Friday, December 11, 2009
House Pic
Well, I haven't posted in quite a while (too busy posting for the cafe)...but here is a house picture from last night that I just had to share (at a fundraiser for Groundwork Lawrence).
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Trees!
We've been dreaming about trees lately...so we went to look at some and fell in love with some very nicely priced fruit trees: granny smith apple, cherry, peach, and plum...so we bought them, brought them home, and planted them :-)...and we LOVE them! 
Sunday, May 10, 2009
It's spring! time for yardwork
We do live in an urban area, but have found a few patches of dirt to call our own yard (even though we don't quite own it all)
I cleaned up our little area with flowers next to the front steps:
And in the little grass area next to the house austin put some grass seed down (it's a long story, but last summer the church next door got re-roofed and the roofers just threw down all the slate ito the side yard killing a lot of the grass and a lot of our little garden) we hope this year we can actually fill it back in with grass and then next summer austin has a few more plans involving hedges and trees... :-)
I cleaned up our little area with flowers next to the front steps:
And in the little grass area next to the house austin put some grass seed down (it's a long story, but last summer the church next door got re-roofed and the roofers just threw down all the slate ito the side yard killing a lot of the grass and a lot of our little garden) we hope this year we can actually fill it back in with grass and then next summer austin has a few more plans involving hedges and trees... :-)
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Compost Tumbler
We haven't composted in a while because our bin was broken by the roofers next door and also we just were not maintaining it well. I've had my thoughts on the tumbling kind of bins for a while where you just give it a little twirl and everything gets mixed up. But, the tumbers range in price from about $200 to $300, so austin and I figured we could make one...so we did...and here it is :-) we had to buy a trash barrel, but already had a lot of wood we'd gotten on freecycle, so I think the total cost was about $30 
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sprouts!
I've recently been experimenting with lentil sprouts. 
The lentils have been sprouting at my kitchen sink in an old honey jar :-)
Here's the full jar of sprouts after about a week.
The lentils have been sprouting at my kitchen sink in an old honey jar :-)Here's the full jar of sprouts after about a week.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Cooking in Season: Baked Potatoes
I just couldn't help but make some baked potatoes this week since we got a 50# bag of potatoes from Maine (in a local farm store) for $12. Part of the great part about cooking in season is that things are usually very affordable! So here's my meal this Monday:
Baked Potatoes with yummy toppings:
Ingredients:
-1 medium/large potato per person
-sour cream
-chives or green onions
-cheddar cheese
-Ingredients for chili to top potatoes:
-2 cans kidney beans
-1 lb ground beef from Twist of fate farm
-2 cans diced tomatoes (I would have used my frozen ones, but I've used them all up already!)
-chili seasoning mix
-1 small onion
Directions:
Bake Potatoes in oven: I covered them in foil and baked at 375 for 1hr 20 min. Make chili: saute the onion, add ground beef until browned, add chili seasoning, beans, and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes or more. When potatoes are done, cut open on a plate and cover with all your favorite toppings.
...total cost for feeding 6 adults and one preschooler: $13.10 or $1.87 per person (potats $1.50, sour cream $2, beef $4, beans $1, tomatoes $1.50, onion $.10, green onions $1, cheese $2)
Baked Potatoes with yummy toppings:
Ingredients:
-1 medium/large potato per person
-sour cream
-chives or green onions
-cheddar cheese
-Ingredients for chili to top potatoes:
-2 cans kidney beans
-1 lb ground beef from Twist of fate farm
-2 cans diced tomatoes (I would have used my frozen ones, but I've used them all up already!)
-chili seasoning mix
-1 small onion
Directions:
Bake Potatoes in oven: I covered them in foil and baked at 375 for 1hr 20 min. Make chili: saute the onion, add ground beef until browned, add chili seasoning, beans, and diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes or more. When potatoes are done, cut open on a plate and cover with all your favorite toppings.
...total cost for feeding 6 adults and one preschooler: $13.10 or $1.87 per person (potats $1.50, sour cream $2, beef $4, beans $1, tomatoes $1.50, onion $.10, green onions $1, cheese $2)
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos
Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos
yields 8 burritos
Ingredients:
3 Cups/750 ml sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
1/2 onion (chopped)
2 cups/500ml cooked black beans
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups/375 ml cheddar cheese (shredded).
Directions:
-Saute sweet potatoes and onion in a large frypan and in 1 tablespoon oil until just tender. Add water or apple juice as needed to prevent sticking.
-Add black beans, cumin, cinnamon, and salt and cook until heated through.
-Divide bean mixture and cheese among the tortillas and roll up. Place in a 9x13 baking pan. Lightly spray with olive oil if desired. Bake at 350F/180C for 20-25 min. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, and fresh cilantro.
I also sprinkled cheese on top of all the burritos before putting it in the oven and the meal was a big hit at my house!
yields 8 burritos
Ingredients:
3 Cups/750 ml sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
1/2 onion (chopped)
2 cups/500ml cooked black beans
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups/375 ml cheddar cheese (shredded).
Directions:
-Saute sweet potatoes and onion in a large frypan and in 1 tablespoon oil until just tender. Add water or apple juice as needed to prevent sticking.
-Add black beans, cumin, cinnamon, and salt and cook until heated through.
-Divide bean mixture and cheese among the tortillas and roll up. Place in a 9x13 baking pan. Lightly spray with olive oil if desired. Bake at 350F/180C for 20-25 min. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, and fresh cilantro.
I also sprinkled cheese on top of all the burritos before putting it in the oven and the meal was a big hit at my house!
Cooking in Season
I've been reading a lot about food lately (is it obvious from my posts?) and I've decided to make a concentrated effort to eat more locally and in season (for the sake of the economy, local farmers, my carbon footprint, my health, and cause it's just plain fun). So, I bought an AWESOME cookbook to help me out...it's called "Simply in Season" which is a book comissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to promote the understanding of how the food choices we make affect our lives and the lives of those who produce food. 
MCC also created the "More-with-Less" cookbook which you may have heard of. I am really enjoying this cookbook for the recipies are simple and yet really yummy.
So, since it is very obviously winter here in Massachusetts, I'm trying to cook with the suggested items of: apples, beets, cabbage, carrots, citrus, parsnips, potatoes, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, and turnips. We also still have a lot of winter squash.
So far in the local spirit I've made butternut squash soup, leg of lamb (from a local farm) with cabbage, whole chicken, roasted root vegetables, and guiness pie with beef and root veggies. To help me remember what I've made, I'm going to start posting recipies to my blog...please feel free to share your favorite seasonal recipies with me as well!
MCC also created the "More-with-Less" cookbook which you may have heard of. I am really enjoying this cookbook for the recipies are simple and yet really yummy.So, since it is very obviously winter here in Massachusetts, I'm trying to cook with the suggested items of: apples, beets, cabbage, carrots, citrus, parsnips, potatoes, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, and turnips. We also still have a lot of winter squash.
So far in the local spirit I've made butternut squash soup, leg of lamb (from a local farm) with cabbage, whole chicken, roasted root vegetables, and guiness pie with beef and root veggies. To help me remember what I've made, I'm going to start posting recipies to my blog...please feel free to share your favorite seasonal recipies with me as well!
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