In case you missed my post late yesterday afternoon, registration is now open for my new workshop, Summer Soul Camp. Please stop by for all the details. Now, onto our kitchen blog hop... xo

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Capturing my love of whole foods, combined with the activity of a bustling kitchen.

A weekly collection of photos from the center of my home. 

*     *     *     *     *

• Please tell me you all had something exciting happening in your kitchens this week because my camera came up a little short! I think it was part vacation mode... cheese and crackers with olives and smoked salmon - again - anyone?

• Every day now, herbs, fruit, or vegetables are brought into the kitchen and need to be processed for the freezer, dried for later use, or gobbled up on the spot. It's a pretty sweet life, these not too hot, abundant, early days of summer.

• I'm making a list to go to the grocery store this morning and am realizing if I just had a dairy cow I probably wouldn't need to go at all. Ha!

• Do you ever roast carrots? I had this batch set too low in the oven so they burned a little, but we love them. And big bags of organic carrots from the market are relatively inexpensive and store for a long time. Slice into rounds, lay single layer on a heavy duty baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, put a few dollops of ghee on top, and bake at 425-450 for about 30-40 minutes, turning every 15 minutes or so. You could get fancy and add honey and rosemary near the end too... so good. 

• I made a promise that I would not make any jam this year. Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce however, yes please! These jars were cooling and headed to the freezer (recipe from 30 Day Vegan).

• My favorite method for roasting pastured chicken is low and slow. Here is a good primer if you're in need of instructions.

• Some of you let me know that the recipe for Tuna Macaroni Salad never actually posted. I'll fix that later today, I'm off to take Emily for a haircut right now (must have not made it to publish during one of Typepad's recent outages).

Each day I find myself snapping a picture or two in the kitchen - a pile of ingredients, a table waiting for us to gather around, a sink full of soapy dishes, a cup of tea, dinner as it comes out of the oven - simple, everyday moments in the kitchen. These photos serve as a reminder of days gone by and as encouragement to carry on in this busy kitchen of ours when inspiration is lacking.

Every Thursday morning I'll post my photos from the week, words or recipes optional. Just glimpses into my kitchen and you're invited to do the same!

It's simple to join in:

• On your blog, post photos taken in your kitchen throughout the week.
• Words aren't necessary, your photos will tell the the story. Some of us enjoy adding a few thoughts to accompany the images... the choice is yours. 
• Feel free to grab the brief description at the top of this post, or add a few words of your own to explain the project.)
• Link back to this post so your readers can visit This Week In My Kitchen and join in. 
• Come back here and link up your current post (not your main blog) so we can all visit your kitchen!
• Join me every Thursday or the occasional Thursday if that works better for you.
• Please be sure to only link up if you are participating in this series. Thank you!

I look forward to visiting your kitchens! 

Begins July 21, 2014

~ 10 days ~

Registration is now closed.

Thanks to all who enrolled!

This year I planted shelling peas in the garden simply because I thought it would be romantic to sit under a shade tree and spend a few afternoons slipping peas out of their crisp little pods. A pea shelling meditation. It seems only fitting then, that on this very morning, the day that I open registration to Summer Soul Camp, our first harvest of shelling peas was picked. You see, the vision I have of my pea shelling experience is the very essence of what I hope for this workshop to be.

Think of Summer Soul Camp as the place where old fashioned living meets a modern day desire to slow down, be in the moment, and enjoy life's simple gifts.

If you enjoyed Hibernate, you'll find this workshop to be the perfect summertime compliment. Summer is fleeting, always gone too soon - gathering for ten blissful days feels like the perfect length of time. 

Summer Soul Camp is a self-paced, ten day, online retreat - a place to celebrate the light and warmth that summertime brings. A place to savor the sunshine, linger into the evening, welcome creativity, and allow time for stillness and spontaneity.

Every summer has a story, perhaps this retreat is a chapter for your summer story.

Each day of our retreat, there will be content delivered through our private class website in the form of beautiful mini e-books and videos. In addition, there will be an interactive community to share ideas and experience, if you choose.

You will pick and choose the projects, prompts, recipes and inspiration that speak to you, there is no need to do every little thing offered. Simply being with us in a way that fulfills you, is perfect.

A peek inside Summer Soul Camp...

• Market Bag Tutorial (the only market bag pattern you'll ever need)
• Setting Up "Camp"
• Create a Summer Inspired Vision Wall
• Herbal Healing From the Garden 
• Hand Painted Prayer Flag Tutorial
• Garden Bounty Summer Cocktails
• Whole Food S'mores (because it's camp!)
• Nourishing Summer Snacks
• Garden to Table Summer Menu
• Seasonal Essays, Photography and Writing Prompts
• and more!

