Celebrating Our First Harvest!

What's tiny, red and tastes a bit spicy?

Say hello to our first radish!

Ok, so it's not much, but I am SUPER excited to show off our first vegetable straight out of the hoop house.  Claire was so eager to pick something other than lettuce leaves (she's been munching on them for weeks whenever we would walk up to water) so I gave in and let her pick a radish from the pot.

These are the ones we planted back in December. They grew s-l-o-w-l-y in our unheated greenhouse, but grow they did. The January and February ones are just as far along. Claire described the flavor as being "like spicy pepper, but it was good too [at the start]."

The rule in our house is that you must try food. You may not like it, but give it a shot. Even parents have foods that they don't like (don't you try to sneak any olives onto my plate!), but we should always have a try to see if our tastes have changed. Claire could live on broccoli, kale and garlicky spinach and she loves (gasp!) brussel sprouts. Really, the only things she doesn't enjoy are mushrooms, olives and (lately) raw tomato. And bread...we almost never have sandwiches because she never eats the bread.

Claire has shown me that it is entirely possible to eat PB&J without the bread, it's just very, very messy.

Are you gardening with your little ones this year? 

Take a Bite out of Summer with Silly Watermelon Pics

I was browsing through some old photos on my computer and came across a series of shots from Summer 2008. Claire had realized her love of watermelon, and I realized my love of ridiculously huge props for kiddie photography.

Slice up a HUGE piece of watermelon and have your camera handy for the hilarious photo op.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have just been invited to a tea party in my daughter's kiddie pool.

Oh My Sweet Beets! We Love This Dip.

Beets were the one veggie that really thrived last year in my garden. Tucked under the soil, they were safe from the deer and Claire’s busy little fingers. My cherry tomatoes didn’t make it to the table with my daughter’s constant snacking and let’s not discuss my zucchini plants that didn’t produce ANY zucchinis.

This is three years in a row I’ve had zero luck with the most “prolific” of garden veggies. I was led to believe that zucchini were like the rabbits of the veggie kingdom. What on earth am I doing wrong?

When I saw this recipe for Beet and White Bean Hummus over at Weelicious, I knew I had to try it out. Given Claire’s adoration of hummus (remember the hummus costume?!)  and her love of beets, I predicted a winner.

Guess what? I was right. And I think I’ll be planting at least 3000 beets because I intend to eat this at least once a day year round.

Morning Rhythms

Ever notice when the morning goes well the rest of the day usually follows? I love the morning rhythm Claire and I found. I started to more actively involve her in the whole breakfast process and found that things went more smoothly and were more enjoyable for the both of us. It takes a little longer to get food to the table (and ourselves out the door) but slowing the tempo of our morning been really nice.
I gather breakfast makings while Claire enjoys a morning story. I crack the eggs, hunt down the whisk (in the play kitchen again?!) and rustle up some fruit and Claire’s handy-dandy knife.

Once Claire puts her apron on (too cute, right?) she whisks the eggs while I melt some butter.

Whisk whisk whisk whisk. I swear that she is a neater cook than I am, just ask Dan.




Salt, pepper. Perfection. Just look at her work that pepper grinder! This is when I need to pay close attention, we’ve had some s-p-i-c-y eggs thanks to Miss Liberal with the Pepper Grinder.


                                 

While I cook the eggs, Claire cuts up some fruit for us. Grapes are a favorite (but a bit challenging) and cantaloupe often makes an appearance. This knife is fantastic, Grandma CaCa picked it up from a Pampered Chef party and it makes Claire really independent in food preparation. She cuts up her own cheese and fruit for lunch and snack when our schedule in the afternoon allows it.

I love the look of determination on her face in these photos. Soon she’ll be whipping up meals all on her own and delivering breakfast-in-bed to her parents on Saturday morning (let me dream, please).