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. . . the empty fridge: lentil stew

My fridge has a tendency to get pretty sparse by the end of the week, but that's nothing compared to the void that I've been confronted with as of late.  You see, while I love to cook, for me it's more often than not, a social impulse.  I like to cook for people, and when there are no people to cook for I turn into a sixteen year old boy.  I wait until I'm far too hungry to actually make something and then eat cereal for dinner instead. This is what I've been doing all week, that is, until I ran out of cereal and started to feel like I might be getting scurvy.

With no easy "fix" to my hunger and absolutely no desire to go grocery shopping, I started to scrounge. What you see here is pretty much the entirety of sustenance left in my house (apart from some frozen peas that I would need an ice pick to unearth).

Taking into account what I had on hand a quick lentil stew seemed to be the order of the day.

Somewhere along the way though. . .

. . . in the quiet of my empty kitchen I realized. . .

. . . I was cooking for someone after all: me. Perhaps I should do this more often.

 

Quick Lentil Stew with Caramelized Vegetables

Ingredients:

• Split lentils - 1 cup for every two people (mine were red, but whatever you have on hand will work)
• Water - 2.5 cups for every cup of lentils
• Greens (kale, spinach, arugula etc.)
• Potatoes
• Onions or shallots
• Other veggies (whatever you have on hand, carrots, fennel, peppers, squash etc.)
• Lemons (one or two depending on how large of a batch you make)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Butter
• Red Pepper flakes
• Bay leaves
• Cumin
• Vegetable bullion
• Salt and Pepper
• Garlic (sliced thin)
• Yogurt (optional)

Measure the amout of lentils you need for the number of people you would like to cook for and then sort and rinse them.

In a medium sized pot toss the lentils with a bit of olive oil for a moment before adding the water and vegetable bullion (one cube for every 4 cups of water).  Add the red pepper flakes and a couple of bay leaves to the pot as well.  Cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.

While the lentils are cooking chop your veggies.  They should all be relatively small (my potatoes were slightly larger than a  1/4" dice) but try make them different shapes (it's prettier this way and will also make it more interesting to eat).  Keep the greens and the onions or shallots separate, but toss the rest of the veggies in a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Pour them out onto a baking sheet in a single layer and put them in the broiler.  While those are broiling, sauté the onions or shallots in a pan with a bit of butter over low heat.  The goal with all of these ingredients is to maximize caramelization.  If you'd like crispy garlic chips you can make those now as well.  Toss the sliced garlic in a small pan with some olive oil over low heat.  Cook the chips in the oil until they are just golden and dry on a paper towel.

If your lentils are done before your veggies, simply turn off the heat and set them aside. When you are ready to serve the stew, remove the bay leaves and grate a bit of fresh ginger in.  Add salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.  Toss the greens in a bit of oil and lemon (if you're using kale, massage it a bit), and put some in each bowl.  Add your veggies, shallots, garlic and feta (if you'd like a bit of yogurt, add this first before the greens).  Squeeze a wedge of lemon over each bowl and enjoy!

~ Sarah

*Last time on the Empty Fridge: Breakfast for Dinner

... nature walk: caversham, reading, england

This week's lovely nature walk comes to us all the way from Straw Hill in Caversham, Reading, England. There, Dean and his family enjoyed the simple pleasure, and age old past time of rolling down a big green hill. Thank you Dean for sharing your delightful adventure with us!

If you would like to contribute to our weekly Nature Walk series, you can learn more about submitting photos here, or you can also visit our Nature Walk Group Pool on Flickr to add your adventures to the collection.

Thanks again Dean for sharing!

 

* Last time in Nature Walks: Simon Canyon, NM

... weekend zen

xox

~ i.c.

... saturday links

A few standouts from this past week:

 

- Check out this color riot of the coast of France. All natural and so good for the environment too!

- Earth's inner core is shifting its speed.

- Check out part two of of this fun bicycle adventure!

