Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Vanessa and I was off on another mini-adventure this last weekend. Vanessa came up to Michigan for our annual August "Girl's Weekend" and it happened to land on the same weekend as my birthday - how lucking was that. In the past we have visited Saugatuck, Holland, and Frankenmuth (all in Michigan) where we've enjoyed days of shopping, dinning and site seeing.

This year I could see that the weather was not going to be very cooperative (they were calling for it to very cool and rainy) and so we decided to stay close to my home. We enjoyed the Rivertown Mall, dinner and a movie on Friday. Then on Saturday we visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens. The gardens are made up of 132 acres of wetland, woodlands, meadows and garden designs. There are a few small greenhouses and one large tropical conservatory under roof, and then several large outside garden areas to roam around.

One of the great advantages of having such a large garden practically at my back door, is that I can draw from ideas and plants that I see are working well for them. I also can solis in the fact that some of the problems that I am struggling with, I see they too have not had a good year with - we have had so much rain this year (not that I am complaining) and it's been a little cooler than normal (again, Lord - not that I am complaining at all - I have enjoyed the cooler weather!) - it is hard on some of the plants.

As you might have guessed by the huge amount of pictures we took in Italy, we like to use and experiment with our cameras....lol. So, you can be assured we took many lovely pictures of all the flowers and sculptures we came across in the park. Here is just a sampling of my pictures...enjoy!

And the next time you are in Grand Rapids, Michigan, please plan to stop by the Gardens - I promise you, it is amazing!

Canning Tomatoes

Today I canned my first 4 quarts of tomatoes. With what is still on the vines, I think I should have enough for another 4-5 quarts by the end of the week.

There is such a feeling of pride and satisfaction associated with it. I know I can easily run to Meijers and pick up a can of tomatoes for about $1. But by canning my own, I know what is in my quart jar, I know that outside of a teaspoon of salt, the only thing in my quart is tomatoes, and I know how those tomatoes were grown. I also feel there is also this connection with the past. I was raised in a family where you had a kitchen garden, and you put away for your family for the winter. I am connected to all the women who came before me who did this simple task. And I know come winter, it will taste wonderful when I add these tomatoes to a chili, a spaghetti sauce or a soup.

My New Compost Bin

I was successful at "sweet talking" Bill into creating my new compost bin...lol We followed the directions at the link I posted before. The bin is made up of 5 layers which allow for air to flow between each layer. Bill cut pine and screw it together in squares. The bin was finished off with a wood preservative.

Composting is the most natural way of providing your gardens with fertilizers. All natural ingredients are allowed to decompose into a rich composition which provides important nutrients. Small gardeners like my self really need to add nutrients into our gardening areas since we tend to not have the space to rotate our crops a great deal each year. Yard waste such as grass clippings and leaves will really help. I will also add weeds that I've pulled (and have not developed seed heads) and kitchen vegetable scraps (no meat products). A small amount of newspaper is also ok. The compost will need to be turned every now and then to keep the material from matting together and ensure even decomposing - the final product is called Humus.

Picture 1 is Bill building the bin (notice that I was able to sneak in a picture of my Ohio State banner in the background - Go Bucks!...lol). In pic 2 we see the first 2 layers. Dean gives his "Cat Approval" in pic 3 (I hope he was not thinking this would make a "cool" kitty litter box). And finally we see the finished product in pic 4. We placed the completed bin on the back side of my potting shed. It is close to the garden and out of site from the house.

Thanks sweetie for building my bin!!

Vegie Garden Update

Hi friends! I have not blogged recently on my garden and wanted to give you an update on the gardening progress. In all modesty, (haha) I must say that my garden is going like gang busters! I absolutely can not believe it.

I have tomatoes as big as my hand (I sliced one for BLTs this last Sunday - and it was like Heaven!), I should be canning very soon. The tomatoes have spilled out of their tomato cages and are hanging out of the raised bed (see pic 2).

I have a few pumpkins too (see pic 1). You may remember I collected the seeds from pumpkins I bought last year for decorations - one heirloom and one a white pumpkin. I forgot which one I planted where - so it's going to be a true surprise. I believe this one in the pic is an heirloom. I have another pumpkin growing off of the other hill, but it is under a lot of leaves and not a good photo op.

I've picked one of the cabbages to make cabbage rolls (yum! - and Bill said they passed the "Polish" test - ha!), and see the others are ready to harvest too. As you can see in pic 3, the corn is all tasseled out, and I have ears growing - not quite ready - but getting very close. And the sunflowers behind the corn are huge! I think the one on the far right is close to 12' tall! They are not in bloom, I am hoping for next week.

Zucchini Bread

I've had some questions on how I like to cook Zucchini, so I thought I would give you some basic recipes. To begin I wanted to share with you one of my favorite uses for Zucchini, Zucchini Bread.

Preparing the Zucchini:

I had this huge Zucchini, which is too big to fry, but perfect to use to make Zucchini Bread.

