Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, Oh how your garden....

GROWS!!!!

As the first few days of Spring arrived, I pulled out my shovel,

black and decker screwdriver, two 4x8 cedar posts, four 2x4 cedar posts and went to town!

I had a small space by my back door in the garden and I wanted to make a vegetable garden. With the help of the Hubby and Hubby's Dad, I designed and built a raised cedar vegetable garden.

Here are some pictures from the first few days...

Being very practical, I planted vegetables that we liked. I mean really, what's the point of planting food we wont eat!?!? So, in went the lettuce (Black Seeded Simpson and Raddicio), artichoke, and three tomatoe plants - we love tomoatoes! We also tried a few by seed - french green beans, butternut squash, zuchini, yellow squash, cucumber, and edamame.

A few weeks later....

Signs of Life

and then even more...

Green Beans!

See the little seedlings coming up on the right? That is the Zucchini!!!

We have been enjoying our salads straight from the garden to the table....

 

Now, today, I went into the garden, one month later.... and I sang to myself... Mary, Mary, Quite contrary, OH how my garden has grown!!!

Celery                                               Corn                                                   Tomatoes

More Tomatoes!!!

and Celery!

I even got really brave and planted a fairytale pumpkin by seed...

Happy Gardening and Happy Cooking!

Laura

Pea Pesto Crostini

For my first recipe from Giada's new Book, Giada at Home, I chose Pea Pesto Crostini because
Sur La Table served the crostini to all of Giada's fans in line. It is my Number 12!

Pea Pesto Crostini

Giada de Laurentiis

Giada at Home

Number 12

 

Ingredients

Pesto:

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas, defrosted

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning

1/3 cup olive oil

Crostini:

8 (1/2-inch thick) slices whole-grain baguette or ciabatta bread, preferably day-old, * see Cook's Note

1/3 cup olive oil

8 cherry tomatoes, halved or 1 small tomato, diced

Directions

For the pea pesto: Pulse together the peas, garlic, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil until well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

For the crostini: Preheat a stovetop griddle or grill pan on medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the sliced bread with olive oil and grill until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bread to a clean surface and spread 1 to 2 tablespoons of the prepared pesto on each slice.

Top with tomato halves and serve.

(Giada's)

*Cook's note: If you don't have day-old bread on hand, you can dry out fresh bread by putting the slices in a preheated 300 degree F oven until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes.

The presentation is absoluetly beautiful! The green and red are so vibrant and happy!

The hubby and the kids loved them!

I served them (just the Hubby, not the kids) with a glass of Los Vascos Chardonnay out in the garden.

It was a nice pairing.

For dinner, we had lemon basil (fresh from the herb garden) chicken.

Happy Cooking!

Laura

Private VIP Book Signing

This evening I hosted a

"Private VIP Book Signing"

(In case you were wondering, I am the VIP!)

Check out the pictures!

Happy Cooking and Happy Reading!

Laura

Bond Daddy

I am SO pleased to announce the availability of....

Bond Daddy

By: Jason L. Fowell (aka "The Hubby") & John Bott

Over the past five years, the Hubby and John Bott have co-authored a fictional novel inspired by actual events in Houston, Texas during the 1970s world of high finance.

Bond Daddy has been published and is available online at
Barnes & Noble in hard cover (at a special limited time push price) and
soft cover at Barnes & Noble and, also, at Amazon.

Over the next few months, book signings will be scheduled in our area.

Here is the back cover description:

The lure of fast money pulls Aaron and Jack into a world driven by high-pressure commission sales where morals and ethics take a backseat to big paydays. Best friends since high school, Aaron and Jack are hired by a brokerage firm that begins the strict training of each broker before they are licensed. Surviving the firm's grueling interview process, harsh cold-calling and aggressive tactics, each takes a different path in an attempt to endure the shark-infested trading floor.

Aaron's natural aptitude with people gives him quick success; however, Jack's first sale eludes him for months-causing marital problems and pushing him to the brink of depression. But as the friends turn into big producers, the firm's partners do more than just take them from the poor house to fancy cars. Aaron and Jack are introduced to a hedonistic lifestyle filled with wild adventures and seedy relationships riddled with dangerous vices.

