Up to my ears in Strawberries!

After joining the Live Earth Farm CSA, I discovered that they offer "Community Days" several times through the season. During the community days, they offer tours of the farm, hedgerow plantings and U-pick opportunities. For the U-Pick, they might offer Strawberry, Raspberry, Apricots, Apples, Watermelon, Pumpkins and more. They even let visitors come down on Friday nights and camp out on the farm!

On Saturday morning, Brittany, Keira, Grandma Dub and I headed off to the farm. We gathered our baskets, gloves and hats and hiked down to the strawberry fields. We were warned that the walk to the fields would take about 30 minutes, however I had no idea that it was all downhill. (Not a problem going down, but returning with a couple full flats of berries was a different story!)

I have never seen such beautiful strawberries.... perfectly ripe for the picking! Many of the children in the field sat happily picking and eating berry after berry! They all wore the tell tale red stained mouth, cheeks and fingers giving them away!
Keira thoroughly enjoyed picking them, but rather than eat them, she was excited to fill our baskets.... as did the rest of us!


After we quickly filled the first flat, we decided to get another.... after all, $15 for a full flat of organic strawberries is unheard of around here! We had visions of jams, ice cream, margaritas, and smoothies in our heads! After filling the second flat, we headed off to the staging area for the tractor ride to the top of the hill. We quickly decided that the wait was longer and the exercise would be welcome! (We had quite a few strawberries to work off!) The hike back was a little tougher, but we still ended up reaching the top before the first load of tractor passengers and we were on a time schedule; Brittany had to be at work soon.

Once we got back to Grandma Dub's house and saw Brittany off to work, we started the task of washing, hulling and mashing strawberries. During this time, I also made my batch of bread for the week. This was by far the best batch yet! Warm weather and fresh yeast! What a glorious combination!
We ended up making 3 different kinds of freezer Jam. Option 1. Low Sugar, Option 2. Liquid Pecton with Lemon, Option 3. Liquid Pecton with lemon with 10 minute resting period. Option 4. Cooked Jam (shown below).

We also ended up with 3 gallon sized freezer bags full of frozen strawberries, perfect for smoothies and Margaritas. After several hours, 24 - 8 ounce bottles/containers of jam we were still left with 4 or 5 baskets of strawberries. We hulled and sliced a couple baskets to use for strawberry shortcake and ice cream, but those would have to wait till tomorrow. Mom and I could hardly stand to be on our feet any longer, Keira was starving, and she and I needed to get home.

It was a great day! Next time around, I hope to have a few more sisters around to help with the post picking process, but Mom and I survived... and we had a great time together!

What a beautiful spread!

We picked up our first CSA share this afternoon. Wow, I'm glad that we're sharing this with Mom.... cause right now, I don't think that the 3 of us could eat all of this in a week if we didn't. I do hope to start incorporating more vegetables into our diet... but for now we get our 3 - 4 servings of greens and a couple servings of fruit.

The spread this week is beautiful! There are things that I've never had before... that I haven't cooked before, that I wasn't quite sure what they were. Everything we got though.. I am excited to try. Here's what we received this week: Arugula, Broccoli, Carrots, Chard, Escarole, Fava Beans, Green Garlic, Lettuce, Pac Choi, Young Onions, Spinach, Summer Squash, Tatsoi, 6 artichokes and 2 baskets of Strawberries.

We split everything up and packaged up Grandma Dub's portion and then started thinking about our "plan of attack" for eating everything before it goes bad. We decided to wash and put away all the greens. I packaged up our strawberries, carrots, onion, squash and artichokes. We ended up cooking all of the broccoli and some green garlic in a garlic/broccoli/spinach dish that Jason makes using some of our homemade beef broth. Mmmmnnn!

After dinner Keira wanted dessert, so I washed and sliced up all the strawberries. I topped them with a little homemade whipped cream and they vanished in minutes! I love that she's excited about a bowl of strawberries as dessert! (on a side note, she was quite distraught when she discovered that her "weekly strawberry" from the garden was eaten by a bird!)

I think we're going to be quite happy with our weekly CSA order! Thanks MOM!!! You rock!

Just say "NO" to GMO!

So, now that I've taken off my blinders and started looking at the food I've been feeding my family I have a vast range of feelings.

I am angry

I am scared

I feel HOPEFUL!

I feel EMPOWERED!!!

I'm making a push to switch over to an organic diet. I've already started making a lot of what we're eating from scratch, but it's time to take things further. I never realized how much of the processed crap in the stores is made using Genetically Modified/Manufactured/Mutated ingredients! What scares me is that companies are not required to tell you that their products are made using these GMO products. In fact, one way to guarantee that you aren't buying these kind of products is to buy Organic. I also discovered that Trader Joe's line of foods are all GMO Free. I found quite a few resources on "How to avoid GMO" and a shopping guide with a detailed list of Brands containing GMO and ones that don't.

