The Bucolic Plague

Fantastic and fun book!  Even for those of you that don't daydream of quitting your job, buying a farm, raising goats, and planting an heirloom garden (like me!), this is a really funny and convincingly honest story of two city boys and their aspirations of becoming Martha-worthy gentlemen farmers.

So what did I learn from this book:
1. LOVE everything on Their Website
2. Realized there's no way I could ever work as hard as a country farmer
3. Complain less about how much work our balcony garden takes
4. Convinced me not to raise goats or chickens anymore (unless I make enough money to hire someone to take care of them)
5. And it's not that I didn't appreciate and respect my in-law's expansive mountain home in the first place, but I cannot imagine managing all that land, tending the garden, chopping firewood, growing mushrooms, tapping maple trees, and all the other chores that come with living in the country.  Whew!

So only a few days away from the 2nd Annual Merschat Family Garden Party & Bonfire, I would highly recommend picking up this hilarious reality check!  I give it an 8 out of 10.

Balcony Garden Update

Michael and I are so proud of our little flourishing garden this year!  As you can see above, our herb table is doing fantastic and even attracting some hummingbirds and butterflies!

The other side of the balcony is doing equally as good!  One big accomplishment this year has been our basil.  I read online that you should plant your basil with your tomatoes because they compliment each other.  At first I was worried that they would crowd one another and the basil would lose out on water and sunshine once the tomatoes got bigger... but au contraire... they are both growing SPLENDIDLY!

The sweet basil in the foreground is growing as tall as I've ever seen it... and we've even made 2 batches of pesto already!  We also planted globe basil and Thai basil and they are flourishing as well.  And the tomatoes are popping out too!

If you recall, my "experiment" plant this year was Chinese eggplant.  I planted it with the hot pepper plants (something I also read online) and they all seem to be doing well.  The eggplant's got half a dozen beautiful purple flowers and a glimpse of a baby eggplant already!

Our nasturtium is doing well, but I've only gotten one flower.  I moved it to a less sunny spot so I hope that gives me some more flowers as the season progresses.  The foliage is gorgeous and I can't wait to use it in a salad soon.

We haven't gotten any strawberries yet, but the dill and parsley have been put to good use in some of Michael's fish recipes lately.  

And I'm also happy to say that we've spotted our first raspberry too!

So with our flourishing garden, I will soon post some recipes that utilize our harvest!  Fortunately for my tummy (but unfortunately for my blogging), Michael has been in LOVE with the cookbook For Cod and Country and has been making the most delicious meals but I cannot just cut-and-paste the recipes since they aren't posted online.  But don't worry, I'll write them out so stay tuned... Recipes to come!

And one more thing... I need to brag that the African Violet that I propagated from a single leaf last year has finally flowered.  The little things just make me so happy!

The Forgotten Garden

After reading this delightful book, I not only want to vacation in Australia and Cornwall but I also want to finally start a genealogy project!  Morton's beautiful descriptions of the gardens also spoke to my spring fever and I long for my very own secret garden to tend to... but our balcony will just have to do for now.

Although it's a daunting 560 pages, it's a quick read and never boring.  The mystery spans generations from the turn-of-the-century to present day and reinforces the bonds of friends, family, and romance. 

Quick and easy feel-good novel with well-developed characters and a neat, happy ending.  I'm giving it an 8 out of 10 and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Pistachio Baklava

Last weekend, we had a Food & Wine vs. Saveur potluck dinner with our good friends Mary and Riz (and their darling 1 1/2-year-old, future sous-chef, Rami).  The theme was middle eastern and it was DELICIOUS!

When I told Mary that I would be attempting a baklava recipe, she responded...

Baklava???? Are you kidding me? You are so ambitious!

So to quell any rumors that this is an ambitious recipe, I'm posting it and hope everyone tries this wonderful and rather simple recipe.  It's worth it!  Thanks Food & Wine... AGAIN!

INGREDIENTS
1 pound shelled unsalted pistachios (about 3 1/3 cups)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks ( 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, melted
12 sheets of phyllo dough (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400°. Butter a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. In a food processor, pulse the pistachios with 1/2 cup of the sugar just until the nuts are finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in half the butter.

Stack the phyllo sheets and cut them in half crosswise. Set a half sheet of phyllo in the prepared baking dish and brush lightly with some of the remaining melted butter. Repeat with 11 more half sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet; don't worry if the pastry tears a little. Cover the remaining phyllo with a towel.

Spread the pistachio mixture evenly on the phyllo in the baking dish. Top with the remaining phyllo sheets, buttering each sheet as above. Drizzle any remaining butter over the top. Using a sharp knife, make diagonal slices 1 1/2 inches apart all the way through the baklava; slice similarly in the opposite direction to make a diamond pattern. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until evenly browned on top.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the remaining 1 cup of sugar with the water and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve; remove from the heat. Stir in the honey and cinnamon. Pour the syrup evenly over the baklava and let cool completely before serving.

MAKE AHEAD The baklava can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Spring Garden... FINALLY!

This year, our herb table includes chives, rosemary, sage, lavender, tarragon, savory, nasturtium, thyme, oregano, and mint.

For the bigger plants, we decided to make the recycled-material self-irrigating planter (SIP) since it worked so well last year!

And Michael helped me finish up our balcony garden while I was out of town this past weekend... isn't he thoughtful!?!

Strawberries, flat-leaf parsley, dill, and oregano.

Raspberries.

Yellow pear tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and two types of basil.

Early girl tomatoes and more basil.

Chinese eggplant, hot peppers, and thyme.

And out bay leaf survived the winter and has started to sprout again!  Yay!

I love spring!

Lake Tahoe

Sorry for the lack of posts in the last couple weeks!  I just got back from a beautiful weekend in Lake Tahoe for Ming-Cee's bachelorette party.  The theme was Sunshine & Shananigans... but Mother Nature turned it into Snowflakes & Shananigans.

Needless to say, we didn't unpack our bikinis but the beautiful ladies were troopers and we had a fantastic time.  It's hard not to have fun in GORGEOUS Lake Tahoe snow or shine...