The Yields from the Farmers' Market

Saturday was the first new farmers' market of the season here in Staten Island. I was excited. I was ready. And then, as I made my way over to the market I realized I had only $17 to celebrate with! GASP!

Luckily there was not a lot of heart break since it was the beginning of the season and there was not a ton of selection for me to miss out on. So here's what happened:

I got potatoes:

Which I roasted for dinner tonight:

Then I got spinach:

Which I also made with dinner tonight:

And I got three herb plants: cilantro, basil and rosemary, that I have transplanted and placed in my backyard:

Lots of basil up front with cilantro bringing up the rear.

My little rosemary sprigs.

It wasn't much, that's for sure, but I have plants that will continue to produce and I made a delicious dinner for my husband, my brother and myself tonight.

Tonight's dinner included:

• Roasted lemon-garlic chicken thighs
• Roasted Red Potatoes
• Wilted spinach with red pepper flakes

The recipes are on their way!!

March Moves Monday Run Down #4 (from The Hummingbird Project)

Do Something Month is coming to a close. In this final week of March, I, like the hummingbird, kept up doing what little I could in my corner of the world. It wasn't much, but I feel like my contributions will grow into larger, life-long actions that will influence my family and friends and who knows who else beyond that realm!

Composting is something our house has needed for a LONG time!

I am declaring myself a composter. Honestly, I know I still have a lot to learn, but I am actively collecting my kitchen scraps, bringing them to my bin outside which is layered nicely and my garbage has been reduced. In fact, just the other night, when my husband and I were out we return to a typical scene - a garbage bag strewn across the floor, chewed through, with various items taken out and explored through. The culprit? Buffy, the beast.

She's a beagle, she can't really help herself and she was taught by Chewy, who passed away in 2009. Anyway, as I got to the routine of cleaning up, which didn't seem that bad my husband said, "Well this is one huge benefit of your composting!" He was right! There was nothing but boring garbage in the bag - no food scraps, nothing messy - she basically went into the bag because of some old deli container my husband threw away, and she was kind enough to lick up every trace of whatever the heck it was he had in there! B.C. (you know, "Before Compost") there would have been potato peels, apple cores, melon rinds, strawberry tops, etc all over my kitchen floor, in the living room and, perhaps, even buried in Buffy's bed!


Gardening on the horizon with total appreciation (finally!).

I may even get started with this today. I purchased a nice planter for a small herb garden along with some herb seeds (I have basil, oregano and cilantro). I bought sunflower seeds, too. I am not sure where I want these yet (mom once grew them on the side of the house), but I really look forward to their growth. As for my husbands resistance to growing food in our yard, well, we had a very interesting exchange on Saturday:

Me: I saw this cool book that is all about gardening and homsteading. I think I am going to get it.

Hubby: Oh yeah?

Me: Yeah. I thought it was awesome because it talked about everything from planning your gardens all the way to canning and preserving which I don't remember anything about. I would just love to be able to can my own tomatoes.

Hubby [putting XBox controller down]: Wait... What do you mean? We can do that? OH WOW. I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT.

Me [smiling/laughing]: How do you think my grandmother was doing it back in Palazzo Adriano?! Why do you think I want to grow my own food so badly? THINK of how DELICIOUS it would be!

And for some reason, after all of these years, after so many long, arduous conversations about growing our own food he finally gets it.

Turning out the lights enlightened me.

This past Saturday my husband and I participated in Earth Hour 2011. It was not a public gathering, but, instead a small act in our own home. The experience drove us to a simple evening together over a book. It was wonderful, relaxing and gave me much to think about in terms of my own abuse of electricity on a daily basis. I wrote a complete post about our experience, including candle-lit pictures called Lights Out for Mother.

What's something YOU DO that we can replicate in order to make great changes from small moves?

*If you think you might be interested in writing a guest post about any action you took during Do Something Month, please feel free to e-mail me at BlogWithNV@gmail.com.

Starting Small To Make Big Changes (A Hummingbird Speaks)

This is our first-ever guest post from Jen who blogs over at The Misadventures of Mrs. B which includes cooking, fabulous writing and some irresistible food photography!

Hi, everyone! I’m so glad Nicole offered the opportunity for me to be here today so I can share my Hummingbird ideas with you and hopefully pick up a few tips as well.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been the type of person to say “Oh, I’d love to do that” or “I really need to make a change in my life” or “I wish I had the discipline to keep up with a plan for change”.  It’s the story of my life, truly.

That’s why I was so pleased to read about Nicole’s Hummingbird Project.  What better time to start than right now? And thinking of it as a project, and as a way to effect lasting change in my little family and (ideally) throughout the world, makes it that much easier to not only stick to it but to make it fun!

Most of the changes I’m working on deal with nutrition and stretching our food dollars.  The fact is, it may take a little more time to make something from scratch but the result is something I can eat with confidence – after all, I know exactly what went into it.  There are no hidden additives or fake colors or “natural flavors”.  It’s all real.  Besides, there’s a sense of pride in knowing that the bread we’re eating came from my hands.  Same with any baked goods (why grab a muffin at the coffee shop when I can bake my own over the weekend to eat all week long?) and even pasta.  There is just nothing like homemade pasta.  The fewer steps a product takes between production and my mouth, the better.

I’m already working on my herb garden! Last year I planted flat parsley and sweet basil.  This year I’m expanding to include dill, thyme, chives and oregano, too.  My husband is sweet enough to be building boxes for me to start my own vegetable garden as well – I can’t wait to plant! I’ll definitely be starting small – tomatoes are on the list but I’m looking for any ideas on something a beginner like me can grow with ease! Thoughts, anyone?

Other changes I’m working to implement:                                                                                             

• Carrying a large insulated cup to work – if I feel like stopping off for coffee on the way in, I just present my cup rather than using one of theirs.  I hope that it catches on amongst the people I see waiting in line every day!

• Drinking from a reusable water bottle rather than constantly buying and discarding plastic bottles.  This is something I see people doing around the office all day long – not to mention using a paper cup for a single drink of water and tossing it out immediately.  Wasteful!

• Being more diligent with my recycling – now that recycling rules have loosened a bit in my area and everything can be included in the same bin, it’s easier to remember.  I admit that I haven’t always been a smart recycler in the past.

• Learning about green cleaning products.  It’s fascinating what you can do to lessen the amount of potentially harmful chemicals in your home! It’s an education for sure.

I know that there are so many other changes to be made, and this is merely the tip of the iceberg.  But it’s easier to start small, isn’t it, rather than getting overwhelmed.  At least that’s what I tell myself! I hope to document my progress on my blog – at least when it comes to cooking and gardening.

I’d love to hear any tips or suggestions from those of you who read this for ways to improve (and tips on gardening, since I’m a newbie)!

Thanks, Nicole, for having me here.  You’re an inspiration.

About Jen:

Jen blogs over at The Misadventures of Mrs. B, where she shares recipes, ideas and stories from her life while trying to maintain a sense of humor about the whole thing.  You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter or email her if you would like to be a part of the misadventures or just to pick up a sinful new recipe.