Tomato Thievery

Let me preface this post by saying that I should be studying for a test right now, but I need to get this off my chest or I won't be able to concentrate on anything else! Yesterday, as I left for school, I walked out the front door and paused to take a look at my tomato plant. It's been warm the past week or so which has prompted my plant to put out some new flowers. I had hopes that these would be the last tomatoes of the season. When I returned from school however, the plant was gone! That's right. GONE. Pot and all. The only thing that remained was a wet ring of dirt on the cement where the pot had been sitting all summer. Who could do such a thing?

Updates, Updates, Updates!

Phew. It's been a busy couple of months and it's been a while since I've had the time to sit down and write. I'm still keeping up with environmentally friendly changes in my life (still letting it mellow!). I'm still keeping up with the indoor garden and harvesting the last of the peppers from my outdoor plants (which have produced amazingly throughout the summer!). The biggest bit of news, however, is that I'm beginning culinary school! I can't even really put into words how excited I am about it. I love to cook (and eat) and I can't wait to learn all about it. Since I'm about to be busy with school I decided to post this quick update. I probably won't be writing as often as I previously had.  With that I'll leave you with this quote that pretty much sums up the way that I feel about food...

"When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about." -Thomas Keller

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead & My 3 Day Juice Fast

I watch a lot of documentaries and I always try to take them with a grain of salt, but this one really struck a chord with me.Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is a film about Joe Cross (who also happens to be the director) and his journey to better health. At the beginning of the film he is overweight, tired, on multiple medications and basically feels fat, sick and nearly dead! Since he is so drastically overweight (about 100 lbs) he decides to attempt a 60 day juice fast. The requirements on the juice fast are that he cannot consume any solid food, only fruits and vegetables in juice form. We're not talking about store bought juice either. We're talking about freshly juiced fruits and veggies for maximum nutrient intake.

Brand New Old Bike!

I finally have a bike in my possession! My dad was able to give me his old mountain bike. He has a road bike that he uses and no longer needs this one. I used to ride this bike while I was living there, but since then I haven't gotten my own bike mainly because I've been trying to find a used bike which turned out to be harder than I thought (more on that later). So far I have bought a bike basket, a side mirror and a cable lock. These purchases were made easier by the fact that I didn't have to spend money on a bike in the first place.

Freezing Your Herbs

My chocolate mint is starting to take over the pot that it's growing in so I decided to cut some off, but I didn't have an immediate use for it. I recall reading in a gardening book that herbs can be frozen and stored for a few months. Throwing the herbs into a bag and tossing it into the freezer will result in a clump of frozen mint. To prevent the leaves from freezing together, first place them on a baking sheet. Then once they're frozen they can be put into a bag and stored in the freezer until needed.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Dessert

This recipe always makes me think of summer. As far back as I can remember my dad has made this rhubarb dessert during the summer from the rhubarb plant that grows in my parent's backyard. In recent years he added strawberries to the mix to add more sweetness as rhubarb is pretty tart. This year my dad shared some of the rhubarb harvest with me so I got to make it on my own for the first time. Just a side note about rhubarb, the leaves are NOT edible. Only the stalks can be eaten and the stalk looks similar to celery, except it will be red when ripe. This can be eaten hot or cold (I prefer it cold) or even spread over some sponge cake.

Harvested Mini Bell Peppers & Stuffed Mini Bell Pepper Recipe

Last I wrote the mini bell peppers were beginning to turn yellow and in anticipation of a harvest I had discovered a recipe for stuffed mini bell peppers. I was able to harvest some peppers and try out the recipe and now I'd like to share! I found the recipe at this blog. It's delicious! First of all I love all of the ingredients. It could even be made without the bacon for a vegetarian version and would be just as tasty. The feta gives it a nice saltiness so I don't think there is any culinary reason for the bacon in there. In other words, it's just bacon for the sake of bacon! But most people don't mind that at all.