Posts from — July 2009

Due to my experience with the sewing machine, and my willingness to do things for free (smirk), organize untrained volunteers, and my desire to puff myself up as president of the coolest quilt guild in Southeast Minnesota, I found myself at a meeting with my UUF friends talking about making choir stoles.  B, our tireless  choir director, had come up with a pattern, and II and KS, who accompanied me to the quilt retreat, had plenty of ideas.   We met, we drew sketches, we touched various fabrics for the correct hand, etc, and decided we needed prototypes, to test the theory that we could make high quality choir stoles with a group of enthusiastic, but not necessarily experienced, members of the Fellowship.

Since our choir members wear black and white when performing, we came to the conclusion that it would be cool to have black and white stoles, but it would also be very cool to have colorful ones, too.  Of course, that immediately doubles the quantity of sewing, unless we make them reversible, which makes the sewing more complicated.

More brainstorming ensued, and KS and I each agreed to make a prototype stole using the basic pattern B had, and that we’d meet again in a month, and hatch the final plans for a group sewing event.  I went home, trying to figure out when I’d fit this prototype in. Yesterday was my opportunity- DH’s book club was meeting at our house. When DH’s book club comes to our house, it is customary for me to be out of the living room,  so it was a perfect time for me to fire up the Bernina and the Rowenta, and start working.

Here’s a view of the result:

Prototype Choir Stole, front view

And the view from the back

These are made of 100% cotton fabric.  The pieces of black and white prints are sewed onto a muslin foundation,  and trimmed to the edges.  It’s basically like foundation paper piecing without designated sewing lines.

After sewing, flipping, ironing, and sewing additional strips onto the foundation at random angles,  I made a second layer of solid muslin to sew around the edges, and then turn right side out, so all of the edges are finished.

The strips of patterned fabric were cut about 3 inches wide, and the strips varied from 6 to 9 inches long, depending on the width of the foundation at various points.  I’d guess the piece at the point in the back is a bit longer than 9 inches.

From adjusting and cutting the paper pattern pieces to taking the photos took me about 2 hrs and 20 minutes, including cutting the strips of the print fabrics, so, if we were to do this with a group of volunteers,  dividing the jobs (cutting strips of print fabrics, sewing, trimming, and pressing, I think we could make the 16 stoles we want in about 5 hours with a group of 6 to 12 people.  Especially if someone else provided food and bev… and we had cool music to work to…..

(My Brain Flips to Volunteer Project Mode)

We’d have two cutting stations with rulers and rotary cutters,  one or two ironing boards, probably 4 to 6 sewing machines, and we’d be right there.

Before everyone showed up, I’d need to figure out how to explain each of the major sewing tasks (shoulder seams,  flip and press sewing to the foundation, then sandwich and sew around edge for finishing), the major cutting tasks ( Rotary Cutter 101, strip dimensions), the major pressing tasks (pressing shoulder seams open,  pressing seams open on strip piecing, pressing the turned stoles), and the hand finishing tasks (whipstitching vs. blindstitching).  OK… that’s not so bad.

Then we’d need equipment lists- what we need in total, what I’ll be bringing from my treasure trove of stuff. That’s a list for later.

Furniture setup at the UUF- big tables for sewing, ironing boards, cutting stations, power strips. Check.

Potential rough spots:  willing volunteers with old unworkable sewing machine that hasn’t been out of its case since grandpa was a pup……  How do I tactfully explain that while I can teach them how to sew these choir stoles, I can’t do sewing machine repair, and I’m not willing to be responsible for making their machines work on the day of the event……

OK. Have all sewing volunteers call for the pre-event interview:

(Scenario 1)

ME:  So, you want to help us with the choir stoles project.  That’s great!  Do you have a sewing machine you’ll be bringing?

VOLUNTEER:  Well, my friend has her grandmother’s old machine… I think I can borrow that.

ME:  Have you used that machine before?

VOLUNTEER: No, but she knows where it is in her mom’s garage.

ME:  Have you done much sewing before?

VOLUNTEER:  Not since 5th grade.

ME:  Why don’t you come without the sewing machine.  We’ll need help picking out fabric combinations, and cutting the pieces out.  And you know how to use an iron, right?

VOLUNTEER: I think so.

