Dinner Menu for a Fellow Gardener

My dear friend and mentor Elma is an amazing gardener and has blessed me with all kinds of produce over the years, so I wanted to make a special in-season meal for her and her husband using fresh produce from the garden.  Of course, I didn't think to take any pictures (partly because I was rushing around since I hadn't planned on needing to release a rabbit in the midst of my preparations - see post below!), but the food was yummy and she thoroughly enjoyed it, which meant the world to me.  She was also gracious about helping me finish up the food prep.

One of my goals for this summer is to share the beauty of my backyard by doing some entertaining and exposing people to the fabulous food that can be prepared from fresh, in-season garden produce.  It's a delight for me, because good food eaten in the company of people I enjoy makes the food taste ten times better.

Below is the menu (minus any pictures!):

The Menu:

Radish Butter Crostinis

Arugula with Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese and Caramelized Walnuts

Roast Chicken

Smashed Potatoes

Lemon Orzo Salad with Sugar Peas and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Strawberry Sorbet with Fresh Whipped Cream

Gottcha!

Do baby bunnies count?

Worth Contemplating

"That which, like a sea, threatens to drown you, shall be a highway for your escape."
- Charles H. Spurgeon

Girl Meets God

"... what I feel happening bears little relation to what is actually happening."

"Jesus is fishing for you, not to kill you but to give you life."

...  you don't merely follow the commandments, you beautify them."

-  Girl Meets God by Lauren F. Winner

Pizza and Champagne!

I had a wonderful time last evening celebrating my 5-year cancer milestone with family and friends over pizza and champagne.  The weather was lovely, and it was a perfect way to celebrate health, honor dear ones who had walked with me, and to feature the in-season  food God so wondrously designed our bodies to be nourished by and enjoy.

One of the fruits of my cancer journey was discovering the "local/in-season/organic" approach to eating.  While I certainly wasn't happy about having to endure a cancer diagnosis and treatment, I will be eternally grateful for where I landed food-wise; it was very significant for me to celebrate that aspect of the journey last night as well.

Everyone pitched in and helped...

... young and old.

 Since garlic was one of the featured ingredients of the evening, it seemed only fitting to include the beautiful garlic scapes...

 ...as part of the decor, in addition to incorporating it into the menu.

The Menu:

 

Crostini Appetizers:

White Bean with Garlic Scapes

Radish Butter

Goat Cheese with Strawberry Jam

~

Home-canned Grape Juice

 

Pizzas:

Pizza Margherita

Sausage, Arugula & Parsley

Spinach Feta

~

Champagne & Sparkling Cider

 

Strawberry Sorbet with  Fresh Whipped Cream  

Peter Reinhart's pizza crust recipe was the backbone of the evening, so here's the recipe:

Peter Reinhart's All-Purpose Pizza Dough

Source:  adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Magazine

5 c. unbleached bread flour (22.5 oz.)

1 T. sugar

 1-1/2 t. sea salt

1 t. instant yeast

2 T. olive oil

1 3/4 c. plus 1 T. water, room temperature

olive oil spray

In a large bowl using a large spoon, combine all ingredients.  Mix until ingredients are combined and all the flour is wet.  (Dough will be soft, and gluten won't be fully developed at this point.)

Turn dough out onto lightly-floured counter and knead until dough is smooth and supple, about 3 minutes.  If dough seems very stiff, incorporate more water, a teaspoon at a time, as you mix; if the dough is wet and sticky, sprinkle in more flour as you mix.  Dough should be tacky but not sticky.  Lightly grease a bowl with olive oil.  Form dough into smooth ball and place in a deep bowl, turning to coat the surface with oil.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap but do not let wrap touch dough.  Let dough stand at room temperature 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight, or up to three days.  (The dough will continue to rise in bowl until it goes dormant from the cold.)

Two hours before you plan to make the pizzas, mist a baking sheet with olive oil.  Cut dough into 4 equal pieces, and form each piece into a smooth, round ball.  Place dough balls on prepared pan, mist lightly with olive oil, and cover lightly with plastic wrap.  While dough proofs and comes to room temperature, prepare toppings and preheat oven.  Stretch into 8-10" rounds and place on parchment paper.  (Be sure to click on this helpful link to learn Peter Reinhart's technique for shaping pizza dough.)

To bake pizzas:

About 45 minutes before baking, arrange an oven rack one-third of the way up from bottom of oven.  Place pizza stone on rack.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Prepare pizzas as directed in recipe.  (You will be baking the pizzas one at a time.)  Using pizza peel or flat cookie sheet, slide topped pizza along with the parchment paper onto the hot baking stone in oven and bake 5-7 minutes until toppings are bubbling, cheese is turning golden, and edges of the pizza are golden brown.  Rotate pizzas halfway through for even baking if necessary.  Remove pizza from oven with peel and allow to stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Yields: 4 crusts

"The quality of the pizza is determined by the crust.  A pizza with a great crust can have anything on it and still be memorable."

 

 

 

Cancer Treatment Centers of America logo, as drawn by my nephew Ricky.  :)

 

(Thanks, Juanita, for snapping most of the pictures!)

Elma's Sour Cherries

My dear friend Elma was kind enough to share her bumper crop of sour cherries with me.

I was so struck with the beauty of not only the cherries,

but their quaint farmhouse property as well...

I'm so grateful for her generosity, both in friendship and food!

