A Post for My Mother

My mother as any other mother in the world wants to know how her kids live, what they do, and she wants to be part of our life on a daily basis. Because she is six thousand miles away and lives on another continent she is happy for every bit of news from us. She likes to say that photos of our everyday life shrink the distance and she feels as she is here with us.  So this post is my Mother's Day gift for my Mother. We love your Mom! :)

Yesterday we went to a place called Wild Things Farm to pick some strawberries.

It was a lovely day to be outside. 

We picked a few buckets of strawberries and a weekly dose of vitamin D.

Then we walked around the farm, didn't take the fun ride though. 

Happy harvest... Can you imagine pies, jams, lemonades, and all other wild things that can be done with all this strawberries?!

Back at home I made a cheesecake. I've been working on the recipe for a week, and this one came out just right for our tastes. 

With it we all had a delicious tea time.

I love having tea time with my Mother... And I wish to have one sometime soon... 

Happy Mother's Day!

See you,
Marina

P.S. It looks like we will be moving back to Washington State in July. And we also have two graduations: our teenager is graduating from high school in May, and my husband is graduating from the residency in June. With all that said, my posts will be sporadic for the time being, until we move and settle somewhere. I also may not be visiting your lovely blogs as often as I'd like to.  But I think of you all often. 

The Southside Rebels, and Graduation is Just Around the Corner (Photos)

Last night when our Teenager received a Varsity Letter Award I was fighting tears. It was another moment of realization that my baby has become a grown man and in a few weeks he will graduate from high school and enter the real world. 

When did he grew up?! 

See you,
Marina

P.S. It looks like we will be moving back to Washington State in July. And we also have two graduations: our teenager is graduating from high school in May, and my husband is graduating from the residency in June. With all that said, my posts will be sporadic for the time being, until we move and settle somewhere. I also may not be visiting your lovely blogs as often as I'd like to.  But I think of you all often. 

Kumquat Jam

One day at our local store a bright orange fruits caught my attention. I went by it once, than came back to the produce section to pick something else and looked at it again, then before I went to the register I came back to the produce section and couldn't resist to put in my basket a couple of kumquat packs. They were so sunny, so cheerful, and so happy looking at me, how could I had left without them?!

I came home, had a few kumquats with all their flavor bursting up to my brain. Then I had a few more, then... well, by the end of the day we finished it. Needless to say that the very next morning I went back to the store and headed straight to the section, where the little sunshine fruits were sitting. I bought a few more boxes with a single thought: "I need to preserve some of it". I didn't know how and what I was going to make, I just wanted a jar of this fantastic flavor to be preserved. 

And here it is, Kumquat Jam. I made it traditionally by pre-soaking sliced kumquats in sugar overnight, then adding some grapefruit juice and cooking for 30 minutes. The hardest part was to slice those tiny fruits into half moons. It took me just two hours to get it done. :) 

See you,
Marina

P.S. It looks like we will be moving back to Washington State in July. And we also have two graduations: our teenager is graduating from high school in May, and my husband is graduating from the residency in June. With all that said, my posts will be sporadic for the time being, until we move and settle somewhere. I also may not be visiting your lovely blogs as often as I'd like to.  But I think of you all often. 

Caught in action

Tomato and homemade cheese tower

Last few weeks has been a bit hectic around here. You know: taxes, more taxes, some work (unpaid, but fun though), upcoming move and all other things called life. 
When I was working on our taxes I attempted a few times to write a post. But except bad words, not much would come out from my fingertips. It wasn't about the taxes itself (although I do have some thoughts about it too), but the technical issues I encountered when trying to submit it. It took me a few days to resolve the issue, and as you may guess, a few strong words did slip off my tongue. Good thing  no one heard it. 
One day, after a few hours on the phone with different people working on resolving tax submitting issue, I came out to the kitchen and caught my men in action.

"...and if I ever need any guidance, who's a better consiglieri than my father?" (from The Godfather)

What are they up to? 

Husband's cooking: doesn't happen very often! :)

That must be our dinner...