- We just love this ode to the "splendid little book club" and all things bed time story.

- Earlier this week we talked about the truly authentic life of Tasha Tudor, this video gives you an amazing tour through her beautiful garden. *Its in Japanese, but the footage is to die for!

 

Happy Saturday!

- i.c.

. . . a vertical garden

Although I live in the middle of a huge metropolis, it feels quite the opposite.  While my zip code reads big city, I actually live in a tiny rustic cabin built in 1926.  There are often hawks in the trees outside my window and I see opossums, skunks, coyotes, and raccoons on a regular basis.  It's sort of the perfect combination for me. I get all the amenities of a big city, but at the end of the day I can retreat to a simpler world.  It's perfect, except for one important aspect: my kitchen garden.

Since there are so many critters wandering around looking for a tasty treat, I've had to be a little more creative about where I put my herbs and veggies.

Enter my new. . .

. . . vertical. . .

. . . herb garden. Now I just have to figure out how to do this on a larger scale for my veggies :)

 

Hanging Herb Wall

Materials:

• 1-1/2" x 1/4" wooden lath (you can usually find it in the garden section)
• Plant containers of various shapes and sizes
• Peg Board hooks
• 1/8" aluminum wire (Easily found at a hardware store. You could also use baling wire, but that's a bit harder for children to work with)
• Potting Soil
• Waxed canvas markers (optional)
• Paint (optional)
• Herb seedlings
• Drill
• 1/4" drill bit
• Needle nose pliers
• Screws

Using your pliers and the wire, make a loop around the lip of the container you started with and wrap the wire around itself to secure (don't cut it yet).  Make a vertical loop and cut the wire about an inch longer than where you would like to attach the end to the wire that runs around the lip of your container.  Wind the extra wire around to secure (see second photo). Do this for the rest of your containers.

Once you have all of your wire hangers on the planters, plant your herbs in them.  If you are mixing in some glass jars, make sure to put some gravel or broken pot shards in the bottom to help with drainage. Set plants aside.

Decide where you would like to put your herb wall.  I chose to use the supports for my deck, but you could also attach the horizontal pieces to two 2x4's and lean them against a fence (like a ladder) or something of the sort.  Attach the lath crosspieces with screws (you may want to pre-drill to avoid splitting).  Once the lath is in place, drill two 1/4" holes for each container you have about 2" apart from one another.  You can place them in a vertical line or stagger them, whatever suits your fancy. When you finish drilling your holes, install the pegboard hooks and hang your planters on them.

If you would like a sign you could paint one and hang that as well.  Add waxed canvas flags if you would like (they were made the same way as our waxed canvas garden banners)

Happy gardening!

~ Sarah

*Last time in Crafts and Activities: Hand Stamped Garden Banners

... tell me a story: the best secret garden

There is something about the truly authentic, once encountered, it changes you forever. Its subtle imprints wear along the outskirts of your imagination, slowly but surely working its way into all that you do. Whimsical water color illustrations of candlelit evergreen trees and reindeer flying across a bright, full moon, influence how a beloved holiday should be celebrated. While the lush intensity of a green garden wall, inspire unbridled curiosity. From Mother Goose, to the Secret Garden to the famous Christmas classic, once you encounter the work of legendary artist, and illustrator Tasha Tudor, there is no going back.

Case in point, me. I was always far more interested in the pictures in the books, than the actual words describing them. I much preferred to let my own imagination do the storytelling. The artwork and illustrations of Tasha Tudor were among my favorites. I couldn't exactly tell you why at the time, but there was magic in those whimsical brush strokes and colors. The stories she brought to life through them are forever embedded in my memory.

At the same time as I was falling in love with these images, I was also entranced by the coffee table books filled with photos of country gardens. I guess you could say I went through a pretty intense Secret Garden phase, but I could spend hours looking through them! Looking back I remember one book in particular. Filled with photos of the most amazing garden I had ever seen, where an old woman in a long skirt gathered flowers and lived in the house of my dreams. 

