Fresh Eggs are Here!

Well, exciting news friends! All three of our ladies are laying at last! We all discussed it as a family and we all did agree that there is nothing quite so wonderful as fresh eggs from your own back yard. Tis true. 

Why just yesterday, I was a'wondering what I could possibly eat for my lunch. You see I was quite famished and I had not yet made my trip to the market for the week. I looked high and low and nothing seemed quite right, nothing seemed to do.  Then I spied a slab of homemade bread and the last of the Summer tomatoes and took a quick trip out to the coop to see 2 little brown eggs awaiting me! Scrambled on toast with toms, honestly one of the best things I've eaten in an age! Pure goodness I tell you.

So, thank you ladies and hooray! You have my deepest gratitude and respect.

For the love of Jam

Yes, it's that time of year again. The annual making of The Jam took place this weekend. Fortunately we have a well seasoned team that makes it all the more enjoyable.  Just open the windows to release the steam, crank up the tunes, and get to work!The 3 of us all did our jobs with great efficiency and mostly joy. Notice I said mostly, near the end I admit to getting just a wee bit cranky due to overheating and low blood sugar.

We ended up with 37 jars of jam in total. Nice work team! This morning I baked a batch of biscuits. I then cracked open a fresh jar of strawberry jam and slathered a biscuit with it. I devoured it in less than a minute. So good!

The yearly making of the jam together began way back when The Engineer and I first moved into The Little Green cottage. Now the whole family is part of the tradition. Here's to 11 years of sweetness and kickin' out the jams!

In a Pickle

It is full on Summer here in Portland. The garden keeps on giving and sometimes you end up with more than you can eat fresh from the garden. So what do you do (other than gift friends and family with produce)? Well, as they say in Portlandia, "We can pickle that!"

So, armed with a handful of carrots, a fistful of Haricot vert (lovely little french green beans), and a few pickling cucumbers; I set about making small batch refrigerator pickles.

I love a refrigerator pickle; all my produce was fresh picked from my garden then ready in jars in under a half an hour. Since no traditional canning methods (water boiling bath or pressure cooker) were needed, it's easy breezy beautiful pickles! I use this method for small batch only, since they only last a little over a month in the fridge. Of course, they often don't last that long because of the eating. There are plenty of Refrigerator Pickle recipes out there on the internet if you want to give it a try.

Ours will be officially ready this afternoon (24 hours after putting up), but they taste even better if you can wait at least a few days to try them. It's really hard to wait.

Do you like pickles? What is your favorite?

I will be announcing the winner of The Better Bag Maker book tomorrow! Still time to enter HERE!

Hello Monday - Bloomin'

Good morning and good Monday to you all! Today I don't have much to say. I do have lots of photos of things that are popping up in the garden. While you take a look at my little piece of Spring, I will be planning my day, nay my week, of getting reacquainted with my sewing machine. It seems as though it has been ever so long.

Oh I do love flowers!

I am also quite thrilled to see that the food is growing!

Now, I'm off to look for my sewing mojo, I know I left it around here somewhere!

Happy Monday!

All about a sandwich

Yes, that's right. This post is all about a sandwich; and why not? My blog title is "Lola Nova - Whatever Lola Wants" and right now Lola wants a sandwich. This sandwich! Are you thinking to yourself, 'Is she really doing an entire post all about a sandwich, really?' Oh yes I am indeed. It is my new favorite lunch and lunches can be tricky for me, so I get a little worked up when I come up with something good. And this is good.

It goes like this:
Get yourself some farmer's cheese, the spreadable kind. The type I can find locally looks like this...

If you can't find any, you can substitute Neufchatel or Cream Cheese. Then you want to add fresh herbs and... well here, I'll just give you the recipe.

Herb Cheese Spread Recipe
8 oz. Spreadable Farmer's Cheese
2 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1-2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian Parsely
1-2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Basil
1 small garlic clove minced
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Lasts in the fridge for a week.

