VEGGIES: Golden Hour in the Garden

After work on Monday, around 6:15 PM, I wandered over to the garden to check on my plot. The sky was blue, the temperature was warm and the light was perfect!

It has been very warm here in New Jersey and I wanted to make sure my soil hadn’t dried out.  I don’t want any thirsty plants! I spotted a pesky groundhog scoping everything out. Not to worry, I scared him away just by walking by!

When I arrived, I was amazed by how quickly everything had grown! Just yesterday they were just seeds and baby seedlings. I now have more lettuce, kale, cabbage, mesclun, and arugula then I know what to do with. Good thing every gardener in the South Orange Community Garden donates 10% of their harvest to the food pantry!

It is only the beginning of June and I already have tomatoes and peppers blooming! It is so exciting to see my hard work pay off. And it is an even better feeling when we eat what I have grown. This week we have been enjoying salads galore!  I have FINALLY been using my OXO Good Grips Green Salad Spinner! All of this salad eating has forced us to experiment with some new dressings. I cannot wait to share them all with you!

Entering The Park – Garden In The BackI See You Mr. Groundhog

My Overgrown PlotKale Yeah!Baby BroccoliGreen Bell Pepper

Yellow Hungarian Wax PepperBaby TomatoPURPLE CAULIFLOWER!Fennel and Rainbow ChardSugar Snap Pea Growing On My Trellis

LettuceCabbage

Baby TomatoesTomato FlowersBaby Jalapeno

My Green Haul – Ready For Salad!

VEGGIES: Community Garden Meet & Greet

Last week the organizers of the South Orange Community Garden hosted a Meet and Greet at the garden. Everyone pitched in and brought something.  My personal favorite was the Spanish Pan con Tomate (recipe coming soon)!  I had such a great time! It was so nice to finally meet everyone! We even have a few Master Gardeners among us (yes, this is a real thing). I can’t wait to pick their brains about everything!

I brought my fancy camera (Canon EOS Rebel SL1) to take some glamour shots of my vegetables and herbs.  Everything is growing so fast!  Just look at that broccoli and cauliflower! And the lettuce… We will be eating salads for weeks!

Garden Pick: Color Me MineJacket: J.Crew (old, similar HERE), Jeans: American Eagle, Shoes: Converse, Sunglasses: TomsGarden Flag: PersonalizationMall.com Escarole, Lettuce and FennelSeeds Sprouting!All of the PeppersCurly KaleEscarole Close UpTomatoes!

Sugar Snap Peas Crawling!

Baby BroccoliA HEAD OF CAULIFLOWER!!!! (my pride and joy)ArugulaHot Pepper FlowerLettuce, Kale and Brussels SproutsEverything is Growing!

VEGGIES: Year II Begins at the Community Garden

After a successful year at the South Orange Community Garden last year (see posts here, here and here), I couldn’t wait to get started this year! In fact, I signed up the the day plots became available! I may or may not have been one of the first people in line on that cold February morning…

Jacket: J.Crew (old) – similar, Jeans: American Eagle, Shoes: Adidas, Shirt: Loft (old) – similar, Bag: Rebecca Minkoff, Sunglasses: Toms

Plot Prepped and Ready for Seeds and Seedlings! Prepping the Plot Took THREE HOURS.

So when the garden opened in mid-April, I already had my garden bag in order and my seeds purchased. Over the last three weeks, I have prepped my plot with soil and compost (my arms STILL hurt from pushing that wheelbarrow), planted various seeds and seedlings and built a trellis for my sugar snap peas. It has been CRAZY busy!

As of right now, I have planted arugula (seeds), mesclun (seeds), spinach (seeds), sugar snap peas (seeds), green beans (seeds), carrots (seeds), heirloom beets (seeds), white radishes (seeds), red radishes (seeds), dill (seedling), fennel (seedling), cauliflower (seedling), baby broccoli (seedling), green onions (seeds), escarole (seedling), brussels sprouts (seedling), lettuce (seedling) and baby cabbage (seedling).

Escarole

Baby Broccoli

Lettuce

Brussels Sprouts

Arugula SPROUTING!!!

