There are about 5 things that I want to talk about in depth today.  I can't talk about all five.  They're just rolling around in my head - please tell me that I'm not the only one who has all kinds of crazy thoughts rolling around in their heads... please.  Sometimes it almost hurts.  Sometimes it's just easier to tune it out because I have too much that has to get done and not enough time to do it all and the stuff rolling around in there just makes the 'getting through' of it all the harder.
I've been reading this crazy-ass, awesome, terrifying book.  It's intense.  So intense that there have been times when I don't realize it until I turn the page but I've been holding my breath whilst reading.  Intense.  The mix of emotions runs from fear to frustration, despair to anger.  It's the kind of book that already by page two I knew I would have to read again.  Just the first chapter alone is worth the price of the book.
Then there is work.  I've been ramping up my game.  Getting myself out there more.  Getting my opinions out there more.  Throwing myself into the ring essentially.  What I've realised is that all of this good stuff that's going on means I have to work harder.  I have more responsibilities which require more time.  There are weeks when that is bearable and there are other weeks when it's a complete avalanche.  This week was an avalanche.
Then there is me still pining for summer.  Wishing that the temperatures were just a little warmer, wishing that I could still go out and pick tomatoes.  I'm trying to adjust my expectations but it's hard to motivate myself to get out there for a run or hop on my bike to work when it's cold and rainy.  I'm working on it.  I'm managing to wrap my head around fall and winter veggies again so I'm choosing to look at this as a positive start.
Then, while attempting to post my latest cookie endeavour I discovered that the photo host that google uses couldn't support any more pictures - it was full.  There had not been a notification or anything - it just stopped working.  Although I was totally bummed I set out to fix the problem.  Not being a super-techie it took me a couple of days and set me back with my posts last week.  I was totally bummed about that however, I've figured it out.


And finally, one of my best friends is moving away this week.  Not like another continent far but Toronto to Ottawa far.  Far enough.  Too far for me and I'm bummed about it but I'm trying to stay positive for him.  My other BFF KT has just gotten another beautiful baby to nurture for the next while.   So our plans to do a belated birthday celebration for the two of us (we didn't have a chance to celebrate either one of our birthdays when they really happened) - a day of just us - is going on hold.  Sure it's a bit of a drag but I'm determined to be happy for her because it's clear that giving these little babies a loving start is what is keeping her going these days.


So with these things 'rolling around' I made bread.  I've been using red fife for everything lately and I promise that in a near future post I will explain why I've fallen in love with using red fife so much.  This bread has combined my fave red fife, my love of honey and KT's favourite - Oats.  I was so sure that she would love it that I gave her the better part of one of my loaves.  She told me that this was by far the best bread I've given her yet.  That's cool.


Red Fife, Honey and Oats Bread adapted from epicurious
makes 2 loaves

2 1/2 cups Red Fife or Whole Wheat flour
2 1/2 - 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tbsp salt
2 cups milk
1 cup oats (not the 'quick cooking' stuff)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp dry yeast (2 packages)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup honey

Butter a bowl for rising and set aside.
Warm the milk just enough to feel warm but not simmering.  Remove from the heat and add in the oats.  Stir to combine.  Cool for about 7 - 10 minutes.  Once cooled slightly then add in the melted butter and 1/2 cup of honey.  Stir to combine.
Warm the water just a little warmer than luke-warm (no where near 'tea' water) and combine with 1 tsp of honey and the yeast.  Stir just to combine and set aside for about 5 minutes to get foamy and yeasty smelling (if it doesn't get foamy then it's no good - start the water thing over).
Combine the Red Fife flour and 2 cups of the all purpose together with the salt.
Once the yeast is all foamy and perfect add it to the milk and honey mixture.
Add all of the liquid to the flour and mix well to form into a wet dough ball.  Add a little more all purpose flour here if necessary.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6 - 10 minutes.  I ended up using about 3 cups of all purpose at the end of the day just to give you a ball-park for what you might find you need to add.  Add all purpose flour a little at a time and keep the surface lightly floured.  Once the dough ball  is firm but still a bit tacky to the touch place the dough into the buttered bowl.  Turn it over so that the whole ball has been greased.  Cover with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft free spot (my oven with the oven light on) for anywhere from 1 - 1 1/2 hrs or until doubled in size.
Butter 2 med/sm loaf pans.
Punch it down and knead just enough to divide it into 2 balls.  Form each into a loaf shape and place into a buttered loaf pan.  Cover each and let rise for another hour - or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375˚F.
(Optional: Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with oats)
Bake the bread for about 35 - 40 minutes or until nicely golden brown and sounds hollow when you knock on it.
Let it cool for 15 - 20 minutes before slicing.

