Farm Share Friday & Roasted Kohlrabi Recipe

Hi friends! We are in the midst of an intense heat wave here in Iowa, which gives me time to catch up on all the things indoors!

With no share box the week of July 4th, and a busier than normal last week, I am finally able to update you on produce we received and recipes we love! Part of the fun of participating in a farm share or CSA program is experiencing produce that you might otherwise not purchase, example: Kohlrabi.

Prior to this past week, I had never bought, cooked with, or eaten kohlrabi, but I was determined to find a use for it. With some simple searching online, I found an easy roasted kohlrabi recipe that turned out amazing (and approved by the 1 year old!).

It turns out that kohlrabi tastes like a cross between a potato and an artichoke. This simple recipe calls for roasting with some salt/pepper/olive oil and topping with Parmesan cheese, ta-da! Instant side dish or snack! Here is what mine looked like.

Click here to see the recipe I used

Now for next week, I have quite the variety to work with and I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures of all the color! Here are a few pictures of what arrived fresh this week.

Fresh sage drying in the kitchen!

I am glad the larger vegetables are starting to be in season, but I do need to get creative with all of these zucchini! I pinned a few different dishes/casseroles that call for zucchini and corn, so I might have to track down some sweet corn and see what I can come up with to share with you next week.

That’s all I have for today, and if you are local to Iowa make sure to stay safe during this intense heat wave! I will see you all soon!

Collaboration with Glyn-Mawr Winery

Today is the day! I can finally reveal my latest project, and I am so very excited!

Recently, I had a local business reach out and request some of my personalized book sets for their winery and tasting room that has a small merchandise area stocked with items from nearby artisans. Prior to this meeting I had never been to Glyn-Mawr Winery or their tasting room/storefront ‘the local’, but I quickly fell in love with their farmhouse and country style decor (and might have picked up something for my laundry room remodel). I snapped a few quick photos, and you will see what I’m talking about!

Here are a couple examples of the book sets I made for their shop…

The entire town has a 4th of July antique festival, full of vendors and food trucks and the like, and if you are local to eastern Iowa it’s definitely worth the drive. Weather permitting, I will be there myself tomorrow, so feel free to stop by and say hello!

Thank you for stopping by the blog today, and have a safe 4th of July!

DIY - Bug Repellent Mason Jar Lanterns

Hi friends! Today I have a really easy DIY for the outdoors! Gnats and mosquitoes can really put a damper on outside activities, and bug spray works great for an individual person but I wanted to find a solution for a larger area such as driveway/garage.

I did a bit of research and trial and error, and the results are these cute little mason jar lanterns. They are super easy to make, and extremely budget friendly. I have tested them out myself and can personally say they do actually work, and last quite a long time.

Step by step instructions are below, or feel free to click on any picture to pin this post for later!

First, gather your materials!

You will need:

-A mason jar of any size, complete with lid

-Rope wick

-Liquid bug repellent

I grabbed a few different jars that I had laying around, and then went to Target for the rest of the materials. They are currently having a decent sale on their patio/outdoor items so I was able to pick up the rope wick (came in a package of two) and the liquid bug repellent for under $10 total. I chose the ‘clean burn’ version of the liquid repellent, which has less smoke/flame but maintains the same effectiveness of the standard version. You could use any bug repellent/torch fuel that is designed to be burned in this manner.

Next, its time for assembly!

I had Adam use a drill bit to puncture a hole in the mason jar lid, and fed the rope wick through the opening. You could probably use a hole punch too, but I just didn’t have one on hand. Then I filled the jar about 1/4 of the way and trimmed the wick so it was just a couple inches tall. It took a few minutes for the wick to soak up enough of the liquid to ignite, but once it did I snapped this picture…

I really like that there is no smoke/soot coming from this ‘clean burning’ torch fuel, as that was one of my biggest hesitations to ever investing in the traditional ‘tiki torches’.

Last step…Enjoy!

I made a few different lanterns with a few different sizes and colors of mason jars, and set them out on the front porch when we were out there the other night. Not only did they look cute, but they served a great purpose too!

Quick safety note, these jars do get warm after being lit for a long period of time, so be sure to let them cool before handling them. Also, I like to put them in a metal tray or on concrete (or anything non-flammable) just in case they were to be tipped over.

That’s all I have for you today! I hope you are enjoying those long summer evenings and if you are having a biting insect problem like we were, you might give these lanterns a whirl! As always, thanks for stopping by the blog today!

Farm Share Friday - Week 5

Hello friends!

