How far can $1 of corn go?

 

Last night i went to the grocery store. I like going to this particular grocery store only on Thursday night, after 8pm. Why is that you may ask? well, this grocery store is far beyond my budget, and although i would LOVE to shop there for everything i could imagine, it's just not feasible. Anyway...Thursday night after 8 the store is bustling with staff getting the displays ready for the beginning of tomorrow's flyer sales, and all of the product that may be expiring or not looking so super shiny and new, gets discounted to 50% off.  NOW i can afford to shop there!

I usually look for discounted meat (i freeze all my meat anyway), bread and even sometimes fresh produce. If you are careful, you can get through the store with only sale items in your cart, and not have to sell your first born child to pay for the grocery bill.

This particular day i discovered a rack with cobs of corn on them. packages of 5 cobs would end up costing me $1. not bad. they didn't look to shabby either. I ORIGINALLY bought it for our furry little guinea pig friend. I had heard that they liked corn and i decided to try it. well, he does NOT like corn, and i had 4 cobs left over. so, i decided to make some frozen corn. I blanched the peeled cobs in boiling water for 5 minutes, and then cut the kernels from the cob. ok. not bad. a bag of frozen corn for a dollar is a good deal right? BUT...what if i could do more?

The bare cobs reminded me of something. They reminded me that I had once been watching the Food Network (my favourite) and I had once seen one of my favourite chefs (Chef Michael Smith) make corn chowder, using the cobs of corn for a flavour base. LIGHTBULB!! so, i have taken the cobs, have put them back in the water that i originally had cooked the corn in (thankfully i had saved it) and am now simmering corn stock for future use this fall, as a kick ass base for a creamy, dreamy corn potato and bacon chowder. NOM!! I also threw in some stocks of celery from my fridge that have passed their prime, but i didn't consider that in my $1 price tag. Maybe i should have...ok...so, celery that would have been thrown away...uuuuummmmm.....05¢?

I will let you know how it turns out when i post a blog entry this fall or winter, posting a killer new chowder recipe. but for now i'll probably just freeze it and stare at it longingly till the weather turns cooler, and my tummy longs for warm, creamy soup.

Cheers!

My little Urban Front Yard Garden

I began this year thinking i was going to replace my entire lawn with a vegetable garden. Then common sense got the better of me, and I realized i should probably "ease" into it with a little at a time, with the hopes of one day not having a lawn. After all, some days i forget to water ONE plant, so the idea of perhaps wasting a TON of money on something i was going to have to care for, but not have time for was pretty intimidating. So, I started small. 

 I started with my existing gardens. i waited till all the spring bulbs were gone, and i dug everything up. All my shrubs, perennials, grasses...everyting. My existing beds became my garden for my corn and my sunflowers. I also planted sunflowers all down the left side of my house. All of which are doing fantastic, and covering up the ugly, in-need-of-a-paint-job stone bottom of my home nicely. There are quite a few weeds that i literally have just given up on, but for the most part, everyone is enjoying their time in these gardens. corn is growing, sunflowers are blooming, and everything is green and happy!!

The next item on my agenda was adding a small raised bed to the front. My husband found a Pallet Box on the side of the road one day and lovingly picked it up for me. It is about 4'x4', and about 3'deep. we dug a hole, buried it, and planted my tomatoes and  peppers in it. the peppers have all but been taken over by the tomatoes, but it's ok...they are still producing. The flowers are nasturshums. the leaves are edible as a salad green! and the flowers make a lovely plate garnish...ya...for all those fancy dinner parties i throw for my 8, 5, and 1 year old...ha.

 

One of my favourite gardens is my herb garden. This was an existing garden that i uprooted everything in, but the cedar, and planted parsley, 2 kinds of basil, chives, oregano, lemon grass, rosemary, and lavender...in addition to 3 cabbages and another few sunflowers. again...everyone is loving it, and my food has never tasted better! i plan on preserving the herbs fresh in ice cubes, and frozen oil cubes, perhaps even making some herbed EVOO. mmmmmm.....

I think my favourite surprise is my corn. We grow corn here everywhere. there are fields and fields of it, but i have never known someone to grow it in their yard...it is so neat, and the kids love seeing the progression of the cobs as they get bigger and bigger. I think the anticipation of the upcoming meals is the best part. 