Sugar Snap Peas and Green Beans

More Lettuce

Per my fellow gardeners advice, I am waiting until after Mother’s Day to plant my tomatoes, bell peppers,  hot peppers, cucumbers and zucchini.  I am planting a wide variety of tomatoes this year, including cherry tomatoes! I am so excited!

I decided not to plant herbs (beyond dill) in the garden this year. They take up a lot of space and when I need them for a recipe it is a far walk for a few sprigs or leaves. I instead have them planted in pots on my balcony, for easy access. They get lots of great morning sun and are growing beautifully!

We have been getting a lot of rain here in New Jersey this week so I haven’t needed to visit the garden to water everything.  I cannot wait to visit the garden this weekend to see what has sprouted!

One of My MANY Garden Gnomes

Every couple weeks I plan to give you all an update as to my progress. I hope you enjoy the ride!

LOCAL: Farm to Table at Tillie’s in Short Hills

This past Saturday evening, E and I got all dressed up and went out for a fancy dinner at a new farm to table restaurant located in Short Hills, New Jersey, called Tillie’s.  I drive by it every day on my way to work and only noticed it a couple weeks ago.  It is right down the street from an adorable gluten free bakery, Squirrel and the Bee.

The day I noticed Tillie’s existence is the day I made us a reservation!

We arrived right on time for our reservation. Before entering the restaurant, I had my Instagram Husband take a photo of my outfit. It was too cute not to share!

**Like most restaurants in New Jersey, Tillie’s is BYOB

Jacket: Burberry, Bag: Rebecca Minkoff, Sunglasses: Toms; Dress: Anthropologie (old, similar here)

Shoes: J.Crew #shinyponies

Even though the restaurant is on a busy street, you don’t feel that or hear any of the hustle and bustle while seated inside. It feels like you are inside a farmhouse.  The wooden tables were set with mismatched silverware and vintage mismatched plates. These were complimented by the marble salt and pepper mills and marble wine coolers.  The menus are printed every day as they change based on the local ingredients available. It all just felt so rustic!

Within minutes of sitting, the waiter brought over some beer glasses and offered to open our Hill Farmstead E.  A special night out calls for a special beer which traveled all the way from Vermont via New Hampshire to us in New Jersey!

Next the waiter brought out the bread course, house made rolls and house made corn bread with a compound butter  on the side. As we ate the (melt in our mouths) bread we surveyed the menu and made our selections.

My first course was the chilled beet salad with shepherd cheese, hazelnuts and white balsamic vinaigrette. The beets were perfectly tender and roasted to perfection. The shepherd cheese gave the salad a nice tang, while the white balsamic added sweetness. The hazelnuts added some texture. It was an amazing little salad. There was not a morsel remaining on my plate!

E ordered the slab bacon.  He really liked the smokiness of the bacon paired with the sweetness of the onions and tang of the mustard. He, like me, ate every last bite!

On to the entree course. I was contemplating ordering the vegetable plate but instead ordered the pan roasted tilefish with beluga lentils. I am so glad I did.

The fish was cooked to perfection. It was flaky and succulent. The beluga lentils added some texture as they were cooked al dente. The baby kale added a nice pop of color while the beurre blanc brought everything together.

E was on the fence as to what to order. He is typically a steak and potatoes man but saw that the steak was paired with mushrooms and decided against it (E hates mushrooms).

He decided to ask the waiter what he thought was the best entree on the menu. The waiter highly recommended that E order the shrimp and grits. So he did! E said that the grits were luscious and smooth but also had a nice heat to them. There were seven beautifully cooked shrimp that punched you in the face with flavor.  For him it was the sauce that really brought the dish together.

Before we dug into our entree’s the waiter offered to take a photo of the two of us. Who am I to say no to a photo with my E?!

We finished the night with their made to order cinnamon sugar doughnuts with a vanilla bean glaze. They were AMAZING. The doughnuts were sweet and fluffy and the vanilla bean glaze was delectable! As you are well aware, I am a sucker for a good fluffy doughnut…

The doughnuts were the perfect way to end our date night! #agirlandherdonut

E and I were blown away by our entire meal. The food was bold, fresh and local.  Three of our favorite things.  For a special night out, Tillie’s is perfect! We will definitely be back soon!

