When inspiration hits

It had been a while since I was inspired by the items in my CSA delivery. So it's seems odd that it took an onion to kick my inspiration back in gear. Specifically this onion:

Yes that's my CSA delivery from right before Hurricane Irene and, yes, that is a honking big onion, pulled right out of Suffolk's rich soil and brought to me by my favorite food fairy, Jan of Clayhill Farms. And it got me wanting to create something using only CSA items, or at least something that didn't require me to leave the house. And looking at my delivery, I suddenly lit upon the idea of mixing roasted eggplant and caramelized onion. I had never done either, but I figured it couldn't be that difficult. And then, after discovering leftover pasta sauce and two kinds of cheese, I knew I'd be making pizza.

Specifically roasted eggplant and caramelized onion pizza with feta and mozzarella. And it was so good, I figured I'd (finally) share the recipe with you.

Roasted eggplant and caramelized onion pizza

Makes enough topping for two pizzas
1 medium eggplant, skinned and cubed

2 tbsp. olive oil

sea salt

pepper

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp. honey

Pizza sauce (fresh or store bought)

Fresh pizza dough (you can make this or buy fresh dough at most grocery stores)

For the eggplant:

• Skin and cut into cubes. Salt and leave covered on the counter or in the fridge for at least a half hour. This will draw out the juices, which can leave the eggplant bitter when cooked. (You can skip this step but if you have a more mature eggplant, you'll regret it.) Drain, rinse and pat dry.
• Toss cubes with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary, chopped. Scatter on a baking pan and roast in a 400 degree oven until browned. 

For the caramelized onions:

• Cut onion(s) in half and then slice into thin strips. You can go thicker, but I just wanted the onions to almost melt away so cut them as thinly (read safely) as a could. 
• Coat the bottom of a wide, deep saucepan with 1 tbsp. of butter per onion or a mixture of olive oil and butter (I only used one onion, so I just did at tablespoon of butter).
• Add onions and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and 1 tsp. of honey (optional). Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes to an hour, or until the onions have reached your desired color, tenderness and taste. I only did 30 minutes. 
• Try to avoid stirring constantly. You need to butter/oil to brown but you don't want the onions to burn. 

For the pizza:

• Your oven should already be at 400 degrees, but if not, preheat it. Put your pizza stone in there to heat up while you assemble your pizza.
• Roll out your dough using cornmeal to keep it from sticking to your paddle. Press out from the middle and fold over the outer rim to create a crust. You want this dough thinner so it crisps up enough to handle the toppings but also thick enough to handle the toppings. It's pretty much trial and error here folks.
• Add sauce, mozzerella, eggplant, onions and feta. 
• Bake until the cheese is brown and to crust is crispy. Eat as is or drizzle with balsamic vinegar to cut through the rich earthiness of the roasted eggplant and carmelized onions.

Notes:

• When I make pizza, I use a pizza stone preheated in the oven. I slide the pizza onto the stone with a pizza paddle. Don't have these items? Get them, STAT! Or add them to your Christmas list, as we did. Why? Because pizza stones make the best pizza. However, you can also just cook this on pan, round or square. You just have to shape the dough to fit the pan and be aware that it won't be as awesome as my pizza, though it will still be delicious.
• Yes, these are a lot of steps and yes it took a lot of work for two pizzas. But they are amazing pizzas. Consider making one pizza and then using the leftover ingredients for a layered pasta dish on another day. The toppings will keep for a week or so in the fridge and can be used in many ways.
• As I always say in pizza posts, customize away. 

CSA Week 3: Mystery delivery

 This week's haul, which I received early do to the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, includes another pound of sugar snap peas, 8 baby red potatoes, 2 cucumbers, 4 huge zucchini, 3 yellow or summer squash, 2 huge bunches of bok choy, 2 "round" zucchini and a "patty pan" squash. If you don't recognize some of those names, don't worry. I actually had to do some Googling to identify the odd squashes.

 Here's a close up of the round zucchini. I really was thrown by these little guys. I thought it was a melon up until the moment I cut it and half and discovered a squash interior:

Apparently it's related to zucchini. It grows into a round ball, with the seeds centered in the middle, like acorn squash. It's a summer squash, which is just a name for squashes that (surprise, surprise) mature in the summer and have a tender, edible skin. Other squashes - butternut, pumpkin, spaghetti, etc. - mature during the fall and have a tough, inedible skin.