ME: Great!  There will be plenty of things you can help us with.  This is going to be really fun.

(Scenario 2)

ME: So, you want to help us with the choir stoles project.  That’s great!  Do you have a sewing machine you’ll be bringing?

VOLUNTEER: Yes. I haven’t used it much since I made my daughter’s wedding dress.  It’s not a new machine, though.

ME: (inwardly jumping up and down with excitement):  May I ask a semi-serious question?

VOLUNTEER: OK…. I mean, I’m not a great seamstress…

ME:  Don’t worry.  If you can make a wedding dress, you’re overqualified for this project, and we’ll be lucky and estatic to have you.  When was the last time you had this machine out of the case?

VOLUNTEER:  Oh, a few years ago.

ME:  Do you have time to take it out and make sure it threads well, and the tension is OK before the group event?

VOLUNTEER:  Sure.  I can do that tomorrow.  And if it doesn’t, I’ve got plenty of time to take it to Sew & Vac for a cleaning before we get together anyway.

ME:  You’re my hero.  This is going to be really fun.

And I mean it.  This is going to be really fun!

Israeli Couscous Salad, a la Whole Foods, supposedly

This is my copy-cat recipe, which I found on Chowhound, posted by ach77.  Mainly this is because I had some Israeli couscous, and I like couscous salads in the summer.  I have visited Whole Foods stores before, but the nearest one is at least 2 hours away, so I am not as up on their regular repertoire of salads available for purchase.  I was willing to believe the poster on Chowhound that this was a tasty facsimile.

I made three diversions from the recipe ach77 posted:

1. I had safflower oil instead of canola
2. I used white wine vinegar, since I have no champagne vinegar, and since champagne *IS* white wine, I’m doing as well as I can.  Those of us in SE Minnesota like to DRINK our champagne (or Cava from Spain), not make vinegar out of it!
3. I added the diced meat of 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs that were cooked in chicken broth, as a creative way to use leftovers.

I’m not sure if this will still fit in Lauri’s definition of a copy cat recipe, as I have never tasted the original, but it sure looks good, smells good, and has great flavors.  DH and I both like this with chicken… I guess I should try it without the chicken sometime, too.

Equipment

• cutting board
  
• chef’s knife
• nonstick skillet (for roasting nuts)
• pot with lid (for cooking Israeli cous cous)
• large bowl for salad
• small bowl for mixing dressing
• whisk
• rubber spatula
• measuring spoons
• measuring cups
• Microplane grater/zester or vegetable peeler
• citrus reamer (optional)

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry Israeli couscous (uncooked)
• 1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
• 1 cup pecans
• 2 scallions
• 3 Tbs safflower oil
  
• 1 1/2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
• zest of one orange
• juice of 1/2 of the zested orange
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric (or more)
• 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• salt
• pepper
• (Optional: 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cooked)

Prep:

1. (If you’re going to use the chicken, cook it in salted water or chicken broth, in a covered pot or Dutch oven on high heat for approximately 20 minutes.  Drain the chicken, and cool it.  I did this a day ahead, and refrigerated it.  Once the chicken is cold, dice it.)
2. Bring a pot of salted water (approximately 1 quart of water, maybe as much as 2) to a boil.  When the water is boiling, add the couscous, stirring it to prevent it from clumping or sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Cook for about 10 minutes, or until al dente.  Drain it in a colander, but don’t rinse it.  Set it aside and let it cool.
3. Dice the scallions.
4. Toast the pecans in a dry skillet (as demonstrated here with pine nuts), then let them cool and chop them.
5. Zest your orange with the grater, or peel off the zest with a vegetable peeler and dice it up.
6. Combine the safflower oil, vinegar, zest, and juice from the orange with the turmeric, tarragon, and time.  Whisk together to make the dressing.  Taste, and season with salt and pepper.
7. Put the couscous, cranberries, (chicken), pecans, and scallions in a large serving bowl.  Drizzle with the dressing, and stir until everything is well dressed.
8. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate.  The flavors will develop and meld in the refrigerator, and get better over time.

How I endear myself to my husband

After discovering that A) Deviled Eggs were on the Cook’s 100, and that B) we have lots of eggs from our CSA piling up in the fridge, and remembering C) my husband’s fondness for deviled eggs (He LOOOOOOOOVES them), thus I was committed.