By some stroke of luck (or creepy global warming phenomenon) we are still eating corn.  It's almost the end of September and there are still fresh corn cobs in my kitchen.
I spoke to the farmer I buy my corn from at the market - yeah, like we're so tight.  We 'talk' and everything - vacations, sky, weather - and he told me that we might (and that's a big MIGHT) get another week but it's hard to say.  So I decided to take what might well be the last of my fresh corn and get all creamy with it.  It's going in my freezer.  I'll super appreciate this in February when I'm making Shepherd's Pie or something... it's going to be amazing.
We've had a good run with corn this year.  I've put it in everything.  We've been consistently going through about 1 1/2 dozen cobs of fresh corn a week.  Sometimes that's all we have for a meal - mostly because nobody cooked anything and the fridge is empty and the corn is pretty easy to get ready in about, Oh, say 5 minutes or so.  This kind of overkill has happened before.  I tend to get these obsessions.  Last year I was obsessed with Green Beans.  I grew them (still do) and bought them as well.  I curried them.  I make them salad.  I almost pickled them (some people put their foot down at that one).  They went into pasta, potatoes and rice.  They got parboiled and tossed in butter then sprinkled with salt.  They got served with Sausage and Tomato with parmesan on top.  Green beans and bacon is a combination created by the gods.  I think you get the idea.  Everything I made seemed to inspire the addition of green beans.


This year it's Corn... and eggplant.  Never in combination however.  I've now successfully grown my own eggplant.  One Eggplant.  One baby that I've saved from the raccoons and squirrels.  They found every other eggplant except for this one and I think that by the time it was discovered it was too big and heavy for them to get... or whatever... I don't know if there is anything too big and heavy for raccoons.  Either way, it's still hanging to the plant for all it's worth.  It's so sacred to me right now that I've afraid to pick it.  I've done lots of other things with eggplant over the last couple of months it's still a distant second when compared with my corn obsession.


This is probably the last hurrah.  And what a hurrah it is.  This was so easy.  Too easy almost.  It's so easy that you wonder why you didn't try this before.  You wonder why you ever bought canned creamed corn - which D used to be obsessed with BTW.  This might just inspire him too - It gets you thinking about all of the things that would go well alongside.  I bought a chicken just because the thought of a well roasted chicken, dripping with juice and caramelized, crispy skin sounded like just the thing to have with creamed corn.  The truth is that there are about 3 freezer bags of creamed corn in my freezer now.  The new 'creme de la creme' of my freezer hoard.  If creamed corn inspires this kind of eloquence from me now, in September (!), just imagine what my reaction will be come February.


Creamed Corn adapted from Alton Brown@FoodNetwork
yield: about 3 - 3 1/2 cups or about 4 cans worth

8 ears of fresh corn
1/2 onion, diced small
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup fresh herbs, finely chopped
2 tbsp cornmeal
1 cup cream
dash of pepper sauce or cayenne (optional)
pinch or two of parmesan cheese (optional)

De-Kernel each cob of corn: I usually use an angel food cake tin.  Place the top of the cob in the hole of the baking tin.  Hold the stem of the cob and cut down each side.  Use a sharp knife and the kernels will come away easily.  Run the blunt edge of the knife back down over each cob scraping off any left back flesh or juice.
Set the corn aside.
Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat.
Add in the butter, salt and the onion.  Cook just until the onion begins to get transparent.  Add in the corn (if you need to add a little more butter here don't sweat it) and stir well.  Heat for about 5 - 8 minutes or so, turning down the heat a little if needed.  The corn should be well coated with butter and the colour will be a little brighter.
Add in the honey, turmeric, herbs and cornmeal and mix well.  Cook for another 4 minutes.
Add in the Cream and turn the heat down to low.
Add in some pepper sauce and a pinch of parmesan if you wish.
Check the taste and adjust if necessary.
Cook on very low heat for another 15 - 20 minutes.
Cool slightly and serve.  (or cool completely and pour into freezer bags - smallish portions in each bag - to save for a very lucky winter day)

Because this week has brought with it a lot more than I had originally bargained for...


