As you’ve probably figured out, my newest passion is gardening. I love the satisfaction of making a meal out of food I’ve grown myself. And nothing tastes better than a tomato, pea or cucumber right off the vine.

So how can you plant some veggies of your own?

You’ll need:

• 3′x3′ or larger piece of land
• Shovel
• Trowel
• Enough compost or fertilizer to cover the land at a 1″ thickness**
• Seeds of whatever you want to plant
• Gardening gloves (optional)

Remove any grass or weeds, then dig into the soil about 1′ deep to loosen it. Spread the compost/fertilizer evenly over the space and use the shovel to mix it with the soil.

Use the trowel to trace an even line across the plot, close to the edge. The depth will need to be between 1/4″ and 2″, depending on what you are planting. Plant the seeds as directed on the package, and loosely cover them with soil so that they are at the appropriate depth.

Edited to note: Make sure you water the area lightly right after planting!

Create and plant as many rows as you can fit in your space. You can use the spacing suggested on the seed package, but I’ve been experimenting with planting them closer. My research has told me that

If you are using a small space (and therefore don’t need to be able to walk between the rows in order to harvest), you can plant them at about half the distance called for on the package.

If you alternate a row of one plant (say, spinach) with a row of another (say, peas or beans), you can plant the rows even closer. Just make you check that the plants are compatible with each other…you don’t want them killing each other off!

Staggering the rows means you can put them closer together!

**Savvy Tip: Contact a local farm to see if they have any compost or fertilizer that you could take off their hands. That’s how we got our gardening compost for free!

I wish I could give more specifics, but it really depends on what you are planting. I can show you what I’ve done with some of mine, though, using my high-end, super-fancy Powerpoint pictures!

Plot 1:

• Green circles = peppers, staggered rows 8″ apart
• Green triangles = basil
• Red circles = tomatoes, staggered rows 1′ apart

Plot 2:

• Green circles = cucumbers, staggered rows 8″ apart, but I think this is too close
• Purple triangles = Thai basil, 6″ from cucumbers
• Green triangles = Genovese basil, 8″ from Thai basil
• Red diamond = cilantro
• Blue lines = spinach, rows 10″ apart, but I think they could be closer

Have you tried your hand at gardening? Do you have a ‘green thumb’ or ‘black thumb’?

Smart Food

Last week, I went blueberry picking for the first time. I decided to try a new farm, which ended up essentially being a retired couples’ backyard. They had a TON of blueberry bushes, though!

At first, I thought I needed to pick the darkest blueberries, like you see in the stores. But through some encouraged tasting, I found that the light blue/almost lavender berries were the sweetest and best-tasting blueberries I’ve ever had! Pink or green though = too early!

I came home with just over 7 pounds of blueberries for a mere $15 (!!), and set to work preserving most of them. Of course, I saved some for fresh eating!

I made up 2 1/2 pints of blueberry butter. Be warned, though the recipe says 6-12 hours in the crock pot, mine was going for almost 26 hours! Check the temperature periodically to make sure it isn’t getting into the DANGER ZONE** (40-140*F).

Smart Fitness

I wasn’t feeling the long bike ride this morning, so I decided to do a bunch of mini workouts!

• 2 mile bike ride
• 25 minutes of yoga
• 10 minutes of Pilates
• Upper body weights

To help with my knee problems, I decided to adopt a more precise training plan. For the next few weeks, I plan to take a long bike ride every other day, with short rides on the ‘off days.’ After that, I’ll move to 2-on/1-off and keep working my way up so that I can bike for all 7 days of our honeymoon! Hopefully this will help.

Smart Life

Okay, so I didn’t quite get all of my miles in last week, but I did get the rest of our planting done! Check back tomorrow for my tips on planting!

Don’t forget, tonight is the last evening to use the 10% off coupon for my Summer Tea Bundle! Just enter SavvyTea at checkout.

**From: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/poison.html

Smart Food

I was so excited to share my Masaman Curry recipe with you today! Unfortunately, it didn’t quite turn out. It still tasted okay, but it didn’t taste like Masaman Curry and I definitely wasn’t a fan! It also doesn’t photograph well, eh?

Smart Fitness

Yesterday, I got a flat 7.5 mile ride in. My knee started to hurt a tiny bit towards the end, but not too bad…progress!

