2 Market I Go

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.  ~Attributed to Claudia Ghandi

April 14, 2012

It’s open!!!  Our local farmers market opened today!  I am so happy to know that a steady abundance of local, fresh produce is just a month or so away.

Daughter #2 and I headed into town to check out opening day at the Salisbury Farmers Market.  Awesome weather, fresh products, and happy people…that’s what makes a great farmers market!  We picked up some bok choy to enjoy for Saturday evening’s dinner of chicken stir fry and egg rolls. It was delicious!

If you need tomato plants or flowers for your garden, the  Salisbury Farmers Market is the place for you.  Fresh eggs and meats were also available, along with baked goods.  I have recently been getting my eggs from one of my fellow teachers so I was not in the “market” (forgive the pun) for fresh eggs.  I am, however, going to give more thought to purchasing fresh meats from the Farmers Market.  Our family does not eat a lot of meat, mostly shrimp, chicken, and occasionally pork.  However, there is a great farm in our area, Wild Turkey Farms, who offers a wide variety of meats.  Wild Turkey Farms can be found at the Salisbury Farmers Market and the Davidson Farmers Market.  This fall, Daughter #1 and her business, Van Poole Marketing, purchased their sausage and ground beef to make chili for the Big Chili Cook Off/Waterworks.  The taste was so much better than when I have used sausage and beef from our local supermarket.

Some markets offer more than just produce, meats, eggs, and baked goods.  That’s the case with the Salisbury Farmers Market.  Once again, the eclectic homemade birdhouses caught my eye.  I know there must be a special place in my garden waiting for one of these treasurers.

See you at the Market!

Quick Recipe for Saturday Stir Fried Chicken (note:  No measurements – just throw things together to suit your taste.)

• chicken strips – cut into small pieces
• 1 onion – cut vertically into slices
• mushrooms – sliced
• carrots – sliced
• bok choy – 3 to 4 bundles (cut of bottoms, use leaves)
• 1 can of water chestnuts
• 1/2 cup of  liquid and 2 teaspoons of corn starch, combined– (can use chicken broth, reserved liquid from water chestnuts, or water)

Cook chicken in a small amount of oil until cook through.  Set aside.  Stir fry mushrooms, onion, and carrots under slightly tender.  Add water chestnuts and stir.  Next, add bok choy and combine with mushrooms, onion, carrots, and water chestnuts.  As bok choy begins to cook down, add combined liquid and corn starch mixture.  Add chicken and stir together with all ingredients.  Salt to taste.  Serve over rice.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter…a time for reflection and celebration, gathering as a family for Easter church service and communion, Easter baskets and dying eggs (no matter how old you are), Easter dinner and deviled eggs – Wishing you and yours a very blessed Easter.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Spring is all around us.  Our weekends have been spent tidying up the flower beds and garden.  Last Sunday, my husband cut down two trees along our property edge.  I know it was Sunday, but for him, the oxen was in the ditch.  The garden bed along the property edge was too shady for anything to grow very well, and we wanted to let the sun shine in so that our existing plants could have a happy growing season.  Also waiting for our attention was an arborvitae that our nice neighbor recently gave us.  He no longer needed it in his yard.  For weeks, the tree has been temporarily planted in one of our raised garden beds. With time passing quickly by, we needed to get those unwanted trees cut down and the new arborvitae planted.  As of today, old trees are down, new arborvitae is planted, one herb bed is constructed, and the new rose bed is mulched.  Things are looking pretty spiffy around here.

And today…our nice neighbor came by again with another arborvitae looking for a new home.  LOL – its temporary home is the raised garden bed.

I know it is spring when our pink dogwood is in bloom…

Hello again!  It has been quite a long time since I last posted…in fact, over a month.  I have been quite busy with my “day job”, my new found position as Daughter #1′s official wedding planner, and official thesis proofreader for Daughter #2.  Certainly a lot to keep a girl busy!

Spring has sprung here in our little flower garden.  The irises and peonies are popping up, and I am anxiously waiting for them to show their pretty blossoms.  With our unusually hot weather, even hosta is popping out of the ground.  This weekend my sweet hubby and I dug up a bed of spirea and replaced them with red, double knockout roses.  What a thing of beauty! If you have not tried your hand at knockout roses, I highly recommend that you do.  They are not picky plants and require very little maintenance. If I can make them live and bloom, you can too!