 Now build the sandwich:
A couple of slices of whole grain bread toasted. (If you are really ambitious and want to bake your own THIS RECIPE is one of my go-to breads. It is very adaptable and tasty.)
Spread a layer of the Herb Cheese Spread on the toasted bread.
Add some thick slices of tomato and avocado. Throw on some sprouts and fresh spinach and voila! Everything a lunch should be, good and good for you.

"Too few people understand a really good sandwich."  James Beard

Oh, and Happy Monday!

Tiny Christmas

I have declared this year to be the year of the "Tiny Christmas". The big box of fa la la la la has not come up from the basement, only one small strand of twinkle lights has festooned the living room window, and we have cut way back on the present madness as well.

As you can see we even have a tiny tree. We are to be spending the holiday with family elsewhere and we are all very excited for that, but 'round here we are having a Tiny Christmas, just to feel a little jolly and bright on these dark, cold and wet days of winter.

Though today is the official day, we had a little early celebration of my birthday this weekend. A small party of just us three. I will tell you right now that The Engineer is one good man! Not only did he cook me a most delicious dinner, the man baked me a cake! A really, really, amazingly fantastic cake!

I am one lucky lady.

This has been a crazy old year, full of highs and lows and all sorts of in between. I am feeling a bit more of the effects of getting older these days. I am enjoying some of those effects more than others I can tell you. As I look back, I feel tremendously blessed and I look forward to a shiny new year and the adventures it holds in store.

Thank you all for joining me here and sharing this last year with me, I am truly grateful.

My wish is for all of us to have a happy, healthy and inspired new year!

I hope for the kindness of strangers

but I've always relied on the kindness of friends

As my days are busy with preparation for my big trip across the pond, my hands are always moving, piles of lists and papers growing, I have been thinking on things. Thinking on what an adventure this life is, how fortunate I have been and what surprises have come my way.

I have been thinking about friends, the ones close by and those far away. The friends I have made through this blog yet never seen, and it is a wonder. I am quite excited that I will be meeting a few of them in person very soon. That these friends have offered so much kindness and generosity makes me feel so deeply grateful.

sewing pretty notebooks for my London workshop lovelies

Last weekend the family loaded up the car and set out over the pass, winding our way along the gray ribbon of highway to the coast. It was a planned weekend of friends - that seemed to come at the worst time, only to turn out to be the best time... as it so often does. This group of friends, this exceptional circle of people; they are (if you will excuse the new age-y-ness of my vernacular) my tribe, my community, and my family. There is something just a little bit magic about being with people that make you feel at home, that embrace you as you are... warts and all.

For all of us, big things are happening. The weekend was about one last 'all of us together' before the biologist and the mountain climber leave for an extended stay in South America. What a brilliant memory we now have!

finishing up samples for the workshop

We had the most stunning weather I have seen in years. The Oregon coast is always beautiful, but the weather can be a bit dramatic. There was very little wind, we woke up to blue bird skies instead of a medieval shroud of mist and fog, we sunned in T-shirts on the beach and we sighed deep thankful sighs.

There was a surprise Frenchman thrown into the mix; a stranger to most of us, but he quickly turned into a most welcome guest and surely a long time friend. We collaborated on amazing feasts, we opened more bottles than I care to recall, we engaged in meaningful conversation until it turned crass and we laughed till it hurt.

The Music Man broke out the guitar and then the fiddle, he sang pretty songs in English and then he sang pretty songs in French. More guitars and songs and music. My gorgeous girl sang songs that she wrote and blew the room away. I was not the only one to get a little teary eyed.

working with little bits

Such an abundance of comfort in these friends. What a lucky woman I am to be able to enjoy this superlative company, to revel in the kindness of friends.

As for strangers, I have just this morning been shown great kindness by a lovely woman named Holly from St. Louis Missouri. She fielded my call about bank business and in what should have been a most tedious task, instead became a truly delightful experience. Thank you Holly.

And thank you my friends far and wide, you have been so kind.

