Spring-Summer

 

I have a deep sincere love for cast iron. 

During a recent camping trip a 10" skillet and I locked eyes and I just wasn't ready to stop cooking outside with it when we returned home. So this past week I have been making as many meals as possible on the grill.... with my lovely cast iron skillet. This is beautiful because it keeps the heat out of the house, it allows me to be outside with the kids when they are playing and it's time to cook dinner and most importantly I get to spend more time with my beloved cookware. Anything you have been making on the stove inside, can be made outside on the grill with a cast iron skillet. 

Also... it is STRAWBERRY season! My kids are in strawberry heaven right about now. Grandma has strawberries! We have strawberries! Monroe Orchard has lots and lots of strawberries! We picked a little over 10 pounds this morning.

I've already got them layered in some sugar in a huge stock pot ready for tomorrows preserve making/canning festivities. 

 

Hope your garden and kitchen are bringing you as much joy as ours is these days.

Garden Update

Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, paleo, pescetarian, omnivore.... Food is as personal a choice as politics, parenting and religion. It has become such a heated subject that it is almost impolite to bring it up in conversation anymore. This recent article in grist is wonderful. Ending dietary tribalism... yes, please.

The other half of this blog is gardening and as far as I know that is still tolerated as acceptable small talk in public. So here is what's going on at our house.

Garlic. That's my 7 year old daughter standing behind the garlic, it's half her height.

 Carrots and peas and Kenny Rogers scat. There is a lot of bunny poo in here that needs to be mixed in a little better. But our carrots have sprouted! And our peas are starting to climb.

 Pretty Peas.

 Broccoli on the right, spinach in the middle, cauliflower on the left.

 More broccoli.

I planted the three sisters (corn, squash, beans). The squirrels around here have definitely taken their share, but a few sprouts are starting to come up. 

We also started some potatoes, beets and more beans but I don't have anything to photograph except a bed full of dirt. Our tomato and pepper starts are either hanging out in the hoop house or under the grow lights in the basement. We also have some fennel, cilantro, basil, and marigold starts that aren't looking so hot at the moment.The strawberry bed is a little weedy and the herb garden is being spaced out a little since everything doubled in size from last year. Hopefully we will have more photos up soon.

Enjoy the weather!