The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Fresh Green and Purple Spring Rolls

Have you ever had nime chow?  Fresh Vietnamese spring rolls usually containing lettuce, thai basil, rice noodles, bean sprouts and shrimp – one of my family’s favorites when we eat out.

We’ve also made them at home, and they’re so easy, we should do it more often.

For this version, I was, frankly, inspired by the pea pods in our garden buckets.

Three Sisters Swirled Bread

I don’t really know what else to call it.

Other than…amazingly yummy.

But I can tell you how it came about.

Deep Blue

I did a fair amount of cooking on Monday.  Not because it was Memorial Day, really, but because I had the day off from work.  Work, which is spent primarily preparing and cooking food. 

It’s a good thing I like to cook.

Anyway, there were a few things I needed from the store.  I scribbled a short list for Bill, as he was heading out to get a few things for the garden.

My list included a gallon and a half of whole milk (I wanted to make another batch of mozzarella.  I realized the other day that I’ve missed making cheese.  I really need to get back to that.), something else that I don’t remember but it was probably something basic like eggs or butter, and I asked for some cheap blue cheese.

Initially I thought I was going to make a hearty pasta salad, full of things like fresh asparagus, smoked mussels, black beans, shredded chicken, and who knows what else.  I thought little bits of blue cheese would add to the whole hearty, intense mixture.

While Bill was gone I puttered around.  I cooked the black beans that had soaked overnight.  I cooked the garlic scapes I’d picked earlier in olive oil, salt and pepper.  I cleaned out the fridge and did dishes. 

And when Bill returned, he brought in three half gallons of local whole milk, the other thing I’d asked for, whatever it was…and a wedge of Great Hill Blue.

He said something about hoping that was what I’d wanted, what I’d meant by “deep blue” and I looked at him without understanding for a moment.

Then the light bulb switched on.

“I wrote cheap blue cheese!  I just wanted to add it to the pasta salad….”

He thought “deep blue” was my way of asking for a really good blue cheese.  He looked at Stilton, but decided it was too “deep” and opted for the Great Hill – which happens to be a favorite of ours.

It seems there are benefits to bad handwriting.

Hurler

My little boy on the mound at a recent game.

Alex is home sick today, so I figured I’d write about him….

Three Sisters

I’ve been looking forward to these gardens since early last year when Bill and I started talking about them.

The Three Sisters are part of Native American history, story, and gardens.  They are Corn – the eldest who always stands tall and straight, Squash – who covers the ground and protects her other sisters, and Beans – whose intertwining vines weave the three together.  The three are inseparable, three parts of a whole, and should always be planted together. 

So that’s what we’re doing.

Rescue

This little birdie (I think it’s a song sparrow) was trapped in our garage.  Bill managed to catch it and set it free.  The bird flew over to our potato barrel for a moment, then soared away.

Messenger Bag

The girl, she is pleased.