Friday, July 20, 2012

Just Peachy! Margarita


Yessiree. It's Friday night, and I have a little treat for you. I just hope you have peaches on hand! (And tequila. And limeade. And agave.)

Ingredients
3 oz. silver tequila
6 oz. limeade
1/2 oz. agave nectar
1/2 of a ripe peach

Using an immersion blender, puree your 1/2 peach and transfer to a cocktail shaker. Add the rest of the ingredients and shake it up. Strain if you like, but I don't mind (natural) floaties in my cocktails. Enjoy! ...responsibly ;)

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Honey-Basil Wheat Bread & Blueberry Marmalade

Time to hit the farmers market for the last blueberries of the season! (At least around here.) We got a good deal on a whole flat of them last week. It also happens to be time for some serious basil consumption. I planted a ton! And I'm getting (just a little) tired of pesto...


We happily ate nothing but this for dinner one night last week. My soon-to-be 5 year old helped quite a bit with both components, and was proud of his simple supper! I think if we'd had some chèvre to go between the bread and the jam, it would have been just perfect. It paired well with a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc. Try this jam with anything herby, or slightly savory. Or you could try it atop warm brie...

Later in the week, we lopped it onto pork tenderloin for dinner (just think of the leftover pork sandwiches for lunch the next day... on honey-basil wheat bread, with chèvre and blueberry marmalade). YUM!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Maple-Sugar Glazed Carrots


How is it possible that it's been a month since my last post? 

How many bloggers do you think open with that question? (Probably not very many successful ones!)

I haven't even posted about my garden. Which, I planted back on Memorial Day weekend... It's huge now. The tomatillos have mounted a full-scale takeover of bed #1, while too many zucchini planted in bed #2 are quickly overpowering my poor, stunted peppers. In three years of backyard gardening in this locale, I've never grown a robust pepper. I should probably read up on what sort of soil everything likes, but I mostly just plant and pray. Don't get me wrong -- I have learned a bit here and there, and I call my green-thumbed mom for advice pretty often.  

Anyway... I wish I could say I grew these carrots! We grew them our first year here, in our deepest raised bed, but they came out small and stubby. I suppose we should have tilled the ground more, before installing the bed, but we were eager beavers. Not to mention spoiled by the Vermont farm soil we left behind. This year I planted: black zucchini, Brandywine tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, basil, cilantro, parsley and "fake" jalepenos (they are not supposed to be spicy). Maybe I'll get around to posting the garden pictures next month.