weekly wine walk | august 31st

weekly wine walk... Amazingly enough, September begins tomorrow. This summer flew by at the speed of light. Tonight's wine walk amid my woods signals that autumn will be arriving soon. The bright blooms have given way to seed pods. Acorns and insect cocoons litter the forest floor. Mushrooms grow vigorously on fallen branches. I'm taking in the green shelter of the leaves, because soon they will give way to the glorious fireworks of autumn and then fall gracefully to the ground not to be seen again until April.

wishlist | reprodepot fabrics patterns

coveting chronicle books... I have no problem admitting that I am a design snob. Okay, maybe design snob isn't the right terminology, how about this... as a creative director, I appreciate good design when I see it. That is why I log onto my favorite publisher, Chronicle Books, often to see what is their latest and greatest offerings. After checking out these beauties shown here, I definitely know what to ask Santa for this holiday season.

These Pictorial Webster's Wall Cards (above, $24.95) will look perfect in my four-year-old's room. They even have a coordinating stamp set to boot if desired. I can already see Boyd "stenciling" his walls with these illustrations as I type.

I have been a huge fan of the awesome textiles of Reprodepot Fabrics for several years now. So, needless to say, I was tickled pink to see that coming soon to Chronicle is this kitchy cool journal (above right, $14.95) and stationary set (above left $8.95). Yea... now I can have these awesome patterns without the need to struggle with my sewing machine. But wait, it gets better. Check out these flora and folk pattern books (below, $24.95). Each comes with a disk of 225 vintage-inspired textile patterns primed and ready for anything your creative mind can concept. Woo hoo!!

pictorial webster's wall cards

pictorial webster's stamp set

reprodepot pattern book: flora

daily photo | ladybugs

august 30, 2009 | ladybugs mating on a stalk of corn

garden | a bumper harvest

a bumper harvest of delights... This has been a tough summer for gardening. Between the weather, the blight, and frankly, my complete lack of time to dedicate, I was torn on several occasions to just throw in the towel and turn my focus to next year. Thankfully, I gave myself a much-needed swift kick in the bum and rallied to the side of positivity to find fortune in the successes rather than drown in the failures. So, it was both by delight and surprise that I was able to bring in this harvest this morning.

I love starting everything by seed because it gives me the opportunity to experiment with different varieties. This summer I tried my hand at de Bourbonne picking cucumbers which technically should be harvested at gerkin stage, but some do grow faster than I can pick at that stage. My Cross Country cucumbers are starting to kick-in, but the Suhyo Longs are lagging.

Peppers are a constant delight for me to grow, but it is hard to give them the long growing season that they need. Maine weather often turns to hard frost before these crops can turn to a lovely red. Above is my favorite pepper, Chilipeños, along with a Jimmy Nardellos sweet pepper. Klari Cheese peppers, and my mystery yellow hot pepper from last year's seeds.

My six-year-old usually eats all my carrots before I can get them in the door, so I'm psyched to pull in this morning's harvest of Over the Rainbows. I love, love all the different colors.

The shallots are curing on my drying rack, along with another rack of cipollinis. Ironically this year of odd gardening, I have had great success in my onions, shallots and carrots... three crops that have never thrived really in summer past. I would have thought that all of this rain wouldn't be beneficial to these crops, but obviously I am mistaken. It's just such a thrill to see these root vegetables grow to full, thriving crops when they started as such tiny little seedlings.

photographic study | white botanicals

a study in white... It's a rainy, rainy day here today, so that calls for a little indoor photoshoot. I have always loved the simple elegance of white botanicals, so this afternoon is my tribute to my late August florals in white.

daily photo | fennel flower head

august 28, 2009 | fennel flower head

daily photo | squash blossom

august 24, 2009 | squash blossom

recipe | spicy garlic and bread soup

a garlic soup for the soul... After years of missing the fall planting, I finally seeded my garden beds last October with some Music hardneck garlic. By November, happy green shoots peaked out of the cold ground. I carefully covered them with some leaves and hay and patiently waited until the spring. With much happiness, my garlic easily survived the winter and grew by leaps and bounds throughout the spring and early summer. It was with great pride that I harvest those delectable heads of my favorite vegetable this past weekend. As I wait for them to cure over the next few weeks, I've racked my brain with all the tasty possibilities to celebrate this beloved garlic. The winner is... Pappa All' Aglio (Spicy Bread and Garlic Soup). Hands down the best soup ever. This recipe hails from Joe Famularo's book Good & Garlicky Thick & Hearty Soul-Satistying More-than-Minestrone Italian Soup.

Spicy Bread & Garlic Soup (pappa all' aglio)
8c chicken broth, homemade preferable
1c dry wine
24 large cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
1/4t red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2T unsalted butter
2T olive oil
12 slices 1-2 day old Italian bread
1/4c fresh parsley, finely chopped
2T scallions, finely chopped
2T extra-virgin olive oil
1/2c freshly grated pecorino cheese

Combine the broth, wine, all but four garlic halves, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a large soup pot. Bring to boil over high heat, uncovered. Reduce the heat to a very slow, but steady simmer and cook, uncovered, about one hour, until the garlic is soft.

