Christmas Holiday Potluck and Recipe Ideas

My Neighbors' Rosehips

Suggestions by Robin

Here in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice arrives this Saturday. Christmas will be here in a week, followed by the last week of the year and New Year’s. It’s a magical time of year, when days are short and hearts are bright. It’s a time to share food and fun with friends and family, a time when charity towards others is easy—ideally speaking. But what if we’re stressed, overwhelmed, and can’t balance our obligations? What if we’re estranged from our families? And OMG, what if we’re working retail? How can we best enjoy the holiday season as it builds inexorably to its conclusion?

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Mini Winter Squash from my Garden

Giving Thanks and Menu Ideas

Regardless of how you feel about the upcoming holidays, giving thanks can inspire you to be happier. If you’re eagerly anticipating spending time with loved ones indulging in holiday rituals, appreciating this makes you feel even more blessed. If you’re feeling stressed about getting things done and how guests will get along, taking some time to appreciate the good aspects of your life and your to-do list will help you feel more relaxed and level-headed. In fact, you just might decide to trim down those obligations—or your guest list. Get a jump on Thanksgiving by giving some thanks now.

October Veggies and Recipes

Look for Blessings & You'll Find Them

Warm Days, Cool Nights

October is the quintessential transitional month as temperatures fluctuate from balmy to chilly. The beauty of a warm sunny day is all the more precious as we contemplate the imminent dark and cold. Let us take time for revelry, both in the garden and in the kitchen. Enjoy the last of the tomatoes, peppers, and beans, while welcoming wintry squashes and pumpkins. Try a different assortment of apples or pears from the Farmers’ Market. Take advantage of cooler weather to set small chard and kale plants out below the fading zucchini leaves. Check out the glorious October sunsets.

September Veggies and Recipes

September Dogwood

Change is in the Air

The golden light of a September day is a delight to all, especially gardeners. As we approach the equinox, we see both the culmination of our summer harvest and the approaching winter. There is plenty to appreciate, plenty to harvest, plenty to preserve. It’s an ideal time to freeze, can, and dry the bounty from farm and garden. Tomatoes can be dried, cut in half and frozen, or made into tomato sauce and frozen. I’ll be posting this month about my first adventures in tomato canning. A little effort now will perk up meals during darker days.

August Veggies and Recipes

Welcome Visitor on Naturalized Mint

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

August is a time of plentiful harvests. Time spent watering, fertilizing, and weeding in the garden is paying off bigtime. Just keeping up with the harvest, especially if you’re growing zucchini, can be challenging. Here in the Santa Cruz mountains, the garden wants even more water, nourishment, and attention to continue producing during hot, dry days. And yet, August’s hot weather beckons us to relaxation, vacation, and breaks from our usual work routines. Some of us think of when we were youngsters, spending blissful unstructured summer days swimming, biking, and playing with friends, or reading a book under a tree.

July Menus and Recipes

In Neighbor's Yard

“Hot July Brings Cooling Showers, Apricots & Gillyflowers”*

I must admit that I’m a stress-eater. I started this pattern during the frequent rocky times in my early adolescence, and continued it through most of my life. The pattern resurged most recently during my downsizing by management and my consequent departure from my day job, as I labored over the choice between reliable income and taking care of myself. Scientists have shown that eating carbohydrates stimulates serotonin production in the brain, which reduces depression, normalizes sleep patterns, and generally makes one feel better. I’ve never met a carb I didn’t like (either starch or sugar), and during the recent past have relied heavily on them at the expense of eating more healthful, fiber-filled foods (although oddly enough I also consumed a lot of kale, which I also craved!) And yes, I did gain weight, and so did my husband. He never spies a carb he doesn’t like, especially if his wife is eating it. This month, we’ve agreed to plan menus with lighter, more veggie-oriented foods. With our garden and CSA both providing fruit and veggie bounty, this decision is “seasonally correct.”

