Harvesting Dates

Tonight my 2 year old and I made these wonderful blueberry muffins and I started dreaming of berry picking and harvesting veggies this summer.

So I looked up the local pick-your-own farms near Baltimore and came up with this short list to keep us on track for yummy food.  If your anything like me you would be devastated to miss blueberry picking.

Strawberries:  Mid-May
Other Berries: late June-July
Peaches: July
Apples: Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov

As for where to go picking near Baltimore:
Larriland Farm: 2415 Woodbine Rd, 21797, 410-442-2605
Spring Valley: 724 Conowingo Rd, 21918, 410-378-3280
Hubers Farm: 12208 Old Philadelphia Rd, Baltimore, 410-679-4018

There are places all over Maryland and they can be found at this website http://pickyourown.org/MDbalt.htm#listings#listings along with information about each place.  Looks like you could pick pretty much whatever you need as long as it's in season.

Here is the recipe for the Blueberry Muffins:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl mix:
1 1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. frozen blueberries

In a separate bowl mix:
1 c. low-fat buttermilk or substitute 1 cup milk with 1 Tbs lemon juice
3 Tbsp melted butter
zest of one lime
1 egg, lightly beaten

Add them together and mix until just moist.

Spoon into greased or paper lined muffin tin and bake 15-20 minutes.  I made 48 mini muffins and it only took 15 minutes to finish baking.  So if you use a bigger muffin tin it may take longer.  They are done when lightly browned on top and a wood toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy.  I plan on freezing most of these for  the next time I NEED muffins.  Yummy.  And soon I will pick my own blueberries to enjoy by the fist full.

I wish you enough!

2012 Garden

The gardening has begun.  The amazing temperatures this winter and spring allowed for early planting but we are on the same schedule as any other year so far.  We carry buckets of water to water the garden and don't usually have to do much of that in the spring, until this year.  So the last couple days of rain have been welcomed for sure.  So far we have planted about 1/2 the garden and are gearing up for the warm weather plants.

So far there are strawberries, potatoes, cabbage, kale, swiss chard, shallots, onions, leeks, turnips, beets, and garlic.

I frequently dream about and crave raw kale salad and kale chips so I am super excited to pick it from my own garden and make these when the kale is still warm from the sun.

I don't however dream about pulling the weeds that all this lovely rain is helping grow...

More to come.

I wish you enough!

Fabric Sling Book Case

I've been searching for a cute way to display books in my little girl's room.  I wanted something that she could easily move books in and out, something that looked cute and that was generally easy to make or inexpensive.  Ah ha!  I found this wonderful tutorial to make a fabric sling book case.

I used this fabric that I bought at Joann's:

Then bought the hardware and rods, sewed the sling, and voila' a book case!  Thanks to my wonderful hubby who hung it for me.

The breakdown:
Fabric $6
Dowel $3
Double rod hanger $6
Total $15
Time 1 hour
Tutorial

I love it!  and want to make more, I just need to figure out where I would hang them...

I wish you enough (books)!

Cake Decorating Class

A friend of mine and I took a cake decorating class through Michael's over the last month.  I learned some cute things and am excited to practice for the next holiday.  Here is a little glimpse of what I made in class:

Valentine's Day Cupid Cake

Flower Cupcakes

Final Project

I wish you enough (cake)!

Glass Bead Magnets

My co-workers and I are in need of drinking more water during the day.  So we decided to set up a system where the people who meet their goal get treated to a drink by the people who do not.  So far we haven't been too diligent about the rewards but I can definitely say that I work with some well hydrated women!

To keep track of our daily progress I made these:

And now we use the little gems to keep track on a chart.  To make them:
1. I traced one bead to make a template
2.  Used the template to cut out pictures or shapes from random magazines.

3.  Lined up and glued the picture to the bead, and let it dry.

4.  Once dry I applied an adhesive backed magnet cut to size.

**If I do this again I think I will glue the picture to the magnet, then glue that piece to the bead.  It would make the back look much nicer.

I wish you enough (magnets)!

Salmon Cakes with Hot Pepper Relish

Oh yes!  Another super yummy way to eat this amazing hot pepper jelly (also used in the egg sandwich).  Somehow the jelly moved to the front of my fridge, so every time I open the door I am reminded to find a use for it... and it hasn't been hard.

Salmon Cakes  (Makes 3-4 patties)
1 small can or cooked fillet of salmon  (you could also use Tuna in this recipe, but I would add old bay too)
1/4 white onion finely chopped
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c coarse bread crumbs
salt and paper to taste
1/2 c chopped spinach

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  If the mix feels too wet add more bread crumbs so that they will stick together.

 Heat saute pan on medium heat and add a little butter.  Cook the patties until browned and cooked through.

If you have it top it with hot pepper jelly, otherwise you could enjoy it with honey mustard, or on an English muffin with cheese.

I wish you enough (hot pepper jelly)!

Smoked Gouda Fried Egg Sandwich with Hot Pepper Jelly

I took a cooking class recently that introduced me to the world of Bobby Flay!  He uses lots of peppers which drew my attention because I adore spicy food.  Anyway, I made some of his hot pepper jelly and need to find more ways to use up this beautiful jar of sweet sticky yumminess.  On a side note, I exploded butter in that class and I will NEVER do that again!!!

Tonight I wanted to make a quick dinner that was easy to eat.  After all, it is poker night for the guys and my husband could use some healthy food before the feast of chips and Chinese food fills the house.  So I grabbed my pepper jelly and decided to make this sandwich to host the jelly.

Servings: 2

Ingredients
2 English muffins
2 organic eggs  (25% more omega-3's than regular eggs)
1/4 Avocado
4 thin slices Smoked Gouda
Handful fresh Spinach
4 Tbs. Hot Pepper Jelly

Preparation:
Heat a non-stick skillet with a touch of olive oil.  While it is heating up start toasting your English muffins.  Once the pan is hot crack each egg carefully into the pan and cook until the yolk is of desired consistency.

When you take the muffins out of the toaster place 2 slices of cheese on each and put them together.  The heat from the muffin will melt the cheese just enough.

When the eggs are done assemble the muffins with cheese, avocado slices, fried egg, spinach, and drizzle the hot pepper jelly on the muffin top and place it on top of your sandwich.

Each sandwich is about 370 calories...

Enjoy with smiles!