For Bees & Me

Some of my favorite cookbooks come from Gooseberry Patch. The title that I find myself thumbing through each summer is For Bees & Me. There are some tasty recipes in this cookbook that help me use my garden produce! On page 223 there is a recipe that looks quick, easy, and sounds like something we would eat. First, I take a walk out to the garden to pick fresh basil and tender zucchini.

Next, the recipe......

then.....all mixed up, put in a pie plate and ready for the oven.

Fresh from the oven, I added Parmesan cheese and watched it melt into the savory dish.

It came out of the oven as my husband walked in the door, and in ten minutes the casserole was gone! I guess this recipe is a keeper!
Gooseberry Patch has so many cookbooks and they are as fun to read as any magazine. Take a moment to check-out the web site at http://www.gooseberrypatch.com/.

He who plants a garden plants happiness.

Old Chinese Proverb

Planning a trip.....

....to Toronto the end of September! The first thing on my agenda was to get a Passport! I have never needed one before, but now that I have one there are so many more travel options to consider! When I get to Toronto there is an important thing I have been asked to do! Make an apple pie! The apple pie below was made yesterday and the image is for Aryne, so she knows I do still make them! :) Last week we had a little guest and one some of you may recognize. Claire came to visit! See how she has grown since May!
Claire enjoys sitting at the small table and she also likes climbing on the table!! We relish the love she brings into our lives and she delights in the all the farm has to teach her!! She isn't quite talking yet but there is no doubt about what she is saying!!

Here comes a Zucchini Recipe....

We have pounds of zucchini growing from our two zucchini plants. They grow hidden underneath the leaves and large stems...until one day you find baseball bat sized zucchini and must decide what to do with them. Of course everyone wants to "catch" the zucchini before they are so large but it seldom happens! :) There are several options for uses including: bake something, feed to the goats, feed to the chickens, offer to our friends and family. This week I chose to make zucchini bread, or at least I thought that is what I was doing. This bread turns out to be better than cake..no kidding!! It is moist and delicious! The recipe is taken from www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,174,155189-230206,00.html
Do you have a zucchini story or recipe to share? Please do!!

Borscht Soup

While at the beach, a few weeks ago, I visited a small restaurant in Yachats, Oregon named Grand Occasions. On the menu was a beautiful Borscht soup. When it was my turn to order there was none left and I was disappointed. It's been on my mind to make it, so that is what I did yesterday, on this 90 degree day. To keep from heating up the kitchen the crock pot came in very handy!
Soup is one of my specialties. I make it all the time and often make up the recipe as I go. There are certain flavors, textures and seasonings that go together which are fool proof. I think this one turned out very nice, judging from my husbands reaction. I understand that it can be eaten cold but that will never happen in this house! :)) BORSCHT - A FAMOUS RUSSIAN SOUP-Crock Pot
This recipe is my variation of a time worn recipe.
1 bunch beets (3)
1 c. fresh tomatoes (or canned)
1 large carrot
1 or 2 bay leaf
1 small onion diced

4 c. water(enough to cover the beef)

1/2 lb. breast of beef brisket

1 tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar

1 T. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste

Prepare the brisket by browning it in the over at 400 degrees for 20 min.
Place the browned meat, uncut, in a crock-pot that has enough water, heated, to cover the meat. Let simmer on high for 3 hours. Add pared and diced beats, 1 large diced carrot, onion, bay leaf, tomatoes, salt, pepper or seasoning to your taste.
Simmer for a couple more hours. Take the meat out and cut up into bite size pieces. Put the beef back in the soup. Ladel into soup bowls and add a dab of sour cream. This is a rich soup and full of flavor! Enjoy!!

A trip to Bob's Red Mill......

Yesterday was an errand running day for me. I took a quick trip to the mall to get something nice for Father's Day....and then a dash over to Bob's Red Mill to pick up a few grains and legumes. I am accustom to cooking with most of these wonderful ingredients but I did throw in a couple I'm not use to cooking with. From the left is: Quinoa, Wheat Berries, Garbanzo Beans, Flaxseed Meal, Red Lentils, French Green Lentil and Light Bulgur. Quinoa and Light Bulgar are new to me. Bob's Red Mill web site offers recipes as well as all of their products for shipping all over the world. This is an up and coming company.....and one to watch as it grows worldwide!! For those of you who live elsewhere I thought you might like to do a little comparison pricing. If you want to have a shipment sent to your home, wherever you live, you'll have a good idea of the cost vs gas price for driving around looking of these things.
And finally....here is the salad I made using, light bulgur wheat, from Pink Purls "In the Kitchen" recipe...London Memories Salad. Mine doesn't look nearly as nice as hers but it is delicious and worth making. Go to her blog Pink Purl and check out all of her recipes while getting the recipe for this salad.

