Monthly Archives: August 2010

We were amazed to watch this transformation over the past few days…from caterpillar found on a carrot plant, to gorgeous Black Swallowtail! I remember capturing caterpillars as a kid, but I don't recall them ever actually making their chrysalis and emerging as butterfly. We got this one at just the right moment; after a couple of hours in the bug house, he began to make his chrysalis. Such a simple thing, but som agical and amazing! He made his grand debut in the garden yesterday afternoon! Hopefully he's settling in nicely with his butterfly friends… Yep, it's the simple things! :)

I do love a good savory bread pudding. With an abundance of chard in the garden, I made this tonight and it was totally yummy.

I think that there's a rule that you're not supposed to post pics of half eaten food in foodie blog posts, but it was devoured so quickly, photos were an afterthought.

Swiss Chard & Cheddar Bread Pudding
(Adapted from Suzanne Goin's recipe from Food & Wine )

-2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
-1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
-1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
-pi.jpgnch crushed red pepper
-1 lb swiss chard, stems and ribs discarded, leaves chopped
-salt & pepper
-2 large eggs
-1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I think milk would do, too)
-1 cup grated cheddar
3 cups roughly torn (bite sized pieces) rustic bread, crusts removed

***
Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8" square baking dish. Heat the oil in a skillet, add onions, garlic, thyme, red pepper & cook until softened. Add swiss chard and cook, stirring, until wilted. Season with salt & pepper.  Let cool a bit.

Mix cream & eggs together in a large bowl.  Add chard & cheese, season with salt & pepper.  Add bread, stirring until moistened.   Transfer to baking dish. Bake for 1 hour, or until set and golden brown. Let sit for 15 mins before serving.

I will admit, this morning we were singing Christmas songs…We were inspired by the arrival of the new issue of Holiday Crafts magazine, where you can find my little snowbirds on page 66! I was so happy to contribute to this magazine for the third year in a row!

This weekend, we went to the the fair…cows, funnel cake and other fried things, angry disheveled chickens, facepainting, quilts, prizes, and more fried things. Fun!

Wondering where everyone was earlier this evening, I rounded the corner in the garden and discovered they were digging the first potatoes. We have La Rattes! (les rattes, plural?) So excited to have scrumptious little fingerlings. We planted tons of these, so they should keep us fed for quite awhile.

(dress in focus, not potatoes. Meant to do that! It's a cute dress, though!)

So yesterday, I was home alone for a whopping 3 1/2 hours. Gasp! The girls were at Nana's, and the goal was to get some work done. But man, all I wanted to do was bake. When I get the house to myself, I have the uncontrollable urge to make cakes.  But I settled in with some Miss Marple (!!) and my needlefelting. In true biddy fashion. I am a little old lady at heart, if you didn't already realize that.
So today I decided to get this baking out of my system. Kiddies and all. Actually they have been pretty good all day, despite my neglect.

 
(those are plums…they look like egg yolks!)

I made a Nectarine Tea Cake, which I froze, and a Plum Upside Down Cornmeal Cake, both of which are from the book Rustic Fruit Desserts, which my sister got for me as a gift many months ago, and I'm only just now trying some recipes!  I think before the day is out I might try the Lemon Rhubarb Buttermilk Bundt Cake as well. Because there was still rhubarb at the farmer's market!