Soup, Summer, Surprise!

Okay, several topics for today.

First off, SOUP. For Christmas my in-laws gave us a Vitamix blender. The funny thing is, my parents did, too. I guess it was just in the air! But we are returning the one from my folks and got a super fun replacement gift already! I'm getting a tad bit distracted though. The point is we got a Vitamix blender. So now we can BLEND ALL THE THINGS!!!!!

The thing I was most excited about was making broccoli soup like my mom makes with her Vitamix. I tried with my regular blender once. IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS SOUP WITH A REGULAR BLENDER. Trust me, I thought it could work but you simply must have a very high quality blender like the Vitamix in order to really puree the soup. Otherwise you end up with chunky, watery soup with a horrific texture. Just don't even try. Don't.

So the first thing I did with the blender (after David made a protein shake) was make the beloved broccoli soup! This is the only picture I took of it though before we ate it all up. Yum, yum! This is definitely something I will be making over and over and over again.

Then today I tried cauliflower soup, and it too was amazing. I am in love. With soup. Sprinkled with a bit of cayenne it was amazing. I wouldn't want to put any meat or anything into it because it seems gross to puree the meat, but it also seems to me that it would be gross to have such a nice smooth, creamy soup, with random chunks of meat in it. No, this soup should be left entirely alone. It is food perfection.
 

I'm sure now you'd like to try this amazing soup with all this talk of perfection. It makes getting your veggies in really easy, too, as a serving is about 1/4lb of either broccoli or cauliflower. Talk about healthy! So without further adieu, I give you

Broccoli or Cauliflower Soup

 Yield: 4 servings

1 lb broccoli or cauliflower, frozen or fresh (I find frozen easier just because it's pre-chopped but still very inexpensive! I get 1lb frozen broccoli for $0.98)

1 tablespoon butter

Water

Salt

Pepper

Garlic (optional)

Notice the overall lack of measurements? Don't let it scare you if you're a strict recipe follower. I promise this is easy enough without exact measures! 

In a medium saucepan steam, or boil veggies until tender. If boiled, drain (but retain!) the water. Dump your broccoli/cauliflower into the blender, add 1 tablespoon of butter, salt, and pepper, with enough water for the veggies to blend. Add more water as desired until you achieve the thickness (or thinness) you prefer! I like mine thick and add as little water as possible. Add more salt and pepper to taste (I'd guess I add around a teaspoon of salt to mine). 

For the garlic I peeled 4 large cloves and tossed them in the pot with the cauliflower to boil. Easy peasy. But if you don't like garlic (sadness!) you can leave it out. But that will make me sad if you do, so don't tell me you did that. 

See? That's literally all there is to it! My mom has tried it with chicken broth instead of water, and adding some heavy cream to it, but I really like it simple like this. It's easy and cheap! I like the butter for flavor, but also because the fat helps your body to absorb the nutrients in the veggies better! So you really don't want to omit the butter. If you don't have butter, olive oil, coconut oil, or other healthy oils can be substituted just fine! 

Now SUMMER and SURPRISE! 

Am I the only one already excited for summer to hurry up and come? I want the blue skies, the green grass, the hours spent in my garden with my hands in the dirt and the sun on my back! The shorts and the tank tops. I am already working on plans for the garden this year and can hardly contain the excitement! I'm going to be adding a fence this year, because my free-range chickens have discovered tomatoes. That would be not good. So it will cost a bit more this year, but it will be worth it -- it will give me plenty of space for cucumbers and other climbing things! Now I have to admit, I have an extra special reason for wanting summer this year. The best reason! That is that I'm going to have a baby this summer! WAHOO!

