Garden Step 2 Complete

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Last weekend was Memorial Day weekend; the “official” start
to gardening in the Northeast according to the farmer’s almanac, and everyone I’ve
ever talked to about it. So this was the weekend we decided to put some time
into the garden. Step one having been completed in my excitement long ago.

I had already planted some lettuces, peas and Swiss chard,
since they tend to be good with the cooler weather. We went to a local green
house and picked up some cabbage, broccoli, herbs, tomatoes, and flowers. I
grew everything else from seed. I have never grown cabbage or broccoli, and
have not had good experiences starting tomatoes. We are hoping to get a few
more tomatoes, and what have you from Poppa Chuck. He always starts things from
seed and has lots more than can fit in his garden.

As far as herbs go I got some parsley, basil, oregano, dill,
rosemary and thyme. The end of last year had some weird weather that killed off
quite a bit of my perennials, including dill, and oregano. I never seem to have
good luck with rosemary. I don’t know what the issue is; it just doesn’t seem
to like me. This is plant no. 4, maybe the 4th time is the charm? If
anyone has any rosemary tips please share in the comments. I would really love
any help I can get.

Right now everything is in place and flourishing. This weekend I plan to do a bit of thinning in the pea, and lettuce sprouts. They desperately
need it, and the idea of a sprout loaded salad sounds divine!

Do you have any favorite garden plants? Maybe even a small herb garden? What are your favorite things to grow?

Spring Radish Salad with Bacon, & Asparagus Carbonara

By Jessica

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Sometimes you simply cannot get your significant other to
agree with you on what should be made for dinner. Sometimes you give in, or
they give in, or you make two totally different dishes and just eat them
together.

I mean it’s not like there are rules to this eating thing
anyway. There is no need to argue about it, let’s all just get along.

In our house it’s usually me wanting salad or seafood and
Chuck turning up his nose at it in favor of heartier meals, with gravy, pasta,
and cheese. Usually Chuck wins, since I get
a night or two a week on my own often enough to keep my cravings at bay. The
other part of the time we typically find some kind of compromise.

This meal is a pretty good example of that. I wanted light,
fresh and zingy, while he wanted hearty, creamy, and cheesy. Enter a big
bountiful fresh spring salad, and asparagus carbonara. Asparagus is one of
Chuck’s favorite vegetables, and carbonara is one of his favorite pasta dishes,
and I could always go for a little bacon. I think these came together well,
despite being totally different dishes, we were both happily satisfied in the
end.

Bacon & Asparagus Carbonara

¾ lb spaghetti,

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-2inch pieces

2 large eggs

2/3 cup grate Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 strips of bacon, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

¼ cup dry white wine

Salt & pepper to taste

Cook the Pasta according to package instructions, adding the
asparagus in the last 2 minutes of cooking. Also reserve ½ cup of the pasta
water before draining. While the pasta is cooking beat together the eggs and
cheese in a large bowl. Once finished toss the hot pasta in the egg mixture to
coat. In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat, and add bacon.
Cook the bacon until it is crisp, and stir in the garlic cook for an additional
minute. Add the wine to the pan and cook until it has reduced slightly (about 2
minutes). Add the reserved pasta water and pour the mixture over the pasta,
tossing to coat. Adjust seasonings, and serve warm topped with additional
cheese for garnish.

Spring Salad

3 cups spring lettuce mix, loosely packed

1 cup arugula, loosely packed

½ cup alfalfa sprouts, loosely packed

1 bunch radishes, sliced

In a large bowl toss all lettuce with Honey Poppy Seed
Vinaigrette (Recipe Follows) and serve immediately.

Honey Mustard Poppy Seed Vinaigrette (Original Recipe)

2 tbs Dijon mustard

1 tbsp raw honey

1 tbsp champagne vinegar

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small shallot, minced

2 tsp poppy seeds

Pinch of salt

In a small bowl whisk together all ingrediants, and adjust
seasonings as needed.

Penne Con Finochietto: Fennel Sausage & Sun dried Tomato Pasta

By Jessica

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This is from one of my many favorite restaurants in Downtown Saratoga Springs. This is where Chuck took me for my Birthday Dinner, the sweetie.

It’s one of those sultry, dark little places that’s always has light jazzy music in the background and is full of the sounds of clinking glasses. It’s perfectly romantic and the food is to die for. Every time we go there is something different on the menu or in the specials that makes our little hearts just flutter, whether it be a braised rabbit, hydroponic lettuce, homemade pasta, quail stuffed with sausage & herbs, a bowl of pasta piled high with seafood or even just the bread they put on every table. It’s all so good.

Also if it happens to be your birthday, be prepared for one of those impeccably dressed waiters to feed you your first bite of desert after a whole group of them sings to you in Italian. It’s totally embarrassing, you’ll be red, but it’s ok even the free lemon gelato they give you if you don’t order desert is amazing, so just go with it.