 This beautiful guy is a patty pan. He's not quite as obvious of a patty pan, by he's definitely flatter and if you look at the yellow edge, you'll notice the scalloped edges that is fairly unique to the squash. You have likely seen his bigger, more popular brethren in stores or farmers markets in a seafoam green or tan color. I personally think these colors are much prettier.

I feel as though I've completely ignored the crown jewel of this batch, the huge bok choy bunches. Seriously, I've never seen bok choy in this size. Most grocery store versions are smaller and are often "baby" bock choy. Janice, the Clayhill Farms owner who delivers the bags, handed out two recipes that I'm eager to try. One is for a classic chicken stir fry (which I'm sure the peas will make an appearance in, as well) and the other is for a cole slaw. I'm foreseeing Asian-inspired pulled pork and bok choy coleslaw sandwiches in my future.

Price comparison
This week was really difficult due to the uniqueness of the items. Plus, potatoes, peas and bok choy were not available in organic. I may have to check out Trader Joes or Fresh Market in person just so I can start collecting prices on some of the basics that I can't find organic versions of at Harris Teeter. I had to price the patty pan and round zucchini on normal zucchini and summer squash. So this week isn't quite accurate yet. I hope to edit it and get you a better comparison.

• 8 baby red potatoes: $3.87
• 1 pound sugar snap peas: $3.99
• 2 cucumbers: $3.18
• 4 zucchini + 2 round zucchini: $9.16
• 3 yellow squash + 1 patty pan: $8.41
• 2 bok choy (I priced for 4 since each is about double the size of a grocery bok choy): $5.07 
• Total: $33.68

I saved at least $12.68 this week, though I bet it's really more. If I ever make it out to the local organic groceries, I'll update all the posts.

CSA week 1: A week of experimenting with food

Remember when I posted about my first week of my CSA? You may also recall I promised to post what meals that delivery produced, so here goes:

• Thai chicken curry with red peppers and zucchini (Saturday night dinner)

• 10-minute pasta sauce with green peppers and zucchini (I had this three or four times during the week because I needed something quick.)

• Italian sausage and veggies with green peppers and zucchini (Thursday's dinner)

• Teriyaki veggies with whole wheat noodles with green peppers and zucchini (Friday's dinner - it's in my fridge at work, waiting for me to eat it)

• Turkey bacon, cucumber and tomato sandwich (Monday and Tuesday lunches)

• Greek yogurt, blueberries and honey (several breakfasts)

• Southern-style Cucumber, onion and tomatoes in vinegar salad (several lunches, plus my coworker had a few bowls)

• Zucchini and bell pepper omelets with havarti cheese (several breakfasts)

• Smoothie with strawberries, greek yogurt, frozen mangoes and a touch of honey (the husband made it for me Wednesday night to help me cope with work stress)

And I won't even mention all the random snack moments I had without bothering to do more than wash this or that item. Nothing beats plain old fresh strawberries and blueberries. And, have I mentioned how delicious raw zucchini is? Trust me, it's better than cucumber.
I have to say the food I receive from the CSA is so inspiring. It makes me want to spend all my time in the kitchen and experiment with recipes. And let's not even get started on the taste. Amazing!

Wedding Photo Wednesday: Not-so-insurmountable project

We have a huge project ahead of us, one that I've been putting off since September. That's right, I still haven't edited wedding photos. Beyond scanning the photos given to me by my stepdad or uploaded to the paid Flickr site we set up just so we'd have easy access to all of our guests' photos, I haven't even really given a second thought to how we would preserve our wedding for posterity.

It's not that I don't enjoy looking through the photos. So much of that night was a blur, so it's fun to go back and relive some of the moments that have grown fuzzy. The problem is that completing the task always seemed a little insurmountable.

Not only would I have to tone and crop the photos, I'd have to weed out the ones that, despite how much I like the moment they represent, really don't deserve to be printed due to quality issues. There seem to be a lot of those, unfortunately.

