Today we offer up two slow home kitchen tips.  Both of these are very simple but will make your life infinitely easier and definitely tastier.  They take a little time, but can be done simultaneously to shave a few minutes off of the clock and save you time and money later.

When my wife was pregnant with our first son she ate loads of Mexican food and fruit… bowls and bowls of fruit.  We bought fresh fruit, of course, but it wasn’t enough.  We found bags of frozen mixed fruit and the coldness combined with the variety seemed to do the trick.  The trouble was that it was often frozen in one giant clump.

These days we like to take advantage of what is in season, on sale, or growing in our garden so we still freeze what we can, but we do it in single layers.  Freezing in single layers first means that nothing sticks together.  This way you can measure out just what you need for your recipe and leave the rest in the freezer.

Here are a few things to consider:

• Wash the fruit thoroughly before starting
• Use parchment sheets for easy removal
• Have a sharp knife (learn more about knife sharpening)
• Use a baking sheet
• Seal in zip freezer bags after frozen

I find chopping to be therapeutic and it helps to practice my knife skills.  This is also an excellent way to get the kids involved.  If they are old enough you could let them do some cutting.  If not, let them fill the sheets with the cut fruit or fill the storage bag when they are frozen.  These are important skills to pass on. 

Now we move on to making your own ricotta.  This is not new to the blogging world, but I do make mine a little differently than most.  Ours uses low-fat or non-fat milk, cream, and non-fat Greek yogurt.  The combination of the three cuts down dramatically on the fat content, but yields a very creamy and smooth cheese.  In the picture below, we have simply paired it with fresh cut strawberries and a little honey.  The freshness of the cheese served like this is perfection.  If possible serve it while the cheese is still slightly warm.

You will find it easy to make and delicious for any recipe that calls for ricotta.  One disclaimer: this isn’t really ricotta, but more like a farm cheese or home cheese (or variety of other names it gets called).  The texture and taste are similar, but true ricotta uses leftover whey.  What this product doesn’t have is a bunch of stabilizers that are packed into the store bought version.  What is does have is loads of flavor and should probably be used up within a few days.  Don’t make this unless you intend to use it… or share it with someone.

We all live busy lives, but I challenge you to try a ‘from scratch’ meal at least once per week.  This is a wonderful opportunity to get in touch with food and your family… experiment and learn how something works.  Learn a new skill together or create traditions that will last a lifetime.

savour… slow food

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The disaster in Japan is both beyond comprehension and beyond words.  Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones desperate to find one another and to begin rebuilding the lives they once knew.  This disaster has shown the spotlight, yet again, on being prepared.  The Japanese take disaster preparedness very seriously and practice a series of drills that includes preparing for a catastrophe.  I think we do little more than prepare for fires and tornadoes here.  According to FEMA statistics, the U.S. has experienced an average of 50 natural disasters each year in the last decade, amounting to more than 560 total. 

With disasters being experienced around the world, as well as at home, how prepared are you?  For me, making an “In Case of Emergency (ICE)” kit has been carried over from one 'to do' list to another since Hurricane Katrina.  You would think having two small children would have driven me to get it done, but this recent disaster seemed to really drive it home… finally.  A kit list and a few must-dos follows.

savour... an ounce of prevention

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This week has been all about gardening around here.  We are in the beginning stages of our own garden, working feverishly on a community garden project, and wrapping on several posts to bring you the very best in gardening tips.  

To get you inspired or to help you inspire someone else, we have also kicked off a new giveaway.  If you haven't seen the garden tote giveaway post, be sure to check it out.  Garden totes are incredible useful and this one is loaded with stuff to get you started.

Of course, we couldn't finish off the week with out a Treat of the Week.  I am very pleased to present this one, because I simply love it... the madeleine.

Oh, the madeleine.  It is the perfect combination of sponge cake meets butter cake and in a package that eats more like a cookie than cake... shear brilliance.  The centers are soft and spongy.  The edges ensure that you get some crispiness in nearly every bite.  The glaze adds the perfect amount of sweet texture.

Plain madeleines are wonderful.  Lemon madeleines are divine.  Today we have paired up two flavors that go so well together.  The fragrant orange and aromatic anise make this treat very unique.  For those of you who have not used anise before, it has a very distinct licorice fragrance and flavor.  I love licorice.  My wife hates it, but she still enjoyed this treat very much.

I think you will find this far easier to make than you imagined.  The payoff is 100 times the effort.  Enjoy these with an afternoon tea or a cup of coffee.  Plan on having more than one.

savour... a french connection

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We are really getting into the garden groove this month.  I hope you have enjoyed the past few installations of Lola Digs.  This new feature will be posted regularly and will surely include gardening, but so much more.  We hope to make this a resource for your eco-nesting needs.

Today's post discusses what you need for a great garden tote.  Totes are ideal for lots of jobs.  The garden is no exception.  Make one of your own with our handy tips... or enter for your chance to win the one shown here.  Our drawing begins today and ends at midnight CST on Sunday, April 3, 2011.  You can enter any of these ways:

• leave a comment at the end of this post about gardening or any eco-nesting topic
• 'like' us and leave a comment on our facebook page
• follow us and tweet all about it on twitter with the hashtag #LolaLove

Enter all three ways for three chances to win.

And now, the post...

