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{what’s in my refrigerator}

28 Jan

on sundays i like to do my meal-prepping for the week. i have lots of containers and jars for storing my dry goods as well as my make-ahead meals.

here’s what i created to eat last week :

  • raw spinach salad
  • hard-boiled eggs
  • sautéed veggies for an asian-inspired dish
  • blanched broccoli
  • citrus baked salmon
  • roasted garlic israeli cous-cous
  • my famous mashed potatoes
  • raw celery sticks
  • curried lentils with ham and veggies
  • sauerkraut (not homemade)
  • garlic dill pickles (homegrown and homemade)
  • roasted tomato soup
  • homemade beef bone broth 
  • potstickers (to go with asian dish)
  • turmeric tea w/ coconut milk

do you like to make your meals ahead of time? batch-cooking has been something i’ve adopted into my lifestyle over the last few years and it’s really helped me save money and keep my diet in check.

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{homemade relish with my homegrown cucumbers!}

11 Jul

so, as i mentioned in my last blog – i have harvested well over 200 cucumbers this year from my garden! i wish i would’ve been weighing my harvests, to get more of an idea of yields. however, looking back through the fotos i snapped every time i harvest – it’s safe to say that number is pretty accurate. crazy, right?

anyway, on top of sharing my harvests with neighbors, and consuming a cucumber a day, i also enjoy making pickles and relish with my cucumbers! that’s why i specifically grow the pickling cucumbers. that, and i just think they taste better.

i will share my pickle recipe soon, but for now i want to share this super yummy relish recipe that a good friend of mine passed along to me last year. i love it because it’s very simple and does not have added sugar. the only sweetener is honey and i think it is so well-balanced in flavour. i love add my relish to egg salad or tuna salad. it’s also just good right out of the jar!

homemade pickle relish recipe : 

  • 1.5 pounds {pickling} cucumbers, finely diced {mine was homegrown}
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
  • 1.5 cup distilled white vinegar
  • 6 tbsp honey
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill {mine was homegrown! 🙂}
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp kosher salt {i used himalayan pink salt}
  • 1 tsp celery ceeds
  • 1.5 cornstarch

directions : 

  • in large saucepan, combine all ingredients except cornstarch. simmer over medium-high head until vegetables are tender – about 8-10 minutes.
  • in small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 2-3 tbsp of the cooking liquid until smooth. add to pan and let cook another 3-5 minutes. cool.
  • use canning method to preserve, or store in airtight container, chilled, up to 1 month. also freezes well.

i made a lot more than what is pictured – this jar i gave to my neighbours. 🙂

i also tasted mine before adding the cornstarch. if i needed to increase any of the ingredients, i did. i think i added a little extra honey and vinegar to mine because i had a little more than 1.5 pounds of cucumbers. the key is to start with small amounts… you can always add more. i love the colour it turns out – that’s largely due to the turmeric.

i hope you enjoy this recipe and please do let me know if you ever try it out!

thanks for reading! 🙂

 

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{1500 followers!}

10 Jul

New York City

i am so humbled to have recently welcomed my 1500th{+} follower on this cherished little blog of mine!!

thank you to all of those who have stuck around all this time. and thank you to the newcomers – i want to extend a warm welcome to all of you who chose to hit that ‘follow’ button and come play along as we talk about yummy food and pretty things, whilst taking pictures of it all!

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as a reminder, if you don’t already – please follow me on instagram for the most recent updates on all things food&foto related. {you can also find me on facebook and pinterest.}

i appreciate all the love and support i’ve received over these last 6 years of blogging. i look forward to more adventures to come!

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the most sincere appreciation to all of you, from the bottom of my heart.

—–

 

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{saturdays in the garden : volume seven}

8 Jul

just a little update on the garden… my posts are not in “real time,” as it were… i’m several weeks behind in keeping up with what’s going on, currently.

for example, most of what you see in the following fotos, has been pulled from my plot. we are straight up in the heat of summer here in NC, and my tomatoes are just about all that remain. i pulled up all my broccoli, because i didn’t get it in the ground soon enough and it never formed a head. i harvested one beautiful cabbage that i’m currently making sauerkraut with. my cilantro is done… as is my dill and basil, but i planted more of both. i pulled my kale and planted arugula in its place. and my cucumbers are on their last limb, but i must’ve harvested around 200 of them this season. i have pickles for days! 😉

july will be focused on tomatoes. then in mid august, i will plant more cabbage and cucumbers and perhaps try again for more peas later in the month or toward september. i really enjoy making {and eating} sauerkraut, so i intend to plant a lot more cabbage for fall.