I have never really mentioned it specifically on my blog partially since it is a public blog I never really felt like being that open, but we've had fertility problems since we got married. In the first 12 months of our marriage I got pregnant 3 times (possibly more) only to miscarry every time. After trying to improve my health for over a year after that, we started trying again and for over 2 years, nothing. Then we started seeing a specialist in June and still nothing. But after a total of 5 1/2  really difficult years, we were overwhelmed with the wonderful (and totally unexpected!) blessing of a positive pregnancy test a few days before Christmas! It was the most awesome gift of all, to be sure. Thrilled doesn't begin to describe my feelings. But it's a scary time, too, because of my history. So we're trying hard to take it all one day at a time, and just be thankful for every moment that we have with this precious little baby. Things seem to be going well though, and for that I am so, so very thankful. I am 6 weeks along now, so it's my 2nd longest pregnancy to date thus far. We're praying fervently of course that it ends up the longest of all, with a healthy, happy baby at the end of it! Oh and for the record (because I know some of you will think it!) we were on break from the specialist for Nov/Dec, so no higher-than-average chance of multiples. ;)  

On The Subject of Kale

Yes, that is what our "grass" looks like right now (sorry I've fallen victim to the demon Instagram; I'm trying hard not to over-use the filters and such -- but they're awful fun!). Pretty sad, I know (and no, it has nothing to do with kale, but I just had to mention it because it makes my plant loving heart so sad to see it looking like this!). And a dramatic difference from last year when it looked like this at the end of summer (and we thought the little drought we went through last year was tough):

So lush and green! And my herbs (behind my in-laws cat that yes, is about to attack my sweet little puppy) looked lush and wonderful, too, whereas this year they're barely hanging on and constantly wilted and pathetic. It all makes me sad. We desperately need rain. And lots of it. There are cracks in the ground outside big enough to lose our dog in, just about. I've nearly twisted my ankle in them a couple times, too. Gotta be careful out there! 

Anyway, that's not really the point of this post. This post is about kale! I love kale. It's so pretty and dark green and leafy. It's packed full of nutrients, too. Did you know that one serving of kale is a good source of dietary fiber, protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron, Magnesium, and Phosphorus, and is also a good source of  vitamin A, C, K, B6, Calcium, Potassium, Copper, and Manganese, according to NutritionData.com? If you can get your hands on organic kale, then all the better, as it graces the EWG's list of produce most heavily sprayed with pesticides, and is potentially even more dangerous than the items on the main list -- the leafy greens, kale, collards, and also green beans have gotten special mention this year as they "did not meet traditional Dirty Dozen ^™criteria but were commonly contaminated with highly toxic organophosphate insecticides. These insecticides are toxic to the nervous system and have been largely removed from agriculture over the past decade. But they are not banned and still show up on some food crops.". So if you're going to avoid anything conventionally grown, it looks like green beans and leafy greens are it! But one thing I love so much about the EWG's list is that they make the distinction that eating even conventionally grown produce is better for your health than avoiding it entirely just because you can't afford to go all organic. EAT YOU FRUITS AND VEGGIES! If you can't afford anything organic, eat them anyway! The risks of not doing so outweigh the risk of consuming things sprayed with pesticides. Their list is helpful though; they offer the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean 15" -- the former simply being the produce you would do best to buy organic if you can and the latter being the produce you can most safely consume non-organic. But back to kale! It makes me really, really happy to see it growing in my garden, even if I am having to water a lot more often than I'd like just to keep it alive. I don't buy organic seed, but it is organically grown. I use DE and other natural methods (like squishing!) when I have a pest problem, and fertilize with things like decomposed manure, coffee grounds, and epsom salts. I love gardening 100% safely, naturally, the way God intended! Companion planting is another great way to reduce pest problems, though I've only lightly dabbled in that yet, as there is much to learn and I'm still in the early stages of learning.

My favorite thing to do with kale is make it into kale chips! They are so good they're practically like junk food, except that it's not! I love foods like that. It is addictive and I easily sit down and eat an entire batch by myself if I'm not careful to set some aside for David. Here is some I made this morning (yes, kale in the morning! Kale in the noontime! Kale at suppertime! Kale, kale, kale, all the time!).

There are all kinds of ways to make kale chips; if you look online you'll find many methods from high heat for a short time, to low heat for a long time, and all kinds of seasons and oils and the list goes on. I've experimented a lot with making kale chips though, and have pinned down my favorite method. Here it is for you, so you can avoid some of the trial and error I experienced trying to perfect the kale chip!

Kale Chips

One bunch of kale

salt

pepper (optional)

olive oil

Preheat oven to 250°F.

