In My Kitchen – June and July 2023
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In My Kitchen – June and July 2023

It has been a very busy summer. Most of my time during the last couple of months has been spent in the garden. It needed a lot of attention now that the deck has been completed. The kitchen was placed in a secondary position…way down the list.

However, in my kitchen, I have flowers, lots of flowers.

Here is lavender on an open shelf,

and rosemary by the stove.

There are vases and containers of sweet peas in the kitchen.

Sweet peas

Sweet peas

The colors are vivid this year. It changes year to year, sometimes I plant pastels.

Sweet peas

Sweet peas

There are roses in my kitchen

and vases of mixed blooms from the garden.

The dahlias are starting to bloom, a bright red with chocolate-colored leaves is the first one.

Of course, I put some of the flowers in salads.

nasturtiums

nasturtiums

The fresh greens were from the garden as well.

Single-bowl dinners have been common.

Taco Chicken Bowl

Taco Chicken Bowl

One interesting new thing did happen in my kitchen. I know, I know… I am way behind with this trend.

Did you know that you can use fresh ravioli, potstickers, or tortellini in a salad? Of course, you do. But did you know that you can fry them (uncooked) and add them? Here vegetarian potstickers (frozen but thawed) were simply coated with a little olive oil and cooked in the air fryer until hot and crispy, then tossed into the salad. I have also done the same treatment for cheese tortellini. If they are from the fresh refrigerated section of your store (or you made your own from scratch – go you!), they don’t need to be cooked first.

Of course, the new deck called for a dinner party.

Radishes from the garden with sweet butter and salt

Radishes from the garden with sweet butter and salt

 

Fresh tomato salad with peaches

Fresh tomato salad with peaches

 

Cheesy polenta

Cheesy polenta

 

Beer Can Chicken

Beer Can Chicken

Lastly, here is the beginning organization for a larger deck warming party. Which got so busy that I forgot to take pictures. I am so sorry as the food was delicious and a good time was had by all.

 

I’m joining the In My Kitchen gang at Sherry’s Pickings this month. Please come on to discover the goings-ons in kitchens around the world.

In My Garden – June 2023
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In My Garden – June 2023

The big news in the garden is that the deck is finished. We moved the furniture and a few select plants back this past weekend and had our first dinner party on Sunday evening. It was the first time for guests in over three months, they started construction immediately after we returned from New Zealand.

Deck to the front door

Deck to the front door

The new deck wraps around three sides of the house.

Deck facing the meadow

Deck facing the meadow

There is a connecting walkway to the large deck in the back, off the kitchen.

Connecting walkway to the back deck

Connecting the walkway to the back deck with Quinn

There is a gap next to the house where I have planted a hydrangea and a couple of ferns. They should quickly fill in and discourage anyone from falling in.

New plantings - hydrangea and ferns

New plantings – hydrangea and ferns

The new deck in the back is both wider and longer than the old one. We eventually plan to put a hot tub in the back.

Back deck off the kitchen

Back deck off the kitchen

The contractor thoughtfully built a small table next to the grill, and a power plug under the deck for the Traeger grill when we use it for smoking.

All this has dramatically increased our living space.

Ready for entertaining

Ready for entertaining – Shanna and Quinn

Both dogs love company, especially when they bring along their own dog.

So, what else is new in the garden? My handy husband has been raising the vegetable beds off the ground. If you are a regular reader you know about my battles with the roots of our surrounding redwood trees. They are very invasive and come in through the bottom of the beds, through two layers of extra strong weed cloth. I have had to dig out the beds a couple of times a year to remove the roots. Plus the roots acidify the soil. Most vegetables prefer soil that is a bit more alkaline or neutral.

It takes a couple of days to dig out the beds and raise them off the soil. So far we have three completed ones.

New raised-raised beds

New raised-raised beds

I have long wanted to put in asparagus, but that wouldn’t work if the bed had to be dug out. I had this problem with artichokes and it didn’t work very well. The closest bed now has asparagus. I checked this morning and it is starting to come up. Unfortunately, I will have to wait a year or so before we can harvest any for eating.

First asparagus

First asparagus

The next bed has zucchini, a summer favorite. I planted several colors and types.

Zucchini

Zucchini

The last bed, closest to the house, has mixed lettuces, arugula, and some bronze kale.