It’s Friday and that means we have not only made it to the end of the week, but it’s also time for #farmsharefriday! Today’s post is going to be super quick since I don’t have any new recipes to share with you from last week’s box and I am on a time crunch this afternoon while writing this (can we say last minute?). Again, these posts are not sponsored and just my personal experiences and opinions with a local farm share program.

Alright, let’s get to it!

This week’s box contents:

1 doz eggs

2 heads of lettuce

1 bag of spinach

1 very large bunch of basil

Radishes

Beets

Now I consider myself a very non-picky eater and will try almost anything several times before determining I do or do not like it, however I can confidently say I am not a fan of beets. We did receive a few of them this week and luckily I have some coworkers that can take them off my hands.

Well speaking of work, I have to get ready and head there this evening. If you follow us on Instagram you occasionally see some story posts from my real job as a 911 dispatcher. I always thought that job title was mysterious so I try and share as much as I can about it to those curious.

See you soon friends!

Summer Front Porch Decor

Hello from Iowa, America’s heartland!

As we get ready to celebrate our country’s birthday in just a few short weeks, I thought I should dig out some patriotic decor and spruce up the front porch. Luckily, Target has metal stars in red, white, and blue in their dollar section currently and since I am there several days a week I was lucky enough to have an early pick and I was able to snag all three colors. These stars were the initial inspiration for my summer porch refresh, and the rest of it came together pretty quickly. I have a few photos pictured below that will hopefully bring you inspiration for your own outdoor decor.

This little lemonade setup was the first part of the porch that I decorated, and I mostly just grabbed things from my house that I thought could withstand the Iowa weather. The lemonade sign is recently from Hobby Lobby, which is having their final closeout prices on their spring items (there are some good deals!!).

Next, it was time to add the pop of patriotic colors…

If you remember from my spring porch setup, this old bi-fold door was used to hang pots of succulents and I kept it in place for the metal stars I found at the Target dollar section.

I kept the ‘hello’ sign, the black star, and the welcome mat from my Spring decor, and moved the water pump and wash tub to the right side of the door and added a few plants. Adam keeps saying that this is the year we will get a ‘real’ front door, and I’m holding him to it, so stay tuned for that!

Here are a few pictures of it all together!

I may add a few plants to the steps/walkway to the door, however I don’t want to make it too narrow either, so it will just depend on what I am able to find. Personally, I feel as though outdoor spaces can get a cluttered feeling rather easily, so I try to keep it as simple as possible for that reason.

Well I better get back at it, as always thank you for stopping by the blog today, it really means a lot to us! I hope you were able to find some inspiration for your own home, and feel free to share your own photos and connect with us either here or on Instagram. See you soon!

Farm Share Friday - Week 4

It’s time to see what we received in our weekly share box from our local farm!

These posts are not sponsored! Just a little insight from me on how these programs work.

Yay for Friday! We made it!

This week for #farmsharefriday I have a really great recipe for greens, one that the entire family enjoyed! I also have so much produce from the box this week that I couldn’t squeeze it all into one photo. As the weather continues to improve, I have a feeling our share boxes will continue to reflect that!

First up, this super easy collard greens recipe…1.5 year old approved! I love fast recipes with minimal prep time and this recipe was perfect!

https://cookieandkate.com/quick-collard-greens-recipe/

Next up, I have a photo of some of the contents from our share box this week! I left out of the photo the rest of the turnips, and opted to show you just one of each so the picture wasn’t too cluttered, you get the idea!

2 large heads of lettuce

1 bunch asparagus

1 dozen eggs

1 bunch collard greens

1 bunch each red and white turnips

1 bunch parsley

1 bunch green onions

I am excited to have more collard greens for dinner tonight! I will be back next week to share what we loved and the contents of our next box. Follow along on Instagram for all of our decor/renovation/building projects, there’s always something happening!

Thank you for stopping by the blog today!

Farm Share Friday - Week 3

It’s already that time of the week again, my favorite day (for many reasons)! We finally have the hot and humid Iowa weather that we are used to, and that means all sorts of goodies are popping up out of the ground, especially the herbs! We had a lot of leafy greens in our delivery last week, and I want to share a juicing recipe for anyone looking to add a little greenery to their diet. And don’t worry, my 1.5 yr old enjoyed it with me, so it can’t be that bad!

Green Juice

-2 green apples

-handful of each: kale, spinach, lettuce

-4 stalks celery

-1 Lemon (peel removed)

If you have never juiced anything before, read the directions for the machine you are using as they are all a bit different. I really like to juice vegetables because it’s easier than eating them and still provides all the health benefits! This recipe was perfect for all of the leafy greens we had in our share box last week.

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Ok, on to this week’s box contents!