If you've taken workshops with me before, you know I love inviting friends to contribute their gifts. Susan Cote is a local friend that I've known for over ten years and she has one of the most powerful, generous, loving spirits of any woman I have ever met. We've taught children's cooking classes together and have circled with other women around food and nourishment. I'm thrilled she will be sharing her wisdom on Herbal Healing From the Garden in this workshop.

In addition, my friend Emma Weiss, who is a talented songwriter (among many other things) will be sharing her music around our virtual campfire. Magical!

Summer Soul Camp is filled with ideas to help you connect deeply to the beauty of the season. A place where it feels perfectly normal, encouraged even, to linger under a shade tree and shell peas all afternoon.

If you feel ready to live this chapter of your summer story, than please join us.

I'd love to attend camp with you!

Begins July 21, 2014

~ 10 days ~

Registration is now closed.

Thanks to all who enrolled!

Impossible to get it all in one shot, but growing nonetheless!

Such a slow start to the growing season this spring. Everyone around here is feeling it.

Corn is up! I missed having it in the garden last year, so in went a row.

My favorite way to trellis cucumbers - upside down tomato cages with the prongs turned in so they don't poke your eye out. Use a few earth pins or tent stakes to stabilize from the wind and clumsy gardeners. Ahem.

Several flowers have come and gone on our eggplants, and no fruit to be found. Hmm...

You should have seen the cabbage moths dive-bombing the impenetrable kale cage this weekend. One tiny win for us!

Fourth row of peas (planted a couple of weeks after the others), broccoli under cover. Hope it doesn't get too hot under there... but the cabbage worms will devour it otherwise.

My Vermont peppers (there's about a dozen more plants elsewhere in the garden).

The keep growing, we keep adding boxes and dirt/compost. My russets are near flowering already!

This is the year Adam studied strawberry gardening extensively. He learned so much and now we have a few new things to implement moving forward.

Hello blueberries... I've got my eye on you.

Right around summer solstice is the perfect time to gather and dry the first growth of perennial herbs. Everything is so lush and green still.

Haven't even made a dent in the lemon balm.

We've shared quite a bit with the slugs this season (5 straight days of rain as they were ripening), but we've come out the other side and wound up harvesting about 3 gallons so far with another week to go.

For my aunt and uncle. I've mentioned it on Facebook and Instagram, but in case you missed that, we are attempting to give my aunt and uncle a basket of garden bounty once a week as a thank you for their maple sugaring help last winter. Hope we're able to offer something good each week!

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Well, that stretch of rain I talked about during our last garden visit, the one that invited every slug in town to my strawberry patch? I'm kind of missing that rain right about now. There isn't any real rain in the forecast either, just a few "possible thunder storms" here and there. Things are looking a little shriveled up out there... time to do some hand watering.

Keeping up with the garden a few rows at a time has given me such peace of mind. The only way to stay on top of it is to get out there for 30-60 minutes each day and tend a few rows.

Weekly Notes (to self):

• Spinach was disappointing. It was SO good early on, but it bolted to flower much sooner than it should have. I was over a friends house the other day and hers did the same thing, both of us are confused.
• I was feeling nervous about my late start on indoor seeds so when up in Vermont I stocked up on pepper and basil plants. Almost every year we go to Vermont in mid-June, and given that they are 2-3 weeks behind me with their growing season, if I need to fill in with any plants they'll have plenty available. And finding organic starts in Vermont is such an easy thing. My tomatoes are still small-ish, but they're picking up steam quickly so I think they'll be okay.
• Got the row cover on the broccoli. Don't think it's going to happen for the squash this year.
• We trellised the fourth row of peas.
• Raspberries are trellised.
• We need to stake the tomatoes, set up the poles for pole beans, and net the raspberries.
• I planted two more rows of carrots this week. I am completely obsessed with carrots this year... don't think I'm done sowing them yet... there must be another corner I can squeeze some seeds into.

Harvesting:

• baby kale (2 kinds), collard greens, swiss chard
• strawberries... so many strawberries
• lettuce, 5 varieties
• peas - snow pea, sugar snap
• garlic scapes
• early spring onions
• chives, oregano, parsley, lemon balm, mint, sage, dill and cilantro (self-sowed from last year)
• flowers - sage blossoms, salvia, rue

Thank you for stopping by the garden this week!

