Bird + Seed

Good Earth Day Vibes

While hordes of people in green shirts, toting garbage bags and disposable plastic water bottles [irony?] were cleaning up the Charles for Earth Day, we went for a bike ride to some of the more hidden parts of our City River's edges for some foraging.  Mostly we spied plenty of Garlic Mustard, a super invasive plant.  Damon & I cut a big reusable grocery bag's worth to make pesto.  We noshed on some just tonight for dinner:  barley risotto with garlic mustard pesto.

Friends Alissa & Stu came away with another invasive, Japanese knotweed [it's stalks are a rhubarb stand-in] and some stinging nettle [for tea, or as a spinach stand-in].  We also spied Burdock, but without a trowel, we wouldn't be able to harvest their tasty roots.  

We also potted a few plants [like the above hosta, a hand-me-down from my grandmother], dried our clothes on the line and started a compost pile.  I also spent a good deal of Friday and Saturday combating aphids that have attached themselves to our Viburnum, right outside the kitchen window.  I swear, that plant was dying last year... I fertilized it, cut off the dead bits... and now...aphids.  But a spritz of Peppermint Dr. Bronner's castile soap seems to kill all aphids on contact.  It's just the ones that hide that have me worried.  

I think we had a pretty Earth-Friendly weekend.  

Pickled Peppers

Sunday was the penultimate Farmer's Market of the year... until May.  [I believe that penultimate should be used whenever possible]  This time of year New England farms are still churning out plenty of root vegetables, brussel sprouts, gourds aplenty, some leafy greens and a few peppers.  I scooped up plenty of potatoes this week, and chilies.  The potatoes went into our growing root cellar, and I pickled the peppers.

I always thought canning should be done in huge batches- but not so!  I made just two jars of pickled garlic chilies with lemon zest.  One jar has my dad's name on it already.  The other will grace our dinner during some dismal part of winter.

This summer I put up a lot of vegetables- canned & frozen.  Apple butter galore.  Pickled onions at their peak.  Blanched and frozen peas, corn, spinach and peppers.  Frozen berries, herbs & peaches.  Dried herbs too.  There is something incredibly wonderful about putting up your own food- about knowing what to do when given a surplus, and knowing that you can take care of yourself in this small way.  I look forward to doing even more next summer.  But now I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor and those sweaty hours boiling jars in a hot summery apartment.

Literally, Baked Beans

The leaves are starting to turn here.  Every tree has a smattering of red or a general yellow haze cast over its leaves.  The farmer's markets are getting low on tomatoes and heavy with gourds.  I'm ready to wear pants again [as in, trade in my shorts].  I have 2 different tweed jackets in my closet begging to be worn.  But no- the humidity [oh the humidity] and temps near 80 are ruining early fall for me.  Even still- I am stubbornly trying to cook 'fallish'.  Much to my chagrin.  This dish is very fall [or winter] to me, as it involves 1) boiling beans and then 2) baking them.  DOUBLE STOVE/OVEN WHAMMY.  Which is something best not done in the hot of summer [or this strangely hot of fall].  But the beans needed to be boiled anyways and the oven was on to roast a chickie [for Damon, not me], so that is what we did- we endured a hot kitchen.  

These are literally, baked beans.  The baking crisps them up and coats them in flavor such that it's now ok to just eat beans as a side dish.  Right out of the boiling pot beans are slimy and gross- but tossed with olive oil, salt and whatever herb that would best compliment your dish [I chose sage as the rest of the dinner was risotto-stuffed acorn squash] elevates the lowly bean into a tempting side dish.  Or, shred a little cheese and add bread crumbs for something even snazzier.  Beans are best baked hot- at about 400-450 for 20ish minutes so that most are golden and a few burst under the heat and steam.  

When I boil up a pot of beans [which is 1-2 times a week] I make a huge batch.  Some will get this treatment, some will be turned into hummus or bean dip, some will be thrown in a soup, some will be made into burgers and some will be frozen [beans are great frozen- especially if you plan to add them to soup].  Adding this 'baked beans' recipe to your bean arsenal can really help get miles out of a large batch of beans.  And by miles I mean dinners.  Lots of dinners.