First Veggie Porn of 2011

The garden is going strong! Allow me to expose the first veggies of the season... PEAS!

These little guys were so sweet and buttery I ate most of them as I was shelling them but a few made it onto a hodge-podge salad.
I did however turn to Eric halfway through shelling and said, "Man, you would need a whole field of plants to actually make enough to do anything with".

Which is why, although I enjoyed my first pea growing experience this year, it was not worth it. I will continue to buy my $.99 bag of frozen peas. thankyouverymuch.

get your eat on.

Today is the day!!! Sweet Tater's Nicaragua Bake Sale starts at 10am - get your fast fingers ready!

go here at 10am to help!

wishful thinking

78 degrees is awesome. if only watermelon was in season.

the early bird...

...gets the seeds on sale.
Even though it's only 42 degrees here in the drrrrty south, I am looking forward to spring - mostly looking forward to my garden and the bounty of veggies I plan on raising this year.

My annual Henry Fields catalog came in the mail a week or so ago and that great coupon for $50 worth of seeds for $25 just could not be passed up.
trying to fill your cart with $50 worth of seeds is kind of hard.

I managed though. You should never worry about a girl having a hard time filling her shopping cart.

Here are some of my favorites:
And for the full list: cucumbers (slicing & pickling), dill, basil, cilantro, lettuce blend, buttercrunch lettuce, green onions, bell peppers (red & yellow), yellow squash, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, eggplant, and sugar snap peas

Buying $50 worth of seeds means I will have something like 2500 seeds to actually germinate, thin and plant. This may have been a mistake.

*please do not quote me on this but I think a coupon code is on every catalog or order on the website. The offer is good through February 18, 2011.

cracked crack

Remember the one about the Peppermint Crack?

Here is what it looks like cracked.
I packaged it all up for our co-workers, mailman and sweet friends.
and batch #2, to be made on Christmas Eve will be enjoyed by friends on Christmas Day.
This crack is so not whack.

Peppermint Crack

My inner fat kid cries out for this stuff at Christmas. Its like crack, dark and white chocolate crack. Crushed candy cane crack.
This is currently in my fridge. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it's not for me.

You can make some of this crack too.

Recipe Swap: Bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapenos

OMG these are so good. I borrowed the recipe from The Pioneer Woman - that girl can cook! We served these at the party for Joe and wow - people could not stay out of them.
Here is her recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies.

*Notes from my kitchen - I took a tip from my friend Amy who also makes these regularly and used pineapple cream cheese and maple bacon. Seriously does not sound good but the little extra sweet is so yummy! Try it!

They are not HOT like they seem, the cream cheese and maple bacon really mellow them out.

Photo from The Pioneer Woman.

GO JOE GO!

Eric and I along with some of our local friends, and fellow Furman Alumni hosted a fundraiser for our good friend Joe Waters last week.

Great success! It was my first hosting event of this sort though I have planned a lot of them!
Our friend Joe is running in Greenville for the SC Statehouse and let me just say AMAZING. I mean, I've known that Joe is one incredible guy for a long time but wow - he is so committed to public education and the state at large. The best part - he is the exact same person as a friend as a candidate - talk about genuine passion!
Sorry the food pic is a little late - aka - the food was good! I pulled some recipes from Pioneer Woman, random cookbooks and my momma. I will be sure to share a few tomorrow for Recipe Swap.

Thanks Joe for letting us be a part of this exciting time - we are so very proud of you and can't wait to have you represent our state!

Recipe Swap: Banana Nut Muffins

This summer (since it's been way too hot to go outside) I've been working on perfecting some staple recipes like muffins and cookies.

This "Recipe Swap" will be a new little feature on here since I love cooking and taking pictures of food. I'll share one of my favorites and I hope you'll share one of your favorites too - just add the link or a quick description in the comments.

Up first: My Favorite Banana Nut Muffins - recipe originally from Dovetail Inn in Dorset, VT

I don't know how this recipe came into the family but the card has obviously been used often to make these family favorites.
This recipe may not change your life, may not win you thousands of dollars in a baking contest but it results in a perfectly moist and crumbly batch of beautiful muffins every time. I mean every time, the recipe will not disappoint. These are a staple in our house, I save dead bananas in the freezer, one at a time over the weeks and then when I have enough - MUFFIN TIME!
Banana Nut Muffins

Makes 12 medium muffins, recipe may be doubled (as I often do)
400 degress for 10 mins then 350 degrees for 10 min more
Spray or butter your muffin tin

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
3 ripe bananas (mash)
2 eggs - beat well
3/4 cup unbleached flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs baking soda

Cream margarine and sugar. Add mashed bananas, and well-beaten eggs. Sift dry ingredients and combine until just moist.

For variety: add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of oatmeal, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, raisins or chopped nuts.

* Cooks notes: I always add oatmeal and walnuts - thats why I call 'em Banana Nut Muffins. Do not over mix these - the batter will not be smooth. Use cool (not straight out of the fridge, not room temp) butter - you want little butter chunks floating in the batter - they make the muffins crumbly and yummy.

You're welcome. Enjoy!

I love you a bushel and a peck

I bought a peck of peaches about 10 days ago. There are 2 left. They were really good.
To further cement my place as the queen of freezer jam I made peach preserves and peach/strawberry jam. I cannot wait to taste a little bit of summer in the cold of winter (and I mean cold, it gets down to 40 here in SC during January). Don't be jealous cause its been 105 for the past 3 months with 80% humidity.

Upcoming crafty pursuits:
the quilt - to be perfectly honest, it won't be the first quilt I've made - the first one I made was a t-shirt quilt for Eric back in college. (it's not rectangle at all)
actually canning - I mean using the processing in boiling water method. For some reason this totally scares me.

Icebox Pickles...yum!

You wanna know how good these pickles are? This is the second time I've made a double batch this summer. We're talking 8 quarts of pickles people! (no, I am not craving pickles but I sure do love them). Best part - no processing, they pickle in the fridge, er... icebox.

Without further ado:

Slightly Sweet Dill Icebox Pickles
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
2lbs med pickling cucumbers, scrubbed, cut into 1/4 in slices or spears
1 large bunch dill, coarsely chopped, stems included
1 Tbs yellow mustard seeds
2 tsp whole white peppercorns
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 Tbs coarse kosher salt (I find it best to cut it back to 2 Tbs)
2 tsp dill seeds

Divide sliced onion between two 1-quart wide-mouth glass jars (I like 4x 1 pint wide-mouth better). Pack slices horizontally or spears vertically. Top each jar with dill.

Crush peppercorns and mustard seeds together. Place crushed spices in medium saucepan. Add vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and dill seeds. Bring mixture to boil over med-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Ladle mixture evenly over cucumbers. Leave jars uncovered and chill 24 hours. Cover tightly with lids. Can be made 1 week ahead. Keep refrigerated.

recipe from epicurious

Food Porn - Take II

Again, if you are hungry, avert your eyes. Not suitable for those with empty stomachs.
Our very first figs! We have about 300 on the tree just waiting to ripen. What do I do with all these figs? Have any great recipes?

Freezer Jam

One of my favorite things about summer is putting away some of the bounty for the cold, dreary months of winter.

Freezer Jam is super easy and holds a special place in my heart because my great aunt Mary used to make it. All you need is about 4 lbs of fruit (you can even use frozen), sugar and pectin. My preference is the Ball brand Freezer Jam Pectin.
There's no boiling, no muss, no fuss. Just mix and put it in the jars. You can eat it right away or store it in the freezer. So, go make some freezer jam from your summer bounty.