Grilled Globe Artichokes
Did I miss July? Back off, August. I’m not ready for you to barge in and muscle your way onto my map.
Robin’s Nest, O’Leary Yard, Aspen 2015
This is silliness, of course. As entrepreneur Michael Altshuler often says, “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
Marinated Cucumbers with Mint
It’s not that I’m wondering where July has disappeared. I know where I went, who I saw and what I did. The reality is I thrive by being organized and scheduled and stumble over disarray and chaos. After a decade of caregiving, with each day a juggling act, anticipating the unknown, this summer I’ve finally settled into a more managed life. And, realizing long ago I can’t soar with the eagles, if I hoot with the owls, my days still end embarrassingly early. You can take the girl out of Iowa but you can’t take Iowa out of the girl. It works for me.
The feathers in this bluebird nest.indicate that a tree swallow tried to get the nest, Tree swallows add feathers to their nests. Bluebirds do not. In this case, I’m cheering for the bluebird.
This month I’ve also managed to make five exceptionally simple vegetarian recipes from River Cottage Veg cookbook. It’s time for July’s Cottage Cooking Club’s roundup of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s tasty dishes. CCC is my international online cooking group which is making its way through this well-considered book. The Club, led by The Kitchen Lioness, is ‘meant to be a project aimed at incorporating more vegetable dishes into our everyday cooking.’
Celery and Feta Bruschetta
As the icing on my vegetarian fare this week, I’m sharing more of Mother Nature’s bounty. Did you know scientists have identified over 9,000 species of birds with 498 of those hanging out in Colorado? Each flying friend has its own ingenious nest design cobbled together with what nature and the surrounding real estate offer. Step aside I. M Pei, Zaha Hadid and Renzo Piano, to share the spotlight with herons and robins and swifts.
Heron Rookery, Rock Bottom Ranch, Carbondale, 2015
Great Blue Heron on Nest, North Star Preserve, Aspen, 2015
Grilled Globe Artichokes. “So, honey, don’t be late for dinner tonight. We’re having the bud of a thistle.”
Try grilling your artichokes. Look for tightly packed, heavy to the touch, crispy green or purple leafed artichokes at your local market. I cut the stem to flat, pulled off the toughest outer leaves and trimmed the leaf tips. After steaming it in boiling salted water with an added dash of lemon for 30 to 45 minutes, slice lengthwise and brush with olive oil. . Throw each half on a hot grill for two to four minutes. Serve with melted butter, a creamy balsamic vinaigrette (my choice) or a sauce of your choosing. Yum.
Summer Stir-Fry with Rice
Marinated Cucumbers with Mint are a refreshing take on this versatile vegetable. Peel, halve, and scoop out the seeds of one cucumber. Slice thickly into half moons and toss into a bowl with cider vinegar, olive or canola oil, and finely chopped mint. Season with sugar, salt and pepper and let it rest for 30 minutes on your kitchen counter. For me, this was a salad one day and played a role in a vegetarian sandwich the next.
This nest survived an Aspen winter and lived to tell the story in Spring, 2015.
Summer Stir-fry with Fried Rice. Join the Green Team. This stir-fry is all about zucchinis, green onions, arugula (or, your choice of a leafy green), snow peas and defrosted petite peas. Here’s the recipe. I served this with plain steamed rice but fried rice or a nest of softened instant noodles will work also.
If you look carefully you will spot the slender, long and striped tail of Mama Cooper’s Hawk. 2015
Call me crazy but I actually enjoyed Celery & Feta Cheese Bruschetta. If you’re all about Tomato/Basil Bruschetta (guilty), let’s move on. Pity celery, always in the chorus line but never the star of the show. After toasting the bread, immediately rub with garlic and add a dash of olive oil. Top the bruschetta with thinly sliced celery before scattering cheese over it and seasoning with salt,pepper and a trickle of honey. Not a feta-lover? Try blue, goat, or Parmesan cheese.
The nest of possibly a Magpie or a furry friend
My daughter Melissa, was visiting me when I tried Green Beans, New Potatoes and Olives. She liked. I liked. Here’s the recipe for this simply constructed salad which we found extremely tasty.
A elusive and spectacular picture of a Black Swift nest built on a rocky cliff. Box Canyon, Ouray, Colorado, 2015. Stephen Chase Photo.
Hopefully I’ve feathered your nest with these five simple and healthy recipes which, to my mind. are worth crowing about.
Green Beans. New Potatoes and Olives
On a more serious vein, I’ve decided to share 23 words which have guided and (haunted) me the past five months. Damn those Chinese with their proverbs.
You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.
Although the songbird is sitting on its nest, I cannot say for sure…..perhaps a warbler.
Hey, August, bring it on…..
Because Bald Eagles usually return to the same safe nest, year after year, I am anxious to re-visit Dotsero to see if this nest (from last year) is still active. Dotsero, Colorado 2014
ALWAYS like it when you feature veggie recipes. Thanks, Mary1
Mary, simply amazing photos… when I grow up I want to take pictures like you. And good for you giving credit to Steve for the swallow nest…the Chief must have been on his case to take that picture.
Also love the quote about the hair nets (I mean nests)
How can you miss with such great veggie recipes and fabulous bird/nest photos and facts! Terrific job Mary – thanks for the easy transition into August (wow, glad I’m the pilot…but, I want to put on the brakes).
What a fun month you had in the kitchen Mary. All of these wonderful recipes you’ve made and the amazing pictures you taken are a good clue to what’s made your month fly by!
