Breakfast Al Fresco

My favorite time of day. Early mornings before it gets hot outside. The birds are singing, the squirrels and rabbits are running around, and my neighbor’s dog comes by to say Hi, before fruitlessly continuing his rabbit chasing in the meadow.

This week the Kousa dogwoods are blooming.

They are heavy with blossoms and I baby those trees to keep them from having breaking limbs. We have them pruned, along with the Japanese lace maples, and the crepe myrtles every other year, in order to keep them healthy. They are my privacy screen from my neighbor’s driveway and they allow me to sit out in the morning in peace and solitude.

Friday I went out to have coffee and fill the feeders.

No, that isn’t wine for breakfast. It is hummingbird nectar in a wine bottle. My feeder uses a recycled bottle as the vessel with a copper wire and a cap. A little tricky to assemble but easier to clean.

The empty messy feeder. Pop off the cap. Rinse and throw the bottle in the blue bin. Clean the cap. Reassemble with a new bottle and you have happy hummingbirds.

Notice the double sided sticky tape ant trap. I have to get a permanent ant barrier, but so far this works. We have a hummingbird family who comes every summer and hangs out in my flowers, and my next door neighbor, too. We both have feeders for them.

As for the squirrel log, and the suet, we try to keep the squirrels from the bird food, and it usually works. I give them one of these logs and one unprotected suet but keep the high protein good birdfood away from them. The birds are busy feeding babies, and they are very active. I have a couple of feeders full of nuts, safflower and sunflower chips and cracked corn. It goes fast this time of year and then slows down once the trees and bushes start getting seeds and berries.

While there, one of the younger chickadees came to visit.

There was also a very young house sparrow hopping everywhere, but too quick for me to capture. Two days before, a very young sparrow was unsuccessfully trying to fly high enough to make it to the feeder. Unsuccessful then, but eventually they get the hang of it.

I did wander down to check on my garden and found my first blossoms on the yellow plum tomato.

The tomatoes have survived their planting shock and are doing well. I cluster plant them along the fence, with small cages and then use string and poles to keep them aloft. I find that the support system works better than really huge cages. At least in the area where I plant.

I also noticed while sitting out there that the sage and rosemary bushes are spreading so much they are no longer separate. They have been there three years now. They somehow survived snowmageddon in 2010. I am getting huge beautiful sage leaves, big enough to look really nice as fried sage to decorate gnocchi.

Breakfast on the patio. A lovely way to start the day. Cheers!

The Garden Is In!

Done. Finished. Well almost. I still have to mulch tomorrow. But all the plants are in. In Howard County, the rule of thumb is don’t plant tomatoes until Mother’s Day. No frosts in the county and hopefully temps that will stay above fifty degrees.

I am experimenting this year. Part will be heavily mulched, and part has black fabric with light mulch. Mulch tomorrow and a light input of food, and I am done. The rain the next few days should establish the plants.

As for my herb garden, it is going gangbusters. The sage is huge and is flowering.

The English thyme that overwintered came back with a vengeance.

All the other plants are doing well. I put in 32 tomato plants today. I may be selling tomatoes on street corners in August, but who cares. If they all don’t make it, at least what does, will keep me happy through the summer, fall and winter. I will be freezing and canning.

As for current goodies, tonight we had plum tomatoes from David’s stuffed with homemade pesto. A hearty, killer pesto made with greens from the CSA, walnuts, parmesan and olive oil. Not that pretty, but so tasty.

I low temp roasted some wild ahi and served it with the tomatoes and some cremini stuffed with this pesto. The greens in the pesto included Persian cress, turnip greens and curly parsley from my CSA delivery.

We opened an old local wine.

Breaux is about an hour away, just south of Harper’s Ferry. This 1999 Cabernet was still doing very well for its age. It had the berry taste that the back label described, even after 13 years. The smoky oak was still there. DH swore he picked up the anise that the label described, but I didn’t. All in all, a softer version of a young cab, perfect to compliment big, tomatoey tuna with a pesto that stood up and said, look at me.

Walnuts in pesto will do that.

hocofood@@@

A Day Trip to Lancaster

It was way too nice out to stay home. We decided to play hooky from yard work and spring cleaning and head out for a leisurely back roads drive to one of our favorite destinations, Lancaster.

We intended to drive by a few of the Amish barn, shed and outbuilding companies and also hit the Central Market. We got a late start so bagged the first part and just lingered on the second.

