Growing Things On A Rainy Day!

 It has been more than a week since I have taken the time to write.  It has been a very busy time.  

Today is a lovely rainy day.  I just took this photo of the GreenStalk vertical garden on the back deck.  I love the lilac colored planter.  I suggested to Dear One that it might be a great spring gift but then I thought about the fact that I have not really used the produce from the last seasons so I guess I will see if I can make one GreenStalk successful then add a lilac one next year....

 

There we go, though I have absolutely no idea why there is no background.  I don't really mind since there is a lot of "stuff" on the deck, though the picture I actually thought I was going had a lovely view of the rain-wetted decking.  Oh, well.

Here is the GreenStalk with wax beans looking good; some basil really going to town. The strawberry plants on the top layer are doing well, too.

There are some tiny kale plants in the second layer but they are totally invisible here.  There are very sturdy marigolds that are volunteers from last year, too.  They look promising.  You can just barely see a few green leaves on the right side of the second layer.

When I went out to investigate the garden this afternoon I noticed that the deck railing planter where I had started a packet of kale seeds earlier had been devastated...probably by the squirrels that visit from time to time to see if they can pick up something just lying around for them to steal.  Those hummers.  Well, as Alissa says, "Squirrels need to eat, too."  Yes. they do.  I am so sorry they scarfed down the last of the kale seedlings, though.  I intended to transplant them shortly.

Today I have been wondering how to use the basil this year.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

Strawberries Growing On The Deck...

 A couple of weeks ago when at Lowes I saw a rich-looking strawberry plant.  I grabbed it up, took it home and put it on the shelf in the kitchen.  For several days.  Eventually I planted it in the green garden tower whose name escapes me at the moment.  And left it for two days.  When I got back I noted that it was very very wimpy looking so I doused it in water. I had forgotten that you need to water things every day when their foundation is plastic.

The strawberry blossom had bitten the dust by the time I watered it and the three runners had been burned to a crisp. I apologized to the  dear little plant and watered it. And have watered it again and again.  Here she is:

This makes me much happier.  Since the strawberry farms are in full picking mode, I am hoping this little guy recovers enough that we can have one or two berries from our own deck.  If we play our cards right and the plant puts out runners....well, maybe more than one or two berries.

OH-- it is a GreenStalk garden tower....a vertical garden and it works great as long as we water and fertilize the water occasionally.  If you follow the link you will see they have pink towers and blue towers.  Boy, would I like one of each!  Don't you think they are beautiful?!!  I do.  Not a lot of room on our deck for more though.  At least not in Dear One's opinion...even though I removed the huge old plastic "tree" planters we used for tomatoes and zucchini last year.

Munchie Monday: Strawberry Lasagna

There is wonderful fresh produce near us at the Dorr Farms.  I like to go over there every week or two to find what they have available.  Right now they have broccoli (BEAUTIFUL LUSCIOUS BROCCOLI!!), kale, other greens, sweet potatoes, onions, honey, etc.  Their biggest seller is the strawberries!  Yes, strawberries.  For a Vermonter it is hard to believe that we could get strawberries out of the garden in March.

The Dorr Farms also has a Facebook page. I love to go there.  About a month ago they had a recipe for No-Bake Strawberry Lasagna on that page.  You can bet that I immediately downloaded the recipe and waited the two weeks until strawberries were ripe.  Yesterday we had Strawberry Lasagna for lunch.

 Here is the recipe.  I do not know where it originated but I found it on Dorr Farms Facebook page.  I will note below my changes.

No Bake Strawberry Lasagna

2 cups strawberries, sliced

2 cups heavy cream

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons milk

1 package graham crackers, mashed into crumbs

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

In mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form then set aside.

In another bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar, vanilla extract, and milk until smooth.

Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture gently.

Mix the melted butter into the graham cracker crumbs.

Spread half of the buttered cracker crumbs into the bottom of a serving dish to form the first layer.

Spread half of the cream cheese whipped cream mixture over the top.  

Add a sprinkle of white chocolate chips then a layer of sliced strawberries.

Put the remaining graham cracker crumbs over the top then the remaining creamy mixture, white chocolate chips, and finally another layer of sliced strawberies.

Refrigerate for at least one hour, or until set.

THINGS I DID DIFFERENTLY

The first thing was that I forgot the vanilla and milk to mix into the cream cheese and sugar mixture.  It worked just fine.  I was using the KitchenAid mixer and the whisk attachment which worked extremely well.

I forgot also the chocolate chips on the first creamy layer. Oh well.  I did remember them for the top.  It was enough.  I did not use them all.

The requirement of "1 package graham crackers" was a bit confusing until I realized they meant one plastic-wrapped package of three in the box of graham crackers.