Love all the recipes (and photos)….beans in the garden so definitely trying that recipe next!
Wow..the nests and the dishes are soo beautiful! THANKS!!! Jan Sarpa
I love the way you have integrated two of your passions in this special blog!
Your writing and wording placement always amazes me – over the years, I have really admired your impressive creativity!
I always look forward to your photos too!
It’s nice to see my favorite owl back on line.
I miss you on Fridays!
XOXO
Wow – just wow!
All the recipes look great, but the bird photos are amazing! You know how much I love herons. And, of course, I sent you a photo of one as you were posting this! John & I will have to come visit you in Colorado sometime.
I thought of you when we saw the Sea Lions last night, too! xoxo
So how do I prevent the birds (blackbirds to be exact) from building a nest on my balcony? I was fine with it until the kids grew into teenagers and starting pooping on my chairs and table. I’m waiting until they move out at the end of the season, but I’d really prefer that they don’t come back again next year. Grumble grumble.
I told myself that if I ever walk into specialist shop (for imported vegs and fruits) at Hock Choon’s and find globe artichokes I will make the recipe, and I did not find any for the whole three weeks of July and then after a long weekend of holidays … kapow … on Monday evening I found them…(three pieces left going for RM19.50 each!) but quite sad looking things… leaves turning brown and felt very empty… so I skipped the idea. Hopefully will find nicer looking ones later.
Love that Double Happiness with Dragons plate you served the summer stir fried veggies in, I have never seen that design before; a lovely piece in deed. But I have not heard about the particular Chinese proverb you used… just something that went like …. blahblahblah – but remember not to make your home in that dark place…. blame it on old age!
We enjoyed the potato salad too; but the Mexican bean soup was all for me. Can’t wait for August selection to be announced!
Hi Mary, love that you added some nature pics to this post, very nice. I thought that the selections this month celebrated the veggies of summer. Your selections look wonderful.
Dear Mary, you certainly put together a very special blog post, combining those amazing pictures of those special birds and nests with your other passion, great food – that is a unique touch indeed! I might have mentioned before that my grand-father was not only a school teacher but also a passionate ornithologist and wrote many an article for the local newspaper – his most beloved bird was the stork, he was the official “nest counter” in his region. Most of the birds that
you have featured, we do not see around here – so all the more to look at.
The vegetable dishes that you prepared look fabulous – I am quite envious of those wonderful artichokes (the one dish I skipped), I would have loved to taste them. And how nice that Melissa also enjoyed the Green Beans, new Potatoes and Olives – a great, typical River Cottage recipe.
You are passionate about your food and mother nature and you combined those two topics in the most delightful of ways – thanks for a lovely post and for your participation in our Cottage Cooking Club,
Andrea
Love, love, love all the photos, Mary, but the bluebird eggs really struck me. That color is just not so typical in the summer, I guess, particularly in my area of the world. We did make a lot of the same recipes and they were so good, weren’t they! Between the way you and Andrea described the bruschetta, I’m going to have to tackle that recipe. And, yes, celery is one of those veggies that is relegated to stock/soup flavoring or is an “ants on a log” kiddo snack. 🙂 I also loved all the quotes in your blog post. The one about the birds building nests in the hair is funny, evocative, and jolting in the best way (as those proverbs should be, I suppose). Enjoy your August–summer isn’t over yet, though I agree it always seems to fly by so I guess that means we’re having fun…right?!? HA!
So many beautiful photos! I want to get back to cooking along with CCC soon. Hope your summer is full of joy as well as activity! 🙂
Gorgeous photos of both food and nature alike! We made some of the same recipes this month but I’m most impressed with the ones I didn’t try. Your artichoke looks stunning and sounds delicious served with the balsamic dressing and who would have thought the celery bruschetta would be such a hit (with both you and Andrea). I’ll definitely give that one a try. Until next month……
Hi Mary, so good to see you and another enjoyable post with equally interesting touches of food, nature, and introspection. Your artichokes look so sensational with that photo I could eat them off the page! This delicious specialty is only available for around two weeks a year in these parts, mid-spring, and even then, you have to hope you land them fresh and close to delivery, but I would have loved to prepare them. Hope you enjoyed my little nature photos this month as I mostly placed them there with you in mind… although I wasn’t able to photograph the most amazing sight of all… a blue heron not more than 3-4 feet away that spanned its wings and flew right over my driveway! My grandson, me, and the development landscapers were all frozen, completely mesmerized in the moment, it was also a bit startling in the proximity. What a sight! I thought of you immediately afterward. Love the blue eggs and many of the fascinating shots you capture of the great outdoors. I’m happy to have a partner in crime on the celery and blue cheese bruschetta which really was unexpectedly quite good though I had to laugh at your comment on my serving it to guests- they went over quite well. July just flew by and I cannot imagine it is already August, so much yet to see and do in these final weeks of summer, including keeping up with the garden bursting forth with all sorts of vegetables, and, countless tomatoes. See you soon. Big Hugs out there to you.
Nice picks! As a matter of fact, I have lots of green beans, so I picked up potatoes this afternoon to make the green bean, potatoes, and olives. I didn’t get around to that one, but it looks oh-so-good! I love how your interwove the bird photos with your CCC recipe pix. Your communing with nature (and birds) is enviable. Hope you had a grand time with the Bergs! Miss our Friday “visits”.
Love the photos, Mary, especially the wildlife photos. The artichokes look amazing!