Roswell Adventures

Here's how things are growing at our place in Roswell, as of May 15th... Starting with the front porch this time.  Black Prince tomatoes...we'll get to harvest one before our road trip!   Love the flowers... Hanging basket by porch Pansies and chocolate mint Sweet potato plant started from one that went crazy in the kitchen. Mint! Just right for mojitos!!! Front yard bales - squash peppers, potatoes & tomatoes mostly. Front bales Closer view of squash and peppers out front. Mailbox bales - Closest to farthest...beets, carrots, nasturtiums & marigolds, and squash. Our berry patch with the wine bottle border Chuck put in. Caroline Raspberries Caroline Raspberry on left, Chester Blackberry on right. Love our fig tree! Back bales with squash, potatoes and spinach. More back bales with the same. "Hill bales" with cantaloupe and watermelon   Acorn squash and pumpkins.   T...

I've heard of pesto for years, and I have been purchasing it for various dishes. However, I never ventured into making any until last year. I started out using fennel fronds, tried leek leaves (which have to be parboiled first) and finally made some with basil towards the end of last summer. This year, I decided to give kale a shot, and I can honestly say that pesto is my absolute favorite way of eating kale! OK, I also love it in soup, but in soup, the kale is the supporting actor, while in pesto it has the starring role! Pesto is really easy to make. I start off by giving the kale a bath in a sink full of water with about 1/4 cup vinegar added. Since this isn't organic kale, I like to give it a quick veggie wash (but refuse to pay the price for commercial washes when vinegar works so well). Let that soak about 15 minutes, then shake off the excess water and lay out on towels to dry. In the meantime, toast the pine nuts in a small pan. If you don...

  To say we have fallen in love with roasted vegetables would be a gross understatement.  I was first introduced to butternut squash by a co-worker who shared her recipe for Golden Squash Soup with me. Amazing soup...but sometimes we have butternuts when the weather isn't really conducive to making soup. So, I needed to come up with something new. After playing around a little, I came up with this spicy roasted butternut squash...and we absolutely LOVE IT! You start off by peeling the squash and removing the strings and seeds. Then you chop it up evenly - I like my cubes to be just a bit bigger than the size of playing dice. Toss it into your baking dish (I like to use glass baking dishes).  Get your spices ready...a word about your spices. We love the zip of chipotle, especially combined with the sweet smoked paprika, but you can go milder...or spicier. If you want milder, try some ancho chile powder or decrease the amount. Spicier? Well, i...