After using a highly sophisticated technique of randomness (er, slips of paper with names drawn from a glass bowl), the winners of a jar of jam are:
Lauren W!
Natasha B!
Sara H!
I’ve e-mailed all of you as well in case you don’t get to the site in the next day or two… take a look through the flavors on this post and let me know which one you’d like to try!
Thanks to everyone for your feedback and input!
What’s this? A tiny assignment plaque stuck in the ground?
An assignment plaque for a community garden plot? Yes!
My balcony containers full of plants are doing… okay… but my odds of harvesting a significant portion of my own food just increased dramatically. I just made it off the waiting list and at the Briggs Community Garden! These forty square feet will provide me with the space, the depth, and the sunlight to finally try some gardening for real.
*gulp*
Okay so I have a bit of a learning curve to climb before I plant the garden this weekend. But I have high hopes. My fellow gardeners of the neighboring plots seem to be doing pretty well…
Here’s to helping things grow!
THE SUNFLOWERS HAVE SPROUTED.
I am very excited. Can you tell?
The sunflowers were the only crop I planted from seed in my little garden plot. And I know, I know, it’s a seed’s job to sprout, but the thrill of seeing little green leaves popping out of the ground never gets old.
With luck, in about three months these little sprouts will show their true colors.
Truly, something to look forward to…
Last week, I started a giveaway for a copy of The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook signed by Deb Perelman, the esteemed food blogger and author of the book! The book is full of recipes for every occasion, thoughtful commentary, and useful kitchen tips. I love my copy and am excited to share!
And the lucky winner is… Diane H, whose favorite breakfast is fruit pie! (Check your e-mail so we can arrange the shipping of the book!)
Thanks to everyone who participated! Get out there and get cooking!
Don’t forget to enter to win a free jar of freshly made strawberry jam! Straight from my kitchen to your breakfast. You have until midnight!
How to Enter
1. Leave a comment on this post answering this question: Which recipes or types of food would you like to see on 30 Pounds of Apples?
OR
2. Like-a-dee-like 30 Pounds of Apples on Facebook.
OR
3. Do both, and enter twice!
Enter before midnight on Friday, May 20, or you’ll turn into a pumpkin and you’ll have no jam. Winners will be announced on Saturday, May 21.
More recipes to come this weekend… the glory of a weekend with hardly any shifts at work!
Congrats to Jessica, the lucky winner of two awesome railing planters!
I’ve never grown my own food yet (Sad!), but when I start, I’ll want strawberries, green peppers, and peaches. How long it would take for a peach tree to fruit I have NO IDEA. But it would be delicious.
I’m not sure green peppers would be successful in these pots, and I’m 100% certain a peach tree won’t fit, but I wager strawberries might actually work!
Thanks to all who participated… the array of food you want to grow is intriguing and inspiring!
A little over three weeks ago, I put my first plants into my new community garden plot. The little seedlings looked small and feeble outside the comfort of their little black plastic starting trays, so all I could do was cross my fingers, water daily, and hope they’d survive.
And survive they have. My little plot is now blossoming into dozens of shades of green. Tiny, pale green orbs have appeared on my adolescent tomato plants. Deep green leaves rimmed in violet are bursting daily from my stems of okra. Anaheim peppers, jalapeños, cucumbers, and parsley are about to reach their harvest points. The basil is growing so quickly I’ve already harvested enough for three batches of pesto (recipe coming soon, promise). And remember the leeeetle baby sunflower sprouts?
Last week, I announced my most recent project: I published a calendar for 2014 full of some of my favorite photos from the blog! To celebrate, I hosted a giveaway to one of you!
And the winner is CathieJ!
As to her favorite month, she replied, “February. Both my husband and I were born in February. I also love to stay inside during the cold snowy month and indulge in my favorite things: crafting and baking.”
Congratulations Cathie! (Please check your email so we can arrange shipping.)
Thank you to everyone who participated. I hope you’ll consider ordering a copy of the calendar, available now on Lulu! Use the discount code FBC18 to get 18% off, or FREESHIP to get free shipping!
Butternut Squash is a rather new ingredient in my culinary arsenal. Having really discovered its magic last fall when I cooked up a giant bath of Butternut Squash Soup, I’ve since been quite fascinated it. Harvested in mid- to late-fall, these squash can store unrefrigerated for months, which makes them an ideal winter staple.
I’ve seen this squash for sale in the produce section, pre-peeled and cubed. Like most pre-cut fruits and vegetables, it is wildly more expensive to buy it that way than to buy the squash whole. Plus, it requires refrigeration and will quickly go bad if not used. But it doesn’t take long to go from a whole squash to a beautiful mound of orange cubes ready for cooking, and without much special equipment. You can totally do this.
Here’s how it’s done:
The new year.
I used to think that it was a silly thing to celebrate. New Year meant we had to go back to school after some glorious days off. New Year meant it was time to tuck in the Christmas decorations for their eleven-month slumber. New Year meant it was time to address the extremely high calorie intake that started at Thanksgiving.
I have, however, grown to love this celebration of beginning. New Year’s Eve parties are fun, but I prefer the relative silence of today. The sense of a clean slate, of a chance to change things from before, to reflect on the year that has passed and to set goals for the year ahead.
Our societies have marked our revolution around the sun for thousands of years. The end of one cycle of growth, and the herald of the new one to begin.
I can’t wait to see what this cycle brings.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
