Spring Time!

Spring has taken it's sweet time getting here. Last year, Spring had sprung in March/April. It's mid-may and now everything is finally blooming. We finally got a few sunny days and 60-70 degree temperatures so we got to planting our garden!

I was pretty happy to find out that we had a few perennials--which means I didn't have to buy them again this year and it could go to something else fun to plant. Here, the sage came back to life:


The Greek Oregano also snuck back to life:


Three types of mint came back with a vengence:


Unfortunately, due to poor planning, I put these mint right next to the house thinking it would be pretty and easy for me to harvest. What I didn't consider was the fact that the bug guy sprays pesticides around the perimeter of the house basically rendering the mint poisonous. It supposed to be non-toxic pesticides but non-toxic for who? Obviously not for bugs. So, I went and got more mint this year for culinary purposes. I put them in pots so they don't take over the yard.


Here's my herb garden.

I added a lime thyme (bottom right), a lemon thyme (above the lime thyme), Genovese basil, and at the very top a jalapeno plant. We're in for a wild thyme. *hee hee*

Our A-frame is back out ready to take on six different heirloom tomatoes and one tomatillo plant. I can't remember all the names of the tomatoes but I know I got Cherokee Purple (my fave!), Amish Paste, and Lemon Boy. I wonder if I got Green Zebra again (another fave!). I got tomatoes that had high yields and produce more complex flavors for sauce.


Here's our mini compost pile from last fall. Notice all those green patches?

Those are sprouting lettuce! We let the lettuce go to seed last fall and when we pulled it out, I guess it decided to replant itself there.


Finally, we've got some purple potatoes (no, not Okinawan Sweet Potatoes--I wish!)


Finally, we've got some wild violets

and what I like to call hydrangeas with a sweet perfume (these are really Lilacs and are my new favorite flower).


I don't know what the white flower is but it smells sweet and almost reminiscent of Jasmine. I just made myself a mother's day bouquet.


I've got to find a tracker and see if my garden will yield a ton of food. I also planted lettuce, beets, bush cucumber and some squash (I don't remember what kind of seeds I saved so it'll be a surprise--I'm hoping for butternut). I can't wait to start harvesting!

The BEST salad dressing ever!

Well, the best you can buy. I've been suffering for a year without my favorite salad dressing. I won't lie to you but I first tried this dressing because of the low calorie count and the fact that sugar wasn't the first ingredient. But after one bite, I was sold forever. Saved me when I was doing Weight Watchers. I've been searching all the local stores for this dressing but it really was only sold on the west coast in specialty stores like Wholefoods and sometimes (if you're lucky) in certain Ralph's or Albertson's grocery stores.

I don't know what made me look for it today--maybe it was all the greens delivered this week or my fast sprouting garden--but I looked online to see if I could get it shipped and right at the top of their website, an update that Weis markets agreed to start carrying the dressing in PA. Whoo hoo! So after work, I dragged Secret Agent Man to check it out but both of us had the same thought: PA usually means Philadelphia or Pittsburg not middle of nowhere town. So with baited breath we went up and down the dressing aisle. No mas. Then I checked their refrigerator section. I swear, I started jumping up and down (as much as a 5 month pregnant woman can)! So here is the famed salad dressing:



They have four flavors and each and every one is yummy. These two are my favorites: Caesar and Miso. Don't let the miso turn you off, it's not a heavy flavor and in fact, the caesar doesn't taste like miso at all to me. The Caesar is tangy and savory and refreshing all at the same time. The Miso flavor is on the sweeter side and I like to alternate between the two. Not only are they low cal (14 calories for 2 Tbsp!), no MSG, AND you'll recognize and be able to pronounce everything in their ingredient list--there's nothing surprising or unusual.
LOVE this stuff. Definitely try it out if you happen to see it at the store. Oh, and it's made in Newport Beach. Yum.
Sugar*mama

First CSA delivery!

The first CSA delivery of the season came today!



Lots of greens in this delivery-including some garlic scapes.


Can't wait to see what this season brings.
Sugar*mama

Blasted Rabbit and First Harvest!

Finally, summer is upon us and the volatile spring weather has gone. So we got to planting our vegetable garden!

Without fail, within 24 hours of planting our vegetables, this happened:


Blasted rabbit. I spotted a wild rabbit or two when we first moved in but thought nothing of it when we planted our garden--except that we shouldn't plant strawberries since it'll be a waste of time since the rabbits or the birds would get to the fruit before we could.

