It's Almost Berry Time

Strawberry picking season is just weeks away here in Illinois and I am excited to do some U-Pick!

I'll be back next week with my favorite strawberry tart recipe & more words and thoughts...

See you then!

The Season of Purples and Greens

Everyone was still asleep when I rose early on Saturday morning. A dense, mystical fog hung over the prairie outside my window.

It was as if the vapor was speaking to me - come hither.

I thus began the weekend in a quiet state of peacefulness - capturing that fog and the trees that were bold enough to pierce through its ghostly haze.



{After the fog cleared}

It had been raining off and on, but now the precipitation had stopped for our walk - and dappled sunlight peeked in through the leafy green trees.

What was left behind, was a coolness in the air.

The kind of air that stops you mid-step to take a deep breath. Fresh, comfortable air.

Almost seaside like.

Fair weather afternoons are spent outdoors - sowing seeds and putting in new plants.

With Olivia helping and chasing butterflies.

My thoughts drifting to putting up our raised vegetable garden beds. I start to think about spring vegetables - cold crops. Peas, radishes, and lettuces. Knowing inside, that my crops will thrive better in a raised garden bed with beautiful and rich chocolate cake like soil.

I think about the special heirloom dill seeds, chives, and tarragon already growing nicely outside the house.

I wanted a salad of spring vegetables and spring herbs.



Crunchy and colorful. Green, but with hints of cool color - pinky crimson radishes and the pale lavender of the chive flowers.

I call this my spring arugula salad with radishes and fennel. I added the licorice tasting fennel to balance out the peppery bite of both the radishes and the arugula.

Drizzles of a lemon-herb vinaigrette infused with  garden tarragon, chives, and dill adds zing. Just process a some sprigs of the said herbs with olive oil, sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper.



I look forward to chives flowers all year long.

And when they do flower, I snip them - they are edible. And quite pretty.

You should see my kitchen calendar - the last couple months are scribbled with gardening notes I've made... what and when seeds have been sown, bloom dates, as well as fading away dates. I guess I like to be in the know with horticulture.

Every year there are new things learned.

If you haven't noticed, I just added seasons to my tabs. I am going to start indexing recipes by the seasons - an ongoing creative project I wish to maintain. Almost everything I like to make has a seasonal method.

I am driven by the seasons, and of course love fresh seasonal ingredients, so this new arrangement really pleases me. Not to mention, I've been introspecting over my blog lately - it needed something. I feel positive about journaling this way.

Spring green all around and in my pasta

The green lushness of spring settling in is just what my eyes need.

Although it has been chilly and windy lately, we are outside watering and sitting in in the grass when the sun is out. My cat, Merlin, following us and flopped out in various spots of the garden. Sometimes he rolls in the warm dirt...

 a sure sign that it is a beautiful spring day.

I think I started really loving cooking when I first started cooking with fresh herbs.

There is really nothing better.

Along with the spring green of the season, I have found myself craving green freshness. Crisp, steamed asparagus that is drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkled with a handful of minced herbs. And added sharp tang from lemon zest and feta cheese.

I made a pasta dish with fresh fettuccine and fresh herbs. Minced mint, marjoram, and parsley. With seasonal asparagus and lemon zest plus crumbled feta cheese.

Such a nice meld of flavors.

{Morning light streaming in through my kitchen window}

My Olivia has been growing so much lately. She shocks me when she eats 3 hard boiled eggs for breakfast sometimes. Growth spurt? Anyway, she is not into toys at all lately. She wants to do whatever I am doing. "Let me do it," she says. Whether it be using the hose on the garden or drying dishes with a kitchen towel. The girl is learning the domestic arts I'll say. And I love watching her learn.

We registered her for kindergarten a few weeks back. Can't believe my baby is leaving for school, if only for a few hours a day. But she will be going to the same school as her big brother. A little bit of comfort there.



My spring radishes are growing.

We pulled one out and ate it. "So crisp and fresh," I said out loud. Pretty soon we'll have tons of radishes as I have planted them in succession.

I also planted peas and carrots in all colors. The bunnies {or possum?} already got to my swiss chard which I will need to replant in pots. It is too soon for tomatoes. May is tomato growing season around here.

I am hoping to make my vegetable garden a raised bed one soon using cedar. And do a raised bed herb garden. Hope to get that done in May. Of course, F doesn't see the point of it, but I know when it is done, he'll get it.

I have just started playing around with my new Photoshop Elements 10 software. The basics came naturally, but I am still trying to get over that learning curve with using it to make collages. I'm pretty confused with that as of now. Hopefully I'll have sometime to play around with it and learn how to do more soon.

Have a beautiful, green weekend everyone.

