This year we grew all of 3 zucchini's.  It is definitely becoming more of a challenge to grow vegetables in my garden.  We do appreciate anything we do get...so hopefully everyone has not had their fill of zucchini and can take one more yummy dish. Our neighbor gifted us with freshly caught shrimp - so […]

This was one yummy dinner - easy too.  I think it might even be "Paleo Friendly"...although, in all honesty I do not know too much about the Paleo diet. UPDATE:  Shirley From Gluten Free Easily kindly let me know...this is not a meal that fits with the Paleo diet because of the cheese in the […]

After all these years of having fresh herbs in the garden, I finally decided to dry fresh lemon balm and mint.  I can not believe with a garden full of these lovely herbs I have not done this sooner! Lemon Balm is said to have many healing qualities - you can read about lemon balm […]

Fresh organic Swiss Chard - simply delicious.  Add a marinated Flank Steak on top - heaven.  This was market bought Swiss Chard, as mine are still very small. This has been a very strange summer.  It was a very cool spring and a very late start to the summer.  We even had one full day […]

Here is yet another fresh salad.  During the spring and summer - we have salads of every kind almost every day.  The Sugar Snap Peas will not be around much longer so we have been eating them in every salad we make. Every once in a while I have a huge craving for shellfish.  As […]

This is the second cauliflower from our garden!  Who knew we could grow cauliflower in our ever challenging garden?  Now I wish I had planted more - next year.  As it turns out, DH is not all that crazy about cauliflower, but he did say it is much more sweeter and tastier than store bought.  […]

I just learned today that Anthony Sedlak suddenly passed away on July 6/2012.  At the tender age of 29, Anthony was an up and coming talented Canadian Chef.  He was the Food Network Star of the shows THE MAIN, AND FAMILY COOK OFF, to name just two of his many accomplishments. Such a tragic loss, […]

This was such a refreshing delicious lemonade.  I had gone to our local Nursery to buy my Basil Plants for the summer.  The owner was in the process of cutting back a large Grapefruit Mint Plant, and gifted me with the cuttings.  I had never heard of Grapefruit Mint before, have you? The flavor of […]

My garden is exploding with Lambs quarter or as some call it:  a weed, or poor man's spinach.  Whatever you like to call it is okay by me - I love this healthy green. Late May and June are the best months in my region to harvest young fresh Lambs Quarter Greens.  Although having said […]

Well - this year it will certainly be a different year in the garden.  May and June so far have proven to be not the best we have ever seen, that is for sure.  Looking at the garden I would say we are 5-6 weeks behind. This lovely big bowl of salad greens is this […]

If you have lots of fresh vegetables in the fridge, and some leftover cooked rice - this is a great healthy way to use up extra ingredients.  It would be even better with fresh basil - which I did not have, nonetheless it was mighty tasty. 2 cups cooked brown rice 4 Tblsp. Grape Seed […]

Do you see these vegetables? I could not believe my eyes!  On October 31, 2011, I finally went out to the garden, as there was a wee bit of sunshine, after many days of rain.  I was surveying the garden, with the thought of putting the garden to rest for the winter.  This is what […]

Before I get into this lovely recipe, I just had to post a picture of these gorgeous Calendula Flowers...in October?  I have never seen that before!  Usually, they are long gone by early September...our weather this year has been so strange.  Although, I must say, I appreciate the pretty color.... Onto the recipe.  This is […]

As of October 9th, all of the garden vegetables have been picked.  With an abundance of mixed greens, Chard, Collards, and Red Kale, I decided to make a mixed braised greens dish, (that was a mouthful!) which we had with our Thanksgiving dinner.  This is a great way to get the healthy benefits of all […]

Each year has brought it's own unique learning experience in the garden. Everything we have learned about gardening has been trial and error...with lots of errors.  One of the biggest learning curves, is understanding how we are at the mercy of the weather and mother nature.  Here it is, early September, and we have been […]

I love seeing green and yellow beans, and zucchini from the garden!  As you can probably tell from my posts - they have been served every which way, in just about every meal we eat - we are loving it! Check out this fresh pic: I could not be more thrilled.  As I have mentioned […]

These past few days we have all been about salads, in this house.  We actually had a two day heat wave...mercy...even here on the West Coast!!  I never did find out what the temperature was.  When you see flowers wilt on the West Coast, and they have already been watered...it is hot! All the vegetables […]

After going to the farmer's market the other day, I could not wait to try these beautiful heirloom tomatoes.  This next picture makes me very happy: I love taking pictures of fresh organic produce - probably more enjoyable for me than taking a picture of anything else. First, came a simple tomato sandwich: Mercy!  I […]