During my ride, I had a nice elderly man yell at me from his car to get off the road. We had many, many people yell, swear, and honk at us on our ride to Albany on Sunday, even though Dan and I follow all traffic laws and stay in the shoulder or far side of the lane.

We pretty much let it roll off of us, even though it is frustrating, because we love cycling and know that it is good for us. And don’t get me wrong, we also had a lot of drivers who were courteous and gave us space when they could.

But, here are my pleas, to both drivers AND cyclists.

To Drivers:

• Legally, cyclists have as much right to be on the road as you do. There is no need for name-calling whenever you pass someone on a bike.
• Honking at a cyclist because you’re mad they are in the road is dangerous. You could startle them, causing them to swerve into your call or fall. Don’t do it!
• When you are passing a cyclist, give them some space. If there is a whole empty lane next to you, there is no need to cut it as close as possible. In fact, most states require drivers to give cyclists 3-4 feet clearance when passing.

To Cyclists:

• If you are going to ride on the road, you must follow all traffic laws. This means stopping at red lights, signaling your turns, etc. Don’t give other cyclists a bad name by assuming that because you aren’t in a car, you don’t have to follow the law.
• Wear a helmet!
• If you are riding early in the morning, at dusk, etc, use sufficient lighting on your bike so that you aren’t surprising any vehicles with your presence.
• Ride close to or in the shoulder on the right side (unless you’re getting ready to turn left!). If a car is passing you and you are in a group, ride single-file.
• Ride in the direction of traffic (ie: don’t ride the wrong way down a one-way street)

Smart Life

My weekly goals update. Changes are in green!

1.  Plant ‘cool season’ crops (kale, Swiss chard, etc): This was on the agenda for today, but the current rainstorms put that on hold. On the bright side, the Savvy Garden really needs this rain!

2. Bike 70 miles total (48 down already!) I had a 15-mile ride planned for today, but again, the heavy rain is putting that on hold. Hopefully I can get in all the miles tomorrow!

3. Finish our wedding thank you notes! Because it is raining, I will have time for these today!

4. Go blueberry picking and make preserves. Blueberry butter is taking a LONG time– post on Monday!

5. Write 2 freelance articles Because it is raining, I will have time for these today!

6. Weed garden.

7. Strength train 3x. (2 done!)

Do you have any other tips for/experiences with sharing the road with cyclists?

Smart Food

Yesterday, I went to the co-op to get ingredients for a Thai curry. Silly me, I forgot that the only local, grass-fed beef you can get there is frozen, and it wouldn’t be defrosted in time for dinner! So instead, I decided to try my hand at a frittata. The taste was spot-on, but it was a little thinner than I think a frittata should be. I’d make it again, but either in a smaller pan or with more eggs!

Zucchini Herb Frittata

1 T. canola oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 zucchini, diced

1 c. chopped fresh herbs of your choice (I used basil, sage, and cilantro)

5 eggs

1 T. milk

1/4 c. shredded cheddar (optional)

Whisk the eggs and milk in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

In a cast-iron pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and zucchini and saute until soft.

Add the herbs and stir for 1 minute. Pour the eggs into the pan. Cover and decrease the heat to low, letting it cook until the eggs have set, about 6-9 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the cheese, if desired. Slice and serve!

SAVVY TIP: When you add the eggs, pour them all around the edges of the pan. If you pour them directly into the middle, the thickness and cooking won’t be even!

Savvy Recipe Sightings!

Zucchini Banana Bread and here

Quinoa Balls

Smart Fitness

I got in a quick 4.5 mile ride around the neighborhood this morning. Nice, flat and fast–and no IT band pain!

Smart Life

After our long blog chat on Saturday, I am brimming with ideas of ways to improve Savvy Eats! Check out the new Savvy Spotting page, the updated Recipes page, and the new “Featured Recipe” section in the sidebar!

And as promised, my weekly goals update. Changes are in green!

1.  Plant ‘cool season’ crops (kale, Swiss chard, etc)

2. Bike 70 miles total (40.5 down already!)

3. Finish our wedding thank you notes! 75% done!

4. Go blueberry picking and make preserves. Went today…pictures tomorrow!

5. Write 2 freelance articles

6. Weed garden.

7. Strength train 3x. (1 done!)

What are your goals for this week?

