Miss Modish- Mojo Maker

Hungry for Hostas

Last weekend I went to a forest gardening class taught by Dave Jacke. One of the plants he suggested for an edible perennial garden was the hosta. Errr wha?? Hosta? All records within a 50 mile radius came to a screeching halt the moment hosta escaped his lips.

I have to say I've been skipping over the aisles and aisles of hostas at the nursery for years. They're pretty enough, but I'm not interested in adding simply ornamental plants to my cart. I guess I've been wrong about "simply ornamental".

Through lots of searches and internet time suckage here's what I've gathered: hostas are a common food in Japan, called Urui or Yuki-urui. Look for Hosta montana or Hosta sieboldii--they're tender and less bitter than some of the other types. Prepare young hosta leaves like you would asparagus or substitute it for spinach.

New Hampshire Hostas (middle left) have both H. montana and H. sieboldii. I've never ordered from them, though, so I can't vouch for their quality, but might give them a try. Hostas just might be what I need to fill in the shadier parts of my garden that I can't fill with the average annual veggie crops.

Want to try a hosta recipe? Giboshi arekore has all the info you need to make Urui with Vinegar Mustard Miso Dressing (middle right). Dcarch on the SeedSavers forum gets really creative with his (her?) hosta recipes. The pictures (bottom) alone are enough to send me down the hosta aisles.

All this talk has my belly saying, "hello hosta!"  Have you ever eaten hosta leaves? What do you think? Plant them for food or stick to spinach?

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

The Cat's Meow

:: photo source

Making me purr this week:

This gorgeous silk blouse from TopShop- love the hem and pockets, am dying for this peachy color

This new line of necklaces from A Alicia made with vintage kimono fabric and handmade ceramic beads. Ugh- want! (the one on the right would go great with the peach blouse, hmm?)

This Photo Booth book by Babbette Hines, recommended by a reader from yesterday's post (thanks Shelley!) I ordered it!

This beautiful pleated bag from Quote. Canvas + leather = ooo

These tightrope walker necklaces by Klimbim, a brand new brand from Berlin. So unique, instantly loveable. 

Bella Figura asked me to pick my favorites from their new invitation designs and this beauty is one of them!

This vintage sweater in pretty dusty rose, from Capricious Traveler

Paintings by Becca Statdtlander (all of them really)- inspiring for my painting class! {via wolf and willow}

These s/s 2011 looks from Chris Benz and their perfect "subtle 70's" vibe

This Spaces book from the editors of Frankie- ordered this too.

This Earth & Sky necklace, a collaborative effort from Stone & Honey and Satsuma press. So pretty + comes with a "birds of a feather" letterpress card.

Baked kale chips from Smitten Kitchen (her photo)- I made these this past weekend and dang! We scarfed them down like potato chips, so yummy. 

Hey, what's going on in this post? I think my aching for spring has officially begun.

The Cat's Meow

Since I'm trying to post less frequently, and more personally, I'm afraid that might mean less opportunities to feature great goodies that I love. But that doesn't mean I'm coveting stuff any less, oh no. So I thought I needed a new feature to showcase lots of my favorite things all at once. So, introducing...

:: photo source

Making me purr lately:

These black velvet booties from Osborn (all their shoes really, uh-mazing, and handmade) 

This pretty pretty moon chart, from Agent Gallery Chicago

These gorgeous earrings by Fay Andrada, at Spartan. I want to wear them with a bun in my hair.

The new Scout bag by Beesnetta, butterscotch yummimess.

This cute cosmic ice-cream necklace from Apres Ski

And actual ice cream from Three Twins. The "mocha difference" flavor is OMG good.

This "I declare" hand-screened print by Kin Ship Press- love her red dress and minty skin

These "air/water" and "earth/fire" crest necklaces from Yellow Owl Workshop

This gorgeous aqua and yellow world map by These Are Things

This pretty, sexy three-way blouse by Frances Watson. I need more white in my wardrobe.

This Voluspa three wick candle in Massakar Ebony & Peach- smells musky & sweet

This "cat on a hot tin roof" ring from Verameat- I like that it's a feisty kitty!

Butter London polish in British Racing Green (I got this as a present from Ronit, love it!) 

edited to add: these shoes, because I had to, because just look at them! And the style is appropriately called the Meow. I can't decide which color I like best tho- maybe I need one for summer, one for fall (I wish!) :: via Down & Out Chic

set it and forget it: garlic

Last night I took a gardening class from Renfrow Hardware, an old general store that's a short walk from my house. They're a little more expensive than the big box hardware stores, but also offer tried and true DIY and gardening products.  The class, led by David and Mary Beth Blackley, was geared towards beginner gardeners and was all about fall gardening. I don't want to scare you, but we're 3 1/2 weeks away from the autumnal equinox.

I've got a handful of gardening years worth of experience under my belt so a lot of the information was nothing new for me, but it served as  a good reminder of a few gardening truths and was a kick in the pants to get back in the dirt.

The class was all about cold weather crops: think cooking greens, lettuce, root crops, onions, garlic and asparagus. From the fall appropriate list are two of the most rewarding and problem-free things I've ever grown: carrots and garlic.  People, I promise you, cold crops are every bit as exciting as summer squash and home-grown tomatoes, but they're often overlooked because we're all exhausted after a summer of high heat and fighting bugs and are ready for a break.