meanwhile, here are some pics of what late may/june were like in my plot :

so pretty and ALIVE!

still fascinated by pea tendrils… and i made lots of pesto with my basil!

oh kale, yeah!

harvest!

my beautiful cabbage! Continue reading →

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{a make-up blog : saturdays in the garden – volume six}

29 May

things are moving along quickly in the garden!! i actually harvested lots of kale this week and my dill is turning into a forrest! cilantro will only be here for a little while longer, and my peas are producing but will also begin to dwindle as the heat increases. i should be able to harvest some cucumbers next week. which means next month, i’ll be making some delicious pickles!! so so so excited about that!

on a community level, we have been donating over 15 pounds of collard greens each week and lots of radishes are going to donation, as well. our beans are starting to blossom, and the blueberries are coming in nicely. we also have tons of healthy tomato plants growing. june and july are the exciting months for gardening, as everything really starts to produce… i just love it.

and since i have fallen behind a little bit on updating on the garden, i am putting these fotos in gallery form, so i can squeeze them all into this post 🙂

{click on any photo to enlarge and scroll through gallery}

 

 

a {sort of} pano of my plot…

from left to right, counter-clockwise-ish :

jalapeños {hidden, back row} basil {back row}, peas {along left trellis}, lacinato kale, tomatoes {middle}, cilantro, celery, more tomatoes {middle}, cabbage, more kale {middle}, romanesco, more tomatoes, {middle}, cucumbers {along right trellis}, and dill.

i kind of planted in a zig-zag pattern…

i also squeezed in a few spinach plants throughout, but i’m not sure how they’ll fare.

thanks for following along!

how is your garden looking??! 🙂

 

 

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{portrait of an egg}

17 May

farm fresh eggs are just so beautiful! and they are so much more nutrient-dense than store-bought eggs!

 

i hope to have backyard chickens one day in the near future!

i just love all the colours!

and the flavour can’t be matched! farm fresh is the best!

i just love the variety… eat the rainbow!

 

#eggportraits

 

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{saturdays in the garden – volumes four & five}

13 May

i have been slightly slacking with updates on the garden. i have so many fotos to share, that i’m lumping {2} volumes together 🙂

a couple weeks ago, we had some eagle scouts come help in the garden. it was fun to see the boys get so excited about digging and planting.

 

as we prepped some of the community beds, we found some sweet potatoes! the boys were super excited about this part of the day! they collected probably 3 dozen or so, and i overheard one of them saying, “we are going to donate these!” – so charming. 🙂

i personally got so excited about this little frog i found under one of the tarps… i moved him away from the garden and let him go on his way…

planting beans!

planted okra in these plots…

radishes are so rewarding because they grow so fast!

we also planted some green onions and swiss chard…

i love it when someone brings coffee!

our garden leader shared some honey from last years harvest!! nom nom Continue reading →

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{dehydrated baby bananas}

2 Mar

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whenever i notice any kind of produce is starting to lose its freshness, such as these adorable baby bananas, i know it’s time to bust out the dehydrator.

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banana faces 🙂

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banana chips make for some great snacks!!

i also love to throw them in smoothies, as an alternative to frozen or fresh ones.

do you use a dehydrator? what are some of your favourite things to dehydrate? 

 

 

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{pan-seared wild-caught salmon}

13 Feb

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i love salmon! and although it’s not in season just yet, i try to eat it at least twice a month, but ideally i would like to get back to consuming it once a week or more. it’s full of omega 3 fatty acids and healthy lean protein. this particular wild-caught salmon filet was hand-delivered to me by an alaskan fisherman! 🙂

my favourite way to prepare salmon is to pan-sear it. don’t be intimidated, it’s a very easy method.

i simply sprinkle my salmon filet{s} with a little S&P and squeeze a little lemon juice over it, as well.

then, start with a medium-high heat skillet coated with a little olive oil, and place salmon filet in skin-side up. cook for 4-5 minutes, then flip over and finish with skin-side down, another 4-5 minutes. cooking it this way usually allows for the filet to come up easily off the skin when serving. i like to serve mine over a bed of greens or a simple couscous recipe.

bon appetite! 