So, to solve our rabbit problem we had to cage in our vegetables.


It worked so well, that within three weeks, we got our first harvest! Mostly lettuce and arugala. When I would try to grow this in California, it would bolt in a blink of an eye and become really bitter. These are quite tender and sweet.


Dressed with a light vinegrette, it makes for a lovely lunch.


Here's to a bountiful harvest this season!
Sugar*mama

Crazy Cranberry Chip Dip

Seriously, this is a dangerous dip to have around. Oh so addicting and oh so bad for you. Do not be put off by the ingredients. Just trust me. This came about a couple of Thanksgivings ago when a friend was rummaging through my pantry looking for something to eat while waiting for the turkey. She remembered a dip she had at an office party but required a special raspberry dressing (which I'm too cheap to buy) but I thought--it's Thanksgiving, we should use cranberries!

So, if you recall where we left off yesterday, we have a lovely simple cranberry sauce.

So here we have a thickened version on the stove.


Add some water to thin it out a bit.


Then, break this bad boy out:


You should be able to find a can of chipotle peppers in your local grocery store or big box store. If I can find it out here in the middle of nowhere you can find it too. You might have to search though. It should either be near the canned peppers, jar salsa, or in the area labeled "world cuisine" or some other misnomer. Surprisingly, these areas are NOT next to each other.

You only need one pepper, chopped finely, and added to the cranberry sauce. Keep the rest of the peppers by individually freezing them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Like so:
Once frozen, place peppers into a ziplock bag and remove when you need it (you'll be pulling one out in a day to make another batch after you take one taste of this magic!)

While this is simmering (remember add more water if you are likely to burn this sauce)...take out an 8 oz. block of cream cheese.

Whether you choose to use full fat, low-fat, or Neufchatel Cheese is up to you but I can guarantee you that there's no point in using fat free creamcheese.

Put the block on a plate and microwave for about 30 seconds--just long enough to warm it up and soften it.


Use a butter knife or off-set spatula to spread the cream cheese across the bottom of the plate.


Then take a can of black beans.

As a side note, whoever came up with the motto in this can of beans should be laughed out of a job. Seriously, it's beans. When have beans ever been food to feel good about? Ahem...remember I am the lovely recipient of the after-effects of said beans.

Anyway...open up the can of beans and drain really well. Dump the beans on the cheese and spread into a thin layer.


Put the dish back into the microwave for another 20-30 seconds to warm up the cheese and beans. Then pour your hot cranberry sauce over the top of the beans. If you like your cranberries thick and chucky, then simmer until more water evaporates before pouring it over your dish.


Then dig in!

The best chips to use with this dip, for some reason, are the
Tostitos Scoops Corn Chips but feel free to use any corn chip or tortilla chip of your choice.

Why does this taste soooo good??! Something about the smokey, spicy, sweet, salty, cruchy, creamy combination. It covers every single tactile and taste sensation there is to be enjoyed. I know the beans seem a little weird in this dish but you know how you aim for certain ingredients in say, a nacho plate or a 7-layer dip?

You know you do--admit it. Some of you go and scoop up all the sour cream or guacamole. Others go for all the chips covered in cheese. No one aims for the lettuce at the bottom of the dip. So it would surprise you to know that you will aim for the black beans. Don't know why but you will. You've been warned.

Enjoy!
Sugar*mama

Fortification: Avocado Mayo Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Cheekie and I baked and decorated nearly 12 dozen cupcakes for a friend's wedding. The best part was all the food and chatting we did during the weekend! While frosting cupcakes, Cheekie and I discovered that our tastebuds are alike in that we LOVE mayo. More importantly, one of the BEST combination of flavors is avocado and mayo. It's just magical. So, she made me a sandwich! Wow, it was perfect to keep us going!



So this is her recipe and I'm sorry my fingers were covered in sugar so I couldn't capture each step.

Avocado Mayo Grilled Cheese Sandwich
1. Slice an avocado, tomato, and semi-soft cheese like munster, fontina, havarti, or even swiss or chedder would work nicely.
2. Generously spread some Mayo on one slice of bread (anytype you choose--sourdough is particularly yummy) and layer avocado, tomato, cheese, then top with another slice of bread.
3. You can choose to toss this in a toaster, panini grill, or use a George Forman Grill to grill the bread separately before putting the sandwich together.
4. Enjoy!



