Hello, Again, Hello

Well, nothing like taking a 6 month vacation! But I'm back and can't wait to get caught up on all your blogs out there! Here is the number 1 reason I've been away.

This, of course, is Henry (at 16 months) enjoying some watermelon. I have been busy enjoying life with this little guy (he only lives 1/2 block away from grandma!). I have done some wool crafting (more on that in another post), but I have mainly been "green" crafting.  I've done a lot of container plants (both pots and barrels). Here are a few pictures to enjoy!

 Starting a strawberry patch.  Next year, though, I have to put a cover over the fence because the birds find these very yummy!

 Last year I planted a black raspberry bush and this year - my first crop!

 Some of my garden herbs: I've planted dill, parsley, cilantro, sage, basil, and rosemary.

 The grape tomatoes are coming along nicely. I can't wait for the first ripe ones!

A barrel full of cucs and yellow beans and grown-from-seed marigolds.

And a barrel full of carrots and a few indian corn stalks.

My daughter and I have also bought a CSA (community supported agriculture) share this year and here is our first box of veggies! We've got brocolli, radishes, lettuce, kholrabi, and kale.  The kale will be used this weekend to make kholrabi and cabbage coleslaw (recipe follows) and tonight we will try our hand at making kale chips!

This share also included some green onions (a bit bigger than the store bought kind!). That's Henry playing with some wooden refrigerator magnets that I made him the other day.

The kitties are doing fine.  Here is Oscar lounging around!

Well, I have much more to say but it can wait for another day.  Enjoy your morning and weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there (the world needs more of them).  Here are the recipes I mentioned before:

Kohlrabi Slaw

2 cups chopped cabbage

4 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and grated

2 stalks celery, sliced thin

2 carrots, sliced thin

2 tablespoons minced fresh onion

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon celery seed

1/2 cup mayonnaise

4 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Toss the cabbage, kohlrabi, celery, carrot, and onion together in a large bowl. Whisk the sugar, salt, pepper, celery seed, mayonnaise, and vinegar together in a separate bowl until smooth; pour over the cabbage mixture and stir to coat evenly. Chill in refrigerator 1 hour before serving. Recipe courtesy of Bass Farms (http://bassfarms.blogspot.com/).

Kale Chips

1 bunch kale

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1 pinch sea salt, to taste

Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

Cut away inner ribs from each kale leaf and discard; tear the leaves into pieces of uniform size. (I made my pieces about the size of a small potato chip.) Wash torn kale pieces and spin dry in a salad spinner or dry with paper towels until they're very dry. Put the kale pieces into a large resealable bag (or use a bowl if you don't mind getting your hands oily). Add about half the olive oil; seal and squeeze the bag so the oil gets distributed evenly on the kale pieces. Add the remaining oil and squeeze the bag more, until all kale pieces are evenly coated with oil and slightly 'massaged.' Sprinkle the vinegar over the kale leaves, reseal the bag, and shake to spread the vinegar evenly over the leaves. Spread the leaves evenly onto a baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven until mostly crisp, about 35 minutes. Season with salt and serve immediately. Recipe courtesy of Bass Farms (http://bassfarms.blogspot.com/).

Have a great day and don't forget to hug your kitties and your grandkids today!