I was scheduled to open registration of Summer Soul Camp today, but I'm going to hold off until Wednesday afternoon. You see, my family is in a place of re-entry today, having spent the last week in staycation/vacation mode. I'm feeling so incredibly relaxed, and just need to sloooowly get back to it all. The opening day(s) of a workshop registration are always pretty high energy, which is super fun, but I'm just not ready to go full throttle yet. So, the workshop registration and all the details, will be here Wednesday afternoon. 

In the meantime, care to visit Vermont with me? We made a trip up for a few days and it felt so good to get a dose of my home (you know, the one that I do not live in). Isn't that something? Of course, I am totally grateful and happy to live comfortably anywhere, but Vermont? That is where I breathe easy and feel most like myself. My spirit has lived there for twenty years... hopefully someday my body and worldy possessions will live there as well. 

It's a pretty place, yes? I didn't take many pictures for some reason, but found these to share with you.

While there, we met with a realtor just up the road from Joe's Brook Farm to look at a sweet log cabin on ten acres that was for sale. But, we learned when she got out of her car that "another offer had just been presented this morning." My attempts at getting a foothold in Vermont have been failing for years... I have to laugh about it at this point because tears would just be too consuming. Remember last spring we went up to resume our land search? Did I ever mention here that within a couple of weeks after returning from that trip BOTH of our cars died on the side of the road? Let me tell you, very little takes a hit to your savings like having to replace TWO cars with something decent, safe, and reliable, at the same time. Ouch. That sure ended last spring's land search.

Anyway, we were talking with the realtor about Joe's Brook, which was just outside the door of this cabin (Joe's "Brook," by the way, would be considered a river by Connecticut standards), and I asked her if it was there for public use - could we swim in it and could my husband fly-fish until his heart's content? She looked at me sort of sideways, "Of course you can, it's there for you to use and enjoy at anytime!" I explained how great that was to hear because in Connecticut nature closes at sunset (seriously, you will get kicked out). The poor woman was speechless. I think the words "does not compute," were uttered. She then pointed out that all the farms along Joe's Brook practice organic farming methods so the water remains clean and safe. Imagine, an entire body of water protected because those who live along it simply feel it is the right thing to do.

Vermont. My spirit home, always and forever.

The rest of our week was spent lounging around here with either our noses in a book our our hands in the garden. And that was thankfully about it. I'm just about to finish Green Mountain Farm and absolutely love the simple memoir of life on a Vermont farm in the 1930s and 40s. My favorite reading is memoirs that tell the story of country/farm living in the 1920s, 30s, or 40s - particularly in New England. If you have any titles to recommend I'd love to hear them. There is a full summer ahead and what better way to beat the midday heat than with a book in hand and a tall glass of iced tea.

(Summer Soul Camp will be a wonderful pastime too... I can't wait to share it with you!)

Capturing my love of whole foods, combined with the activity of a bustling kitchen.

A weekly collection of photos from the center of my home. 

*     *     *     *     *

• The strawberries are starting to come in! We picked a couple of quarts on Sunday and another four quarts this morning. Today I'll be making some strawberry rhubarb sauce which I think is the perfect thing to pour over just about anything.

• On Father's Day we celebrated by making guy-friendly food (at least for my guy), country style ribs with homemade barbeque sauce. Cooked for fours hours at 250 degrees. Tender and smoky... and one happy father as a result.

• My family loves potato salad, but the cooling time required sometimes makes it not work out for a last minute dinner side dish idea. To quick cool the potatoes, I spread them single layer on a baking sheet and pop them into the freezer for 10-15 minutes and they are cool enough to mix up and either serve, or put in the fridge until the rest of dinner is ready. My potato salad is so simple - diced cooked potatoes, good quality or homemade mayonnaise, chopped hard boiled eggs (lots!), chopped fresh chives, plenty of sea salt and black pepper.

• We went up to Vermont for a few days this week, so part of my kitchen photos were taken from our little kitchenette at the inn we stayed at. Whenever possible, we always try to grab a room with a kitchenette. Economically, and for feeling better in general, I'd rather not have all of our meals at restaurants. It feels so much more relaxing to have simple foods to prepare and a cute little kitchen to do so in.

Each day I find myself snapping a picture or two in the kitchen - a pile of ingredients, a table waiting for us to gather around, a sink full of soapy dishes, a cup of tea, dinner as it comes out of the oven - simple, everyday moments in the kitchen. These photos serve as a reminder of days gone by and as encouragement to carry on in this busy kitchen of ours when inspiration is lacking.