We don't have a big budget for groceries so it's hard sometimes to think about spending more money on Organic Milk ($6/gallon) versus Generic store brand milk ($3.49/gallon). However, if spending a little more money on quality, healthy, and natural products will make an improvement in our health, I'm all for it. If spending a little more money helps support our local farmers, I'm all for it.

Every time we go to the grocery store, we "cast our vote" and what we buy lets the big food manufacturers know what we want.... and if we're buying crap, that's what they'll g ive us more of... an if we want some thing better than what they are offering... they'll hear us! Maybe then a real Food Revolution will start... and just maybe more an more people will start taking back their kitchens!

My little Garden Girl!

Keira is finally getting to enjoy some of the fruits of our labor! She's such a great little helper... and she sings while we work! What more could a mom ask for!

Our little strawberry plant is growing bigger and bigger... and Keira now gets to eat about 1 - 2 berries a week. It't not much... but she LOVES IT!

Backyard Chickens and Raw Milk anyone?

Today Grandma Dub, Keira and I went on a little adventure. We heard about a group of families in Alameda who were opening up their yards to let people see their backyard chicken coops. There were several different types of coops.... some made with plywood and chicken wire, some with reclaimed/re-purposed redwood, and some that looked like little doll houses/children's playhouses. It was very clear that most of the houses along the tour didn't just think of their chicken as utilitarian "egg layers"... and more like family pets! There were some different species of chickens which were absolutely beautiful! Some of my favorite were:

Slikies - There were several silkies... white and black. Very cute. They look like tiny little fluff balls!

Mille Fleur Belgian D'Uccle... this little bantam girl was adorable. She was bandaged up though, as she broke her wing trying to outrun a neighbor dog! Her eggs were TINY! (Apparently very tasty though!

Black Sex Link... there were a variety of sex links along the tour. I especially loved how some of them had a shimmery blue tint to some of their feathers in certain lighting.

Crested Polish.... You've got to love the little Feathered Afro these chickens have! They are just so funny looking, you can't help but love them!

Easter Eggers / Americananas... these beautiful ladies were big girls! Beautiful oranges and reds.

Wyandotte... another big girl. She was very pretty blackish bird.

After spending the day touring all these coops, it made me want to get some chickens of our own. Unfortunately, we don't have the kind of backyard which would be very fitting to chickens.... we have ZERO grass, and the only vegetation is my garden and I wouldn't want them tromping through there. So, we'll have to settle for fresh eggs from Grandma Dub's house.... well in 5 months that is!

Keira was a great on the tour. She didn't complain about getting in and out of the car, over and over and over. She didn't chase the chickens, she didn't try to catch them, and she only pet them when they would come up to her extended hand. I was impressed! She did rather enjoy the houses along the way which had sand boxes and toys for her to play with. She also loved looking at the baby bunnies in the rabbit hutch. At one point though.... after scraping her arm along a brick wall... she lost her sense of adventure and humor. GONE... out the window. Stick a fork in her... she's DONE!

We noticed a cute little market as we were pulling up to one of the house so...G-Dub and I bribed her with some juice. Please be good... be patient... and after this house we'll go to the market. Well she was, so we did! WOW! I would love to live next to a little market like this. There was a fresh bakery, a sushi bar, a butcher/meat counter, and a kitchen gadget shop all around the perimeter. The meat counter had an incredible selection of grass-fed meats, wild fish, pastured pork and poultry. They displayed the ranch name from where the meats were from. WOW... places do that?

We walked into the grocery section greeted by a tray of fresh cut strawberry samplers. Behind there were strawberries laid out for you to put together your own basket. Places do that? WOW! The produce section looked so colorful and fresh! I knew I wanted chocolate, and I was curious... so we walked to the dairy section. There before our wondering eyes did appear... RAW WHOLE MILK! They had Raw Milk, Raw Cream, Raw Colostrum (Not sure I want to try that one) They even had chocolate Raw Colostrum. Hmmmm. I have NEVER seen Raw Milk sold in a grocery store! I've been quite curious to try it so we picked up a quart at a whopping $5.60!!

We got to the car... got Keira in her car seat... and loaded up with her juice. She was content and Mom and I were anxious to try the milk. I don't know why.... but I was shocked at how "normal" it tasted! Actually, for whole milk (which anyone who knows me know I hate!) it was smooth, light, refreshing and left a wonderful texture/aftertaste behind. I don't like typical whole milk because it tastes/feels like I'm drinking like heavy cream. This Raw Milk was great and it went wonderfully with my chocolate bar!