-Fresh flowers for planting

-Blueberries

-Green Tomatoes

-Eggs

-Radishes

-Sage

-Two heads of lettuce

-Greens

I have never tried fried green tomatoes, and it looks like this week I might have to! I better run and finish my outdoor work before it storms again, you can definitely tell it’s spring time in the Midwest lately! As always, thank you for stopping by the blog today!

Farm Share Friday - Week 2

It’s time for #farmsharefriday!

(these posts are not sponsored, just me sharing my personal experience with my local CSA)

We had another wet week here in Iowa, but that didn’t seem to influence this week’s share box quantities! This week contained a nice mix of local items and produce, some that I would have probably not tried/purchased out on my own…which is part of the fun of it!

First, let’s recap recipes from last week that we tried and loved…

Lemon Asparagus Risotto: This recipe is really tasty, however takes a bit longer to cook than I was anticipating, but that seems to just be my unfamiliarity with cooking risotto.

Rhubarb Crisp: A fast and easy recipe, this one is sure to hit the spot!

Avocado/Egg/Radish Toast…1 year old approved!

If you follow along on Instagram, head over there for the un-boxing video on stories! Here are the contents of our share box from week 2:

-12 brown eggs

-2 heads of lettuce: green and red

-1 bunch kale

-1 bunch radishes

-1 bag cheese curds

-1 bag spinach

-2 lbs of rhubarb

-1 bunch of fresh honey sticks

-1 bunch fresh mint

I already know I am going to try juicing some of the kale and spinach, I just need to grab an apple at the store this week. Stay tuned for how that turns out! As far as the rest, I will be getting creative on google looking for recipes, and I might need a fresh mint mojito to help me search! Yum!

As always, thank you for stopping by the blog today! If you have any farm share questions feel free to submit them here or track me down on Instagram, I will try and answer them the best I can! See you soon!

Farm Share Friday - Week 1

Hello! It’s time for our first edition of #farmsharefriday that I introduced last week. This is a weekly look at what we received in our share box from our local CSA farm. Not sure what a farm share is or have questions about the risks and benefits of joining? Check out my last post here.

It has been a very wet and cold Spring here in Iowa, so I was very surprised when I opened my box of goodies this week and saw everything. I have a quick video up on Instagram stories if you want to check out the un-boxing, but here is a photo of everything that was included this week.

Week 1 Share Box Contents

-Eggs

-Rhubarb

-Green Onions

-Asparagus

-Radishes - two varieties

-Turnips

-Homemade Jam and Honey

These veggies not only smell like they are straight from the garden (you know what I’m talking about!) but some of them actually still have dirt on them….I mean, it doesn’t get much fresher than that!

I am not sure that I have ever eaten a turnip, but this week I will be trying a recipe for turnip crisp (and if it’s amazing I will share it next week). I am also looking forward to making some asparagus risotto and rhubarb crisp. I will be the first to admit I am not much of a cook, but I find that is mostly because I make the same few items over and over. This farm share program forces me to think outside the box and research recipes that will work with the food I have on hand. It might be a bit of a challenge, but I am up for it!

While we are at it, can we take a look at these eggs? I love all the color variety!

That is all I have for now, check back with us next Friday to see how we used this share box and what the contents are of our next one! Thanks for stopping by today!

Homemade Insect Repellent

Hello friends! It’s finally sunny and dry here in Iowa, which has been in a bit of a cold and wet weather system for a while now. Hopefully it will stay sunny so my plants and grass can dry out!

Today I am bringing you a homemade recipe for natural insect repellent, which is just as necessary as sunscreen during the warmer months! I often joke the mosquito should be the state bird of Iowa! But in all seriousness, the diseases that mosquitoes and ticks carry make me cringe at just the thought, especially with a very curious 1 year old that will not accept being indoors when the weather is nice. In addition, traditional bug spray often has harsh chemicals that I would prefer to keep off of my child and pets.

So, after a bit of research and some testing (because it has to actually work!) I found a bug spray recipe that I really like. Bonus is this recipe is super budget friendly and I already had everything on hand except for the $1 spray bottle.

I have been using this recipe for about a month now, and I regularly spray the covered porch area where my child plays (deck furniture/pillows/etc) prior to her being out there and so far I have not had any issues with pests. When the whole family is outside, I apply to myself and the dog, and usually just give a spritz to my child’s clothing and that seems to work well. Since it’s all natural I don’t mind if it was on her skin, but she normally has sunscreen on and I would prefer not to have a greasy mix of the two!

Well, nap time is almost over and that means it’s time to get ready to head back outside. Thanks for stopping by the blog today and feel free to pin this recipe for future use! Hopefully you can enjoy the sunshine wherever you are located!