Hello Sunshine

For some strange reason I know I have used the title before,

 but today I want to share the work of a creative and lovely acquaintance 

Victoria Pearson. 

These are her photos and she now has a wonderful new cookbook devoted to the subject of Citrus....

which you can purchase here

Vickie has been a longtime photographer/contributor to Martha Stewart and there is a nice feature and some of the recipes included in Martha Stewart Living this month.

I had the pleasure of working with Vickie when she photographed

 our home in Ojai for Country Living

It was really interesting to see how she sets up for a shot and what the end result becomes.  I usually can spot her work in a magazine before I check the credits.

Her photos are always very etherial and light filled 

which I love.

Vickie has a true love for Ojai and she relishes her time at her home on the east end,

 surround by...you guessed it...citrus trees! 

After reading these recipes I'm convinced she is a wonderful cook too.  

She co-wrote the book with her friend Valerie Aikman-Smith

If you are at the farmers market this month it is brimming with citrus, especially tangerines and odd oranges like Cara Cara and Blood oranges. 

Cara Cara's are really good.  

Not as sweet as a valencia with a bright salmon-isn pink-ish interior. 

And Blood oranges are bitter and sort of peppery but very tasty. 

And of course you know my fave is the Meyer.....here's my best vinaigrette ever

The book is full of recipes that are not the usual 

but very 

creative, simple and delicious 

with out all the hype....

which is so needed right now. 

rant allert!

 I'm so sick of slick "food network" celebrity chefs that appear to spend the majority of their time attending Food and Wine festivals, creating silly television and inundating book stores with uninteresting, unusable cookbooks.  

The fact is that most of us (even those new to cooking) understand good food and the enjoyment of creating a wonderful meal for your family and friends. 

It has absolutely nothing to do with throw downs, shopping cart races or using odd ball ingredients like freeze dried Nutella.

 come on....will someone please call the food network and the cooking police and tell them to please stop already!

ok I'm better....back to the good stuff

This time of year it is pretty easy to get stuck in the comfort food rut because the weather is chilly.

Because citrus is available all year,  any of these recipes will work for you right now

And if you're really in a winter rut you can break out the blender and whip up some 

home made Margaritas for Sunday football!!!

Stay warm and cozy 

and squeeze a little sunshine into your day

xxx's

kelley

Superbowl Football Favorites

Here are a two of my favorite easy recipes for tailgating, picnics 

or 

"the BIG game"

I always use Franks Hot Sauce.  I've tried others but every one seems to like Franks the best.  Barbecue your chicken if you can because it has much more flavor.  You can cook the wings the day before too!

this is really rich and goes great with the hot wings

If you are in love with Guacamole...like me, and want to add that to the menu with some tortilla chips

you can find a great recipe here

have a fun weekend...I don't even know who is playing in the super bowl

oh wait...is it Seattle and Denver?

who cares...I like the commercials 

PS  you can drag the recipe images to your desktop 

and print them out if that makes it easier ; 0 ))

PPS  Don't forget to pick up the beer and margarita mix too

A Snake Bite

It's that time again....peak orange season

 This year the orange orchard is incredible....

the fruit is literally pulling the branches to the ground 

and every tree is in full blossom....what an incredible smell

crazy wonderful

so what to do with all of that orange juice?

I'm not much of a mixologist 

but I love tea and especially tea with lemonade

not long ago I ordered an "Arnold Palmer"

from a little cafe and the server said:

"do ya see any golf courses around here?...it's called a snake bite up this a way"

oops

really

?

