harvest party. chicken coop. new additions.

last year i hadn't really thought through what i would do with all the vegetables i planted in my huge garden. sure, we love to eat in my family but we couldn't keep up. we were giving away things to my in-laws, my family and neighbors on both sides of us and still, we had too much. i decided to keep the sharing going by having a party which i named accordingly: the harvest party. it was not only a celebration of my year's harvest but the welcoming of mr. miles morrison. the newest addition to our family. the party was a huge hit and that very day we picked more than enough to feed almost thirty people. you couldn't ask for any fresher than that. we enjoyed: homemade marinara sauce with ziti, roasted zucchini and squash, sauteed green beans, cucumber salad, a large garden salad, pumpkin bread, locally raised and slaughtered ribs and homemade beer. we all sat at a long table and feasted. it was truly one of the most lovely nights i have ever had. family members were chatting away and friends were laughing while interacting with people they had known forever and just met. i felt so much gratitude for the ability to share my work and rewards with such an amazing group of people.

this year, of course, is a little bit more intimidating because there is a standard to live up to. and i will admit, part of me planted this years garden for this party, with all these people in mind. i wanted to plant things that people really love to eat and are easy to cook with. the invitations are out and the party is three weeks away. i decided to hold it a month earlier this year so that i would have a better variety of early vegetables to serve to my guests. while i am still planning the menu (and waiting to see what i have to choose from) i have decided not to go with a plated meal but rather stick to family style. i think, it will allow me to be a better host to my guests and enjoy the night a lot more. plus, there is nothing better than a rustic meal outdoors. we even purchased some fun lanterns to hang outside so that once it gets dark the party doesn't have to stop. this year, we are also celebrating miles' first birthday, which he almost didn't make it to after breaking a bottle of wine this morning. it was our first wine rack disaster and i am sure there will be more to follow.

on a different note, we finally picked up our chicken coop which we had made for our eight chicks! after almost a year of convincing, josh finally agreed that we could buy chickens. they have been living in a tote for the last two weeks and due to their smell, we were more than happy to get them into their new home. they seem to like it in there, it definitely has a lot more space. while i don't think we will have eggs by the harvest party, we will definitely have them by the end of summer. and i couldn't be happier. eggs are one of the items i am most meticulous about and will be thrilled not to have to pay almost five dollars for locally raised, cage free, happy eggs. no worries everyone, i will share the wealth.

well, i'm off to tend to my newest additions in the garden: pineapple sage, lavender, stevia, eggplant, celery, newly seeded snap peas, buttercup squash and pumpkins. i needed to add some things after my broccoli harvest. a few of these items i have never attempted so we will see how they work out. today's mission: talk to josh constantly until he agrees to let me have a goat!

the high's & low's of home gardening

most of the time you will hear me speaking very fondly of my garden. however, there are moments of complete and utter frustration. growing your own really is a labor of love and i always tell people that if you are not willing to put in the work, don't bother. gardening is not just throwing some seeds in the ground and calling it a day, you have to commit to nurturing those seedlings, keep them safe from all sorts of things. the other night i went out to check out my garden and do a little weeding. i had neglected to place three of my tomato plants in cages because i was trying to see how they would handle their own weight. well, i found them face down on the ground as if they had one two many and in general, looking very pitiful. in a mad dash, i placed the kids in the car and ran up to home depot so that i could rescue my tomato plants. after all, i am desperately relying on these plants to provide me with fresh sauce all winter long this year. i came back from the store, i placed the cages around them, i was feeling great. then i noticed the storm clouds above me. i rush inside and all of a sudden it's pouring. great. fine. my garden needed to be watered. when the rain ended i looked out the window to a bunch of very sad looking plants. the rain had trampled them to the point where some had fallen completely over. so again, i ran outside and although everything was wet, picked them back up and fixed the soil around them so that i wouldn't lose anything. on the upside though, everything is starting to show me progress. i have been harvesting lettuce for over a month, i now have eight heads of purple white cauliflower, i was lucky enough to gather three bags of radishes, i have snap peas and green beans ready for the picking. and all around i have little mini cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, more green beans and broccoli is going to be ready any day now, forty eight heads of it. that feeling of stepping outside and seeing the lush garden, filled with food that i planted, makes me so happy that it replaces all those feelings of frustration. i suppose, that's what it's all about. sometimes things work out nicely and sometimes they don't. i've had lots of moments that resulted in throwing plants into the woods but more moments when i run in the house to show my family the latest thing ready for the picking. my point is: even if you are starting a garden or if you are mid way and feeling like it's never going to work out, don't give up on it. that garden will surprise you when you least expect it. trust me. and then, your heart will be filled with happiness and veggies.

