Abundant Harvest (for you, Mom)

This is for you Mom.  I don't mean to rub it in or make you jealous or anything, but you're always curious to know what's in my weekly Harvest box.  so, here it is:

3 beets

1 bunch red leaf lettuce

1 bowl of spinach (bowl not included)

2 small heads of broccoli

1 large head broccoli

1 bunch of sage

1 bunch of something that looks like grass (it sort of tastes like garlic)

2 small Sweet potatos

1 large Sweet potato

5 Fuyu persimmons

1 small bunch of carrots

2 large apples

1 small apple

3 large Russet potatos

the box as it looks from the truck

the unpacked produce

I Meant to Take a Picture

So, tonight was the annual Calvary Chapel Family potluck.  I signed up to bring stuffing and green bean casserole.  My goal was to not go to the store for any ingredients.  So, in the freezer I had a half bag leeks, a bag of artichoke hearts, and multi grain artisan bread.  In the refrigerator I had two leftover sausage patties from breakfast on Friday, a half eaten sweet potato, one roasted acorn squash, fresh green beans from my weekly delivery of organic produce, toasted pumpkin seeds, shaved Parmesan cheese, a half can of chicken broth, a quarter box of vegetable stock and some leftover honey butter I took home after eating breadsticks at the local pizza joint.  In the cupboard I had some Panko breadcrumbs.  I started with the stuffing.

"Leftover" Potluck Stuffing

2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 bag frozen leeks
3/4 loaf of multi grain artisan bread cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 baked and peeled sweet potato cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small roasted acorn squash cut up
2 small pre-cooked sausage patties
3 Tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds
vegetable or chicken stock
sage, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper

cook off the leeks in butter
add the potato, squash, sausage, seasoning and spices
warm through
add stock
add bread
warm through
transfer to a large bowl
add pumpkin seeds
mix well
taste
add more stock or seasoning if necessary
transfer to
a prepared 9x13 baking dish
dot top with honey butter
cover
bake at 350 for 30 minutes
remove cover
add more stock if it seems dry
bake another 15 minutes or until top is browned


Carrie's Green Bean Casserole

2 Tablespoons butter
1 bag frozen Trader Joe's artichokes, defrosted and chopped
1 lb. fresh green beans
2 cups seasoned bechamel with nutmeg and red pepper chili flakes added
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

cook off artichokes in butter
set aside
parboil green beans
set aside
make bechamel
add the artichokes and green beans to saucepan
warm through
transfer to a prepared medium sized casserole dish
set aside
melt butter
set aside
put Panko and Parmesan in a bowl
add melted butter
mix well
spread breadcrumb mixture over the top of green bean and artichoke mixture
cover
bake at 350 for 30 minutes
uncover
bake another 15 minutes or until golden brown

Both recipes turned out really well.  Green beans and artichokes do seem an unlikely combination, but it worked!  They were very tasty and I almost reached my goal.  The only thing I needed from the store was milk for the bechamel.  I love challenges like that and I like them even better when they work out.  :)

I Love You Guys.  <3 <3 <3

It Only Took Two Days

It seems I've been lobbying to have this gargantuan tree removed from our backyard since the day we moved in.  The day finally arrived (nine years later).  Last Tuesday Drake from Ridgecrest Tree Service was hired to remove the enormous Eucalyptus tree from our backyard.  And he was successful.

Here he is on the first morning of his arrival sizing up the monster tree and calculating his plan.

He brought his wife and son to help.  They're on the ground.  Drake is in the tree.  This was taken a couple of hours after they began.

 This is the end of day one.

This is the end of day two.  Bye-bye tree.  Hello warm winters.  We had a friend come by to take some of the wood.  He filled up the back of his full sized pick-up and the piles look exactly the same.  That is a lot of wood!