photograph by karen hanrahan

I am so taken with the beauty of fruits and vegetables.

This stunning pearly lavender gem is an eggplant from Prairierth Farm.

Katie authors a delightful blog that shares her very full life as an employee, student, farmer and soon to be wife!

I didn’t purchase the above eggplant, because eggplant is one vegetable that I am not fond of,  however I did take a picture of it because LOOK at it!!

It is so beautiful!!

Shiso is Japanese

In Korea they call it Ghatnip

it is a cross between mint and basil

it smells absolutely heavenly

I have been adding it to my salad-centric evening meals

I am very drawn to it’s color and rugged texture

Nanam at Epiphany Farms introduced me

(smile)

photograph by karen hanrahan

Well, I made it last night and yum indeed!!

Pre-back one 9 inch pie crust. 10 minutes 350 oven

Add sliced sweet  vidalia onion, sliced zucchini, sliced tomato — all from the garden or farmers market!! Top with fresh basil, I also added fresh parsley. Drizzle with olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic and shredded italian cheeses ( mozerella and parmesan)  The recipe said add mayo. I forgot!!  It seemed to taste great without it !  I ate this with an arugula salad.   What a great dish to make with all your summer harvest !!!

from my garden  - plum tomato.

photograph by Karen Hanrahan

photograph by karen hanrahan

i am using them in marinades, salads, pico de gallo, with eggs and more !!

Thanks much to my friend Jody and her recipe sharing on Facebook.

Years and years ago I worked in a remarkable fish place. They would steam kale in a garlic broth. We’d squeeze lemon all over it, fresh cracked pepper and we’d all be in kale heaven!  I could never duplicate this.  Was it the type of steamer?? The broth they made?? I have no idea.

I’ve wanted to experiment again with Kale.  Always good to ingest yet another nutrient rich food.

This marinade sounded really good

Take 2 T of Olive Oil, 2 T of Cider Vinegar, 2 T of Tamari,  one clove of fresh garlic and mix. I add hot peppers chopped from my garden.  Toss in Kale and marinate over night.  She said top with sunflower seeds, fresh pepper.  I have added hardboil eggs and beets too.

YUM!!

My Kale is from local farmers Tom And Angie of Ackerman Farms

Bloody Mary’s In Your Mouth

These are simply a taste sensation not an opportunity to get loaded! You have to try it to know what I mean. This recipe originated from Jeff Smith’s Frugal Gourmet.

Boil water, drop in cherry tomatoes, remove when skins split, chill and peel.   Dip a cherry tomato in frozen vodka, meaning very cold vodka that’s been in the freezer. Dip in kosher salt and pop in your mouth. YUM!

This year I’ve experimented with a variety of vodka’s. The best to date is Absolute  Pepper. I typically don’t drink vodka or keep hard liquor around so when I want to do something like this I just buy those little bottles!!

images by Karen Hanrahan

What a difference a year makes!!

What are you doing with all of  YOUR tomato’s?

I personally have an astounding Pico De Gallo made.

Bruschetta is on the horizon

Pico De Gallo

chopped tomato, cilantro, onion, garlic, jalepeno or pepper of choice – squeeze lime all over and let macerate

serve with anything mexican

superb on eggs

Bruschetta

chopped tomato, onion,garlic, parsley, basil and lemon – slather with , olive oil, balsamic. let macerate …

serve on toasted breads, rubbed with more garlic, add bruschetta, more oil and fresh parmesan

it’s all about the ceremony with this mixture

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above garden fresh images photographed by karen hanrahan

Serve over brown rice. As a kid we always had fresh steamed green beans too.

So I thought I’d ask my local farmer. I get my eggs from Katie and Hans at PrairiErth Farms .

What makes an eggshell it’s color is the type of chicken that lays it!!

The Leghorn chicken is what lays your typical factory farm egg. Super white eggs, animals stacked high in cages, injected with hormones and antibiotics. Prairierth Farmer Dave Bishop said they lay eggs like crazy for about 18 months and then they die.

I don’t know beans about chickens but something about that statement bothered me.

When i first discovered, 18 years ago, the conditions in which mainstream eggs were produced I was absolutely horrified. Back then we sourced our information from articles or what people told us. Now there are documentaries like Food Inc and the haunting yet artful film Our Daily Bread, that share how our food is manufactured.

My eggs are from California Whites and Gold Star hens

( note: the links above re: the chickens are just links that show the type of hen. NOT the actual source!)

Lots of really good reasons to eat eggs:

* Eating eggs on a regular basis strengthens the immune system.

* Eggs are good for eyes and prevent macular degeneration.

* Including egg in our diets lowers the risk of developing cataracts.

* Eggs help in reducing the risk of breast cancer.

* Eggs foster healthy growth of hair and nails due to the high sulfur content, vitamins and minerals.

* naturally occurring vitamin D and are beneficial for eyes and skin.

* choline that is useful in the regulation of the nervous system, brain and cardiovascular system.

A good egg will be loaded with the nutrient lecithin, a natural fat emulsifier, offsetting the so called high cholesterol issues with egg

I think there is something absolutely positively eggy about that

photograph by Karen Hanrahan

taken by karen hanrahan

made another batch of homemade hummus

to make it green i added fresh basil and parsley from my very own garden

YUM