special delivery.
Several months ago, I bought a Living Social deal for Milk & Honey Organics. Last week, I called to place my order, scheduled the delivery, then forgot all about it. When I got home from work on Thursday there was a cooler and a bunch of bananas waiting for me. What a great surprise! I was excited about the idea of having fresh food delivered to my door, but look at how much wonderful produce was packed in that cooler!
Taking these pictures reminded me of the last time I had this many veggies on my kitchen table.
We’ve eaten most of the bananas, but the delivery also included: tomatoes, fresh greens, broccoli, cauliflower, parsley, sweet potatoes, chard, apples, pears, and peas.
As always, by this time of the year, my garden has long been scorched by the South Carolina summer, so all this fresh produce is even more exciting! Now, to figure out how to prepare and eat chard.
food, life, products, gardening,2011 garden.
In contrast to last year’s well-planned garden, I hadn’t given our gardens much thought until this weekend. Brief wishes for spring a few months ago inspired me to start some seeds inside, but nothing came of them and the whole thing was pitched into the compost bin.
This weekend, the weather was perfect for thinking gardening thoughts, so in less than two-days time seeds were chosen, arranged and are already in the ground. Along with the store-bought seeds, I also planted these — a gift from my nephew, Jon. He was kind enough to share his gardening success from last year with me. I hope they not only grow, but that I can keep them alive long enough for him to see them when he visits this summer!
flowers
I bought myself flowers on Saturday. I didn’t need them or deserve them, but I’m pretty sure God gave them to us under the same circumstances.
Later, Andrew brought me daisies. Flowers really do brighten the day!
life, gardening,Garden Update
July and August is the time of year that my excitement for gardening wanes. The South Carolina summers are so hot that all my plants are withered and dried up, and it seems there’s no amount of watering that can save them. Unfortunately, it’s easy to give up on all those seeds I was so excited to plant a few months ago.
Look at my poor soybeans!
The last few weeks in Greenville we’ve seen massive amounts of downpours, and the other morning a glimpse of green in the garden made me stop and look. To my surprise, a few plants have revived themselves (including my tomatoes and peppers!) and after closer inspection, I found a few surprises!
Fascinating mushrooms.
Plus a few cucumbers and summer squash!
I’m excited to make some steamed fish and vegetables one night this week. After months of nothing, it’s nice to see some produce coming from our own backyard again!
gardening, Greenville, healthy living,Roast Beef With Slow-Cooked Tomatoes and Garlic
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about food, so I’ll share a new recipe we tried last night. We’re not big red meat eaters, but I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while and it seemed like the perfect way to use the cherry tomatoes that are everywhere this time of year. I used a sirloin tip roast we bought at the Saturday Morning Market from Native Meats.
It looked and smelled amazing before I even put it in the oven!
You’ll have to take my word for it when I say this photo doesn’t do it justice! I’m not a food photographer, but here’s the finished product!
Look at that roasted garlic! Mmmmm!
We were anxious to eat, so I didn’t take any photos after we sliced it, but I was really happy with the tender, ever-so-slightly-pink inside. Since I never know how long to cook things like this, and I get nervous about over- or under-cooking meat, I bought an instant-read thermometer the other day, and this was the first recipe I used it on. In the end, this 2-pound roast was in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes, and it came out a very nice medium-well.
The verdict: It was exceptional! I’m sure that it has more to do with the quality of the meat than the cook, but I don’t mind at all! I’ll definitely be making this one again!
cooking, local food, gardening,Greenbrier Photos
Images taken by Andrew at this weekend’s event. A big thank you to Greenbrier for putting it on, and to everyone who came out for it!
Greenville, TwoOverZero, design, gardening, sewing,Recent Projects: Part 1
I promised to share more about the projects I’ve been working on for the Greenbrier Farms’ event this weekend, so here you go!
Part 1: Paper and Inks
This is the first event Two Over Zero has participated in, and we’re thrilled to be one of the local vendors included this weekend. I think this is a great opportunity for people to see and interact with our paper goods in a way that’s not possible simply selling online.
In honor of the occasion, we put together a new product: a pocket-sized Gardening Journal, perfect for keeping track of what you planted and when. I’ve been more excited about gardening than ever this year, and thought this could be a helpful tool if you don’t already have a system for this kind of thing. Andrew created a fun spot illustration for the cover, and the inside pages are made from vintage notebook paper. Any journals left after this weekend’s event will be listed on Etsy.
I hope you come out and see us at Greenbrier this Saturday, April 17, from 9am—3pm.
Recent Projects: Part 2
Projects I’ve been working on for Greenbrier’s event, continued…
Part 2: Food & Craft
For Christmas last year, I made my niece a set of felt food. She has loved it, and it was an incredibly fun and rewarding project for me.
In the last few months, I’ve learned a lot about the importance of local food, eating healthier, and even encouraging kids to eat healthy. What better complement to the produce Greenbrier sells than to offer a play version for kids?
I found most of the patterns for this food online, so I am not claiming originality here. This just seemed like an excellent chance to merge a few of the things I love: food, craft and gardening. I modified some of the instructions slightly, and winged it on the lettuce. If you’re interested in making your own felt food, I can confidently direct you to the following resources:
eggs
strawberries (modified)
carrots (modified)
cheeses
many many other foods that would be fun to make
note: the felt I used for the majority of these pieces is actually made entirely from recycled plastic bottles. I had never used this kind of felt before, but I was very pleased with the results!
Come out and see us at Greenbrier Farms this weekend! This Saturday from 9am-3pm!
Greenville, gardening, sewing,