This dish is my own take/imitation on one of their dishes, the one in fact that I had on my birthday. It was pretty amazing, and seemed so simple I had to give it a try in my own kitchen.

I did in fact buy a full pound of sausage, but the rest was popped into some breakfast burritos for us to finish out the week, since I’m trying really, really hard to actually eat a full healthy breakfast, and something more than a granola bar and tea.

All in all I think I was able to successfully recreate their dish, it was as easy as I thought, and absolutely delicious. I think it may become another one of those staple meals I make around these parts.

Penne Con Finochietto: Fennel Sausage & Sun dried Tomato Pasta

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 2 Servings

Ingredients

½ lb mild Italian sausage
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
1/3 cup diced oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 ½ cups cooked pasta (aldente)
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese (for garnish)

Instructions

In a large skillet cook the sausage until browned.
Drain well and add fennel. You may need to add a touch of oil to stop the fennel from
sticking. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the fennel begins to brown, stirring and
breaking up the sausage.
Add the sun dried tomatoes, rosemary, and cook for an additional minute.
Add the wine and cook for another 2-3 minutes until it has reduced to half.
Adjust seasoning and add pasta to the pan; cooking for just a few seconds, while tossing all the ingredients together.
Serve immediately topped with Parmesan cheese. (Serves 2)

Loaded Greek Salad

By Jessica

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It’s Tuesday, and I’m posting because I was too busy recovering from bachelorette party shenanigans to put anything together for yesterday. I’m pretty sure that none of you noticed, but I still feel guilty enough to explain my reasons why.

So ok now that that is out of the way let get on with today’s post.

I was flipping through my previous posts, you know wondering at my own genius and taking note of a few things, when I realized that I never covered a recipe I meant to cover right after I did this post. It’s fitting because this is a great salad to help bounce back after a long weekend of champagne, rocking out, and too rich food.

This is one of my favorite salads to make at home. I love the bold colors, and different textures. If you want to up the protein add an egg, or some grilled chicken, but they aren’t necessary this is a super hearty salad that stands on its own for an awesome and easy summer meal.

I think it’s pretty obvious that this one is clean and healthy, but it’s also packed with antioxidants and tons of nutrients. I paired it down to serve one, for ease, but it’s super easy to double.

Loaded Greek Salad

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: Serves 1

Ingredients

1 cup mixed baby lettuce
½ cup baby arugula
A handful of cherry tomatoes
½ a cucumber, sliced
1 tbsp of red onion, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
½ cup of low sodium chickpeas, canned, drained
¼ cup of kalamata olive, halved
1 tbsp of low fat crumbled feta cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Light drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Instructions

In a large bowl toss all ingredients together and serve
immediately.

Since we are on the topic what’s your favorite hang over cure? I sure could have used some good ones this weekend.

Currently.

By Jessica

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Everyone seems to be doing these currently, recently, what I’ve
been up to, kind of posts lately. I guess they’ve always done them I just never
really caught on to that band wagon, not that I haven’t tried once or twice. It’s
just not the kind of thing that lasts for me. Sometimes I just feel so separated
from this space; like you guys have no clue anything that goes on in my life. I
mean yeah, I come here a few times a week, and drop a few lines about my new
favorite recipe, or ideas for upcoming even menus, books, cocktails, link ups
and all that nonsense, but do you guys really feel like you know me? I guess
the better questions is do you want to know me?

I feel like you do. I love learning more about bloggers in
these kinds of posts so I’m gonna roll with it and you can tell me to stop at
any time. No guarantees that I will but you can feel free to throw it out
there.

Writing: my
workout plans and results to help keep me motivated. It’s really working well.

Eating: Everything
green. I cannot explain why I have been having these insane green veggie cravings.
Maybe it’s the season.

Working: my butt
off at work. I seriously need a break from all that. Memorial day weekend
please come sooner.

Wishing: I wasn’t
so busy so I could my butt in the woods. I’m feeling unbalanced right now.

Practicing:
creativity. Since it seems to have slipped away from me lately.

Learning: A lot about
photography. I’m a slow learner so it’s taking me a while but I love the way my
pictures are improving. Thank you Pinch of Yum!!

Attending: Lots of
baby & Bridal Showers

And Searching: for just the right thing. It’s not easy when you want
to do more than just grab something off the registry.

Trying: Desperately to
reduce the amount of things that we have. It is another of those slow and
steady projects I have. Consumerism is a suffocating disease.

Listening: to Lana Del
Rey. I am addicted.

Loving: Being able to
sleep with the window open, and smell the fresh spring, post rain mornings.

Making: A real effort
not to be so hard on myself. If dinner isn’t on the table on time, or if it is
and it’s nothing special, it’s not the end of the world. If the house isn’t
clean I’m not going to die, it’s not like the queen of England is coming over.

Craving:
Doughnuts. I blame instagram.

Thanks for playing along. What have you been up to lately?

Garden Step 2 Complete

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