Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Spring garden update



Swiss chard

After a late start, spring is finally underway.  The seedlings have been planted in the outdoor beds with just a tray of cabbage seedlings left to grow for another week or so before they are moved outside.  Here are a few photos of how things are shaping up so far.

Rhubarb, blackberries, strawberries

Kale, butter lettuce, Asian stir fry mesclun 

Peas, squash and cucumbers, garlic, green beans and tomatoes

I'm looking forward to sharing the garden with you as it continues to grow.

Thanks for reading!


Peony


Sunday, May 17, 2015

Potato vegetable fritters

Potato vegetable fritters

Spring gardening season is in full swing.  After a full day at the day job and trying to squeeze in some gardening before dark, dinner prep time gets squeezed.  Not wanting to fall back on takeout or prepared foods, we have been eating simple, but very tasty meals.  We adapted this original recipe for zucchini potato fritters to what we had on hand and increased the recipe to nearly triple so they could be our entree with a salad and to have leftovers for lunch the next day.  These little fritters were quick to prepare and tasty so will surely make repeat appearances on our menu.


Potato vegetable fritters

makes approximately 15
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.  
  • Roll about ⅓ cup of the mixture into a ball and then flatten to make a small patty.
  • If you have time, allow the patties to rest in the refrigerator to firm up for about an hour or freezer for 20-30 minutes.  (We didn’t have time and our potatoes were room temperature, so we cooked them right away, but if you are using freshly cooked hot potatoes, some cooling will be necessary to prevent the fritter from falling apart.)  
  • Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and coat the bottom with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  
  • Cook the patties without crowding until golden brown on each side.
  • Drain on a paper towel and serve with your favorite sauce like ketchup, bbq, marinara or sweet and sour,



3 medium sized potatoes, cooked and grated or roughly mashed (removing the peel is optional)
2-3 zucchini or yellow squash, grated
2 carrots, grated
½ onion, chopped or grated
1-2 cloves, garlic, minced or grated
½ cup peas (frozen or fresh)
½-¾ cup whole wheat flour (more or less depending on the moisture in the vegetables)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp dried thyme, ground sage, ground rosemary or your favorite herbs (optional)
sea salt and pepper to taste
oil for cooking (we used olive oil)


( I used a food processor fitted with a small shred disk to grate the cooked potatoes squash, carrots, onion and garlic , one after another into the food processor bowl.)


Put the grated vegetables into a large mixing bowl.  
Add in the peas, ½ cup flour, baking powder, herbs and mix well.  
Add more flour if needed to make a very stiff batter (if it is too soft, these will fall apart when cooking).  


These are also a great leftover grab and go snack right out of the refrigerator.


I hope you are inspired to still make simple homemade food even when time is short.  Your health and your tastebuds will benefit.


Thanks for reading!

Salad greens picked fresh from the spring garden