Mango, Banana, dash of orange juice …. and why not… Romaine Lettuce!

Inspired by my friend Jen who is all about exercise and only putting clean into her body I decided to experiment with lettuce this afternoon.   This recipe was using what I had on hand as I  added a cup of frozen mango from the freezer and an over ripened banana.  As I grabbed the orange juice from the refrigerator I couldn’t help but grab a few leaves of romaine that was harvested this morning from my garden that seems to be on every shelf of my refrigerator.  Why Not?

Late June Raised Bed Filled With Lettuce and Blooms

I’ve taken many photos of this raised bed filled with lettuce just to hang on to it’s spring beauty.  I know this lush lettuce has numbered days with the heat of summer arriving.  For now my family and I will enjoy the flavor of home grown lettuce as we enjoy it daily.  I could eat something with lettuce in it three times a day for the rest of my life if I could keep it fresh like this.  Now if I could just cut those zero carbs out of my diet…. well…. that is another story.

By the way…. this smoothie was super yummy!

Click on the Image Above for the Recipe

With summer just around the corner and the veggies starting to arrive in the garden it is time to share some quick and easy meals that are going on my table this time of year.  Above is a quick and easy pasta dish that will fill your plate with flavor and goodness.   Click on the image above for my recipe for this Pasta Veggie Dish that can be served with  steak, chicken, sausage or on it’s own.  The great thing about pasta is you can use what you have on hand in the herb and veggie garden to make a fabulous rustic meal so don’t be afraid to try different combination’s and remember you can always add lots of Italian cheese to play it up!  When I make this dish I like to use what we have on hand  making it a perfect meal after a busy day in the summer garden.    Serve with a nice glass of Chardonnay.

Basil Plant Loaded with Flavor Adds To The Energy Of This Raised Bed

Burpee Sweet Basil & Ball Annual Favorites

This is the second year of totally mixing it up in the gardens around the greenhouse.  In the images above I share a few of my favorites by Burpee Home Garden. Color dances early in the season by adding favorite traditional annuals that have been revamped for today’s gardeners.   You can find many of these plants by Burpee at your local garden center.  I found these locally at Bostdorffs in Bowling Green, Ohio and at the Andersons General Store in Maumee, Ohio.

Boxwood Basil by Burpee

My curiosity  got the better of me when I snipped a tiny leaf from this Boxwood Basil featured in the image above.  Committed to letting this herb grow larger before taking a really good taste in a favorite recipe.  I can’t wait to see how this Boxwood Basil will mature.  So far I’m loving the tangy flavor from a small nibble.

Pesto Pizzazz From My Kitchen

CLICK IMAGE – EASY Pesto Pizzazz Recipe

A pinch of sugar and a cost cutting tip in the recipe I share above.  Click on the image to view the complete recipe for my families favorite Pesto that can be used as an appetizer on fresh Italian bread, topper for chicken or mixed in your favorite pasta sauce for more punch.

Thank you @BrianDowd on Twitter for asking for a pesto share.  It gave me an excuse to step away from my desk to share some images from my garden tonight and inspired me to create some fresh pizza using the pesto in the sauce for a late dinner tonight.    Enjoy!

It’s a way of living I grew up with that some where between college and having kids I put on the back burner.   I’m talking about using what is in your home pantry  and not planning the meal around making a trip to the grocery store.

It can be a challenge for your creative side when  living within your means.  Open the veggie box in your refrigerator and imagine the endless flavors you can create.

Tonight a jar of stewed tomatoes was used with carrots, onion, mushrooms, fresh herbs cooked slowly to create a pasta sauce. My kids usually moan ” spaghetti  again” because I’m a huge fan of tomato base sauces and any variety of noodle.   A few greenhouse tomatoes that were close to over ripe were diced and roasted in my favorite cast iron skillet.   Tonight was meatless but sausage or even a sliced pepperoni could make it a meaty sauce.   And who doesn’t have a loaf of bread on hand?  Tonight we used garlic fresh garlic and butter to toast up a wonderful Italian loaf to go with the pasta dish.

Last week I was challenged by a blog entry at Michael Nolan website.  In this article he shares how he and his partner are creating new dishes each day in their kitchen.  My thought was why not use what you only have on hand to  create these new menu plans each day.   Not to mention it is a great way to be economical.   In my home, at worst you would have jam and bread because I have a pantry full of homemade preserves from this past summer harvest and we always have flour that can be used to make bread.

Michael was one of our fabulous guest host on #gardenchat and was kind enough to giveaway a copy of his book ” I Garden : Urban Style” to Jan of Thanks for Today who just so happens to be doing a fun Eco-Friendly giveaway on her site.  I invite you to click over and enter her fabulous giveaways that include many fun things that can help you grow naturally.  I’m loving the rain barrel Jan is giving away in this contest.

Happy Weekend Everyone – I hope you will share a dish that you can always count on in your home!

I’m all about the goodies featured in the image above.

Recently, I was labeled as a Hot & Spicy pepper.  Not sure if I should have been blushing or giving a ‘high five’ so I’m going to embrace my true love for peppers and enjoy the moment.

Each spring I enjoy local scavenger huts finding all the different pepper seeds available in my area.  I’ve gotten lucky in the past few years finding everything from Hungarian hot to sweet Thai.  Not sure if the hunt for the seeds is more fun that getting them getting them to grow but I love the entire growing circle.

This year I’ve found a few new peppers to try starting in my greenhouse here in Ohio.  Something about the name ‘biker billy’ gets me super fired up to try this new hot pepper I found at Burpee Seeds.

My ‘P’ section in my Seed Keeper Kit is packed full with seeds I’ve saved from last year.  If you keep the seeds in a dry sealed container you can usually use them for up to 5 years.  With this in mind, I like to stock up on extra variety packets when  I find them in the retail stores.

In my traditional veggie garden you will find at least a dozen plants of each pepper.  Last year I grew over 100 different plants in that 40′x60′ veggie bed.  Not to mention the plants I had tucked in my raised bed greenhouse landscape project.  Now that is ‘a whole lotta’ peppers!’ Producing a little over 5 bushels of peppers last year not a single one went to waste.

As I opened a ‘seal a meal’ baggy of jalapeno peppers today , I couldn’t help but look forward to walking out to the summer garden and picking one fresh off of the plant.   The frozen jalapeno featured in the image to the right above has been the most successful when trying to capture the fresh flavor to use in dishes and on top of dips.   A popular way of preserving my favorite hot peppers is canning them using the hot bath method.    I have yet to get sick of saving a pepper for another day not  to mention the unlimited uses for the peppers in menu planning.

Click Here for Easy Recipe

Click Here For Recipe

Not a fan of the vegetable okra or have you ran out of your stock from the summer harvest?  No worries, break out the green beans.   I used frozen green beans in this gumbo recipe  to make a dinner that warmed our home and got me to #gardenchat on time!

Enjoy – and I would love to hear about your adventures with green beans  and okra. – Bren

** don’t forget the white wine with this meal for the adults who will be dinning with you.