the first bits of summer

Many things have happened since I last posted

* Summer is in full swing here but it has rained too much for us to completely appreciate it.

*We traveled to Orlando for Memorial Day weekend to see Brett's brother graduate and as a nice little trip for Brett's birthday. He loved seeing all his friends and I even was able to surprise him by getting them all together for a rock climbing day at a place he use to go to when he lived down there.

*My dear old Dell laptop finally crashed. This was both a pro and con - I used that laptop for everything including my job. Luckily I had backed up all work files just the day before, unfortunately I hadn't backed up my personal files in a really long time. I was very sad to say goodbye to my Dell but we decided to go ahead and get me a MacBook. So I am typing this from my beautiful new laptop and couldn't be happier.

* Our garden is growing wonderfully. We finished planting the tomatoes and peppers. I can't wait for everything to grow, then I can eat fresh salsa and fresh produce.

* We got to see Hillsong United preform in NYC.

* Pasta party part 3 was had at our apartment last night. We had great food, great friends, and a new fun game that Bek taught us. Overall I think it was a success and I am sure there will be many more to come.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

* And probably my favorite thing is the new (to us) bikes that Brett and I got last weekend. A local elementary school was doing a fundraiser where people donate bikes. They then sell them all for $10, regardless or size, age, or condition. Brett and I managed to acquire two vintage road bikes for $20! They both need a tiny bit of work, but for not much more money we are going to have some amazing bikes to cruise around the lake. I absolutely adore mine. It is from Nottingham, England, and based on my research is from the 60s or 70s. I think it is actually worth something like $300. One brake line is stuck and it needs new tires since they are all dried out but other than that is great. Here are a couple photos from the day we bought them. I will post more after I get her all cleaned up.

the wonders of pumpkin

Our garden is all planted. It rained forever after we planted it and I was scared that the garden would get rained out. But other than an overwhelming about of weeds, things seem to progressing beautifully.

The evening following our garden planting the girls all went over to Bek's apartment and she made a fantastic parmesan risotto. She put roasted pumpkin, pine nuts, and spinach in it. In America, or at least everywhere that I have been, we tend to only eat pumpkin, and squashes in the fall. Bek has inspired me to work these gourds into my meals more often.

So here I present to you the fantastic risotto that Bek served us and I later recreated for my husband, and a fun little recipe I found for "Pumpkin Pie Squares".

Pumpkin, Spinach, and Pine Nut Risotto

Ingredients:
1 cup Arborio rice
2-3 cup vegetable or chicken stock
½ butternut pumpkin, cubed
1 onion, diced
1 glove garlic, chopped
1 piece ginger, chopped
1/2 c pine-nuts
1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place garlic and ginger in a saucepan with a little olive oil.
2. Add the cubed pumpkin, cooking until soft. Remove and set aside. (I actually cooked this in a separate pan so I could be cooking the rice at the same time)
3. Add onion and a little oil to a fry-pan and saute.
4. Add rice and fry for a further 2-3 minutes with a little butter.
5. Gradually add stock, stirring until absorbed but still moist before adding more stock.
6. While risotto is cooking place pine-nuts on a tray and bake at 350°F for about 5 minutes or until they turn a golden color.
8. When rice is cooked turn off heat and add all remaining ingredients including pumpkin, and parmesan.
9. Leave for 5 minutes before serving.


Pumpkin Pie Squares

yellow/orange squash of some kind - acorn, butternut, pumpkin (we used the other half of the butternut squash from above and ate as dessert)
honey
cinnamon
sugar

1. Cube the squash into bit size pieces.
2. Roll the cubes in honey and a dash of cinnamon until well coated. Spread as a single layer on a foil lined pan.
3. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes - until really soft
4. sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar - serve warm

Rafael with the tiller

the boys working the dirt

Our pretty garden

(pictures stolen from Sim's facebook)

april showers

Spring is slowly beginning to creep in up here. Yesterday and today will be around 70° before the rain brings it back down for a bit. We are taking full advantage of these two beautiful days and spending as much time outside as we can. Yesterday after work we grilled dinner and today when Brett gets home we are going on a hike!

So far the month of April has been wonderful, a bit soggy but wonderful. We are starting a community garden with a few other couples in our life group. We tried to get a plot at an already established community garden but it was full. Brett’s parents are letting us use a bit of their backyard, so a couple of weekends ago Sim, Bek, Brett, and I started getting it all set up and ready to plant. Since it was jus grass before, we had to start from scratch. We rented a tiller and picked up all the necessaries - soil, fertilizer, seeds, etc. – and got to work. We now have a garden or at least a big mud pit with a fence around it. There are tons of deer around here, which are gorgeous to watch but not so good for a garden. It is crazy what all you have to do to try to keep deer away. Along with our fence, we also got some deer repellant, let’s hope they work. We are waiting until it stays warmer and stops raining for a couple of days to begin planting. I am so excited to have fresh produce this summer.

As I mentioned in my previous blog last weekend we flew to the Midwest to visit family and friends. It was great to be “home” and wished I could have had a few more days. I loved seeing everyone in Oklahoma. Rebecca made me an apron that she copied from one that used to belong to her grandma. It is so fun and will surely make my heart happy every time I wear it to bake. I received a whole collection of fantastic new-to-me music and am slowly working my way through it all. Being in Lawrence with my family was amazing as well. I love my husband, life, and friends here in NJ but hate being so far away from my parents. It was great to cook Easter dinner with them, hang out and watch movies in the evenings, drink lots of tea and coffee, and listen to my mom play the piano. :) Between times with my family, we had the opportunity to spend some time with local friends and see Brett’s grandparents.

Overall, it was an amazing trip and so far has been a wonderful month of April.
(Garden photos barrowed from Sim, Oklahoma pictures from Amanda.)

Very start of the garden.
While the boys were renting the tiller Bek and I started getting the grass up.

It was so muddy

Building the fence to keep the deer out.

Rebecca blowing bubbles

Trying to teach Brett how to play the piano

Cooking with my mom