Luckily we were introduced to a program from Creative Memories that makes it much easier to pull something together that we can eventually have professionally printed. Basically we purchased the company's Memories Manager, which not only organizes files but also allows me to edit photos within the program and with many of the more useful Photoshop tools, and Storybook Creator, which is basically a program that lets me lay out scrapbook pages using a computer interface similar to scaled-down InDesign. In fact there are some options I wish PS or ID had that are really easy to do in the programs. Plus, instead of buying our programs straight from the company, we were able to support a friend who also happens to be a consultant (go to her page if you are interested in scrapbooking! If you look at her profile picture, you may recognize her husband as a pretty awesome biology professor at CNU). She is EXTREMELY passionate about the programs. Seriously. A quick demo from her was all it took to convince us. Plus the awesome markdowns that were going to end two days after we finally had time to meet with her. Talk about serendipity.

I say all that to preview a new weekly post I'll launch today: Wedding Photo Wednesday will be an ongoing look at some of the photo editing and scrapbook page layouts I've been working on. This serves the purpose of giving me deadlines (which I work better on) and giving you guys a chance to critique some of my work.

I'm brand new to this particular program, but like I said, it's so similar to PS that I had no trouble adapting (though I miss a lot of the useful shortcuts Adobe developers spent so long coding) and already have examples of editing that I've done.

This first picture is an example of some of the detail shots that I am really grateful that some people thought to capture. The colors in this particular shot are sort of washed out and there a few pesky background components that really annoyed me.

So I cropped it to bring the centerpiece in as the focal point. I did a few other things, but if you can't find them, then I'm happy not to point them out:

I loved this next shot for capturing a great shot of dad getting ready to give me away, and Travis ready to take me. Can you guess what annoyed me about this one?

Well, color definitely became an issue. My dress in most of the photos looked white when it's not white at all. In fact, my favorite thing about that dress was the color, and that of course is my biggest challenge with most of the photos. But that wasn't even the hardest part with this shot.

If you thought I just cropped my mom's elbow out, you're wrong. If had just done that, I would have lost my bouquet (which took too much work just to crop out) and that detail of Travis in the upper, left hand corner ready to receive me. So I used the editing software's simple cloning tool.

It only took me about 5 minutes to not only completely rid my mom from the shot (sorry, Mom), but to also replace it with believable details, like continuing the pattern the sun was making in the grass and remembering to give Travis the leg my mom was blocking in the original.

So, what do you think?

Collard greens

I cannot recall actually eating a collard green. Oh, I know I have at some point. But it must have been so bad that I blocked the experience from my memory. So when my neighbor behind us (we have a common fence) offered up his huge collard greens that I had been intrigued by (see, I even snuck a pic of them a couple of weeks ago) since I noticed them in his garden plot (I want a garden plot!), I couldn't say no. It seemed it was time to face my fear of the repressed memory and see if collards are as good as everyone says they are. Now to find a great recipe. A quick google search reveals this:

• Classic saute
• Collards with bacon
• Citrus collards with raisins

I'll let you know which one we choose. With three large bunches, we'll likely be able to tackle at least two kinds (I'm thinking bacon and citrus). I'm actually already thinking of making the citrus collards and serving them with pork chops that were marinated in an orange juice based sauce (like this Asian-inspired one or even this spicy version).

More visions of Spring

Spring is popping up everywhere in Virginia. Grass is taking on a more lush feel and tiny flowers are coating areas of my backyard that had previously seemed dead.

Winter generally feels like it will never end, so it's the little reminders of spring that I am grateful for.

And it seems that spring is arriving on the blog as well. A bit of cleaning up here and there and updating many of the sections I have recently let stagnate has left me feeling cheerier. I've finally posted my columns under the "Outsider in Suffolk" tab and put the black bean soup recipe under the "From my kitchen" tab. And, as you might have noticed, I'm updating again. It's been a difficult few months, but I'm beginning to notice a new spring in my step, if you'll forgive the pun, and hopefully that will encourage more productiveness on my part.

New plan for an old fave

I have a slight obsession with cork - but not in the way you might think. I truly dislike the traditional corkboard that we were all given as a going-to-college present. But I love when the beauty of cork - it's earthy color and it's usability - gets repurposed into something unexpected.

