Back To Green Molding

Posted on | October 28, 2010 | 10 Comments

I’m back to thinking about painting my molding green in then den. Yes, we have a few other tentative projects that may finally be taking shape (if you follow me on twitter) but talking about paint is way more fun.

The molding conversation has been going on for over a year now? I’m seriously not that indecisive but other things are holding me up from painting the room. I am waiting to get my chimneys, electric, and possibly the ceiling rehung before I paint. I’ve had a lot of time to think about colors and test out every green paint under the sun. I forget about the project for months and then I come back to it after seeing an amazing green room in a magazine or in a house in Marblehead.

Last weekend a friend and I stopped into the Marblehead Arts Association. The first floor gallery as this amazing molding painted a sage green. I’ve stared at this room a hundred times this past summer…seeing the room paired with stripped floors really seals the deal for me. I want to paint my molding green!

I don’t want to do my walls as white but a little creamier. My two favorite greens are Farrow & Balls’s Cooking Apple Green and Verte De Terre. Below snapshots of the gallery from my iphone and a shot of the room in question.

Category: paint colors

Tomato Party!

Posted on | October 22, 2010 | 11 Comments

The thing I’ll miss most about summer? Tomatoes! They never taste as sweet, juicy, and earthy as they do in August and September. Our first year in the house we grew our own tomatoes which kinda ended in a disaster because it was the year of the monsoon. This year I opted for our local farmer’s market which turned out to be way better. I was able to find a larger selection and I was cooking with tomatoes a lot earlier in the summer then when I grew them.

A few of our favorites we made this summer. Above a homemade pizza crust (I used Jim Lahey’s recipe) with homemade pesto and roasted heirloom tomatoes on top. I roasted the tomatoes in the oven with olive oil before adding to the pizza and baking. Freakin’ deliciousness. Beautiful for a get together with friends or a special weekend lunch. Heats up great the next day too!

I made three or four batches of homemade tomato sauce. I tried it chunky and smooth. For me the best technique was to first squeeze the tomatoes through a sieve catching all the seeds and then cooking down the skins with the tomatoes. Once the sauce was done I milled the sauce getting out all the chunks. I realize I could have just mill it once and saved myself a step. Usually I began each sauce thinking I wanted it to be chunky and then in the last fifteen I would switch to wanting it smooth. Neurotic yes.

We can still find tomatoes at our farmer’s market and I made one last batch of sauce yesterday afternoon. Every time Greg takes his first bite he freaks out with excitement. But how could you not? Homemade tomato sauce ranks right up there with swimming in the ocean on the first hot day of summer.

Katy’s version of homemade tomato sauce

1/2 cup vidala onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 carrot grated
1 celery chopped
about 8-10 lbs of tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
A bunch of fresh basil

First, I wash and chop the tomatoes in half. I then push each of the tomatoes through a wire sieve. I try to grab as many of the seeds I can but I spend a little time smooshing it though so I can get all the juice into bowl. Again, probably not necessary if you plan to mill the sauce afterwords. I throw all the ingredients into my big dutch oven (except for the basil) with some olive oil, turn the burner to low and cook it down for about 2-3 hours. The range is based on what kind of tomatoes you use. Plums have less water but the tomatoes I used above took a little longer because of their high water content. Once the sauce has cooked down I used a mill to get all the skins out. Add about a cup of fresh chopped basil if you like and serve.

Of course there are a million variations of this basic sauce recipe. Some people don’t add the carrot or celery. It all depends on what you like. Everyone has different tweaks and methods. This is just the way I made it based on advice from friends and grandmas.

Category: recipes

Planting Bulbs and Bareroot Perennials

Posted on | October 20, 2010 | 7 Comments

A lot of you have been asking about my garden. This year was tough because it was really hot on the east coast. Last year it was incredibly rainy. I’m having a hard time figuring out what works in both situations. In 2009 our rainy summer my plants got huge this year, with the severe high temperatures the plants chugged along many of them frying in August even when I watered them everyday.

I feel like I have a better understanding what does well in my area. Phlox and Echinacea (I planted Pink Poodle, White Swan, and Pink Double Delight this summer) seem to do beautifully in Marblehead. I put in Russian Sage (I found a smaller variety at my local nursery) after seeing so many beautiful examples around Marblehead and in Boston. As I plan for 2011 I choose more varieties of existing plants as well as added a few new Spring bulbs. I realized last Spring I hardly had anything blooming in early May—I have peonies but they haven’t bloomed yet. Below my shopping list from White Flower Farm. I got my plants about two weeks ago. I finished up with the tulip bulbs yesterday morning. Hopefully everything comes up next Spring, fingers crossed.

Phlox paniculata Bright Eyes (I have a white phlox that has done really well)
Phlox paniculata Laura
Bearded Iris Dykes Medal Collection (classic!)
Early Surprise Tulip Mix (For some early Spring color)
Allium Gladiator (Have two of these guys already added a few more to bloom all the way down my border)
Papaver orientale Helen Elizabeth (I have a poppy but it’s never bloomed, trying this version which I received as bareroot)

36029a Planting Bulbs and Bareroot Perennials

83230a Planting Bulbs and Bareroot Perennials

232708a Planting Bulbs and Bareroot Perennials

35591a Planting Bulbs and Bareroot Perennials

All flower photos courtesy of White Flower Farm

Category: flowers, garden

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