June Veggies & Recipes

Roses Going Crazy

June is Bustin’ Out All Over

As Oscar Hammerstein II hints, June can be a very intense month. Weddings, graduations, Father’sDay…plus the mad race most gardeners with day jobs are running to get plants in and watered. End of fiscal year means wrap-up of finances for some businesses, and some people, like myself, are being downsized as a result. Some years it seems like the additional daylight makes everyone and everything crazier, maybe I’m just projecting? In any case, I’m giving myself as much of a break as I can with my menus. Here are some tips for simplifying menus during stressful times:

May Veggies and Recipes

Old English Rose in our Garden

May Flowers Despite Few Showers

May is skipping by, and I’ve not yet posted May’s in-season veggies and favorite recipes. I blame both the balmy weather and the intensive gardening projects that seem happen every May. This year has been particularly hot and dry, perfect for planting tomatoes, peppers, and sunflowers. Longer days make it easier to find time to garden, and easier to become overly ambitious in the number of plants to be added to the garden. With weather so beautiful, though, I’m probably not the only one who’s choosing to putter in the yard rather than plan in the kitchen.

April Veggies and Recipes

April Dogwood in my Yard

New Year in the Garden

As I said last year, April is one of my favorite months. Flowers burst into bloom in such rapid succession that we lose track of those whose blooms have faded. My husband built a cold frame for our garden last week, and tiny lettuces, beans, squash, and herbs are up already. We just received the first produce box of the year from our CSA, Live Earth Farm. Despite all of the springtime growth activity, our local veggie and fruit choices are still somewhat limited. Yet we’re assured, as days grow longer, of more variety and more food bounty soon. In the meantime, Santa Cruz locavores can check out Santa Cruz Local Foods.

March Veggies and Recipes

Harbingers of Spring

Winter into Spring

As we count down the final weeks of winter, days are longer and warmer but nights can be plenty cold. Or not. Typically we can expect all kinds of weather this month: from warm to cold, from wet to dry, and with plenty of wind from all directions. Chinese medicine practitioners warn that such rapid changes and strong winds can compromise our immune systems. Eating healthful foods, especially warm and moist foods, drinking liquids, and keeping our throats and feet warm can help--think scarves and socks. Spring tonics might be in order, in the form of antioxidant veggies or herbal supplements.  St. Paddy’s day is our last winter holiday this year. Spring arrives on March 20, followed by Passover and Easter. It’s time to plan the garden and sow early seeds in anticipation of the rich harvest of fruits and veggies we’ll have later in the year.

February Veggies and Recipes

Winter Wonder

Midwinter and Time for Love

We passed mid-winter on Candlemas (AKA Groundhog Day) February 2, and days in the northern hemisphere are getting noticeably longer. Though there’s still time for some quiet wintery introspection, there’s no shortage of celebrations this month. Lunar (Chinese) New Year this Sunday, February 10 is followed by Mardi Gras on the 12^th and Valentine’s Day on the 14^th. And then (in the US) comes Presidents’ Day on 18^th. And of course (again in the US) there was the Superbowl last weekend. Are these many February party-ops coincidental? Or are they the result of a collective cabin fever that everyone experiences at this time of year, inspiring us to get active, connect with others, and get a little crazy before we go a little crazy?

January Veggies and Recipes

Garden Winter Savory

Frosty Dream Time

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re in that dark, cold time of year. Today is the Epiphany, the official end of the Christmas season, when the wise men finally arrived in Bethlehem. We’ve baked and prepared our feasts, eaten our treats, given and received our gifts, celebrated the New Year, and made our list of goals for 2013 (or not). What now? May I boldly suggest some rest? (A vastly underrated commodity in the US.) It seems likely that the wise men spent some time hanging out with Jesus and deeply contemplating his birth, rather than rushing off to their next destination. Let’s take some time this month to contemplate our own lives and how we want our 2013 to be. If we give ourselves some time to imagine ourselves where we want to be, it just might be easier to get there.

December Veggies and Recipes

Wintery Sunset

Darkest Days then Returning Light

Every year at this time I am amazed by the shortness of the days and the position of the sun in the sky. As I write, the sun is so low that I see its disk reflected in my laptop screen from the window behind me. Shortly it will be behind the trees, and then behind the hill to the west. In the deep velvety darkness of December’s nights, it seems natural to look for the light. Sharing festive dinners with friends and family, complimenting neighbors on their cheery lights and decorations, taking the time to connect with a loved one who you don’t often see, giving food and toys to those in need, attending community gatherings: these are the most precious holiday gifts, the ones that sustain our inner light. Let’s remember to take the time to enjoy and appreciate one another during this busy month, and share a little seasonal food and drink with each other.

