TOMATOES TO TOPIARY

In 2009 I began my blogging career with a goal to paint one food illustration a day for an entire year. That adventure was coined THE LUNCH BOX PROJECT.  It was a thrilling joyride to create daily, learn about the ins and outs of food (since I'm not much of a cook), and become part of the welcoming food blogging community.

While I whipped up delectable dishes each night with my paint brush, I continued to work my "full-time job" at a university botanical garden as an educator, planner, and designer, then later teaching in the horticulture department. I loved both parts of my life and continued this parallel activity for four years. I even began another blog for a short time, TOPIARY & TIRAMISU, to help fulfill that need to talk about gardening.

In 2011, when I shifted to teaching landscape design full time in our university's horticulture department, I found the career of my dreams. I was now able to share my love of garden design with talented students everyday. This joy was so powerful that I wanted to start sharing my tips and tricks with gardeners outside the university too...but it was exhausting trying to keep up with both my former garden blog and my food blog. Someone suggested I combine both focuses into one blog, which worked for awhile, but my love of garden design took over.

So this week I finally made the decision to finish THE LUNCH BOX PROJECT (after all, it really is a project that has been successfully completed). I will continue to draw food as it relates to the garden (because my husband is a crazy vegetable gardener and I can't ignore that part of my life), but my new focus will mostly be garden design. Through all of this I am still an illustrator and that will never go away. I hope my illustration background and quirky way of looking at design will pop a breath of fresh air into our beautiful, manipulated, plant-filled outdoor spaces.

Thanks to those that have supported me through THE LUNCH BOX PROJECT and a big welcome to all my new readers that yearn for a new perspective on garden design.

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TOMATO AND BASIL

What a wonderful food pairing suggestion from my Facebook page (as well as the many others!).

LAMB AND MINT JELLY

Though I'm not a big fan of this pairing, it's my father-in-law's favorite. To be honest, I never heard of this interesting combination until I married into the Orgler clan.

Vinegar

My love of cucumbers encouraged an equal love of vinegar.  It is even more special in an array of flavors.

A Cup of Milk

We've been having a heated debate over milk at our house.  Our kids (and I) like it a lot so go through it quicker than my husband thinks we should.  Between cereal snacks, flavored straws, and just pairing it with traditional PB&J it gets sucked out of the carton lickety split.  My thought...why fight it?  Its good for you.  Our kids could be craving something much worse, but the cost of it makes my husband squirm.  Maybe we should place a cow out by the garden this year instead.

A Fancy Luncheon

I was invited to a lovely luncheon on Monday and just wooed over the sweetness of it.  We had three beautiful courses on the most dainty china.  Amazing tomato basil soup, scrumptious squash lasagna with fresh vegetables, plus a fabulously rich cake.  I'm still dreaming about it.  Thanks for the invitation Lois.

Fancy Popcorn

Popcorn can be casual or fancy...depending on how you serve it.

Cake is Sunshine

Happy birthday to my energetic little boy!

Broccoli!

The broccoli in our garden has mesmerized the neighborhood this year...even my picky 13-year-old son began a new love affair {you can read more about that here}.

Watermelon, Cantaloupe and Berry Fruit Salad

Another wonderful fruit dish...simple and fresh.  All the best summer fruit with my favorite...the addition of mint.  This dish was graciously shared by Rashmi at Yumkid.  Please take a peak at the entire recipe here.

Strawberry Sour Cream Pie

Over the next week I'll be sharing some fresh fruit and veggie recipes from my fellow foodies.  I'm not the best chef in the world, so I often enjoying tapping into other's talents.

The first is a wonderful dessert...strawberry sour cream pie.  It was lovingly created by the fearless leader of Camp Blogaway, Patti of Worth the Whisk.  Please click here for the whole recipe.  I know I need to whip up something with all the strawberries popping out of my garden.

Kale!

Being a gardener I've always used kale as a beautiful fall annual in the landscape. What a nice surprise to find out it's also a super healthy food...perfect for cooking and salads.

Dorothy from Cut 'n Clean Greens generously sent me some kale so I could try it myself.  I'm used to the thin leaves of lettuce, so was nicely surprised by the hardiness of kale.  Paired with the fabulous Cut 'n Clean dressings, kale makes a great side salad.  I have to admit, I like that it was already chopped up in a nice storage container.  I could take out a little each day as needed.  I tried several kales, plus had the bonus of a spinach and beet greens kit (yum-my).

Here are the kits I had the privilege of trying:
Organic Rainbow Kale Salad Kit
Rainbow Kale Salad Kit with Zesty Orange Vinaigrette (my favorite!)
Organic Rainbow Kale Salad Kit with Toasted Sesame Vinaigrette
Rainbow Kale Salad Kit with Avocado Tomatillo Dressing (a tasty kick!)
Spinach and Beet Greens Salad Kit with Bacon Spinach Dressing

Big thanks to Dorothy (from Shockingly Delicious) and Cut 'n Clean Greens for expanding my greens palate!

Oh, and I do have a print available also...visit my shop here.

Kitchen Knives

Another sponsor at Camp Blogaway was CUTCO Cutlery.  They were kind enough to give all registrants a chef's knife and cutting board, plus a wonderful cutting demonstration. I hate to admit, we have a very old and dull set of knives, so I was thrilled to get something shiny and new.  Because I have so much to learn, I created an illustration showing the top knives suggested for home chefs.  I want to thank Kathleen, from CUTCO, who kindly helped me with this task. Oh, and yes, I did make a print...check it out here.

Mangos!

As I've mentioned several times, I attended Camp Blogaway a couple of weeks ago. You would be amazed at all the great sponsors and goodies they shared with us.

One of those sponsors was the National Mango Board (NMB). Not only did we eat a lot of mangos that weekend, but they sent us more in the mail several days later. Melanie and McKinzey, from the NMB,  taught us how to use mangos at different stages of ripeness, how to cut them and shared the many available varieties.

Big thanks to the National Mango Board for sharing all the goodness! Oh, and I also made a print...just click here for a peak (I couldn't help myself).

Forever

Does it sometimes feel like forever?

Not My Cup of Tea

Sometimes I forget the popularity of coffee...not being a drinker myself.    I do admit to a little coffee flavoring in ice cream or chocolate here or there, but a cup of jo does not grace my mug each morning.  Someone did suggest I create a series of coffee images nonetheless.  Over the next few days I'll pour out some of these new illustrations paired with coffee quotes.  Enjoy. 

The Pear Owl

I had to stick my favorite fruit on top of this owl.

Parmesan Cheese

The real deal is called parmigiano reggiano.  A friend on Facebook mentioned that the rinds are marked with the name of the maker, an official cheese stamp and the date of inspection. Whoa!

Peas in a Pod

You know, I have nothing profound to say about peas...except that my kids really like them.

Personalized Kitchen Print

Okay, just pushing one more item, then back to regular illustrations.  I was excited to finally make my first personalized print, so had to share it!  You can find it here.