June 18th.

Almost time for father's day and the Summer Solstice! I'm still very busy planting and planting some more. And I just received more seeds from Renee's garden. I hope it's not going to be to late. I'll plant them tomorrow. Well, I'll try anyway. We are celebrating father's day tomorrow and I have to get up early, go to the father's market, make roman bread, make a lunch (my father in law is coming too). then make Ricotta cheese for dinner to go on top of pasta. We also have a walk planned there.

We are getting a lot of herbs and zucchini from the garden. Mmmmm, so good.
I'll try to remember that feeling in September when I'll be trying to con people into taking oh just one more zucchini, just one.

And then there are all these preparations for the Summer Solstice and just after that my dad's birthday and just after that my birthday. I love Summer.

And on the menu tonight: 

A very very old french peasant recipe: la potee

Cut a cabbage in two, then each half in four. Boil for 5 mns, set aside and throw out the water. In a large cauldron, or soup pot :), put salt pork, a big rash of bacon, the sausages of your choice ( traditionally made with pork ), carrots, onions, leeks ( tied in a bunch ), turnips and cover with water. Get to a boil, skim and simmer for 1h15 mns at least then add potatoes and cook for 30 more minutes.

June 8th 2010.

We are finally getting a bit of warmth and sunshine after an unusually wet and cool month of May. I'm very happy with the vegetable garden... and particularly these peas...oh these peas...I'm so waiting for them. Yeah, it's awfully late for peas in these parts but I got them in the ground too late and with the weird weather the seeds took forever to sprout. They are almost knee high now and starting to get flowers. The stalks are very very vigorous looking. They are Oregon giant Snow peas. Love the name.

And I've been making herbal vinegars and oils too. This one is made with chives flowers and leaves. It's turning a lovely shade of pink after a week.

It's almost the end of Spring already, these are the last of the bells or Faery hats as I call them.

I guess we are on to tomatoes and zucchini. Anyone wants zucchini? My plants are huge, healthy and have a gazillion of flowers.

And tonight on the menu:

Roasted Chicken with steamed green beans, homemade herb butter and caramelized onions.
Well, I think the title sums it up pretty nicely.

April 16th.

A stressed out, moody kind of day. Thank goodness for flowers and sunshine,

 

inside and out. 

                                       What's for dinner tonight?

                                                            Mmmmmmmmm... hum, fresh air?

April 14th.

Mmmmm... what happened?! Well a lot. Some good, some bad. But mostly good.

 

 We went on walks by the river.

 

We learned to build towers.

 

We planted a Summer garden.

 

The two teenagers slept in.

 

We decorated, hid, found eggs... and did it all over again.

 

We spent time together on rainy days.

 

We marveled.

And on the Menu Tonight:

Tortillas aka no time to cook tonight

Cook ground beef with an onion and cumin. when cooked add coriander or parsley. Grate cheddar cheese. Open a green and a red salsa. Open chips. Add to flour or corn tortillas. Voila! 

March 7th.

It was a beautiful sunny day but with a husband gone and a baby who didn't want to sleep I got pretty much nothing done. I badly need to do some gardening but this week looks packed with appointments and no help with the kids.
I need sleep very badly... maybe tonight? Does knitting count as deep meditation you think?

March 5th

Well, the day started well enough but baby got a split lip today when falling on one of her toys.
She recovered a lot faster than her mama.

It was bloody cold too. Well, as much as it can get cold in Sacramento that is.

On the menu tonight:

Roasted potatoes with rosemary

Lamb chops with olive oil and herbes de Provence under the broiler

March 4th.

A beautiful, sunny day today. The backyard is a total swamp though. It's going to take a while before all of that water is absorbed by the earth.
I made a cake today. The one I make a lot. A lot. Some might say too much, but is there such a thing as too much cake, mm?
This is a very easy old french recipe. It's actually at least a century old and I bet even more than that. Since my entire family still makes it that should say something. It has been the first birthday cake for all my children, even for my third who was sensitive to dairy and soy. I modify the recipe depending on what I have at home. I have even made it without eggs and it comes out perfect. You do not use measuring cups or spoons for it. Just use a regular glass ( mine holds 1 1/4 cup ). You can use a smaller or bigger glass, the only thing that will change is the cooking time. Be careful, if you go too big the edges and top of your cake willl brown too quickly and the inside won't be cooked. Split it into 2 baking dish instead.

Here is the original recipe:

The Simple Cake


Preheat the oven to 375 F


Mix 2 and a half glasses of flour
       1 and a half glasses of sugar
       3 tsps of baking powder
        a pinch of salt
        1 packet of vanilla sugar or 1 tbsp of orange flower water


Make a well and pour in the center:
         1/4 glass of oil (I use olive oil ) and 3/4 glass of milk
         2 eggs


Whisk together and put in a greased dish.


Here are some of the variations I have done:


Replace 1 glass of flour with 1 glass of almond meal
Replace the milk with hazelnut or oat milk
Replace the eggs with 4oz of pear or apple sauce for each missing egg
Replace the orange flower water with anise or almond extract
Add berries or fruit to the dough
Add a large handful of sliced almonds
Add 2 large handfuls of chocolate chips


Bake in the oven for 40 mns or until a knife in the middle comes out clean.