The death of a giant

 Our Agave plant is on its last leg. It has been pretty spectacular to watch it flower, seed, and now die. Here are a few pics of it throughout the process.

March 27. Before it flowered.

May 4

May 28

Garden Update

The garden has undergone many changes this year as I needed to find a balance of size and water usage. While I loved the potted garden with the plants in the soil bags, it was getting too hot! The plants were drying out too quickly and needed more room for their roots.

The potted garden. 3-27

Squash, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs

Zucchini , cukes, broccoli, peppers, and an Heirloom tomato.

I love what we now have. I bought two 4ft square raised beds. I was going to build them myself but, they were a great deal so I couldn't pass them up!

First day planted 4-17

 Here it is now!  The tomatoes are taking over, the peppers are small but producing fruits. The zucchini is in the front bed along with radishes. I added the plastic over the tomatoes and that really helped with the hot AZ sun!

In the back bed are cucumbers climbing up the trellis, yellow squash, thyme, and a wimpy little lettuce.

Now if I can only get the dogs to stop stealing our food. They have enjoyed more tomatoes than we have. I think we are going to put up a short fence. They even steal hot peppers!!!

Some leftover plants including basil, artichoke, parsley, tomato.

We enjoyed our first meal from the garden last week. I wanted to make it really simple.


Garden Squash Pasta
1 tbsp. Olive oil
3 small to medium yellow squash, diced
3 lg or 5 small fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 vidalia onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp dried oregano
Salt and Pepper
12 oz whole wheat penne
Basil and Parmesean for topping

Directions
Cook the pasta according to directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water to add to the sauce later. 

Over med-high heat, saute the onions for 3-5 mins in olive oil, add the squash and garlic and saute for 5 mins. Add tomatoes, dried oregano, and Salt and Pepper to taste. Saute for 5 mins until veggies are cooked through and tomatoes have broken down. Drain pasta. Add pasta to saute pan with veggies while over medium heat. Top pasta directly with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Add in about 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water to the pan and stir to create a sauce.

Top with Fresh torn basil and extra Parmesan and dig in! So simple and delicious!!! Cant wait until we have more squash as I used all of ours to make this.

Italian Wedding Soup

I got to do some cooking this Saturday and by some cooking I mean a lot. But it was all pretty quick stuff. I made Rachel Rays Hot and Cold Sesame Noodles but I added a ton of veggies. At the last step, I added sauteed red bell pepper, mushrooms, and onion. I also added raw long peels of carrot and chopped butter lettuce. It is so filling and has a strong nutty flavor. I topped it with some chopped mint! I will be making this again this summer!!!

I made this for my friends Courtney, Kenny, and Kirby who are driving up to the Havasupai reservation tonight to hike into the Havasupai Falls area tomorrow. It is one of the most amazing places on earth.

Here's a picture we took of Havasu Falls in 2007.

I also made some cookies for them. I made my weekly usual of Low fat banana bread cookies. This week I added dried cherries and walnuts. Wow! They are unbelievable!!! The chocolate and cherry combination is fabulous!

Ok so now for the soup... Oh yeah. It is something special.

 I always thought it was called wedding soup because of the ring shaped pasta or tortellini in it but after a little research I sound that it's Italian name, minestra maritata, literally means "married  soup", refers to the fact that the flavors of meat and greens married, or went well with each other. This has been mistranslated to "wedding soup". By the way, this soup in not traditionally used in wedding ceremonies.

Meatballs-Make first while the pasta water is coming to a boil.
Combine the following:
1/4 cup egg beaters

1 tbsp Worschstire Sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Salt and Papper to taste
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/2 yellow onion-grated directly into bowl.




 Add in 1 lb. lean ground turkey
and 1/4 c Parmesan cheese.

Combine well. Let mixture sit in fridge while you chop the veggies.

 For the soup:
Saute  the following until just tender.
2 med. zuchinni, large diced
1 large onion, diced

2 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped

Add in a 15oz can of tomatoes and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Add 12 cups of either water, chicken stock, veggie stock, or a combo. (Yes! 12 cups. I know it's  a lot. But you need it.) I did a combination of about  5 cups chicken stock and 7 water. Add 2 bay leaves as well.


Bring to a low boil and add one bunch of kale, stems removed, chopped. Simmer for 5 minutes and roll the meatballs. I made them as small as possible. I got about 45 from the mixture.

 After the kale has simmered for 5 minutes, bring the temperature up to med-high so that there is a constant boil. Add the 7oz box of dried ravioli. They are adorable, miniature ravioli filled with just Parmesan cheese. Simple and perfect for this soup. Cook the raviolis on a low boil for 8 minutes. If you need to add even more liquid at this point, do so.

 Add all of the meatballs by placing them all around the pan. Make sure that they are all submerged by liquid. Put a lid on the pan and continue to simmer for 7-9 minutes.

 Add Salt and pepper to taste before serving.