Lola is a gal after my own heart.  I love a clutch, a handbag, a tote, a satchel, a backpack.  It really does not matter and even though I am not much of a purse carrier, my husband knows that nothing makes me happier than a new bag.  I often have in my mind exactly what I want but rarely find it.  Not so in this case.  I was bent on having the perfect gardening tote for this season.  This is not unlike my need to have the perfect outfit for a particular occasion.  I have eased off this a bit since my husband has said I am oh, so predictable. 

I decided to head to our local Harbor Freight store with my sale ad and my wish list.  I came away with the most practical and inexpensive tote!  It is canvas with many pockets of varying sizes and a sturdy bottom giving it the ability to stand-alone.  I plunked a bushel basket for harvesting right in the center, along with some twine and rope for staking as necessary.  Here is the most amazing gardening tote ever and all its contents:

• Canvas tote – Harbor Freight or home improvement center
• Pruning shears – Lowe’s or garden center
• Cultivator – Lowe’s
• Medical Gloves (latex or latex free) – Harbor Freight or discount store
• Seeds – home improvement, garden center, or seed swap
• Utility Scissors – Harbor Freight or discount store
• Gardening Scissors – Lee Valley Tools
• Assorted Gloves – cotton, leather, and non-slip gloves – Harbor Freight or home improvement center
• Burpee Easy Gardening Guide (pocketsize) - home improvement or garden center
• Trowel – Lowe’s 
• Twine roll – discount store or home improvement center
• Rope – discount store or home improvement center
• Bushel Basket – thriftstores like Goodwill frequently have these
• Bamboo Skewers – Target or other major retailer

More to consider: 

Medical gloves are great for removing pests delicately, so as to not damage any leaves or produce.

I bought seeds from my local gardening center, but catalogs, websites, and seed swaps offer far more interesting varieties and many more heirlooms.  I encourage you to let your plants go to seed and keep them for next year.  Your seeds will produce already adapted plants and if you don’t have a seed swap then a great reason to start one. 

Having a variety of gloves on hand means you can meet the needs of your gardening tasks without another trip inside.  I like cotton gloves for delicate tasks that don’t require medical gloves.  Leather gloves are great for heavy duty tasks like lifting, hammering, tree transplants, composting, etc.  Non-slip gloves are a bit thinner than leather gloves and offer a nice grip around your hand tools making the work safer and you better protected.

There are trowels and then there are trowels with handy info.  I prefer the latter because it has inches and centimeters imprinted on it making spacing and depth work (think bulbs) much easier.  It certainly takes the guesstimating out of it, of which I am no good.

Bamboo skewers make quick, impromptu, but sturdy enough stakes for single tomato plants, bean runners, pepper plants, squash plants, and the like.  These won’t last for the long haul, but with a bit of twine will get you by for a couple of days until you put something more permanent in place.   

Spring has arrived and with it an urge to be outdoors.  This past weekend we cleaned up the grill and got it ready for a long outdoor season.  There is nothing quite like the smell of grilling.

One of the things I love to do while I already have the grill fired up is grill up a few chili peppers.  They can be used right away or saved for a day or two in the fridge until you are ready.  The process is simple and the flavor is incredible.

Our stuffing mixture for this recipe is fresh and tasty.  The Tex-Mex style works well with the smokiness and a little heat goes a long way.

savour… subtleties

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Keeping up with seeds, their care, sprout time, and harvest is not very convenient given that all the info is contained on the back of the package that you might accidentally throw away.  Guilty.  Lessons learned from last year led me to make the attached spreadsheet.  It contains the seeds that I’ve started to date, but change to suit your seed needs.  Don’t create too much work for yourself, but once you’ve done it you’ll need only to tweak it based on your notes and growing plan for the following year.  

In reading The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen I was struck by the statement “work makes work.”  The gist of this statement is this:  go with the flow and hum of your garden.  It should be a little wild.  I enjoyed reading this (and the entire book for that matter) because I desperately try to read and prepare and tend and work, but in light of this, I’m going to take it a bit easier this year to ensure birds, bees, and nature want to be a part of my garden.  Now I’m not going to get nuts with it and encourage rabbits and other garden visitors to help themselves to my harvest, but I’ll take time to give the garden what it needs, understand failure is part of gardening, and take lots of notes.

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Around our house potato chips are like money… in high demand and always gone too soon.  There is a wide array of flavors these days and choosing just one can be difficult.  I go for salt & vinegar or cracked pepper, but the kids prefer sour cream and onion.  While not known for their nutritional value, enjoying them in moderation can add a great deal of flavor and texture to a meal.

Kettle chips are becoming increasingly popular.  They are generally a bit thicker and decidedly crunchier than their thin and crispy cousins.  When I was a student in Madrid, we could purchase these from sidewalk vendors at El Rastro, the weekly Sunday flea market.  These fellows would set up their fryers right on the sidewalk and fill up huge bins with fresh chips.  This was a treat for all of the senses. 

There was no secret to making them other than the fact that they are cooked in smaller batches than typical mass produced ones.  The smaller batches and difference in oil temperature causes the potato to cook differently than those that are cooked under more consistent conditions.

Our treat today incorporates the texture of the kettle chip with the smoothness of caramel and chocolate.  We topped it off with chopped cashews.  This is a very easy treat to make and they will keep for several days so you can enjoy them at a later date… if they make it that long.

savour… crunchy, sweet, salty treat

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