Veggie Garden-June Update

Well, almost everything is in. I still want to get some eggplant, onions, and some more herbs, but as of right now we have planted:

Pickling Cucumber

Burpless Cucumber

Butternut Squash

New England Sugar Pie Pumpkin

Baby Blue Hubbard Squash

Watermelon

Sugar Snap Peas

Red Bell Pepper

Green Bell Pepper

Yellow Banana Pepper

Zucchini

Parsley

Basil

and 7 varieties of tomato

Steven wondered if it's a little overkill on the tomatoes, but since all but one of the varieties were started at home from heirloom seeds, I wasn't quite sure how many would germinate or how well they'll produce.

While there's plenty more work to be done, it's nice to see the improvements since we moved in almost TWO YEARS AGO. (Where has the time gone???)

Changes/additions since last year include rototilling the remaining jungle-esque portion of the bed, removing an errant Norway maple tree, and adding a compost tumbler. We also split the bed up into 4'x4' mini beds (a la Square Foot Gardening) with a straw lined center aisle, and will be adding some trellising along the northern perimeter to try and grow the cucurbits vertically. We added a significant amount of organic matter by tilling in last year's mulched leaves and compost purchased in bulk, but I still think the soil is a little..bleh...so we plan to do this yearly.

I'm happy to report that there are already quite a few veggie plants blooming and/or sporting little baby veggies, so I'm hoping this year brings a bountiful harvest. (All I'm asking for is improvement over last year...and some fun, funky tomatoes!)

New Catch All Tray

Until recently, it was not at all uncommon for Steven & I to spend (waste) some time hunting for keys, glasses, phones, etc. before managing to get out the door. Well, now we have a solution.

I've been seeing other bloggers' posts about having "catch all" containers (HERE, HERE, and HERE, for example) so when I saw this silver plated tray at a yard sale recently I immediately considered it for the job. As soon as I picked it up for a closer look, the seller declared "I'll take $2 for that..." and that was all I needed to hear.

A little silver polish, and voila!

My little $2 steal cleans up nice, don't you think? Style, function, and a bargain all rolled into one...sweet.

Dining Room featured on Favorite Paint Colors!

I'm rather flattered to report that pictures of our dining room were featured on Favorite Paint Colors, a blog about, you guessed it, paint colors! It's a great resource for real life inspiration pics and as Steven & I are regular readers, we're quite excited to see our Sharkey Gray by Martha Stewart walls included among all the other beautifully painted rooms.

Many thanks to Kristin for posting our dining room!

Shrimp, Lemon, & Pea Risotto and a Request

Lately I've been thinking that I really need to develop a better repertoire of light fresh summer meals. Recipes more exciting and substantial than say, salads...that still capitalize on the availability of good produce and require only minimal stove time.

Right now our summer dinner staples include:

1) Healthy Tacos-healthy(er) modifications include using ground chicken or turkey, mixing our own taco seasoning (ever read the ingredients list on the packets?), baby spinach instead of iceberg, and adding avocado. Steven has even given up his beloved "liquid nacho cheese product" as part of this healthier makeover.

2) Greek Wraps (a la this post)-mostly veggies with feta and spiced meat, pushed squarely into the light & fresh category by the presence of freshly made tzatziki.

3) Pesto/Caprese Pasta-whole wheat thin spaghetti with fresh homemade pesto, grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella bites, and a variety of other fresh veg...usually sweet peppers, summer squash, and baby spinach.

And, uhhhh, that's pretty much it. Need...more...recipes!!!

Trying to branch out, I whipped up a light lemony risotto the other night. (It's a rip off of one of the best dishes on the menu at CAV.) I just cooked the risotto and added shrimp, julienned peas, lemon zest, grated parmesan, and a healthy dose of black pepper.

Definitely light and fresh (the lemon takes a bow) and easy enough to make on a hot day. Woo hoo, a fourth recipe!

So here is the request part of the post: please share your favorite summer recipes! I need inspiration! Anything fresh & light, while substantial enough to sustain a hardworking DIYer like Steven, not to mention his somewhat less hardworking assistant, moi. Keep us from eating pesto pasta every night, because there is definitely such a phenomenon as too much of a good thing!

