Farm Fresh New Books!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

The sun reappeared today! I would never complain about the recent two days of steady rain, but it was wonderful to have the sun shining down on my face after two days of cloudy gloom.

I got my order from Amazon today, two farm fresh books on cooking from the bounty of the local farmers' markets. In two weeks the farmers' markets will begin here in the Northern Virginia suburbs and I am anxious to go. My goal for me, hubby, and son is to eat fresh and local. I hope these two well-reviewed books will show me the way...

Local Flavors by Deborah Madison is chock full of gorgeous photos and step-by-step recipes for the culinary-impaired like myself. Fresh From the Farmers' Market by Janet Fletcher gives recipes for the seasons and beautifully describes the virtues of all of the produce you would find at your local farmers' market. The sweet embroidered towel in between these fabulous books was made my mom back in the 1940's when she was a little girl, and having your own "victory garden" was a necessity.

I recently planted my own very small urban "kitchen" garden. I was delighted to see today, after the rains, that the peas are beginning to break through the soil and the Hollyhocks I planted along the fence are up with their seed leaves.

Herbs are the mainstay of my wee garden, with thyme, oregano, parsley, and shallots. I put in some cabbage plants and surrounded them with prickly sweet "gumballs" to discourage slugs. There are lettuce seeds among a few lettuce plants from the garden center, and the bush pea trellises are just beyond the cabbage. I will put in a container tomato plant and sweet basil when the weather warms a little more. I don't expect a bounty from my tiny plot but it'll be fun to harvest something from my own backyard.

All I can say is "YAY SPRING!"~~~XXOO, Beth