Because I have an awesome recipe for homemade creamed corn that took almost no time to prepare and I didn't get one single picture of it and I'm not sure I'll see corn again until next August (but I'm keeping my fingers crossed)...


Because sometimes the only thing that cheers me up is the thought that I can sit for a few minutes in the park, looking at the farmer's stalls and watch my kids eat and play...



Life is short... Breath Deeply and Live it Well.

I have written and subsequently deleted the beginning of this post three times now.  I get a thought and start to type it out and then when I see it in front of me it just looks stupid.  Delete.
I get another thought and once that one is starring back at me I realize that it's just one sentence and I've pretty much exhausted my point.  Delete.
Another thought starts.  I type for a bit and then I get distracted and it's gone... really gone.... Delete.
Jeez.  It happens sometimes I guess.
I've had what feels like 'all-kids-all-the-time' for the last while.  My head feels to full and muddled sometimes to make sense of things.  I hope that you all know I love my kids.  Fiercely.  But I'm not beyond wanting myself in there too.  I'm definitely not beyond feeling a bit resentful sometimes that it can't be about them AND me simultaneously (I've learned after almost 12 years that it just can't and I need to stop fighting it).  And I'm absolutely not beyond longing for those days when I was me.  Just me.  Not somebody's Mom.  Not somebody's wife.  Not somebody's entertainment.  Not somebody's voice teacher.  Just me... Wanda.
It's intensely selfish, I know.  And probably one of the most ludicrous and unrealistic things anybody could wish for because we are always defined by something that involves a label.  But there it is.  I wish I could just have a 'Wanda' label - which would mean nothing to anybody but me.  Even now as I'm writing my finger is hovering over the delete button.
Am I crazy?  Probably a little.  Too much time on my hands is the most likely culprit.  I remember when I was a teenager dreaming of riding away from life on a horse (I don't have a particular love of horses so I don't know exactly why the horse was involved) and I think it's the first thing that drew me to biking.  Driving never enticed me.  Although it's fast, the enclosed space really mucks the whole thing up in my mind.  I want to be out there in the world running away from it or running to it - not sure which - with the wind blowing and the sound track playing.  There is obviously no one with me.  It's this deep feeling of freedom in my chest - that's the best way I can find to describe it.  I still get the mental picture when I'm running or biking sometimes.
So I think that's why I struggle with these multiple labels.  It's like my backpack is full and I'm being slowed down on my ride or something.  It doesn't mean that I don't like people or need to be alone all the time... it's probably not even rational.  It's just one of those things that is.  It's one thing that is 'Wanda' and not any other label.


Summer is meant for things like this.  Contemplation.  Meditation.  Whatever you want to call it.  Existential pondering.  It's what makes me feel alive.  Longing and wonder.  Recipes like this one are so easy and quick that it gives me all the time I need to go out back, lie in the grass watching the clouds roll by and wonder about it all... while my kids shoot nerf bullets over my head.
Three paragraphs ago I was on the verge of deleting this whole post again but now that I look at it, although it's rambling and a little narcissistic, I kinda like it.  The moral of this post is:  1.  Make this dish and you might just have a wonderful afternoon of stream of conscious existential thought.  2.  Don't press Delete.