Case in point:

From "Original Ideas," Young House Love

The best part is that this looks incredibly easy to do and has the potential for plenty of applications. Ergo, you won't be wasting a whole bunch of cork since you won't be buying a whole roll for just one project. Looks like spring is bringing on a whole bunch of inspiration for me to try new things!

Wordless Wednesdays: The hairstyle I officially want

Photo by Frenzle Photographers, posted by forget.me.knot.weddings

Wordless Wednesdays: Fuji mums and Lemons

Photo by Carla Ten Eyck; From Little Black Book Blog

Wedding Decor: On folds, fans and fun

Less than a month and I'm just now considering decorations. What am I considering? Well I'm falling love with these:

And these:

And these:

And, yes, especially these arbor decorations (cause I'm really not feeling the plain white arbor):

They can't be hard, can they? In fact, I could easily start right now and do a few during every show I watch and I'd be done in a week or two. Now I just have to buy tissue paper and maybe some origami like paper.

Can I just say how much I love the Internet and it's plethora of tutorials?

Wedding notes: On hair

It's one of the least important aspects of my wedding (to me) and yet it seems to be one of the first things women tend to ask me, right after what color my dress is (ivory) or what shoes I'll be wearing (yellow Converse). Who knew that hair was so important among us females. I certainly didn't. In any case, my hair will most likely be simple, just like every aspect of my wedding. For a few ideas, see the following wedding porn (as Ariel of Offbeat Bride fame calls it):

I like the simplicity of pulling back some of the hair, but leaving the rest loose. Plus you can't beat fresh flowers.

Long and loose, with a curling iron to add a bit of flair.

And then there is the low bun with a floral accent, which I'm leaning towards if it is hot and I don't want to get overheated.

It's been awhile since I've posted. Since my failed run at NaBloPoMo in June, it has been very difficult to talk myself into bothering with blogging. To be truthful, the NaBloPoMo debacle isn't the reason I've been sporadic. While I could blame working (which is a small part) or spending time with the puppy (who is now a year old), I have to admit that it mostly has to do with the simple act of writing. Having spent such a long period of my life with only one goal in mind (to record my thoughts and observations on paper and, later, on the interwebs), it is hard to admit that I rarely have the strong urge to write anymore. I think I've been purposely pressing that innate urge down (because, really, we cannot change our true selves so easily) and so choosing not to write so that I won't miss it so much.

In any case, I am not promising that I am back for good or that I will even compose another post in the near future. What I can promise is that I will be trying to figure myself out more and so I may feel the need to record those explorations here.

For now, I will share a photo that best reveals how Travis has (finally) decided to dress the groomsmen:

"Michigan Farm Style Wedding," Weddingchicks.com

Essentially, Travis would like all his men to wear whatever suit they have and then the same color tie (or bowtie, in Graham's case). I happen to think it actually looks cool, but then I don't usually focus on matching things. So I hope that little wedding tidbit will hold you over until I am able to share more.

NaBloPoMo: A rough-around-the-edges type of potential

While I've known where I'm getting married for a long time, I haven't really been able to share any of it with you, my dear readers, because every time I visit the dang place I forget to bring a camera. So that was first on my mom's to-do list when she came down to Hampton Roads for wedding planning. So, without further ado, here is the spot I'm getting married at. Keep in mind it's quite rough around the edges, but if you're willing to see the potential than you can just imagine what my wedding could be like.

This is the pond right behind the awning where the ceremony will be.

This is a cute cottage between where the ceremony and reception will be held. It can be used to change clothes.

Here's the awning under which we will get married. That is the pond right behind it.

The reception will be in a greenhouse that has the walls taken out. There are lights already included and lots of places to plug in things if we need it.

This pond is where the planner recommends getting pictures taken at between the ceremony and the reception. It's is really beautiful.

NaBloPoMo: Favorite poem

National Blog Posting Month started yesterday. This month's theme is "Now." It is actually a very interesting theme. And this month they've also created writing prompts for the weekdays. Now I've never really had problems coming up with new posts, but when I connect with a prompt I will definitely use it. Yesterday the prompt involved what you wanted to be as a child. As you can see, it's a subject that has been occupying me recently.