Millet Salad

Goodness me oh my, I have fallen rather behind! This was supposed to be posted on Friday, but then...

Anyway, today's offering is of the foodie variety. As we head into summer, I try to come up with yummy, make ahead salads to keep on hand. I throw together some veg, grain and protein for a well rounded, healthy nosh. I thought I'd share a recipe for a Millet and vegetable salad that makes a lovely side dish, or if you are like me, you might like to eat it as a meal for lunch, or a late afternoon snack when you could use a little boost.

Millet seems to be a grain that has fallen out of fashion a little here in the US; I recall it being a big deal in the late 70's health food circuit. I keep it on hand for breads and cereal mostly, but it makes a wonderful grain for salad as well.

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Chickpea and Millet Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing

1 c millet
2 c water
1/2 head broccoli, broken into florets
1/2 head small cauliflower cut into florets
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
3-4 scallions chopped
zest of 1 lemon


dressing:
1 garlic clove, minced
3 T tahini
4 T olive oil
2 T hot water (more if necessary)
juice from 1 lemon
salt & pepper
*1-2 T almond butter or peanut butter (optional)

Begin by draining and rinsing the chickpeas, set aside.

Toast millet in a small saucepan on medium heat, stirring often, until it starts to crackle. Add water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until all of the water is absorbed.

Steam broccoli and cauliflower until just slightly tender or broccoli is bright green, drain and rinse under cold water. You could omit the cauliflower if you are not a fan, or use another combo of vegies altogether.

In a large bowl combine the Millet, steamed vegetables, chopped scallions, chickpeas lemon zest and toss.

Make the dressing by combining and whisking all of the ingredients together, add water as needed to get the right consistency. * Note: The brand of tahini I have on hand is a little bitter, so I added a couple of Tablespoons of almond butter to the dressing to smooth it out, adding peanut butter would have the same result. I suggest making the dressing without, and then having a taste to see how you like it. Oh, I also added a little over a teaspoon of honey to the dressing!

Add half of the dressing to the millet mixture and toss until incorporated.

You can add a base of baby greens with the salad and serve with a lemon wedge. Drizzle some of the remaining dressing over the top. I found it quite good with a dollop of plain yogurt on top too!

Enjoy!

In The Kitchen with Lola

What's for breakfast?

'Tis the season for muffins and these little beauties make a lovely breakfast treat. Wholesome and chock full of goodness; with options, I love options. Not too sweet, but definitely tasty!

Applesauce Apricot and Berry Muffins

Makes 12-15 muffins

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt,cinnamon, nutmeg, apricots, nuts and berries. In a medium bowl combine applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. Make a well in dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake for 16-18 minutes.

And now for those options I mentioned:

You can use all whole wheat flour if you desire.
Try substituting the apricots and berries for any of the following:
Dried Cranberries, Walnuts, and Orange Zest
Dried Dates and Almonds
Chopped Apples, Raisins and extra Cinnamon
Any other yummy dried fruit and nuts you have on hand!

Enjoy!

Tomato Jam

Finally, ripe tomatoes from the garden, hooray!

So, I decided to make a small batch of tomato jam, a very small batch.

I adapted a recipe from The New York Times

Tomato Jam
1 1/2 pounds good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cored and coarsely chopped

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 jalapeño or other peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste.

1 Tbs. Red wine vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients except vinegar in a heavy medium saucepan, Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.

2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam, about 1 hour 15 minutes, add vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate until ready to use; this will keep at least a week.

Yield: About 1 pint.

Use in place of ketchup on burgers, fantastic on breakfast sandwiches with eggs and caramelized onions!
Yum!

From the Pantry

I recently was the lucky winner of this interesting book, Urban Pantry by Amy Pennington, from Sherri at Little House In Paradise! This morning I plan to finally sit down and take a good look see. Heaven knows I love a well stocked pantry. I would love to some day have a kitchen with an actual pantry, until then this book seems to appeal to those of us with a less than grand sized kitchen. I am hoping to get some useful tips. There are also a good number of recipes as well. I'm looking forward to spending some time with the book, to see if it's a winner.

