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Spinach on the Side Finland Style
It is almost dinner time and the idea of something a tad out of the ordinary just seems right!Pinaattiohokaiset: Finnish spinach pancakes… don’t jump away… spinach is no longer just for Popeye! My goodness, your children don’t even know who he is! Popeye’s can will never come near to the fresh ingredients that are available daily down the produce aisle.Serve these hot beauties with meat, and if you are serving a roast: with meat and gravy. If the oven was on, preheat a serving dish to present these warmed at the table. If not, turn oven to a low temp and place platter in to warm dish and hold pancakes…
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Disregarding Allergy: A Sweet Sensation
Allergies… disgusting.Disgruntling: scratchy throat, drainageDisparaging: headacheDisrespectful of our happiness!But my goodness seems everyone has an allergy of some type, and at some time.Our household has hay fever, pine pollen, and yucky moldy oak leaves. However, we LOVE being outside. So, will allergies stop us…. no way.So on this Earth Day… it is time to get out and check out the garden for tiny spinach leaves or pea plants that should be poking out.Time for Kleenex, hydration and hot drinks.My elixir is coffee. I know… not the best for hydration, but oh how it soothes and gives me a bit of zip.Dale cuddles his cup of tea. And today, for a…
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Menu Monday: Italian Meatballs
Ah Family! We had a wonderful time visiting my brothers, parents, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews this weekend. We are quite a crew. From the humble beginnings of ‘The Lt and Mrs’ to Grandma, Grandpa, three adult children & spouses, and nine-grandkids. When we get together we rock the house! This weekend’s visit was to meet my brand new nephew and niece. Twins!; born on January 3rd to my youngest brother, his wife and their two older sons. I was excited to meet them but couldn’t dream of putting work on the new family so I planned a big meal of Spaggetti and Meatballs. My brother, James, invited my folks over…
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Peppers, Green, Banana, Hungarian Wax A’Plenty!
The garden just didn’t appear out there over night. And to my recollection, little gnomes haven’t been out there weeding, hoeing, rotor tilling, etc…. Especially the rotor tilling part… that machine is a monster that wants to go anywhere but where I feel is straight. (Yeah for Dale on this and so many parts of the pre-harvest work.) At the sound of our behemoth, those little gnomes would have jumped straight out of their gourds and be headed so far out of Michigan as to be fictional memories. So, maybe that’s the story!The beauty of a vegetable garden is that crops sweep in at their own pace and then demand…
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Tasty Tuesday From Seeds to the Table
We did it! Threw fertilizer here and there, rotor tilled in fresh compost dirt, planted seeds after threat of frost. Frost came: turned on the sprinklers at some early ungodly hour and let it run, as the water is warmer than the air not allowing ice to form, and the sun did not have a crystal prism through which it could burn our babies! So, seeds in… popped out the ground, had an initial weeding, thinning and OH YEAH.. .We have spinach, lettuce and strawberries for our first salad of the season. A side salad, but oh so good. I will remember to rinse those leaves 6 times as opposed…
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What is in your Garden? – Military Family Life Question of the Week
There is stress relief for me found in getting down and getting my hands dirty. It starts in very early-Spring and extends through the beginning of Fall. I feel capable. I feel healthy. Wielding a shovel makes me even feel *a little* stronger as I work arm and leg muscles. I swear at the weeds and talk baby-talk to the very-capable vegetable plants. (I’m quite certain that’s why they ‘produce’ for us!) Summer time equals a small (yet growing every year) garden for us. This year we have: Cucumbers in abundance Peas, their season has passed, but blessed us with lots of early Spring munching Carrots that need to be…
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Chicken with Fresh Spinach
Summer time is fantastic for so many reasons! Evenings are long, when it starts to get twilight – out come the lightening bugs to display a daily fireworks display. Our deck is high off of the ground and right in their flight path. The trees have their full dressed leaves on them and rustle in a breeze and there is wonderful of the lilies and evening primrose as they close up tightly for the night. Life is good in the summer. This year, our spinach crop was top rate. Finding recipes to highlight this dark green leafy vegetable keep me searching books and menus. My Mom actually asked for this…
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Fresh Spinach Dip
I mentioned the other day that I had a boat load of spinach that we harvested… all at once. Besides frying it, putting it in salads and the yummy Spinach Squares I found a wonderful dip. We sat outside on the deck, in the evening and celebrated the produce with a bowl of bagel chips and Fresh Spinach Dip. I highly recommend it!I love to put the spinach in the freezer for about an hour, then take it out and crunch it down. Amazing how it breaks and is so brittle. If time does not permit this… just chop it up before placing it in the pan.Fresh Spinach DipMakes: 1…
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Oh NO! All my spinach plants matured today!
Early early in Spring, we planted 2 long rows of spinach. This is our third year trying, coaxing pleading, weeding, watering… doting over the seeds to grow, flourish and provide enough spinach for a few great salads. That we got. This year I was armed and dangerous with little peat moss pots that I started early and two bags of different variety seeds. After the last breath of cold weather, in the ground they went. (I understand now that I could have put them in earlier… I’m still learning.) All of the peat moss pots died. I knew I would be missing out on a great crop, so I immediately…
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Turkey Leftover Time: Italian Turkey Casserole
I love Thanksgiving Dinner. A turkey, and the fixings does so much for the family! The aroma spreads throughout the house, the boiling pots heat up the kitchen. The windows steam. Warmth permeates the day… in so many ways. Then the dishes are cleaned, the turkey resurfaces for sandwiches on homemade bread and company leaves. However, the amount of turkey seems to grow in the refrigerator! Bring on the leftovers! For many, this is the favorite meal. There is little fuss involved, no silver to hand wash: just good food to savor.After the first night of leftovers, I liked to get creative. Italian Turkey Casserole has been a favorite for…
