Garden Update....what a difference a month makes!

It is official yesterday we harvested the first crops from our garden. Ok, it was only a few heads of lettuce but it was exciting. All of our squashes and pumpkins have flowers and fruit and we have little green tomatoes everywhere. I took some pictures at the beginning of the month of the garden but never got around to posting them. I took a few more this week. Check out the difference a month makes. Here is a picture of the before and after of our squash patch (aka the pit): Here is a picture of our tomatoes and greens. We had to make our own tomato cages. They actually turned out pretty well considering we made them out of a huge piece of bamboo that we found and broke into pieces:

Money does not grow on trees....but food sure does!

I am so happy to report that the raspberry bushes around my house are starting to produce berries. One of the main reasons that I liked the idea of renting my house was all the berry bushes. (We also have blueberries.) I moved in last fall so I did not get to see the raspberries in their full glory. I am so excited to have some cooking adventures this year with all our berries. Does anyone know any recipes that I need to try?

The Gardening Adventure

In the spirit of the current economy and general resourcefulness, my house has decided to plant a garden. Unfortunately the areas around my house are really shady and not so great for vegetable gardening. We were lucky enough to have a neighbor offer us his back lot. We were quite excited about this because it was a big space that gets lots of good sunlight.

Once we started prepping the area we discovered that part of the lot was pit covered with a big debris pile. This is when the sifting really began. It felt like we were part of an archeological dig chronicling the last five years worth of yard work. This is the amount of sticks and old yard debris that we pulled out of the pit.

Finally we got most of the debris out of the pit and began to till. The most amazing part of the tilling process was when two yellow rain boots shot out of the soil when the tiller got near them. Who knows how long they were buried in there but they had a glorious entrance into the sun again. Boop.....Boop.....out they popped like we were in a cartoon.





Now we are ready to start planting. We have tomatoes, squash, chard, beets, onions and all kinds of other fun stuff. I will be excited to give you updates on how the garden grows. Lets cross our fingers that it grows well. I want some delicious veggies this summer.

Recommendation: POTATO CHAMPION

It is no secret that I love potatoes. (ok....carbs in general) This is why I am so pleased that Potato Champion is in my neighborhood. Potato Champion is a late night food cart that sells Belgian style fries on the corner of 12th and Hawthorne. Not only are they perfectly salted pieces of deliciousness but there is a whole list of dipping sauces to choose from as well. My favorite being the pesto mayo. The cart is only open weds-sat from 8pm-3am but well worth the late night jaunt. Man, I really wish they were open right now, I could totally go for some fries.

Mac and Cheese with Sundried Tomato Pesto

I wanted to share some of my food concoctions but you will have to be patient because I usually wing the measurements.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp butter
flour or cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream (Milk can be used as a substitute but the sauce will not be as thick)
2-4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
16 oz box of pasta, penne or fusilli
Sundried tomato pesto (from trader joe's) (optional)

1. Boil 2/3 of the box of pasta (about 12 oz) until al dente then drain.
2. While pasta is boiling, melt butter in a sauce pan on medium heat. Once butter is melted mix in a small spoonful of flour or corn starch to thicken.
3. Pour in the cup of cream. Add worchestershire sauce. Stir with whisk to mix together.
4. Add in the cheese. I suggest tasting as you go so you know when you reach your cheesiness level. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir sauce and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once you have reached a boil remove from heat.
5. The last step is to add in some pesto to spice it up. Really you can pick any type of pesto that you like. I really like Trader Joe's sundried tomato pesto and it saves me the time of making the pesto myself. I just take a large spoon full of pesto and mix it into the cheese sauce. Then pour the sauce over the noodles, mix it all together and you are ready to eat. If you just want plain mac and cheese, skip the pesto step.

Happy Chinese New Year - Where's the grub?

My house decided to have a little chinese new year feast. Ok, really it was all Bece's idea and she did almost all the work. The rest of us did put together the dumplings and I suppose that's something. Bece also made some lotus root which was really tasty. I will have to remember to ask her for the recipe so that I can post it on here. We also had some sugar candy for dessert. They were pressed blocks of sugar that were so hard that by biting them you risked chipping a tooth. (There is no sweet tooth present in my mouth so I did not even try them. My teeth thanked me.) It was a delicious meal.

Recommendation: KEN'S ARTISAN PIZZA

I would not call myself a crazy pizza lover. I like pizza but it is not my favorite. Having said that, I really love Ken's artisan pizza. For anyone with a hunger for pizza in the Portland area, this is the place to go. Ken's pizza is baked in a brick oven so the thin crust is amazing. This is not a mix and match your own toppings kind of place but you should be able to find something on the menu that you like. Go check it out at on SE 28th and Pine. Go early because you will probably have to wait.