Orzo, Sausage and Veggie Casserole adapted from Family Bites
serves 6 - 8

1 3/4 cups orzo
1 veggie bouillion cube
pinch of salt
pinch of saffron
3 1/4 cups water
1 small onion (could use leek here too), sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 lb sausage (I used honey and garlic but italian or spanish would work well here too), casings removed
4 med sized leaves of kale (could use chard, mustard greens or spinach), chopped
1 cup corn (I used the kernels off of one cob)
1/4 cup finely minced herbs (use some kind of combination) or 2 lg tbsp of green seasoning
pinch of pepper sauce or cayenne
1/2 cup cream

In a medium sized pot bring the water to a boil and then add in the boullion cube, salt and saffron.  Add the orzo and simmer for about 6- 7 minutes.  Drain if there is still too much water and set aside - I didn't drain mine as it had absorbed most of the liquid.
Heat a heavy bottomed dutch oven to medium heat and add in about 2 tbsp of oil.  Add the onion and zucchini and cook together for about 3 - 4 minutes.  Add in the sausage, breaking it up with your fingers so it's like mince.  Cook together stirring as needed for another 5 minutes or so - until the sausage is no longer pink.  Add in the kale and the corn and cook just until the kale has withered.  Add back the orzo and turn the heat down to low.
Add the herbs and the pepper sauce.  Mix well.
Add in the cream.  Cover and remove from heat.  Check the taste and adjust if necessary.
Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

I promised you an update on my very very little trip to Montreal.   D was in Germany and Kid #1 and #2 were kinda needing a little change.  I decided at the last minute to drive us down to Montreal and kick around for a day.  We got to visit family... D has family who live on a lovely, quiet island just north west of the island of Montreal.  Dinner was at 6:30 every evening, wine was opened and 4 generations were at the table.  That is pretty amazing.  We took a walk after our dinner, just around the island or through the extensive gardens.  We happened upon this little guy wandering through the greens - looking for a snack no doubt.


Kid #1 and #2 got into some serious adventures on the tree house - named 'Washington' by our hosts grandson.



We, of course, found our way to Amelio's for pizza.  Fortunately, we met up with some friends there.  That meant that when I order 3 whole pizza's for the 3 of us (me, kid #1 (11yr) and kid #2 (6 yr) that the table didn't look disgustingly lopsided - we have happily eaten Amelio's pizza leftovers for  days now.

I was, unfortunately, taking the picture (although you may have noticed I'm not a fan of getting my picture taken)

We also came home with copious amounts of beer (amazing Quebec micro brews) and bagels.

Before the harvest...

Once I got home I decided it was time to get to the potatoes.  I essentially don't know what I'm doing here.  I've gotten some advice from a friend who grew up on a farm and mostly knows what he's doing (thanks T).  That helped a lot.  He's the one who told me that I could always dig things up and then put them back in again if there are really small potatoes that still need to grow.  Alright then.
So this is my first harvest.  I'm happy with what I've pulled out so far.  I figure that I'll let some of these start to get eyes on them and then I'll throw them back in the ground too... why not.

After the harvest, with replanted potato plants.

Sorry, the pic capital 'S' Sucks

On the blog front I've been getting a lot more traffic lately.  I joined tasteologie and this canadian site called recipes.ca (a very nice commentor left that recommendation for me and I took her advice).  I don't know if that's what's causing the traffic or not but it's kinda freakin' me out.  I guess in a good way.
Last but not nearly least... the zucchini plant paint brush sex worked... first harvest of zucchini's.  It's a good day.

Ugh - I just finished this book.  I did it.  I'm a better person for it.  I was a hard read.  It was also a slightly depressing read but I feel like I read something real and deep and wide and rich.
There is simply so much to take in while reading that I feel like I need to read it again.  I never ever ever read books twice unless I'm researching something (which is not the case here).  I've got a thing about it and always have.  I must have been 10 or 11 yrs old when I first articulated the idea in my mind.  When the idea became more than just random preferences.  I was wandering around in a bookstore and found my way (inevitably) to the 'classics' section.  I didn't know where to start.  I had to start with the oldest thing there (that I knew of at least).  I'm trying to remember what I walked out with - possibly Nathanael Hawthorne or Jane Austen and definitely not the 'oldest' thing in the section - but I can't recall.  I had this sense of just how much was out there floating around in the world at large and that knowledge held me back from taking the time to read something again.  At the time it seemed like stealing from the next great book - and I guess in a weird way it is a little like that.  Of course now I know that I'll never read through everything out there, not even once... probably.  But this book... well, it feels important enough to read again.
I think that what has made a most lasting impression is the idea that we need to stop looking at this planet from the perspective at the top of the pyramid or the top wrung of the ladder.  In fact,  looking at our world as something that has a top and bottom wrung at all needs to exit our brains.  If we could get our heads around the idea of just being another animal in the cycle that is life and death, participating fully in the taking and giving of it... well that would change everything.  What if every time I 'took' (a breath, an animal life, nutrients from the ground) I thought about how to 'give'.  Ultimately, of course, giving my body back to the ground to feed the life around it again.  The book has made me think long about how much we've (I've) extracted with no thought of giving back.