My next step was to find my recipe, and see if I had everything I needed.  After 20 minutes of searching through pieces of paper, cookbooks, and magazines, I found it, or at least the sheet of paper that had the relevant information on it- the ingredients, and the directions. (Do any of us really need a picture of a deviled egg?  Haven’t we all seen them at countless picnics?)

Equipment

• pot
• stove
• bowl
• fork or other mashing device
• knife
• cutting board
• rubber spatula
• measuring spoons
• pastry bag and tip (or a plain old teaspoon will work)

Ingredients

• 7 large eggs (cold)
• 3/4 tsp. mustard (grainy or Dijon)
• 3 Tbs. mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire (pronounced Wouh-steh-sheer, for those not from New England) sauce
• salt
• pepper
• Tabasco or other hot sauce (optional)
• dill, paprika, or other herb/spice for garnish
  

After finding the recipe, I needed to take quick stock of the pantry and see whether I had all of the ingredients, and to be honest, I was worried I wouldn’t have any mayonnaise.  It’s not one of our regular food items around here.  Luckily I only needed about a quarter cup, and that was about what was in the bottom of the little jar, probably purchased when I last made deviled eggs for a picnic.  I know, I COULD make my own mayonnaise, and I promise to blog when I do, but this time, I sighed in relief.

There are probably scores (that’s groups of 20 for you young ones, and no, don’t ask me why groups of 20 have a name) of methods for hard boiling eggs, but I always use this one:

Procedure for Hard-boiled eggs:

1. Place eggs in pot (medium sized), and cover with 1 inch of cold water.
2. Put pot on stove (covered, if a cover is available – it makes the water come to a boil faster),  over high heat, and bring the water to a boil.
3. When the water boils, remove the pot from the heat, cover (if it isn’t already), and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 10 minutes.
4. After the 10 minutes, pour off the hot water, and cover the eggs in cold water with ice cubes added, and let them sit for 5 minutes, to stop the cooking and cool.

I have found that this method produces perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs, without the possibility of a green ring around the yolks.

Procedure for Deviling Your Eggs:

1. Peel the hard boiled eggs.
2. Slice them in half lengthwise with a knife.
3. Scoop out the yolks into a bowl, and mash them with a fork until there are no large lumps of yolk remaining.
4. Arrange the whites on the serving dish, discarding the two worst looking ones.
5. Add the mustard, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste, mixing with the spatula to combine.  Adjust seasonings, adding a few drops of hot sauce if you like it.  If you don’t like the stiffer consistency that this filling has, feel free to adjust it by adding more mayonnaise.  (I personally like it the way it is, with less mayo than most recipes)
6. Using a spoon, or your pastry bag, fill the cavities in the whites with the yolk mixture , mounding the filling about 1/2 inch above the surface of the whites.
7. Sprinkle with herb/spice garnish as you desire.  Paprika is classic, but I used fresh dill from our garden.
8. Serve at room temperature.

I think DH would appreciate it if I made these more than once or twice a year, but to be honest, I don’t think of it.  I always eat a few, and enjoy them, but it doesn’t cross my mind nearly as often as a treat, as say, CAKE.

Just to prove that I’m not the only one I know who’s succeeding with the EarthBox planter and tomatoes, here are two of the cuties in the family, posing in front of the tomato plants that Mom and Dad are remembering to water.

J & M in front of the EarthBox in Downingtown, PA

J & M live in Downingtown, PA, where it’s been wet, and plants are going crazy, as you can see by the lush lawn and the gynormous cherry tomato plant on the right, which is dwarfing the heirloom tomato plant on the left, which is only a little taller than J, who has just turned 3.  (Happy Belated Birthday, J!)

Now that our basil plants in the EarthBoxes are going like gangbusters, it was time to make the first classic Pesto Genovese for the summer. The recipe I’m providing here is pretty general, since DH and I do  this by eyeball and tastebuds now.