Vintage Scrap Rug

I was thrilled to acquire this little rug (or maybe it's a chair mat??) today at an Amish junk shop.  I had seen a few weeks ago when I stopped by their shop, but it wasn't marked for sale.  In fact, it was simply part of the workshop, sitting on one of the chairs.  I had looked at it carefully, trying to figure out how it was made and mentally took notes so I could make one for myself.  After I got home, I could have kicked myself  - why in the world didn't I ask if it was for sale?  And, why didn't I at least take a picture?!  So today, I stopped back at their shop and timidly asked if they would be interested in selling it.  The kind shopkeeper wanted to give it to me instead of selling it when she realized how much I appreciated it.  She had purchased it at a yard sale at a Mennonite home, for the very same reason as me.  Of course I paid for it, but it warmed my heart that another woman with the love of fabrics and creating wanted to share her treasure with me.

Recent Thrift Shop Finds

Some vintage buttons,

...pillow cases,

... lovely needlework

(here's an up-close view),

... some sweet hankies,

(how could I resist the letter "H"??!),

some more needlework...

... that begs to be appreciated,

and some Pyrex mixing bowls -

such fun colors!

(even though I couldn't figure out how to capture their beauty with my camera!)

:)

Winters Heritage House Quilt Display

 

This was my second opportunity to display several of my quilts at the Winters Heritage House in Elizabethtown for their May Quilt show.

 

 

The highlight of this year's show were these adorable essays and artwork done by local elementary school children in response to each quilt.

 

They even gave titled their essays.

I LOVED IT!!  

 

 

 

This one was so dear too - Flying Kites - how cute is that?!

 

I have a totally new appreciation for my quilts!!

Workout Incentive!

I saw this idea on Pinterest - simply put a dollar (or whatever amount you'd like) in a jar every time you work out, then use the money to treat yourself to something non-food related.  I've been needing some motivation to keep moving physically, and this idea has helped!  Made it to the gym?  Three bucks goes in the jar.  Pilates at home?  Add another two dollars.  A few sit-to-stands out in the garden, or some wall presses against the garden shed?  Fifty cents or a dollar gets added to the stash.  My goal?  A camera!  I can't justify the purchase otherwise.  And, interestingly enough, I think twice about frittering away those dollar bills in my wallet, knowing I need to keep some on hand to use for my workout incentive jar.

I hope the motivation lasts!!!

P.S.  I also saw this quote on Pintrest:

"Don't reward yourself with food; you're not a dog."



:)

Local In Season Delights

My long-time friends Julia & Alan came for dinner on the patio last night.  They enjoy food and the in-season approach as much as I do, so it was a delight to cook for them.  In keeping with the "Local, In-Season" theme, Alan brought this fabulous bouquet of flowers from their garden - it looked like it was straight out of a Martha Stewart Living magazine (it certainly beats imported flowers from the florist!).  It's so frustrating not to be able to capture the beauty of his arrangement with my camera....  Here are a few more shots:

These dear friends were great about allowing me to try out some new recipes on them, and they even brought a few produce ingredients that I didn't have available in my garden at the moment (fresh asparagus from Julia's garden, radishes from their weekly CSA drop, and hull peas from the local market where Julia shops).  Julia & Alan shelled the peas while I did food prep.  They also brought some local wine in keeping with the theme.

The Menu:

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus with Sugar Snap Peas

Radish Butter Crostinis

Home-Canned Grape Juice

Roasted Chicken Salad with Fresh Peas and Mint

Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Wine

Strawberry-Rhubarb Slab Pie

What an enjoyable evening!  All the ingredients (except for a few lemons!) came from our gardens or local sources; I love that concept!!  Julia and Alan were also gracious about allowing me to give them the garden tour.  Can't wait to do it again!

Garden Glimpses

Today...

Dehydrating strawberries

WRITE...

On the other side of the cancer journey
(a really fearful thing to say, 'cause what if I'm still on this side of it but don't know that yet, or what if I'll be back on the crappy side again somewhere down the road, or what if....??!),

I keep complaining to and asking the LORD,

"What was that crapp of ride all about?"

"Why in the world did I have to go through such a gut wrenchingly bewildering experience?"

"I feel like You chewed me up, then spit me out on dry land!"

"If there's no purpose on the other side of that canyon, then why am I still alive?" 

"WHAT IS MY PURPOSE???", especially with limited energy, a body that feels pummeled on every turn, and way less brain cells.

Write.  WRITE.  WRITE!!

Over and over again, I hear the same answer.

Write.

About what?  When??  How??  Are You talking just about journaling?  Blogging?  Writing therapy?  Handwritten notes in an era where no one even has stamps in their desk drawer anymore?  Why write in a day and age when there are already too many words floating around out there?  Just what are You referring to??  Is it simply writing regardless of whether anyone reads it? 

And, just how in the world am I to "WRITE"  when there's no time left in the day when my brain is sitll functioning, especially after a full day at work pouring energy into meeting other people's demands?

I don't know what I'm to write, but I'm trying to make it a priority.  TRYING.  Trying to write out of inspiration, not my own limited, failing abilities.  I have tons of posts floating in my head.  Notes scrawled on scratch paper floating all over the house.  Pictures I've snapped.  It's such a dilemma to get it out, get it written, get it posted or sent or penned.  I've been doing a lot of "retroactive" posts, kind of like a scrapbooker who's way behind in her scrapbooking.  But, I don't want to lose these slices of memories, archives of my life, glimpses of beauty I've seen.  I'm trying to send those notes, even if they are months late.  I'm trying to take that extra minute to snap a picture so that the moment isn't lost forever.

I'm trying.  Trying to weed out the tons of good stuff in my life that ends up being not the best stuff because it squeezes out what I know I'm to be doing.  Trusting that the writing is part of the healing process, part of the journey to where and who I'm to be.

Surely I'm not the only one on this kind of a crazy path....

So tell me, what are you sensing you're to be doing that you're not?? 

Today's Harvest

Garden Glimpses

Broccoli

Carrots

Knockout Rose