How to Fold in Fava Beans

After several seasons of constant use, our garden soil was in need of some TLC this winter. We planted a large bag of fava beans in our veggie garden and nothing else. Fava beans are legumes that take nitrogen from the air and fix it to use for bean production.

A few months after planting the seeds, our garden was filled with fava stalks! Fun fact about favas: the grow so quickly that it's rumored that the "magic beans" in Jack and the Beanstalk are favas. Right before the favas started producing bean pods--the beans will take away from of the nitrogen the favas have fixed--we folded the favas into our garden.

Romanesco, Meyer Lemon, Pine Nut, and Green Garlic pasta

Spring in California is short and not as defined as spring on the East Coast. No long, snowy winter being broken by crocus blossoms but a slow and subtle transition into warmer weather and longer days. Blink, and it's gone. But spring does happen in California; for few weeks, fruiting trees will bloom white and pink flowers, daffodils will come up, and green garlic can be seen at your local farmer's market.

To me, nothing quite says spring in California like the delicate, slightly sweet flavor of green garlic.

I love this recipe because it combines winter produce (romanesco and Meyer lemon) with spring's green garlic--It's like the two seasons are saying hello!--The nutty flavor the the pine nuts and slightly charred romanesco perfectly compliment the sweetness of the meyer lemon and green garlic.

How to Make Limoncello

Years ago, I purchased a dwarf Meyer lemon tree at Costco on a whim--I didn't even have access to a backyard, but the tree was calling my name on the way to checkout. After three moves and five years of time together, it produced its first lemon crop this past February: Fifty-three lemons! With our wedding coming up and a love of all things Meyer lemon, a limoncello cocktail with homemade Meyer lemon limoncello was in order.

At first, limoncello might seem like a daunting project, but in reality it's quite simple and economical, especially if you plan on drinking gobs of limoncello.

At the most basic level, you soak lemon skins in a high proof alcohol--I decided on everclear but other have found success with vodka--and add simple syrup to taste. 

Lath Table and Upgraded Kitchen Nook

A few years ago, Willi and I purchased a hacked together kitchen island that had a coat of white primer on it and a partially fitted Corian top. It was very function and sturdy but hardly easy on the eyes. Eventually it was going to have to go or be upgraded.

Since we moved to Oakland, I've lusted after Ariel Alasko's tables but they are sadly not in our budget. After a while of lusting and studying her tables, I set out to make our own lath top to upgrade the old kitchen island. We went at to the Heritage Salvage in Pataluma (one of my favorite places to go for any wood project!) and got a bunch of old lath, looking for any pieces with interesting milling, paint, and weathering. Measuring the top of the kitchen island, I bought a piece of plywood on which to affix the lath pattern.

Invites: Stuffed, Sealed, Stamped, and Ready for Sending!

Willi and I are getting married in just under 3 months, which sounds like crazy talk when you've been planning a wedding for over a year. We are officially in the "home stretch" as Willi's mom says. Weekends are mostly occupied by wedding DIY projects now, and likely a few posts here will have to do with wedding crafting. This weekend's undertaking was the wedding invites.

And man, I can't tell you how great it feels to have the invitations not only printed (we started talking to Abby of Consider the Lilies in August--that's right, AUGUST) but addressed, stuffed, stamped, and sealed. After 54 back and forth emails with Abby, our invites were finally sent for printing in December and in hand when we returned from holidays (and ACL surgery recovery--silly ACL, why did you think this was a good time to tear?) in January. Yesterday, my close friend Katie and I sat down to address, stuff, stamp, and seal these babies. And who's penmanship is responsible for that beautifully addressed envelopes? That would be Katie. My handwriting peaked in 3rd grade.