Tillie’s, 519 Millburn Ave, Short Hills, NJ 07078

VEGGIES: Community Garden Update, Part V

Fall In New York City

Jacket: Barbour, Jeans: J Brand, Scarf: H&M, Shirt: Loft, Watch: Uniform Wares

As colder temps set in here in New Jersey, the leaves change colors and start to fall from the trees. It also means that gardening season has come to an end. Last weekend we pulled the remaining plants from my plot. All my hard work came out of the ground in less than an hour.  As this was my first year gardening I wanted to share everything I learned with you!

1.  Tomatillo plants grow to be HUGE! What started as a small little seedling ended up taking over half of my plot. I planted it at the front of my plot which was a mistake. It ended up stealing sun from many of other plants. Next year, if I plant a tomatillo seedling, it will be going in the back of the plot and I will make sure to stake it well. That being said, my plant produced hundreds of tomatillos. It was by far my highest producer. And we made some killer salsa verde.

A Beautifully Ripe Tomato & Kalettes

Watch: Hamilton, Shoes: Tory Burch

2. Baby Tomatoes. Everyone in the garden had them and I wanted them. I went to Home Depot to find them and they were sold out already. I will definitely be purchasing some at the beginning of the season.

3. Eggplant. I will NOT be planting eggplant next year. It was a lot of work for very little reward. I only had ONE white eggplant that grew. Also, the leaves on the plants attracted these small black bugs that were really hard to get rid of. They ate holes throughout the leaves. It looked horrible.  Thank god the bugs didn’t hop to other plants.

4. Lavender. While it smelled beautiful, it was kind of a waste.

5. Beets, Carrots and Radishes. I will be growing them again next year but I will be careful to plant the seeds far away from each other so they have space to grow.

6. Sugar Snap Peas. One of my favorite things I planted. I will have to make sure to plant them earlier next year so I maximize the amount of sugar snap peas I produce!

7. Basil. Next year I will only plant one kind. This year I planted four different kinds, including Thai basil and purple basil, and it was too much. We will be eating pesto throughout the winter as I have it stockpiled in my freezer. Not necessarily a bad thing.

8. All of the Peppers. This year my pepper plants didn’t yield very much. Next year I am going to focus on them because the peppers we did get were AMAZING. Especially the green bell, poblano and the shishito varieties.

9. Cucumbers and Zucchini.  Definitely growing cucumbers and zucchini next year but I am going to plant them with a lattice backing so they can grow up. Additionally, I am going to make sure that the soil has enough nitrogen so they don’t turn yellow. My fellow gardeners explained that coffee grounds have lots of nitrogen and should added to the soil around the cucumber and zucchini plants.

10. Fennel. My fennel plants didn’t grow very well because the tomatillo plant stole its sun. Next year I am definitely going to plant it but it will go closer to the front of the plot.

11. Dill. One of my favorite herbs. And it grows so well!

12. KALE. This year I grew kalettes. While they tasted good and grew very well, they weren’t our favorite for salads. Next year I am going to try my hand at lacinato kale. It is one of my favorite kale varieties and I saw that other gardeners had grown in successfully.

13. Lettuce. I was a little late to the lettuce game this year. Initially I didn’t buy any seedlings and was jealous of all my fellow gardeners! My gardener neighbors had a few extra seedlings and they gave them to me. They grew very well but would have been even bigger if I had planted them earlier. Next year, they are going in first!

14. Donate. The South Orange Community Garden requires each gardener to donate 10% of their crop to the local food pantry. Volunteers went through the garden and picked whatever was fresh from each plot and donated. It is very rewarding to plant and harvest for yourself but even more so to help those who are less fortunate. Food for thought.

15. Gardening is HARD work. After a morning of gardening my arms and legs HURT. It was like I went to the gym and lifted weights.

First Planting – At The Beginning Of The Season

16. Gardening is FUN. I am really looking forward to gardening again next year. I met some lovely people at the garden and it really made our new home in New Jersey feel more like a community. I hope next year I can share my garden plot with a friend. I think that will just add to the fun!

FALL SOUP: Easy Turkey Chili and Pumpkin Cornbread

The temperatures are coming down and the leaves are turning colors here in New Jersey. For me that means, it is time to clean out the garden plot, time to start wearing fall colors and time to drink pumpkin spice lattes! All exciting things. I am especially excited that it is finally leather jacket weather! When I got my first job out of college as a PR assistant in Hollywood, I used my very first paycheck to buy a moto style leather jacket from Madewell. It has silky smooth leather and I have worked it in perfectly over the years. I LOVE wearing it! It is definitely one of my favorite items of clothing.