I'm going to change gears abruptly here and start talking about mayonnaise.  I haven't bought mayonnaise in years.  D hates it.  Passionately.  And no one else actually likes it except me.  I just couldn't justify having this stupid jar hangin around the fridge and then not getting used quickly enough and then... aw... you know.  I hadn't even ever thought about making my own which is dumb because I make almost everything else.  It just never occurred to me and when it did I thought it would be difficult.  And then I found this recipe and it changed my life.  I have now made mayonnaise.  And it was easy.  And totally worth it.


I used olive oil this time around and apple cider vinegar.  Didn't work for me exactly.  I found the olive oil too strong and the cider vinegar not strong enough.  In future I'll use some other oil with less taste and a vinegar with more taste but preferably just lemon juice.  I was pretty generous with my salt and dijon as a result but I think you should go easy and add extra only if you taste it and find it lacking.
This recipe will take you no longer than a minute.  Yup.


I'm finding some great ways to use the mayo up... this was my first thing.  Oh yeah.
Now that I've finished the book I've got to find a way to move on.  To continue deciding on a daily basis whether I want to be radical about this or just nominal.  I think that this is something that deserves being decided on a daily basis because it's so counter to everything that we currently live in every conceivable way.  It's not something I can just decided today and it will stick forever and ever.  It's huge.

Homemade Mayo adapted from 'Well Preserved' and Gordon Ramsay
made about 1 1/2 - 2 cups mayo

2 egg yolks
200 ml of oil (I used olive but I recommend using something with less taste - canola or something)
1 full tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice (I used apple cider vinegar which I found a little too subtle so I ended up using more regular vinegar - start with maybe 1 1/2 tbsp regular vinegar  - or something strong - and see if you need more)
1 1/2 tsp salt

Immersion Blender Version:
Throw all the ingredients into a tall, narrow container (I used the one that came with the blender).  Starting with the blender at the very bottom begin to blend on low speed and slowly work your way up.  It took about 20 seconds for everything to happen.
Taste and adjust if necessary.  You can blend again for a few seconds or just whisk in by hand.
Put the mayo into a jar with a lid and refrigerate.
Will keep for about 1 week.

I have just spent some quality time helping my zucchini plants have sex.  The equivalent would be explaining sex in alarming detail to a virgin 30 year old I would imagine.  It's not exactly something you ever imagine yourself having to do but then you find one day that you are crouching around your zucchini plants with a tiny paintbrush in hand.  Digging in to flowers here and there and then brushing gently on others.  Quality time.  I damn well better get some zucchini for my efforts.  Kinda like begging your kids to produce grand's for you...
I spent the past week immersed in a choral and vocal pedagogy symposium (yeah... it's meant to sound impressive and intimidating) at the University of Toronto.  A week of remembering that I'm both a musician and a singer.  A week of reaffirming my love for what I do.  A week of sight reading and learning to conduct a choral group without looking like a complete dork.  A university campus is a strange place.  It's like this parallel universe that exists in a place (usually but not always in a city centre)  but is a whole living, breathing entity all on it's own.  Anything could happen out there in the city-world and you might never find out... or it might take a long time to find out.  And you would be ok with that because you were sitting under a tree on campus having a leisurely but intense discussion with someone about something very important that you can't quite recall at the moment.  Strange, Sacred Places.
Back in the world of Toronto the heat was overwhelming and my poor garden has been growing in spite of itself.  I haven't been watering as much as I should and I've decided that if I'm to continue with this whole garden idea then I'd better get my act together and get some manure happening in there.  Gardens need crap.  The tomatoes are intensely unhappy that the sun is still shining and the rain is playing very hard to get.  So the tomatoes have sulked off and gone to sleep.