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{farmers market turmeric root}

6 Jan

 

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have you ever seen turmeric root like this before?

i was fascinated when i spotted this at my local farmer’s market. when i go to visit, there is one stand in particular that i like to frequent. the lady who owns it is so sweet and always has a ton of good information on her products and she is always willing to answer my and all of my questions. it seems that the prices for produce at farmers’ markets are sometimes half the price of grocery stores or health food markets, which is just another reason why i love to support the farmers!!!

a few other reasons i choose to put my money into farmers markets are as follows : accessibility, freshness, availability, integrity, seasonality, friendliness, knowledge, willingness, and as i mentioned, affordability.

i had never seen turmeric root in this form, and i couldn’t wait to pick some up to take fotos of. sometimes i’ve seen parts of it broken off into larger and smaller pieces, but not in a huge chunk like this. i have been wanting to incorporate turmeric into my diet more frequently, particularly because i have been experiencing some pain in my elbow lately. and as you may know, turmeric is known for having anti-inflammatory properties. i am hoping that by consuming turmeric regularly, the pain in my elbow will substantially subside.

i thought it would be fun to share these fotos of turmeric, since it is so intriguing to look at! check out all the ‘knobs’ and ‘nodules’ and the funny/fascinating shapes it takes on and how it forms that way. i love all root vegetables, and when i find something in its natural state, i get even more excited about it. did you catch that cool post about ginger-root? i just love going to the farmer’s market and i one day hope to have a nice big garden in my backyard, as to grow lots of wonderful food. i basically want to be a farmer.

one of the things i’ve been doing with turmeric lately is making tea, which i am just loving! have you ever tried turmeric tea? i have been wanting to try it for so long now, but as with anything “new,” i tend to get intimidated until i actually just go for it! and i’m so glad i finally did! i made some tea with this beautiful chunk of turmeric, and i loved it so much that i wanted to share the recipe.

you can usually find fresh turmeric at health food stores. or if you have access to one, check at your local farmers market, as well. some of my research has discovered that you can also use the ground spice to make turmeric tea, however i prefer the fresh stuff. it’s definitely more time-consuming, but for me, it’s so worth it. plus, i just love the creative process. having said that, to be even more economical, you could make it with a mix of fresh and dried root.

super simple health-boosting turmeric tea :

turmerictea Continue reading →

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{farmers market ginger root}

12 Dec

gingerroot

 

i love finding produce in its most natural state – like this cool ginger root with the actual root still attached. the shape looks like some kind of animal or something, no?! i found it at the farmer’s market {of course} and i bought it mostly because it looked cool, but also because i just like to keep ginger around to nibble on. a lot of times i’ll make it into a tea with some lemon or just shave off a little bit and eat it after meals to accompany the digestion process.

ginger nutritional fun facts : 

ginger is great for stomach ailments such as nausea or diarrhea and can be great for helping keep motion sickness at bay. boiled as a tea, it has tremendous healing properties for common cold symptoms. ginger is also {surprisingly} high in b-vitamins. furthermore, ginger has wonderful anti-inflammatory properties, making it a fantastic support for healthy joints. 

 

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{what real strawberries look like}

6 Dec

something i need to write about is how i spent my summer vacation… even though it’s long passed now.

one of the things that took up the majority of my free time this summer was participating in a community garden. it was basically one of the best things i’ve ever done for myself. growing your own food is truly one of the most rewarding things one can do! i would constantly remark, “all i did was put a seed in the ground – and this happened!” because i was constantly blown away at how cool nature is! my cucumber plants literally took over and my neighbours were calling it “the cucumber farm” 😉

the reason i bring this up is because i inherited a small strawberry plant in my summer garden plot. many of my neighbours had strawberry plants and i was fortunate to have one reseed itself in my plot. i didn’t get a lot of strawberries from it, but the few i did harvest looked like these strawberries. they were more cone-shaped than heart-shaped. and i’m telling you – the flavour in these things is just out of this world! SO sweet and SO juicy and SO delicious! better than any store-bought strawberry i’ve ever had!

do you ever compare conventional produce to farmer’s market produce?! the differences kind of blow my mind! the last time i was at the grocery store looking at apples, they were bigger than a softball! that’s just not normal. or fruit so waxy i could use it as a candle?! yikes.

for me, i like things to be as close to their natural state as possible. food, soil, water, me, and everything in between.

and that got me thinking about these strawberries i picked up at the farmer’s market last week. i was looking at them and decided to snap a couple fotos because i was thinking to myself, “i bet there are lots of people out there who don’t even know what REAL strawberries look like.” 

