Peach and Cucumber Salsa

Vermin, Pestilence, and Thieves!

Mother nature is out to get me and she has dispatched her evil minions so that not only do I not get to enjoy the fruits of my labor but I provide hours of hilarity and entertainment for said minions. I swear to God I hear the squirrels laughing…with their mouths full of pumpkin.

When I planted our fruit orchard three years ago I was excited to know that in a few years I would have a virtual produce stand in my front yard. I was most excited about the peaches and nectarines. I planted two of each. Since then, we’ve lost one peach to gophers. Little buggers ate the roots right off and we have been fighting an epic man vs. gopher battle worthy of Bill Murray Read more…

Thai Green Curry with Seafood

Thai Green Curry with Seafood This is my go-to Thai curry recipe when I am looking for something spicy and interesting but also easy enough to make mid-week. I tend to use all shrimp, ’cause it’s just easier.

Thai Green Curry with Seafood
by Jeanne Thiel Kelley
Yield: Makes 4 servings

Adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unrefined peanut oil
5 green onions, finely chopped, dark green parts separated from white and pale
green parts
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
1 1/4 cups water
1 13-to 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
2 small fresh red Thai chiles or 1 red jalapeño chile
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam) Read more…

Cherry Cola Ribs

Cherry Cola Ribs For me growing up, the Fourth of July has always meant barbecue. When I was really little, it meant going to my grandmother’s house for a rowdy party with her 8 brothers and sisters and their families. We Danes know how to have a good time.That was back when firecrakers were a requirement and my Great Uncles (many of them Vetrans) acted like 8 year old boys. It was awesome.

As I got older, Fourth of July was spent on the pier at Lake Tahoewatching the different fireworks displays and freezing along side friends from the four other families we considered part of our extended family. Still do. In fact, three generations of all four families meet up in Tahoe every August for two weeks and I am certain the fourth generation (when they arrive) will do the same. Again, awesome.

But I have to admit some of my favorite Fourth of July celebrations occurred when I was single and running around with my group of guy friends lovingly dubbed the Usual Suspects. We had a Fourth of July tradition: The Festival of Meat. It’s what happens when you let totally unrepentant carnivores control the menu. Of course if you’d ask them they would tell you that the five food groups were all represented. They are: Cow, Pig, Chicken, Sausage and Bacon (for the Potato Salad). It was a vegetarian’s nightmare, we all ate nothing but salad the rest of the week, but it was soooooo good and so worth it.

As we all got married things changed as they usually do but we did try to continue the Festival tradition. One year I discovered this rib recipe, and you gotta try these. They’re the bomb! They are also extremely addictive.

If you are having a BBQ or attending a BBQ this holiday, I wish you good times and laughter and hope you come away with your own fond memories.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

I CAN’T WAIT for Blackberry Jam!

I CAN'T WAIT for Blackberry Jam! Anyone who tried to grow tomatoes last year knows it was a bad season. For optimal growing conditions, tomatoes need hot days and cool nights, and last summer was cold. This year, I swear I can feel it, will be much better. If I will it, it will be. So I took a week off in April for spring break and ordered three cubic yards of soil–this is a lot of dirt, and I moved it by myself. The kids putting dirt in a sand bucket doesn’t count. I did it all by myself. Uphill. Both ways.

I have now planted 3 pounds of potato seed, 5 rows of carrots, an Ambrosia melon, 12 varieties of tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, lemon cucumbers,