The Beginings of a Garden + A Summer Salad

I've had the urge to start a garden for a few years now, but have always felt intimidated and nervous about the process. Mostly since I have no earthly idea what I am doing. Because of this, I chose to start small with our first garden. 

Jake and I assembled two small raised beds that will house herbs (sage, dill, lavender, rosemary, parsley and basil) as well as a few different varieties of tomatoes. I incorporated pots and planters around the garden with strawberries, mint (since in my gardening research I learned that this guy tends not to play well with others) and different greens (mixed lettuce, spinach and arugula).

I used paint stirrers from the hardware store and leftover chalkboard and white acrylic paint to make free plant markers. I saw this idea floating around a year or so ago so I can't take credit for its genius.

What's been really cool about this process is that I've discovered how much I enjoy being in the garden. I love to play in the dirt, talk to my plants (this doesn't even make the top ten list of the most embarrassing things that I do on a daily basis), care for them and watch them slowly grow -- a lesson in patience. 

Cafe lights have been on my dream backyard wish list since we moved in over four years ago, but I was unsure about how to hang them since we don't have a pergola or structure to drape them from. Lucky for me, I found this tutorial on how to use PVC, electrical conduit and pipe straps to make poles that the lights could hang from. We purchased the clear cafe lights at Target in their outdoor section. I really love the warm glow that they give off at night. If you have the space, I highly recommend taking on this simple and inexpensive project!

Some warm weather salad inspiration: 

Arugula, grilled pineapple, blueberries, feta and raspberry vinaigrette

Really looking forward to incorporating some of the produce that we grow into our salads this summer!

Spicy Lentil Coconut Soup

I made this soup on a chilly Sunday and it was oh, so satisfying. Spicy curried Indian flavors with a smooth creamy coconut finish. Jake and I devoured the leftovers too. 

I can't take credit for this recipe, I found it here and am so glad that I did. I plan on adding this soup to my arsenal of warming winter recipes.

I followed the directions nearly to a t, but I added already cooked lentils (since I had them on hand) and a bit more spice and salt. I'm a big believer in tasting as you cook and adjusting spices accordingly. I squeezed some extra lime in there too. 

If you're in the U.S. of A you'll need to convert everything from metric. If I were a nice blogger I would do it for you. But alas, I am not.

The B E S T Waffles

You guys, I've come across the best waffle recipe ever. I'm not kidding. I simply had to share this one with you. You should make these tomorrow morning -- better yet make breakfast for dinner tonight. 

These are lighter than the average waffle with the perfect crisp to chewy ratio. I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten a waffle but something came over me yesterday. I had a craving that could only be satisfied by homemade waffles with melted butter and real syrup.

I think the real key to keeping these waffles fluffy and light in the center are the whipped egg whites. Sure, it's a little extra work - but I think it made all of the difference.

 

Recipe (yields 7 medium waffles):

Ingredients: 

1 1/3 cups flour
4 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs - separated
1/2 cup melted butter  

1 3/4 cups milk

1 lemon (juice and zest)

Directions:
Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Add the yolks to the dry mixture and put the whites in a separate small mixing bowl. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. I suggest using a hand mixer for this, as doing this by hand would require some serious muscle. Add milk, lemon juice and zest and melted butter to dry ingredient mixture and mix thoroughly in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Fold (gently stir in) egg whites into mixture. For my waffle iron I used just under 3/4 cups of the batter.

 

*Tip: Keep waffles warm by resting them side-by-side (do not stack) on a cookie sheet in an oven set to 275.
*Bonus tip: use measuring cups to determine the exact amount of batter your waffle iron requires for the perfect waffle that doesn't overflow. I found that just eyeballing it makes it nearly impossible to get consistent waffles.

Enjoy and please let me know if you give these a try!

Biltmore Estate & Asheville, NC

This past weekend we traveled to Asheville, NC with our friends Kellie and Paul. We stayed in a cottage in the Blue Ridge Mountains and played tourists for the weekend.

We were lucky enough to visit the gorgeous Biltmore Estate. Biltmore Estate is the largest private residence in the U.S. (over 178,000 square feet!) and was home to the Vanderbilts. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

They didn't allow cameras inside of the house (bummer), but I did snap some of the grounds. After a tour of the home, we had lunch at Stable Cafe, visited the winery and shops and had ice cream at Biltmore Creamery.

My favorite part of Biltmore Estate are the gardens. Even though most of the outdoor flowers aren't yet in bloom, the conservatory and green houses are packed with lots of beauty. My favorite, an entire green house dedicated to succulents and cacti!

We stopped in Biltmore Village and had a drink in The Bohemian, a really awesome "Antler Chic" hotel. The lobby feels like a swanky mountain lounge.

Eventually we made it into Asheville, a lively and artsy town nestled in the mountains. There are tons of great restaurants and lots of neat shops. We ate at Tupelo Honey Cafe and it was simply divine. The biscuits, oh lord, the biscuits.

Our beaches are great, but if you ever plan a trip to the Carolinas, don't neglect a visit to the mountains!