Speaking of my sweet hubby…his vegetable garden is looking good!  The onions are getting bigger every day and the lettuce is ready for the picking. Next on his To Do List is a little herb garden just for me – can’t wait!

By the way, in the middle of our second vegetable bed is an evergreen tree that our next door neighbor gave to us.  I will fill you in on that story in a future post.

February 20, 2012

It snowed here Sunday evening.  Daughter #1 snapped a couple of photos.  Hard to believe that on Saturday we were all enjoying the great outdoors and warm temperatures.

February 4, 2012

Wow, it has been busy around here this week.  My intentions were for Daughter#1 to take some photos of our new raised garden bed and post them with my most recent post below.  That did not happen.  She has been extremely busy with her marketing business this week (yea!!), and we have been busy with wedding details for her June wedding (wow! – so many details.)

Without waiting any longer, here is the post.  Coming soon – pictures of our Summer 2011 garden and pictures of our new raised garden beds.

By the way, weather update here is that this weekend has been very rainy and somewhat cold.  We did get up early Saturday morning and watch Daughter #2 complete a 8K (5 miles) in the rain.  She was pleased with her time, finished 1st in her age bracket, and 10th female overall – not too shabby!

January 31, 2012

Saturday was just like a beautiful spring day. But you know that Mother Nature has not sent Old Man Winter packing yet – there will be cold weather and perhaps a little snow in our future.  For now, however, it was time to enjoy the warm weather.  I took a little time on Saturday to walk a few miles, enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and say hello to a neighbor or two. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

While I was enjoying my walk and fresh air, my garden-loving husband was busy upgrading his raised garden beds.  The new beds will be a little deeper and will be held together with posts and nails instead of plastic holders holding the boards. One bed is complete and it certainly looks nice. I am sure that my husband is chomping at the bit to do some planting.  For now, he will just have to pour over the seed and vegetable catalogs.

I have made a request for a herb bed, though I am not sure where we will be able to be it on our little gardening hill.  Last year was the first time I planted herbs, and we loved them!  How nice to be able to have fresh herbs at your fingertips when you are cooking.  Herbs also make for nice little table arrangements in your kitchen.  I will be sure to check out the herb section in our seed and vegetable catalogs.

Garden photos coming soon – I hope!

January 22, 2012

Saturday was a cold and rainy day here in Salisbury.  My nice husband offered to go to the local Wal-mart with me.  I then broke it to him that I had planned to stroll through The Emporium (a local antiques and crafts business) while I was out. He is nice – he still agreed to come along.

The Emporium is located in a old mill beside the main train tracks that run through our town.  The are a lot of treasures and antiques available at the Emporium.  I have shopped there for many years and have added a lot of treasured Emporium items to our home.  While shopping at the Emporium this past Christmas season, I was able to find a green ceramic tree with little white lights (like the one my Aunt Adelaide made for my mother years and years ago but somehow was broken over the years.)  A special addition to our Christmas decor.

1839 Antiques has two booths in The Emporium.  I noticed a sign in one of their booths that mentioned “see more at our main location.”  I thought they had closed years ago!  When my daughters were little and in preschool, I would spend a couple of hours on Wednesday mornings strolling through the many antiques – wishing and wanting.  Over those years, I only recall purchasing a drop leaf table from there, but is still a special treasure for us.  Add another stop to our rainy day browsing – off to 1839.

After leaving the Emporium, my patient husband and I headed over to 1839 Antiques. It was a lot of fun for me to dig through all the many treasures – not as much fun for my husband.  I left with nothing but the thrill of seeing new treasures.  But…there were eight crystal glasses calling my name when I walked out the door.  I might have to go back soon and check on them!

A cold, rainy Saturday turned into a lovely afternoon.  Now what about dinner?

The dinner was lovely as well…Saturday evening, I served delicious Spinach Lasagna with Mushroom Ragu´(from November issue of Food Network Magazine).  I have made this lasagna recipe several times; and while it is a little labor and time intensive, it is well worth the trouble.  The aromas of the cooking ragu´will fill your kitchen with the lovely smells of Italy, and I assure you that your dinner guests will rave about what a great cook you are and what a wonderful meal that your have prepared!  (No dinner guests at my home this evening, just family and somehow they forgot to rave about me or the wonderful meal — oh well, I could tell by their empty plates and full tummies that they enjoyed it!)