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these strawberries were SO full of flavour, too! something else that lacks in conventional produce. maybe it’s got something to do with mass producing them and lack of nutrient-rich soil.

anyway, i love that i can still find strawberries this time of year – as north carolina has a year-round farmer’s market and excellent long growing season. i hope to find some more when i go back this week!

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{baby pineapple!}

30 Nov

check out this cute tiny little pineapple i dropped a whopping five bucks on! haha

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i have to say, i think i’ve decided that pineapple might be my favourite fruit.

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this one was so adorably cute, i just had to have it!

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i obviously ate the whole thing in one sitting 🙂

pineapple nutrition fun facts :

pineapples are totally loaded with vitamin c – tons of it! they are also high in manganese and fiber. furthermore, they help support a healthy digestive track. pineapples are, somewhat surprisingly, a good source of b-vitamins, as well. and don’t throw out that core! – it’s full of fiber and can be tossed into your blender to make an awesome smoothie!

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{pink limes!}

15 Nov

i’m always super excited when i find a new fruit or vegetable to try. i found these pink limes at a natural food market over this past summer. so naturally, i couldn’t resist tasting and taking fotos of them!

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on the outside, they are slightly different-looking than other limes…

they have some cool stripes going on a slight pink hue to them…

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and on the inside… a DEFINITE pink hue!  so pretty! the flesh almost resembles a grapefruit!

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of course, i added them to some sparkling water… which is so refreshing and delicious!

*nom nom, sip sip*

have you ever tried pink limes?!

food fun facts :

limes are full of vitamin c and can help support healthy cells and tissue. furthermore, these particular “pink” limes are sweeter than your average lime and look great in a spread or as a garnish… also, they would work fantastically as a zest!

 

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{it’s asparagus season!}

20 Apr

asparagusseason!-1

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{what can i say – i’m food and foto obsessed!}

2 Mar

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bbq pulled pork sammy w/ mac n’ cheese & a rich brown ale… flank steak salad w/ chimichuri…

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breakfast! w/ salmon, avocado, & a purple sweet potato… a variety of cheeses & caviar!…

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hearty tomato soup w/chicken salad over a bed of arugula… a beautiful spread of tapas…

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mixed green salad w/carrot ribbons & cilantro dressing… potato waffles w/creme fraiche & smoked salmon…

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potato parmesan soup w/garlic foccacia breadbowl… pastrami sammy w/ceaser salad…

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colourful roasted fingerling potatoes… israeli cous-cous w/ fresh herbs over a bed of spinach…

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eggs benedict two-ways… prosciutto & manchego pop-tart w/ balsamic glaze drizzle…

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{mini romanesco}

24 Feb

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those of you have been following me for a while {thank you, and welcome to the newcomers!} know that i am obsessed with romanesco. and clearly, i’m also obsessed with “baby” foods… as in, super tiny versions of amazing fruits and veggies.

well, you can imagine my excitement when i saw BABY ROMANESCO at my local grocery store!!?!? i will say, it is not at all organic and it is not at all in season… however, it is still magical!!!

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…right?!?!

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also, how adorable is my cute cutting board?! 😀

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i hope i can find a way to grow these myself some day soon… i would love to find a way to become or marry a farmer… seems like the most appropriate lifestyle for me.

😉 ❤

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{nature’s paintbrush : rainbow swiss chard}

22 Jan

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don’t you just love “baby” foods!?!?

i love swiss chard for so many reasons! not only is it good for you and high in vitamins like A and C, but it has a mild flavour and is great either raw or cooked. i adore all the colours – they are why i like to call swiss chard “nature’s paintbrush.” 🙂

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{chopped!}

13 Jan

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bok choy!

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{eat the rainbow!}

9 Jan

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happy new year, friends!

in honour of resolutions and commitments to a healthier life and all that jazz… and just because i truly believe in this lifestyle, i want to present a gentle reminder – don’t forget to “eat the rainbow!” as in : plenty of colourful foods, including lots of fruits and vegetables!

some things i’ve been enjoying lately: 

– baked purple sweet potato

– roasted cabbage w/ bacon bits

– kaniwa w/ sautéed garlic and onion

– red kuri squash risotto

– slow-cooked smoked ham and green beans

—

nom nom!

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