Thank you, boys! I am so proud of you! 

See you,
Marina

P.S. It looks like we will be moving back to Washington State in July. And we also have two graduations: our teenager is graduating from high school in May, and my husband is graduating from the residency in June. With all that said, my posts will be sporadic for the time being, until we move and settle somewhere. I also may not be visiting your lovely blogs as often as I'd like to.  But I think of you all often. 

Improvising in the Kitchen Before Payday

It doesn't rain all the time in Seattle...

When we came back from our trip to Seattle, I did a small shopping for milk, vegetables and some fruits and decided to experiment: what if I don't go shopping anymore until the payday? We had milk, apples, flour, legumes, and different vegetables that I used for everyday cooking. 
Three days before payday I realized I am out of many fresh ingredients, so I had to be really creative to cook from what I had available. 

Three days before payday: soup (a.k.a. Kale soup)

After a quick inventory of the refrigerator, I made a "Three days before payday" soup, also known as Kale and Potato Soup. A friend, that we visited in Seattle, gave me the recipe, and despite a few missing ingredients, this soup quickly became my men's favorite.  To make it I had one potato, a small container of whipping cream, one onion, a few kale leaves, two cups chicken broth, salt and pepper, a tablespoon of butter or good quality olive oil. 
Cooking is just as easy:  saute onions in fat of your choice, add chicken broth, bring it to a boil, add potato, cook until potato is done, add cream, salt and pepper to taste. Add kale leaves and turn the heat off. Quick, easy, and simple. Plus delicious, as my men said.

Two days before payday: Beet salad with micro greens, and a meat filled pastry

The next day, I decided to make a meat filled pastry and a salad from a roasted beets and shoe box microgreens. "What?!" I hear you. Microgreens are a tiny green vegetables, that grow in shoe box (in my case), that rent a kitchen's window seal. Still have question? I guess it's about the shoe box. 
Well, there was an empty plastic shoe box, that was traveling from one closet to another, than to the shoe rack, than back to the closet until one day I looked at it and... Evrika!, decided to plant my greens in it. I made a few holes in the box, filled it with a good soil (I don't have a garden, but I do have my worms, that eat our food scraps and make a perfect compost and tea for my plants), planted seeds, and in two weeks I had my first harvest of the most nutrient and ecofriendly greens.

While I was making my pastry, beets were roasted at 400F for 90 minutes. Then I peeled it, sliced it, and mixed it with a sliced green onion. I seasoned it with a freshly grind black pepper and a good quality sea salt (I had Alaea Hawaiian sea salt), and served with a handful of micro greens (arugula, dill and lettuce), then drizzled a little olive oil on the top.
The Husband loved the salad, teenager however gave the greens a look and tried to push it to the side of the plate. I gave him my look (we have a long negotiated agreement that he finishes his salad before he eats any meat), and he asked me what was it. I told him it's lettuce, but a very small one. He scoffed but made a first bite. Then he quickly finished his salad and moved a bowl with meat filled pastry closer, giving it a soft hug. Kids... :)

One day before payday: Polenta with shallots and porcini mushrooms

On the morning of the third day I was inspired by Ottolenghi's recipe from his book Plenty, and had all available in my kitchen ingredients (polenta and dried porcini mushrooms) set on the kitchen counter to make polenta pizza for dinner. I don't have a book, hence I know only that this polenta pizza has mushroom topping. 
I prepared the mushroom with shallots and white wine, and all was left is to make the pizza crust from polenta. I was in the middle of making polenta when the husband came home with question that sounded more like a statement: "when's the dinner?" He rushed himself into the kitchen, looking for something to warm up. "Oh, polenta! Let me wash my hands!"
I quickly  changed my plans from pizza to simple polenta with porcini mushrooms: an always welcomed dinner in this house! 

Peach and berry pie

That was an interesting experiment that proves no extra shopping necessary to make a good dinner. We often tend to over-complicate our food, forgetting that simple food tastes just as good. 

Oh, yes, we also had some pie! All before payday. 

See you,
Marina