Equipment

• food processor or mortar & pestle
• garlic press (optional)
• knife and cutting board (if you don’t use a garlic press)
• Microplane  or other fine cheese grater
• bowls (2) or 1 bowl and 1 plate
• rubber spatula
• salad spinner
• nonstick skillet
• pot holder

Ingredients

• fresh basil leaves, approximately 4 cups, lightly packed
• Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, approximately 1 1/4 cups,  freshly grated
• pine nuts, approximately 3/4 cup
• garlic, 4-6 cloves
• salt to taste
• lemon juice, approximately 3 Tablespoons
• olive oil – use the good stuff if you feel like it- there’s no heat to kill the subtle flavors in this recipe.

Prep

1. Pick all the basil leaves off their stems, then rinse and dry in a salad spinner.
2. Grate your cheese with the fine cheese grater onto a plate or bowl.
3. Peel your garlic, if you’re not using a garlic press, or if your garlic press won’t work well with unpeeled cloves.

Here's our basil, in two different varieties

Here's the grated cheese

And some small garlic cloves with the press. No peeling for me!

Process

1. Put the pine nuts in the nonstick skillet on the stove over medium heat.  Toast the pine nuts, flipping them every minute or two, until they are toasty.  Don’t leave the stove when you do this because there’s a very fine line between toasted and singed.
2. Put the basil, pine nuts, and garlic into the food processor or mortar and pestle.  If you’re using the processor, pulse until you get small consistently sized bits.  If you’re using a mortar and pestle, bash the ingredients until you’re satisfied they’re well mixed.
3. Add olive oil  and pulse or mix until you have a smooth paste/slurry (approx. 3/4 cup)
4. Using a rubber scraper/spatula, move the paste to a bowl.
5. Mix in 3/4 of the grated cheese, and about half the lemon juice.
6. Taste the pesto, then add salt and more cheese or lemon juice until it fits your taste buds.
7. Use immediately, or store in plastic containers, with plastic wrap pushed onto the surface to prevent oxidization, or with a thin layer of olive oil over the top. Otherwise, the pesto will turn brownish.  This isn’t dangerous, just not as aesthetically pleasing.  Store the pesto in the fridge. It will last a couple weeks.  This recipe made enough for about 2 lbs of pasta.

Beginning of Toasting Procedure

Toasted pine nuts - I erred on the side of caution

Completed Pesto

July 4th morning, at the Farmer's Market

I’ve promised an update on our local Farmer’s Market, and here it is.  This all started this morning around 8AM, when Mr. Mike Rupprecht called.  He’s the husband half of Earth Be Glad Farm in Lewiston, MN.  He called to tell me that my chickens were ready, and I could pick them up at the Farmer’s Market (last year we drove over to the farm to pick them up).

After my morning coffee, I got on my shopping bike with my wallet and bags, and rode to the Farmer’s Market.  The picture above shows that the number of vendors has more than doubled since I last documented a visit.

Earth Be Glad Farm's Booth

Here is Johanna Rupprecht, on the left, Mike and Jennifer’s daughter, who helped me out, shortly after I took this photo.  Mike is on the other end of the table, helping many customers.  Jennifer’s arm is visible between them, lifting the freezer lid.   The Rupprechts’ specialty is grass fed beef, but they raise the chickens each year, and Jennifer makes lovely bouquets to sell, too.  Her gardens were one of the real treats of visiting the farm last summer.

I had ordered 8 chickens, but I came home with 10, since Mike said they had a few extras, and not much freezer space.  Most of these chickens are much bigger than what you see in the supermarket- these averaged 6-8 lbs.  We only got 4 last year, and we were really bummed when they were all gone.  Now that we’ve got a big freezer, we may have one left when it gets cold.

We loaded up my bags that I have in my bike basket, Johanna jotted up my total, and I wrote a check.  A colleague of my husband and avid gardener came up to the stand while I was writing, and asked about my baskets..  This is what’s fun about the farmer’s market- friendly interchange.

I got these friends to take a picture of my bike, which was by then rather challenging to balance, with about 80 lbs. of chickens in the baskets.

The Shopping Bike, doing its best work

I did manage to get myself to another booth, run by Shao, who is from La Crosse, WI.

Shao, a vendor from La Crosse, WI

Not only does Shao sell vegetables ( I bought two bunches of garlic scapes), she also makes beautiful bouquets.  Note the price.  Florists should be scared!

Aren't these good value?

After the brief ride home, I stuffed all but one of the chickens into the freezer, deciding that Beer Can Chicken would be a perfect 4th of July dinner.

