ringing in the new year

Let it be known that as we being 2012, I'm starting it with the very best of intentions. For instance, I just downed this fresh and bright smoothie, packed full of garden greens. The kale and baby spinach, lemon juice, and sweetness of the pear juice and banana blend together very well, but the celery is pronounced and quickly reminds you that you're drinking something healthy. It's a super fresh smoothie that will make you feel better just for looking at it.

So let 2012 be the year I recommit to Sustainable Diet, bringing to it a freshness not unlike that of this delectable drink. Here's to renewal, good health, and happiness!

Winter Greens Smoothie

1/2 cup pear juice

1/2 cup ice

1 small banana, cut into 1-inch slices

1 1/2 cups fresh kale or baby spinach (or a mixture of both)

1 stalk celery, chopped

juice from 1/2 of a lemon

Put all ingredients into the blender in the order they're listed. Begin with ice-crush mode, pulse for about 15 seconds, and then puree completely. Makes one 16-ounce smoothie.

Inspired by this Kale Apple Smoothie recipe at Real Simple.

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salsa verde

Here's what happens. I run home to visit my mom and wish her happy birthday, intending just to drop off her gift and talk for a while. She not only feeds me (well) with a wonderful pot of homemade, homegrown vegetarian minestrone, but also sends me home with bags and bags of vegetables. Among them: collards, chard, pattypan squash, eight-ball squash, cherry tomatoes, dill, and (best of all), about four pounds of tomatillos.... already husked, no less!

Last night, those tomatillos got rinsed, roasted, and pureed into some fresh and spicy salsa verde. The pepper lineup was taken from our backyard garden, and let me be the first to report that those serranos are spicy. The jalapenos may be tiny, but they pack a punch.

The verde verdict: it's spicy and tangy, and the fresh tomatillos impart a bit of sweetness to it, too. We scooped it up with chips right away, and today it was the garnish for my grilled vegetable salad. Enjoy!

Roasted Salsa Verde

3-4 pounds fresh tomatillos, husked and rinsed to remove stickiness

5-10 peppers, depending on how spicy you like it

1 large yellow onion, cut into chunks

3 cloves garlic

1 cup fresh cilantro

juice from 2 limes

salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 450. Spread the clean tomatillos and peppers on a baking sheet and roast for about 10-15 minutes, stirring once with a spatula.

In the bowl of a food processor, finely chop the garlic, onion, and cilantro. Add the tomatillos. peppers (stems removed), and lime juice and process until well incorporated. Season with salt. Serve warm immediately, or ladle into jars.

Keeps fresh in the fridge for about a week; if you'd like to give it as holiday gifts or save for later, ladle into sterilized half-pint jars and seal in a hot water bath.

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a second spring

Thanks to the unbelievably wonderful weather we've seen lately (let's just not mention the lack of rain, shall we?), the garden we have so lovingly revamped in the backyard is beginning to grow. In 56-90 days, we'll (hopefully) have produce from our own backyard on our own plates.

Two weekends ago, we buckled down and cleaned up the backyard. After coming up with a general game plan for the gardens, we settled on a few things, wants and needs:

• We want the garden to look good

• We need to keep the cats out

• We need a way to grow plants from seed, as well as places for transplants

• We want to grow foods we enjoy

In Fat Man (the original 4x8 that Ryan built), we planted seeds for leafy greens: kale, collards, swiss chard, and spinach. I kept it simple so that trimming the greens would be easy, should they all come in at once. We also happen to love all these greens. A win-win, I believe that's called.

In the Little Boys, our two low-to-the-ground 4x10s, we have rows of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts. There are two fall tomatoes (an heirloom cherry variety and romas; we'll see how they do) as well as our lone survivors of the summer—the pepper plants. They're happily producing now, with many promising blooms.

In the 4x12 Devers Bed, we've got a row of Chinese cabbage transplants (I think they're 'Jai Choi,' but I can't find any confirming evidence... they hailed from the Natural Gardener with the rest of our transplants). I also am giving strawberries one more shot—two transplants' worth. Finally, I've planted 15 cloves of organic garlic, since the sign at Natural Gardner convinced me that garlic is "exceedingly easy" to grow in Texas.

And last but not least, in our two 4x4s, I planted seeds for lettuces, carrots, kohlrabi, beets, and turnips. Ryan built the cat-proofing cages with 1x2 cedar frames covered in wire fencing.