weekend food.

when you make the choice to invite people in your home who love food as much as you do, you better be ready to present some fantastic options. amber and james are two of my friends who eat a little differently than i do but share the same exact passion for the bottom line of culinary desire: food. to prepare for their arrival, i spent the week thinking about some of the things i wanted to share with them and found myself spending two hours in whole foods trying to scoop up everything i would need to execute my plan. when people come to my house, i want them to feel almost like they are dining at a fine establishment. i want to provide them with not only good tasting food but an experience they will enjoy. it's important, to me anyway, to excite all the senses before a meal.

saturday morning everyone in the house arose to breakfast which was: peet's coffee, design your own omelette's featuring sauteed red belle peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes & pineland farms sharp cheddar, uncured local bacon, gourmet new potatoes and a fruit salad. needless to say, it was quite a start to the day.

for lunch we ate out at the good life market in raymond which features an amazing assortment of wine, sandwiches, fresh local produce and cheeses.

saturday night we enjoyed t-bone steaks accompanied by roasted asparagus and an organic farm fresh salad. the t-bones were grilled by my husband josh and seasoned only with salt & pepper, a piece of meat of that caliber should never be over done. the asparagus was from my favorite place, windy hill farm and they were beautiful longer than usual stalks, which tasted lovely also with minimal seasoning and a finishing touch of lemon. the salad included straight from my garden lettuce and radishes, along with some other tasty local ingredients. i made up nana's dressing so that i could share a little something i really happen to love. it is a simple combination of red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper, lots of garlic and anchovy paste. the difficult part is getting all the ratios correct, which has taken me many years. we sat outside next to the garden on a table i put together to offer as much comfort when dining outdoors as possible. we lavished over a bottle of red wine which amber bottled herself in south africa and a bottle of 2007 opus one. you couldn't ask for a better dessert.

sunday morning, after picking up my son miles from our in-laws we came home to amber in the kitchen preparing steak & asparagus frittatas along with berry bread pudding. always nice not to have to cook, she even whipped up an egg white one for me, because i can not stomach egg yolks.

sunday night after a day around portland and a terrible experience at flatbread pizza i decided to offer up an array of small plates for dinner minus a protein. we had stuffed mushrooms with goat cheese, bread crumbs, fresh parsley, salt, pepper & garlic along with my nana's authentic couldn't be more italian stuffed artichokes. there was also a fresh summer caprese salad with a fig balsamic glaze. amber brought to the table some mexican corn with cilantro and lime as well as peppers roughly sauteed and designed to knock your socks off. we sat around enjoying cakebread and greco di tufo while discussing an array of things that may or may not have been interesting. for dessert we had bourbon pecan pie from two fat cat's bakery in portland which was one of the best pies i have ever tasted. they also made our wedding cake and are well worth going back to.

i can't say that it was all the healthiest options but it certainly was a delightful array of foods. for the most part everything we enjoyed was locally grown or slaughtered and i was happy to share with my friends some of my most favorite places. with summer more here than ever, days and nights like this will happen more often. there is no better feeling than sitting outside, in the sun, having a well cooked meal with great friends and great wine. till next time. cheerio.