Every morning, during the week, for the last two months, I spend an hour in the garden. Weeding, mulching, stacking, pinching, watering, and harvesting.
I know that the garden is pretty...
But gardening is full of disappointments, joy, happiness, and drudgery. A garden always changes... What looked good last month... does not look good this month. I have learned to take the good with the bad.
But look at the harvest?
And you cannot imagine how wonderful they taste....
But who knew that gardening would require me to get a pedicure? Another benefit of gardening!!
The basil in the garden has gone crazy. So now is the time to start preserving summer's bounty. In addition, I am always looking for ways to bring summer flavor into the winter. Pesto is a fantastic way to add flavor to pasta, fish and appetizers.
To make it fresh and preserve it, I freeze my pesto. So here is my pesto recipe.
Pick and wash four cups of basil leaves.
Heat 1/2 c. of pine nuts in a dry saute pan until lightly brown.
Add nuts and process until blended.
Next add 1/2 c. of Parmesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic and 1/4 t. of salt. Pulse until blended.
With food processor on, add 1/2 c. olive oil in steady stream.
Place the pesto in ice cube trays and freeze.
Pop and place in a ziploc bag. You have a taste of summer all winter long.
When my daughter purchased her condominium, she and I wanted to transform the space into a modern, feminine and fashionable space. Shortly after she purchased the condo, she became engaged to her sweet fiance.
So we needed to tone down the feminine…. Darn it.
So as we finished painting, plastering, tiling and installing hardwood floors, we started scouring yard sales and Craigslist for pieces that would fit in with the hand-me downs hubby and I had given her.
One important piece we searched several months for was a china cabinet. Her kitchen is very small and a china cabinet would be an ideal place to store dishes and serving pieces.
Enter this beauty!! Curved drawers, pretty legs and plenty of storage without being too imposing. And very inexpensive.
We tested several colors.
Next, we sanded and primed the piece.
Next we picked a soft taupe color (Sherwin Williams Outerbanks) to tone down the feminine lines of the piece.
We painted the inside a soft green, a beautiful contrast to the taupe. (SW Celery) The green provided a beautiful background for my first set of dishes which I handed down, but also brightened the interior.
And the green sets of her first “engagement” present… Thank you Mary. My daughter loves Kate Spade and these candlesticks are gorgeous.
She can also display pictures…
Overall, she is thrilled with the results. A beautiful substantial piece of furniture that is feminine without being overly girly.
The table is painted the same color…. but wait to see what we have in store for the chairs!! You are going to love it.
I am participating in Just a Girl's Show and Share Day.
Oh my, the garden is keeping me really busy. I have tomatoes, peppers, herbs, cucumbers, and eggplants to freeze and can. Many things need to be sewn for the condo and at the end of the week, we are having a dinner party. Hubby is home on Thursday. So the beginning of the week are easy dishes and at the end of the week, a little more complicated.
Monday
Tacos
Tuesday
Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes
Tuna Salad
Tuna, 16 oz.
2 Stalks of Celery, diced
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
1/2 C. of Mayonnaise
Wednesday
Pork Lo Mein
1 pound of Pork Tenderloin, cut in bite-sized pieces
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic
1 t. of ginger, minced
1/4 t. of red pepper flakes
2 T. canola oil
2 c. snow peas
1 medium red pepper, julienned
3 c. cooked spaghetti
1/3 c. chicken broth
2 t. sesame oil
Marinate the pork in soy sauce, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes for about an hour. Heat oil in sauce pan. Sauté pork for about 5 minutes or until center is no longer pink. Add snow peas and peppers. Sauté about 1 minutes. Next add spaghetti, chicken broth and cook for another minute longer. Remove from heat and top with sesame oil.