Don’t forget to use your coupon for my Summer Tea Bundle while you still can! Enter SavvyTea at checkout for 10% off.

Smart Food

You all know I love my tea…why else would I write a week’s worth of posts about it?

Because I love tea, I worked with Cha Cha Tea to set up a bundle for my shop including a cute little teapot + 2 of my favorite teas.

Because I love you, I worked with Open Sky to get you a coupon for the bundle!

So, if you buy the Summer Tea Bundle between today and next Tuesday, you can get 10% off the package…that is almost down to the wholesale price! Simply enter SavvyTea to get your discount at checkout.

Smart Fitness

My IT band and knee have started to ache again, and I think I’ve finally pinpointed why: those pesky Ithaca hills! I pretty much jumped from riding on the trainer + a few flat outdoor rides in May directly to taking long bike rides that include big hills, and my IT band was not a fan of the big change…it was TOO MUCH, TOO FAST.

So this week, I plan to ride 2-6 miles on flat terrain every day that I am not doing a longer ride with Dan to build up my endurance, and really think/hope it will help. Wish me luck!

Smart Life

Last week, I made a list of my weekly goals. Unfortunately, I didn’t make nearly as much progress as I would have liked. So, let’s try this again, shall we?

This week, I WILL (for real this time!)

1.  Plant ‘cool season’ crops (kale, Swiss chard, etc)

2. Bike 70 miles total (36 down already!)

3. Finish our wedding thank you notes!

4. Go blueberry picking and make preserves.

5. Write 2 freelance articles

6. Weed garden. Finished this morning!

7. Strength train 3x. (1 done!)

I am really, really determined to get all of these things done. As motivation, I think the end of each post this week will update you on my progress. Hold me accountable, okay?

How do you keep yourself from doing ‘too much, too fast’?

Happy Monday, friends! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. This weekend was amazing, and here are all the little things that added up to make it so:

1. Staying with my blog buddy, Heather, for an entire weekend.

2. Getting in a 16.7 mile bike ride on Heather’s favorite trail on Saturday.

3. Meeting these fabulous ladies for a NY Eat. Drink. Blog. meetup: Courtney, Jen, Amy, Rebecca, Marcie, Lauren and Heather.

4. Enjoying a brunch made by all these bloggers.

5. Receiving super-positive feedback on my Savvy Scones.

6. Talking about blogging for four hours with the group, and another five hours with Heather later.

7. Playing Trivial Pursuit 90′s Edition with Heather and Dan while listening to some of our favorite musical groups (and winning at said game).

8. Riding my bike 36 miles round trip to see Albany with Dan.

It was so nice to get away for a weekend and see some friends!

What little things made your weekend great?

Call for Questions:

Next month, I’ll be attending the second annual Healthy Living Summit in Chicago. Not only that, but I’ll be sitting as a panelist for Anne’s session entitled “The Ups and Downs of Pressing Publish: Getting Real About the Blogging Community.” We will be focusing on the positive impacts blogs have had on your life, as well as overcoming blogging challenges. We hope you’ll join us!

We’d like to start the panel with some pre-submitted questions before opening it up to audience questions. If you have any questions regarding this topic, please send them to Anne at anne@fantasticfood.com!

Even if you aren’t attending, we’d love to hear your questions! Hopefully the panel will be live streamed, and at the very least, I will be posting a recap after the session.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Smart Food

We had a HUGE influx of zucchini from the garden last week. For some reason, zucchini production seems to have slowed down to a near-halt since then… boo! I need to do some research on why that is/how to fix it…any ideas?

Anyways, there are only so many times I can eat zucchini bread and sauteed zucchini. So I decided to do something a little different last night!

However, I was also craving my Thai Peanut Stir Fry. So I made a sauce very similar to the stir fry to use on the zucchini, combining the best of both worlds.

This wasn’t my absolute favorite dish. I think this sauce does better when it isn’t cooked. But I would definitely make the filling and sauce as described, and just stir-fry the zucchini to add instead!

I only had 3 zucchini, so I served them on a bed of some of the remaining filling!

Peanut-Stuffed Zucchini

4 zucchini

2 c millet

4 c water

2/3 c chopped fresh basil

1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

2 c peanuts

3/4 c. soy sauce

2 T lemon juice

3 T honey

Preheat the oven to 400 *F. Over medium-high heat, cook the millet, basil and cilantro in the water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the water has been absorbed.

