Sorrel Soup and Squash Love

I mentioned before that we've got loads of sorrel growing in our garden, thanks to my friend Kristie. She's a long-time friend, one of those people that you feel close to even if you only see them a handful of times over the years. When I saw her last December, our conversation turned to the dream we each had to have our own garden. It's a dream rooted in being settled, self-sufficient, and connected to the land.

I didn't know during that December conversation how soon I would be digging a garden of my own. K and I were lucky enough to be able to stay in the same place for another year and our landlords actually told us we could have a garden before we even asked. So K tilled and I planted vegetables and herbs.

Kristie came to our wedding toting a basket full of sorrel and johnny jump-ups for us to plant in our garden. She spent her spring working on a farm in Michigan and had fallen in love with sorrel. It was such a thoughtful present, and we're still making good use of it.

We used our wedding sorrel to make this soup from the Sundays at Moosewood Cookbook. It's such a simple soup that after making it twice, I typed the recipe out from memory. Don't worry, though, I checked the cookbook to make sure I had everything right.

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(Wedding) Sorrel Soup

from Sundays at Moosewood cookbook

1 onion, finely diced

3 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon flour

2 cups sorrel, washed, stemmed, and finely chopped

3 cups vegetable broth

2 egg yolks

1 cup milk

Saute onion and butter in a soup pot until the onion is translucent. Add the flour and stir. Add the sorrel and cook until just wilted (1-2 minutes). Add the broth, heat to boiling, turn down heat and simmer for a few minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and milk together. While whisking, add 2 cups of the hot soup to the egg/milk mixture. Pour this soup-egg mixture back into the soup pot and heat gently. Don't let it boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add a few dashes of hot sauce to individual bowls if you like it spicy.

Find more Moosewood recipes here.

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I also roasted a butternut squash from last week's CSA box for dinner last night.

Isn't it sweet? After I scooped out the seeds, the insides formed these hearts.

Button Necklace Giveaway Winner!

Before I announce the winner of the Button Necklace, I just want to thank everybody who entered. I love hearing where you would wear the necklace--you guys go to such great places!

The giveaway was a lot of fun for me. If you didn't win this time, stick around, because I'm planning on having more giveaways in the future.

The winner of the Morning Light Button Necklace is:

(Please click on the image if you want to see it bigger. I don't know why it's so small. I tried my hardest to make it larger, but my computer skills failed.)

#7 is Phyllis. Congratulations, Phyllis! You can be expecting to find this pretty necklace in your mailbox in a few days.

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On a different note, there will be no CSA post this week because Finger Pickin' Farms was hit hard by the heavy rains last week. Lots of flooded fields and lost crops. I'm sending thoughts of good weather and good harvests their way.

A post for K

Today is my husband's 27th birthday, and I want to wish him the happiest of birthdays.

I keep feeling terribly guilty because I've been working like a madwoman on a class assignment, due tonight at 7 pm. I've got class until 10 tonight, which leaves little time to lavish attention on the birthday boy. I've promised to make it up to him next weekend with a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake and a movie marathon of all his favorites.

Happy Birthday, K! I hope your day has been fabulous.

(And I'm the luckiest girl to get to spend a lifetime of birthdays with such a wonderful guy.)

Albino Squirrel

This weekend held so many good things, I barely know where to begin. I'll give you some highlights now and post more pictures later.

*Friday afternoon, I spent the loveliest few minutes sitting on a bench outside U of L's music building. Rain pitter-pattered on my umbrella, acorn bits fell from trees and thumped the sidewalk, and piano music wafted out the open windows. It was a feast for my ears! On top of all of that, I got to watch this little lightning-fast albino squirrel run around. It was so hard to get a photo of him.

*On Friday night, K and I had the darkest drive to his hometown. The clouds hung low and fog laced itself through the trees and over the roadway. We saw such a cool sight--a train coming out of the darkness, its headlights beaming in all directions, long rays of light clearly visible in the dense fog. It was both beautiful and eerie.

