Fancy Beer Friday

It's happy hour, do you know where your beer is?


I've decided to capitalize on Oliver's beer snobbery with a new regular feature I'm calling: Fancy Beer Friday. At least once a week Oliver brings home (or heads out for) a "fancy" beer that is only in town (or in season) for a short time. From now on I'll be passing on his insider beer knowledge just in time for happy hour on Friday.


This week we shared a new limited edition from the Lips of Faith series by New Belgium. The fancy Lips of Faith bombers never fail to please; Tart Lychee especially so. This one combines two of my favorite beer variations: oak aged and sour. If you haven't had a sour beer yet this a great place to start. Sour beers are refreshing and a perfect fit for hot summer days. But beware! This beer rings in at an impressive 8.5% (read: it will get you drunk - fast).


Bottoms up!

Eva's baby shower: food, games & favors

A couple of weeks ago Oliver and I co-hosted a girls only baby shower for a friend. While I organized invitations, decorations, games and favors - Oliver took responsibility for food and drinks.  The food was so incredible that two different guests asked if my husband was caterer. Later this month we'll share the "cupcake" lasagna recipe.
Oliver's Baby Shower Menu
Two types of finger sandwiches: 
• Apple slices with prosciutto and a drizzle of honey
• Cucumber slices with goat cheese and fresh dill
Two types of "cupcake" lasagnas:
• Meat • Spinach
Three varieties of crostini:
• Bruschetta  • Baba ganoush  • Goat cheese with fig jam and a pickled grape tomato

The Mom-to-be's last name is "Story" - so the theme of our shower was "Storybooks". I had a lot of fun coming up with ways to incorporate storybooks into the party. The first thing I did was to ask Eva's guests and out-of-town friends and family to help surprise the first time parents with a collection of books. Every invitation included a bookplate that read "The sweetest story" along with a note explaining the surprise group gift. Books arrived from as far as Korea and Austria (with guests coming from Los Angeles and New York City). 


The obligatory shower game was also used to highlight the theme: Pictionary - Nursery Rhyme edition! This game was super easy to prepare and a surprising amount of fun. Before the shower I wrote the name of 25 nursery rhymes onto 25 blank cards. Then I dragged my old easel, a pad of newsprint and some Sharpies from the art closet. BOOM! We were ready to play. Instead of teams we pitted the Mom-to-be against the young daughter of a friend and had the guests guess what they were each drawing.


For my bridal shower Oliver's aunt made a dozen ceramic, heart shaped, jewelry dishes. I was so flattered by her thoughtful handmade gift that I knew I wanted to pay-it-forward and do the same for Eva. My first thought (as vegetable garden crazed person) was to grow a dozen bean sprouts, replant them in cute terracotta pots and tie on a tag with a quote from Jack and the bean stock. But there was neither enough time or money for that idea so I improvised. Instead, I bought two flats of marigolds, replanted them into styrofoam cups, wrapped the cups in pink scrap booking paper and included a personalized tag that read:

A marigold for your garden-

Mary, Mary quite contrary

how does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockleshells

and pretty friends all in a row.

I'd never hosted any type of shower before this one. I was nervous about how it'd go. Eva's wonderful friends and Oliver's impressive cooking made for a fun and easy going evening. My thanks to them! 

First tomato of 2012!

We have winners! The Phoenix Hybrid and Beefsteak tomato plants are the first two (of our four different varieties) to produce a tomato for 2012. The Beefsteak weighed in at an impressive 1lb! We've got big BLT plans for these guys. Pass me the salt and the mayo...

Little garden, big bugs: how we organically fight hornworms and cabbage worms

This is the fourth summer Oliver and I have kept a vegetable garden. Each season has brought it's own challenges and lessons. We're nowhere near "master gardeners" but I do think our experiences may help beginner gardeners who are facing the frustration of pests or under producing vegetable plants. Later this month I'll cover how we encourage growth; today I want to address something more fun - GIANT BUGS!


Our first (and only) hornworm attack was during the summer of 2010. I've seen them described as "alarmingly large" - which is true but doesn't do justice to how terrifying it is when first encountering them. Their fat bulby heads remind me of the Predator alien. I was in such dazed disbelief the first time I encountered them that I grabbed my camera and made the following videos (which are also kinda funny). 