Inspired by actual events from a 1970s Houston, Texas, boiler room operation, Bond Daddy chronicles the successes, excesses, and failures of men pushed to their limits who end up secretly living abroad, wasting away in prison or mysteriously murdered.

CONGRATULATIONS HUBBY!

Happy Cooking and Happy Reading!!!

Laura 

My Grandfather's Table

I finished "refinishing" my grandfather's table for the twins.

We chose a light blue for the table top and red for the legs.

What do you think???

Happy Cooking!!!

Laura

Giada!!!!!

We met Giada today!!!!

The twins and I took a trip to our local Sur La Table and stood in line for 2 hours!

It was worth EVERY minute.

I had the opportunity to meet the person who inspired me to get in the kitchen and start cooking!

Giada was set up in the back of the store at a table and we individually approached her with our books and had the opportunity to visit briefly. The line went all the way out the door, down the street, and wrapped around the building!

I was so touched at the way Giada interacted with all of her fans.

She genuinely listened and interacted with everyone!

Then it was our turn!

The twins were asleep and as I approached her, I had the opportunity to introduce my twins to Giada!

She said that they were "absolutely precious"!!!!

I agreed!

I told her that I was completely convinced that they were going to wake up right before it was my turn and start screaming!

She laughed!

Giada personalized and signed my copy of "Giada at Home".

(The one that the hubby gave me!)

What an absolute treat!

Happy Cooking!

Laura

To Dye For (or maybe not)

Last week I discovered what I thought was an awesome idea on Martha Stewart's website.
(original post from last week)

The idea: Lace Eggs

The outcome: No Lace Eggs

Let's see what happened...

Instructions

Tools and Materials
Eggs
Standard egg dye
Rubber Bands
Inexpensive lace trimmings
Scissors
Foam Board fitted with flathead pins

Lace Egg How-to

1. Cut lace into strips long enough to wrap around eggs and still have enough to form a sash for holding

2. Wrap eggs, securing lace with rubber bands. Dye eggs according to dye pachage instructions. Lift out, cut off rubber bands, and unwrap lace. Let dry on foam board fitted with flathead pins.

 Our Attempt

We started with our necessities: gloves, dye, lace, eggs!

And we boiled...

Here is my dear mother helping with the Easter project!

We cut strips of lace long enough to fit around the egg and leave a tail for holding. We secured the lace as tightly as I could without breaking the egg (I did break one) with clear poly hair bands.

 We then allowed them to soak in the bowls of dye I prepared while the eggs were boiling and cooling.

This is where we must have gone wrong. Some of the eggs did have a trace of the lace edges but I cannot say that the lace transfered. After we let the first egg soak for 15 minutes, I got disappointed and went back to the original post to see where we went wrong. I located the comments.
It appears that others had the same disappointment.

Next time (and there will be a next time because I think the outcome would be worth it),
I will try warmer water and a tighter hold.

Looking back, I should have tried some of the suggestions listed by the commenters: hotter water, a tighter hold, nylon covering, stretch lace. But, we were running short on time and I just decided to "amend" my idea and go back to the original idea of.....

shades of green.

Here is the outcome....

Did you try the lace eggs? Did it work for you?

Happy Cooking!
Laura

Shades of Green

Happy Easter Monday!

What a beautiful day to celebrate with family and friends!

The shades of green came together nicely and allowed me to decorate with my favorite color!

As a follow up on the lace eggs, my mother and I had a lot of fun "attempting" Martha's suggestion. I cannot say that it was a success. So, in the end, we scrapped the lace eggs and dyed the eggs in shades of green. A package of 16 year old nesting straw (my mom found the bag in her recent move) made a nice resting place for the "Shades of Green" eggs.

Check back this week for a blog entry on the attempted lace eggs.

 

Peter Rabbit came to visit (see the napkins). You can learn how-to from Martha herself here. 

I found the instruction frames to be most helpful.

White Easter Tulips helped to bring some clean white to the table.

Homemade cookie name plates served to identify the seating arrangment and made for a fun party favor.

Check back during the week to see details of some of the above!

Happy Cooking!!!

Laura