Oh... the quart of milk, in case you might wonder barely made it home! Between G-Dub, Keira and I we drank almost half of it. Once we got home... Keira was begging for some "Cow Milk" (as opposed to Almond Milk aka "Grandma Milk" or Egg Nog aka "Snowman Milk."

Now I just need to find a place to buy it where it doesn't cost $arm and $leg!

Feeling like a victim...

So this week I goofed up and didn't submit my timecard in time... so rather than having my paycheck direct deposited as usual, I got a live check. I decided to go deposit my check at lunch today... and BOY AM I GLAD I DID!

After depositing my check and trying to pull cash out... and being told that I couldn't as there were no funds available I called Jason to find out WTF!!

Well after doing some investigating on his end... he discovers that

WE HAVE BEEN ROBBED!

Some "woman" of the female dog variety cashed a check against our account and wiped us out! Not only did she take every penny, it overdrew our account!

Jason immediately hung up with me and went to the bank to try and find out how this could happen! How does someone cash a check with a signature that is obviously not his. How can a check be cleared in an account that doesn't have the correct Bank's name on it! How can a check that is SO far out of sequence not raise any flags!!??

So after a couple hours... a notarized fraud report... a police report.... closing our account... opening a new account... Jason was able to get the bank to credit our money back. (But only so long as it turns out we were the victims of check fraud.) OMG!

I am so grateful that Jason was able to take care of all of this. I don't know if I could have maintained my composure. I would have cried... but probably would have had a hard time remaining calm.. and not getting angry.

Now we have lots of work to do on our end to get this whole mess straightened out! YUCK!

CSA Membership!

I am so excited, I just have to share quickly!

After finding out recently that our neighbors (Chris and Amy) are the host site for their CSA, Mom and I decided to join! We get our first share next Thursday! Mom and I are going to share a Family Share. The picture is a sample of what a typical family share looks like! WOW, we're going to be Veggie eating Queens here pretty soon!

Jason and I were lucky enough to benefit from the misfortune of another CSA member who forgot to pick up their share last week! We received a Single Share and WOW was there a ton of produce! Things I've never had before... and certainly never made before! Now I need to figure out how to cook Fava Beans, Escarole, Tatsoi, and Mei qing choi. Oh boy this is going to be fun!!!

Pantry Update

I had this vision in my head of how I would rearrange my pantry... I was actually quite excited about the possibilities of the kitchen transformation. Unfortunately, things didn't work out quite as I intended... I thought I would move everything to the cupboard where the dishes are, but spacing was a problem. I did move some stuff around and I think I've made a good start.

I've moved the brown rice and the wheat flour to bigger containers, since we've been going trough them more regularly recently. Now, I just need to find some cupboard space to store them.

Adventure's in cooking....

Jason and I both had a HUGE steak left over from our anniversary dinner on Saturday. We decided to have them for dinner on Sunday. Well, when we were finished eating we were both left which a huge bone on our plate. I decided to make a beef broth, so I threw them in the crock pot with some carrots, onion, celery, rosemary, thyme and water and let it simmer overnight. YUMMY!

Keira and I also had several unloved bananas that we decided to make some Banana Bread with. I don't know what was more enjoyable... the smell of the broth or the smell of the banana bread! It was an incredible batch of banana bread though! YUMMY!

We also tried a recipe from my new cookbook "Eating Well 500 Calorie Dinners" which gives you ideas for an entrée, side dish and either a second side dish or a dessert which all add up to around 500 calories. Tonight we had the following:

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp & Vegetables. Makes 4 servings.

4 tsp EVOO, divided (I used coconut oil)

2 large red bell peppers, diced

2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" lengths

2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp salt, divided

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound raw shrimp (26 - 30 per pound), peeled and deveined

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth (I used my homemade broth)

1 tsp cornstarch

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

Heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, asparagus, lemon zest and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, about 6 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl; cover to keep warm.

Add the remaining oil and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shrimp and cook, stirring for one minute. Whisk broth and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth and add to the pan along with the remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Cook, stirring until the sauce has thickened slightly and the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve the shrimp over the vegetables.

1 serving = 227 calories, 7g fat, 173mg cholesterol, 14g carbs, 28g protein, 4g fiber, 618 mg sodium, 670 mg potassium. Nutritional BONUSES: Vitamin C (210% daily value), Vitamin A (80% DV), Folate (53% DV) and Iron (25% DV).

The suggested side dishes are: Cauliflower & Couscous Pilaf (162 cal) or Quinoa with fresh herbs (1/2 cup for 111 cal.) and either a Papaya-Lime Sorbet (199 cal) or a glass of white wine (5 oz for 116 cal.)

