Fresh is Best

Obviously. Many places, like grocery stores and restaurants advertise that they have the freshest ingredients. One unnamed sub shop urges everyone to eat fresh...but then the lettuce comes from a vacuum- sealed bag. Yum. When Justin and I started our herb garden last year, our dinners were tasty. My only complaint was that we did not use our herbs enough! There's one thing to put lettuce on your sandwich. There's another thing to put fresh cilantro or basil on your sandwich. Adding fresh herbs to your favorite recipes will really enhance your cooking without too much more work.


Our newest addition to our herb garden are our topsy turvy planters. We have 1 for tomatoes and 1 for red peppers. I also just planted dill in the flower box so when I do my tzatziki sauce, I won't have to keep buying fresh dill.

So at first when we bought these as-seen-on-tv products, Justin had the great idea of getting a cast-iron stand that had 2 hooks that is put into the ground. We grossly underestimated the weight of these things and we were playing a balance game. We lost.


Justin made this stand for our topsy turvy plants. It is much sturdier. He will actually be making it even more sturdier, on the advice given from his father. I stained/waterproofed it today. (Picture does not reflect that)

Underneath our topsy turvy are our herb garden boxes. We have chives, dill, mint, and basil.  I also planted green onions that I bought from Wegmans about a month ago in the actual ground to the right of the picture. They are still alive, although Tiller keeps walking over them. 

I am realizing that although this is a cooking blog, this is the first time I mentioned Tiller, our furry son. This is a picture of us taken by my wedding photographer and friend, Molly Bergeron during our engagement photo session at Colt State Park in Bristol, Rhode Island.  Tiller LOVES our cooking. If you have a dog, something to consider: Grapes, onions, avocados, as well as chocolate (the higher the % of cacao, the more potent it is) are extremely toxic for dogs. Grapes?  Yes. Tiller ate a bunch and we had to take him to the Pet ER. Some dogs, grapes are no problem. Some dogs, they've eaten as few as 7 grapes and had kidney failure and died. Rancid meat- not a good time.  No cooked bones.  (They splinter and could puncture the digestive tract)

All in all, Tiller is awesome and is the one that always watches us cook and bake. 

Greek Comfort Food

We occasionally go to two restaurants on York Road that make wonderful Greek food. Something that stood out for me was slouvaki, specifically the tzatziki sauce. I love eating it....so I figured, hey why not? So I bought ingredients that I assumed would go in the sauce. Funny thing ....when I was checking out at Wegmans, the guy behind me was also making a tzatziki sauce. I was impressed. 


Either way, this recipe was a hit with the JG. I will be making this again in a few days for Miller & Sarah's wedding extravaganza. (I will also be taking a stab a guacamole for the first time....you'll see a post soon enough about that one. ) This came from AllRecipes.com. 

Tzatziki:

• 2 (8 ounce) containers plain yogurt
• 2 cucumbers - peeled, seeded and diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled

If I had to do it all over again, I'd put it all together in a food processor. I didn't register for one of those... I would use all of these measurements as guides.... except the plain yogurt.  Everything is to taste. I think I used 4 cloves of garlic and a little bit more dill. It was dried dill. 

Once you put this all together, I would advise you to put it in the fridge to set for a little bit. Justin ate the sauce about 5 days later and thought it was even better. 

I seasoned and grilled chicken to taste. I served the chicken with diced yellow onion and tomato over a whole wheat pita.