Summer Berries - cheesecake popsicle recipe !

I am glad to sit and take the time to write here. Life has been busy as it should be, but I was missing sharing my garden with you. In July I love to see the different berries maturing, we have black currants, raspberries and blackberries. Every day I can pick some for Chloe ( my 18 month old baby girl) and I collect extra to prepare some yummy treats like these popsicles for which I am about to share the recipe with you. 

It's really quick to prepare, just think that it has to sit in your freezer a minimum of 5 hours.

I harvested a bunch of different berries for this recipe but feel free to adjust quantities if you want to make more.

Summer Berries Cheesecake Popsicles

You will need: 

- 1 1/2  package of regular cream cheese

- 3/4 cup milk ( I used whole milk )

- 1/2 cup powdered sugar

- 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

- 2 cups fresh or frozen berries ( I used a mix of blackberries, raspberries and blackcurrants from my garden)

In a food processor mix the berries together to obtain a thick juice, leave some chunks if you like, it could also be very smooth. 

Reserve the berry juice in the fridge and in a food processor or blender mix the cream cheese, milk, sugar and vanilla extract. 

Then you can start to fill your popsicle molds, I used Solo shot glass cups and mini popsicle sticks so I could make so many of them...

First fill it with the berries and then add the cream. You can also add some graham crackers like in this recipe.

Fresh blackberries and raspberries 

I like that the berries and cream are mixing together, these popsicles are so cute and so yummy !

I like to share these tiny treats with friends...

Enjoy !

water-bath canning recipe: dilly beans

hello, friends! while we're away soaking up the sunshine at the beach, i wanted to share my dilly beans recipe.

this dilly bean recipe is a staple recipe in our home during the summer months. 

so grab your green beans & head on over to my blog for my dilly bean recipe! 

- natalie

A simple and refreshing snack

I wanted to share with you a quick, easy and refreshing snack or hors d'oeuvres made with two of my favorite summer flavors. It's always a hit and perfect for summer parties and it's beautiful too. The recipe is simple but looks impressive.

Stack a cube of feta cheese on top of a cube of watermelon and top with a basil leaf. Hold together with a toothpick. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and cracked black pepper.

This combination is also delicious just tossed together in a salad with cucumber too!

Enjoy!

putting up tomatoes: crockpot tomato base & canned tomato jam

on any given day this week, if you were to walk into my kitchen, you would find tomatoes.

lots of tomatoes.

tomatoes chopped & tomatoes simmering in pots. tomatoes in crockpots & tomatoes roasting in the oven. tomatoes in the freezer & tomatoes put up for the winter.

it's the season of tomatoes & we are oh so thankful for the bounty!

today i want to share with you two new ways i preserve & put up tomatoes for the winter:

1. crockpot tomato base - a simple way to preserve your tomatoes when you're running short on time is to chop them up, skin & all, & place them in the crockpot. i add frozen or fresh basil for flavor. i put the crockpot on high & allow the tomatoes to simmer for around 12 hours. halfway through the cooking process, i remove the lid to allow the liquid to evaporate. once it's formed into a thick tomato base, i add two cups of tomato base to labeled ziplock bags & place them in the freezer. during the winter months, we add tomatoes to soups, chills, crockpot meals & more. this is the perfect base for adding to almost any meal. 

2. tomato jam - tomato jam is a lengthy process, but your home is sure to smell amazing! to make tomato jam, i followed this recipe. for extra flavor, as recommended by a friend, i added a hint of smoked paprika. it is delicious paired with bread & cream cheese!

happy tomato season!

