Photo teaser

... new grilling recipes/ideas coming soon...

Oldmarrieds cheeseburger with grilled tomatoes & onions


Grilled squash & red onions with Tuscan tuna


We are LOVING the new grill. It totally rocks my socks!

Cooking with fire

Old & busted*


New hotness**


*3 years of being lovingly used and battered by wind & rain (literally, it took a good spill off the patio) finally made us retire the grill we bought the first week we moved into our new house

**expect grilling tips soon! the summer cookout season kicks off this weekend!

Herb Garden Update

Here's what I've got growing on -

Chives (which are blooming)


More chives with thyme & small rosemary bush in the background


Blueberries! (1 of 4 bushes!)


Flat-leaf Italian parsley from last season (starting to go to seed now)


Our lovely Tuscan blue rosemary bush (with blooms)


Seedlings (basil, flat leaf parsley & cilantro)


Hello basil! I can't wait to eat some of this with tomatoes & mozzarella or in bruschetta


Our HerbFest buys (mint, basil, lantana & sweet bay)

Speaking of herbs...

We love to garden, well, at least for the first half of summer (until it gets too hot/buggy/weedy). Every year since we moved into our house, we've added on to our garden. We've grown (with wildly varying success) tomatoes, onions, peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, okra, blueberries, broccoli, lettuce and carrots (and my little key lime plant). We are undecided on our garden plantings this year due to the drought & water restrictions. Last year we constructed a great watering system (misters & drip), but at this point they are only allowed to be used once a week.

Some of last year's garden bounty

Watermelon


Cantaloupe


Yummy little 'maters


Banana peppers


Potted tomato plants & basil

However, I have to grow my herbs! They are just too easy to grow instead of shelling out big bucks at the store to buy them. Our perennial herbs are rosemary, thyme, chives and our biannual Italian flat leaf parsley. I've already started growing some seedlings of basil (2 kinds), cilantro and more Italian flat leaf parsley (can never have too much!) inside.

I started growing them just about a month ago with the little peat pots and mini-greenhouse -


I do not have an updated picture of my cute seedlings, but I will soon! They are growing like weeds (well, they kinda are weeds... but very tasty ones!).

We had a nice time checking out Wake Forest's HerbFest. We went early on Saturday morning and were rewarded with a vast selection of plants. I practiced self restraint and only bought 1 basil (Greek), 1 mint (Spearmint - perfect for mojitos), 1 sweet bay, and 3 Ms. Huff lantana. I am terribly tempted to go back for more and I can because the festival continues on through this weekend! Here are 2 pictures from HerbFest last Saturday morning - I think they can consider it a smashing success once again:

HerbFest 2008

This is a kinda-sorta "eats" related entry. For the last 9 years, the town of Wake Forest has hosted a nifty spring festival called Herbfest (there's a long history here). We've gone the past 2 years and throughly enjoyed ourselves. I could linger for hours touching, smelling and admiring all the plants (Paul would rather we pick something and move on!). We usually buy some yummy herbs for our garden and then a few interesting plants (like cinnamon scented geraniums).

It starts today and goes through April 27th - a whole week (and some odd days)! I can't wait to get up tomorrow morning to check out the duck parade, some bee keepers, listen to WPTF's live "Tarheel Gardener" radio show and of course, pick up some plants. Check it out if you're in the Raleigh area - you won't be disappointed!

Oh! And if you check out my cute town, stop by the Wake Forest Farmer's Market. Open Saturdays, 8am to noon - "Over the years, the Wake Forest Farmers' Market has grown into a lively community event each Saturday morning. We offer our own fresh-off-the-farm produce; pasture-raised beef, poultry, and pork; free-range eggs; fresh and dried herbs; honey, jams, and preserves; fresh-cut flowers; and delicious baked goods. The majority of our farm products are raised using environmentally sustainable agricultural practices, which are healthy for the soil, water, air, animals, and YOU!" It totally rocks!