Review: Harvest Moon Cafe | Garden Herb Shop | Canal Winchester

Today I visited the Harvest Moon Cafe and Garden Herb Shop in downtown Canal Winchester. They serve dishes made with local ingredients, as well as local beers, among other things. I tried the chicken BBQ flat bread, and I was not disappointed. this thing had slices of apple on it! If you like savory and sweet combinations, I highly recommend it. I also had a fresh ginger ale with mint leaves and lime. delish.

after lunch, I headed over to the garden herb shop which is a tiny area connected to the cafe. they sell an array of loose teas, herbs, supplements, essential oils, and some rare foods you can't find at the grocery store (ghee!). I bought some loose tea:  a "wild strawberry" variety and another fruity variety called "Eternal Life". The gal at the shop was very friendly and helpful. the prices were also quite decent. most of their loose teas are $2-$3 per ounce. a couple ounces will probably last me a few months. I don't claim to know a lot about tea, but I definitely will be back to buy more! All in all a great experience.

Check out their website for more information:  hm-cafe.com

Hello!

I'll be taking this blog in a new direction.

In the past few years, I've really enjoyed visiting local farms in the Columbus, Ohio area. With the growing popularity of the organic/local food movement, the choices of what farms, and companies to patronize has become overwhelming. most importantly, I want to be sure that I what I am buying is produced by people who truly care about the product they make and are not making false claims about them. I like making informed choices.

I hope to do some reviews here: of farm markets, of u-pick farms, CSAs...and the food itself!

I also hope to document some of the fun things I am doing right in my backyard; which currently consist of gardening and getting ready to house some baby chicks next spring. All the while dragging my unwilling husband along for the ride. Please join me!

it's no secret...

...that I haven't really been doing vegan lately. I typically do vegetarian during the day and then eat what i want for dinner.

on a more serious note, I'm considering seeing a counselor for compulsive overeating/binge eating. I eat til I'm long past sick/full. I've seen it described as eating on auto-pilot or being in a frenzy. those are very true descriptions of how it feels. I'm not sure how to overcome it. my husband just keeps saying "stop eating". but it's not that easy. I need all the help I can get.

CSAs and farm markets

Joining a CSA is one of the best things you can to do help support local farmers. It's convenient (most will deliver to your door)  and exciting, because each week you'll get new fruits and veggies to experiment with. Leeks, anyone?

so what is a CSA?

at the beginning of the season, farmers will sell "shares" of their crops. usually there are a limited number of shares to be purchased. you pay for your share at the beginning of the season. Expect to pay a few hundred bucks. This ensures you will receive weekly deliveries of fresh fruits and veggies throughout the growing season. This is a great opportunity for people who may not be able to get out of the house or don't have time to visit the farm market every week.

Ohio is full of farmers participating in CSAs. for a list visit localharvest.org

Another option I recently discovered is greanBEANdelivery. It's similar to a CSA but you can pay weekly for your basket of produce (instead of paying hundreds at the beginning of the season) and you can even customize your basket.  You are not buying directly from the farmer. They source their products from farmers all over Ohio and often Indiana and Kentucky. You can add farm fresh milk, eggs, and even meats to your basket. Just be careful because they do sell mass produced products on their site. Take the time to read where the product is coming from before you assume it's been cultivated/processed by a local farmer.


greenbeandelivery.com

And another thing. rather off topic. when you visit your farm market, don't assume that everything sold there is:
A) organic
B) from ohio
C) grown by the person selling it to you
D) non-gmo (genetically modified)

Ask about where it comes from and how it's grown. You might be surprised by the answer.

Vegetarian Pizza

So I think I may need to rename this blog since lately I haven't been eating much of anything vegan. I do enjoy vegan pancakes/milkshakes for breakfast pretty often but lunch is a different story.

I have a love/hate relationship with pizza -- personally I don't like sausage or pepperoni. so right there is your vegetarian pizza, however, a plain cheese pizza just doesn't do it for me. I love Donato's Mariachi chicken pizza ( the key ingredients being chicken and jalapenos), mostly because of the sour cream packets they give you, and I'm pretty sure if you gave me anything with sour cream on top of it, I would eat it. But I digress.

so I tried my own vegetarian variation of the chicken mariachi pizza and it did not let me down. I used a whole wheat pita as my crust, topped it with sliced jalapeno peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, cheddar and mozzarella cheese... and dipped it in sour cream of course.

I also like to use feta and artichokes on my pita pizzas... very tasty!

How does your garden grow

Being home this spring has been such a wonderful gift. I literally wake up every morning, go out and look over my garden while the dogs do their thing, and pick out every single tiny weed I see ( did I mention I hate weeds?)

I haven't even picked any veggies from my garden yet and already it's been so gratifying. Actually that's a lie... I picked a few lettuce leaves for a measly salad last night, and harvested some stevia leaves to dry and use. (Blog post about that later)

 

 I found these raised beds at Sam's Club and they literally just snap together. easy peasy. What's been so rewarding through all of this is that I've done almost all of the work to install it. hubby may have helped a little.

 

and Jasmine provided comical relief. 

If you're curious about what was planted: 

heirloom tomatoes from seed: "bonny best" and "riesentraube"

"marketmore" cucumber from seed

zucchini

onion from sets

garlic

stevia

butter lettuce

herbs: italian oregano, basil, thyme, sage, cilantro

we are most certainly going to be eating some homemade salsa come August!

More Banana Inspiration

I just made the most delicious smoothie this morning:

banana
peanut butter
soymilk
old fashioned oats
honey
ice
yum.