Easily adaptable to your tastes and pleasure! Yum! Thanks, Cheekie!
Sugar*mama

RECIPE: Potato Chips

What do you do when you have an abundance of potatoes? Especially, beautiful purple potatoes delivered to your door?

You can make the BEST and PRETTIEST potato chips ever. This was inspired by our fair food affair.

Start with a pot of vegetable oil.

Most people would use a skillet but I like to use a smaller pot and do more batches because you use less oil to deep fry. Or at least I think you do. In either case, have at least a couple inches of oil heating up in a pot.

To test the frying temperature of the oil, most people use a thermometer but I end up burning things because I can never get it right. Instead, I use a small piece of bread.

The correct temperature would turn this piece of bread golden in 1 minute. AND the trick to a good potato chip--or any fried goody--is the temperature of the oil. If it's too cold, the food will soak up the oil and taste greasy. If it's too hot, the food will burn and taste like @ss.
So, please pay attention to your bread and pull it out after one minute and judge the color.


As the oil is heating, slice your potatoes as thin as you can and please watch your fingers, people! I use one of these gadgets:

A great buy for $9.99--look how thin I can slice these beauties!


You can use a mandoline, a food processor, a vegetable peeler, or a regular knife.

Potatoes have water in them. Water and oil do not mix. Water and HOT oil will hurt you. So I put the potatoes on papertowels to absorb some of the water.

I tested whether it would matter if I skipped this step. The only difference is that the ones without the papertowel rest were more vibrant in color and spattered a great deal more--which if you have high pain tolerance and are lazy like me--go for it.


Pay attention to your chips--you don't want to burn it! Think of it as an exercise in mindfulness. When they are golden brown, pull it out of the oil and drain on paper towels. I used a fish spatula to fish them out. *hahhaaaaa*

Fancy tv shows say to use kosher salt because it's very "in".

The grains are too big. Use regular table salt or finishing salt instead. Garlic salt is particularly yummy.

Or you could make up your own flavoring.

This was BBQ flavor. Paprika, Onion powder, Garlic powder, pepper, Garlic Salt, and Cayenne for kick. All to taste. Try powdered ranch dip/dressing!



It was sooo yummy (if I do say so myself) that I had to shove an apple in my mouth to keep me from eating the chips as they came out.


Enjoy! Try with any kind of potato!
Sugar*mama

Carrots!

I will be sad when our last CSA delivery arrives next week. But THIS week brought some lovelies!



What to make with these??

Sugar*mama

End of Summer...

As summer closes to an end, the last of the summer bounty needs to be sopped up and enjoyed...every last glistening, juicy, bite.

This recipe is not really a sugary treat but it's pretty sweet! It's also easy, low-calorie, and totally flexible to changes in the recipe to fit with whatever summer bounty you have on hand or whatever floats your fancy.

Ahhh...summer...the tomato--the jewels of summer. All the tomatoes you want, sliced in half or bite size pieces.


A bunch of green onions. Feel free to add slices of purple, yellow, or white onions if you prefer.


A lemon, squeezed for it's refreshing acid.


A tablespoon of olive oil. Only the best stuff--you need to be able to spoon that stuff into your mouth. Otherwise, total sacrilege to use on these babies!


A tablespoon of blueberry balsamic vinegar! Okay, totally not necessary but a friend, Cheekie (Hi!), gave me this and it's so yummy, I add it to everything. The lemon juice is enough acid for this salad but if you have a yummy vinegar, add it as you like.


Salt to taste. I'm a salty person so I put in a tablespoon of large Hawaiian salt granules. Do not use regular table salt unless you absolutely have to and certainly don't use a Tablespoon full. Remember, you can always add more, so only add little at a time.


Pepper to taste...


One can of white beans or Cannellini beans. You can choose whatever beans you want--or no beans at all. I needed a little protein to fill me up. You could always add tofu or better yet cubes of mozzarella.


I had a couple of radishes laying around and I enjoy a little crunch so I threw that in too.


Mix it up and YUM! If you can handle it, let it sit. It just gets better and better.


Can you believe that this version, split into four servings, is only 100 calories per serving?? Two points for you weight watchers peeps!

Enjoy these last few days of summer glory!
Sugar*mama