So here is my version of a 

Snake Bite

using 

OJ

Mix together:

a nice large pitcher of your favorite ice tea 

(make about 4 quarts)

Add:

4 or 5 tea bags of 

Coconut Chai Tea

(I use Zhena's Gypsy Tea which you can find at Trader Joe's

or use a tea that has a lot of spices like Constant Comment)

let this sit overnight in the fridge

When ready to serve/drink:

add 4 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice 

to your pitcher of ice tea

 fill some nice large glasses 

about half full with ice

now you can drink this

"as is"

but to add some 

BITE

to your drink

I like to top it off with a shot of 

Captain Morgans Spiced Rum

I stick a big slice of lime on a wood fork

(you can find these bamboo disposable forks at Target and most grocery stores)

float the shot of rum on the top of the tea

and swizzle with the lime slice

ENJOY

Garden Notebook Ideas

 Here is a peek at my Garden notebook...as you can see it is a working diary

It is my road map...
it tells me what  actually went into the yard

and the main structure of the garden

It includes notations on irrigation, french drains,
 conduit stub outs for lighting etc.
as well as the planting guide

By the way,

 I am not a Landscape Architect

 nor do I have any formal training in landscaping or horticulture

I am a self taught gardener...

I read and I work hard

so guess what?  

anyone can do this too!!!

*note to self...get a good manicure STAT

 All of my drawings are included in the front part of the binder
with the initial lists of what I wanted to plant....
obviously this changed quite a bit as we progressed
but essentially the plan remains intact
today

These photos show my planting guides
divided into 5 main areas... this is just the front half of the property

 What I love about this reference guide, is that I can now re-work the beds as needed 

but still look back on the initial planting and see how we did.

 Actually we have lost very few plants and are now in the editing process.....what I mean is we are removing and dividing plants that just got too huge.

That is not a bad problem to have!

Our mantra this fall will be: divide and conquer

 Many landscape Architects 

really don't like to over crowd a garden 

and plant

 " can to can" 

But I purchased plants 

that I knew we could divide later

 in other parts of the garden 

as they matured

 Plant lists and
new purchases are all included

 My master plant list was huge 

and I worked on it for about a month before 

we actually ordered anything

 We actually had two phases of plant orders 

for the front 

as the main areas of the garden were finished
and ready to plant

Nothing ever sat around and got neglected or dry

Actually even today when I go tho the nursery...I only buy what I can plant in a day or two 

never much longer than that

Included in this binder are lots of visual references as well

I need to add some of my own photos too...which I think will be a nice addition

I hope this helps you to get a start on your own garden projects....

Happy 

Gardening

off to the garage for my pruners!

....yea it never ends

K

Carmens Best Guacamole: foodie friday recipe #1

With all of the new citrus trees just planted including a Bearss Lime and Haas Avocado it really got me thinking about what to cook this weekend.
I have a little journal, actually a couple of them, full of random recipes and thoughts about parties I might host and what kind of food to serve.  I usually jot things down on the weekends when I have a minute to sit and reflect.  I don't keep a journal so I suppose this is my version.

A wonderful gal who worked for me a few years ago was also working for another family who happens to own a couple of really good restaurants in the LA/OC area:  El Cholo and Cannery Seafood.  She did  plating and food prep at the restaurants. One afternoon before she left for her "2nd" job of the day we talked about guacamole.

Here is Carmen's version and the one I always use when I make guacamole.  It's not hot because I don't think thats the way it was intended.  Serve with your favorite salsa and chips.  My fave right now happens to be Santitos which are about $2 dollars for a huge bag!

In a large bowl combine:
     3-4 ripe avocados (Haas) pitted and flesh scooped out
     1/2 cup finely diced white onion
     1 jalepeno finely diced
     1/4 cup cilantro or parsley, finely chopped
     kosher salt to taste
Work all ingredients together with a fork, the mixture should be chunky.  Cover well and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Remove from the fridge and add:
     1/2 cup ripe roma or firm tomatoes rough chopped
     Juice of 2 limes
     Recheck seasoning and add salt and more lime juice if needed
    Top off as garnish:  finely sliced radish (I have white in the photos because it was at the farmers market)

I  usually serve my workers "the landscape guys" something every friday before they leave.  Usually cookies and soft drinks but today it will be chips and guacamole.

Happy Foodie Friday ~*~kelley