CSA Inspired Recipe: Heirloom Tomatoes

This week our farm share included a wide variety of heirloom tomatoes, and I had just the recipe to use! This month's Martha Stewart Living had my mouth savoring. This recipe is truely worth it! To see article from the August issue of Martha Stewart Living, click here.

Grilled Chicken with Cucumber, Radish, and Tomato

1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 small jalapeno chile, stem, ribs, and seeds removed, diced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
5 radishes, very thinly sliced
6 tomatoes cut into 1 inch wedges (the recipe called for cherry, we chose heirloom)1 small red onion, diced

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
V egetable oil, for grill

1 cup fresh mint

1. Bring vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, jalapeño, and ƒ teaspoon salt to a boil in a small saucepan. remove from heat, and let stand for 15 minutes. Strain though a fine sieve; discard solids. Let cool completely.

2. Combine cucumber, radishes, tomatoes, and onion in a medium bowl. Pour in vinegar mixture, and toss to coat.

3. Preheat grill to medium-high. Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Lightly oil the grill grate. Working in batches, grill chicken until cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter, and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir mint into relish. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with vinegar if desired.

We added a slight varriation to this...we cut the chicken into 1 inch cubes and sauteed it and served the whole meal over a bed of lettuce to make it a heartier salad. It was absolutely delishious!

Recently...around DC

The past few weekends the weather has been beautiful. The Cherry Blossoms had a wonderful full bloom. The tulips all over the city were stunning. The work week has been sufficiently rainy, but not to bad when the weekends are sunny. And, the past few days, it has hoovered in the 90s! I love living in the mid-Atlantic!

Mark and I have spent tons of time outdoors.

Two weekends ago, we walked around Eastern Market with some friends who were visiting from Philadelphia, Michael and Lindsay.

I was able to go to a National's Game with my friend Meredith. It absolutely poured on our walk from our house to the metro, so we were soaked. But it was warm and we had a blast, in spite of the weather.Friends of ours had their third child, baby Beatrix! She is precious. I was able to bring the two older girls to the park last Friday, and we had a blast! They both needed some quality attention as the buzz around the house has been largely focused on baby Bea. Here are some pictures I was able to get of the girls:

Aileen playing under the Jungle Gym in the shade.

Eudora on the slide - the only time she went down feet first!

We visited Tommy and Fallon on the Eastern Shore. The guys went to the War on the Shore lacrosse game, while Fallon and I took baby Dillon shopping at the Queenstown Outlets! She is already a pro - slept almost the whole time (3 hours!)



We have been transplanting some of our calla lillies and hostas to our front flower box - the plants were getting rather crowded and the flower box needs some serious work. Fallon also suggested we include some impatients, so hopefully they will be springing up soon.


Last night we played softball next to the Lincoln Memorial. I was horrible! There was a reason I quit softball in elementary school, and I remembered it in about the third inning last night, when I was up to bat! I am going to need some serious practice.

The past month has been great to get outdoors. When I am not outside, I have been working on Calligraphy. Currently I have three weddings, a baby shower, and a birthday party that I am working on. It is great to have a lot to do. For some of these events I have really been able to experiment with new techniques and letter styles. I cannot wait to post new samples on my Calligraphy by Shannon blog.

First Signs of Spring: Calla Lilies and Chives

This time last year, I was itching for Spring. It had rained a lot, I was working long hours, and the winter had seemed to drag on. There should be no complaining since I had just moved from New England, but the promise of a Mid-Atlantic summer seemed as thought it would never come to fruition. And then it happened.

I found a mystery plant growing in a patch of dirt along the path to my door. Little shoots sprouting up holding promise of spring. But I could not for the life of me figure out what these plants were. They were too pretty to be weeds, but I certainly did not plant them. Nor did I expect that my landloard had planted them since the area around the house remained largely unkept. (it actually remains unkept for fear of disturbing my beautiful surprise!)

And then they bloomed, beautiful calla lilies. Some green and some white, they came out of no where. Well...now they are back, greeting me each afternoon as I walk home. Welcoming me to my apartment.

I love them. They are my first sign of Spring.

This past weekend was a bit rainy (to say the least) and it was the first time I really noticed that my Chives were growing back too! I planted them last summer and was so happy to have fresh herbs through the fall. But for some odd reason, it did not occur to me that they could come back. Well, they are sitting out back, looking beautiful, catching the rain drops. And in my own excitement, I am cooking every recipe I can think of that includes fresh chives! Sunday night was potato soup. Probably the last potato soup I will make until it gets cold again during football season. But boy did those chives taste good!

CSA: Community Supported Agriculture

This past summer, my friend Carrie decided to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). After reading about her positive experience, I decided to visit the website of the farm in which she buys a share. Much to my surprise and excitement, Orchard Country Farm offers three 8 week sessions (spring, summer, and fall) and I still had time to join!

When we first moved to DC, I didn't think about joining a CSA because we live a short walk from Eastern Market, and there was a Friday farmers market near my work. But with busy summer weekends and a new job no longer near a farmers market, getting fresh produce was more difficult.

