No Kidding Boiled Eggs

For some, a hard boiled egg is nothing more than a bridge to an egg salad sandwich. Well, not anymore! Give this method a go next time you've got a dozen hangin' in the fridge and you'll be amazed at what an egg really tastes like. I'll bet it never makes its way between two pieces of bread!


Hard Boiled Eggs

1 sauce pan
Eggs * put as many as you like just use a pan that fit them all in the bottom
Water to cover eggs by at least an inch
Bring to a hard boil
Once the water has come to the hard boil TURN THE HEAT OFF, cover the pan and
set the timer for 8 minutes EXACTLY.
When the bell rings, pour off hot water, place the eggs in a bowl of ice water (yes, with ice cubes -- this bring the cooking of the egg to a quick halt.)

Cooking Note: a fresh egg doesn't peel as easily as a non fresh egg~

Peel and enjoy with a bit of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper! No mayo needed.

WARNING: After the first bite you'll be tempted to keep these little pillows of egg goodness to yourself, but be nice and share.

Where Does the Time Go?

I swear I was going to take pictures of the garden's progress this weekend but somehow, well, time got away from me! There are so many things I love doing, gardening, sewing, reading, cooking, silversmithing, knitting, etc etc etc. I've got a full time job that pays for all these sweet indulgences, but not enough time left each week to do them! I promise, new photos soon. In the meantime, enjoy this beauty that was taken on a recent trip to my hometown of Portland, Oregon. We were on a couple of garden tours just across the Columbia River in Washington and ran into this beautiful lavendar farm quite by accident. Serendipity!

Banana Fritters

Peanut oil for frying

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup cold milk

3T light brown sugar

1C flour

Pinch of baking soda

4 ripe bananas, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces

2T confectioners sugar

Heat 3 inches of oil in a heavy saucepan or deep fryer to 375 degrees. Mix the eggs, milk, brown sugar, flour and baking soda together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the banana slices a few at a time, coating them well with the batter.

With a long slotted spoon, remove the banana slices a few at a time and place them into the oil. Fry the bananas for 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned, turning them once. Drain them on paper towels and transfer them to a serving platter. Repeat the process until all of the bananas have been fried. Sprinkle them with the confectioner's sugar and serve warm.

In a word - addictive.

Zucchini Fritters w/ Minted Creme Fraiche

Zucchini is never in short supply in the summer garden. This is one of the recipes from my culinary class yesterday. It was the class fave. Well, that and the banana fritters. OK...I'll share that recipe tomorrow.

Minted Creme Fraiche

3/4 cup creme fraiche

1 T minced mint leaves

Combine the creme fraiche and mint. Cover and hold in the refrigerator.

Fritters

4 lbs zucchini

salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 bunches chives, finely chopped

1/4 all purpose flour

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1/4 cup olive oil

Grate the zucchini, place in a colander and salt generously. Allow to drain 20 - 30 minutes. Squeeze out all the liquid.

Combine the zucchini with the garlic, chives, lemon zest, flour and egg. Season

Fry in the oil in batches. Brown on one side. turn adn bron second side. drain on paper towel.

Serve with creme fraiche.

Serves 4

Enjoy!

The Garden Today

It's actually growing!

A Lesson From the Garden

I woke up this morning with an overwhelming sense of sadness. I didn't get out of bed right away, I lay there in my half sleep and thought about my mother. She's been gone now for almost 13 years. A stranger wouldn't know that this morning looking at me though - tears running down my cheeks and all. I wonder how different my life would be now if I were able to pick up the phone and call her for advice in this troubled time. What would she say to me? Would she cheer me on in my daily battles or would she soften and let me run back home and hide. Probably both. And maybe that's why I miss her so much today. Maybe I'm having one of those life moments this morning as I lament that my world isn't as I want it to be now. A class I'm taking isn't teaching me what I want to know now. My child isn't as tall as he should be by now, My job is not as secure as it should be right now. I thought my husband would have another job by now. Maybe what I'm really feeling this morning is that my life isn't what I think it should be right now.

When I first planted the garden several months back, I'd run out every morning to see if there were any seedlings poking their sleepy heads out of the dirt. I really wasn't very patient to say the least. Soon I discovered that the dirt brought in for the planter beds wasn't any good and had killed off my seedlings. So I bought some vegetable starts - interesting ones - from a new nursery I discovered out of a need to pick something up now on my home from the office one evening. I planted and the bugs came to dine. Oh my, the beds looked like I was growing lace! My desire to have an organic garden - well any garden at that point - was going up in smoke! I used row covers, made trips into the garden in the middle of the night to spray the offenders, used traps, implemented the remedies of old wives, read books, searched articles on the internet, chatted with other gardeners and drove the kind staff at my new found nursery crazy with my need to know now questions when all I really had to do was have patience. Instead of wanting it all now I needed to learn to live in the now.

My nursery man took me aside during one of my recent visits and said to me, "You've given your garden a foundation of good soil, water, fertilizer, compost and mulch. You just haven't given it any time." "Give it some time"

His words could not have been more true. In the last few days under the warm Southern California sun, my garden has begun to come alive. Plants are growing at record pace and I can't believe there are actually vegetables! Maybe, just maybe, I do have a little bit of a green thumb, or maybe just maybe the garden is teaching me patience.

Perhaps it's slowly showing me that nothing every happens now accept what's going on right at this very moment. Yes, I miss my mom and I wish with all of my heart that she were here now. She'd love my garden. Yes, I wish the economy would change for the better and at a faster pace so my husband could find work now. Yes, I wish my son were taller now. Yes, I wish my job were more secure right now. But none of that is true for now. One day all of it will come to pass because nothing can stay the same in this universe. It's all just a matter of time - like the garden.

For Someone Special

Here's something to go with your new starter...

Sourdough Waffles

(Two Day Recipe)

DAY ONE

4 ounces (1/2 cup unsalted butter)

8 ounces (1 cup) whole or low-fat milk

9 ounces (about 1 cup) White Starter

1 tsp salt

1T brown sugar, packed

About 1 1/2 C all purpose flour

Place butter and milk in the small saucepan and warm over low heat until the butter melts. Set the mixture aside at room temp to cool.

Place White Starter, cooled milk-butter mixture, salt, brown sugar, and flour in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the batter stand at room temp for 8 to 12 hours.

DAY TWO

Have Ready:

Waffle iron

Pastry brush

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp baking soda

vegetable oil

Preheat the waffle iron 10 - 15 minutes before you will be ready to use it.

Uncover thebatter and whisk in eggs and baking soda until well combined. The batter should be thick and elastic. Lightly brush the hot waffle iron with vegetable oil. The oil should sizzle on the iron, signaling that it's hot enough. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup of batter onto the hot waffle iron. close the lid and let the waffle cook until it's golden and crisp. 3 - 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

Recipe from Nancy Silverton's Breads from the La Brea Bakery