Just Because.

Yes, this is a pan full of crab.

We made a fantastic meal last night just because we could. I'm not bragging - or maybe I am - but, it all started after some friends gave us some fresh-caught Puget Sound crab. To accompany the crab we eagerly busted out some razor clams that were burning a hole in our freezer from a March dig that my dad generously ground up for me. My husband and I decided to make a rich clam chowder and a Crab Louie salad served with homemade 1000 Island dressing made from Russian pickles I canned in 2009. I know, pretty mouthwatering!

The meal was awesome and unfortunately for them, several of our friends had to bag out from joining us so it was happily just the three of us. Even better, we had many leftovers and followed up our abundantly satisfying dinner with a breakfast fit for kings: a crab and chive omelet. The best part about this little morning diddy was all the ingredients were right from our backyard; eggs from the chickens, chives from the garden and crab from our other "backyard" in Puget Sound. We were so giddy just thinking about this meal.

A meal like this one puts me in such good mood.


The morning after.



No gnocchi for me.

I was inspired by my CSA box recently and decided to attempt making something I normally don't enjoy: gnocchi. These flour and potato balls never impressed me much, but, connoisseurs of fine Italian food seem to love this and I thought making it would help me gain an understanding of this dish I find so bizarre. I know it's served much in the same manner as pasta with sauce or some butter and sage or Parmesan cheese. And what in the hell is not to like about sauce, butter or Parmesan?

This little adventure started out innocently enough when I got my CSA box (because of a killer Groupon deal) and found potatoes and spinach nestled inside. On the little brochure filled with ideas for all the ingredients, I found myself hovering over the gnocchi recipe. I've never met a gnocchi I liked, but I've also never made it and was slightly surprised by my enthusiastic decision to make some. My husband wasn't home to steer me in another direction - which he has boldly done before. I was on my own and off I went.

Below is my photo recap of the preparation. It was time consuming, but an interesting process none-the-less. However, I wish I had better news but, after I boiled the balls and mixed them with olive oil, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese, they still tasted like flour balls. Occasionally, I'd get a bite that actually had potential, but for the most part it was two thumbs down. So, unless someone changes my mind, I'm steering clear of this old Italian dish. CIAO!


Flour, salt and pepper.

 

Sauteed and dried the spinach.



Mixed the flour, boiled potatoes and spinach together.

Rolled dough mix into long tubes.

Cut the tubes into one-inch pieces.



Pretty enough, but they tasted like flour balls with olive oil and Parmesan.



Thank you, summer.

Fresh, fresh, fresh.

It was a perfect summer evening tonight. Not because the sun was still out and the wind was low - in fact, it rained a little. No, it was perfect because we were lucky enough to have enjoyed a fresh raspberry pie with berries picked minutes before baking it. I'd never attempt to make a raspberry pie if I had to buy them in the store. It would cost a fortune. But, because our raspberry bushes are prosperous - and continue to be each year - we are thankful for the pie we ate tonight...and it's not even Thanksgiving. So, a big thank you to summer.

My grandma's crust and crumble topping.

Warm from the oven with French Vanilla!

A Successful Tour!

Thank you to everyone who showed up to our backyard yesterday for Seattle Tilth's Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour. We had around 150 people through and received great feedback on the use of garden and chicken coop space. Lots of folks took pictures and many more held the chickens who really enjoyed the attention. They were on their best behavior and pranced around for photo shoots.

We served jars of lemonade on the 70+ degree day and encouraged our visitors to pick a raspberry or two for their cold drink. For special visitors, we served a Blue Moon in a cold pint glass with an orange slice. It was a perfect day!

Looking forward to next year's tour! Hopefully people took home some great ideas for their own yards during their visit to the 50 urban farms on the tour this year.

I'll share a great article in The Seattle Times about the tour! The Seattle Times

Refreshments and lists of resources for guests.

Elias and his helper, Tess.

Our "head" of lettuce.



A little visitor holding Blondie.



Duke chillin' in the shade.

Duke finding more shade.

What Makes a Really Good Pizza?

Elias' masterpiece.

