Category Archives: culinaire

Mar30

Happy Harvest Day of My Arugula

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Have you ever tried arugula?  I highly encourage partaking in this green, grown organically, of course.  It has a peppery flavor and is used as an herb, vegetable, or salad green.  Arugula is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid, manganese, calcium, and magnesium; a very good source of riboflavin, potassium, copper, and iron; and a good source of zinc. It is an awesome herb, vegetable, and salad green.  I planted a flat of seeds, and love the fragance it permeated throughout the greenhouse as it grew this month of March.  This leafy green eluded to a fresh salad sometime soon.  Well, today I had my first arugula salad for this spring season.  Sliced a boiled egg, sprinkled some shredded cheddar, and lightly tossed with a simple buttermilk dressing. Yummy!!!  And baby arugula is mighty tasty on a pizza or in pasta.  Plans are made already for this weekend’s menu in this culinaire’s kitchen.

 

 

Mar23

Through Art Only

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 Oscar Wilde once said,  “It is through art, and through art only, that we can realize our perfection.”  Art forms are many, and more is the artist in each of us.  The contrast of a black and white landscape captured through the camera, the colored palette made from a weaver’s loom,  the Gothic design of an architect’s arched door, a foodie’s crisp salad greens garnished with red nasturtium, artisan apricot beer accompanied with the baker’s cracked wheat bread, the wind sounds slowly dancing from a flute, the flow of a poet’s words; these all are the artist’s perfection.  I find journaling and blogging the avenue to keep my artistic mind going.  Time is an element for most of us, but I encourage all to take time to at least journal your thoughts.  You never know what inspiration will come to you …  Relic stepping stones for the garden are my next artist’s project.  I cannot wait to mix up some concrete and artistically arrange my “finds” into a one-of-a-kind design. 

Below is the gothic doorway of the Carmo Church in Lisbon, Portugal.   I found the photo on the internet.  It emphasizes the gothic arch.  Accompanying it is a photo of my home parish All Saints Church in St. Peters, Missouri, a gothic style church.  The parish was founded in 1823. 

 

Mar20

Unusual To Some

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Spring is officially here!  Though the signs of spring have been around for a few days now!  (Take a look at my previous post!) Gorgeous blooms, whipping winds, green grass, and gardens popping with new growth.  Farm friends of Dean & I’s are growing hops in their garden.  They started their local organic beer crop last year, and it has returned.  What may seem unusual to some is this grain comes from  a vine that grows very tall.  These recycled utility poles will hold twine which the hops vine grows on.  Best of everything to the LaBeaume Chateau!

Feb24

Missouri Wines

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Missouri wines are a local treat, we are just minutes away from the closest winery.  Pictured are bottles of local wines served at Dean & I’s Hermann, Missouri wedding dinner.  Indulge before, during, and after …

 

Missouri Wines

The end of May Deanna Greens and Garden Art will be housed just down the road from the elegant Chandler Hill Vineyards in Defiance.   We will be a vendor at their Sunday afternoon Farmers’ Market this growing season.  Come indulge!

Feb22

Down The Row

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Working down the field row of freshly planted garlic bulbs, I cover each bulb with the organic soil using a hoe at the historic Mueller Farm in Ferguson, Missouri.  Those bulbs will sprout greens very soon, as we have had a mild winter.   Garlic greens add so much flavor to stir frys, salads, and mashed potatoes.

November Garlic Planting

Lush Deanna Greens Houseplants

Gazing down a greenhouse row of beautiful houseplants and perennials, asking myself,  “what did we get ourselves into”?  So many plants to care for in this 1300 square foot greenhouse.  Memorial Day weekend Deanna Greens and Garden Art will move this greenhouse to Boone Hollow Farm in Defiance, Missouri.  We will have a moving sale on houseplants not sold before the big move.  We will convert to total organics, and grow more edibles, lots of vegetables and herbs. 

 
Feb6

Dinner Bell Ready

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Ready to Eat?!

The dinner bell has rung!  Are you ready to eat?!  I know I am with all these scrumptious dishes laden with vegetables of tantalizing flavors and texture combinations at a EarthDance Farms potluck.  Another potluck coming up this Sunday to welcome the freshman farmies.
Jan15

Leafy Green Cravings

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So I am salivating while planting a micro green mix and red sails leaf lettuce seeds at the greenhouse … I think viewing this July vacation photo of a salad made by my longtime Minnesota friend, Tamie Jensen started it! 

Is it not a palette to behold?!  I am craving leafy greens … like fresh spinach, pac choy, arugula, leaf lettuce, borage, you name it!  Some of these items can be purchased at most local grocery stores, and fewer even have the organic variety.  And how far did these items have to travel to my local Schnucks or Dierbergs? And how much did that price tag say??? I am not willing to pay $5.99  for a pound “fresh” spinach that was grown 2,000 miles away!  I have become “spoiled” or a better word “selective” in my grocery purchases after farming with EarthDance Farms this past year.  Organic and local are the way to go for optimum health.  I froze several bags of spinach, swiss chard, and kale from my field labors this past growing season.  I just want fresh right now! Deanna Greens and Garden Art  recently bought this 1300 square foot greenhouse full of houseplants and flowering plants.  And it now makes way for my leafy greens!  Not quite the same as spring or autumn sunshine…  but it is organically grown, local, and cost pennies to those dollars! In 4 – 6 weeks I will be satisfied when a few of our nasturium blossoms and leaves are married with Deanna Greens and Garden Art’s very own leafy greens …

Jan8

Lemon Muffin Cakes

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I arose this Sunday morning with the notion to bake.  Fresh lemon thyme await usage, so I adapted a tried & true blueberry muffin cake recipe to accommodate my lemon thyme.  I steeped the lemon thyme in warmed milk, and added the zest of 1 lemon into this butter based batter.  The last of my poopy seeds in the cupboard went into the muffin recipe as well.  The aroma of lemon filled my home, and awaken my husband.  I steeped earl grey tea in my mug while he grinded his coffee beans and proceeded with his coffee ritual.  I finished the warm muffin cakes with a lemon juice and powdered sugar glaze before indulging.  Now we refrained and saved 10 muffins for my oldest daughter and her family.  She just had her 30th birthday, and the kids were under the weather most of the week.  We dropped off the goodies after church … Sure hope these lemon muffin cakes brought  sunshine to their home …

Dec22

Happy Haiku Day!

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 Christmas brunch awaits;

Lavender cream scones, ham quiche,

with cranberry juice red.

Happy Haiku Day!

Haiku is a form of Japanese Poetry. In English, it consists of 3 lines.  Each line has:

5 syllables

7 syllables

5 syllables

It often includes references to nature, especially the season and your experience of it.    Post a haiku today!

Dec19

Child Again

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Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time. “~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
As I get older, I have simplified the holidays. Most gifts are bought throughout the year, decorating kept to a minimum, baking delicacies few, and gatherings short but sweet. Green gifts of houseplants and botantical soaps given at all the gatherings … I want to feel like a child again this Christmas … the magic of just being …