Cut or tear the kale off the stems into bite small sized pieces (but keep in mind they will shrink considerably while baking, so don't make them too small, unless you want kale crumbs). Small stems can be left (such as tips of leaves and very small leaves), but if they're very big they'll be very hard and difficult to chew. Toss kale in just enough olive oil to evenly coat both sides of the leaves. Work it with your hands for a minute or two until it all looks glossy -- add more olive oil if necessary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and work the leaves again to make sure they're evenly coated. Spread out onto a cookie sheet or in the bottom of a baking dish, being careful that you don't layer them thickly, or you'll have some leaves stay soggy! Bake at 250° until crisp to the touch. Remove from oven and allow them to cool briefly before you eat them; they'll crisp up even more as they cool! Be careful too, not to let them overcook; if they start to turn brown they're getting overdone and will taste bitter. I bake mine for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of the bunch) in my convection oven, so if you have a traditional oven adjust your time accordingly!

And now you know how to make one of the yummiest and healthiest snacks EVAR! Go you!

  

Spicy Peach Salsa

You must try this. Must! I got it into my head tonight that our kielbasa could use a little somethin' and this is what I came up with:

Spicy Peach Salsa

A lot of people make peach salsa without cooking it down. I'm sure that's delicious but I love the texture of cooked peaches, so I chose to cook mine down. Here is what I used to make this amazing condiment (it's so good I want to eat it like it's the main course!):

6-8 small peaches (they were very small - but oh so delicious - picked from a friends tree), diced
1 med/lrg garden fresh tomato
Jalapeno pepper
Cilantro
Cayenne Pepper
Salt
Water

My peaches were sweet enough and bursting with flavor, so I didn't add any sweetener. You might want to if your peaches aren't as ripe as mine were (mine were actually over-ripe). Nothing is as good as sweet and spicy! I also left the peach skins on, but that's optional. I put the cut peaches in my saucepan and added around 3/4 cup water and let them simmer until soft and easy to mash. As they cooked I sliced up my jalapeno pepper (I only had one since I used all the others for dinner last night but if you are buying yours from the store or have more in your garden than I did, use them! They're delicious with the sweet peaches), tomato (again, I only had one from the garden today), and some cilantro. All of this is just to taste, so keep tasting as you make this salsa and add stuff until it tastes how you want! After I slightly mashed the peaches I added the pepper, tomato, and a pinch of salt and a LOT of cayenne (I wanted it speecy spicy), and let it simmer for just a couple more minutes. Took it off the heat, added a little more cilantro, and let it sit to cool. Now I just have practice great self-control as I wait for dinner to be ready before I can devour it.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

No, I'm not talking about Christmas (even though I am kind of a fanatic). I'm talking about the start of planting season! This week is when I ought to be getting my tomatoes and bell pepper started indoors. Though I'm not sure I'll actually be able to because I don't have any good soil to start them in and really hate to pay for dirt. It's kind of like paying for toilet paper. That kills me. Anyway, back to the plants, we've had such a warm winter I'm going to be wild and risky and plant a bunch of my spring stuff soon, too. Or at least some of it.  As for my indoor plants, if I can get my hands on some decent soil and the other materials, I might try this method:

Source: intuitionphysician.com via Megan on Pinterest

But I really don't know if I can get my hands on some plastic containers and old TP rolls -- We keep a little toilet paper around for guests and clients, but not enough to start a bunch of seeds with the leftover rolls. But this would be nifty if I can gather the materials. If not I'll just buy plants later in the season like last year. I've never had much luck getting peppers or tomatoes started from seed anyway. Have you?

This spring I am hoping to plant:

Potatoes
Lettuce
Radishes
Garlic
Leeks
Onions
Salsify
Broccoli
Kale

I am especially excited about the potatoes. We planted some last year and I'm not kidding when I say that those were the best potatoes I've ever had in my life. This year I have my potato tower that I hope will give us many more potatoes than we had last year (that is not my potato tower in the photo; mine was made using a bunch of scrap wood so it looks pretty old and beat up, but should get the job done anyway!)

Source: tipnut.com via Megan on Pinterest

I just have to figure out what kind of potatoes I'm supposed to plant in a potato tower. Only certain varieties will continually set new fruit as the plants grow. So if I plant the wrong kind, having the tower will be completely pointless.

And then there is the issue of chickens! We meant to get some last year but time escaped us and we never did. I don't want to make that mistake again, because having 4 laying hens ought to provide us with most of our egg needs.

So there's that.