Garden Pea Pesto Pasta

yes- I'm wearing overalls, I've been dying for it to be acceptable
to wear them again (since like middle school)
I decided recently the time is now :)

 

 

I've been struggling on what to do with some of the veggies from my garden because I always forget they're there until I need to use them all at once. So I threw together a recipe so I wouldn't have to waste any of my crops :)

 

And it was a yummy solution!

 

Garden Pea Pesto Pasta:

 

1 cup peas

handful of mint

3/4 cup basil

2 cloves garlic

juice from 1/2 a lemon

2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 tbs olive oil 

salt & pepper to taste

box o noodles

handful of lettuce

handful of snap peas

 

1   in a food processor grind up the peas, mint, basil, garlic, lemon juice, cheese,

     olive oil, and salt and pepper

2   in a large bowl of salted boiling water cook the noodles

     (I used linguine because it's all I had but I'd suggest a smaller noodle)

3   dump noodles into a colander and run cold water over them to stop cool them off

4   toss in a serving bowl with pea pesto

5   top with handfuls of fresh lettuce and snap peas, finish of with a few good grinds

     of pepper and squeeze of the other half of a lemon

 

 

 

Also very random but my freckles are getting darker and it makes me happy. Joshua said he used to think freckles were ugly, but when he met me he said I changed his mind. :)
I've always loved them and I'm excited Seattle has been sunny enough to make them come out more :)

When the sun shines

We layed out in the sunshine at Greenlake this past weekend and our friends came over to join us. We did a little reading, sun-soaking, and napping. I may have even gotten a little color- my poor legs have never been so white. Also drank some amazing rhubarb ginger beer from the market mmmm.

rainbow around the sun !!!! :)

I also made us summery salads from my garden :)

Garden Take Two

 

I went to the farmers market and procured some new plants for this spring's garden.

Last year I didn't realize strawberry plants come back so I ripped it up oops

 so this year in it's place I bought a huckleberry bush.

But I didn't realize unitl I got home and read about it that it could grow to about 6' tall.

So I planted it but I think I'll be putting it in a large pot to help control its spreading.

But how awesome if it actually produces huckleberries!!

I got there as the market was closing so I didn't have much time to browse but I did get a

few lettuce plants, leeks and onions. She threw in a bunch of extra leek ones for free :)

I'll have to go back to get more soon. Last year I think I under-utilized my dirt and

I now know you don't have to plant some things very far away. Also I have another large pot

that has been sitting in our patio forever that I may claim and put a tomato plant in.

But look my thyme and green onions from last year survived. I tore up the thyme and tied up

some bundles to dry. Then I'll let Josh go at it with his mortar and pestle. I had a

hard time using thyme so I probably own't plant it again. But I'd love to plant some mint.

Other than that this weekend was very chill. It was sunny and I even wore short sleeves one afternoon.

Watched girly movies with Rachel and grabbed brunch another morning with another friend-

I scored a groupon for brunch plus bottomless mimosas!!! SCORE

my yeilding garden

I was so excited when I went to water my garden the other day and saw orange heads poking up from my carrots! So, being impatient, I dug one out. They are so cute, I love them! I have quite a few more that I'm going to let stay in the ground for a little while longer, but I'm so proud of them!

We've used up most of our herbs, except the cilantro which became coriander because I didn't water it enough :) And our strawberry plant produced 10 strawberries total. The onions are small but are starting to poke up and I'll be digging those up soon!

I'm so happy that some of it worked out so well..and with, umm, so little of my loving attention.

But I have kept all of our air plants and cactus alive for a whole year :) I named them so they get more love

I can't wait to plant more next year, But I do think after I pull up my arugula plants that I'm going to plant some kale. I'm told it's the Northwesty thing to do

Herb and sun-dried tomato rolls

I love making bread! And I have tons of arugula sprouting up in my garden so I really wanted to put it in something besides salads and on top of pizzas- So I was really excited when I realized I could bake with it :)

I based it off of this recipe

makes about 10 large rolls

1 cup fresh steamed arugula

small handful of fresh parsley

1 cup sun dried tomatoes, julienned

1 1/2 tbs dry yeast

1 tbs salt

1 1/2 tbs sugar

1/3 cup feta

1/3 cup pecorino; shredded

3 egg whites

3 cups lukewarm water

6 1/2 cups  flour

Cornmeal

1   steam the arugula until it is wilted and then wringe out the extra water

2   in a large bowl mix the arugula, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, yeast, salt, sugar, feta,  and pecorino

3   put the egg whites in a large measuring cup and then measure the water on top (including the egg whites in the measurement)

4   then mix it into the large bowl

5   add in the flour and mix only until just combined

6   cover the bowl with a towel and let sit at room tempurature to 1 1/2 - 2 hours

7   place parchment paper on 2 baking sheets and sprinkle on some cornmeal

8   sprinkle flour lightly over dough and pull out handful size pieces, shape into a ball and place on baking sheet

9   continue until all the dough is used, then let sit for 45minutes - 1 hour

10 preheat oven to 450 degrees F after 1/2 hour and place a baking sheet with water in it on the bottom rack

11   when the hour is up lightly sprinkle flour on each roll and cut an "x" in the top

12   get a cup of very hot water ready

13   place the baking sheets of rolls into the oven, pour the hot water into the baking sheet already in the oven with water, then quickly shut the oven door (to create steam)

14   bake for 20-30 minutes; tops should be golden brown

P.S. these are addicting and totally rock!

Harvest Calendar

I really like buying things from the farmer's markets around here but I never know when different foods will appear. I've been collecting recipes that would be really tasty with fresh in season fruits and vegetables and I want to save them for those correct times. So to help plan out when I'll make some of the fantastic recipes I have gathered that call for different berries, and such I made this calendar.
 I drew it up, scanned it in and organized/colored it to my liking.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

Also my strawberry has turned red!!! We ate it & it was perfect :)

Garden Updates

YAY most of my plants are surviving. The basil has shriveled and the cat has dug in the back corner a few times and the bok choi is being eaten by something... BUT

My strawberries are forming and so far there are about 10

The parsley and cilantro are full and I've been able to start throwing them in our meals.
Plus a dahlia bulb from a plant Joshua got me last spring is starting to sprout! It sat outside in a dirt filled pot all winter and I thought I'd give it a go, so far so good.

GOOD STORY:

Now for the little guy below- I named him Ricardo.
We bought bok choi from the farmers market over a week ago, then we went to Portland and forgot about it. We came back and I thought I'd put it on pizza. When I pulled it out I noticed it looked like it had been eaten (which it hadn't looked like when we bought it). I opened the twist tye to chop those parts off and out came this brown thing. I flicked in onto the counter and then.....it's little feelers started to pop out, and then.....it started to move! It was a slug!!! Still alive after a week in our fridge! He stretched out to be an inch long and left a trail of slime behind him when he moved.
I made Joshua put him outside. ICK
And no we didn't eat the bok choi- unless you were curious