Even if you've never grown anything, I suggest you take a moment and find some garlic to plant. Simply split the head up into the individual cloves; and plant them 2 inches deep, pointy part up in loose, rich soil.  Each clove will grow into a whole new head. Garlic is a set it and forget it kind of crop: after you've poked it in the ground, mulch, and wait til spring! Around here we get enough rain in the fall that extra watering is generally not needed, but if you're in a dry climate then water once a week. Other than that, there's not much upkeep and the reward is phenomenal.

According to David, and something I didn't know, garlic starts need to be grown on the same latitude as the heads were grown, otherwise it will take the new plant a year to adjust to your length of daylight in order to thrive.

We've still got a couple weeks before garlic goes in the ground, but it's good to go ahead and find a source for it.Where should you find garlic to grow? Maybe you have an old farm supply in your area that would be just as helpful and knowledgeable as Renfrow's? If not, search your area on Local Harvest or buy a bulb at the farmers market.

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

Magically Fig-licious

It's fig time again, my lovelies, and if you, like me, are picking a gallon a day then it's also time to list the many ways to use them. Usually when I mention to someone that I've got figs, at least 'round these parts, they tell me they do, too, but they don't eat them. Whaaaa?

Let's get this straight: wasting figs=cardinal sin. Eat them fresh, straight from the plant (a), bake delicious cardamom infused bread, or turn them into jam for canning. This year I've already made a small batch of jam (b) {not enough to can since it's the first batch of ripe figs} with the purpose of homemade fig rolls {aka fig newtons}. I've also got a jarful dried figs (c) ready for winter use, and mixed the leftover jam with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a liberal dose of mustard and baked fig glazed chicken breasts (d) for dinner.

The jam started with inspiration from a Roasted Golden Plum, Honey, and Sage Jam recipe {thanks Adrian!} and ended up a Black Pepper Tinged Honey Fig Jam.  Flavor the figs with just enough pepper to make your taste buds notice. Also, get a high-quality honey, not something from the grocery store that tastes metallic and dull. In fact, make a trek to the farmers market and buy some straight from the beekeeper--someone whose face shines with pride because they know you're getting something special.

Got some figs of your own? Try the jam:

 

Like the sound of fig rolls? Pair up my jam recipe with Heidi's cookie dough recipe. You're in for a magically fig-licious treat!

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

The Cure for Zucchini Overload

This week I had an out of garden experience. We're talkin' Meg Ryan, seriously so so so very good. It started out by reading Monkey and Squirrel Jen's raw zucchini pasta recipe and my interest was piqued. I wasn't think my good ol' boy of a husband would go for a raw meal, so I looked for a few more zucchini-as-pasta recipes and found the still-very-healthy NY Times Zucchini 'Pasta' recipe.

See, we have an overly generous neighbor that doesn't speak a lick of English, but loves to give us gifts from her garden. It's hard to say no to a sweet elderly woman, especially if you don't speak the same language. Enter 8 bat sized zucchini, part of an annual festival of zucchini around our house. I don't even grow it anymore and we always end up with a delicious and welcomed abundance. But what to do with the zucchini? Zucchini ice cream? Zucchini-tini? Zucchini fritters... they may not be healthy but they sure are tasty. 

Back to the zucchini pasta? My new favorite way to use up all the fresh zucchini in the fridge. It's bland enough to satisfy the pasta craving and heating it up just a little bit made it even closer to its flour-counterpart, plus there's a satisfying crunch you just don't get with pasta. All I'm sayin' is you zucchini haters better recognize. {Ahem.}

So, if you're locking your doors and avoiding neighbors who share the bounty simply because of lack of recipes, here are a few ideas to get your mouth watering and get that friendly relationship back on track:  

Baked Zucchini Fries from Heart of Light; Lasagna tart from 101 Cookbooks;Rosemary Cornmeal Crusted Zucchini with Grapefruit Aioli from food 52;Sicilian Style Zucchini Pizza from Real Simple; Vegetarian Pot Pie from Eating is Art.

Happy cookin' kiddos!

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

Blackberry Lust

{image via the kitchn}

Although blackberry bushes are notorious for taking over backyards and empty lots all across Portland (and probably anywhere else it's nice and moist), I really love them! They may be pervasive, but they're damn delicious and I'm excited to have some growing in my new yard.

Blackberries dipped in homemade whipped cream is almost as close to heaven on earth as I've found, but I have a feeling that we're gonna have a whole lotta blackberries once they start ripening, so I need some other ideas of ways to use them...

Like some dark, velvety sorbet

{recipe on Orangette}

or this lime yogurt cake with blackberry sauce- whaaat?

{recipe on Smitten Kitchen}

or this apple-blackberry pie with ginger. Woah!
{recipe on the Kitchn}

or these blackberry puffs- are you kidding me?

{recipe on good ol' Martha}

or (probably my favorite idea) this blackberry smash cocktail. Is it too early for one of these?

{recipe on Bless Her Heart- found via Craft:}

What do you guys think? Yum? Any other blackberry recipes to share?