Today I am prompted to reveal my favorite poem, or explain why I don't have one. I've always enjoyed poetry, with some of my favorite poets including William Shakespeare, Langston Hughes and Robert Frost. While I love "Sonnet 18" by Shakespeare and "A Dream Deferred" by Hughes, recently I've been discovering some poems by Frost that I hadn't read before. My current favorite is called "A Passing Glimpse," which was published in a collection entitled West-Running Brook. I have always been enamored with how Frost utilizes simple lines to reveal complex truths, and this poem is a prime example of that quality.


A Passing Glimpse
Robert Frost

I often see flowers from a passing car
That are gone before I can tell what they are.

I want to get out of the train and go back
To see what they were beside the track.

I name all the flowers I am sure they weren't;
Not fireweed loving where woods have burnt--

Not bluebells gracing a tunnel mouth--
Not lupine living on sand and drouth.

Was something brushed across my mind
That no one on earth will ever find?

Heaven gives its glimpses only to those
Not in position to look too close.

Wednesday wedding inspiration: Yellow

Well my wedding colors so far are ivory and clover (as the bridesmaid dresses are). But these are not randomly chosen colors. Actually they were chosen using the classic calla lily as inspiration. But there is one color left in my inspiration - yellow. Just like in a calla lily, I want yellow to be used sparingly as an accent throughout the decor. So without further ado, here are my ideas for yellow accents:

Bouquet featuring yellow billy balls from Elegance & Simplicity

I see my bouquet being mostly ivory flowers and greenery, but I think these billy balls will add the perfect pop of color.



I've planned on wearing converse for awhile now. Many brides incorporate pops of color with their shoes to add personality. Why not do it with bright yellow chucks?


And since I'm already loving paper lanterns, why not make them a cheery yellow?

Wednesday wedding inspiration: Mason jars galore

When I think of my wedding flowers I've been imagining bunches of simple flowers placed in mason jars. Like these:


But though I've been planning on white flowers for my bouquet, I'm all about the fun pops of color I could work into decorations.


There's just something homey and amazing about mason jars. And there's a bit more natural feel to the fact that you can see the stems in the vase.



My final photo I discovered is this ridiculously cute metal fly guard. I just want this for my normal life. This is so much better than a paper towel because it won't fly away and you won't be wasting the paper.

Wednesday Wedding Inspiration: Balloons or Paper laterns?

I had originally thought that balloons would make for fun decor, but now I'm rethinking them, simply because they don't degrade. Besides, how gorgeous are these white paper lanterns all tied up in a tree?

Photo courtesy of Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book Blog

Guests could take them home if they wanted, and we could keep some as mementos. I'm thinking they are cheaper simply because they are reusable.

10 minute redesign: Kitchen sink

This is a big fad on the design blogs I read, and I wanted to take a swing at this fun little activity. Here's the deal: There is a space (likely small) in your house that you aren't quite satisfied with. Using items you already have, your goal is to spruce up that space. That's what I did today.
Using the tea containers my dad got me for my birthday last year (the tea is mostly long gone from these beautiful vessels) and my tea pot and french press, I created a lovely sight for my boring kitchen. Bright colors almost make up for the fact that I can't paint the walls of an apartment rental. Makes me want to wash dishes all the time!

Morning pick-me-up
Originally uploaded by Beth Beck

Wednesday Wedding inspiration: Twine! Pie!

Photo by Anna Kuperberg, venue at Bear Flag Farm (an organic farm in California)

A wedding recently featured on Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book blog (the section that is all about wedding eye candy) offered outdoor elegance for its guests. There were so many amazing details from that wedding, but I was most enamored with this sun-kissed vision of twine and lavender. Apparently it's the little things that get me. You know what else makes me happy? Pie.

Photo by Anna Kuperberg, venue at Bear Flag Farm (an organic farm in California)

Specifically a table full of gorgeous pies and fresh flowers to wow guests accustomed to a single cake that is likely covered with fondant (the most hateful dessert ingredient ever concocted). You better be prepared for fruit pies at my wedding.

Wednesday Wedding inspiration

The blogger at 2000 Dollar Budget Wedding blog has a pretty interesting idea for a guestbook: A Wedding time capsule. The pads of paper read "Write a message to Groom and Bride to be read on their 10 year wedding anniversary." That would be a great reminder of all the fun we had during our wedding and all the great friends we have.