*Saturday night K's parents made a fire in their new fire pit. We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. The cool night air and the scent of the fire definitely felt like fall.

*On Sunday we celebrated K's birthday with his family. Happy birthday, K!

We ate lots (and lots and lots) of good food. K's mom always makes plenty of meat-free dishes so that I can eat big platefuls of food. So thoughtful!

*I got to see my sister for a brief moment as we passed by her college. It was long enough for a hug and a tour of her new dorm room.

It was such a wonderful, full weekend! I hope you had a lovely one, too.

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You have until 10 pm EST tonight to enter the Button Necklace Giveaway!

Be sure to comment if you haven't already. You might just win!

Tofu, Bok Choy, and Onions with Garlic Mirin Sauce

K and I went to an orientation a couple of weeks after moving to Yamagata, Japan. The best part of that orientation was the cooking seminar because we still use the recipes we learned there on a regular basis.

Our favorite recipe that we brought back from Japan is tofu with garlic mirin sauce. This sauce is savory, salty, and just a little bit sweet. The first time we made it, I couldn't believe that something this good came out of our kitchen. It's so good that I've even been known to lick my plate (not in front of company, of course!).

This is an easy recipe for tofu and whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand. If we're just cooking tofu in the sauce, we make the original recipe. If we're adding vegetables, we double the sauce recipe. Tip: Don't leave out the garlic. K has been known to do this because he hates chopping garlic. The garlic balances out the flavors, and if you leave it out the sauce tastes too sweet.

Here's how we make it:

Cook the tofu with some oil in a skillet, and then remove the tofu. Add the sauce and vegetables to the skillet and cook until the sauce has thickened. Mix the tofu into the vegetables and sauce. Serve over rice.

Original recipe for Garlic Mirin Sauce:

1/8 cup mirin
1/8 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 clove garlic, minced (or more, to taste)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon oil

Stir all ingredients in a small bowl, adding oil last. Pour mixture into pan and cook over high heat until thick.

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There's still time to enter my Button Necklace giveaway!

First CSA Day of Fall

Our CSA share from Finger Pickin' Farms:

This week it contains bok choy, butternut squash, turnips, lettuce (6 heads!), red and white potatoes, peppers, and radishes.

Our eating habits have definitely turned toward fall foods already--soups, quiches, and roasted vegetables have all been on the menu lately. I am really enjoying eating with the seasons. Tonight we cooked up some potato soup with potatoes from our CSA share, and last week we made sorrel soup with sorrel from our garden (a great wedding present from a friend).

Speaking of the garden, it's going pretty wild. We're still harvesting tomatoes, though the stream has slowed. We've got lots of green peppers and jalapenos, quite a few watermelons, and plenty of herbs to eat.

Now that bok choy is in season again, I've got a recipe to share with you soon!

I hope your week is just dandy and that you're eating well.

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Don't forget to enter the giveaway below if you haven't already!

That pretty button necklace is in need of a good home.

Button Necklace Giveaway (and 100th post!)

I am completely bursting with excitement about reaching 100 blog posts! I mulled over starting a blog for a long time before I actually sat down and created one this past May. I knew that when I began blogging I wanted to mean it.

Field Wonderful has given me a great outlet to share things I enjoy, and I always strive to make it a positive place. I'd love for you all to feel that visiting Field Wonderful is like stopping by a friend's house--chatting, laughing, and sharing news over cups of tea (and maybe a slice of cake). That's how I imagine it anyway.

Necklace posing with my school books

To celebrate and to thank you for reading my blog, I'm giving away a button necklace that I made. The details--

Name: Morning Light Button Necklace

Color: Pale, shimmery yellow

Perfect to wear while: sipping coffee at a cafe

shopping at the farmers' market

spending time at the park, etc.

Here's how to win:

Leave a comment on this post letting me know where you would wear this necklace.

Make sure you include your name and email address so that I can contact you if you win.

Anyone can comment to win--I'm willing to ship internationally.

The contest will close at 10 pm EST on September 28, 2009. I'll pick a winner at random and announce the winner soon after.

Good luck!