much needed dirt time

I just spend some much needed time in my garden. I have been out there every day, watering and checking on things, but today I got good and dirty. I finally got some of the flowering plants that I bought at the Botanical Gardens into the ground.

I am having so much fun watching my little garden bloom. My lemon tree has lemons, my strawberries will probably turn red and ripe this weekend (when I am out of town!), and my beans are just ready to come out. It is a new experience to grow some of my own food and I am hooked. I have always had a few little herbs, but nothing like this. I think that I will be able to put my tomatoes outside in a week or so. Then things will really be going! I can make an entire salad out of things that I have growing back there. My vases are also going to be full of cut flowers come summer. Brown eyes susans, columbine, Cosmos and Zinnias...so pretty!

How is your garden coming?

Thoughts on Grits

Grits are God's gift to Southerners
Oatmeal was introduced by Yankees who were jealous that God gave us grits.
Yankees worry that God gave us grits because He loves us more.
We don't worry about that because we know it's true.

Grits must be stirred with a wooden spoon. Embrace your heritage and stir -they will taste better.
Putting sugar in your grits is weird. Grits should be salty.
Cheese is optional. Who am I kidding. Cheese loves grits like fire loves air.
Black pepper loves grits too. Also butter.

Don't bother with instant or quick grits. If you don't have the 15 minutes to cook grits don't bother. Eat some toast.
Don't eat grits in a hurry. Sit down and savor the creaminess.
If you need fiber go get an apple.
When the directions say 4 generous helpings they lie. You may get 2-3 servings.

Always, always lick your wooden spoon. If you don't lick the spoon and scrape out the pan you are just kidding yourself. You don't really love grits.
When putting leftover grits away there should be regret mingled with excitement for tomorrow.
If you already ate the leftovers there will satisfaction mingled with sorrow for your scale.

Grits connect me to my past.
Grits are women stirring up pots of warm goodness for husbands and children -feeding the generations.
Grits are God's gift to Southerners.

A tiny shopping spree

After an afternoon of shopping I have two stores for you- At Home in downtown Homewood and Ann Taylor Loft. If you have never been to At Home it has some of the neatest stuff I've seen any place that doesn't have to check your credit before allowing you in. They have door knobs and glassware and some of the neatest little bowls I've ever seen. There's always something I wish I could buy by the dozen there. Today I found the most adorable jewelry organizer. It's a sort of shabby chic, cream painted iron stand with hooks on it for jewelry and a little bird perched on top. Since I did enjoy having the mirror in my old jewelry box I popped over to Hobby Lobby to buy a tiny mirror I could hang over my dresser since it's really too tall and narrow for a conventional mirror. I can't wait to organize all my jewelry onto it's new home and relegate that box elsewhere.

Ann Taylor Loft has been one of my favorite stores for a couple of years now -ever since I walked in off the street and found silk blend sweaters for something like $10-15. Today I was walking around trying to find a shirt that said, "responsible, nicely dressed, not punched out of cookie cutter young woman well suited to teaching small children." (My resume generated action from the hiring committee.) I also wanted a shirt that didn't say "I am your food budget for the week. Buy me instead of carrots." Let me tell you, by the time I got out of Macy's I was ready to swear it couldn't be done. The $70 shirts didn't attract. The $20 shirts didn't flatter or fit. Then (smacks head) I remembered Ann Taylor. In. Out. Twenty dollars the less and happy. Note to self. Always try there first. Their sale racks are wonderful.

So, what are your go-to places when you really need that one thing you can't find anywhere else?

Weekend round-up

Anyone cook (or eat) anything good this weekend? Any garden or house news?

For me it was the fresh summer squash with heavy cream, cheese and breadcrumbs (courtesy of Giada), and the Buffalo meat spaghetti. Ground buffalo ranks up there for my favorite red meat. It is by far my favorite ground anything!

I would like to put in a request for a recipe of one/some of Anna's cookies and/or muffins...they are the best

To a lovely week, Ladies

Blog freecycle

My love for gardening has spread around the office. The Garden book buyer left me a big surprise on my chair...books!

However, she has already given me a copy of most of them. So....they are up for grabs!

Here is what I have: (1 copy of each)
The Complete Compost Gardening Guide
The Gardeners A-Z guide to Growing Organic Food
the Veggie Gardeners Answer book
Incredible Vegetables in Self-watering Containers

Let me know if you want any of these!

First come, first get.

Happiness is just a stock pot away

As I sit here, I have a free range chicken roasting in the oven and a "Mineral Miracle" vegetable stock simmering on the stove. It smells like I imagine Heaven smells like...warm and comforting and nourishing.

No longer will I fret over what to do with veggies that are almost past their prime. Some water, seaweed (really!), spices and a stock pot is the answer! With herbs from my garden. Yummy. Gone are the days of buying the 'original recipe' rotisserie chicken from Western. I am a changed woman.

Hope you all are eating well this evening too.

She no longer needs you

I registered for the Kitchen Cure, on thekitchn.com, despite the fact that my kitchen is mostly organized. I wanted advice that will enable me to maximize that little space. So far, assignments have included taking photos of the entire room, de-junking the junk drawer (or in my case, the utensil drawer) and tossing expired food. (I was surprised that my cilantro had expired—and that my unopened jar of cilantro expires in six weeks. I’m also surprised that I have jars of cilantro. I’ve been buying fresh bunches of it, never using the jarred stuff.)

But the most interesting task so far was to eliminate processed foods, plus anything with MSG or high fructose corn syrup. I was startled by how much I found with those ingredients, but more surprising still: I almost never use any of those products.

The way I eat has changed radically, even though it’s been unintentional. I’ve always teased friends who filled their cabinets with health food. So much of it is bland, a pale imitation of the fatty snacks it emulates. When looking for a quick meal, I preferred staples like fish sticks.

But now my fridge is filled with green—broccoli, lettuce, spinach, zucchini and bell peppers all wait to be used. I found two jars of pasta sauce to give away. High fructose corn syrup was the culprit, but I must admit I wasn’t bothered by the waste. I can’t recall when I last used premade sauce instead of preparing my own.

I don’t know how to explain it. My taste buds have matured, sure. But this time last year, I lived with my grandparents and ate heavy Southern food at every meal. (It was good, too!) When I moved out, my diet quickly evolved into one filled with produce. I bought ingredients at the grocery store, skipping over shortcuts like pre-prepared chicken and steak. I’ve always had a high metabolism, and I do wonder if this is my body’s way of accounting for its inevitable slowing as I age. (I have no idea if my weight has been affected, positively or negatively, by my produce and heavy cream diet.) I can’t even claim to feel better or more energetic than when Friday night supper was frozen popcorn chicken and French fries. It was such an unconscious change that I don’t know the difference.

All I can tell you is I enjoy what I eat. It turns out that eating well doesn’t mean depriving yourself after all.