Lettuce and arugula

Kale, lettuce, and arugula

There are still six beds to complete. The next one built will get more lettuce or green beans.

What about the rest of the garden? Well, it’s spring and the flowers are blooming like crazy.

There is still a lot of work to do over the next few months. A Meyer lemon tree lived in a half-wine barrel for several years on the back deck. It’s time to plant it in the ground and it is looking very sad right now. I dug part of the hole last weekend and hope to get it into the ground this one. Fingers crossed that some good dirt, fertilizer, and room to spread its roots will save it. I miss fresh lemons from the garden.

Meyer lemon

Meyer lemon

The strawberries at its base are thriving although the dogs and birds get most of them.

Thank you so much for visiting and taking a walk around the garden.

 

May 2023 – Goodnight Sweet Casey
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May 2023 – Goodnight Sweet Casey

Casey

Casey – toss the ball again Mom

Our beloved Casey passed away last week, she was almost 14. The above is one of my favorite pictures of her, she loved the beach and was so joyous there.

I can’t write too much because I will start sobbing. She was the best dog ever…smart, patient, loving, and calm. She was a couch potato of an Aussie in many ways. When my husband and I were still working, we took the dogs to a doggie-day-care business in Oakland. They would say that if the dogs were human, Casey would be the captain of the chess team and Quinn (her sister from a later litter) would be captain of the volleyball team. It was a good description of their personalities.

Casey and teenage Quinn
Quinn and Casey
Quinn and Casey, waiting on the stairs for us to pack the car to visit our home in Fort Bragg
Casey and her ‘blankee’, Quinn
Casey and Quinn
Casey and Quinn

 

Here are a few of my favorite photos from past years.

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They would both wait patiently at the door until we came home.

She adored belly rubs.

There have been many visiting doggie friends over the years, she got along with them all.

Quinn, Heather, Casey and Oreo
Milo, Cassey, Casey, Quinn, Nellie
Casey, Quinn and Olllie…ready for a walk

 

She was joined at the hip by her sister, Quinn.

She loved playing ball at Seaside Beach.

Her coat was so thick and heavy that we had her clipped in the warmer weather. She immediately looks half her size.

And then there were three…Shanna joined the pack.

Casey, Quinn and Shanna

Casey, Quinn, and Shanna
What have you done Mom?

Puppy Shanna adored Casey but certainly tried her patience.

Quinn is not alone. Shanna joins her on the porch to watch for squirrels and the UPS delivery van.

Quinn and Shanna

Quinn and Shanna

We buried Casey among the trees so that she could become part of the surrounding forest. She loved the freedom of Fort Bragg, being outside with me while I gardened.

Quinn resting on Casey's gravesite

Quinn resting on Casey’s gravesite

 

paper collage

paper collage – Casey

In My Garden – Mid May 2023
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In My Garden – Mid May 2023

Our 14-year-old Australian Shepherd, Casey, is not doing well. We suspect she has cancer, and it has settled in her lungs. She wakes at dawn, coughing. We think there must be fluid accumulation overnight. Once she moves around a little and empties her bladder she quietens and can go back to sleep. I get up and stroke her, sit with her outside a bit while she wanders around, and have my first cup of tea.

Once I am up, however, I can’t go back to sleep. I like the early morning. Mornings are quiet as far as people noise. But very noisy in other ways. The ocean is roaring this morning. The tide must be high with larger than usual waves. We are at least half a mile away but can hear the surf most days.

I also hear the morning chorus of the birds. Do you know the Merlin App? It can identify birds by their song. I let it run this morning while I sipped my tea, and it identified the following birds:

  • Swainson’s Thrush
  • Chestnut-backed Chickadee
  • Violet-green Swallow – they are also called tree swallows and have nested in at least one of our birdhouses
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Spotted Towhee
  • Wilson’s Warbler
  • Anna’s Hummingbird
  • Common Raven
  • Stellar’s Jay
  • Black-headed Grosbeak
  • Pacific-slope Flycatcher
  • and a Great Blue Heron (it must have been flying overhead)

That is quite a list and they make quite the orchestral sound.

The platform of the back deck (the one off the kitchen) is completed. We were able to set up two chairs and enjoy a glass of wine on Friday night. It’s also where I sat with my tea this morning to record the birds.

