Local Eats!

From Rachael Warrington — Blog by Rachael Warrington

June 10, 2009

This last weekend I went down to Tulsa to visit family. One of the highlights when I go down is the farmers market. Cherry Street Farmers Market is a fantastic adventure in fresh food. We walked up the stairs to the little parking area where all the stands are set up; the place was already busy and it was not even 8:00 AM yet. We walked between two stalls to get to the main walk way and turned left. Oh my goodness, there it was the most beautiful site to behold, fresh, colorful veggies, piles and piles of them.
This first stand was from Three Springs Farm, a 5 acre farm that two people run and maintain and grow the best produce. They had the biggest and tightest bunches of red leaf lettuce I have ever laid my eyes on. They were huge, and looked good enough to display on your table as a center piece. White small sweet turnips, brilliant orange carrots, and multi-colored Swiss chard were all laid out. White and red baby potatoes, spinach, basil and tons more that I could not even get to because of the current crowds. I just stared and thought this is only the first stall, how are we going to eat all of this? I bought lettuce, Swiss chard, turnips, carrots and then tore myself away. I had more places to conquer.

Continue reading Local Eats! »

Tales from the Lunch Lady

From Rachael Warrington — Blog by Rachael Warrington

May 27, 2009

I am the manger of a school lunch program. We are part of the NLSP or the National Lunch School Program and we receive government reimbursement for our lunches. It is the only way we can stay in business. I have been doing this for 9 years now. I started not knowing a thing and I have read and self taught as much as I can. I have learned a lot (imagine a dry sponge soaking up water) and am still learning. I can say though that I love my job and I am doing my best to change my little corner of the world.

Continue reading Tales from the Lunch Lady »

My trip to Pasta Cabonara

From Rachael Warrington — Blog by Rachael Warrington

May 26, 2009

My mom came up for the weekend. My darling hubby was at a local track meet, the kids were home, but enjoying the first evening of summer break. I wanted to fix something simple but different. I did not want to eat cereal for dinner, again....
So I found a recipe for Pasta Carbonara. “Okay,” I said to mom, “let’s give this a try”.

I put the whole wheat pasta on to boil; I mixed three eggs together and placed them in one of my fancy new prep bowls that I forgot I had. My mom chopped and fried up the bacon. I chopped up a Vidalia onion to add to the bacon grease after the bacon is finished, garlic follows. Next I minced some fresh flat leaf parsley, love this stuff smells so fresh and green. Next I have shaved parm ready. Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, are ready.

Continue reading My trip to Pasta Cabonara »

My Kichen Aid Work Horse

From Rachael Warrington — Blog by Rachael Warrington

May 15, 2009

About 15 years ago I bought my first and only free standing KitchenAid Mixer. It has been my best friend ever sense. Our family had just moved from Arizona back to Kansas, after being gone for two years. We had three small children and my husband was going back to teaching. Money was very very tight. In other words, we had none! We were strapped while living in Arizona and things were not going to be any better here in Kansas. So I was continuing my cooking from scratch for everything. But I needed help!!!!!

Continue reading My Kichen Aid Work Horse »

Ode to the Tomato

From Rachael Warrington — Blog by Rachael Warrington

April 23, 2009

I wrote this for my own newsletter I send out on the back side of our school lunch menu. I am the lunch lady and take feeding four students a day very seriously. Enjoy.

One the best things in the world is eating a tomato fresh picked from the garden while it is still warm from the sun. One way I prepare such a slice of heaven is to cut thick slices of it, and then eat it on homemade bread with a slice of real mozzarella and sprinkled with coarse salt and fresh black pepper. Oh, and I slip in a leaf of fresh basil that I have just plucked from the kitchen garden. This is a bit of heaven….but I have to wait until July for this luxury. If you don’t like tomatoes or have never had the opportunity to taste one picked fresh from the plant, you have missed one of God’s miracles. And no, I am not exaggerating.

Continue reading Ode to the Tomato »

Heres a Site to Behold

From Rachael Warrington — Blog by Rachael Warrington

April 15, 2009

The sun is just turning the night sky a lighter color of dark. Soon little wisps of pink and orange will start to move across the sky. Guess what I am doing? Carry out flats of tomato plants. I don’t move so well in the morning, it takes me a while to remember I have legs, and when I do I also remember they hurt this early. I have a bad knee that really just wants to retire. It is 6:00 A.M. and we have to move 400+ tomato and pepper plants out of the living room out to the mini green houses. This has been one of the coldest Aprils we have had in some time; to cold to leave the little plants outside over night. We were to tired last night to hump them up the stairs again......so into the living room they went; on the floor, the couches, and the coffee table. We then had to close the double French doors and put our dinning room table up against it so that P.D., our 15 lb cat, could not chew the leaves off of the peppers. He doesn’t like the tomatoes, just the peppers.

Continue reading Heres a Site to Behold »

Spring Fever Indeed

From Rachael Warrington — Blog by Rachael Warrington

April 14, 2009

It has hit, today! No clouds whipping through the sky, no wind tearing your hair out by the root, and no rain drowning you. The sun is high, the air is warm and the breeze is light. We have to go out and enjoy a day like this. When I get home from work and grocery shopping, my hubby and son will have moved all 432 tomato and pepper plants outside into the handmade mini green houses. There the plants will heat up to 80 degrees and bask in the joy of the sun.

Continue reading Spring Fever Indeed »

The Control Freak!

From Rachael Warrington — Blog by Rachael Warrington

April 6, 2009

Ask anyone around me and they will tell you I am a control freak. I don’t like to let things just happen. I plan and execute. Usually this works out just fine, but I have had to learn when to pull back and not steamroll those around me.
I truly believe that there is an element of control freak in all of us. Some just bury it deep, others ignore it, and some use it as a club to control others around them. But being a control freak can have it pluses. Gardening is a big plus for the control freak. How about controlling our food source? How about controlling how much chemicals we ingest? How about controlling our impact on the environment? How about taking control of our lives and choosing to be responsible?

Continue reading The Control Freak! »