Some Garden and Cooking Inspiration

I recently found a magazine that appealed to my gardening side (which sometimes goes pretty dormant) and my cooking side (which is usually something I enjoy tremendously).  I just had to share it with you.

It's published by Better Homes and Gardens and it's called from Garden to Plate.

It has wonderful garden plan ideas, recipes, preserving tips, and sections devoted to Spring Harvest, Summer Harvest, and Autumn Harvest.  

I am very inspired!

So inspired that I made one of the recipes for dinner on Sunday when Sewing Bee comes over.

It was quite delicious, although I have a few ideas that would probably improve our experience.

Beef, Mushroom and Onion Tart

Ingredients:
12 oz. lean ground beef
1 8 oz. package sliced mushrooms
1/2 of a medium red onion, cut into thin wedges
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 13.8 oz package refrigerated pizza dough
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
Fresh oregano

Directions:
1.  Heat oven to 425º.  In a large skillet cook beef, mushrooms, and onion over med heat for about 8 minutes, until beef is browned and onion is tender, stirring occasionally.  Drain off the fat and add the salt and pepper.

2.  Line a cookie sheet or stone with parchment paper. (you can grease the pan too, but I find parchment paper easier to work with and it makes for quick clean up)  Roll or pat the dough into a 15 x 12 inch rectangle.  Top dough with the beef mixture, keeping enough of an edge to fold over, pleating as needed.

3.  Bake tart for 15 minutes or until crust is golden.  Top with the blue cheese, and if desired, the oregano. (you can also use pizza seasoning, but we had the oregano in our kitchen garden so we used it)

A nice glass of merlot while I prepared this was a plus!

We all enjoyed it very much!  (It's a "Make Again" which is high praise at Sweet Bee Cottage.)

Now....for some things that did NOT work for us:
•I baked this in a jelly roll pan and it took a long time to bake (longer than 15 minutes) and my meat & veggie mixture got dried out.
•I used Trader Joe's pizza dough and that also might be why the crust took longer to brown than the one suggested in the original recipe.

Well, I'm willing to try making it again just for you.  

So, just let me know....what would you like to drink?

Thank you so much for stopping by our little cottage!

It's a pleasure to know you took time from your day for a visit.

P.S.  Here's how the recipe is supposed to look.  Drat those food stylists!  Maybe next time mine can look as glamorous!

And, oh yes,

I'm linking up with

A Bowl Full of Lemons

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

But Worker Bee!  You promised me an herb garden and a veggie garden!  Why not a few roses too?

Ahhhh........thank you Worker Bee!  I love our gardens!

We have a couple of gardens we've (okay - I'VE named them and everyone else just humors me) named at Sweet Bee Cottage.

(Oh you must know by know that I name many things in my life - my car, my house, my daughter.....)

In front of our picket fence is Our Cottage Garden.  It's filled with roses, perennials, a few herbs, and a very few annuals.

Smells heavenly out there!

Don't you just love Pincushion Flower?  It's one of my favorites!

We also have on the east side of our front yard, Our Kitchen Garden. 

Yes, you read that right - Our Kitchen Garden is in the front yard.  It's the only spot on our property that gets enough hours of sunshine.  We have a very shaded little cottage.  

We grow veggies, herbs, and a few cutting flowers in those beds.

We have three raised beds.  Ignore the spilled compost.  We'll get that cleaned up!

 Our raised beds are made out of those Lincoln Log looking posts that you can get at Home Depot for about $2 each.  Since Our Kitchen Garden is in the front yard, I wanted it to look a little bit classy so we painted the "logs" with black paint.  (Our side doors and window frames are all black.)  I love how they have turned out and held up.  This is the second year we've had them.  

Snapdragons that survived over the winter.

My sage bloomed!  I've never had sage bloom before!  It's it the most gorgeous flower?

Spanish lavender!  Always makes me think of little purple butterflies  floating above this herb.

Look!  Tomato blossoms!

 And my pansies are still doing well!  I do have a horrible tendency of killing off my potted plants, so I'm glad to see these still around.  