Every Thursday morning I'll post my photos from the week, words or recipes optional. Just glimpses into my kitchen and you're invited to do the same!

It's simple to join in:

• On your blog, post photos taken in your kitchen throughout the week.
• Words aren't necessary, your photos will tell the the story. Some of us enjoy adding a few thoughts to accompany the images... the choice is yours. 
• Feel free to grab the brief description at the top of this post, or add a few words of your own to explain the project.)
• Link back to this post so your readers can visit This Week In My Kitchen and join in. 
• Come back here and link up your current post (not your main blog) so we can all visit your kitchen!
• Join me every Thursday or the occasional Thursday if that works better for you.
• Please be sure to only link up if you are participating in this series. Thank you!

I look forward to visiting your kitchens! 

A north facing, celery green painted room is not an easy thing to take pictures of. But, it's all mine so I'm going to let it slide if the tone in these pictures isn't quite right. A couple of months ago we did a little switching around and created this space for me to sink into my work, surrounded only by the things that inspire or motivate me. While there are no doors on the room, it is the most defined space for work that I've had since moving into this house. 

Productively working from home is not easy for me, being a person that is easily distracted by a sink full of dishes, laundry to hang on the line, or a teenager who is developing a life of her own that I still need to keep up with, providing support, and let's be honest, lots of transportation, along the way. Granted, I work from home (and for myself) so I can do all of these things with great flexibility, but there is a trade off. It takes me quite a bit longer to get the same amount of work done than if I left for an away from home workday. This isn't to complain, just an observation of my work flow. 

Balancing self-employed work (which is oh-so-easy to think about 24/7) with the daily routine of a productive home, add to that the role of homeschool mom... well, I just wasn't sure where to hang all my hats anymore. They just weren't fitting on the same hook! So, a little separation was in order. A room of my own. Maybe someday I'll be able to upgrade and have a room with doors, but for now, this is where I can sink into my work process, planning and dreaming in relative solitude.  

It allows me to welcome new ideas into reality... like Summer Soul Camp... where old fashioned living meets soulful nourishment.  Registration opens next Monday. 

Cheers to a room of one's own. Doors optional. xo

Capturing my love of whole foods, combined with the activity of a bustling kitchen.

A weekly collection of photos from the center of my home. 

*     *     *     *     *

• My parents were visiting for most of this week and I must have been quite busy with them because I hardly have any photo to share... which is funny because I was in the kitchen all the time!

• The radishes are winding down in the garden but have graced plenty of meals while they lasted.

• I'm the only one in my family who likes curry so it isn't made that often, but when I do make it I'm happy for days. Coconut curry with potatoes, chickpeas, carrots, and sweet onions served over brown rice. Amazing... to me.

• We've been enjoying smoothies with the thinnings from our kale and collard greens patch. We were able to add some of the first strawberries as well. Now that's a nice way to start the morning.

• I'm going to work up a recipe (this morning) for the Tuna Macaroni Salad from last week's post and add it there today. There were some questions I need to answer in that post as well, I'll get right on it!

Each day I find myself snapping a picture or two in the kitchen - a pile of ingredients, a table waiting for us to gather around, a sink full of soapy dishes, a cup of tea, dinner as it comes out of the oven - simple, everyday moments in the kitchen. These photos serve as a reminder of days gone by and as encouragement to carry on in this busy kitchen of ours when inspiration is lacking.

Every Thursday morning I'll post my photos from the week, words or recipes optional. Just glimpses into my kitchen and you're invited to do the same!

It's simple to join in:

• On your blog, post photos taken in your kitchen throughout the week.
• Words aren't necessary, your photos will tell the the story. Some of us enjoy adding a few thoughts to accompany the images... the choice is yours. 
• Feel free to grab the brief description at the top of this post, or add a few words of your own to explain the project.)
• Link back to this post so your readers can visit This Week In My Kitchen and join in. 
• Come back here and link up your current post (not your main blog) so we can all visit your kitchen!
• Join me every Thursday or the occasional Thursday if that works better for you.
• Please be sure to only link up if you are participating in this series. Thank you!

I look forward to visiting your kitchens! 

It's been a few weeks since I shared what is happening in my garden. I do hope to join in with Amanda and share weekly garden updates this summer. My project for this weekend is to turn last year's posts into a book for our family records. Because a permanent record of sorts is the ultimate goal of my garden posts, I'm afraid they seem a little more like note taking than blog writing. Hope you'll hang in there with me.

Grey days in the garden seem to be the busiest. Cool temps make for happy work.

I can't stop gushing over this kale cage.

I mean, really...