- natalie

harvesting potatoes from the garden & our favorite varieties

in our neck of the woods, it's potato harvesting time! 

we missed our window of opportunity for planting sweet potatoes (tis the farm life sometimes) so we're savoring our apples of the earth. 

early one evening, during the golden hour, we harvested our potatoes from the garden. we dug into the soil with our digging forks, sticking our fingers deep into the soil, & pulled out the most beautiful red & purple potatoes.

little chip & sweet ginger were happy to snack on the potato tops. nothing goes to waste around here!

we planted purple potatoes, red potatoes & russet potatoes. the russet variety was by far the most productive, but we were thrilled with the variety in color. 

sometimes color wins over productivity on the farm. gardening should be an experience that charms all of the senses, yes?

my handsome farmer grows some beautiful potatoes!

we harvested a big basket full of potatoes from our one row. we have been sharing them with farm customers & our neighbors. they're so delicious! 

luke has been thinly slicing them into chip-like size & roasting them in the oven with a bit of s&p, fresh garlic from the garden & olive oil.

during our garden harvest, we even found a little friend.

have you ever grown potatoes in your garden? what's your favorite variety?

- natalie

Just a block away

I work for a non-profit farming organization whose main mission is to connect communities through food, farms and education. I thoroughly enjoy working with young people and getting them excited about growing their own food.

One of the projects I became involved in a few years back was to create an after-school garden club and school garden at the local elementary school just a block away from my house. The idea was that students and their families would take turns tending the garden throughout the summer months but as we all know life gets busy. And with that, each summer I usually find myself (happily) taking care of the garden instead.

Since we walk by the garden several times a day my girls and I had noticed recently that things were getting a bit swallowed up by weeds and there was much to be harvested (there were cukes actually sticking out of the fence!). And so we grabbed our tools and baskets and got busy today. Our hard work paid off and we were rewarded with quite an abundance of cucumbers and swiss chard and Norah was thrilled to find the first ripe tomato!

We plan to make pickles this week and will save a few jars to bring back to garden club in the fall to share with the students.

With only part sun conditions in our own garden it's such a treat (and very convenient) to have a sunny prolific garden plot just a block away!

Lately

 

A new edition to the garden has been some local straw mulch. Our vegetables seem to be enjoying their new ground cover.

One of my spilanthes plants in bloom. I had all intentions of making a mouthwash but I just keep popping the buds in my mouth when I'm in the garden. If you've never tried it, it's a really intense experience. Spilanthes causes salivation to increase and also makes your mouth tingle.

Snap peas before the afternoon storm.

Our garlic scapes have been harvested, which means it's time to pickle them. This is our very favorite recipe. We love bringing pickled scapes to gatherings. Our friends love them too and have been known to fight over the last scape in the jar.

After my weekend away, I was very happy to see the Musquee de Provence pumpkins growing.

My breadseed poppies are about to bloom.

Whenever we're in the garden lately, we're always snacking on English peas. The peas may not be making it to our freezer but their pods are. We will use them to make vegetable stock.

I must say that out of all of the flowers on this property, I prefer my neighbor's. Particularly these...

and these.

Happy July!

Chipping Away

Things are a bit slow going up front.
It has however improved and I am chipping away at it. Which is better than not chipping at all right?

I made that promise and I am keeping to it, even if it is at snail's pace.

So here is what I have been working on...

:: I dug up everything from the front and leveled out the slope.

:: Since a rock wall is not in our budget right now I settled for a holly hedge at the bottom of the slope. Once the roots settle in I am hoping the shrubs will act as the anchor. I will have to prune it over  time so it doesn't grow too tall but I think I am going to like having a bit of evergreen in the winter months.

:: I salvaged some bricks and made a low wall to separate the top from the slope. I like the effect and I plan to plant succulents along it.

:: I have transplanted several perrenials from other places of my property to the front to help fill things in a bit.

:: It is amazing how full sun can make such a difference in the size of a plant especially veggies. Swiss chard has never been so big or happy on my property. The few that I planted are loving it up front as well as the tomatoes.

Still to do list:

:: I plan to fill in with lots of herbs such as sage, lavender and grey santolina.

:: The soil is pretty compacted and clay based. I plant to apply a good amount of compost and leaf mulch this fall.

:: Replace a concrete walkway to the front door with a stone pathway. 


Until I can purchase some more things I water, I weed and I envision.

Patience truly is a gardener's best friend.