Ultimate Summer Garden Spaghetti Sauce

20180707_141030I used to make a “simpler” (read: plain) version of this sauce and the boys loved it.  Then I decided to get crazy and add other vegetables.  My boys cried.  Then they ate it.  They forgave me.

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Dragonflies & Damselflies (Anisoptera & Zygoptera spp.)

20180704_095226My sons grew up believing that dragonflies would stitch their ears closed, courtesy of a fourth grade teacher they were all fortunate to wind up having.  It took a while before they would uncover their ears when one would fly by.

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Greek Summer Salad with Anchovies

20180629_115755There are few tasks when visiting family in Greece that I enjoy as much as going to the λαïκη (lye-ee-KEE), the farmer’s market.  There you will find the ripest, most colorful produce, buckets of olives, slabs of feta, and the freshest seafood and meats.  I drool walking past each display.

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Pitting Plums (and Keeping Fingers)

20180701_184827I have a few (okay, a fair amount, ummmm… maybe a lot) of kitchen gadgets.  Some I use more often than others, but I really do use them all at some point in time.

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Garlic (Allium sativum)

20180621_103215I can’t imagine life without garlic, nor do I think I should have to.  That would just be cruel.  Thankfully, it’s easy to grow, so I don’t think I’ll have to worry!

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Artichoke (Cynara scolymus)

20180414_091720If you drive along some parts of the central California coast, you are likely to see wide swaths of the landscape covered in artichoke plants.  In fact, this is pretty much the only place in the U.S. where commercial artichokes are grown.

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Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.)

20180528_102034When I think of growing blueberries, I think of places like Oregon or Maine.  You know, forests and cooler climates.  Not 100+ F temperatures in California’s Central Valley zone 9.  Yet, here they are!

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Plum Jam (No Added Pectin)

20180624_072606I have three varieties of plum trees in my yard.  The earliest to ripen is the Santa Rosa.  They look and smell so luscious, and then you bite into one.  PUCKER!!!

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Stone Fruit Oven Pancake

20181117_115723With summer officially here, the stone fruit season is now seriously underway.  Apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, and all the hybrids in between, are dropping off trees and showing up in markets.  Gobble them up now, they don’t last long!

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Old-Fashioned Seedless Blackberry Jam (No Pectin Added)

20180614_191219dfcgOne of my fondest childhood memories is going into my grandparents’ back yard looking for ripe blackberries on their vine.  In December.  Kind of didn’t understand plants back then. Continue reading Old-Fashioned Seedless Blackberry Jam (No Pectin Added)