Pizza was never my first choice. Only recently have I turned my attention to it; making my own, seeking out the best ingredients and getting quite picky about exactly what goes on it and what kind of crust is under it.
My personal favorite crust is a fluffy, crisp and thin one. Can I be any more specific? Yes, I can - I don't enjoy all the cornmeal that some recipes call for. Lately, if I have the time, I bust out a nice handmade crust. This can be particularly hard when you are a home-pizza-maker because it never quite tastes like your favorite pizzeria down the street. I don't have a hot, stone oven (but would LOVE to put one in my back yard), or fancy pizza stones. I actually just picked up my first pizza cutter with a cool, green handle. This little item has made my homemade pizza projects a little easier. However, I must be honest, I haven't quite perfected my crust and am still searching for the right one. But, at any rate, it's fun to make pizza at home. Everyone gets their own and dolls it up as they like.

Elias' favorite part: The Cheese!

If you're looking for a quick crust version, the good news is I recently found fresh dough in plastic at Trader Joe's for only $1.29. This has been an easy hit in our household. For one, it's inexpensive. Two, the wheat doesn't taste like crunchy dirt and, lastly, rolled thin this crust almost meets my criteria. (It does lack the fluff.)

Now for toppings. I'm a meatless pizza eater - unless they throw on some pancetta or prosciutto. However, I almost always never order the "veggie" pizza because it bores me. They lost me at olives and green peppers, which is most certainly always the first ingredients listed in a "veggie" pizza. I like funk. I like weird things like arugula and sprouts and even corn like they served me in Germany. I, also, prefer the extra virgin olive oil base over the tomato base. I'm a big fan of a well-made Margherita pizza with a garlic punch-in-the-face, followed up with basil, tomatoes and whole mozzarella. I don't shy away from a Greek pizza either, but leave the meat off. I like the Kalamata olives and garlic combo with lots of gooey cheese. You get the point here.

The interesting sprout idea came many years ago from The Village Pizza in Roslyn, WA. They sprinkled a thick row of sprouts around the edge of their gourmet pizza pie. It wasn't cooked with the pie, but added after. It was a wonderful and surprising treat and one I often dream about. Too bad they are over an hour away and my last visit to Roslyn I missed out because they were closed.


Ready to put in the oven.


Here are a few of my favorite pies at a couple local places. Try them out if you are out and about:

Tutta Bella (Seattle - 4 locations) has the crust down. Fluffy, thin and crisp - this is delightful and an all-time favorite. Try the Giovanni: olive oil base, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, prosciutto, arugula and shaved reggiano. You won't be disappointed Tutta Bella

Olympic Pizza (Seattle - Roosevelt Way) has some gooey pizza with a crispy, buttery crust. Any of their spinach, garlic, tomato combos are amazing. One pizza slice is all you need here because they don't skimp on ingredients. Try them out Seattle Olympic Pizza

Romios Pizza (Lots of locations) is the best delivery and I never veer off the Margherita pizza. There were times when it was hit or miss, but they've been nailing it recently. The best delivery in my opinion Romios Pizza

Seattle Tilth's Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour.



Things are shaping up in this year's garden.

We are happy to announce our participation in this year's Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour with Seattle Tilth. Our little urban farm and chicken coop is one among many included in this year's self-guided tour across Seattle neighborhoods on July 9. We'll expect about 150 people through our little farm, but about 300 folks buy tickets to tour over 40 Seattle farms featuring goats, chickens, honey bees and organic gardens.

Prizehead and Romain lettuce getting off to a great start!

Our little farm will feature chickens and a coop made from recycled materials, rain water harvesting, compost and an organic garden featuring fava beans, snow peas, green beans, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, beets, carrots, raspberries, blueberries, rhubarb and tomatoes. We are keeping it simple this year and hoping the weather treats us better this year than last.

Come check us out on July 9! Order your tickets through Brown Paper Tickets or just stop by our house (for free!) to say hello. We'll have some good snacks to feed you!

For more info head to: Seattle Tilth

Duke kickin' it in the backyard.

Raspberries galore.

Meatless Monday? How About Meatless Month!