For now I'm just gonna throw out some photos of recent kitchen experiments from my own Urban Pantry that came off pretty well, a little 'food porn' if you will.

Pasta with asparagus and pistachio. So delicious - however, as I could not find shelled pistachios, there was a bit of heavy labor in preparing the nuts. Well worth it in the end!

Blackberry peach cobbler! Pretty much the taste of summer. Served warm with vanilla ice cream (it's the only way).

Well, I'm off to my coffee and my book. Have you been cooking up anything good lately?

Spanish monks can not keep a secret

And for that, I thank them.

Of course we must thank the Aztecs for chocolate, also acknowledge Columbus, and er...while I don't particularly feel like thanking Cortez for anything, he certainly realized that chocolate was the next big thing.

The Spanish aristocracy was smitten. Spain wisely and quietly began planting cacao in its overseas colonies, which gave birth to a very profitable business. Remarkably enough, the Spanish succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years. Cheeky tarts!

So there were these Spanish monks see, who had been consigned to process the cacao beans for the mucky-mucks profiteering. After a night of feasting on chocolate and partaking of aged spirits - I can't say this is exactly how it happened but, it's how I like to imagine it - they got a little chatty with some fellows from the nearby village and spilled the beans. Once the secret was out, chocolate was on everyone's lips.

When The Engineer's folks were here last, my mother in-law spent an afternoon with me showing me how to make chocolates. It was so much fun, and now I have a rather fantastic (possibly dangerous) skill to add to my repertoire.

We made hand rolled truffles with different coatings. The toasted almond were my personal favorite. I don't know that I will ever become a master at the rolling of the truffles, apparently I have hot hands. These 'hot hands' of mine melt the chocolate too rapidly and it all becomes a rather slippery, misshapen mess. Perhaps if I could find me some temperature controlled gloves...anyway they may have looked a little funny but they tasted lovely.

Nancy brought along some chocolate molds and we set about making chocolate cherries, how fancy is that?

At the end there was some chocolate left, and there were strawberries. I'm certain you would have come to the same conclusion we did.

Thank you so much Nancy! What a sweet and messy happy afternoon. You can also be sure that I have been dreaming up new flavors and experiments in my mind for days now.
I have a feeling a few of you who have managed it to the end of this post, are now quietly making your way to the pantry just to check, you know, in case you might need a bit of chocolate for later.

In The Kitchen with Lola

Southwest Salad

It seems I recall mentioning something about a recipe in my last post, and why not? It seems this week I am up to my elbows in domestic chaos bliss, and there's been a lot of cooking and baking going on in the little green cottage.

Today I am bringing you not one but two, easy peasy, healthful recipes that work together. The first is for a southwest black bean and rice salad. It's something I put together years ago and has become a regular in my kitchen. It is great as a side salad to a Mexican or southwestern dinner. We use it as a burrito filling, wrap it up in a tortilla with cheese and avocado, add some Salsa Chicken (recipe to follow) and enjoy!

Southwest Salad*

2 cups water
1 cup brown rice (I use a brown basmati rice because I like the slightly nutty flavor)

1 can black beans (about 2 cups), drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, diced
2-3 scallions (spring onions), sliced
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves, chopped
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Place water and rice in a saucepan uncovered on high heat and bring to a soft boil. Turn heat down to a simmer and cover. Cook until all the liquid is absorbed (about 45 min.) and remove from heat. Or cook the rice according to your preferred method.

Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients and mix together in a large bowl. Once rice is done, I let it rest for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork. I usually let it cool uncovered for a few minutes as well. Then add the rice to the other ingredients and mix well. Adjust seasonings to taste. The mixture will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can serve it room temp. or cold, or as I mentioned heated up in a tortilla. *This recipe is vegan.

Salsa Chicken

This recipe is one of those throw it together and stick it in the oven types so, there isn't a set measurement of ingredients...it all depends on how many people you need to feed.