When we got back from our weekend getaway, it seemed the garden took off in a bloom of color and a growth spirt!  The first few days back home were crazy busy at work.  Meanwhile, the garden really needed tending too.  After three days, I finally got out there to pick fresh lettuce greens, beets, […]

Looking at the flowers in the garden today, I could not resist taking a few photos.  I always forget what the name of this lovely flower is.  Commonly seen in many bouquets, this started as one single plant that has spread to an area of now close to three feet.  I love it when that […]

See this Hobbit House?  Okay, I know it is a birdhouse.  But I like the sound of Hobbit House better, don't you?  I want to climb into that tiny hole and sleep for three days.  Seriously.  Although, I think the caterpillar on the roof, might beat me to it. You see, I have always had […]

A few times a year, we are lucky to get Free Range Turkey Breasts.  Such a nice treat to have instead of the whole bird.  Well, when I got home and unwrapped this large turkey breast, I discovered the butcher had removed the skin!  I was a little annoyed - you need the skin to […]

This may not look so tasty, but dang, it sure was.  By now, those that know me, know that I love rustic food.  I think that is also why I am such a huge Jamie Oliver fan...most of his food is comfy/rustic...just the way I like it! 🙂 Our fall plantings provided early spring harvesting […]

I love this time of year...spring moving into summer heralds such splendor in the garden.  Spending time in the garden, I could not resist taking a few pictures of the lovely color that is starting to emerge. I love love poppies - they bring such beauty to the garden. A very welcome guest has landed: […]

WhooooHoooo!  We have heat !  How long have we waited?  Can you tell I am a wee bit excited?  And yes the garden got planted last weekend despite cold rainy days. But now we have actual sunshine with the added bonus of heat.  We honestly were beginning to wonder if it would happen at all.  […]

We finally have had some sunshine, after many gray rainy days, so I made my way to the garden, to see what was happening.  We actually have strawberries flowering!  People are saying we are 3-4 weeks behind this spring, so who knows what our summer will bring? I picked a huge bowl of over wintered […]

We have finally had a reprieve from the intense rain.  So this weekend we turned over the soil in the raised vegetable beds. (We have four fairly good sized raised beds, just for vegetables) Each year, I have watched a slow decline to the vegetable beds.  I knew part of it was a late start […]

Can it truly be?  Has spring actually sprung?  After the winter we have had, I am still wondering, still doubting.  We finally had a couple of days of sunny, mild weather! This winter has been a winter unlike any I can recall.  Winter storms abounding, lots of snow - very unusual for us West Coasters, […]

This is what we woke up to this morning - February 23, 2011.  This is looking out my kitchen window fortunately with a steaming hot cup of coffee in my hands.  Each winter, these past few years, we have been getting more and more snow.  I can remember growing up and not seeing any snow […]

We have had a lot of rain.  Living on the West Coast, we are essentially living in Rain Forrest Territory.  When I look out at my garden, at this time of year, all I can say is it looks drowned.  Well, the rain actually stopped briefly, so I headed out to the garden to see […]

We have had incredible rains, wind and cold weather.  Unusual for our neck of the woods.  Normally our Septembers are hot during the day, cool in the early mornings and evenings.  This is unusual.  Something else unusual, I have never seen before are these: These mushrooms sprouted a week or so ago, after heavy rains.  […]

I have made an interesting discovery.  Since I began eating beef, this March - hormone antibiotic free beef, I have noticed some changes.  They were subtle at first, and it took about 3-4 months before I began to realize what these discoveries were.  First of all, I still want to "hoover" down when we eat […]

With all the rain we have recently had, yesterday we finally had a day of sunshine!  I was able to get out to the garden, pick the remaining tomatoes, basil, parsley, and chives.  We decided to fire up the grill and have these tasty BBQ dry rubbed Pork Steaks: The dry rub I used was […]

Our first bowl of ripe tomatoes....this was a long time in coming.  Despite me bemoaning our poor summer here on the West Coast, I realize we were lucky to have grown anything at all.  This year certainly presented it's challenges. And, hoping this bowl of tomatoes will ripen nicely.  The rains are coming, so I […]

As of Aug 7th, 2010, we have rain.  Much needed, despite the lack of summer, it has also been very dry.  My tomato plants are crying though.  We kept some of the tomato plants in the mini greenhouse, but also kept 8 plants outside in the gardens.  With this rain, and the fog we have […]

Can a salad be sinful?  Well, I think this one was.  Holy Mama!  I had to force myself to save some for my Daughter who was on her way for dinner from a hard days work.  I could barely do it.  This salad will forever remain somewhere deep in my memory banks....even if that is […]

Well, it is a beginning!  We finally have a few veggies from the garden.  I kind of forgot about the red cabbage..which just kept getting bigger.  Pickled red cabbage will be down the road, as well as coleslaw. For lunch today, I had a simple tuna salad, then steamed beets and beet greens - we […]

