed the hungry back-yard birds.

By noon I was ready to create something fast and nutritious. I pulled fresh kale, half of a raw red-garnet sweet potato, a head of red cabbage, and my favorite nuts out of the fridge drawer while dry fruit came from the cupboard.

This was the result following a few minutes under the knife and in the steamer…

Gently Steamed Veggies and Raw Cabbage Lunch

Shred a red cabbage and toss with your favorite dressing (I added whole fennel seed). Set aside. Peel and thin slice a red-garnet sweet potato and place in the bottom of a steamer basket. Top with washed, torn kale. Cover and steam kale 4-5 minutes, then remove and continue to steam sweet potato until tender—just a few minutes more. Gather your favorite nuts and dry fruits. Assemble these ingredients on a pretty plate, drizzle with olive oil, sea salt to taste.

NOTE: I always consume certified organic food.

After the plated salad photo was taken, I remembered the fresh feta in the fridge, and I crumbled a healthy portion over salad top. The choice of cheese is yours.

Savor this healthy meal in your home.

There is plenty of cabbage prepared for future fast meals, that become spontaneous and creative, not to mention healthy!

Another easy meal from me to you…Bon Appetite!

Ichi Ke Jiro anyone?

11 Friday May 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in garden, landscape design, Lifestyle, sustainable lifestyle

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

afton virginia, Edible Landscaping, Ichi Ke Jiro persimmon, nature, plants, still life painting

2009 was the year I explored local grower inventories for exceptional, unique, and edible plants. At Edible Landscaping in Afton, Virginia, I selected an Ichi Ke Jiro, or dwarf persimmon. This is a Korean plant grafted onto native stock for hardiness, yet yields desirable fruit. Edible in the early fall, one fruit fills my hand, unlike native persimmons, yet Ichis may be eaten when hard, like an apple. Not only are they beautiful, they are tasty and worthy of a still life painting.

Life here in zone 6/Central Virginia/USA makes plant selection challenging at best. We often have drought, and always endure hot, humid summers where fungus and mildew thrive. Any addition to my garden must stand the rigors of this environment. Therefore, I returned to the nursery in the fall of that year to see for myself what the fruit looked and tasted like. Awesome on both counts. The plant requires little care, and sports beautiful, shiny, leathery leaves.

For the past three seasons I nurtured this specimen and am rewarded this year by the spectacular buds, flowers, and tiny fruit. This plant never missed a beat. I so look forward to harvesting my first crop, and introducing these jewels at market. I am confident there will be many folks scratching their heads and puckering their lips.

In the meantime, I must share the fantastic shapes dazzling my daily garden visits.

See if you agree…and remember to glide your mouse over the images for further description.

I will do a follow up blog in the fall so stay tuned!

Contact this vendor at www.ediblelandscaping.com if you want to try this in your garden.

eat your edible flowers!

07 Monday May 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in edible flowers, healthy food, Lifestyle, quick meals, quick recipes, sustainable lifestyle

≈ 9 Comments

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chive flowers, edible flowers, food, hot pasta, New York Minute, quick recipes, vegetarian

I just finished a simply delicious lunch—pasta with blanched kale and chive flowers.

Most folks forget to forage for delectables in their gardens during spring. Johnny Jump Ups, sage and chive flowers fill my garden now—each wonderful as a garnish for deserts, salads and entrees, providing any dish unique color, flavor and beauty. I pick them for market (and attempt to educate shoppers) and dine in luxury at home with these beautiful works of nature.

Read on and see two simple recipes I created in a New York Minute…and remember to glide your mouse over the images for further description.

Desire a quick meal in minutes? Here are two recipes…

Two Pastas with Blanched Kale and Chive Flowers

Cook your two favorite pastas according to directions. Three minutes before pastas are al dente, rinse and tear kale (organic please) and drop into boiling pasta water. Poke leaves down so all kale pieces blanch evenly. Drain this quickly in a strainer then return to pasta pot, leaving pasta wet. Sprinkle with olive oil and perhaps a generous dollop of sweet butter and sea salt. Plate hot pasta and top with chive flowers (to taste), gently pulled from the stem. Serve with a generous amount of grated cheese of your choice. EAT WHILE HOT!

I cook 1/4 box of each pasta in this recipe. Serves three or me three separate times!

Crispy Tortilla with Diced Egg and Chive Flowers

Heat a 10″ skillet over medium heat. Add 1 T. olive oil. Place in a tortilla and toast until golden/crispy then turn to toast other side. This only takes a minute, so watch the pan! Have two diced boiled eggs ready, tossed with mayo or olive oil and sea salt. Place crispy tortilla on a plate and top with egg mixture and add additional chive flowers. May be folded when consumed. Violas are a pretty addition too! Enjoy! Serves One.

See, I told you these were easy, yet how luxurious. Now if I could only find the patch of trees with the morels.

NOTE: Chive flowers store well in the refrigerator in a closed container. Violas are best picked just before consuming, rinsed gently.

Bon Appetite!

abstract design

06 Sunday May 2012

Posted by home, garden, life in blessings, Dominion Power, Lifestyle

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

abstract design, country life, Dominion Power, power poles, utility poles

I have fallen in love with the tops of power poles.

This is abstract design at its best… When linemen are sweating in bucket trucks held up in the air, risking their lives, do they ever think of themselves as artists?

I bet not.

Notice these complex assemblies—as I find more interesting combinations, I will add them to this blog.

Until I moved to the country, where electric is the most affordable utility, I loathed the appearance of power poles—an eyesore—to be endured. Yet in the past decade I came to appreciate the comforts these lines provide year round. Yes, underground utilities are preferred, yet these common sentinels of decades past are reminders of strides made since.