Spinach Lasagna with Mushroom Ragu´(Serves 6-8) – (Total Prep Time-4 hrs)

FOR THE RAGU´

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large carrot, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 portobello mushroom caps, chopped

1 1/2 pounds shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, chopped

Salt and pepper

2  28-ounce cans whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand

3 bay leaves

Make the ragu´.  Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until soft, 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring, 2 more minutes.

Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cool, stirring, until the mushrooms are soft, 5 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes and their juice, 2 cups water and the bay leaves; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. reduce heat to low, add 1 teaspoon salt and simmer, stirring a few times, until thick, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.  (Remember, I said this recipe is worth it.)  Discard bay leaves.

(You can make the ragu´up to a day ahead; let cool, then cover and chill.  Reheat before using.)

FOR THE LASAGNA

3 ounces of parmesan cheese, grated

1 1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese, shredded

8 ounces asiago cheese, shredded

2 pounds ricotta cheese

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 pound frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

12 ounces lasagna noodles

Make the lasagna filling:  Mix the parmesan, mozzarella, and asiago; set 1 1/2 cups of the cheese mixture aside.  Combine the remaining cheese mixture in a large bowl with ricotta, eggs, spinach, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the noodles and cook as the label directs.  Drain and rinse under cool water; shake off the excess water.

Spread 1 cup of the ragu´ in a 9-by-13 inch baking dish.  Add a layer of noodles, then half of the spinach mixture and 2 cups of ragu´.  Repeat another layer of noodles, spinach mixture, and ragu´.  Top with the remaining noodles and ragu´ and sprinkle with the reserved cheese.  Cover with foil, place on a baking sheet and bake 50 minutes.  Uncover and bake until golden brown, about 25 more minutes.  Let rest before serving.

This lasagna can be made the day before and refrigerated; just bring out to room temperature 30 minutes before baking.

A cold, rainy Saturday turned into a lovely day – Bellissimo!

A couple of weeks ago, I DVR’ed The Big Waste when in aired on the Food Network.  Last Sunday, I finally had a chance to watch it.  Here is the premise of the show:  Two sets of celebrity chefs are challenged with creating a meal for 100 guests made from discarded food – waste.  These chefs visit bakeries, delis, food distributors, and farms to discover the enormous amount of good, fresh food that is thrown out because we, the consumers, are looking for that perfect fruit, cut of meat, or bakery item.  According to the show, 40% of food in America goes uneaten – 200 pounds per person per year.

Everyday, grocers are forced to throw out fruits and vegetables because they are blemished.  One grocer shows the chefs peas – which look fine to the eyes.  The grocer explains that because the shells have spots on them, consumers assume that they are not fresh.  When shelled the peas are perfectly edible.  Eggs are wasted due to the egg grading system. Too small or too large, these eggs cannot be sold simply because they do not fit into the standard egg carton.  What a shame!  (Buy your eggs from a local farmer and notice the variety in sizes and colors that will be in your carton – no grading system.)

Visiting a pick-your-own farm, one chef discovers that 40-50% of the farms fruits and vegetables is wasted.  For example, the field was littered with discard heads of cabbage.  Customers cut a head of cabbage and then find another one that they like better and simply discard the first head of cabbage there in the field.  The same can be said for peaches and apples, as well as tomatoes.

A few tips on reducing your own waste:

• Organize your own refrigerator.  How many times have you gone to the grocery store and purchased the exact same item that you have in the BACK of your refrigerator?
• Be flexible with your meal  planning.  That limp asparagus can be used in a casserole or omelet.  Over ripe bananas make delicious banana bread or muffins.
• Monitor quantities – don’t buy more of an item than you need.  How many times have you purchased too much of a particular item and simply thrown out the extra.  (As consumers were are often victims to grocery store packaging – three chicken breast in a package so I have to buy two packages in order to feed four people or a huge bundle of cilantro when a little cilantro goes a long way – this irritates me!)

My favorite ways to reduce food waste:

• Shop frequently.  Go to the grocery store for what you need instead of making that one weekly grocery trip and buying what you think you will need and eat for the week.  I shop like a European – going to the grocery or market just about every day.  The grocery store is on my way home from work so I am not wasting any extra precious gas.  (Confession: It is because I do not know from day to day what I want to prepare for dinner that causes me to make my daily stop at the grocery store.)

• Shop local.  The food is fresh and will last a lot longer than foods shipped to North Carolina all the way from California.

If you missed The Big Waste, check out the Food Network listings to see if it will be aired again.  If so, be sure to take some time to watch it.  It will make you stop and think about the huge amounts of food that America is wasting – food that could feed those in need!