Ever since I was little my parents would take weekend drives with us, taking us to parks, cities, towns, whatever, just because they liked exploring. I don’t know when I first entered this building with them, but I was pretty small.

The building is really hidden now, as the city skyline changes around it. I keep forgetting where to turn to find the nearest parking.

You have to navigate carefully to get in this back way, but it puts your car really close so you can bring things out and wander the streets.

I did not take pics inside, as not to offend any of the Amish who don’t wish to have pictures taken of them. It is hard to selectively take pics and not get an inadvertent image. I respect their wishes so put the camera away. We hit many of our favorite stands, like Clyde Weavers for bacon and smoked kielbo.

I had to get goat cheese feta and mozzarella. These are not made by our local goat cheese purveyors and they are so good, and lactose free.

To use with the mozzarella, one of the stands was offering home grown, greenhouse ripened tomatoes. So much better looking than supermarket tomatoes, and cheaper than those sold at Silver Spring Market, or at Roots.

With the mozzarella, the tomatoes, and basil from Mock’s last Saturday, it looks like a Caprese salad some night soon. We had a snack, then wandered the new shops behind and across from the market. We couldn’t resist trying this, in lieu of making a sangria for a get together with friends. We needed something fun and low alcohol to complement spicy wings. This wine should do it. The PA wines made from fruits are fun, summertime light wines.

These two bottle packs are eco friendly, and the wines are just fun. We don’t always want heavy wines in the hot weather, and this one is a treat. The winery is just outside Lancaster, and they source the fruit from all over. This wine is slightly sweet, but the winery also makes dry varieties of wine. Nice people, a friendly tasting room, and we had a relaxing day riding the back roads of PA and MD. What we got today should tide us over until our Sandy Spring CSA starts next Thursday. We got an email today with specifics, including the first two picnics at the Amish farms near Lancaster. In May and June. Can’t wait.

Visiting Alex’s Snowball Stand in Lisbon … And Other Random Thoughts on West County Activities

Yesterday morning I posted that we would be going out to Sharp’s Farm to buy plants. While we were out, my husband wanted to try the snowball stand in Lisbon to see how they measure up to Woodstock, his favorite place for summer treats.

We spent about 30-45 minutes picking out plugs at Sharp’s, and it is warm and humid in the greenhouses, so a snowball sounded good.

After we settled up, I carefully wedged the plants in the back of the truck, I didn’t want them sliding around in the bed of the pickup. As you notice in this picture, these are not the two dozen flower plugs I bought, these are the pole beans, cucumbers and a few more exotic varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Somehow they enticed me, and now I need to rethink what goes where in the garden. The 3 inch pots at Sharp’s are only $1.50, a very good price for plants this large.

So, where are the snowballs? They are here.

They also sell ice cream and Nathan’s hot dogs. They have a children’s play area around back.

They are on the circle in Lisbon just up from the Town Grill and on the way to Larriland Farms. A really convenient spot to stop for a cooling ice cream or snowball after picking strawberries this May.

On the way home we stopped into Western Regional Park to see how it had grown. There are now five miles of trails in the park, paved and natural surfaces.

Weekends in West County. You also have lots of options for picnics. There are three locations where you can pick up foods to go and have a day in this less crowded Howard County park.

There is Vittorio’s.

Casual Gourmet.

And, Smokin’ Hot.

All in all, a good trip today. I am monitoring the updates on when the strawberries will be ready to pick at Larriland. In the meantime, my husband gave his egg custard snowball from Alex’s a thumbs up, for putting more than enough flavoring in it, and for the taste. We will be going back.

hocofood@@@

Earth Day Here and There

Tomorrow is Earth Day, but today the Conservancy was hosting dozens of volunteers and visitors for service projects, a plant sale by the Master Gardeners, a birding hike, and crafts projects for the little ones.

The wheel barrows were loaded and ready to go out for tree planting.

The parking lot was full of cars, on a lovely morning that cleared up to make it easy to work. Thankfully, it didn’t rain on the projects.

WR Grace brought out a group of volunteers to put in plants and mulch the entrance area, right on Old Frederick Rd. Everybody was hard at work. The Conservancy greatly appreciates their dedicated volunteers that come out to help.

I bought a few more tomato plants from the Master Gardeners. I couldn’t resist. I got two red fig and two pineapple plants. Yes, these are tomatoes. Interesting rare varieties. The red fig dates back to the 1700s, and is a pear shaped tomato. The pineapple tomato is one of my favorites. In talking to the gardeners, they said many of their heirloom seeds come from Baker Creek, which is the source for this picture.

