{Gardening} Seeds Ordered

I tried to trim down my seed order  for this year’s garden but it kept getting longer and longer.  I put items in my shopping cart and then took them out and then put them back in.  Needless to say, I have my seeds ordered.  I plan to start some of them inside so that once I think the last frost has past  they will be ready for planting outside.  I ordered from Burpee Gardening.  It was so helpful to read the reviews that others had written about different types of seeds.  Because of this I will make sure that I also provide a review about my gardening experience in hopes that maybe it will help someone else.  I ordered the following items:

·         Zinnia (Cut and Come Again)

·         Baby Leaf Lettuce Mix

·         Fordhook Summer Squash

·         Fourth of July Tomatoes

·         Roma Tomatoes

·         Bell Pepper (Gypsy)

·         Sweet California Peppers

·         Cucumber (Sweeter Yet)

·         Cilantro

·         Sugar Baby Watermelon

·         Earliglow Strawberry

·         Tenderpod Bush Bean

·         Maple Sugar Corn

·         Eggplant

·         Spinach

·         Argula

·         Basil (Genovese and Sweet)

·         Oregano

·         Thyme

·         Nasturtium (Empress of India)

·         Gourmet Blend Lettuce

·         Lavender

·         Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes

This seems like a lot and it is. I really tried to eliminate some items but I am so excited because this is my first summer back in the United States with my own yard so I wanted to go big.  I plan on doing some garden planning before I actually begin planting all of the items listed above.

I picked up the latest Urban Farm magazine edition (March/April 2011), they had a great article entitled The Birds and the Bees.  It states that pollination is an important part of growing fruits and vegetables.  Birds and bees transfer pollen therefore it is encouraged to plant flowers that bees are attracted to in order for them to pollinate the crops. 

I can’t wait until my order arrives.  I will keep everyone posted on the progress.

{Kitchen} Freezer Cooking

Once upon a time I would make a weekly menu for the family and this is how I planned my grocery shopping.  Those were the best days because we knew exactly what we were having each day no questions ask.  Somehow I have fallen by the wayside but I will get back on track soon.  For the last few days, I have been waiting until the afternoon and asking myself, “what are we going to eat tonight?”  I start looking through the hundreds of cookbooks and magazines that I have and nothing is really popping out at me.  Then I look on the internet for quick meals, and different recipes and nothing there is really popping out.  I know that I have so many under 30 minute meals but I will tell you from start to finish all of them are OVER 30 minutes.  Most of the times if I do see a recipe that I want to make, there are so many ingredients involved and most of them I do not have on hand and.... another trip to the grocery store.

Tired of going through the same situation every day, today I did a little “freezer cooking.”   In the February edition of Martha Stewart’s Living magazine she has a great recipe for a Ground-Meat Mix.  I took the base of the recipe added some Italian spices and parmesan reggiano cheese and made Italian meatballs.  I bought a cute little meat baller scoop years ago (but I added the same meat baller scoop that I have to my Amazon widget below just in case you are looking for one) so I had 62 cute meatballs. 

I put them on a baking tray in a big Ziploc bag so that they would not lose shape and once frozen, I took them off of the baking sheet and into the bag.  When I can’t think of what to have for dinner, I can easily make spaghetti with meatballs or use them as an appetizer .

The next recipe, I have been making for about a year on a regular basis because it is that good.  It is another Martha Stewart recipe.  It is Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun-Dried Tomatoes.  This recipe makes enough for two batches.  Now, Martha Stewart states that you can cook one now and save the other for later.  The first one that I make never tastes as good as the one that I freeze.  I think that it is because the flavors have time to “marry” when you freeze them as opposed to when you first make the dish.  I use Martha’s recipe as a base but I always have to go a step further.  For example, I use more chicken breast, and instead of using just salt and pepper, I also use Italian seasonings which really wakes the chicken up.  I also use a provolone/mozzarella mix because while staying in Italy the provolone by itself was very pungent to me.  

