camelias

my friend has a beautiful camelia bush outside his kitchen window. he said his mother had a camelia in the yard that was in full bloom the day she died. he moved the shrub to his house, and now has a beautiful reminder of her every year.

more springtime

well, everything’s blooming now - all at once! dogwoods, wysteria,azaleas, and even later blooming things like iris. note: i have petunias blooming next to my daffodils. it never got cold enough to kill them this winter, and now they think it’s summer!

in the fields at woodland gardens

i did a little post last week on the early spring sprouting at

woodland gardens

and i promised that i would share some more today.

my family has been getting a weekly box from here for about 2 years now.  i find it hard to imagine my life without it.  just about every week my garden to table recipe is inspired by what we received in our box.  we have loved truly eating with the seasons and helped supporting a wonderful small farm like this.  i am happy to share some photos of "our" farm.

thank you john, celia, and the rest of the crew for growing such lovely fruits and veggies!

click

here

to find a CSA farm near you!

spring slaw

yesterday we went to our friends house for a little grilling party.  i made a slaw to share with some of our spring vegetables.  i love slaws but i am not a huge fan of mayonnaise based versions so i decided to try to make a yogurt one.

i loved the way it turned out.  using yogurt allowed it to be creamy but it wasn't quite as heavy as a mayo based slaw.  it is a perfect one for the hot days that are ahead of us.

RECIPE:

ingredients

1 small head of napa cabbage or 1/2 of a large, thinly sliced into smaller pieces

1 small head of purple cabbage, thinly sliced into smaller pieces

1 kohlrabi, cut into matchsticks

3 carrots, cut into matchsticks

dressing:

1 cup plain yogurt

1 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper to taste

instructions

-mix the vegetables together in a large bowl

-mix the dressing separately and add to the vegetables

-let the slaw sit for an hour or two in the fridge to let it marinate

the wall of wisteria

right now the wisteria is in full bloom.  the botanical gardens have a contained area for wisteria.  it is amazing!  when it booms i love to go there and read a book beneath the wall of wisteria.

springtime!

well, last sunday there was just grey bare trees against a grey sky. after a night of rain, we had 3 days of low 80’s. monday morning,all the trees were popping out green and gold,pear trees opened up,everything started blooming at once. there’s no denying it now. spring is here!

sprouts

happy first day of spring!  i thought it would be nice to share some pics that i took last week at

woodland gardens

.  i always love to see the tiny sprouts in their organized boxes.  soon enough they'll be in the field!

next week, i will share more views of the farm.

meyer lemon and mandarin tart

living in georgia we are fortunate enough to be close to fresh citrus.  my friend's parents have a meyer lemon tree and was sweet enough to share.

i was inspired by the latest issue of

sweet paul

and his lovely meyer lemon tart.  i couldn't resist making one of my own.....and adding some fresh mandarins and violas from the yard.  i served it up along side a big dollop of freshly whipped cream.  this one is a really simple and light spring dessert.

recipe- inspired by small paul magazine

ingredients

1 sheet of puff pastry

4 meyer lemons

2 mandarin oranges

1/2 cup raw sugar

a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar

instructions

-pre- heat oven to 400 degrees

-butter a cookie sheet

-roll out the puff pastry onto the cookie sheet

-thinly slice the citrus, removing the seeds as you go

-put the sugar in a bowl and dredge the citrus in it

-carefully lay the citrus on the puff pastry, overlapping a little bit

-bake in the oven for about 15 minutes

-let cool and then lightly sprinkle the confectioner's sugar on top