Late Snow

I had already planted my garden during a two week warm spell mid-spring, when a late-spring snowstorm took us by surprise dumping a LOT of snow SUPER fast. The first picture is my garden, with the neighbors flowering plum trees about to break in the background. I took some pics, then grabbed my broom to follow the example of my neighbor and her kids in smacking snow off of the trees to alleviate the branches. All around the valley hundreds of trees had huge branches break off from the weight of the snow.


Josh scraped a path to the sidewalk before he left for work.


This is a neighbor's tree right after the snowfall, in the early morning. Next we see the same tree after an hour or so of sunshine had melted most of the snow off.

Spring Planting

A few weeks ago there were several warm days in which we got the garden tilled and planted a bunch of cold-weather veggies. It's my first time getting the garden planted in early Spring and I'm feeling pretty excited about it. Tiny shoots from the peas and beets have come up already!




I found this lovely arugula plant at Walmart, of all places.

Bloom where you're planted

My mom sent me an email this morning with the following pics and message:


I was in the storage room the other day and found one rotten pumpkin
growing mold and a box of potatoes growing sprouts. Made me think:
Each plant of God's creation tries to reach the measure and purpose of its life.
Too bad all people are not as determined as all plants. We should all
try to grow daily. Bloom where you are planted. Sprout with energy
and life. Love ya, Leslie

Frilly Pink Birthday Cake

I decided to make myself a big birthday cake this year. It took all day on my birthday to make it, but that was a treat in itself. The babes were all well-behaved and amazingly self-sufficient on my birthday, and Josh was busy with food prep for the Christmas Eve party so I revelled in cake heaven and frosting frills to my heart's content. And yes, it is a healthy 100% whole-grain cake (I used kamut flour I ground). Now, I can't extend that same praise to the frosting, as it is purely butter and sugar — no redemptive qualities beyond it's glorious good looks, sensational smoothness and perfect peppermint flavoring. Thanks to my good neighbor for taking these photographs as I am still without camera (the situation is getting dire!). BTW, you'll notice part of me in the background of the second photo... wearing the stylish apron my sil gave me and a pink shirt so I could match the cake during the party (HA—just kidding about the matching, but I do love a bright pink shirt for a party). And to sidetrack a little, yes, those are real squash in the background of the third picture. There is a buttenut squash, a spaghetti squash and two different kinds of pumpkins on top of that pink shelf. I've been storing and using them ever since October when I purchased them (we had a bad garden this last year) for Fall decorations. Last year I think I started the winter with over 30 squash from my own garden sitting around my kitchen. It took all winter to use them up.

I heart tomatoes

Grape and pear tomatoes from the garden.

Cucumbers & Tomatillos from the garden

Spaghetti Sauce — fresh from the garden

This beautiful bolognese sauce starts with sauteéd onions and carrots (use olive oil). The meat is added and cooked till the pink is gone, but the meat is not browned yet. Then milk or cream is added and cooked till reduced (sometimes I add other liquids after the milk cooks down and cook till reduced as well, such as white wine, or red wine vinegar). Here you see cream added.
The tomatoes are blended well. I never remove the skins, so the blending assures that the skins don't detract from the final result.
The blended tomatoes are added. The whole mixture cooks for an hour or so till it becomes thick enough and yields a lovely pms 179.
This sauce is the bomb. Full flavored, satisfying, and intricate enough to provide an exciting experience for the full-fledged foodie.

Random Food Pics

M's yams (her favorite food) and broccoflower.

Easter treats — steamed mussels.

Janet's Easter bunny bread bowl with veggies.

Olives fit so well on small fingers!

Our peach tree is in full force right now. I've been processing peaches (mostly drying them in the dehydrator and making peach cobblers) all day for days (it seems so anyways).

Yellow & Gold Vegetables

I just picked these a few minutes ago. There are lemon cucumbers {pms 393}, yellow summer squash {pms 109}, yellow bell peppers {pms 100}, tomatillos {pms 386}, yellow tomatoes {pms 137}, and tiny pear tomatoes {pms 1235}. In addition to the green paint, my kitchen wears this fresh aqua blue {pms 324}.

Gold digger - pms 1235

Diggin' for gold.

the biggest slide at Kangaroo Zoo

A Golden Beet

Juicy, intense, red!

Fruits, wombs, beating hearts. This picture reminds me of these womanly emblems of life because of the seeds, the soft flesh, the inner chambers, the flowing juices of the fruits. PMS 179. I love the closeness, the freshness, the warmth, the demanding nature of red.

The house smells rich, and fruity. Mostly it's the peaches. The tree is heavy with the ripening crop. The counters are sticky with the dripping juices. The dehydrator is full of sliced, and diced bits. We've got reds and oranges all around. A fullness for the eyes, a feast for the belly, and a delicious aroma that makes me smile. Giddiness is around the edges and happy delirium lurks behind that round, fuzzy peach. Juicy and sweet.

The tomatoes are amazing as well. The other day I pureed a few pounds of them to add to the chili I was making. So red and sweet smelling, fragrant and warm was the puree (the tomatoes had been in the sunshine, still on the vine only moments before) that I almost couldn't resist drinking it up like a smoothie. It gave brightness to the flavor of the chili, that's for sure.

And the peppers have a special sweetness hidden in their robust ridges and thick skinned juice pockets. It comes up around the edges of the tongue after the sparky (but still mild) bite gets to me. Fresh produce from one's own garden is fabulous!