Herb Day.....

Lovage, or "Love Parsley," looks like a large celery plant and has a similar flavor. Six foot stalks are topped by clusters of greenish-yellow flowers in summer. The hollow stems are used like celery; seeds are used whole or crushed on breads or meats. I have been told that Lovage can be used to make pesto but my use has been in fresh tomato soup! Our Lovage plant almost qualifies as a shade tree! I had to cut the plant back today because it was over growing the area it is planted.
Celery like appearance....smells alike, too!
Garden Fresh Tomato Soup

8 large ripe Roma Tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Lovage.

1 fennel bulb

1 small garden onion chopped fine

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups chicken broth

Wash tomatoes, discard stem and chop up into fine chunks. I don’t remove the seeds or skin.

Sauté the Lovage, fennel, garlic and onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Add two cups chicken broth, salt and fresh ground pepper. Add chopped tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes.

Transfer into blender and puree. Pour back into pan and reheat. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled liberally on top.

Makes 6 servings.

Tea is served simply....

In my lifetime I don't remember a time when tea wasn't apart of our everyday. This tea pot and china belonged to my mother. It was used often and I find great comfort in getting it out today. The pattern of the china is easily recognized, Petit Point by Royal Albert. Mom was known for her love of china and generously passed much of it on to me.
The recipe I bring to you was given to me by, once again, my mom. She brought it home from a trip to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. We have enjoyed this cookie quite a bit and they don't last long. Grab a cookie and a cup of Constant Comment with me!! We add cream and sugar to make it perfect!!

Oatcakes

2 1/2 C. oats

2/3 C. brown sugar

1/2 t salt

1/4 t baking soda

1/4 C. cold water

3/4 C. butter

Mix first five ingredients well by hand. Cut in shortening. Add water sparingly. Mix forming into a ball. Place on a bed of crushed bran flakes (or flour). Roll less that 1/4 " thick. Cut in diamond shapes. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

Yummy Gluten Free Sugar Cookies!

We have our very own Gluten Free Girl in our family! She is worth the little extra effort it takes to make her specials days filled with goodies! These pink bunnies were a hit on Easter Day. They didn't last long. The flavor was buttery and the texture smooth! Just the way she likes them. It has taken some time to find recipes that resemble the gluten laced delights we are use to. Bob's Red Mill has provided many wonderful options and if you have someone you want to treat and they need the gluten free food, check out Bob's. We highly recommend the chocolate cake mix, scone mix, pie crust and angel food cake mix. You will be very glad to know where to find them.
Loved and Special Girl!!

Here is the recipe for the gluten free sugar cookies. We hope this recipe fills in that needed gap for your special person!!

Gluten Free Sugar Cookie

Blend1 1/2 cups sugar1 cup butter flavor Crisco (I use butter)Add4 egg yolks1 tsp dried orange peel or vanilla Mix1 1/2 cups potato starch flour2/3 cup cornstarch2/3 cup tapioca flour2 tsp baking powder1 tsp saltAdd four mixture to first mixture. work with hands to from balls. Rollout on pastry cloth or tea towel individually cut into shape. transfer to greased cookie sheet. Bake in 375 oven for 8-10 min. makes 6 dozen 2 inch cookies. This dough does not toughen with handling.

Huckleberry Pie in March!

Have you ever tasted a wild huckleberry pie? Once you do you will understand what a treat it is. Wild huckleberries are not easy to get and it takes quite some time to find enough berries to make a nice big pie.


Last August my sweet daughter took me up to the Mt. Hood National Forest to pick these wonderful berries. The road we traveled off of Hwy 26 was long and very bumpy! After parking the truck we then had to hike four miles into a remote lake where the berries were.We picked for about three hours and barely had enough berries for one pie. However, this did not distract from the experience one bit! As you can see we are enjoying a beautiful huckleberry pie on the second day of March! It was well worth the days' outing!!