In the meantime, prep the zucchinis and make the squash!

To prep the zucchini: Cut off the ends of the squash and cut them in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out about 3/4 of the insides. Lay them zucchini cut-side up in an 8×10 pan lined with foil. Add the innards to the millet mixture.

To make the sauce: Grind the peanuts in a food processor. Add in the soy sauce, lemon juice and honey and whir in processor until well mixed.

When the millet is done, it is time to assemble everything! Spoon the millet mixture into the scooped out zucchini, mounding slightly. Pour the sauce over the zucchini. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 400 *F, or until the sauce gets bubbly.

Smart Fitness

I have a very fun weekend ahead of me. Tonight, we are headed to Heather’s for a Saturday blogger brunch. While we’re away, we’ll be exploring some more of New York by bike! We have 15 miles planned for Saturday near Heather’s, and 30-40 miles planned for Sunday somewhere on the way back. We’ll see where we end up!

Smart Life

I decided to choose two winners for my Savvy Scones giveaway! They are comment #5… Kristen and #12… Amy!

Kristen and Amy, send me your address and flavor of your choice! I’ve been making Cinnamon Anise, Coconut Chai, Butter Pecan, and Orange Currant, but could make another flavor of your suggestion as well!

What are your plans for the weekend?

I woke up this morning to find this in my Inbox:

Earlier this week, Angela posted about her weekly goals. I decided to join in the fun with some goals of my own! This week, I will:

1. Replant the spinach in our garden

2. Plant ‘cool season’ crops (kale, Swiss chard, etc)

3. Foam roll 2x/day so I don’t get any overuse injuries

4. Bike 80 miles total (39 down already!)

5. Finish our wedding thank you notes!

Why is #1 on the list? Well, before you think everything in the Savvy Garden is fun and games, allow me to show you this:

Those flower buds you see there? That would be my spinach “bolting” because of last week’s heat wave. Once it goes to flower like that, the plant puts all of its energy into growing flowers, instead of delicious spinach leaves. Yesterday, I tore up all of the plants (after picking all the edible leaves, of course!), and planted new spinach and radish seeds.

Unfortunately, the oregano hasn’t fared so well either…

On the bright side, some very happy things are happening in the garden as well!

We will have many Cherry and Sungold tomatoes soon…I ate my first one yesterday, and it was fantastic!

We should have peas in a few weeks…

And we’re finally seeing some watermelon growth! This one has practically doubled in size since I took this picture on Monday!

Hopefully, Dan and I will finish prepping the space for the cool season crops tonight so I can plant after tomorrow’s bike ride. If I foam roll and write a few more thank you notes today, I’ll be well on my way to completing all my weekly goals!

Do you set daily, weekly, monthly, etc goals? What are your current goals?

Smart Food

The zucchini and cucumbers in my garden are coming up like weeds! And I mean that in the best way possible.

I can only eat so much roasted zucchini, so I decided to turn some into Zucchini Banana Bread yesterday. So moist and delicious! I used 1/2 c. sugar, and while I loved it, it may be too sweet for some. Reduce the amount to 1/4 or 1/3 c as desired!

Zucchini Banana Bread

1 3/4 c. shredded zucchini (3 small zucchinis)

2 medium, ripe bananas

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. allspice

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grate the zucchini. When they get too small to grate without scraping your hands, cut into small chunks and include in the mix!

In a stand mixer, blend all ingredients.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool and slice.

Smart Fitness

It finally cooled down outside, so we spent a lot of time in the sunshine this weekend.

On Saturday, we rode our bikes to run errands (for a total of 8 miles), then explored Buttermilk Falls. The falls are so gorgeous, and consist of 5 little falls joining together into one big one. We hiked 3/4 of a mile to the top so that we could see all of the little waterfalls, and had a lot of fun taking pictures!

I loved getting in some physical activity without doing a “traditional” workout! I call it our day of ‘non-workouts.’

On Sunday, we embarked on my longest ride yet for the year. We drove over to Owasco Lake, and biked all the way around it, for a total of 39.3 miles! Some of the roads were in rough shape, but the lake views totally made up for it.

Smart Life

How do you fit in physical activity in the form of ‘non-workouts’?