It had been an idea planned for weeks… Girls Day Out in the Twin Cities- an excuse to go to the St. Paul Farmer’s Market, and to visit some other food related haunts, and to do city stuff we can’t do every day in our more rural existence.  J, L, and I had planned this trip about a week after Easter (L and J are friends from the UUF in La Crosse, WI).  J’s son R and DIL live in the Twin Cities, so to meet up with R for lunch was also on the agenda.

In sum, we had lots of fun, but we didn’t get to all of the items on our agenda.  Most of the reason is driving and traffic related.  Allow me to set the scene for you.

How much of the day looked, but not all

We are currently in Minnesota’s less publicized season (road construction) that has not yet featured largely in a Coen Brothers movie. Cone zones and detours are a major feature of this season, which can do heck on the timing on road trips.  None of the three amigas on this trip actually LIVE in the Twin Cities, nor have we lived there in the last 25 years. Each of the three of us have our own foibles, which don’t make road trips DANGEROUS, but just slightly more challenging. For example…. ability to see (or not see) signs at distances, inability to hear what others are saying in a right ear, inability to operate our own cell phones, inability to determine from terse directions whether that was 7th Avenue in St. Paul (near St. Paul Farmer’s Market, evidently), or 7th Avenue N in Minneapolis (home of the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market) – trust me, they aren’t the same road – and you can understand why we spent a lot of the day driving.   I can, however,  tell you that the same University Avenue which goes North-South in Minneapolis does become the same University Avenue that goes East-West into St. Paul.  How we got to the N-S part from the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market on 7th Ave N to University Avenue is our secret.

Yes, we did end up circumnavigating the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market, which is held at an underpass site near one of the major highway interchanges.  Why didn’t we stop and look?  First, because there was no place to park (this farmer’s market attracts a MUCH bigger crowd than the one I go to at home), and secondly, according to J, the one in St. Paul is better.  We were willing to believe that, so we got back on the highway, you guessed it, going West instead of East.  Here’s where sign reading and terse directions got us lost.  After a phone call or two with R, we set a time to meet for lunch, and found ourselves on University Avenue, going south, back into Minneapolis, where we drove by the North Minneapolis Farmer’s Market between stoplights.

At least on this street, we came to a landmark that I knew- Surdyk’s liquor and food market.

J in front of Surdyk's, where we went cheese and wine tasting

In order to prevent a blood sugar meltdown, we did what any sane person would do… go in and taste cheese!  J got some of her favorite Swiss and a good smelly blue from Wisconsin, and I purchased a couple I hadn’t had before – A Goodhue cheddar made in Minnesota, and a lovely goat cheddar from Carr Valley in Wisconsin.  Lest you think we are holier than thou locavores, I also took this opportunity to buy some Speck,  a case of Dolcetto (which will be the house red for a while) and a few lovely bottles of Umbrian rosato for these steamy summer evenings.    So my goal of stocking up on wine was reached, even if we still didn’t make it to the St. Paul farmers market yet.

Soon, as it was about 12:15, and we had a 1:30 lunch appointment, we got back in the van, to forge forward towards St. Paul, in hopes to at least SEE where the Farmer’s Market was.  We got back on University, now heading east, toward the capitol.  With a few more cone zones and one way detours, we drove by the new football stadium at the University of Minnesota, which is a lovely new facility, but not our destination.  We were finally diverted back to University, where we drove out of Minneapolis and into an Asian section of St. Paul, where we drove by an Asian farmer’s market. We gave ourselves a time limit of 1PM, and we got as far as….. the Capitol.

Note the blur of the road sign... we were on a mission.

We had to turn around, since we knew we’d likely have one-way issues getting back to our designated lunch location, and one of our planned stops:  The Holy Land.

In case you think we’d completely lost our minds and were rushing toward the airport for a trip to Israel, I’m referring to a local establishment that is growing by leaps and bounds… Here’s a link to the Holy Land conglomeration of stores and enterprises.  It was started by a Muslim family in 1987, and has grown from a small grocery store and Halal meat market to st0res, commercial bakery, catering, and restaurants.  Their products (particularly pita, baba ganoush, hummus, and falafel) are available regionally- even in our little burg at home!)  Several former employees at the Holy Land have also branched out to start other local businesses on Central Ave. in North Minneapolis.  R has lived in the area for a long time, and this is a favorite lunch spot for him.