Typically CSAs run March-October, having three sessions allowed me to participate even though I was very late in deciding to do this! I paid a one time upfront fee and each Tuesday I get to pick up a cooler (this way we don't waste bags) of fruits and veggies from a farmers market at the Department of Transportation. The cost is just over $20 a week. It fits into a budget, and because we get so many fruits and veggies that we have to use before the next week's share arrives, we now buy less junk at the grocery store. We are also eating less meat (something I have been working on for a few months). I think our grocery expenses may have actually gone down, but I need to wait to see if this is a consistent pattern.

Aside from the general good it is doing for Mark and me, it is also great to know exactly where my money is going and support a small business. (Can you see the conservative principles coming through?) I have come to enjoy my Tuesday errand where I get to see what's in season, start planning out our meals, and enjoy conversation with Gregg the owner of Orchard Country. I cannot wait to sign up for the full season next year!

Here are some pictures I have taken over the past few weeks of my share:

A resource for you: Check out Local Harvest to find a CSA!

Garden Update

Our (somewhat pathetic) garden is really thriving! Just in time for us to go away and let it all die. Hopefully it will rain while we are on vacation (there seems to be a dry hot heat wave). Hopefully the plants don't completely die. Our tomatoes have been so delicious. It has been such a blessing to have homegrown tomatoes. What an added plus that we could have fresh and safe veggies in the middle of this salmonella outbreak. I cannot imagine summer cooking and grilling without tomatoes! Anyway, all of this blab is an intro to showing you pictures of our garden, so here they are:

Wild Flowers ready to bloom on the left, Cherry Husky Tomatoes, Beefeater Tomatoes, and then on the far right, Basil and Chives

Blueberries

Have I mentioned before that I love blueberries? I really love them. They are probably on the expensive end when it comes to fruit, but that is okay. I have a wonderful solution!

Mark's parents have blueberry bushes!


I wish I could take a picture that really showed how wonderful these bushes are. (and how many bushes they have!) These wonderful blueberry bushes greet us as we pull in the driveway. A fresh pint is waiting on the kitchen table every weekend. Mmmm...it is wonderful and they are the most delicious blueberries you could ever imagine. Homegrown and fresh-picked. It exposes you to the truth of what fruit really can taste like!

So, on our most recent visit, Mark and I returned a favor to his parents by spending about 30 minute picking. It was a great time, Mark and I being together in the quiet of the Eastern Shore. Plus, picking fruit is always fun for me and reminds me of picking raspberries in my grandparents back yard when I was a kid. Growing up I loved going strawberry or apple picking at local orchards. Ah, the memories.

Picking blueberries was a first for me, and boy was I excited! Throughout the process, Mark reassured me that if I ever lost my job, I would make a good migrant worker. I pick fast! Mark is an examiner, he closely observes each branch and berry picking only the very best. I go for a method of efficient quantity. Large quantities! In a short while, we picked all of these:


And they are good. We have been hiding them from ourselves as not to eat them all in one swoop. Yummy!

Road Trip to Boston

Our weekend consisted of relaxing and lots of visits to old friends. One of the main reasons for our visit was to plant the garden in Essex. Here are some photos of our hard work. As you can see, Nora helped plant too! The garden now includes: cucumbers, green bell peppers, sweet basil, lettuce, green beans, pumpkin, peas, zucchini, watermelon, tomatoes, and sunflowers. Nora and Honey planted a few potted flowers and a mix of flowers in the center section of the garden. It will be great to go back later this summer and see how much everything has grown. Last year we didn't plant until mid July, so the odds are good that we will have success this year starting more than a month earlier.


During our (way too short) visit, we were also able to see the Backiels, the Wards, and the Wisdoms. We love being able to see so many friends in one place, but it always reminds us of how many people we miss. We already cannot wait for our next road trip!

Here is a funny picture of Stacey and Gus. He is the biggest lap dog I have ever met. No matter where Stacey is sitting, Gus just climbs right up to snuggle. It is hilarious to observe, especially as he is climbing on the rocking recliner!

Gardening: Country vs. City

Have I told you about my garden? Last year we planted the most unbelievable garden ever. I am trying to find a picture to show you.

Last year, we lived in the country. There are many days that I miss the counrty. I miss sitting on the back porch and reading in the quiet evenings, hearing only the sounds of nature (and Muddy's barking). I miss seeing space. Most of all, Mark and I agree, we miss YARD WORK! Yes, we said it, we miss yard work. This has gone to such an extreeme that Mark has signed up for volunteer lawn mowing at his parent's church!

No, don't get me wrong, we like the city. In fact, we have even started another garden this year. Mark's brother came into the city for the day and helped us get it started Take a look at what we have so far:

Yeah, that I what we thought too, it just doesn't cut it. So in response, we will be traveling to the Eastern Shore to plant a garden at Mark's parents house...and traveling to Boston to plant a garden in the same spot as last year. Hopefully after three tries, we will feel satisfied!