All of the large beds are covered in pine straw, mainly to discourage the cats (they don't like walking on it). Side benefits include being able to hide the soaker hoses and acting as a mulch-like barrier.

We also have a little herb garden with basil, rosemary, curly parsley, sage, thyme, and mint. All the herbs are currently happy, so I'm trying to keep them that way.

So far, the fall garden is bringing happiness to our everyday lives. I'm looking forward to some home-grown greens, and have made a plan to shop at the farmer's market weekly for extras.

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the rise of the fro-ban

*Please note. I meant to post this, oh, a long, long time ago. But a phone call last week from a neighbor that opened with, "Hey Amber. We have a fro-ban question," reminded me to actually set it live.

**Also. We are huge fans of fro-bans as they were meant to be. This is just another option.

Once upon a time, I was struck by the simplicity of a blog post over at The Kitchn. "Make delicious, creamy ice cream with just one ingredient and no ice cream maker," it claimed.

Ha-HA! Yeah right.

Nay-sayers, step aside. Marvel at the Fro-Ban: the frozen banana, like you've never seen it before. I worried that banana ice cream would taste too, well, banana-y. While the flavor is undoubtedly there, it's nothing like the faux-banana flavor employed by candies and processed foods. And the process of blending the fro-bans incorporates a little air, lending it a light and satisfying creaminess.

And then you get really insistent on making popsicles one night, and before you know it you're adding coconut milk to the frozen bananas, whirring it all together, and layering it in a pan with chocolate syrup.

That's when you invite your neighbors over for Fro-Bans.

Fro-Ban Popsicles

4-6 slightly over-ripe bananas, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices, then frozen for at least 3 hours

1/4 cup coconut milk (dairy, soy, or almond milk can be used here too)

organic chocolate syrup (here's a recipe for homemade)

Toss the frozen banana chunks into the food processor and whir until they resemble ice cream. Feel free to eat it at that point. For popsicles, slowly add the coconut milk while the machine is running, until the mixture reaches a slightly smoother texture.

Line a 9x5 baking tray with waxed paper and pour a layer of banana mixture into the pan. Drizzle with a good layer of chocolate syrup, and top with the remaining banana mixture. Place popsicle sticks in at 3/4-inch intervals. Freeze for at least 4 hours, then gently cut pops apart and serve.

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homemade fig newtons

Figs are such delicate, delectable things. They seem so incredibly indulgent—so when my mom gave me the better part of 10 pounds this year, I longed to use them wisely.

Their delicate nature means they're only good fresh for a week (at best), so I had to use them up quickly and didn't have any time to make preserves.

Enter the hunt for a fig bar recipe. A good friend is a big fan of fig bars, and I thought a homemade version would be easy to find. Turns out, most recipes I turned to called for dried figs (since for most of the cooking public, those are so easy to come by). If you're in the market, this recipe for Grown Up Fig Bars over at 101 Cookbooks was a contender for the two-hour slot I had set aside for figs in the kitchen.

But what ended up winning was this recipe for homemade fig Newtons over at Our Italian Kitchen. I changed the recipe quite a lot, to include whole wheat and less sugar. Here's my take on it, which was so well received that I processed about 6 pounds of figs this same way, threw 'em in the freezer, and started taking orders for more.

Fresh Fig Bars

Adapted from Our Italian Kitchen

Dough
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup raw or turbinado sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 large egg white
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup spelt flour
(alternately, you can use 1 1/2 cups AP flour, or 3/4 cup AP and 3/4 cup whole wheat)

Filling
2 lbs fresh figs
1/4 cup honey
Juice of half a lemon

1. Cream the butter, sugar and zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

2. Beat in the egg white and vanilla.

3. Next, add the flour in three portions and beat on low speed after each addition until the dough comes together.

4. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

5. While the dough is chilling, de-stem the figs. Toss the whole figs into the bowl of a food processor and process until pureed.

6. In a large saucepan, cook the fig puree, honey, and lemon juice over medium-low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. The mixture should be fairly thick and begin to gel as you cook it down. Set mixture aside until completely cool. If making these the next day, refrigerate the mixture overnight.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

8. Working with about 1/2 of the dough at a time, roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface. Cut into strips, each about 12 x 4 inches. Spoon a line of filling down the center of each strip. With the help of a dough scraper, carefully fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges together. Using a serrated knife, slice each log into appropriately-sized cookies. Place each cookie on the parchment-lined baking sheets, seam side down.

9. Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack. Share with friends to make them love you.

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summer meals, part 2: fig, gorgonzola & arugula pizza

I couldn't leave you hanging on just part 1, now, could I?

My mom gave us a bucketload of fresh figs from her tree. During the last two summers, I out-jammed myself and we still have jars sitting in the garage that I'm afraid to eat. With the heat this summer, I can't bear to do any canning in the kitchen anyway. So this year, I decided to take a different approach.

This approach: Enjoy fresh figs in all of their fresh figgy glory. So we made pizza. With fresh figs. How fun!

I've gotten in the habit of making double batches of pizza dough and freezing half. It's once the prep and twice the food—brilliant, if you ask me. Provided, of course, you remember to take the dough out of the freezer. (Call from the grocery store: "Hey, Ryan. Are you home? Yeah? Can you do me a favor? Thanks...") This means whipping up a gourmet pizza on a weeknight becomes, oh, no big deal. Seriously, you should try it.

I was inspired by the umpteen recipes I found for fig, arugula, and prosciutto pizza (like this one from Pioneer Woman), but there were a couple of small problems. Like, we don't eat prosciutto any more. And, to be honest, I'm not a fan of arugula.

This pizza changed half of that. I'll give you a clue: I still don't eat prosciutto.

The only tricky thing about this pizza is that you kind of have to watch it carefully. I didn't want to bake the arugula too long, so I put that on at the end. You can see in the photo that the greens are a little wilted; if you want them to look snappier, just add the arugula after you've totally baked the pizza.

Fig, Gorgonzola, and Arugula Pizza

1 recipe pizza dough of your choice (but I recommend this one, jazzed up with spelt flour)

approximately 15 fresh figs (more if you'd like), de-stemmed and sliced

1/2 cup gorgonzola crumbles

3 cups fresh arugula (you can use an arugula-spinach mix here)

2 tablespoons olive oil

cornmeal for dusting the baking sheet

Preheat the oven to 450. Roll your pizza dough thin; this is one pizza that's best on a thin, crisp crust. Dust a baking sheet or pizza stone with cornmeal and transfer the dough to the sheet.

Slide the crust into the oven for about 4-5 minutes to partially bake it. Remove from oven, and drizzle the half-baked crust with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Top haphazardly with gorgonzola and fig slices, and return the pizza to the oven for about 5 more minutes.

Just before the crust turns golden-brown, bring the pizza back out and top with 3 cups of arugula and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Slide back into the oven to finish baking, until crust is golden and crispy. Enjoy it while it's still nice and hot.

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summer meals, part 1

Believe it or not, we've been having some amazing stuff from the garden and kitchen lately. I hope to share a few recipes soon, like homemade fig bars and fig-gorgonzola-arugula pizza. Oh, and mayo-free pimento cheese. And the plans for the fall garden (see the squash starts above? Let's hope they make it!).

Sure, our garden is suffering mightily in the heat. . . And there's next to nothing to harvest most of the time. But we have managed to pluck delicious ripe tomatoes from the vines and have peppers, too. And with the frozen herbs I keep in my freezer, a quick summer meal is never too far away.

Lately one of our quick dinner favorites has become the "anything goes quesadilla." No two are alike! I have less of a recipe for you and more of. . . An approach.

• Keep chopped onion in the fridge at all times. This has proved supremely helpful; also, when kept in a glass airtight container, it keeps for at least two weeks. And the glass never holds on to the smell, either. Win-win. Win.

• Gather miscellany vegetables from the garden (chard, peppers, eggplant, squash, and corn have all made an appearance).

• Open a can of pinto or black beans; drain it and get it ready to throw in the pan.

• We like using multi-grain tortillas. They're flavorful and healthy. Cha-ching!

• Use a pan that can saute your veggies and also cook the quesadillas. I use a flat non-stick pan for everything. Sure, a couple of beans leap onto the stovetop, but overall it's nice to use only one dish for this.

• Saute the veggies, add seasonings, and toss in the beans to heat them up. Take your fixin's and pour them onto one of your dinner plates. Keep them in waiting while you throw a tortilla on the pan and add just about a tablespoon of shredded cheese. Let it melt a little, and then add about a half-cup of the filling. Top with another tablespoon of cheese and the next tortilla, and proceed with your quesadilla-making.

• We make three quesadillas to feed two of us (split the third one). It's perfectly filling and always delicious.

That's it! Back with more in less than a month, I promise.

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