 

Spring Pasta with Asparagus, Feta, Fresh Herbs, and Lemon

adapted from the beautiful cookbook, D.I.Y. Delicious by Vanessa Barrington

1 pound fresh pasta {or any type of pasta}

1 bunch fresh, in-season asparagus

3 tablespoons fresh mint, parsley, marjoram {minced}

1 package crumbled feta cheese

1 lemon for zesting

Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Coarse salt and fresh black pepper

Break off lower fibrous ends of asparagus spears {compost fibrous ends} and cut remaining parts of the spears into bite-sized pieces. Steam asparagus pieces in a steamer basket for 4 minutes, then submerge in a bowl filled with ice water. Pat asparagus dry and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to package directions and mince your herbs up while pasta cooks.

Add cooked pasta to a serving bowl along with asparagus, herbs, and feta cheese. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and toss to coat.

Sprinkle fresh lemon zest on servings.

Spring's Good Things...

 Springs good things are seasonal spring asparagus in the market.

Also...

* puffy purple allium blooms standing tall

* pulling the first of the radishes from the garden

* sowing seeds and sun-warmed soil

* lingering over a morning coffee while watching the birds have breakfast

* the sweet little hoots of chubby mourning doves

* a cozy cat stretched out on a sunbeam on the carpet

* watching strawberry plants develop

* the peeps of baby chicks

* chive flowers coming into bloom

* pretty new floral fabric for food styling

* special issue garden magazines to peruse

* fresh green peas

Just a few of the things I am thankful for about springtime. How about you?

And I have a tiny bit of a fresh change for this blog of mine...

After wanting to do it for a very long while, I have changed the name of my blog and URL to Air Kissed. I did that so my header and URL {domain} match. Simple and easier to remember I think. Another one of the little details I get hung up on.

Friends, I have lots of upcoming posts for spring. There is so much to celebrate. So much fresh, seasonal food heading this way. Just the thought of it exhilarates me.

I'll be back later in the week with a spring pasta dish.



Tulipe Revue - a Tulip Journal

Kissed by the spring sunlight and dancing in the wind, my spring tulips are adding pretty color to my front yard.

I knew I wanted to capture them in images. They are our first tulips of our home after all - planted last autumn.

A labor of love for sure.

I planted pink triumphs, mistress and purple flag tulips {below}, and apricot beauties - which are like the soft flesh of a peach.

All too pretty. My eyes gravitate to my front garden bed off and on all day.

Spring tree from the microgreens farm we visited March 31st.

I have been thinking a lot about how my blog has evolved over time...

Where I started, how I fell in love with photography, and what I plan on photographing for the coming summer. I'm already lusting about the coming farmer's market season.

I've come to learn that I really like to tell a story through images. It seems so natural to me. So in the moment. And I like telling a story with images of food and nature. And details. I love details. Are they not fascinating?

It has been chilly here. Especially in the mornings. I think the winds will be bringing these tulips down soon for the season. Lots of scattered tulip petals on our walk up.

They have brought lots of joy.

Spring and Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

Spring is my favorite season, and I am delighted to be right here in the present with its sunny warmth, green leaves, cool breezes, and colorful petals.

If I had another baby girl, I would for certain name her Spring. Spring Violet to be exact.

But I won't even go there. I am done having babies.

Maybe I can have a cat named Spring? We'll see.

Crumbles go hand in hand with the season.

A little strawberry, a little rhubarb, coated with a crunchy topping. Warm or cold (I prefer mine room temp), they are perfection.

Especially after spending a Saturday afternoon picking wild flowers.

That is what we spent part of our Saturday doing in the midst of a lovely Easter weekend. 

Here along the creek side.

I've been buying gluten-free baking flours now and truly love the texture and lightness they bring to recipes. They are so interesting.

For this recipe, I used sorghum flour. Mildly sweet and fragrant. Whisked with a little cinnamon it smells extra incredible.

This is a divine spring crumble. Lightly sweet and bursting with berries. You can make this with apples and pears, or peaches and blueberries also.

I know I am going to.

On Easter, my in-laws surprised me by bringing some branches from their lilac shrub.

"Oh, this is the perfect gift for me," I thought. A really special gesture.

I recently moved my antique white farm table near the window in my dining room. I've been trying to find a permanent spot in my house to do food photography and styling. Although I get great light in the kitchen, it was great morning light and I didn't have much room to move around.

I'm liking the afternoon light from the dining room window and the still close access from the kitchen for food photos.

I think I've solved my light and space dilemma.

I hope you are enjoying your spring and please tell me what kind of crumbles you like.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble

recipe credit - Theresa Santandrea-Cull

1/2 cup raw organic natural sugar (such as Florida Crystals)

1/4 cup white rice flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)

1/4 cup sorghum flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/3 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

2 cups chopped strawberries

2 cups chopped rhubarb (I used frozen because it's hard to find fresh here)

In a large bowl, combine natural sugar, flours, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender tool (works best) or your fingers, cut in butter and crumble to pea-sized crumbs.

Butter a 10 x 7 inch baking dish or 6-8 ramekins and place in berries. Sprinkle crumble topping evenly over the fruit.

Baked in a preheated (350 degree) oven for 20 minutes or until bubbling.