Thanks! ~LT

Summer Reading

1) Some chick lit (i.e.-junk food for the brain)

2) Years of working in science and I know that HeLa cells are a staple of laboratory research, but I never even considered their provenance. This New York Times bestseller tells the story of the woman, Henrietta Lacks, from whom they were collected.

3) I've heard a lot of people say that they love Emily Giffin's books, but don't think I've ever read one. This title was the only book of hers available at my library...a testament to their popularity?

4) Of obvious appeal.

5) Yes, I'm going to try and be crafty. Roman shades, curtains, and redoing an old rocking chair are the top projects on the list.

Spring Flowers

I am excited to report that spring made a much more dramatic showing in our yard this year compared to last. I'm not sure why, but there were more blooms on nearly every plant and shrub in the yard...and in some cases, we saw flowers on plants that were complete duds last year.

Was it some factor about the weather, the heavy snow blanket for much of the winter, or perhaps our somewhat distracted but nonetheless earnest efforts to weed and compost last year?

Either way, we had tulips spring up that we definitely did not see last year, more prolific oriental poppy blooms, and new lupines appear. Even the crabapple tree, which we had concluded was dead when we first moved in, burst forth with a full canopy of pink flowers.

Here are some other highlights:

*The bearded irises split from my mother's garden and planted near our side door last summer apparently like their new home. The purple ones smell like concord grapes!*

*These deep red roses next to the garage have a ton more buds this year, and thus far have been spared any aphid attack*

*We have more white peonies than either of the pink varieties, and they make such a stunning impact when cut and arranged in a vase.*

(Like that vase? I picked it up for less than $10 at a glass factory in the Czech Republic nearly 10 years ago, and it is one of my favorite possessions. I finally dug it out of the attic this spring and put it center stage where it belongs.)

*The foxglove, which is not typically a favorite of mine, won me over this year*

*Our deep pink peonies hardly did anything last year...just a few small, late blooms. This year was a different story. There must be at least four times the flowers, and they're much bigger. LOVE. Incidentally, I just realized that we only have one light pink peony bush (probably a Sarah Bernhardt?) in the yard. I think we could use a couple more.*

(Another vase related note: I just scored this milk glass cutie at a yard sale for 50 cents! :)

*Last year, I found a tiny fledgling lupine that had sprouted next to our driveway and transplanted it with some compost & TLC. It's about a billion times bigger this year, and much to my surprise, it's PINK!*

*The catmint Steven planted in front of the house last summer is crazy happy. As are the cats if we bring them in a little sprig.*

*And here's one of my faves: an old rose bush with gorgeously full flowers and an amazing scent. Steven pruned the bajeezus out of it last year and it's really paid off. Tons of buds!*

Very happy with the yard this year!

~LT

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

When spring finally comes around, I'm always excited for the roll out of seasonal produce. Asparagus, peas, rhubarb, etc...first ones to the party, ushering in the warmer weather and finally bringing back that fresh produce taste that is so elusive during the winter. Yum. So after coming across this unconventional pizza recipe multiple times (HERE and HERE), I decided to give it a shot. While it was a total pain in the neck to shave asparagus (at least with my peeler), the lighter texture is definitely worth the effort. Steven loved it, and he doesn't really like asparagus all that much...which is why I made a Plan B half of the pizza, just in case, LOL.

And in keeping with the spring theme...a little spring cleaning tidbit for anyone else who gets as excited about sorting as nerdy little LT: a great organization post @ Centsational Girl.

Nesting Instinct & New Vintage Finds

Okay, so Steven & I have both had a mini-meltdown about how bare the renovated rooms in our house are. When we finished the downstairs rooms last December, we figured that we'd find and accumulate accessories, wall decor, etc. bit-by-bit as time went by.