The Chard and Kale are doing as well as can be expected in the heat.  In fact, given the heat and the lack of rain they have surprised me with their vigour.


My first, very first, haul of green beans have just come in and with them a picked a few strawberries and two... count 'em 2... raspberries.  This is today's haul.  And I'm proud of it.


This is a potato flower.  I'm chomping at the bit to dig into my potato barrel and see just what's going on under the ground.  I keep wondering whether if I dig them up can I just put the soil back and the potatoes won't figure out the difference.  That would be crazy though.  I need to be patient a little longer.  Apparently the flowers are supposed to die off and the plant itself just a little.  Patience, at least when it comes to waiting for new potatoes, is just not one of my virtues.


I finally have some cucumber flowers and please don't get on my about how late they are.  I know.  But there they are.


I just took this picture because I'm keeping this oregano stuff around mostly because the flowers are such powerful bee attractors.

I do promise recipes soon.  I have a fridge full of things to do.  I finally got to the market and loaded up on some cherries for example.  It's just so damn hot that I haven't had the heart to do any further heating up of any kind.

With everything going on in the rest of my life at the moment, my poor poor garden has been sorely neglected.  I've been taking little snippets of time here and there to thin out my perennials and expand the garden edges.  It's not anywhere near finished and every time I look outside my heart sinks just a little.
Despite the hours of work sitting out there and waiting for me I have to try to look on the bright side.  I have managed to get some things in the garden.  My herbs are all doing well.  To boost my weary and somewhat sad soul I have decided to post a bunch of things that are good and somewhere deep down are making me happy.  At least that's what I'm telling myself.  So, without further ado, here is my list:

'Bright Things'
#1
 - I planted 3 zucchini plants.  I managed to find naturally seeded plants and grabbed 3 of them.  For the last 3 years I haven't been able to grow zucchini - mostly because the squirrels get to the little plants before they can really set.  Once was just because the seeds didn't sprout.  This year I have plants that are growing well and blooming like crazy.


#2
- My first little 'Black Prince' tomato is getting bigger and bigger every day.  There are many more hot on his heals so I'm looking forward to some lovely fresh tomatoes within the next month or so.

#3
 - I'm growing peas for the first time in addition to me green and purple beans.  Peas.  They don't look unhappy.  This is good.


#4
 - My pride and joy at the moment is this chard.  I have two red chard plants thanks to me friend C.  They are BEAUTIFUL.  I can't wait to start eating fresh chard.  Seriously seriously jazzed about my chard.

#5
 - Second to my chard are the potatoes.  Yes, I'm growing potatoes.  For the first time.  If all goes well then I may never buy potatoes again.  I hear that you can grow them throughout the winter.  This could be it.

I have to keep focussed on the future right now because living in the moment is completely overwhelming.  The future will give me a lot more time to sit and reflect and feel the growth happening all around me.  I find it soul soothing.  Try growing something this summer.  Even if you only have a window sill - throw some herbs into a tiny little pot and see what happens.  A balcony or a tiny little bit of yard space can yield you a surprising amount of fresh food and a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.


On a side note:  If you have zucchini blossoms please don't let them rot on the vine.  I snipped mine off and used them in a quiche with some garlic scapes (garlic is another thing that I apparently need to try growing) and they were delicious.  I'll keep you updated on some more zucchini blossom possibilities.

Kid #2 started soccer last week.  It's pretty funny watching 5 years old play soccer... unless you live in Brazil and then I would imagine it's probably inspiring.
I stretched my garden planting over 3 days to make it a little easier to deal with in my head.  It helped and now I've got pretty much everything planted.  I always wish I were doing more.  Always.  But the run down goes something like this:

Seeds:
cucumber (we'll see)
snow peas
green/purple beans
mammoth dill

In pots:
Black Prince tomatoes
Chadwick Cherry tomatoes
basil
dill (more dill)
strawberries (it's an experiment)

In the ground:
zucchini
eggplant
peppers
kale
beets (fingers crossed)
parsley
oregano
thyme
pumpkin