Also, I did not know what size pan to use so...I used the smaller pan.

Before placing in the refrigerator I covered with plastic wrap since the dish was going to be there overnight.  Cream picks up any erroneous flavors you might have around.  Since I had hoed out the refrigerator very recently I was not really concerned about that but thought: why not just do it?  We have the plastic wrap.  Probably enough to last until the end of the decade...since I talked Dear One into buying a Food Service box a couple of years ago!

The report on this Strawberry Lasagna:  it was very very good!  I used an 8 by 8 or maybe it is 9 by 9 pan.  It might have been smarter to use a slightly larger serving dish but the people who ate it all thought it was just fine. It was very thick, as you can see from the picture.  I myself did not eat a large serving and was completely satisfied.  After our guest and Dear One helped themselves, and Dear One finished his self-served bowl, he started forking out more from the pan. I thought that was pretty funny!  Our guest definitely felt part of the family with that kind of a performance!

Food Friday: First Strawberries of the Year

 On Sunday S and I went to Columbia for the annual Relief Society Presidency Training.  It was a glorious day for a drive and the training was just plain fabulous.  On the way to the meeting there were signs for the Cottle Strawberry Farm, saying they were "Now Open"!  I was so very thrilled.

So on Wednesday when we drove away from the temple we stopped in. I suggested to Dear One that we purchase a quart.  He, on the other hand, said we needed a large box!  That is what we did.  It turns out the large box is a gallon.  Lots of nice strawberries.  They are pretty good but will be much juicier in a couple of weeks.

Today when I was out doing some errands I noticed that the table and tent that Cottle Strawberry Farm sets up in our town is already in evidence, though they did not have any berries there yet.

Munchie Monday: Fruit Water for Valentine's Day

 It is so important to drink a lot of water.  Sometimes one needs to try something different.  One of the easiest and tastiest things to do is  to make fruit water.

Being Valentine's Day, with pink and red themes, I decided to make some strawberry-lemon fruit water.

How I did it:

In the bottom of a two-quart glass pitcher I sliced up half a dozen strawberries that I bought fresh from the store. Since it is not strawberry season I was unsure of how this would go, but did it anyway.  Next I sliced in half a lemon in fairly thin slices. After filling the pitcher full of water I placed it in the refrigerator.  When I made this early this week, there was only three hours in the refrigerator before it was time to serve,  It tasted pretty good even then.

Next on the docket was to make more so I got out a 2-quart canning jar and repeated with the other half  of the lemon, sliced thin, and another half dozen strawberries.  After filling the jar to the brim with water, I put a cover on and put it in the refrigerator.

This picture shows all the lemon slices and strawberries since we drank all the water in the pitcher and refilled it.  Two days later we had consumed it again and I poured the fruit water from the canning jar into the pitcher and the strawberries and lemon slices slid into the pitcher along with the water.  

We have now consumed both containers refilled twice.  The water gets fruit-y-er the longer you let it sit in the refrigerator until after about four or five days it begins to lose flavor which is when you pitch it out and start again.

Nice stuff, fruit water. Worth the effort.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Munchie Monday: Strawberry Fool

 A quick and easy dessert is always nice.  With the fresh strawberry season going full tilt here locally, we are enjoying berries every day.  A quick, easy, and calorie-laden dessert is Strawberry Fool.  It is so pretty.  Even in Christmas glasses!

Strawberry Fool

2 cups fresh strawberries, capped, washed, and sliced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice, fresh is probably best but bottled can be used
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Place 1 cup strawberries in a blender along with the sugar and lemon juice and blend until a nice purée.  Put through a sieve to remove larger seeds.  (I did put through a sieve but did not find many seeds remaining in the sieve.)

Whip the heavy cream until beautifully whipped but not dry.

Fold the strawberry purée into the whipped cream.

Layer the remaining sliced strawberries in the bottom of a pretty glass container then the fool.  Make as many layers as you like. We only did one of fresh berries and one of the fool with a few berries on top.

Dear One really liked this!

Strawberries in March!!!

 Last Wednesday we were at the temple.  On the way home we stopped at the Cottle Strawberry Farm because it appeared as if they were open.  THEY WERE!!

We bought a big box of that deliciousness.  When we got home I washed the whole box, capped them, ate some, then put the rest in the refrigerator in a glass half gallon jar so that they would be very visible to everyone who lives in this house. (Sometimes things go in the refrigerator and seem to disappear...according to Dear One!)

You can see that we have had them on our cereal several days and also have handful-ed them several times.  They are so very sweet and delicious this year.  Last year we got some that had very little flavor.  I am inclined to purchase some berries from the farm near us...but I will wait until these are used up.  No point in having too many in the refrigerator.  I am so trying not to make jam...because of the sugar.  So far, so good!

