easy creamed spinach

saute garlic in olive oil.

stir in baby spinach + cream cheese.

add salt + pepper.

that’s it! yum.

 

cold packed pickled green beans

 

 

 

the beans are from Dominion Harvest.

cabbage boat

the inspiration: 2 perfect cabbage leaves saved from a slaw-stravaganza.

the filling: chilled spicy peanut asian noodles

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never too cold for ice cream

layers of this dream dessert:

breyers chocolate ice cream.

back to nature classic creme cookies.

heath bars.

breyers natural vanilla ice cream.

roasted vegetable lasagne

ginger basil mojito

the melding: ginger simple syrup –

muddled basil, instead of mint –

fancy club soda from the ABC store –

delicious, refreshing. recommend –

two things:

i love that there is dirt in my grocery bag. buying from farmers is tops.

i cannot believe i am going to the store for mint tomorrow. must plant it asap — no excuse. for the love of mojitos!

it’s CSA time!

and the most important lesson i’ve learned so far is that i love beets.

thank you Frog Bottom Farm! And thank you St. Stephens Market – what a great place to go each Saturday morning.

here are some shots of my take…

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isn’t it gorgeous? and how about that little boy playing with swiss chard? Q-T!

in the kitchen…

here are some recent events:

baked cod (wild caught, from tuckahoe seafood) – steamed in an LB signature foil packet. topped with diced tomatoes, dijon mustard and thyme. light + summery.

Homemade chocolate chip cookie dough. And cookies too – though the dough was the better snack. Made on a lark when 3 chicas were craving it as a topper to a vino evening. I packaged the leftover dough in wax paper rolls with twisted ends. The rolls made cute gifts.

First trip to The Market at St. Stephen’s. HOLY CRAP. that place is amazing. Some things we purchased: pickled carrots, dill relish, sugar snap peas, swiss chard, strawberries, clams, asparagus, salad greens, fresh garlic, + cheese straws. Everything was so good. Fresh. The best of flavors.

Check out that homegrown (by moi!) oregano in the bottom right of the asparagus photo. Our potted herb garden is doing great – should post some pics soon. Plants include: rosemary, basil, oregano and chives. C loves to smell them.

AAANNNNDDD — the biggest news from my favorite room…we’re installing a backsplash! Here are a couple teaser pics. Love LB is a tilemaster.

TTYS!

shroom sauce

my newest creation. i doubled this recipe for a family dinner last night. it served 6 big eaters with a bit left over.

1 pkg. white shrooms, sliced

1 lg yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

you don’t have to be too particular about the slicing/chopping because it will all be pureed after cooking. saute all in EVOO, salt & pepper.

in another pan, make a béchamel: melt 2 TBS butter over medium high heat, add 2 TBS flour and whisk until smooth. Turn the heat down and whisk in 1 cup of milk (i use whole milk because that’s what C drinks so i have it around). Cook and stir until it’s a good thickness.

Add the sauteed veggies to the béchamel and immersion blend to combine into a smooth sauce. Add veggie stock if you want to thin it a little. Serve over pasta (i used trader joe’s tagliatelle- LOVE it) cooked in heavily salted water.

{a tip from Ina Garten: add 2 TBS salt to pasta water.}

top with freshly grated parm and chopped chives.

it’s an earthy dish.