As fall begins, it means it is time for playoff baseball and the beginnings of football. E is obsessed with both sports and as a result I have come up with several great game day eats! Last night E was watching the AL East Wild Card game so I decided to cook up some of my easy turkey chili. No Crockpot required! As a side, I threw together some Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Cornbread, substituting coconut milk for the milk.  The chili was hearty and the cornbread added a nice sweetness. It also sopped up all of the extra juices. So freakin’ good!

Ingredients:

Empire Kosher Ground Turkey, 1 package

Trader Joe’s Organic and Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, 1 can

Crushed Tomatoes, 1 cup

Tomato Paste, 3 teaspoons

Corn, 1/2 cup

Black Beans, 1/2 cup, drained

Red Bell Pepper, chopped

Onion, 1, chopped

Garlic, 1 clove, chopped

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 tablespoons

Paprika, to season the turkey before cooking

Garlic Powder, to season the turkey before cooking

Chili Powder, to taste

Sea Salt, to taste and to season the turkey before cooking

Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste and to season the turkey before cooking

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a Le Creuset Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until slightly soft.
2. Add the turkey and cook, crumbling with the back of a wooden spoon, until no trace of pink remains.
3. Add the tomatoes, chilies and their juices, black beans, bell pepper, corn, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, ½ cup water, chili powder, and salt. Bring this mixture to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
5. Divide among bowls and top with the pumpkin cornbread.

SAUCES AND SPREADS: Homemade Salsa Verde

One of the first seedlings I picked up for my garden was my tomatillo plant. After planting it I did some research and discovered that in order for the tomatillo plant to produce fruit you really need to plant two plants so they can cross pollinate. Unfortunately I had run out of space in my plot so I couldn’t plant another one. I decided to just let it grow and see what happens.

Well over the last couple weeks we finally had some of the flowers turn into tomatillo husks and yesterday, when we returned from vacation, I discovered that some of those husks actually turned into TOMATILLO FRUIT! So exciting! I picked ~15 of them (in addition to lots of other amazing produce) with the intent of making something with them for dinner. I was making some enchilada baked chicken so I decided a tomatillo salsa verde would be a perfect compliment. Maybe I was drawing some inspiration from our recent trip to Mexico?! This salsa verde recipe is ridiculously easy to make and requires about 15 minutes of your time. It was delicious! We had enough to seal into a mason jar so we can enjoy it for the rest of the week! I can’t wait to use it again tonight for Taco Tuesday!

Ingredients:

Tomatillos, ~15 small, de-husked and washed with warm water

Fresh Lemon Juice, from 1 lemon

Garlic, 2 cloves smashed

Onion, 1/2 roughly chopped

Sea Salt, to taste

Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste

Fresh Cilantro or Flat Leaf Parsley, for freshness

Directions:

1. De-husk the tomatillos and rinse with warm water. Under the husk, the tomatillo will be a little sticky. You are rinsing them to get this sticky substance off.

2. Boil a pot of water on the stove. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, carefully place the cleaned tomatillos into the water and allow to cook for 5 minutes. You do not want them to get mushy so USE A TIMER.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and then remove the tomatillos from the water and place into your Cuisinart Food Processor.  Add the juice of 1 lemon, garlic, onion, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper.

4. Pulse until smooth.

5. Taste for seasoning. Add more sea salt or pepper if desired.

6.  Add the fresh parsley or cilantro at the end for some additional color and freshness. Pulse until the fresh herbs are broken up to your liking.

7. Use immediately or seal into a Ball Mason Jar and place into the fridge.

**I used this salsa over my baked enchilada chicken breasts. It added a nice freshness and tang. It can also be used in a tostada, on top of nachos, with crispy Tostitos Tortilla Chips, over a burrito or over enchiladas! So many fun uses and so easy to make!