The Holy Land is a great place to go for middle eastern classic ingredients.  They bake all kinds of flatbreads.  I’ve seen Ethiopian breads along with Greek breads, Syrian breads, etc.  They have a counter with at least 8 types of Feta cheese, and as many varieties of olives and other condiments.  The Holy Land is the first store where I’ve seen fresh almonds, in their furry green pods.  The butchery case has chicken and typical beef cuts, but also several things you don’t see in shrink wrapped trays every day:

Do you think Tony Bourdain would like the lamb hearts?

How about some lamb tongues or beef tripe?

Actually, the label on the left says “BEEF STOMACH”.  No sugar coating it here.

I didn’t buy any meat, but I did stock up on breads, olive oil, and Jordan Almonds.  (This is where we got them for our wedding favors two summers ago.)

For lunch, J and I had gyros (J the sandwich, me  the plate with rice), and L had the stuffed grape leaves plate with hummus.  The food was delicious, and I had plenty left over to bring home to share with DH.

After lunch, R took us to two establishments in St. Anthony, MN, which were both fun for the foodie set… we went first to Annona Gourmet, where you can taste olive oils, vinegars, and salts.  They had some lovely infused oils, and several oils from different parts of the world.  I purchased olive oil infused with Persian Lime, which the proprietor assured me is excellent with fish.  I see some salmon in its future. L got some of the Blood Orange infused oil, which we were assured makes great viniagrettes with some of the flavored vinegars.

After some interesting tastings, we then went to Tea Source, which has a store in the same shopping center.  These folks are very knowledgeable about teas and tisanes, and have been in St Paul for 20 years.  I tastes a mango green tea, and a lovely black tea with a subtle taste, but a surprising almond flavored finish.  They do mail order, as does Annona.

Our final stop of the day was at IKEA, on our way home, where we had lots of fun looking through the rooms, trying out office chairs, and playing “spot the real one” in the plant section, among other things.  Then for the drive home, which was as chatty and informative (and opinionated) as the ride up.  J and L dropped me off at home about 12 hours after we left.  We’re already planning for another one of these… September maybe?  Hopefully some of the construction will be completed by then.  And I’ll be sure to make some maps of the St. Paul Farmer’s Market, so we’ll get there.

Our first picking

I’m pleased to say that we’re having good luck again this year with our EarthBoxes.  I picked these 5 cherry tomatoes (variety Sun Gold) from our plant on June 28th.  Yes, they are supposed to be orange, not red.

Here’s where I picked them from:

Ripening Sun Golds

What’s even more impressive is that the plant itself is now taller than we are, and is expecting a second level of trellising soon:

The plant's HUGE!

This is mostly due to lots of moist rainy days, then a sudden surge of sun and heat, I’m guessing.  It’s almost shocking how quickly we went from basic plants with a few blooms to bushes with big green tomatoes.  We’ve got about ten plants, of varying ages, and all but one have tomatoes on them now.  Here’s the rogue’s gallery:

Plant variety forgotten, but look at these beauties!

I can’t remember which plant these are from, but look- a whole bunch! And plenty of light seems to be improving my photography.

Paul Robeson tomatoes peeking out from under the leaves

This blurred shot (ok, photography improvement is pretty spotty) shows two on our Paul Robeson plant, which has a very sturdy main stalk, supporting small bunches of tomatoes… these are about the size of a tennis ball right now.

Cuor Di Bue (Heart of Ox) tomatoes, about half final size

And here are two of my current favorite variety, Cuor di Bue.  See how the one on the right really is shaped like the heart organ?  These will get a bit bigger, to the size of a red delicious apple, but with MUCH better flavor.  Again, like their namesakes, these tomatoes are dense in texture and flavor, with less runny water than other varieties, but not arid like a paste tomato can be. It was these tomatoes that made me appreciate the “beefsteak” varieties.

Yet again, our EarthBoxes are quietly doing what they do best- grow plants!  I should get pix of our thriving herb plants, too.

Do you have an EarthBox?  Please let me know if you’ve got pictures you’d share!

(Hello, my wonderful relatives who received them as gifts…. I’m talking to YOU  too!  Don’t let J and S get all the fame!)