Munchie Monday: Cereal Mixture

 Oatmeal has become a constant in our diet/breakfast.  I have already talked about eating dry oatmeal with chopped grapes mixed in.  The other week we did not have any grapes so I put oatmeal in the bottom of the bowl then dumped in a small amount of the mixed lightly sugared cereals that Dear One favors.  With a little homemade almond milk on top, it was pretty good.

Today I did the same but added some fresh from the field strawberries.  Quick. Easy. Tasty!

This is one of those meals where I could say, "Try it.  You will like it!"  Some things lately I have not been so happy with but this is definitely healthier than many cereals and tastes so good.

Munchie Monday: Quick and Easy Delicious Fruit Smoothie

We bought a big basket of strawberries at the Farmers' Market last week and the week before.  Dear One said they were perhaps the best berries he had ever eaten!  The first batch was the better basket...

We have now used all of them!  Two big jars of jam (one of which was chia seed thickened and the other was low-sugar pectin thickened), one serving of strawberry shortcake left, and one quick and easy smoothie.


Quick and Easy Strawberry Smoothie

In a blender place:

1/2 cup soy milk or other non-dairy milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup fresh strawberries
1 large frozen banana
6 ice cubes


Blend for about a minute.  Pour into glasses and enjoy.  This made two 8-ounce glasses full.  It took no time at all to put them down the hatch!  So good.  I have not had a smoothie myself for some time.  This one was the best!

We will probably make this again.  There is a farm near us that has pick-your-own berries. I think we will go there this week!  They might have other produce as well.  It is sort of like anticipating Christmas!

Munchie Monday: 8-ounce Blendar Jar Smoothie!

Totally the main reason I finally purchased the Vitamix blender was because they had an accessory kit which had  an 8-ounce blender jar. I have used it multiple times.  This time I decided to make a smoothie in the jar.

This is what I did:

Into the jar I placed 2 larger frozen strawberries,  half a sliced banana, 2 tablespoons crushed pineapple and juice from a can, 1 tablespoon flax seeds.

Screwed on the top then placed on the Vitamix base and started it up, going from speed 1 up to speed 10.  I left it at speed 10 until the timer read one minute.

 It was a wonderful smoothie, according to Dear One. Well, he did not say it was wonderful, that was me because it worked so well,  but he sucked it up rather rapidly.

It was a nice accompaniment to Grapenuts with bananas and four ounces orange juice.  I had some kale salad.  next time I will make a small smoothie for myself, I guess.

Food Friday: Green-ish Brown-ish Smoothie!

Lately I have heard a lot of talk about the health benefits of "green smoothies".  It seemed like an interesting idea, especially since some years ago a friend was feeding her young children green smoothies for breakfast.  Apparently the children just plain sucked up these smoothies with great pleasure.

This is how I made ours which made two LARGE smoothies.  Next iteration will be half size.  Good nutrition has to include common sense and small portions.

2 cups orange juice
2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach

Blend these in your blender for AT LEAST one minute until the spinach has COMPLETELY turned into juice.

Add 1 cup frozen strawberries and 1 cup frozen banana chunks.  (When bananas become very ripe-which they inevitably do-I chunk them up, put them in a freezer bag, and put into the freezer to be ready for a smoothie.)

Blend until very smooth and serve immediately.

Next time not only will I decrease the size of the smoothie but I will add ground flax seed meal and maybe even some turmeric....The added yellow of the turmeric cannot make the appearance any worse.

Munchie Monday: Easy Delicious Fruit Smoothie

We had some fruit and juices in the house.  I was feeling like not making anything big for supper.  Dear One agreed that a smoothie would fill the bill. 

This is what I did:

Got out the Bosch mixer with blender jar attachment.

Into the blender jar I poured:

1 cup orange juice
1 cup cranberry juice
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen (sweetened, this time) strawberries
2 Tablespoons ground flax seed meal

Turned on the blender and blended until thoroughly mixed and ground up.

Served into two 12 ounce glasses.

Sucked it down as fast as the frozen beverage would allow!

Sorry there are no pictures.  We drank it before I thought of the camera.

A while afterwards Dear One heated some frozen french fries in the oven then ate them.

Not to be outdone so I took two slices of Red Hen 100% whole wheat bread, put on a little mayonnaise and two small slices of homemade baked seasoned tofu.  This makes a great sandwich.  You feel as good as if you were eating an actual Reuben sandwich. At least the tooth feel makes you imagine a nice meat-based sandwich but it is made of plants.  Next time I will get out the sauerkraut!