Some of the lovely squash we picked up at the farm last weekend- usually I’d just decorate with it, but this year I followed the lady at the farm’s easy instructions and baked up this yummy squash that even the Hubby approved of! To bake, cut off the top and scoop out all seeds and stringy insides, then cover the inside with a little butter and brown sugar. Put the top back on with a little space to vent, and then stick on a glass baking dish with a little water at the bottom. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or a little longer, depending on size of squash. Serve as is with a spoon to scoop out the tender inside. Delicious! You can do the same thing with acorn squash, and I’ve seen this with dried cranberries inside as well. What are you cooking up this month?

We have a lovely little stash of tomatoes and basil in the fridge which are so yummy- especially when eaten together! There is no comparing a home grown, garden fresh tomato bursting with flavor and deep red in color to a store bought, mealy and pale one. Remember that pesto I made a couple weeks ago? I froze most of it in small portions, to pull out and use as is, or in a simple pesto cream sauce, using a small amount of simple white sauce as the base and then mixing in the pesto until heated through. I poured this over curly pasta and added some sauteed cherry tomatoes that were loaded with sweet flavor. Some green beans from our garden sauteed in olive oil and a shake of freshly ground sea salt and pepper made a perfect side dish. Deliziosa! Another tomato and basil dish we’ve been devouring around here is a simple capresse salad- layering sliced mozzarella, basil leaves, thickly sliced tomato, topped with a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground salt and pepper. Oh YUM! What have you been enjoying from the garden or farm stand lately?

Jude and I have had fun with our little garden, and he thinks it’s tons of fun to use a watering can. Especially when he can stay in his jammies!:) Our garden is a humble little mix of a few scraggly vegetables that made it against the rocky soiled odds, and next year we will be getting a deep layer of top soil to raise up the bed and give our plants more room to spread their roots before hitting the rock laden soil below. But this year, well, this year we learned that we have to plant the tomatoes on the opposite side if we want them to produce before Christmas, and that seeds need about twice the amount of water I like to give them to actually come up! All very useful info we’ll tuck away for next year!

We had delicious green beans though, a few tiny radishes, and some great lettuce. Andrew’s potato is doing well and some flowers are starting to bloom. We got about a cupful of our own yummy basil and then a bunch from two other friends who actually know how to garden and made the most amazing pesto… super easy, I’ll post the recipe below in case you have an abundance of basil or know someone who does and wants to share! I froze mine in about 1/2 cupfuls, and plan to mix them with an Alfredo type sauce in the winter months.

Garden Pesto

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup plus a few spoonfuls olive oil
1 Tbs very soft butter (or you can use all olive oil if you like!)
1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in a food processor (my handy magic bullet does the trick quite nicely) and process until desired smoothness, adding less or more olive oil as needed. Serve over pasta, baked potato, combined with a cream sauce, or spread on sliced bread. Freeze portions to have handy for cooler months if desired. I prepare 2 or more batches at a time so I have plenty.

Anyone else have gardening adventures theywould like to share?

Update on Andrew and the team in China- everyone is doing well, working hard through the heat and humidity, and loving on the kids at the orphanage with all their hearts. They have tried some unusual foods including donkey and scorpian! They have only a couple days left and I am so excited to see pictures and hear what else happened during their outreach!

Jude was very excited to help make Swedish pancakes and brownies this week! He loves to cook and bake with me and I love to let him. There are a couple things to remember when letting little ones help in the kitchen. First, there will be a mess! Second, ignore the mess! A mess may last a little while, but memories of a mom (or dad!) who is fun to be with and lets you stir the batter lasts forever! Cooking with little ones is also a great way to reinforce counting (1, 2, 3 cups go in… etc.) and talk about where our food comes from.
I’ll post the pancake recipe below- super easy and very yummy. We filled our Swedish pancakes with softened cream cheese, peach sauce from last summer’s harvest, and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Swedish Pancakes

3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Blend together well, mixture will be thin. Add about 1/2 to 3/4 cupful of batter to greased pan over medium heat, tilting pan all around to get the big, thin, Swedish style pancake. Turn once or twice while cooking. Fill with softened cream cheese mixed with a small amount of sugar, jam, fruit, whip cream, etc. This recipe makes about 4 servings.

4 cups sliced mixed rhubarb and strawberries
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan.
2. Spread fruit in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients until well mixed; sprinkle over fruit.
3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and fruit is tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

And speaking of food- if you haven’t already researched Genetically Modified Food, I suggest you do- the findings are a bit scary. Andrew and I just watched a documentary that explains the details well- you can watch it for free online via Hulu at this website. In the words of my hubby, ‘if you eat food I highly recommend that you watch it!’ If you don’t have time to watch it yet, you can read the highlights on his blog here.

Jude loves smoothies as much as I do, and I came up with an energy packed smoothie good for a toddler and a pregnant mama alike! Jude loves it, especially because he gets to use a straw.

Blend the following together:
(double for 2 servings)
1 frozen banana
1 spoonful organic peanut butter to taste
(peanuts are a highly sprayed crop unless organically grown)
1 tsp molasses (good source of calcium & iron)
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk or soy milk, depending on how thick you like it
For kids, you can also add a spoonful of rice cereal for extra iron
Enjoy!

I was up early this morning with sore hips from late stage pregnancy. I forgot how nice a quite house is in the morning with nothing to do but stir up a dutch baby and watch the snow start to fall outside. If you haven’t checked Andrew’s blog lately there is a cute little video of Jude on it. And now… a yummy recipe for you if you feel like whipping up a sweet treat this week! A simple, light, and delicious Spring dessert! Easy enough
for kids to help with, or to whip up for company in a flash.

Lemon Cake

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup milk
1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup olive or canola oil

Spray an 8 inch pan with cooking spray and set oven to 350. Mix the sugar and eggs until well combined. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon and add milk, stir until smooth. Add flour and baking powder and stir well. Add oil and mix until well blended. Pour into pan and back for 35 minutes or until golden brown and done in the middle. Top with fresh whip cream, strawberry sauce (pureed strawberries with a pinch of sugar and a little water) or fresh raspberries. Yum!