After I left there, I ran over to TLV Tree Farms to pick up herbs for my garden. At Greenfest last week, I told them I would come out during their Saturday hours (10am – 2PM) and pick up what I needed to fill in my herb garden with new annuals and a few perennials that are getting ragged.

While there, I did pick up a couple of New York Strip Steaks to grill if the weather holds. MD steaks marinating in MD wine. What could be better?

I put the three varieties of thyme in the ground this afternoon, and left the lavender sitting in the pots until I position the basil, tarragon and marjoram that isn’t hearty enough to plant yet.

English, creeping and silver queen thyme

Lavender waiting to be planted, keeping the mint company

I also wandered around to document the blooming of my bank of azaleas along the north side of the house. They are almost the last to bloom. One more area in the northeast corner still isn’t ready. These that bloomed today are brilliant red, and some of my favorites.

What a beautiful spring day in the county. One more pic of the azaleas, because they are so brilliant. Go out and plant something!

hocoblogs@@@

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

Heirloom tomatoes.

They make me do my happy dance. I rode out to Sharp’s Farm this morning, the first morning the greenhouses are open. You have to go early to get some of the most exotic heirlooms. They are sold to many places like Brookside Gardens, the Master Gardeners and the Conservancy community gardeners, just to name a few. If you go during the first few days, you can score things like:

Chocolate Stripes
Legend
Paul Robeson

There are others. I forget how many. I believe they planted 35 varieties of heirloom tomatoes from seeds. They also have standard tomato plants, like Early Girl and Supersweet 100s.

I love the farm. I could wander around for hours.

The greenhouses are open Tuesday through Sunday. Check the hours on the web site. As I was leaving, school buses were rolling in for a field trip.

I came home and messed around a little with the heirlooms and put a few plugs of the herbs in a planter. I will be getting more once I check with my neighbor who wants what.

These plugs are Legend, Hillbilly and Chocolate Stripes, all will be put in the ground in two weeks. Right now, I will keep them out in the day and protect them in storms and wind.

It truly is spring when I get my tomato fix. Just brushing the leaves and getting the scent of tomato plants makes the anticipation of the coming harvest, two months away, even more exciting. Just think. All this waxing poetic about little green things that go in the ground.

When I came home, I harvested three wild asparagus stalks. Two more tomorrow and there will be asparagus on the menu tomorrow night.

If you want affordable plants, and can grow from plugs, you can’t beat going to Sharp’s. Or, get the pots. I got eight basil plants to go in the herb garden. All sorts of varieties. Great place to visit. And, don’t trust the sign. They hadn’t gotten up to change it at 10 am, when they opened.

hocofood@@@

Simple Pleasures: A Local Dinner

After the holiday meals, sometimes a simple dinner is the best. We wanted a quick meal before my husband went off to his evening teaching position. Even though the Dark Days Challenge is over, I am still cooking locally when I can.

Today was a simple meal from almost 100% locally sourced items. Only the white chard, Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper were not from MD or VA. The chard was bought at Roots, though.

We had stopped at Roots so I could get free range chicken to make soup tomorrow, and some Aranciata to make Meyer Lemon Basil Fizz cocktails for a get together this weekend. Roots didn’t have Meyer lemons though. I need to find a source, maybe Harris Teeter or Trader Joe’s.

I had scallions and garlic from the CSA. Leftover VA country ham that my brother sent home with me as a care package last night. Eggs run wild, from the CSA, that need to be used. Goat cheese from Firefly Farms. I roasted beets from the CSA the other day. And, I bought some local hydroponic tomatoes at Roots, from Hummingbird Farms.

The makings of this meal.

Served with an award winning Viognier from Breaux Vineyards just south of Harper’s Ferry (but in VA not WV). Lovely restrained Viognier, which is one of those wines that just does very well in this part of the country. Crisp, acidic, but not too much, a perfect glass to accompany a rich omelet.

Later this evening we may indulge in another local treat, Rhebs Easter candy. My mom always gives us a box of Rhebs, from Baltimore. Their butter creams are to die for.

hocofood@@@

Growing Heirloom Tomatoes

At the market last weekend, I saw at Mock’s Greenhouse the heirloom varieties that they grow year round in their greenhouses. They were selling for $6 a box. Head into Root’s and see heirlooms from the Eastern Shore at Hummingbird, $5 a pound. The prices will drop in the summer, yes, but not that much.