Heat the butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove the skillet from the heat and brush both sides of each bread slice with the butter and oil mixture. Return the skillet to the heat and add as many slices of bread as will fit in the skillet. Sauté until golden on both sides. Remove from the skillet and rub the hottest side with the cut side of one of the reserved garlic cloves.

Combine the parsley, scallions, and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside. Carefully strain the broth through a fine sieve, lined if desired, with several layers of dampened cheesecloth. Then ladle it into a warm soup bowl and float two slices of bread in each. Sprinkle some of the parsley micture over each slice and then top with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Top with grated cheese.

daily photo | wasp gall

august 23, 2009 | galls have been dropping from the oaks. probably a wasp gall.

recipe | dilly beans

dilly bean delights... Everytime I think of dilly beans, I think of Mrs. Archer, a neighbor of my parents up in Midcoast Maine. Mrs. Archer was the epitome of the self-reliant Maine woman. The sweater she's wearing, she knitted. The coffee table where we sat and ate homemade jam, she built. But her gardens, her glorious gardens that overflowed with vegetables and flowers. Mrs. Archer used every single thing she grew to its maximum, and it was she who introduced my family to Dilly Beans.

Now Mrs. Archer wouldn't think of cold packing her pickles, I tend to prefer the refrigerator route myself for most pickling. I just finished making two jars of cold pack dilly beans, but I am also going to try my hand at the hot water method in a little bit.

Cold Pack Refrigerator Dilly Beans Makes: 1 quart jar Pack into one sterilized wide-mouth quart jar: 2 cups blanched green beans, trimmed in length to fit completely in the jar without sticking out the top 1/2 white onion, sliced thin 2 sprigs fresh dill 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes For the brine: 3/4 cup white vinegar 3/4 cup water 2 tablespoons sugar 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon kosher salt Combine all brine ingredients in a medium covered saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Pour cooled brine over beans. Tighten lid and place jar in the fridge for at least two days before eating. Store in refrigerator for up to six months. Dilly Beans (hot bath method) About 8 pints 4 lb. fresh tender green or yellow beans (5 to 6 inches long) 8 to 16 heads fresh dill 8 cloves garlic (optional) 1/2 cup canning or pickling salt 4 cups white vinegar (5% acidity) 4 cups water 1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (optional) Wash and trim ends from beans and cut to 4" lengths. In each hot sterile pint jar, place 1 to 2 dill heads, and if desired, 1 clove of garlic. Place whole beans upright in jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Trim beans to ensure proper fit, if necessary. Combine salt, vinegar, water and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Add hot solution to beans, leaving 1/2" headspace. Adjust lids and process for five minutes.

daily photo | mutant pea

august 22, 2009 | mutant pea with the pea growing on the outside of the pod.

recipe | corn, potato and bacon chowder

fresh corn chowder... The boys and I did our weekly pilgrimage to Pineland Farm's market to see what's fresh and new. Happily, as we headed into the market, we were greeted by bushels of locally-grown sweet corn, the first of the season. The majority of the corn in my garden is still knee-high, so I'm going to have to forgo my own corn dreams this summer in favor of some local farmers who thankfully had better luck growing this year than me.

I have a couple of favorite uses for fresh corn, but a staple is always a yummy corn chowder. Even though it is hot and terribly muggy outside, I was determined to still make a chowder. Today, I even splurged on some fresh heavy cream from Smiling Hill Farms. Normally, I cap off my cream decadence level to half-and-half, but who can really pass up fresh cream?

Here's a great recipe from one of my go-to cookbooks, Cooking for Comfort by Marian Burros. I tend to amend each recipe that I make to whatever I have in my pantry, so today's corn chowder is a spicy version. I'll note my amendments to the side of the ingredients.

Corn, Potato & Bacon Chowder

makes 8-10 servings

8 strips bacon (can omit and use 3T butter if vegetarian)

3c chopped onions

1/2t cayenne pepper

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

1T fresh thyme

3c peeled potatoes (I use Red Bliss for a creamy potato texture)

8c quality chicken stock (I used homemade turkey stock that I spiced up using some jalapenos. I usually use whatever stock I have in the freezer, even lobster stock... all work fine)

2c heavy cream (half and half or milk can be used, just mash up some potatoes to release their starch and help create a creamier texture)

6c fresh corn kernels (8-10 ears of corn... I also use the back of my knife to scrape down the shaft of the cut corn cob to release the corn milk, whose starch helps thicken the chowder)

salt and pepper to taste

Cut up bacon and saute until crisp. Add the onions and cayenne and saute until the onions are soft and beginning to color. Add garlic, bay leaf, thyme, potatoes, and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Add cream and corn and cook until the cream is almost at the boiling point, just a couple of minutes, which is long enough to cook corn. Season with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

daily photo | echinacea

august 21, 2009 | late bloomer