(A good deal of that thanks should go out to Worker Bee - he takes good care of all of us.)

 Thanks for buzzin' around here at Sweet Bee Cottage!

It's always a pleasure to see you stopped by for a visit.  

A Wee Bit of Gardening

I made it out into the gardens today.  

I haven't been able to out much because of the virus I had and my seasonal allergies kicking in, which then triggered my asthma; so I've been staying in quite a bit until my asthma was better under control.

It was so nice to clean up some and plant a few things.  

Thought I might start by showing you what survived the winter here....

This was a mystery plant.  I was certain I planted it this last spring, but I forgot to write down what it was on my plans.  It didn't germinate this past spring, but it started to leaf out this winter.  My husband and I kept wondering if we were nurturing along some giant weed.  I just couldn't recognize it.  

Then it bloomed and I remembered.  It was nicotiana!  You can't really see any blooms here because I picked most of them for a bouquet to take in the house.

Aren't they pretty?  Shades of pink, cream, and yellow.

My snapdragons also survived the winter.

I was able to pick a huge bouquet of those endearing blossoms.

Now I have two bouquets in my living room!  I love them.

While I was out in my kitchen garden, I also planted a couple of herbs a friend gave me.

Yummmmm!  Dill!

I have tried growing dill in the past with no luck, but I think I usually started it too late.  Wish me luck this year!  

And Bee Balm!  One of my favorite herbs.  At one time I had quite a bit of it, but they quit reseeding themselves so they never came back.  I don't know what color this one will be, but I once had a lovely lavender cultivar.  Bee Balm always reminds me of fireworks.  Do you see that in it too?

Lavender, sage, rosemary, oregano, and Italian parsley.

I also made a little herb bouquet for the kitchen windowsill.  Smells so good as we do dishes.

And a sweet little lavender bouquet for my nightstand.  (Sorry Worker Bee, you'll have to smell this from my side of the bed.  Maybe if you're good, I'll make one for you too.)

This same friend also gave me a half flat of pansies.  Boy I went to town!  

This planter hangs on one of the backyard gates.  

I just love galvanized metal, do you?  

I'm lovin' the moss all over this pot.  

 I have wanted to plant this 3-tiered basket with pansies since I bought it several years ago.  At last - I can cross it off the list now.  

Thanks so much for buzzin' by today.  Such a treat to see you!  I hope you know how much I enjoy our visits and your sweet comments.  

From Kitchen Garden to Haunting Graveyard

Transmogrify!

That's exactly what I told my kitchen garden.  Your season is over (for now) little kitchen garden and you need to get with the program.

Here you are in all your summer glory!

But some new folks have moved in....

I'm not sure I'll want them stay for long.  You know what they say about house guests and fish - they both start to stink in 3 days.

Why.....are those the ghosts of Sweet Bee, Worker Bee, Baby Bee, Sam Cat, and Brody Cat?

Are they.......dancing???

They won't tell.  Their lips are sealed.  FOREVER!  (cue the spooky music)

Okay...here's what it took to create this spooky spot.

Gothic looking fencing from Home Depot.  They're just plastic.  Purchased last year for the big parade in our home town.

Tombstones from Dollar Tree this year.

Ghosts created from really cheap sheets from Walmart, black marker and some glow-in-the-dark paint.

Ghost supports are tomato spirals - they're supposed to support your tomatoes, but they don't seem to work well for us - but they're perfect for ghosts.

Little (misshapen) ghost heads made from plastic store bags and newspaper.  Heads are tied with a ribbon.

It's windy here today and the ghosts just look like they're floating above the garden.  I hope I don't jump if I see them moving out of the corner of my eye.  

I have to say I love how the orange nasturtium pops against the black of the tombstones.  What a happy accident!  

Such a treat to see you again!  We'll be having the annual Halloween bakeathon very soon and you're invited to come along.  It's always so much fun to sample all the treats.

Here's where I'm linking up today!

Between Naps on the Porch

Cottage Instincts

The House in the Roses