Salsa Chicken

2 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Jar of your favorite salsa
Garlic Granules
Chili Powder
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle with garlic granules, chili pwd., salt and pepper. Place chicken in a baking dish. Cover each breast with a large spoonful of salsa. Cover the dish and bake until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Let chicken rest for a few minutes then slice the chicken into strips.

As I said, we put this with the bean and rice salad in a tortilla with cheese etc. as a burrito or wrap. It can be served over the salad with sour cream and extra salsa for more of a meal with warm corn tortillas or tortilla chips on the side.

There you have it, 2 easy recipes that are not only yummy but, very healthy too!

Salut!

Red Lentil Stew

After the over-indulgence of the holidays, I was craving something a bit healthy, fresh, delicious and comforting. Hmmmm...
As I looked 'round the kitchen, I spied a jar of gorgeous red lentils and had my "AH HA!" moment. I began gathering ingredients and working out the details in my mind. Now, I was ready to create. The end result was just what I was after, it hit the spot.

I thought I would share the recipe with you here. Whilst it may appear to have quite a few ingredients, it is a simple recipe and only takes about 20 minutes of active time and then simmers away. I hope you like it.

Red Lentil Stew

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lg carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tomato, chopped (you can substitute 1 cup of canned diced tomatoes)
1 rounded teaspoon ground cumin
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried red lentils
4 cups broth/stock (I used homemade chicken stock but, you can use vegetable if you want to make it vegetarian/vegan)
1/2 cup white wine
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (you could substitute parsley if you aren't fond of cilantro)
juice from 1/2 lemon

Preparation:
Heat oil in a 4 -5 quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then saute onion, stirring until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, carrots, celery, pepper, tomato, cumin, red pepper flakes, and salt and saute, stirring for about 3 minutes. Add lentils, broth, and wine. Bring to a soft boil then lower heat and let simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Once the lentils are tender, remove from heat.
Stir in cilantro, lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

I spooned it over cooked brown rice and served it with whole wheat pita bread. The Engineer liked his with hot chili sauce drizzled on top, while I preferred a dollop of plain low fat yogurt on mine. Yum!

What are you having for dinner?

Today is Friday

and there is no school. The small one and I are picking the finally ripe tomatoes off the plants before the rain comes in earnest. We are discussing what delicious things we will make.

Speaking of tomatoes, Sherri from The Kitchen Calls, is having another fabulous contest giveaway, you should check it out!


Have a lovely weekend!

Like moths to a grain

Fall has fallen - bringing gray skies, apples, coats, puddle jumpers and moths. It seems to be a particularly bad year for the moths here at the little green cottage, (well, perhaps good for the moths but, bad for us). They have been sneaking in, fluttering about, finding their way into our closets, nibbling on sweaters and nesting in linens. Oh just the wee ones, so quick and spazzy as they drunkenly flap around the place. Try as one might to capture them, they seem to multiply lickity split so that when one is caught, five more find hidey holes.

I made the heart sinking discovery the other day that they had infiltrated my kitchen cupboards en-mass. Oh yes, I had learned from previous battles waged, that certain foods must be stored in sealed tight containers, lids battened down and double checked. This year however, they have learned a few new tricks those pesky devils! A well sealed plastic container seems no match for their wiles, they have managed to make their way into the most imperceivable of crevices.

Surely not the raisins! Yes, the raisins, the banana chips, the pecans, and of course the corn meal. Oh it made me ill to have to chuck the stuff. So, this morning I set about moth proofing the pantry. I store most of my regularly used grains and beans in glass jars and they seem to fair much better against the invasion, my mission was to put everything in glass! Fortunately my grandmother left me well stocked in vintage canning jars so, I set to it. For the jars without proper rubber seals, I placed regular canning lids on top. There can't be the slightest whisper of space for the moths to wiggle through, for I have seen what they can do, these ninja moths.

And I must say, all these jars of food stuffs look kind of gorgeous to me. Take that ninja moths!