To be quite honest it was only very recently that my sister helped me put two and two together. "Who is Tasha Tudor?" I asked. "You know the one who did Mother Goose and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and there's that book Mom has about her garden" she said.Yep, light bulb moment. Suddenly it all clicked together, this lovely old woman is responsible for the majority of my childhood day dreams. The world I would escape to, when the trials of growing up seemed to big to conquer, was one of her making.

So I started researching, looking into her life and how she lived, and that light bulb got even brighter. I tried to find the book at a local book store with no luck, so my wonderful mother turned her house upside down to find her copy for me. As I looked through the colorful pages, one word came to mind, a word and a meaning all too commonly diluted and obscured these days, authentic. Or rather the blindingly bright presence of authenticity.

Tasha Tudor lived her life according to what she believed. She lived simply, dressed in 1800's style wardrobe, and often went barefoot. She used the money from teaching nursery school to buy a cow when she was in her teens. Her obituary tells the story of buying antique dresses when she was just a little girl. She knew who she was and how she wanted to live her life, and she did it. Most impressively of all, she did it well. The authenticity of her very existence was extraordinary, and it showed in every brush stroke and illustration she created.The stories she brought to life, along with the very life she lived act like watermarks, and trademark symbols around the world. She was good at what she did, and she did what she knew.

One of the lessons they teach in journalism school (and in a recent movie, right?) is, write what you know. Reaching for what is popular, trendy or in fashion is great, but if you don't know everything about it and possess your own truth within it, it's going to show. I see this in  my own writing, and in the photos I take. When I'm not present, when I'm not wholly interested in what I am doing, my writing is boring and my photos are flat, my work unnecessarily suffers. The problem I find is that being that interested, that engrossed in what you are doing all the time, can be exhausting. Add in the fast pace of everyday life and work of our present reality, and its no wonder... authenticity is scarce. I know, once again, this is nothing new, but I feel like I (and maybe a few others, heck, maybe even the world) am at a turning point. I say maybe even the world because I see it. I see the desperate need and trend towards creating a more authentic life. One filled with gardens, home cooking and slower paced days. I say myself because I can see the cliff before me, and I'm not particularly fond of heights. So I want to turn back, but how? That is the age old dilemma isn't it? How do we move forward and encourage progress, while nurturing the wonders of our past? How do we remain authentic?

Something tells me, Tasha Tudor might have a few of the answers.

 

Write what you know...

 

~ Jordan

 

P.S. speaking of the old fashioned, we have a winner of the Rainy Day Giveaway!

And the winner is Jenn who wrote:

"What fun things to play with! Thank you for the chance to win!"

 

Thank you to everyone who participated!

 

*Last time in tell me a story: Rainy Day Giveaway!

... barn stories: everything is growing

Spring was slow to arrive this year, but I think it's finally safe to say that it is here to stay! As a result I have definitely noticed a trend of growth around the farm. In the midst of snow and low temperatures outside, the seeds I had tucked by the window have taken off, even the squash which took weeks to emerge are finally showing off their pretty green shoots.

The 25 baby chicks are almost fully feathered and ready for their next adventure. Their brooders can barely contain them! We have built two portable chicken coops to be rolled out onto the backyard for the next month or so before there final grand move to the chicken coop in the barn. I did get one rooster among all those hens, he seems to get along with them all, which is a relief.

Of all the newness and changes going on on the farm this spring, this coop is my favorite. Easy to assemble and affordable too! We are attaching wheels to make moving easier. Barney the Bull Snake showed up just yesterday for his annual visit, bigger than last year so the coops for these young chicks are essential to keep them safe for the next few months until they gain in size. Meanwhile the three roosters can get to know the girls as they patrol the yard (I think that's their job to protect the flock).

 

To growing and the watching over as it happens.

 

~ Deb

 

*Last time in barn stories: May Day Cone