We didn't have any of the side dishes. though we decided to try with Quinoa next time. A definite make again.

a beautiful weekend!

I was spoiled this weekend!

When Jason and I married 4 years ago, it never crossed my mind how often our anniversary would coincide with Mother's Day. For the last 3 years our anniversary has fallen within 2 days of Mother's Day. This year they were both on the same day!

We decided earlier in the week to celebrate our anniversary on Sat night, since Jason had a late night hockey game on Sunday night. We went out for an amazing dinner at Alexander's Steakhouse! We have been to Alexander's several times and it's never a disappointment! They have wonderful cocktails, incredible wine selections, mouthwatering appetizers, steaks that melt like butter in your mouth, and a dessert selection that can not be described it's so wonderful! BUT what makes Alexander's somewhere that we enjoy frequenting over and over again... their service! Although it might be a little "Big Brother" ish... they keep a customer profile on their repeat customers. They remember if you like a Bombay Sapphire martini before dinner.... a Bone-in Fillet for an entrée... or Creme Brulee for dessert! We usually get the same server and the same table... and they ALWAYS make whatever occasion we are celebrating special.

This trip to Alexander's was no different, except they were celebrating their anniversary as well. So, in addition to our complimentary champagne and creme brulee, they were offering Five of their favorite bottles of red wine, five of their favorite white and five of their favorite sparkling wines for $5 a glass! You can believe that I indulged! Jason and I were going to try the Chef's Tasting until we heard the specials. They were offering a few different cuts (T-Bone, Porterhouse and a New York) from a local ranch that offers Hormone free, Antibiotic Free and Naturally fed beef! You can believe we jumped at that! We both ordered the New York. We had a Prime Rib with Foie Gras Slider Dipper as an appetizer and then we shared a wedge salad with applewood bacon. When our steaks arrived.... we realized that we could have shared a steak as well! They were HUGE! I think between the two of us we only ate 1/2 of one steak total! After dessert we called Jason's parents (our chauffeurs for the evening) to come pick us up (with Keira in tow) and take us all home. We went home, put on the Sharks game (GO SHARKS!!!!) and put Keira to bed. What a great night!

Sunday morning I awoke to the feeling (smell) of Keira's breath on my face. As soon as I opened my eyes, she gave me a giant kiss and told me "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy! Now let's go cross it off the calendar!" She loves her little calendar... it helps her to know which days I am home from work, which days she has places to go and which are special days. Jason and Keira go up and left me to sleep in! OH HOW LOVELY!

As I was getting up and getting ready for the day, Keira comes in to tell me goodbye.

"Mommy, we'll be right back! Daddy and I are going to go get you flowers at the flower store!"

Jason and I had a great laugh, because she has no concept of a secret! Also, my anniversary gift surprise to Jason (Shari's Berries) was ruined by FedEx... who delivered them while I wasn't home and the box says BERRIES / Shari's Berries all over it!

They came home with the most beautiful floral arrangement! I want to take them to and from work with me every day.... so I get to enjoy them as much as possible! There are a bunch of roses, stargazer lilies, Gerbera daisies, and more! They might just be the prettiest flowers anyone has ever given me!

My heart is full of love.... I had such a great weekend!

Thought for the day...

I saw this in a blog I was reading this morning and it made my heart smile!

"If your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme" from the song When You Wish Upon a Star.

To me, this means if I put my whole heart into something, it's sure to come true.

Meal Plan 5/3 - 5/8

The Meal Plan from last week was mostly a success. There were a few changes made, due to last minute additions to our schedule.

Thursday Jason ended up going to a Sharks playoff game, so we didn’t barbeque. Keira and I had a nice surprise on Wednesday night (Andrea coming home for the weekend) so we decided to go to Grandma’s house for dinner and I made Chicken Enchiladas. They were so good! That was always one of my favorite dinners mom would make growing up! I should try to make them more often! We ended up barbequing steaks on Friday night. So, my first attempt at a meal plan for the week was mostly a success! We just missed one recipe that I had planned.

Here’s our menu plan for this week:

Monday - 4 Minute Spicy Garlic Shrimp (I substitute Coconut Oil for the Olive Oil… it gives it a subtle hint of coconut which is really nice!). Serving with wild rice and broccoli. Homemade ice cream for dessert!

Tuesday – Leftover Lasagna and a garden salad

Wednesday – Vermicelli Peasant Style

Thursday - Pecan Crusted Chicken with a Garden Salad

Friday - Chili Verde and Spanish Rice

Saturday we are going to celebrate our 4^th wedding anniversary by going to Benihani’s for dinner as a family. I’m just glad that we’re going somewhere that won’t have TVs… so I don’t have to share Jason’s attention with the Sharks!