flyin' by the seat of my sandwich!

with a very limited budget i schlepped on out to my local marc's for some groceries. old mother hubbard no more!

hmmm....what did i want for dinner? i walked through the produce section (with its somewhat limited options) and came upon the cheese case. mmmm....boursin cheese. that's it!

when i got home i sauteed some sliced onions, mushrooms and red pepper in a lil' olive oil and butter until they were brown and soft. i also sauteed some spinach in a lil' olive oil and butter till it was nice and wilted.

while the veggies were cooking i worked on my sides and toasted my ciabatta rolls.

side number one - cousin regina's ranch potatoes. so simple. so, so delicious. i just cubed up a couple of potatoes and tossed them with a lil' olive oil and a half packet of ranch dip mix and roasted 'em on a cookie sheet.

side number two - roasted cauliflower with lemon dijon sauce. i came across this recipe in the bon appetit cookbook my gma got me for christmas and it has become a house favorite. the sauce is also killer on broccoli and green beans and really just about anything.

i chopped up the cauliflower and roasted in the oven for just about 10 minutes or so while i made the sauce. for the sauce i melted a half stick of butter over low heat and then added in the juice of two lemons and a few good squeezes of dijon mustard. you just whisk this together and voila! kick ass lemon dijon sauce. i poured the sauce over the cauliflower and then put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so. mmmm.

once my rolls were done baking (underbaked by just a couple of minutes) i took them out and cut them in half. then i put them under the broiler - cut side up - for just a minute so they'd get brown and toasty.

i shmeared both sides with a lil' boursin cheese and then started stacking on my spinach and veggies. along with the sides i also enjoyed a nice glass of zinfandel. not bad for a monday night (and a meatless monday at that!)




and now for a farm update.



here is the garden so far though we are looking to expand it this weekend to put in a few more things. so far we have lettuces, leeks, onions, radishes, peas, tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, peppers (red, yellow, green, poblano, jalapeno, chili), kale, collard greens, cabbages, brussel sprouts (a whole row!), cauliflower, broccoli, squash (butternut, acorn, crook neck) and watermelon. whew!



and the poultry. three barred rocks, three delawares, two leg horns, two pekin ducks and one mallard. the mallard (peepers) is a pet and we're hoping to keep the two leg horns as long as they lay eggs (which hasn't started yet - hopefully in a few more weeks) but the rest....well the rest will end up on the dinner table come fall.

i've never butchered anything before although when i was a kid i used to hold the legs of rabbits while my dad skinned them. it's going to be an adventure. i've checked out countless library books and read numerous internet forums but i don't think any of it is going to prepare me for actually killing a chicken.

i am nervous.

BUT - i have come to the conclusion that if i can't do it, if i can't kill these chickens, then i don't deserve to eat chicken at all. or any meat for that matter. i have become very serious about knowing where my food comes from - reading labels, buying locally and only buying meat from farmers (which is difficult and expensive) but i am committed.

and eating the fruits of my labor (or the poultry of my coop as it were) is important to me. stay tuned. i'm sure i'll share all the bloody details.