November Veggies and Recipes

First Golden Plums, Now Scarlet Leaves

Last Harvests and Giving Thanks

It’s true that the dark time of year is upon us. Daylight hours are shrinking and in the US (except for a few states) we’re already into “Daylight Wasting” time. We’re past mid-fall and into the final day-shrink. Nights are cool and weather can be stormy. And yet, when the sun shines it’s warm in the garden. The soil warms up, unlike its perpetually chilly winter condition. Tomatoes are still ripening, even optimistically producing new flowers…though prudent gardeners remove these so plants will concentrate their energies on ripening already-set fruits. Peppers and zucchini still show up at the farmers’ market. Leaves still cling to our dogwood and plum trees, blazing in yellow, burnt orange, and burgundy. The apple tree leaves are still green. Does it seem “unseasonably” warm to anyone else?

October Veggies and Recipes

Autumn Rose

Golden Light, Bright Leaves, and Bountiful Harvest

October is a beautiful month, no matter where you go in the US.  The weather can be balmy or crisp, but seldom excruciatingly cold or hot (except in Hawaii if the trade winds die). It’s the perfect time to travel, even if it’s just for day trips around your home county. The month often starts out with a short heat wave, like yesterday when it was 97 degrees in Santa Cruz county. And even more often there’s a cold snap towards the end of the month, where all of a sudden windows need to be closed at night and quilts and coats make their annual reappearance. If you look around, you can catch a bit of fall color no matter where you are, as deciduous trees and garden plants change their hues in preparation for winter. Marigolds, chrysanthemums, and pumpkins brighten doorsteps in a final blaze of glory before the snow (or rain) flies.

September Veggies and Recipes

Dahlia in Calendula Patch

Last Precious Days of Summer, then Fall

Golden days of September have arrived, and with them the bountiful harvests of late summer and early fall. During this transitional time we have a unique chance to mix summer and fall veggies and fruits together in our menus. Combinations such as plums with pears, apples with blueberries, and tomatoes with winter squash and corn are possible during this brief time. Indulge your creativity and invent a mixed fruit crumble or a summer/fall stew!

August Veggies and Recipes

Bees Spending the Night Away from the Hive

Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy

Golden days of August are perfect for vacation, whether it’s two weeks away from home or a few hours in the backyard hammock. First harvest has passed, and many more fruits and veggies are ripening for our enjoyment this month. In the midst of this abundance, sunlight takes on a new slant by month’s end, foreshadowing the approach of darker days in the seasonal cycle. Like our ancestors, we might consider preserving August’s bounty for both economic and culinary reasons, while eating all that we like of our summer favorites.

July Veggies and Recipes

Bee Friend Helping Make Poppyseed

'Tis Now the Youth of Your Summer

In living and eating by the seasons we appreciate the wealth and gifts of every month, but there’s no denying that July is extra-abundant in the northern hemisphere. Long days with plenty of sunlight inspire us to be outside more, and warm temperatures encourage relaxation and enjoyment of outdoor meals with friends and family. The bounty of fruits and vegetables in our gardens and on local farms make it easy to eat local foods, create new recipes, and share food with others. 

June Veggies and Recipes

Birthday Gift to Self: Front Step Guest-Greeter

Calling All June Dragons

Although I enjoy every month for its unique gifts, if I had to choose a favorite it would be June. Longer days and warm weather boost growth in the garden. My birthday and the summer solstice are causes for celebration. School time ends and summer begins, heralding the season of vacations and staycations. The very short cherry season comes and goes, and raspberries and apricots ripen. In the northern hemisphere flowers are everywhere, both on the central CA coast and in places where winters are harsher.

May Veggies and Recipes

May Dogwood

A May-ing We Will Go

We’ve just passed Beltane, marking mid-spring, on May 1. It’s a time for flowers and frolic. Sunny, warm days and not-too-cool nights are perfect for planting veggies and flowers here in Santa Cruz county.  Local gardeners can pick up organic plants this weekend while supporting one of the world’s only organic farmer training programs. UCSC’s Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Foods Systems, formerly known as the Farm and Garden project, is hosting its annual plant sale starting at 10 am May 4 - 5. It’s a great place to find roses, sages, annuals, and all sorts of veggies and herbs while supporting organic farming education. I’ll see you there Saturday!