Raspberlicous

Oh, summertime. Culinary heaven is literally across the street, in the form of bushes laden with wild raspberries. I love berries of all kinds, but "free" are my all-time favorite (especially when a pint costs you $6 in the grocery store). On my walk this morning I couldn't resist picking a whole bunch (they are on the property of an elementary school) and immediately consuming my bounty.

So I got them home and rinsed them off...

And then I made a little bit of fresh whipped cream:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
-whip all together until soft peaks form

And then the moment of glory -- adding them together and diving in:


And on to the bottom of the bowl:

I am afraid this may be a daily occurance until I have exhausted either the raspberry bushes or my love of raspberries.

My Favorite Breakfast!

Upon waking and finding sun streaming through the window, I decided to go for a walk this morning through our little neighborhood. I love taking walks early in the day, when it is still cool and the trees cast long shadows from the rising sun. Whenever I come back, I usually need to satisfy a voracious appetite with something healthy (what's the sense in going for a walk and then eating sausage links with butter and syrup?).

So I usually turn to my favorite, Scrambled Eggs and Spinach. Stick with me here - it is really delicious, and a great way to use up that handful of spinach that's been sitting in your fridge and you have no other use for. It also works with kale, or even dandelion greens or arugula.

For one person, easily expandable to many more.
Ingredients:
half of a medium onion
a handful of baby spinach (or kale or dandelion greens or arugula)
1 tbsp. olive oil
approx 1 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese (I like fresh)
2 eggs

Chop the onion finely. (If you find onion chopping to be frustrating, check out this video by good housekeeping on how to properly chop an onion.)

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in the pan and put the burner on medium low.
Once the pan has warmed, throw the onion in.

Saute the onion on medium-low until it is translucent and soft, about 10 minutes (take care not to brown it, which I accidently did this morning when I got distracted with an email!)

At this point, add a handful (no need to be scientific about measurement) of spinach to the pan, and let it wilt, about 4-5 minutes. If you want, roughly shred the spinach with your hands before adding. (pictured, the spinach pre-wilting)

While the spinach is wilting, take out two eggs, crack em' into a bowl, and whisk them. If you like, whisk in a pinch of salt and pepper (I like pre-seasoning, I think the flavors marry a bit better). Turn the heat up to medium in the pan and immediately add the eggs.
Let it sit for a minute, then start stirring. when it is nearly done to your standard of excellence, grate on the parmesan (I do it near the end, otherwise it just melts and coats the bottom of the pan and is good for nothing.

Stir the eggs for a minute or two longer, and then serve. Yum!

Extra-delicious with side of toast slathered with fresh strawberry jam.

How far I've come....

This blog is a fun place for me, a place that I can be creative and silly. My job is altogether too serious, and so I need this release - I write about tomatoes and snowstorms. Today, though, I feel the need to share something personal (and I promise, it won't be too serious, because it's too happy to be serious!).

I was looking through old pictures yesterday, and I found one that simply takes my breath away every time I see it. This top photo is a picture of me from February 2005. To show you why it takes my breath away, I will compare it to a picture (on the bottom) taken of me a few months ago:









































I hope you can begin to grasp what is happening in that first picture - I was about 87 pounds, and I'm pretty sure that picture was taken on a good day. I was so sick because I was so tiny. No, I didn't have an eating disorder - but I do think I understand now why I was so skinny and sick. I am reading an excellent book right now called "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom". It is about how diseases, weight issues, etc., are out body's intuitive way of telling us that we are holding on to things or not dealing with problems, that we need to change course or else things are really going to get bad.

I had been trying to gain weight for years, but simply couldn't. I believe now that is because I wasn't happy with myself, with my mind, body, or spirit. My body was desperately trying to send me a message - "Nourish me! Not with food, but with love for yourself!".

Interestingly enough, I finally went to a counselor, who taught me how to love myself - not just my body, but my mind and my spirituality as well. And then pounds starting coming - at first in dribbles and drabs, but then pouring on, like my body was being remolded by God, made into a shape utterly different. And then I met my husband, who was able to love me with his whole heart because I learned to love my whole heart as well.

I nearly cried when I saw those two pictures side-by-side last night. It is a reminder to me that God is faithful, that I had been praying for years to be happy, to be healthy, and those prayers didn't go unheard and unanswered - and in fact, were answered in ways that I never ever dreamed (at a va-va-voom 128 pounds - calculated out, 41 pounds gained!)

Forbidden Fruit

Take a good long look at her. Yes, drink her in. Red. Plump. Ripe. Ohhhhhh baby, I could sink my teeth into you...

Yes, I can hear you screaming at your computer "No, Amy! Its a trap! She's full of diseases! You don't know where she's been!"

You have to understand. I can barely function without tomatoes. I am a tomato junkie. Ketchup, please! More sauce on my spaghetti! Bruschetta, where have you been all my life? Insalata Caprese by the plateful! Salsa and more salsa!

So I went on a quest. I went on a quest to find untainted tomatoes. After driving through hills and valleys, sorting through markets, searching for roadside stands, I found them! There is a local farm in the next town over, and they are selling their "FDA safety-approved" babies by the tableful. However, I had to a pay a pretty price for such a specimen. At $2.50 for the little beauty you see in the picture above, it was steep, but worth it.

Now the question is, what do I do with her? Salsa? Bruschetta? I have some fresh mozerella I bought from a cheesemaker on Saturday. Maybe a handful of basil, a little olive oil? ohhh.
Suggestions, anyone?

UPDATE:
Oh yeah...Insalata Caprese it was, with some sauteed zucchini. What a lunch!