Winter Salad

Winter Salad
With the last batch of beets from the garden, I roasted them with a bit of drizzled olive oil, salt & pepper.
3 large beets washed and quartered
4 cups of Spring greens, placed in a bowl
1 cup chopped Romaine lettuce
1 granny smith apple washed, peeled and chopped
5 radishes, washed and sliced
1/4 cup feta cheese

Dressing:
1/4 cup Olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup real maple syrup
add to a bowl or jar and mix

The beets will make the apples and feta a bright red and the luscious greens & red look like Christmas.
Enjoy!

No Kitchen! But lots of Yummy Galubki !

So, back in August we gutted half of our house.  I should say Steve and his cousin Daniel did.  They removed 3 walls added beams, bumped up the ceiling in the living room and we now have an open concept Living room, Dining room and kitchen.  Three long months with no kitchen, so the garden is on hold.  I have Swiss chard, much to Steve's dismay, and cabbage and just picked the last of the beets and that's it.  House3 takes priority and I'll start seedlings to go in the hoop house during my Christmas Break.
We are very tired of working but we make progress each night, like install of few can lights in the ceiling or get some painting done. New hard wood floors were installed two weeks ago.  I have to finish them, with a natural clear coat.  I want all the color variation to show.  The counter tops are the project for the rest of November.  The photo above shows the stone material, Turkish Quartz.  It has a sheen with iron colored spots.  It's fabulous!
Rather than sharing stories of the garden, for the winter I will share updates on the progress.  Hopefully we'll be done to reveal by New Years.  Even that will be pushing it.
So, with no kitchen, I am using a microwave in the basement, a sink in the laundry room (also in the basement) and an oven and crock pot in the garage!  I am about to have a nervous breakdown.
Right now, I am getting by with a lot of wine!

But, after picking some fabulous cabbage, and me, being a polish-descent,  lover of galubki (stuffed cabbage rolls) I decided to try the dish unrolled!
Unrolled Galubki
Enter one crock pot.
 Place 4 cups, ripe chopped tomatoes (had them fresh, still from my garden)
1 small head of green cabbage, coarsely chopped
2 cups veggie juice (I like Trader Joe's the best),
 2 cups beef broth,
 4 TBSP brown sugar,
1 TBSP Caraway seeds,
1 chopped jalapeno (seeded),
4 stalks of celery, diced,
1 lb. ground beef, browned in a sauté pan,
 1 tsp garlic powder,
 1 tsp salt,
 1 tsp black pepper
Heat on low for 4 hours, then add 1  cup long grain rice, cook on low for an additional hour, stir well and serve.
Just like I remembered as a child but much easier!  Pollock's unite! Get out of the kitchen.  Use your crock pot and get the same great tasting results!