You can find heirlooms at all our farmer’s markets but again, you pay a premium to buy tomatoes that taste like tomatoes. They will be more reasonable than at the store, but still higher than beefsteak or early girl or any of the hybrid tomatoes grown around here.

So, to get the most bang for your buck, growing them yourself is definitely the way to go. I did my first heirloom plantings in 2007, and didn’t do well but got some green zebras and Brandywines to grow.

In 2009, I bought a few more varieties and tried them out in the garden. The typical Brandywine and Rutger’s, plus a Mr. Stripey and Green Zebra again. Entered the fair for the first time and learned a bit on the need to plant more exotic varieties, like the pineapple that won that year.

It was 2010 that I got serious about planting them, and started Purple Calabash from seed. I bought the seeds at Monticello. With those tomatoes, I was hooked big time. I even got my first ribbon at the county fair for them. OK, so it was fourth place, but it was a ribbon.

In the garden that year, I also had the Brandywine and Rutger’s as they produced lots of tomatoes through the fall. These are long producting, indeterminate plants, meaning they will continue to produce for weeks, even months, when the weather cooperates. I took the last ones off the vines in October, still green, and put them away, wrapped in newspaper, in the laundry room, where it was warm. I was still eating fresh tomatoes from my garden at Thanksgiving that year. The pic below shows some of my calabash and one of my Rutger’s from September of that year.

In 2011, I tried a few from seeds again. Mortgage Lifter and Big Rainbow. I wanted to try and enter the largest tomato category in the fair, and also hoped my Big Rainbow would get me another ribbon. The rain in July and August really hurt me, in terms of taste. What was really interesting in what I bought and planted was the single yellow pear tomato plant, that turned into the godzilla of my garden.

That single yellow pear plant produced dozens of tomatoes every day for months. I was taking 40-50 tomatoes a day at its peak. I was oven drying them to make chutneys and spreads. I flash froze a few bags to see how they would do. They were great in vinaigrettes and sauces. If you have nothing but a balcony, get thee to a nursery and find a yellow pear tomato plant to put in a pot. You will not be disappointed as long as you remember to water it if it is hot and dry this summer.

Because of all the renovations at the house this summer, I can’t find any pics of the yellow pears. I was giving them away to the workmen on site all during August and September, I had so many red cherry tomatoes and yellow pears. I did find this pic from 2009 that showed a day’s haul from two cherry tomato plants. This is a typical amount harvested.

As for the fair in 2011, I didn’t do well. The big rainbows ended up not really producing until September, too late for the fair. The early mortgage lifters weren’t big enough to put in the largest tomato category, and they were too watery to win in the heirloom category. Lesson learned. Mother Nature can take you down in a heartbeat.

Here is my biggest big rainbow. At 1 1/2 pounds, it was a pound too light to have won.

My mortgage lifter at the fair. Looked good. Tasted, eh, too watery. The later harvested tomatoes that grew in late September and early October had much better acid and taste.

This is the heirloom that won. See, you can look ugly as an heirloom, taste great and win. Another lesson learned. Don’t worry about stink bug marks. Grow a tasty tomato.

I still have the heirloom tomato growing addiction. I will be over at Sharp’s Farm this April looking for exotic varieties to bring home and plant. I couldn’t really do things from seed this year, with the surgery, so am opting to buy seedlings from Denise. Head over to the farm if you want to grow your own, or pick up a few plants at the Howard County Farmer’s Markets in May. May is the time to put them in the ground, or on your deck, in this part of the country.

To me, nothing says summer like my first gazpacho, made with my tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. And, if you don’t have the space to grow your own, there is always Larriland to pick them yourself.

hocofood@@@

Feeding My Farmer’s Market Addiction in Silver Spring

It’s been two months since I set foot in a farmer’s market. I think I was having withdrawal symptoms, so I coerced persuaded my better half to drive me down to Silver Spring this morning. I can drive now, but can’t carry. I suppose that if I went by myself I might buy less, but there’s no fun in that.

I decided to issue myself a personal challenge. That is, not to set foot in Giant, Safeway, Food Lion or Weis for the next six months unless I absolutely have to. There are just a few things not available elsewhere that I buy in the grocery store.