So here it is, 4 months later, and the rooms are still a barren tundra of emptiness! (Save the china cabinet, the wave painting from my mom, and Steven's heirloom wall clock.) We like a clean, crisp, not-too-busy look...but this is ridiculous. And it's not that we haven't been trying...we've hit a couple estate sales (duds), I regularly peruse vintage housewares on Etsy, and Steven...well, let's just say he logs in a lot of time trolling Craigslist for goodies.

Since there's been quite a drought, we decided to turn up the heat a little bit and make it a point to go shopping for house stuff.

On our excursion last weekend, we checked out Wrentham Country Store, as well as a couple of other antique shops in Wrentham. I did not hesitate to scoop scoop scoop when I saw this milk glass compote on clearance for $12 at Wrentham Antiques (which otherwise, was not our type of shopping establishment. Read: furniture costing thousands of dollars).

I just love it, and decided to put it to use immediately as part of a little Spring-inspired centerpiece.

I just picked up some paper mache eggs at Micheal's and painted them with a leftover paint sample from the bathroom renovation. (Santorini Blue by Benjamin Moore. And yes, we did just pick that color for the name of it! ;) It was too dark for the bathroom, but makes for lovely little Easter eggs, which I nestled in some shredded chestnut, also picked up at Michael's.

During our visit to the country store, I picked up this vintage milk glass nesting hen for $15. Another LOVE. How cute and springy is she?

And she's got quite a clutch under there, too! :)

We also picked up some other goodies, which I'll share in a future post. Hopefully this successful shopping trip turns the tides and we can actually decorate a bit in the upcoming months!

Happy Spring!

~LT

Ricotta Tart with Dried Fruit Compote

Steven and I had fantastic date night in Boston's North End a couple weeks ago to celebrate my 30th (!!!) birthday. After a cozy dinner at my favorite Hanover Street restaurant, we stopped for gelati, and after that grabbed some sweet treats from Modern Pastry to bring home. (Yes, we were going full tilt. I hadn't been to the North End in ages!)

At the bakery, Steven was a lucky ducky and managed to get the second to last piece of one of his favorite North End staples, ricotta pie. All of his ooohing and aaahing got me thinking...why not try and make it at home?

Alas, before I came across a recipe for a traditional ricotta pie, I was distracted by this ricotta tart recipe from Epicurious.

The tart itself was super yummy (though the inclusion of cream cheese in the recipe made the texture a little more "cheesecake" than "ricotta tart") and while I appreciated the dried fruit compote, Steven did not love the wine flavor nor the seeds. So, being the clever hubby that he is, he decided to forgo the compote and opted for butterscotch caramel sauce instead. (As in, the one intended for ice cream sundaes.)

Call me a plebeian...but it did taste even better. :)

House Plants and Indoor Air Quality

After reading a post on A Country Farmhouse where Trina shares this little note from her mother...

we checked this book out of the library:

It was very informative and I was amazed and inspired when I read about how fantastic plants are at filtering the air in your home or office and removing airborne pollutants! The book covers 50 houseplants, describing their preferred conditions, transpiration pace, and rates their effectiveness at clearing chemicals from the home. I can definitely see myself checking this book out periodically to review the ratings and add some plants to our home.

(That I hopefully will not kill.)

With so many causes of indoor air pollution being attributed to home improvement materials (paint, caulk, polyurethane!) and new purchases for the home (area rugs, furniture!), we definitely felt it would be a good idea to start adding some green life into the house and picked up some house plants...

*Like our Ponytail Palm*

*And Dracaena-a top scorer when it comes to air purification*

We also have a Ficus that is waiting to be repotted.

(TJMaxx & Homegoods have been failing us lately and we haven't found a good pot yet!)

And we have these guys also making a temporary contribution...

*The impatiens, after its annual haircut*

*And lastly, a poinsettia that somehow has survived since November--

mine are usually a-goner by early February...*

We hope to keep adding to the herd as we finish more rooms--these guys are all doing double duty as decoration and purifiers. What more can we ask for?

If you're interested in learning more about how houseplants can improve the air quality in your home, you can check out the simple guidebook described above or take a peek at this quick guide to 10 Magical Air Cleaning Plants that I thought was pretty good.