 This dish is perfect with a salad and garlic bread.  I have popped this dish when we had friends over and they think that I have been in the kitchen for hours.  Here is the finished product once it goes into the freezer:

 I wish that I could have made more “freezer meals” but my freezer is only so big but this is a good start for those days when I just can’t figure out…what our family will eat.

{Gardening} Gardening Dilema....What to Plant???

I have lived in Japan and Italy.  During those times, I have had patio tomatoes and a few herbs that I have enjoyed but never a full garden because I know that I could not take it with me or something that I could continue from year to year.  In Italy, I did not have a yard and in Japan I did not have a big yard so most of the time I had container plants.  Now that I am back in the US and have my own yard, I want to plant a garden.  I am a subscriber of the Martha Stewart Living Magazine.  One of the things that she suggested is to order your seed catalogs now and decide what you would like to plant.  I thought this was a great idea being that I am a procrastinator and tend to always wait until the last minute.  I was so excited and set out to order seed catalogs.  I received my catalogs one by one and now I have a problem.  I want to plant so many things but I do not have enough room.  I do not have acres and acres of land but there is so much that I would like to plant.  Burpee gardens has a great online catalog if you do not have time to wait at:http://www.qg.com/smartools/ebook/hosted.rails?issue=9acdfd4811704936a6d5e8f7b860ef12f47fc85568ce42b594b8e8f7b860ef12

I also received a catalog from Harris Seeds and I received frequent emails Urban Farmer.  I do want a few plants and I thought that the Blueberry Lime Jam Petunias  would be perfect for my backyard patio.

I am not sure what I would like on the front but I thought maybe some Zinnias or Marigolds would be nice.

  I am more concerned with the fruit and vegetables that I am wanting to plant for the summer.  I already place an order at California Root Stock for grape plants.  While staying in Italy, I was fortunate to attend a winemaking place and I would like to try my hand at that.  If nothing else I have to have tomatoes and fresh herbs.   I have analyzed the different plants and the way the sun hits our backyard.  I would like to plant corn, eggplant, zucchini, strawberries, peppers, and watermelon and that is just to name a few.  This fall I planted only turnips and a mesclun mix of lettuce and I absolutely LOVED it.  Not only was it fresh but my family and friends wanted more.  I love gardening because I know what I am putting into MY garden, the only problem is space planning.  I know that I cannot take up the entire back yard because my kids will have nowhere to play but I want to enjoy the outdoors and reap the fruits of my labor, and just eat fresh.

Do you any of you have any suggestions on space planning?  If you plan on planting a garden let me know what you will have in your garden this year.  I will keep you posted and post pics of our 2011 garden.

{Recipe Review} Pasta E Fagioli (Pasta and Beans)

During the holidays, I picked up the December 2010 edition of the La Cucina Italiana magazine.   One of my favorite cuisines is Italian food.  While staying in Italy, I just loved the food, the atmosphere, and the ambience of Italian living.  Good food surrounded by good family is what you would see on a daily basis.  The families would always eat together and just to be a part of it was definitely an honor.  I still have so many Italian recipes that I would like to try but I tried Pasta E Fagioli which basically translates into pasta and beans.  I know that this was a hit for my family because my husband is not a big fan of beans but he loved this recipe.  I give this recipe 5 stars because the flavors were amazing and filling.  This recipe as well as other great recipes can be found at:  http://lacucinaitalianamagazine.com/

Photo from: http://lacucinaitalianamagazine.com/recipe/pasta-and-beans-

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces dried cannellini beans (1 cup)
• 1 whole head garlic plus 1 garlic clove
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, rosemary or sage
• 7 ounces thick-cut pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 5 1/2 ounces sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 4 cups vegetable broth 
• 8 ounces ditaloni rigati
• Fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper 
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

 

Instructions

Rinse beans, then place with head of garlic and herb sprigs in a large saucepan and cover with water by 3 inches. Soak for 8 hours, or overnight. 