This spring we had our first encounter with the equally destructive cabbage worms. The information I found online gave the same advice for controlling both horn and cabbage worms: hand pick the buggers off the plants and kill them. As I mentioned in a post in March I doggedly protected my cabbages for months. Once a day I'd kneel in front of my 6 plants, turning over every single leaf, squishing the little worms and throwing the bigger ones onto the pavement walkway. This worked until I became outnumbered. As the cabbage leaves got bigger the butterflies were getting trapped in the interior leaves and laying dozens of eggs - leading to dozens of worms. I couldn't keep up. That's when Oliver found an organic worm and caterpillar killer with BT (shown in the photo top of post). I give it two thumbs up. Here is how we use it:


Fill a spray bottle (size shown in picture) with water, add a teaspoon of the BT worm killer solution, shake well and then spray all cabbages, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. Be sure to coat the tops and undersides of all leaves as well as growing fruit. Repeat once a week, after heavy rain or watering.  The solution won't keep the worms away but it will kill them once they eat it.  As your garden grows keep an eye out for tiny caterpillars; if you do get an infestation it's best to catch it early.

Count down to the Peachtree Road Race: one month

Atlanta is home to the world's largest 10K race. Every Independence Day 60,000 registered runners (and an estimated 10,000 more unregistered runners) hit Atlanta's main street, Peachtree Street, and run from Lenox Mall to Piedmont Park. The runners come in all shapes and sizes - and in our case, all types of patriotic costumes. Since 2006 I've been "pub running" the Peachtree Road Race dressed as Lady Liberty along with as many people as I could convince to put on a costume at 6am on a holiday. (Someone on the sidelines captured a photo of us that first year and used it on Wikipedia as an illustration of the costumed runners.) 

This year's road race is only one month away! That's just enough time to make or find a costume. We're inviting everyone we know and anyone else who is interested to join us. There are three requirements: 1. Patriotic costume 2. Appropriate running shoes 3. Keep up with a slow jog. Send me an email if you want information about when and where to meet us. 

2006

2007

2010
(with Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter)

2011
(with Uncle Sam and Paul Revere/Sam Adams/Young Ben Franklin)

Summer Garden 2012: Week Two

 

 

Happy Birthday YDFM!

Happy 35th Birthday to Your DeKalb Farmer's Market! (YDFM to us)


We're going to change things up for the month of June. In place of photos of meals we're going to share specifics on our favorite ways to cook certain foods. In addition to the garden photos we'll go a little more in depth about our (amateur) tactics for keeping everything alive. Check back for mini lasganas, grilled okra, toasted kale, fish emulsion and how to win the battle with cabbage worms!

Long weekend in the low country

The last romantic getaway Oliver and I took was to NYC in April 2010 (when he surprised me with a proposal in the sculpture garden at MOMA). Since then we've been hard at work on, well, on everything... We didn't even take a honeymoon. Earlier this spring I couldn't take it any longer - WE HAD EARNED  A BREAK DAMNIT! In a moment of haste I booked us at an inn (that we probably couldn't afford) on the island I'd grown up visiting with my family. 

Pawley's Island is located midway along the coast of South Carolina. We decided to make a road trip of it, starting in Savannah (3.5 hours from Atlanta) and working our way north along the coast through Hilton Head Island and Charleston. Our ultimate destination was the Sea View Inn, a classic beachy bed and breakfast currently celebrating their 75th year. No TV, no air conditioning, no computers allowed in the common areas. In their place we found saloon style doors on every bedroom (to allow for a better breeze coming off the beach),  a common shower down the hall and a bottle opener mounted to the wall by our sink. The beach was never crowded and thanks to the impending Tropical Storm Beryl the ocean waves were large and fun. 

This trip was my definition of total relaxation. I returned to work today refreshed; I didn't know I could return to my high-stress environment with such a feeling of renewed perspective and enthusiasm. Then I remembered that this feeling is also an important part of heart health. We all need a break from the stress of everyday life. I may have gone a little over budget on this get-a-way but I have no doubt my heart is thanking me for it. 

Hoping everyone has a chance to get-a-way this summer. You've earned it. 
XO - Cullen