Strawberry Poppyseed & Steak Salad

This salad was so great for a hot summer day! I used fresh lettuce from my garden, Brianna's Poppyseed dressing, strawberries picked fresh from the farm, red onions and leftover Southwest Steak. 

Giardiniera

This is my new favorite garden recipe. This year, only my peppers have really been going crazy. Part of this is because they are one thing the stupid squirrels won't eat! With over 100 peppers, I had to figure out something to make! One of my favorite sandwich shops makes really good hot peppers.  I wanted to make something similar. I also have used Giardiniera in my Italian Beef recipe, and loved it. So I went on the hunt for a recipe that sounded similar. 

Ingredients: 
1 small head cauliflower, broken into small florets (about 5 cups)
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
4 jalapeno peppers, sliced
6 serrano peppers, sliced
1/2 cup salt
1 cup white vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup canola oil
1 jar (10 ounces) small pimiento-stuffed olives, drained

Directions: 
Chop veggies (I used the food processor to speed up and get small pieces)

In a large Tupperware container, toss cauliflower, celery, carrot and peppers with salt. Add cold water to cover. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.

Drain vegetables; rinse with cold water and drain again.  Don't forget this step, or it will be salty!

In a large bowl, whisk vinegar, garlic, oregano and pepper flakes. Gradually whisk in oil until blended. 

Add olives and drained vegetables; toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, overnight to allow flavors to blend.

Transfer mixture to covered jars. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks. Enjoy on sandwiches or by its self!

Adapted from: Taste of Home

Kale & Bacon salad

Kale salads can be hit and miss. The key to a great kale salad is taking the time to prepare it and let it soak up the dressing. I harvested what I thought was a huge bunch of kale from my garden and turned it into a salad.... sadly after all that work it was only enough for 1 serving! This recipe is a little bit of this, little bit of that, no measurement recipe... but it was yummy!

Ingredients: Adjust to the amount of kale

Kale

Olive oil (enough to coat the kale)

fresh lemon juice

sprinkle of parmesan cheese

bacon cut into small pieces

salt & pepper to taste

minced garlic (I used 1 clove)

Directions:

1. Wash and dry your kale

2. Gather it into small pieces and roll it between your hands. 

3. Dice it into small pieces. 

4. Toss together with olive oil, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, bacon, garlic, and salt & pepper.

5. Let sit for at least 1 hour.

6. Enjoy

Garden Update - June

Grafted Big Beef Tomato

Yellow Squash

Serrano Peppers 

Watermelon & Strawberries

Broccoli-- sadly the bunnies got to it. 

July 2nd pics

Herbs going crazy & loving the rain!

Tomato types for my notes!: 
Grafted Big Beef
Grafted Brandywine
San Marzano (Roma)
Sun Sugar (Orange Cherry Tomato)
Sweet Baby Girl (Cherry Tomato)
Julite (Grape tomato, holds onto the vine longer, resists drought & disease)
Red Grape (Grape tomato, small super sweet fruits with long clusters of 10 or more, heat tolerant)
Cupid (Grape tomato, sweet)

Not veggies, but pretty....

2014 Herb Garden with Wine Cork Markers

I whipped up these easy wine cork markers for my herbs last week. I used wine corks, a sharpie, and wood skewers. They were super easy and really pulled the herb garden together. 

Fast forward, to the next week... I received this gift from a student. Exact same markers, down to the 2 Buck Chuck corks! I'd say his mom nailed it! Even if he did think she was crazy for making him write on wine corks for his teacher! :)

2014 Garden

I used these cedar fence posts to make my raised bed. I followed the rough plan of Ana White's $10 Cedar Raised Garden Bed. 

 After a little screwing and gluing, my box was ready to put in the ground!

 I filled them with top soil, compost, and vermiculite. 

I put my fence up-- Terra Garden Fence. So easy and it keeps the bunnies out!

Sausage, Tomato, Pesto Pasta

Having an abundance of grape tomatoes & basil, means you need to get creative with how to use them.  I made this once, and it was so good, I made it 2 more times! 

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup Basil Pesto

1/4 cup red onion

1 cup grape tomatoes

1/2 pound Italian sausage 

sprinkle of parmesan cheese

1 t. Italian seasoning

1-2 t. Olive oil

Spaghetti noodles

Directions: 

Cook spaghetti noodles as directed, and drain. 

In a pan, cook Italian sausage, once it is almost cooked, add tomatoes and onion. 

Once the veggies are soft, add them to the drained noodles. 

Add pesto, olive oil, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese.  

Mix together, and serve with bread!

I love this because it is easy to throw together, it is even better the next day! 

Bacon Wrapped Serrano Peppers

The Serrano peppers are going crazy in my garden. You can only make so much guacamole, so I did a little Pinterest search and found this 2 ingredient snack!

Cut the bacon in half, and wrap around the peppers.

Bacon & Serrano Peppers! 

We threw them on a skewer and threw it on the grill until the bacon was cooked.  They were yummy, but SPICY! 

This whole spread was the result of a neighborhood pot luck. We were all hungry, so we went to our fridges and brought back something. Pretty darn good! 

Tomato Basil Mozzarella Sandwich- Paris style!

I have a feeling that I will be having a lot of these sandies with the amount of tomatoes and basil I am growing! They are a great light sandwich, that takes me back to my days in Italy and France!

In 2005, I traveled to Italy and France for a study abroad program. One day we decided we wanted to have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. So we went to the local market and bought tomatoes, mozzarella, and baguettes.  We took the train to the Eiffel tower, and set up camp! We were ready to eat. However, we did not think that we would need a knife. So we got resourceful, and used a credit card! I sure hope we cleaned it really well first! :) As you can tell, Cody was very proud of himself!

This was one of my most memorable nights on the whole trip! 

"It's All Coming Back To Me!"

 Ingredients: 

Ciabatta bread, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato, fresh basil, and sandwich sprinkle.

 Directions: 

Drizzle olive oil on the bread and toast for a few minutes.
Add fresh slices of cheese.

Add tomatoes, basil, and some sandwich sprinkle.

Press on panini press and enjoy!