Three (of our four) rows of peas all beginning to flower. Peas, soon!

My first attempt at onions. Still have a little thinning to do.

The trusty trio. Big bucket for weeds, basket of straw for mulching, milk crate for sitting as one million weeds are pulled.

The beans are up!

Fingers and toes are still crossed for success with our raised bed/box potato experiment.

Last year I lost all my carrots due to insufficient watering in the early weeks. Our garden is quite a ways from the water source, but this year we've improved access and the carrots had plenty to drink early on. They're looking good so far. I went with straight up Danvers, having heard such good things about the variety.

Happy veggies beds. 

Each year the blueberries become more and more established. They are absolutely covered right now.

I'm competing with slugs for our strawberry harvest. I think we'll make it, but they are putting up a good fight!

*    *    *    *    *

At this point, so many things have been planted. I'm holding off on rutabaga, parsnips, a second (third?) bed of carrots, and a few other things. Once space frees up from the radishes and the first three beds of peas we'll have room for those things.

We've had a good amount of rain over the last week which was much needed. Today I spent a few hours weeding and mulching but only made it about a third of the way through the garden. It's such a pleasure to do this work on grey, cool-ish days so I'm really tyring to take advantage of it. I love hearing about how in large families each family member is responsible for 2-3 rows in the garden, all season long. I love that idea... and am daydreaming about what it would be like to have 8 more children right about now. 

June is a great time for the garden where I live. We've yet to see many pests, the rain is still falling often enough, and the scorching heat has yet to arrive so the work all seems quite manageable.

Weekly Notes (to self):

• Next year, plant triple the radishes.
• Start tomato, pepper, and basil seeds much earlier. Do not procrastinate. Those tiny seedlings are fighting for their lives out there! Late March (or was it early April) is absolutely not enough time. Show your seeds more love.
• Get row cover on the broccoli. And squash plants.
• Trellis the fourth row of peas.
• Trellis raspberries.
• Weed and mulch remainder of garden (I can dream).
• Planting a lot more flowers (from seed) was a good idea. Looking forward to the show of zinnia, bachelor's button, calendula and sunflowers.

Harvesting:

• baby kale (2 kinds), collard greens, swiss chard
• the first strawberries
• lettuce, 5 varieties
• spinach
• radishes
• chives, oregano, parsley, lemon balm, mint, sage, dill and cilantro (self-sowed from last year)

Thank you for stopping by the garden this week!

Capturing my love of whole foods, combined with the activity of a bustling kitchen.

A weekly collection of photos from the center of my home. 

*     *     *     *     *

• I prefer to stop in here more than once a week, but I was not able to make that happen this week. So, back to back posts reflecting all that is happening in our kitchens - there are worse things!

• After a morning in the garden, a garden to table brunch date for Adam and I.

• Our week got a little busy as we learned guests are coming tomorrow and I'm in a final week with the good people in my workshop. When this happens I tend to make Emily something that keeps in the fridge for a few days. Easy lunches and snacks. Tuna Macaroni Salad is one of her favorites.

• And cookies... (how about that Taproot cover!? Stunning.)

• We've reached serious marinara rationing mode over here. We don't even eat pasta much, but marinara is used nonetheless on a weekly basis. Stirred into scrambled eggs, dipping quinoa patties into, or used 50/50 with broth as a base for nearly all my soups and stews. We won't make it to August, but it was so good while it lasted.

• More dark and moody summertime kitchen light. Can't get enough.

Each day I find myself snapping a picture or two in the kitchen - a pile of ingredients, a table waiting for us to gather around, a sink full of soapy dishes, a cup of tea, dinner as it comes out of the oven - simple, everyday moments in the kitchen. These photos serve as a reminder of days gone by and as encouragement to carry on in this busy kitchen of ours when inspiration is lacking.

Every Thursday morning I'll post my photos from the week, words or recipes optional. Just glimpses into my kitchen and you're invited to do the same!

It's simple to join in:

• On your blog, post photos taken in your kitchen throughout the week.
• Words aren't necessary, your photos will tell the the story. Some of us enjoy adding a few thoughts to accompany the images... the choice is yours. 
• Feel free to grab the brief description at the top of this post, or add a few words of your own to explain the project.)
• Link back to this post so your readers can visit This Week In My Kitchen and join in. 
• Come back here and link up your current post (not your main blog) so we can all visit your kitchen!
• Join me every Thursday or the occasional Thursday if that works better for you.
• Please be sure to only link up if you are participating in this series. Thank you!

I look forward to visiting your kitchens!