 

Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a low boil; reduce to a gentle simmer and cook, adding water as necessary to keep level 2 to 3 inches above beans, until beans are tender, about 45 minutes or more (cooking time varies depending on age of beans). 

 

Reserving cooking liquid, drain beans through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl; discard garlic and herb sprigs. Separately, set aside beans and their liquid.

 

Finely chop remaining garlic clove. In a large heavy pot with lid or Dutch oven, combine pancetta and sausage; heat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently and breaking up sausage into bits with a wooden spoon, until fat is rendered and sausage is cooked through, about 7 minutes. Add onion and oil, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add reserved beans, 2 cups bean cooking liquid, broth and 2 1/4 cups water; bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 25 minutes. 

 

Increase heat to bring soup to a low boil; add pasta and cook until pasta is just al dente (pasta will continue to cook in soup; do not overcook). Season with salt and pepper to taste (soup can be thinned, if desired, using remaining bean cooking liquid). Ladle soup into serving bowls; sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with oil. 

 

 

Due to the fact that I stay in the south, it was very hard for me to find cannellini beans.  Many people substitute this bean for white navy or great northern beans.  I was fortunate to be able to find some cannellini beans at Marx Foods.  They are so wonderful and creamy just like I remember while living in Italy.

 

If you are looking for a great soup to warm you up and full of flavor, I encourage you to try this one and let me know how your family liked it.

{New Products} www.etsy.com/shop/SimplyHeaven

We have some new products added to our Etsy shop and I am so excited!  It took me a little longer than what I had anticipated but I really enjoyed working on each piece.

We have added the "Hot Couturier" fabric by Robert Kaufman.  The fabric is so cute and so contemporary and it is totally unisex.

"Hot Couturier" Collection Print (Print by Robert Kaufman)

Baby Onesie

 Toddler Bib

 Baby/Toddler Travel Pillowcase

Visit our Etsy shop and our website at: http://www.simplyheavenbaby.com/ for this collection and more cute products.



{New Product} Visit us at www.simplyheavenbaby.com

Babies are born everyday.  There are no words that can express the gift that God has given nor the love that you have for your child.  This super chic baby boy onesie has just been added to our website.  The onesie is simple but straight to the point..."priceless"

Now available at http://www.simplyheavenbaby.com/

{Pattern Review} Simplicity 4384

I hope that everyone had a Happy New Year!!!  I definitely had a great one.  I spent my New Year's in Virginia celebrating my brother-in-law's retirement party.  He spent 24 years in the US Army.  Thank you so much for serving our country!!!!!  It was wonderful!  As his retirement gift my sister bought a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro.  It was awesome and such a special gift.

I have had so many ideas and New Year's resolution on how I will change this year.  I just hope I will be able to fulfill my goals.

I just finished Simplicity pattern 4384 and before I go any further let me tell you, I had so much fun sewing these pants because they are super easy, super fast, and just a cute pair of interchangeable pants for a little girl.  Here is my pattern review for Simplicity 4384:


Pattern Description:
Easy to sew child's jumper, skirt, pants, jacket and poncho. I chose view C which is the child's pants

Pattern Sizing:
I cut a size 8

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes it did

Were the instructions easy to follow? Very easy to follow

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like this pattern because if you are looking for a quick pair of pants that can be dressed up or down for your child this is it. The instructions were super easy to follow and the pants turned out great!

Fabric Used: Cotton twill

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: My daughter is tall like me so I measured the pants on her first and made my own hem to fit her.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would sew this again and I do recommend this to others that are looking for a quick pair or pants that can be interchanged with a shirt, sweater or jacket.

Conclusion: I made these pants to go with the jacket that I recently reciewed which is McCall's 5697. I think that the two garments are great together. My daughter will be able to wear this to church or when we go out on the weekends. I am super happy with the way these pants turned out and I definitely recommend this to beginner's as well as others who need a quick pair of pants that can be interchanged with different types of tops!

Here is the finished product:

I have so many things I would like to sew for 2011 so I will keep you posted!!
Happy Sewing!!