It sounds like a lot but it isn't.  Just one or two plants of each thing.  I've given up on carrots for the moment and we'll see about the future.  I'm willing to renegotiate but I've got some serious doubts.  I'm pretty confident about the beans and snow peas.  The cucumber... well we'll see.  The zucchini I'm really hoping for... I've wanted to grow them for a while and for some reason can't seem to get it to work from seed.  I'm sure I'm not doing something.  Along with my raspberry patch that is now threatening to take over the back half of my yard I think I'll content myself with this much.
Potatoes.  I almost forgot my potatoes.  I threw some earth into a tall box.  Made sure that the box drains well.  Put about 7 or 8 potatoes that were already growing eyes into the box and covered them with about another 10 inches of earth.  In theory it should be that easy.  In reality... fingers crossed.

D is away right now.  Somewhere in Europe.  I can't remember where he is today.  I know that he'll be back in France by Thursday because I have to put in my requests for 'bring back's'  by then.  In the meantime I've cooked myself some comfort food.  Nobody around here is a huge fan of chickpeas except me.  I love them.  LOVE.  Combine that with curry and coconut milk and I could pretty much eat this stuff everyday.  I actually ate it with my baked risotto from a couple of posts ago.  Curry and Risotto.  It totally worked.  I used some lovely spring spinach from the food box.  Two full bags.  It was about 6 cups but if you were buying in bunches or bags it would be two as well.  I didn't get this from anywhere it just kind of appeared in my life.  It morph's every time I make it but it never disappoints.


Easy Chickpea Spinach Curry 
serves 4

1 can chickpeas (don't drain)
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup onion
6 cups spinach (washed and the big stems removed)
2 1/2 heaping tbsp pataks curry paste
1 veggie boullion
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cardamom and turmeric
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey

Heat a large pot over medium heat.  Throw in a couple of tbsp's of oil.  Cook the onion for about 4 minutes until just lightly browned and beginning to become see through.  Turn the heat down to med/low.
Add the canned chickpeas with the liquid.    Add in the spinach, stir and cover for just a few minutes until the spinach begins to wilt.
In the meantime combine the bouillon cube, pataks curry paste, gram masala, cumin, cardamom, turmeric and salt together.  Mix well and add just a little bit of water to form a paste.  Add in the coconut milk and the honey.  Stir well.
Add the spice mixture to the spinach/chickpea mixture.  Simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.  Turn off and ideally let it sit for a few hours.  If you can't wait then just check the tastes, adjust if necessary and then dig in.

This was done by Kid #2... he's 5.  It's pretty cute.  We didn't see it until after it was done which is kind of a good thing because we might have tried to get him to fix it.  It's so damn adorable that I even put it on Facebook.  I never put photos on Facebook.
It's Easter today... today people, not the whole weekend.  Please keep on top of the liturgy here.  Just because it's a holiday we do not wish each other 'Happy Good Friday'.  Jeez.  Happy Easter Vigil... NEVER.


I haven't really gotten to any serious cooking or baking but it's on it's way.  Instead I went to The Hunger Games movie with Kid #1, went out for some serious connecting with KT, went for a 10k run and survived with my foot none the worse for wear (my poor body however is not exactly happy with me today), had some much needed time with D over a pint or two, spent some time with the in-laws and my own parents... and I washed my windows.  All in all not so bad for a long weekend and it's not over yet.  The weather cooperated today so I've also taken some pictures of the up and comings in my garden.


I don't know quite how this has happened but its the second year now that I've gotten parsley coming up on it's on.  I didn't think it was a perennial - I think it's a biennial - but what the hell... here it is and I'm not complaining.


You know it's spring when the chives start to poke through the brown earth and green up the place.

The scent isn't quite as strong this year but my little hyacinth's are going strong.  Another sign that spring is here to stay.

And lastly my favourite, homely rhubarb.  Just doing what it does best, forming huge leaves and hiding the gorgeous red stalk underneath.  In about a month it will be ready for me to start cutting... that should give me just enough time to get through all those damned canned pears that are still sitting in the cold room.  Happy Easter.