I started by cutting the squash into large chunks. Because of the size this squash had large seeds, so I scooped them out and discarded. If your zucchini is small, you do not need to clean out the seeds.




And then I grated the Zucchini. I have this small version of a food processor, you can also use a box grater.

I had more than I needed for my recipe, I packaged 2 freezer bags with 2 cups each grated Zucchini - this winter I will be able to pull a bag out of the freezer and bake up some fresh Zucchini Bread.

The recipe I use is a basic Zucchini Bread recipe. I add a couple of extra spices to make it my own.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

I add: 2 teaspoon ground clove

1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 1/2 cups white sugar

3 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Grease and flour 2 8x4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and the spices in to a bowl.

Beat eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Enjoy!

The Duomo and Baptistery - Florence

No mater where you go in Florence, you can not help but notice the Duomo. This massive structure can be seen from all over the city. It is a gathering place for the people of Florence. We experienced artisans, locals and tourists. Some hastily making their way across the square, while others can be seen taken up by the wonders of this structure.

The Duomo (Cathedral) is known to be the 4th largest church in the world. Our hotel was located about a block from this immense, beautiful church. It provided us a lovely picture each morning from the breakfast terrace (picture 1) of the hotel. The Duomo was so big, it was impossible for us to take a picture the whole structure in one shot. Picture 2 is a closer detail of one of the sides of the church. Picture 3 is a close up of the fresco above the main entrance. I zoomed in for picture 3 to get a closer look at the dome.

We move inside in the next 4 pictures. There are lovely frescos inside the dome. The clock is a 24 hour clock on a painted background.

The church is built upon the foundation of an earlier cathedral (The Cathedral of Saint Reparata). Under the church we were able to see where they have excavated some of the foundation. They have found sarcophagus - picture 7. Picture 8 gives you a feel of what the area looks like today. Picture 9 is the relics of an unknown saint.

The Baptistery is separate structure (picture 10). It is octagon shape with the same green and white marble on the outside. The massive doors were created by three different artist. But the true treasure is found inside. It absolutely took my breath away. When first walking in, it appears as a lovely chapel. But one only needs to look up to see a wondrous site. The ceiling is covered with a gold mosaic. Pictures 11 and 12 are a sampling of the beautiful images.

Green Beans

I picked my second batch of green beans on Saturday. There were enough for 2 meals. Green beans are something that you must keep picking to keep the plants producing. The more you pick, the more beans you will continue to get.

When I was a kid my mom, who always had a huge garden, would pressure cook green beans with bacon, onions and potatoes. The flavors were wonderful, but the beans always came out mushy. So I wondered if there was a different way to achieve the same rich flavors while keeping the beans crispy. Here is my solution.

I start with frying (in my favorite cast iron skillet) chopped bacon and onions.

At the same time I steam the beans. (I found the nifty steaming rack in Holland a couple of years ago when Vanessa and I was shopping).

Once the bacon and onions are cooked, and the beans are at the tenderness that I like, I moved the beans to the skillet (yes, I keep all the bacon grease in the pan). I seasoned with salt and pepper and allow the beans to cook a little longer (3-4 minutes) - absorbing some flavor from the bacon and onions. Tossing all the items together in the skillet.

And then we are ready for dinner. This provided me with crispy beans, but also the favor of the bacon and onions with them from my childhood. I am sure you could add fingerling potatoes to the bacon and onions to add another texture and flavor.

Try this at your next meal! Enjoy!

Beer Can Chicken

Grilling and chicken just seem to scream summer, don't you think? I've seen people grilling beer can chicken on TV for quite a while now, but have never tried it. So, Bill and I decided to experiment. The first time we simple used a beer can in the chicken cavity and stood the chicken upright on the grill. We had a terrible time with flame ups. The outside of the chicken was done well before the inside leaving us with not quite the desired chicken. So, Bill researched on-line and discovered this nice stand, we found using the stand worked much better. This stand is designed to catch the chicken juices and hold the chicken upright.

To begin you simple pour beer in the center can (guess I get to drink what was left in the bottle...hehehe) and place it in the holder on the rack.

You will need a whole chicken, ours was around 5 lbs. (Make sure to remove the gizzards and neck for the chicken's cavity before beginning.) To prepare the chicken, begin by sprinkling the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper, then cover the outside chicken with the dry rub of your choice. I make my own, but you can find several different flavors pre-made in the grocery store. I let the chicken rest in the fridge for about a half an hour after I applied the dry rub. After the chicken rested, place the chicken over the stand with the center cylinder filling the chicken cavity.

Now you are ready to grill. Start your grill a head time so that it can come up to temperature. Once the grill is hot, place the chicken and stand on the grill, lower the cover down on the grill and cook for 1 1/2 hour on in-direct heat (only have your grill going on one side, if you are using charcoal - place the coals on one side and the chicken on the other). Your chicken is done when your meat thermometer reads over 160 degrees (make sure to check both sides of the chicken).

And now, we are ready for dinner. One note, either place the chicken in the center of the grill, or turn half way through cooking. The chicken meat was moist with wonderful, crispy skin.