I also have some things in my back yard, such as zucchini, brussel sprouts, blackberries, raspberries, pumpkin, rhubarb, fennel, parsley, carrots, collard greens, strawberries, more tomatoes and kale...but who's counting? My back garden is separated in containers because we have a huge black walnut tree that plays havoc with our soil, and some of the plants can't grow in it's acidity. it's always a game of garden roulette in the back, so i figured, why not just do it in the front? and guess what? SUCCESS!!!

Do you have an Urban garden? What are your thoughts on front yard gardening?

Onion Garlic Soup - Cure what ails you

Im sick. in the summer. i mean, how much worse can it get? not much by my standards, but at least it's just me. the kids and hubby have escaped it (which means i probably got it off the dirty gross handle of some grocery cart...ick). anyway, I'm on day 4 of this horrific head/chest cold, and so i decided to go nature on it's ass. I'll fully admit...through the spring/summer I've fallen off the good, old fashioned band wagon. I've caught up to it a few times, and had bursts of home cooking and lots of gardening (of course) but for the most part, i've been super busy with work (excuse) and I've been trying to keep the kids from killing each other most days (excuse). Excuse the excuses...they're all i have some days.

ANYWAY, i digress. Soup. I love soup. So last night in my final waking moments before falling asleep, i googled "what to eat when you are sick". one thing i kept seeing was this onion and garlic soup. now, i know what you are thinking...because i was thinking it last night. GROSS. who would eat that, and secondly, who would want to be in the same vicinity as someone who has eaten that?? talk about room clearing. but the more i read, the more i realized, it is really something that could boost my system, so let's have a go. so it's today, and it's in the pan.

3 large roughly chopped cooking onions
3 small (tiny) chopped onions from last years garden
3 HUGE cloves of garlic, locally grown and SUPER strong. (yipes)
one of my frozen bags of home made chicken stock...so roughly about 4 cups.

it's in the pan. my house smells like onion and garlic...but it smells very homy and good actually!

I'll let you know how it works. once i eat it, i'll probably get the house to myself due to the stench, so i'll have lots of time to update the blog.

UPDATE:
So, the soup was remarkably tasty...i wasn't brave enough to eat all the hunks of garlic (i did a rough chop), so i mostly ate the broth. i am feeling better today, so whether it was the soup, or the natural course of the cold, im not sure, but i would make this again, knowing that it is super healthy regardless! and pretty easy to boot! That...and i love anything soup. i am pretty much a soup fiend! love it to pieces. now if only i could get the 2 older kids to eat it?! my toddler eats it up like crazy. even this garlic and onion one!!

Bananacado?

Breakfast at 9:30,shared it with my son,couldn't finish it, and I'm still STUFFED at noon... This is REAL food!
Smoothie ingredients:
1 banana
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup homemade applesauce
Juice of 1 whole orange
1 tbsp flax seeds
2 tsp honey
Blend to thick, delicious perfection!

Smoothie breakfast

My new found favorite thing to do is drink my vitamins. I have discovered juicing and smoothie making. It's delicious, nutritious and has so much variety it's head spinning. This mornings breakfast comes to me in the former of a strawberry banana smoothie. Super delish! More meals in cups to come!

Cream of tomato soup

I crushed local tomatoes this summer, using my vitoria strainer.
I made the turkey stock after Christmas.
So, in the throws of winter, it's only logical to make tomato soup. And let me say... Its heavenly. Granted, I added (home) roasted red peppers and red lentils for healthy goodness, as well as 2 small onions and 1 clove of local garlic, a bit of salt and a few tablespoons of brown sugar... and to top it off, some half and half and grated marble cheese. Canned soup be gone... I'm never turning back. Yummy! Now if only it wasn't deemed dangerous to can your own soup that includes dairy... I made a lot... I don't know how much I can eat before it goes bad. I may need to share, but I don't think my neighbours will protest too much.!

Magic banana!

Give your kids a fun message... ON their banana at snack time! Simply use a small pair of scissors or any other other sharp object to write a message on their banana peel before putting it in their lunch. Then, when they get to snack time, their message will be revealed! My photos were only taken about 15 mins apart but the longer they sit, the darker it will get! My kids still ask us how we do it, but we are still holding that secret close to our chest for now. :)