Patty Pan Pails

Every summer we try to make it up to Madison, WI, at least once to attend the Dane County Farmer's Market.  My favorite item to buy is patty pan squash.  I love to slice it, add some fresh thyme, and saute it in olive oil.  I can (and normally do) make a meal of it!

For the past two years I've looked for patty pan seeds.  I've only found them in seed catalogs.  Since I normally don't order my seeds I was hesitant to place an order for just a couple packets of seeds.  Imagine my delight when I ran across seeds at Farm & Fleet!  Not only did they have one kind they had two!  Both yellow and white!

Now, the next problem is I don't have a real big garden.  I've been reading quite a bit about container gardens so off we went to Menard's and bought four, 5 gallon pails, river rock, potting soil, and top soil.

Keith (hubby), who is not into gardening, was excited (kind of) to help with the Patty Pan Pails while I took pictures!

First step, he drilled holes for drainage.

Next step, adding the river rock.

Followed by the potting soil and top soil

And we're ready to plant!  Since we had four pails I decided to try a pail of acorn squash and a pail of zucchini along with the patty pans.

A little water.

Now all we need are some warm sunny days!

Update, one week later, April 29, no seedlings yet.

I made cheese!

As part of the 2012 Urban Farm Handbook Challenge I made cheese!  I was amazed at how easy it was to make and how delicious it is!

I used the Lemon Cheese recipe posted on the Eating Rules site.  The hardest part was finding organic milk that wasn't ultra-pasteurized.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to so I used just a regular pasteurized (not ultra) milk.

A few lemons, sliced and ready to go...

Little did I know how long it would take the milk to heat to 175 degrees F.

The aroma of the milk as it heated was unbelievable!  I'm made pudding from "scratch" before and I always thought the aroma was from a combination of the sugar and vanilla.  I was wrong!  The out-of-this-world aroma is from the milk alone!

Finally!  175^o!  I removed the pan from the burner (electric stove) and quickly added the lemon.  A few quick stirs and...

It's already starting to curdle.  15 minutes later I drained off the whey...

And hung it out to dry...

The finished product was amazing!  I was in such a rush to try it I didn't even think to put it in an attractive bowl for the picture!  And now it's too late!  It's gone!

I will definitely be making more!

Looking forward to the April gardening challenge.  I'm thinking of growing squash in 5 gallon pails to give myself more room in my small garden.

At Home on the Range

by Margaret Yardley Potter, forward by Elizabeth Gilbert, forthcoming from McSweeney's in May 2012,

Can't wait to read this!  Sounds like its a great book!

Simple Chicken Stock

bones from 1 roast chicken
1 medium onion, quartered
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
Few springs of fresh thyme and/or parsley
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
4 to 5 quarts cold water

Put the bones, onion, celery, carrot, fresh herbs, garlic clove, and bay leaf into large pot. Add water. Bring just to a boil and then turn the heat down until it simmers. Let it simmer for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. Skim any foam or fat from the top with s spoon. Drain in a colander or mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter into a large bowl. Cool, then refrigerate or freeze until needed.

Lent Begins

Today is the first day of Lent and wouldn't you know it I woke up craving sweets.  I resisted and made myself an omelet with 2 eggs, broccoli, and a small amount of feta cheese.

I decided I'm really sick of eggs and usually I love them.  I do better diet-wise when I have protein for breakfast so I don't know what I'll have now.  Nothing really sounds good right now.  Maybe some plain Greek yogurt with a little fruit.

I'm already starting to stress out about supper tonight.  I didn't take anything out of the freezer.  I'd like to go meatless but I'm not sure how Keith (my hubby) will feel about that.

My adventure in eating Real Food seems to be off to a bad start.  I need to get my mind in a better place.

Real Food

Just a few days until Lent begins and I start my "Food Rules" journey.  Basically I'll be eating just "real foods."  But, what is real food?  Andrew Wilder has a great definition of real food - you can read it here.

To make sure I'm off to a good start I'll be doing some shopping this weekend.  First off I want to buy an oil sprayer, to make sure I don't over do on the olive oil, and a salad spinner.  I love salads but hate with there's extra water that dilutes my salad dressing.

I also making sure I have all the necessary ingredients to whip up a whole grain bread this weekend.

And, speaking of salad dressing...that will be a whole other blog!

Lent

The first day of Lent is February 22. I typically give us sweets for Lent. One year I gave up pop - I really struggled that year!

This year I decided to do something different. I generally try to eat healthy but I still eat my fair share of processed foods (especially pop). I am going to really push myself to get rid of all the processed foods by following Michael Pollan's Food Rules. This is an amazing book and a quick read.

I can have occasional sweets, as long as they are made by humans, with ingredients in the home pantry (no science experiments here).  I can even have a diet pop...once in a while.  And I can have wine with dinner!

A Kiss of Flavor - bacio di sapore

Combine a bit of olive oil, squeeze of lemon juice, salt, pepper and dried thyme. Add to boneless chicken breast and mix together. Let sit for a few minutes.

Take saute pan and add a little oil. Once oil is hot, add chicken and give the pan a shake. (Shaking the pan will keep the chicken from sticking.) Turn after 3 minutes. Brown 3 minutes on the other side.

Add a splash of stock, turn down the heat , and pan and cook for a few more minutes.

Caramelized Onions

Thinly slice 2 onions. Add 2 T olive oil to a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Cook the onions until softened, then lover heat to a simmer and gently brown onions for approx 25 minutes.

Can make bigger batches and freeze in 1-cup portions.

Easy way to add alot of flavor to a dish.

Aroma Wheel

An aroma wheel is a multi-colored circle designed to help wine drinks describe what they experience when tasting wine. The wheel can also be used to help you describe the taste of food.

You can print or download a copy of the wheel from this website http://winewriter.blogspot.com/2007/06/wine-aroma-wheel.html.

Official Aroma Wheel website is http://winearomawheel.com.

Food Related Books I Want to Read

The Flavor Bible by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page

The Tasting Club by Dina Cheney

Knife Anatomy

Blade - sharp part (duh!)

Spine - blunt back of the blade

Bloster - raised lip edge near the handle (not all knives have this)

Full tang - when the blade extends all the way to the butt of the knife. Knife is held together by rivets.

Two considerations when buying a knife

Steel - You want a knife that can take an edge and hold it. Look for high-carbon steel.

Feel - How it fits your hand. Don't strangle your knife. "Shake hands with it." Place the handle across your palm. Wrap your hand arount it. With thumb and index finger, pinch the juncture where blade meets handle. Your other three fingers should be tucked around the handle.

Buy only what you'll use

Chef's knife

Paring knife

Bread knife

Care of knives

NEVER put in dishwasher

Have them sharpened once a year