the weather has been beautiful lately as we transition into fall.  the windows are open and the air is nice and cool. now's the time to take advantage of the quiet, spend time outdoors, and savor the last bits of our last summer as just dog parents.

baby girl's room is so close to being ready for her.  i couldn't resist posting a few pics of her bed.  her room has such a chill vibe that we are loving, and i'll confess we have slept in there a few nights just for fun.

 we're also trying to get as much out of the summer veggies as possible before they stop producing.  a new, amazingly delicious recipe we've discovered is habanero carrot pepper jelly.  it's easy and so tasty with some cream cheese on a cracker.  the two of us have already eaten an entire jar!  it's just the habanero gold recipe out of the ball book, but with carrots substituted for the apricots.  so good.

 i've gotten a new pottery mug every september for three years now.  i'm thinking it's a good tradition to keep going, so here is this year's pick.

 great falls!  eric shows belle some kayakers.  look at that little butt roll!  god she's adorable.

 my man from the mountains is looking very mountain man lately.

 do anything and everything outside while you can.  that's our motto.  we met up with some friends for an outdoor artjamz painting session.  eric went with an aboriginal painting, while i did a zebra.  it was a lot of fun, and now we have two more paintings to store in our basement :)

 these two are heading to iceland soon (beyond jealous over here), so mark painted a volcano.  hope you guys get to see an eruption!

giardiniera: italian for gardener

somehow lately i've turned into a crazy garden lady.  every day after work i go out to pick ripened tomatoes, peppers, and carrots, and check on the progress of the other veggies.  i also pull weeds, trim off dead branches, and de-flower the basil (ha).

it's become a labor of love as everyday i learn more about normal growth, the proper ways to harvest, and how to manage garden insects (my answer so far is spiders - they're the best).  the ever growing stalks keep me creative as i continuously have to invent new ways to prop them up.

^^this is an onion flower.  did you know onions made flowers?!  it is so pretty that i left it when i harvested all of the others, and it's still blooming.^^

the onions were all ready at once a few weeks ago, but everything else is just starting to be ripe here and there.  on friday, when i came home, i found belle in the garden (i know chicken wire isn't that much of a deterrent, but it's kept them out so far) helping herself to anything and everything!  our biggest loss was the broccoli, which she had completely pulled out of the ground and devoured.  she also helped herself to a couple of tomatoes, but we have lots to spare, so not as big of a deal.

it seems that when she got to the peppers she would pull one off, realize it was hot, and continue on just pulling them off and dropping them.  we had jalapeños and anaheim peppers lying all over the garden bed.  i love to cook some spicy food, but what was i going to do with 14 peppers??

and then it came to me.  spicy pepper relish (aka giardiniera).  like the kind you get on your sandwiches at potbelly or snarfs.   i crave these spicy pepper mixes and would eat them on everything if i could.  and thanks to belle it was looking like there was a good chance i'd be able to do just that.  between the garden and our fridge we had hot peppers, bell peppers, carrots, and celery, so i picked up some green olives and cauliflower and we were set!

full confession, i have never canned or pickled anything before... and after chopping up all the veggies, i googled how to do so and got a bit of a surprise.  it is much more complicated than i imagined.  thankfully, canning has become more popular lately so there are many resources out there.  i mean, i bought a canner at bed, bath, and beyond, and had multiple options to choose from.  thank you, hipsters.

^^this is a canner with my jars in it.  i had no idea.^^

i will say, it was adorable that i was approached by two separate older ladies who asked if i needed any help or advice.  they said they were happy to see someone still out there doing it besides themselves.  i talked to each of them for about 20 minutes and even got one of their phone numbers.  never thought i'd have a contact called Joan the Canning Lady.

overall it went pretty well.  the peppers are very tasty and i didn't even have to call joan :)

i'm so happy we planted the garden.  when we started i was a little skeptical that anything would actually grow, especially from seed.  but it has!  so now i've bought seed for our winter vegetables and am ready to plant as soon as there is space.

here's a before of the garden.  it looks vastly different now that the tomatoes and corn are both taller than the fence.

i don't post a lot of recipes on here, but when we make something that is too delicious not to share i feel obligated.  this is about the easiest meal you can make.

one of my favorite things about my visit to morocco a few years ago (some pics after the recipe) were the tagines. a tagine is a pottery dish with a conical lid that is filled with food and then cooked over fire for hours.  the tagine pot can be glazed or unglazed and can also be painted, some even very intricately that are used for decoration.

you can put anything in a tagine but typically it is meat and veggies or fish and veggies.  every time i use the tagine i cook chicken and veggies because it's always too good to try something new. maybe next time :)

if you don't have a tagine pot, i would imagine any stoneware that is has a lid to seal in moisture would work.  i'm also curious about doing this in a crockpot.  you basically just throw everything in the pot and put it in the oven.  done.

moroccan chicken tagine:

• some chicken, bone in
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 potatoes, cut into squares
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 lemon, quartered
• a couple of saffron threads, if you have them
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon water

put everything except the water in a bowl and mix to cover with spices.  put the tablespoon of water into the tagine. place the veggies into the tagine and then layer the chicken on top.  i like to save a little bit of my spices to rub on the top of the chicken, but that is optional.  cover and bake at 200 or 250 degrees for a few hours.  try not to take the lid off until it's been cooking for quite a while.

**note: for me spices can be a very individual taste preference.  play with the proportions and ingredients to get the flavor you like.  i have done a million different combinations and even used spices from different regions of the world.  it's always good so i'm convinced the magic is in the pot.

delicious.  and with some mint tea to go with the meal (not pictured), i was transported to fez.  yum!

i've included a few pics of my trip below.  it's such a beautiful country, i can't wait to go back :)

 ^^some real tagine... mine will never taste as good.^^  and a guy making tagines and other moroccan pottery.

 a drum circle and a puppy makes for a very good night.

october is over, and this year was a particularly good one.  i had a two week furlough-vacation, people got creative for halloween costumes, we got lots of cute trick-or-treaters, and the month marked bella and my five year anniversary :)

somehow i missed posting our maryland waterfront oktoberfest celebrations during the actual month, but since it was das best oktoberfest, i decided better late than never.

first of all, the advertising was not false.  there were lots of boobs and there was lots of beer.  i myself am much more interested in the german food than the beer, and this festival did not disappoint.  between the food and the band, it felt like home :)  and did someone say funnel cakes?  oh my lord, yes.

Sharing this recipe by request.  We make it once a week in our house.  It's incredibly flavorful, moist, and healthy!  It's great with a greek salad, but really goes with anything and is delicious as a leftover. 

Turkey Meatloaf:

1 red onion, chopped small

4 garlic pieces, chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped small

2 lbs. ground turkey

1 large egg

2-3 pieces of bread, crumbled (grainy/nutty breads are good, they add texture/crunch to the loaf)

6 ounces of feta (we use low fat and you can't tell)

2 tablespoons dried dill

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Saute garlic, onion, and celery (in olive oil) until onions start to turn clear.  

In a bowl, mix together turkey, saute mixture (onion, garlic, celery), bread, and salt and pepper.  Then mix in the egg.  Last, mix in feta and dill.  

Once everything is well combined, transfer to a loaf pan.  The pyrex 8.5x4.5 dish is a perfect size.  Bake for about an hour or when internal temperatures are acceptable to you (I'm paranoid so I always cook ground meat until it reaches 170-180, and it still doesn't dry out).  Enjoy!

Tip: The juices will spill out a little, so I put the pan in a foil covered casserole to catch it for easy clean-up.