Radish and Baby Turnip Salad

I had no idea what to do with a the bunch of baby white Japanese turnips when I got them with the CSA bag this week. The vegetable raw tastes a little sweet then the end you taste the spice of ground black pepper. It was an interesting taste sensation. After some google searching I learned you could eat them raw or cook them. There were plenty of recipes for glazes with other spring veggies.

I decided to play up the natural flavor of the turnip by making a salad with radishes and green onions. I made a dressing that really brought out the natural sweetness and peppery overtones. Juice of a lime, white balsamic vinegar, honey, and a tiny bit of olive oil. I let the salad soak for for about 30 minutes in the fridge.

It turned out very refreshing as a side for dinner with chicken and green salad. Flavors that all together were full of zest and spice and yet cooling.

New CSA Season Begins

I signed up again this year with a CSA. I like the idea of knowing where my veggies come from, supporting a local farm, and the really enjoy planning new meals around what's truly fresh and in season. The element of surprise is great. The box contains veggies id normally buy: onions, spinach, mushrooms....and then a surprise veggie...

This week the surprise veggie I would never normally buy at the grocery store was a pound of watercress. Watercress is a small leaf. That's a lot of watercress. This morning I made a schmear from cream cheese, feta, a handful of green onions and a cup of watercress. It was a great way to start the day on top of a bagel.Tonight I will be experimenting with a watercress apple stuffing for roasted chicken.

Last of the ham...

With the last of the ham I made a potato ham soup and ham and cheddar biscuits. I've never made potato soup from scratch before. The soup is simple to make and so comforting. I didn't do anything extraordinarily, just threw potatoes (peeled and cubed), a chopped onion, and several celery stalks chopped in a pot with chicken broth and ham for an hour. Then added a roux of butter, flour, and milk to thicken the soup.

For the biscuits I made a simple biscuit recipe with flour, baking powder, butter, milk, and cream of tarter and added in a couple handfuls of cheese and cubed ham.

Both were a great way to use the last of the ham.

More ham.....

Continuing with leftover ham I made mac and cheese with every cheese in sight. I make homemade mac and cheese frequently and honestly this might be the best on record.

I accredit the randomness in the fridge: Monterey Jack, swiss, sharp white cheddar, and cream cheese all thrown in the pan. Sprinkle in ham and a little cayenne and cumin and you found my dinner. Yummy!

The Great Easter Ham

On Sunday I made an 11 pound ham. We like pork, leftovers make the week easy, and well, when I bought the ham there were only 2 left. Eleven pounds is a lot of ham for 3 people. We have had our fill of ham sandwiches this week. Last night I made ham topped pizza. Tonite a big bowl of pasta salad.

I made homemade chive and garlic pesto for the dressing and chopped up all the veggies in sight to add in for the pasta salad. It turned out quite yummy.

We still have a lot of ham. Quiche and potato soup with ham are certain to make an appearance soon, but I'm going to need to search for some more ham ideas.

Horses Naaaa, Pigs Oink, Fish do what?

For my friend's son's 3rd birthday I was asked to make a red barn cake. My friend and I are both from small towns in Washington state and there was no way I was only going to make just the barn itself. Barns have animals (the best part). I made sure to include a pig pen with nutella and a pretzel fence.

Horses with bails of hay. The hay were cupcakes with yellow frosting and coconut mixed in.

Leading up the red barn I made a dirt road with graham cracker crumbs. A farm is not complete without water, so a pond with gold fishes helped with the landscape.

Ta da! Red barn cake complete! The cake itself was a loaf pan of red velvet cake and butter cream red frosting. Pretzels for the roof and graham crackers for the barn doors finished off the commentary of farm life in rural country.

Strawberry Shortcake

When I was a kid my grandparents made our favorite meal for our birthdays with a special dessert. I always requested cheese raviolis with marinara and homemade fruit pie. My grandpa baked the best fruit pies.

I love my boyfriend. For his birthday he wanted homemade meatballs and strawberry shortcake. Ta da! Strawberry shortcake in the best way. Pound cake base, homemade whip and perfectly sweet strawberries.