The Road-trippers at Bryce Canyon, Utah

After my sister and I returned from a 3800-mile, food-coma road trip, we declared a need for a change.

Road trips are awesome in every way, except when you're constantly grabbing for the keep-awake Cheetos. I can't believe how many different flavors Cheetos come in. Unfortunately, we tried them all only after scarfing down the last bit of keep-awake beef jerky (sensing a theme here?), my sister dehydrated only moments before we hit the road. And I, also, took the initiative of trying every burger in every town when we did finally stop for a rest each evening. (By the way, have you tried the glorious Crown Burgers in Salt Lake City? Yes, my brother-in-law and I ordered the "Crown Burger" - a char-broiled cheeseburger with a high pile of hot pastrami.)

I'd like to say things were different when we headed back home, however, there was no such move when it came to choosing our cuisine. On our last night, we ended up with a triple-decker pastrami, corned beef and turkey sandwich in Las Vegas. Hello! I guess that's what long road trips are for - saying "screw it" and succumbing to all those ridiculous burgers, heavy meat sandwiches and bags of cheese flavored orange things.

So, when we returned to our respective homes, we almost couldn't wait to go meatless. We devised a menu and - living 8 hours away from each other - promised to talk about what we were preparing each night and swap recipes.

I reached out to my favorite vegetarian, a friend named Shelley, and asked her what some of her favorites were. This might seem hypocritical after reading what we all just ate on our road trip, but we typically don't buy processed food and cooking from scratch is the majority rather than the opposite. So, when I wanted to recreate my burger-in-every-city philosophy, yet, replace with a meatless option, I didn't want to rely on the pre-packaged meatless burgers, but rather make my own.

The process to create our menu got rather interesting and brought something to my cooking I've lacked recently - getting creative. Everything thing from fajitas, rice and beans and lasagna, to Pomodoro and double-decker tacos, not to mention those black bean burgers were added. My sister's teenagers didn't even notice they were going meatless until after the first week when my sister mentioned it to a friend and one of them overhead and asked, "We haven't eaten meat all week?" Surprise, surprise!

We've decided we may extend our meatless month beyond its timeline. We aren't putting an end date to it. If the time is right, or if we go on another road trip, we may find ourselves enjoying a Rib-Eye steak once again.

So, in support of our "If we can go meatless, anyone can" philosophy, I'd like to share a few favorites from our personal menu plan. As always, adjust to your liking!!!

Black Bean burger before hitting the grill.

I-Kid-You-Not Black Bean Burgers
1 15oz cans black beans
1 Red pepper (or orange, or yellow)
1 cup corn
1 cup bread crumbs
2 cups brown rice (cooked and cooled)
2 eggs
Salt and Pepper
Spicy aioli sauce

Puree black beans and red pepper and add to large bowl. Add corn, bread crumbs, brown rice, eggs and salt and pepper. Mix with hands and make 1-inch thick patties. Grill until heated through and top with favorite toppings. We added sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, home-made pickles and red onion. Finished it with a spicy aioli sauce: whisk mayo, cayenne and olive oil. Wha-La!

Rustic Lasagna
Whole-wheat lasagna noodles (I've never found this, but my sister has!)
1 onion, diced
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 big handfuls fresh spinach
Ricotta
1 15 oz tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese

Saute onion, mushrooms and spinach. Cool slightly and mix with Ricotta. In baking dish, spoon tomato sauce in bottom and layer with cooking (or no-boil) lasagna noodles. Add layer of Ricotta/saute mixture and cover with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. Follow with noodles and each layer until finished. Mozzarella should be added to top layer. Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool 15.

Pomodoro
Olive Oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
Fresh basil leaves
Salt and Pepper
Whole Wheat linguine or spaghetti noodles

Heat oil and add garlic to saute couple minutes. Add Roma tomatoes and saute, turning stove down and simmering for 15-20 minutes. Cook pasta a la dente and drain; adding olive oil to keep from sticking. Return to stove and add chopped basil leaves, salt and pepper. Toss with pasta and serve with fresh parmigiano reggiano.