 

Here is the finished product. Super light and healthy and packed with veggies! We had it with some crusty bread rubbed with raw garlic. It was fabulous!

It seems like a lot of work but it didn't take me that long. Maybe an hour?? It was so worth it! I will be making it again! Night all!

Here is the easy to read version of this recipe for you to print!

Complete Recipe:

For the meatballs:

1/4 cup egg beaters

1 tbsp Worcestershire  Sauce

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 tsp Oregano

1/2 yellow onion-grated directly into bowl.

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1/4 c Parmesan cheese.

For the soup:

2 med. zucchini, large diced

1 large onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

15oz can of tomatoes (No salt added)

2 bay leaves

1 bunch of kale, stems removed, chopped

7oz box of dried Parmesan ravioli

Directions:

1. Make the Meatball mixture first while the pasta water is coming to a boil. Combine all ingredients for the meatballs.  Let mixture sit in fridge while you chop the veggies.

2. Sauté the veggies until just tender.

3. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add 12 cups of either water, chicken stock, veggie stock, or a combo. (Yes! 12 cups. I know it's  a lot. But you need it.) I did a combination of about  5 cups chicken stock and 7 water.

5.  Add the bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste.

6. Bring to a low boil and add the kale. Simmer for 5 minutes.

7. While kale is cooking, roll the meatballs. I made them as small as possible. I got about 45 from the mixture.

 8. Bring the temperature up to med-high so that there is a constant boil. Add the 7oz box of dried ravioli. Cook the raviolis on a low boil for 8 minutes. If you need to add more liquid at this point, do so.

 9. Add all of the meatballs to the boiling broth by placing them around the pan. Make sure that they are completely submerged by liquid. Put a lid on the pan and continue to simmer for 7-9 minutes.

 Add Salt and pepper to taste before serving. Top with Parmesan Cheese.

Not so simple anymore...

So I kind of lost sight of the simple things the past two weeks. It was a crazy week and I became overwhelmed by all of the demands at work, home, and with friends/family. I am trying to learn to not care so much. It is a weird thing to be working at but I really need to let other people's drama not effect me and focus on the positives in my life.

Easter was amazing. My mom and brother came to town and we had an amazing time!!! We relaxed, swam, and ate amazing food. In addition to all else my camera broke which has made it hard to blog as I like to include photos.

Here is our Easter menu. We had a Quiche-Off between Courtney and Jeff. Courtney ended up winning but all of the food was delicious!

Stuffed French Toast Strata, Biscuits with maple butter, Crab and Gruyere Quiche (Jeff), Crab, broccoli, and Cheddar quiche (Courtney), Candied Bacon (WHICH WAS UNBELIEVABLE!), fresh fruit salad(from Kate, Deviled eggs from Dara, Lots of Champagne and OJ/Grapefruit/Cranberry, Courtney's Carrott Cake, and I cant remember what else but it was all amazing!!! We played washers and it was great fun to hang and talk with everyone!

Here is the recipe for my favorite contribution. It was a hit and with real maple syrup...yum yum!! I'd recommend  it to anyone for any occasion, especially because you can make it the day before.

Stuffed French Toast Strata (Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole)

INGREDIENTS:

1 (1 lb) loaf unsliced French Bread (I used an artisan loaf)
1 (8-ounce) pkg. Cream cheese, cubed
2 1/2 cups Combo of milk, half and half, or heavy cream
8 eggs (I use Egg Beaters)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Extra Maple Syrup for serving

 

Cut French bread loaf into 1 inch cubes (About 12 cups bread cubes) Grease a 13×9 inch baking pan.
To Assemble: In the prepared pan place half of the bread cubes. Top with the cream cheese cubes and then the remaining bread cubes.
With a blender or mixing bowl with a rotary beater, mix together the eggs, milk, melted butter, maple syrup and cinnamon until well combined. Pour the egg mixture evenly over bread and cheese cubes. Using a spatula, slightly press layers down to moisten.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours. Remove plastic wrap and bake in a 325 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until the center appears to be set and the eggs are golden. Let stand for 10 minutes. Makes 6-8 servings.


And because I could not leave you hanging, here is the recipe I used for candied bacon. There are so many recipes for this. I used thick cut maple smoked bacon from Costco. Delicious!!!

Candied Bacon

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 pound thick sliced bacon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil, and position broiler rack/cooling rack on top of pan. Combine the brown sugar and cayenne in a shallow dish, stirring to mix well. Press the bacon firmly into the spiced sugar to coat well. Arrange the slices of bacon on top of the broiler rack in a single layer. If there is any sugar remaining in the dish, sprinkle it on top of the bacon slices evenly. Bake until the bacon is crisp and the sugar is bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain briefly, then to a plate or serving dish to cool. (Can be made several hours ahead) Serve warm or at room temperature.


Jeff says he fixed my camera so I will be back to blogging soon. :)

Night all!