Back Deck Platform

Back Deck Platform

Yesterday I dug out two large plants (one was a huge grass) from one of the flower beds. They weren’t that attractive and were shading other plants. I’ve put in a few dahlias and other plants that weren’t doing well in their current locations. This is a sunny bed. My early morning excursion brought attention to a lone banana slug making its way towards the dahlias (they love dahlias) and I was able to intercede before any damage was done. 

I haven’t quite decided what I will put in the middle. I have a few more dahlias in pots that are just starting to emerge, I think they are fairly large and could go in the middle. Sunflowers??? I want a focal plant, something red or yellow or blue. Suggestions of things that work well with dahlias? Something tolerant of low water, redwood roots, acidic soil, and sandy loam soil.

The same bed, just around the corner, is rampant with Geum Tangerine Dream and Columbines. The Geums do very well and can tolerate crowding by other plants.

 

More pictures of that same garden island bed…

A lot is going on in this section of the bed…ravens wing, cuphea, geum, grasses, lavender, Verbascum, and more.

The one completed raised – raised-bed has lettuce and radishes. With our recent sun and warmer weather, they are doing well. We hope to complete one more today, I have asparagus starts I want to put in.

Spring is finally here.

The sweet peas are going to be in bloom any day.

That’s my mid-month report.

I will keep you all informed about Casey.

Casey

I hate to think about having to put her down. She’s been ‘the one’ for me. You know what I mean if you are a dog owner. There will be one special one. Casey came to us as a puppy just a week after Chris left for college on the East Coast. They have teasingly called her my ‘child-replacement-dog’. I’m her person and she is my dog.

 

May – Balsamic Skirt Steak and Chili Cherry Tomatoes
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May – Balsamic Skirt Steak and Chili Cherry Tomatoes

A butcher here on the coast told me recently that skirt steak was only of interest in the summer when folks used their BBQs, so they didn’t stock it right now. I mean really…we don’t live in the middle of Montana where temperatures are in the negative double digits in the winter! Can you imagine anything more ridiculous? Unless it’s pouring rain outside, BBQ weather on the California coast is 12 months of the year.

Consequently, the skirt steak didn’t come from our local market here on the coast. I purchased a couple from my favorite butcher in Oakland and froze them on my return to Fort Bragg.

Now tomatoes are a different matter. Nothing compares with summer sun-ripened tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes have to stand in during the cooler months and they could use some doctoring. I would serve this tomato salad with any grilled or roasted meat. In the summer it would be fun to use cherry tomatoes of different colors.

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Skirt steak cooks very quickly, it took longer to heat the BBQ grill. It also has different thicknesses, so everyone can have their favorite degree of doneness. Make the cherry tomato salad ahead, it will only improve from sitting at room temperature for a few hours. You can add the arugula (or basil if you are lucky enough to have it) at the last minute.

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:

  • For the marinade –
    • 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
    • 1/4 cup of olive oil
    • 2 cloves of garlic, grated
    • 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs, such as a combination of rosemary, basil, and sage – finely chopped
  • For the steak –
    • 3 pounds of a skirt or hanger steak
    • 1 basket of cherry tomatoes, halved
    • 1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced (I used 1/2 since one person is sensitive to heat)
    • 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
    • 1 garlic clove grated
    • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
    • 1 bunch of basil or arugula

Method:

  1. Whisk the marinade ingredients in a 1-gallon plastic bag or a bowl.
  2. Cut the steak into manageable pieces.
  3. Season the steak with salt and pepper and pour the marinade over it. Marinate overnight.
  4. Make the tomato salad by tossing the tomatoes with the salt and the chili pepper. Stir in the vinegar, garlic, and olive oil. Set aside until the steak is grilled.
  5. Grill the steak over high heat for a few minutes on each side, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
  6. Toss the tomatoes with the basil or arugula.
  7. Cut the steak into manageable pieces, and scatter the tomato salad on top.
Marinated and Grilled Skirt Steak with Spicy Cherry Tomato Salad

Marinated and Grilled Skirt Steak with Spicy Cherry Tomato Salad

 

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Chili Cherry Tomatoes

This recipe came from Malibu Farm Cookbook, Recipes from the California Coast by Helene Henderson.

Malibu Farm Cookbook

Malibu Farm Cookbook