Step-By-Step: Traditional Preserves

Before you read this post, please understand that home canning carries with it inherent risks. Please, please make sure you are taking every precaution to avoid introducing bacteria into your canning process. I recommend taking a class, reading plenty of information about home canning, and working with a buddy who has also taken steps like these. And of course, inspect your canned goods before eating them to check for any signs of them going bad (smells, etc.). Once you're prepared, canning is a lot of fun!Making traditional preserves isn’t much harder than freezer jam, but it does require a little...

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Step-By-Step: Peeling Peaches

Over at the Whole Foods Blog, I wrote about making summer jam. A couple of weekends ago, I made some Fredericksburg peach preserves, and here's a great tip for peeling and pitting peaches!Sure, you need quite the setup—but trust me, this is the easy way.1.     You’ll need a large pot of boiling water, a large bowl of ice water, and a clean bowl for the peeled peaches. Have a slotted spoon handy.2.     Put fresh peaches into the boiling water.  3.     Boil for about a minute each, or until the skin begins to crack...

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Wordless Wednesday: What 109 Degrees Will Do to a Plant

Yesterday we broke a record in Texas. A high of 109 degrees was recorded in the middle of the city, only a couple of miles from where our garden grows. Or ceases to grow. In case you were wondering what the garden looks like (and why I'm totally ok with saying goodbye and waiting for fall...), this should answer some questions.The gardens at 6:30 a.m., after a little watering. (Sorry it's blurry, I had peppers in one hand.)The same gardens at 6:30 p.m., after a peak temperature of 109 degrees. Fahrenheit.Peppers and tomatillos, 6:30 a.m.After. Fin stopped to smell the roses, and show how...

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Pinja Challenge: Cherry Tomato Pie

Cherry (tomato) pie in a homemade (sharp cheddar) crust. Maybe I lean a little too heavily on Pinterest for inspiration, but so far it has not led me astray in the kitchen. Thank you, Claire, for coining the term "Pinja." Allow me to explain. Pinja (n): A ninja-like, resourceful wizard who successfully concocts things pinned on Pinterest. Claire's a quilting and crafting Pinja. I'm having fun honing my Pinja skills in the kitchen.Halved cherry tomatoes, garden oregano, and fresh onions.Late last week, I happened upon this lovely pie, via Pinterest, over at Not Without Salt. Cherry...

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Fruits from the Weekend

Here's a little taste of what I needed to know this weekend. The only thing not food-related was the ukulele search (it was unfruitful). The rest, as I'm sure you can tell, was very much so. In fact, we had a fruit-filled weekend.After a couple of Googles, I decided there was indeed no time like the present to pick the muskmelon (cantaloupe) and one of our watermelons from the garden. The Internet told me that the cantaloupe would be more forgiving because it'll ripen on the counter for a day or two, but I had to be careful with the watermelon. There's no exact science to say when, precisely,...

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Freshworthy Friday: Dirty Food

Dirtying Up Our DietsNew York Times, Jeff D. LeachI read this yesterday and immediately sent it out on Twitter and Facebook. Why? Because I totally agree. To add to the problems of today's food supply—it's too far from real food, it's too dirty, it's too processed—think about this. It's too clean. Way back in the day, we ate food off the floor (who started the 5-second rule, anyway?). These days, food allergies and autoimmune diseases are at "alarmingly" high rates, and the Leach argues it's because we're missing important stuff in our food supply. Namely, the dirt.Leach goes on to write that...

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Easy Caprese

Green tomatoes, red tomatoes, jalapenos, and banana peppers—all picked this week! Yesterday I made it sound like our garden was kaput, and some of you might have thought, "Wow, she's in a bit of a funk."So to those of you who may have stopped by for the first time after seeing my Zucchini Enchilada recipe over on Whole Foods' blog, I want to say welcome to the Sustainable Diet Kitchen and Garden! Please stick around—there's plenty of cookin' and growin' going on.This morning, I picked about a pound of perfectly ripe tomatoes (Romas, Black Cherry, and one lovely Purple Cherokee), almost two...

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Wordy Wednesday: Hello Summer, Goodbye Garden

This is how I'll remember my pole beans.Today we herald in the official beginning of summer! And as the temperatures stay in the upper nineties, pushing 100 day after day, I'm coming to terms with saying goodbye to my summer garden.This morning I harvested another zucchini, a few handfuls of perfectly ripe black cherry tomatoes, and one humongous cucumber that should've been picked days ago. Slowly, though, the garden is calling it quits. Wouldn't you? Imagine standing up straight all day, while it's almost as hot as the surface of the sun, getting only a slight reprieve from the heat...

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Meandering Thoughts

Each day, I try to consciously live a sustainable life. While many of my efforts go into the food I eat—from bringing my lunch almost every day to harvesting tomatoes from the back yard—others go into my daily routines.Most of the time, I'm a bus commuter. Sure, I see my fair share of crazy things on the bus route (and once, I got jabbed in the head with a pen by a woman sitting two seats back, screaming jibberish), but overall it's a good experience that saves me money and keeps my carbon footprint small. It's only slightly less convenient than driving, and after a good year of public transit...

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