Life On The Central Coast

Hey everyone!  HAPPY FIRST WEEK OF SPRING! Are you meal planners or wondering each and every night what you will make your family for dinner? We try to meal plan because it saves us so much money! We shop only for those items we will be using in the upcoming week. We have cold cereal, oatmeal with yogurt, eggs and toast for most breakfasts. Our lunches are mostly the previous night's leftovers and we really try to use up everything during the week in some form. We have one Date Night per week, and we also allow ourselves one lunch out during the week. Here's how a typical week looks.  SUNDAY Beef Barley Soup With Homemade Sourdough Bread & Butter 1 1/2 lb Leftover Cooked Pot Roast  1 32 oz. Carton Beef Broth 1 Pkg. Au Jus Gravy mix 1 Pkg. Beef Gravy Mix 1 10 oz. Can or Jar of Mushroom Stems & Pieces (and the liquid) 1/2 Cup 10 min Barley from Trader Joes 1 tsp. Garlic Powder 1 tsp. Onion Powder  1 tbsp. Parsley Flakes 1/2 Tsp ...

Every culture has its pancake and this is the Norwegian version, a very light, crepe-like pancake that goes with just about anything. These "pancakes" are light and eggy and go with both sweet and savory fillings. When my chickens start up laying eggs in the Spring, we LOVE to make these pancakes, freezing the excess for another day. Yes, they freeze and thaw perfectly! Most people have the simple ingredients on their shelves and in their refrigerators SO LET'S GO! Original Recipe Can Be Found on the Outside Oslo Website   Here . Norska Pannekaken 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon Scandinavian vanilla sugar* 3 eggs 1 1/2 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan Mix all ingredients except butter in a medium-sized bowl using a whisk or fork until the batter is smooth and you have no lumps. Stir in butter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the batter rest. Meanwhile, warm a ...

This year we decided to grow Swiss Chard over the cold winter season in our area. (Zone 10a, The Central Coast of California) Temperatures in our area seldom drop below freezing but they have been in the mid 30's and low 40's. We've also had an above average rainy Winter after several years of drought. We direct sowed the chard seeds right before our first frost date, around the middle of December, knowing that as the weather progressed, they would be one of the first things up in the January / February garden. This year our greens progression started with arugula followed by our spinach and now the beautiful chard and kale. We are so lucky to live where gardening can happen nearly all year round.  This year we tried a Chard Variety called Bright Lights; beautiful yellows, reds and a beet colored pink. They are so beautiful in the garden with their celery type stalks and dark green tops. From its name, Swiss Chard, you would think it began its life in Switz...