Tomatillo Ripe For The Picking

All De-Husked And Cleaned

The Finished Product

 

VEGGIES: Community Garden Update, Part IV

So it has been a couple weeks since my last garden update. To be honest, work and life have been a little crazy and I haven’t been able to spend as much time at the garden as I would like to. When I have had time, I have spent it harvesting some of the fruits (actually, vegetables) of my labor! We have harvested so many delicious vegetables including cucumbers, tomatoes, kalettes, lettuce, sugar snap peas, green beans, basil, zucchini and more! We have been eating a lot of salads! Recipes to come!

See below for some of my favorite photos from the garden. I have even included a few photos of me!

A Baby Cucumber

ZUCCHINI!

A Gnome In The Wild

E Is Embarrassed To Be Seen With Me In My Gardening Outfit

Shirt: Night Shift Brewing, Shorts: Boston University, Sandals: Havaianas, Hat: CVS

Baby Green Beans

Bush Crop Cucumber – ALMOST READY!

Home Slice Tomatoes – Ready To Fulfill Their Caprese Salad Destiny

Baby Zucchini

The Whole Garden Plot With My Personalized Garden Flag

White Eggplant – LAST WEEK/THIS WEEK

Just Picked!

All Of The Sugar Snap Peas

Sugar Snap Peas – Ready To Eat!

Shirt: Loft, Bag: Cambridge Satchel Company, Jeans: J Brand, Sunglasses: Loft

VEGGIES: Community Garden Update, Part III

We were away in Vegas for July 4th and while we were away I was worried about my garden. Thank god I have some very helpful garden friends who agreed to water my plot while we were away. I stopped by for a visit yesterday and everything grew so much while we were gone!

We were able to pick our first cucumber – it is HUGE – and we have several others that will be ready this week. So much cucumber salad to make (recipe coming this week).  Also, my first zucchini is almost ready. Who doesn’t love roasted zucchini?!

We picked some cilantro for Taco Tuesday last night. It added such a nice freshness to our turkey tacos. It looks like my white and purple eggplants are finally taking off.  The bugs loved the eggplant plant leaves but they are leaving the flowers alone, for now anyway. There are beets and radishes everywhere. Tonight I am going to pull the radishes and pickle some for salad. Then I am going to plant some more! The lettuce and kale are getting so tall. It has been great to have for salads every night.

I have so many tomatoes! They are all green at the moment but I cannot wait for them to turn RED.  Also, I FINALLY have some tomatillos growing.  The little green lantern pouches will soon be filled with juicy fruit! I was a little worried that the plant wouldn’t produce fruit because typically you need two plants to cross pollinate.  But it seems that wasn’t necessary!

It is so exciting to finally have some real fruit and vegetables of my labor. Gardening is hard work but really so rewarding! I cannot wait for next weeks update. Who knows what will pop up next?! (I am hoping for some carrots soon)

A Little TOO Excited About My FIRST Cucumber

Dill Everywhere

ALMOST White Eggplant

Tomatoes Everywhere

Almost Peas

My First Zucchini

All Of The Beets

Tomatillos Are GROWING

Another Beautiful Bush Crop Cucumber

SAUCES AND SPREADS: Garlic Scape Lemon Almond Pesto

 

 

As you know, E and I signed up for a CSA through Stony Hill Farms for the summer. The last two weeks there have been garlic scapes in the box and I have had NO IDEA what to do with them.  I had never even heard of them or seen them before. They have a funny look to them. See below.

I didn’t want them to go bad and I didn’t want to throw them away, that would be wasteful, so I decided to make something that E and I love – PESTO! It is definitely different then your standard basil pesto. It has a bit of a spicy kick to it and the consistency is a little more chunky, but I think it is even more flavorful. Enjoy!

Before and After

Ingredients:

Garlic Scapes, 1 bunch, chopped

Fresh Lemon Juice, 1 lemon squeezed

Slivered Almonds, 1/4 cup

Garlic, 1 clove, smashed

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt, to taste

Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste

*Parmesan Cheese, optional

Directions:

1. Place the garlic scapes, garlic, lemon juice, slivered almonds, salt and pepper into the Cuisinart Food Processor.

2. Grind the ingredients together. Add the olive oil to the food processor slowly, and pulse together until you get your desired consistency. I like mine with a little texture.

3. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or serve immediately.

**This is great on pizza, as a sauce for pasta or as a spread on toast!