Home At Last! with Patty Gironda

A guest of our Bed and Breakfast asked if I had a garden and I shared "my broken garden" story.  Although small,  we enjoyed a fair amount of goodies!

In the mid-80's, Ron and I decided to accept a job offer in San Juan Capistrano, California! We had no money to speak of! About $700 by the time we arrived in California! We arrived on the California coast with a packed 280Z; including our newest family member, Henrietta, a pretty white rescue from the Japonica Street SPCA in New Orleans! We couldn't afford an apartment when we arrived due to the fact we ONLY had $700! We rented a motel room that allowed pets and Ron went to work.  Poor as church mice, we finally struck a deal with a landlord to repair a condo ravaged by too many parties and druggies. It turned out to be a lovely rental after we totally renovated and redecorated! Our time spent in California was wonderful. I think we'd still be there now if not for my unreasonable fear of earthquakes! We loved the food culture, the weather and the friendly people! We particularly loved the Rose Bowl Antique show every month and found the garage and ...

Traveling with Home At Last! is one of the joys of my life and last week's adventure on Sapelo Island didn't disappoint!  I've been around seafood my whole life-fishing for alligator gar in the bayous of Louisiana, stringing rotten chicken necks in crab traps along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and fishing off the back of my dad's boat for any delicacy that might happen to swim by! Sampling the seafood of the Georgia coast was an exciting prospect and I was eager to sample the local favorites including Sapelo Clams prepared in a Geechee recipe of Clams and Gravy! Our new friend and featured cook, Cornelia Walker Bailey, shared her secrets for cleaning, chopping and cooking the clams in a simple, straightforward dish!  Cornelia shares that the fresh clams can easily be stored in the freezer for future use! Once brought to room temperature the clams open and can be cleaned and prepared in your favorit...

I've been up to my "elbows" with canning this week. Peaches, apples, cherries and figs! I love the whole process but it can be exhausting without an extra pair of hands.  It's a good idea to make sure you really have use for all the extra food that will be placed in the pantry. For me, having specific dishes in mind that will use up the canned fruits and syrups gives me the motivation needed to complete this tiring task! The volume of fruit needing to be canned demanded that I create conserves, syrups and preserves. Quality syrups and preserves can cost a small fortune and I welcomed the opportunity to save a bunch with a few days effort! Fig Preserves and Apple Conserve with Lavender We have tried to develop menus with seasonal-dishes constructed of fruits that are abundant during each of the seasons. But the stomach wants what the stomach wants and some of our popular items require us to have blueberries, peaches, ...

I've been on a quest to use up items stored in the "deep freeze" zone! Surprisingly, the meals created from these mystery ingredients have yielded some pretty awesome and quick dinners. I had a thought today that I might have need for a "freezer journal". As I add foods to my freezers I would place a dated entry in my freezer journal. Just a thought. My current method of writing on the zipper bag works fine if I bother to write on the bag. I've also had success placing a note in the freezer bag filled with individually packaged tablespoons of items such as tomato paste. A recent dig revealed a lost bag of lightly-smoked picnic ham from the Porchetta episode of Home At Last! It was well-wrapped in foil and placed in a freezer bag.  Thawed and sampled I was pleased with its condition after three months of excile in "the zone". Paired with a small amount of homemade bbq sauce (also from the depths of my fridge) and a quick...

I'm back! I just had to run outside and make sure the sky wasn't falling! It started out an ordinary day.  Made breakfast for our guests at Casa Bella B & B.  Business as usual. Our satisfied guests departed after hugs and promises to see us next year. Ron and I celebrated with a swim and made a quick decision to head to Atlanta, I had a shopping list compiled for Buford Farmer's Market that included provisions for  a big weekend ahead at our B & B and an upcoming episode of Home At Last! It wasn't a long list.  . .but it provided us with a good enough reason to get out of town.  I love Tuesdays at the market-they sell huge mixed bags of hot and mild peppers for ridiculous prices!  I make hot sauce and stuffed Mexican peppers on the grill. My surprise came when I suggested that we enjoy sushi at the market and Ron agreed. (He's not a huge sushi fan, although his tastes have shifted aft...

Who knew that cleaning out the fridge could result in a fabulous pizza rich with flavor and great textures. First: The dough-a bright, warm sunny day resulted in a perfectly tender crust with just the right amount of crunch! Second: Food in the fridge that needed to be used up or thrown out. I know . . .but it's a weekend with guests on the way and I need the space. So, So, in to the pot the ingredients flew-fresh tomatoes, pork sausage, black olives, fresh baby yellow peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and on and on it went-including a few tablespoons of leftover penne pasta with similar ingredients! The Results: A fabulous crunchy pan pizza drizzled with the perfect helping of garlic oil and ripe flavor from goat cheese and a young shredded asiago cheese!