My goal is to use CSA, farmers’ markets, Boarman’s, local veggie stands, small businesses, family owned businesses (have to say this to sneak in Wegman’s), pick your own farms, and everything else I can think of that will provide me mostly real food instead of processed.

I will keep track of what I do and use the blog to discuss how well I am doing in really changing my diet to eliminate more and more of the processed foods. Today was the beginning of stocking up on fresh foods, and clearing out the pantry and fridge of the processed stuff.

We arrived around 11 am and the first thing you see is the Atwater’s truck.

I had to pick up a loaf of kalamata olive bread to serve with the last chicken noodle soup out of the freezer tonight. We had demolished the two loaves we bought last week in Catonsville, partially by taking some to friends for dinner last night.

We got apples, spring onions and chard from Spring Valley. It is so good to see spring onions. I love them with microgreens, like the ones in yesterday’s CSA delivery. Down to Firefly Farms for cheese, and Mock’s Greenhouses for the wonderful cherry tomatoes, hydroponcially grown basil and arugula.

I am going to make my own flatbread dough with the Union Mills flour I picked up at Breezy Willow a while ago, and put arugula, bleu cheese and Boarman’s sausage on it one night next week. The hydroponic greens and the high tunnel cherry tomatoes from Mock’s are a hint of what is to come in summer. The basil is intensely scented, making me want to create a caprese salad if only I had some fresh mozzarella. The tomatoes burst with flavor and you wouldn’t know they were “hothouse” tomatoes unless someone told you.

I was talking to them and yes, they will be a supplier to Wegman’s in Columbia just like they are in Frederick. Woo Hoo! Their bibb lettuce is incredibly sweet and delicious but today I already had containers full of greens and spinach at home from the CSA. This week we will be feasting on fresh salads.

Stopped at Garden Path Farms to pick up short ribs to use in the crockpot tomorrow with the chard bought at Spring Valley and the CSA mustard greens.

Soaking cranberry beans from MOM’s overnight tonight, so dinner will be greens, beans and ribs in the slow cooker. I will use the last pint of my turkey stock from the freezer to make this. Another real food dinner made from scratch.

After picking up these goodies, we hit Lebanese Taverna for a kafta sandwich. There are so many interesting restaurants on Ellsworth just behind City Place. Want Pho? Peri Peri? Thai? Lebanese? Potbelly Sandwiches? The list is endless. 100+ restaurants in the surrounding area. Free parking in the Wayne Avenue garage. A Whole Foods across from the parking garage as well in case you aren’t already shopped out.

Take a cooler in your trunk. Hit the market. Next week they go back to spring hours. From 9 am to 1 pm. Have breakfast, brunch or lunch and get in shape for our markets to open in six weeks. Can’t beat fresh veggies, meats, cheeses, eggs and fruit from area farmers.

And follow me on my GGSAC* journey. The *Great Grocery Store Avoidance Challenge*.

hocofood@@@

The Official First Day of Spring

So, today officially spring begins even though it has been evident for days that the calendar and the flowers, trees and shrubs have already synched up.

The tulips in our yard are up. In Columbia, where I went today for a doctor’s appointment, they are already way ahead of us in terms of the color all around. We are a few degrees cooler and a few hundred feet higher in elevation than Columbia.

To me, my favorite thing to celebrate spring is fennel salad. Light and tart, full of the delicacy of the baby fennel, the tartness of juice oranges, and bite of red onion, I love making this every spring.

It will be dressed with the best olive oil I have, and sprinkled with sea salt and white pepper.

My other favorite thing to cook in spring is asparagus. We have wild asparagus growing out under our crepe myrtles. I keep going out there to look for it, but it usually doesn’t show up until mid April. Just checking to see if the warm weather has hastened the sprouting of them, but no luck yet. Asparagus frittata, yum!

As for my trip to Roots the other day, I had to indulge in Hummingbird Farms tomatoes, from their hydroponic plantings. I know I really should eat tomatoes in season to get the best tasting tomatoes, but these beauties just called to me from the case.

I think they will be sliced open and served with Cherry Glen Gold goat cheese. Drizzled with St. Helena Olive Oil’s lemon infused oil, and some herbs de Provence. Truly a spring time pleasure.

Add to all that, my husband insisted on picking this up at MOM’s yesterday.

Their web site says it is mild. They lied.

I think it needs something to mix it with, and serve it with grilled lamb kebabs maybe. I know, maybe I need to use this Treuth skirt steak.

All this great weather inspires me to get out and grill.

hocofood@@@