Well, it's trying hard, the garden really is.  What a summer it has been!  The flowers have all done well despite our very late start to the summer.  This lovely Hydrangea was once in another area of the garden.  We tried to dig it up to put elsewhere, and ended up using an axe to […]

I am not too happy with the Weather Gods in these neck of the woods!  We have had one of the worst summers I can ever remember.  We have only had two days of hot weather....as of July 20th!  That being said, we have had some lovely broccoli, lettuces, radishes from the garden.  Whether or […]

You see this tree?  It is huge – taller than our house, it is situated in a corner of our back yard.  One day last week, we had unbelievably strong winds.  It even blew some of my planters over.  So in going to the back yard to erect the fallen planters, there on the ground […]

It has been a strange summer, so far. We have had such a late start, my fingers are crossed we will get squashes and tomatoes.   All of my flowers are doing really well.  This Lavender was planted 2 years ago, it is now the biggest yet.  So many other flowers from the raised perennial […]

Ohhh how I love local, organic strawberries.  In previous years, I have always made Strawberry Freezer Jam.  Why Freezer Jam?  I like the taste better, it is fresher, more red in color, and if you use a low sugar Pectin or "light" version, less sugar, no cooking equals:  more flavor. My Ever Bearing Strawberry Plants […]

Years ago, I'm guessing 15-17, I had a small studio downtown.  There was a cafe next door that served, what I thought then, was the best Iced Tea I have ever had....yeah right....lemon juice from concentrate-yuck, ridiculous amounts of sugar, ohh no!  I asked them for the recipe, and after a short time, began having […]

Yeahh...we finally have sun, pray it lasts!  It is amazing how in one week, the gardens are taking off!  This is the entrance to our back garden, and in 2 days this lovely rhodo just exploded with color: We have been getting the most scrumptious organic baby carrots from our local market each week - […]

The "In The Garden" Posts are such a great way to document each month what is happening in the garden.  Each year I always think I will remember what grew where, what grew when, and of course I never do.  So with these posts, I hope to journal each months garden events. A few years […]

AND A LESSON LEARNED..... I love poppies of all kinds.  This rare beauty takes  2-3 years, usually 3, to bloom.  The "mother" plant grows, but lies dormant for that period of time, then you get 2 to 3 lovely flowers.  Interestingly, the "mother" plant then puts out a new shoot - a new plant at […]

I love Columbine....so many colors, and I love how it self seeds....this could take over my gardens any day, better that than weeds.  Dang!  This picture does not do justice!   The weather is finally warming up....more vegetable plantings will be underway this weekend.  In the mean time we had beautiful greens from last fall's […]

We had to use up the last of our fall planted Russian Red Kale.   Such a wonderful green….but you know…this would work with any green you have on hand…Swiss Chard, Spinach, Mustard Greens, or Collard Greens.  Love them all!! Loaded in calcium….and many more nutrients,   plus it is Dang Darn Good!! Huge bunch of Kale […]

Growing up in a Danish household…sandwiches were something to behold.  Open faced, a number of layers, and always eaten with a knife and a fork.  We learned at a young age to properly use a knife and fork. Some Danish Sandwiches include:  (Most were made on homemade Rye Bread). Homemade Liver Pate, a dollop of […]

The wonders of the garden never cease to amaze me.  Here is is the beginning of May, this is Swiss Chard we had planted in the fall.  The stocks were not huge, but thin, and small, with big leaves - and incredibly sweet. Many cities in the United States and Canada, now offer Community Gardens, […]

ROSEMARY Wow - it is hard to tell from this picture....but this rosemary is close to 5 feet tall, and about 2-3 feet wide!  Full of flowers, I just keep picking it and using it in various dishes - for the last 5 years now!  Lately, there has been a hummingbird flying around the flowers […]

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! IN THE GARDEN ........ Isn’t she cuuuute!  Isn't she adorable....serenely, quietly, watching. Thankfully, she was not in my garden, but at the neighbors.  I just happened to look out the window, and there she was.  Just quietly standing, observing….every once in a while her ears would move this way and that….the birds […]

We planted a few things in the garden this past fall, not knowing, or even having any expectation as to what would survive the winter.  Well, we were pleasantly surprised.  Since February of this year, we have harvested, Collard Greens, Kale, Baby Broccoli Spears, and chives.  In a few weeks the red Swiss Chard should […]

From the Garden....in Feb/March.  Wow.  Still having Collard Greens this time of year...from plantings last summer.  It is interesting....when I bought Collard Greens from the Market they were huge....took a long time to cook....and were quite strong in flavor...almost with a hint of bitterness.  But I guess where I planted my collards, maybe a bit […]