About me

I’m a former ad girl turned bestselling author turned Earth Mama and soil aficionado — or maybe I’ve always been all three. I’ve always liked to eat (a lot) and cook (a lot) but it wasn’t until we bought some land in the Hudson Valley that my brown thumb turned green. Isn’t that a song? So now my life revolves around my husband, my children, my friends and neighbors, my seed catalogs, my library, my writing, my trusty herb snippers, my farmhouse sink, the seasons and my Shaker gathering basket.

I believe in magic and potions and growing enough to share. My garden, like my cooking — like everything else in my life — doesn’t always work out the way I expected, but I’ve realized that’s not the point. The journey, they say, is where the story happens. For me, that’s in my garden, yanking weeds from their stubborn purchase in my soil, dipping into my pocket for another Fava bean seed to shove in the ground, another strand of stretchy tape to wrap around my unruly peas.

I wear my sunscreen. I drink wine with my dinner. I gobble up books on soil and composting and growing vegetables every which way. I guess you could say that growing my own stuff has taught me about a lot the world. I’m happier than I’ve ever been. Nothing floats my boat like the aforementioned collection of people and my ever-growing patch of land outside my kitchen window.

Cook it. Juice it. Slice it. Serve it. Write about it. Till it. Compost it. Share it. Be proud of it. Respect it. Pay attention to it. Don’t over-Mother it. Don’t get too invested in its success. Get dirty. Get scandalous.

Get your basket and join me in my garden.

xx

 

{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }

Pat Bailey

I love your writing style and topics. And I love your daughter’s list and compost. It sounds like you have fond what you want to do when you grow up – at least for know. Good combination of story and images on your blog.

Reply

Jennifer Solow

Thanks, Pat! Keep up the good work yourself there! xx

Reply

Norman

Jennifer, if i keep reading your articles, I am about to pack up my city life and leave. I long for the rural life again, where i can grow and eat real foods and not something processed. Look forward to reading more of your great articles.

Reply

Jennifer Solow

Great luck, Norman! If it’s any consolation, I only get to live the country life for part of the year. The ‘burbs for the other part. Please keep me posted on your move. Drop me a line: jennifer@jennifersolow.com

Reply

sunburstkissesrowena

Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer! I love that you took an assignment and brought it to full form. I’m always thinking of delving back into old assignments and taking them to the fullest potential. Recently just finished a niche project (http://sunburstkissesrowena.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/in-search-of-manchuria-introducing-the-words-of-the-emperor/), looking for my next one to be of broader appeal.
I’m moving out to nowhereville Nebraska this week and I’m hoping for neighbors like yours!

Reply

Jennifer Solow

Good luck in Nowheresville, m’dear! Funny how it seems like we always find ourselves in Nowhere.

Reply

weywardsisters

Awesome! I’ve finally found a blog I can relate to! I just moved from the big city to a small, rural home outside of a tiny town and I can’t stop baking. I’ll be looking here for support on my next adventure: gardening. I have a definite black thumb, but that’s only going to motivate me. Looking forward to following your thoughts and adventures,
Maggie

Reply

Jennifer Solow

My husband likes to quote me on the day we met: “I have a brown thumb!”

Soon he proved me wrong.

Oh those ‘black thumbs’, as you say Maggie, are purely the result of growing the wrong stuff in the wrong places. Anyone with a curious heart and a few seed catalogs can grow stuff. Start with a sunny patch and a thing or two that you like. If you only have a few inches of sun, plant a Sungold cherry tomato plant on a pot with a bit of basil and parsley around it. Sungolds need less sun than big tomatoes and they’re the only tomato I would grow (if I could only grow one kind).

It’s your heart that grows stuff, not your thumb! Sounds like you have a gold heart.
xx

Reply

The Sugarlump

Hey there!

I’ve nominated you for The Sunshine Award. Check out the link to your blog here: http://thesugarlump.com/2012/08/15/the-sunshine-award-take-ii/

Best wishes,
Sugarlump

Reply

My Green Pencil Blog

Dear jennifer,
I enjoyed reading your post, you have a good sense to express the words beautifully and it’s really appreciable. I also like cooking and like to do organic farming. It’s really a fun to cook and your sharing about it is fabulous.
I like your blog and will continue reading it.
You continue your good work and provide us good posts to read 😉
Stay blessed
Best Regards
Taiba Tanjila

Reply

Jennifer Solow

Thanks so much for the nice words and YOU’RE inspiring blog!
xjennifer

Reply

My Green Pencil Blog

Thanks Jennifer for your kind words.
I will surely enjoy reading your beautiful words. Thanks again 😉
Stay blessed:)

Reply

Teresa

Hey thanks for stopping by my blog and liking my “about” section, and “my kitchen,” section. I do try to keep it clean most of the time, but it does get a little “muddy” when I’m in the middle of cooking up a storm! I do love cooking and entertaining though. It is so much fun.

Reply

Jennifer Solow

Thanks for that! I’m the opposite – my kitchen is mostly “muddy” with glimpses of clean. What I couldn’t do with some full-time cleaner-uppers!!
x

Reply

Teresa

Well, mine was messier when I had kids at home! It’s not so bad now with empty nest. It’s a lot easier to keep everything clean!

Reply

Jennifer Solow

I get a few precious weeks without the kids over the summer and yes, you’re right, it’s way easier. Sometimes I think I may even have a scrupulously neat person living inside me just waiting to come out!

Reply

adventurousandrea

I’m definitely looking forward to reading to getting a chance to further explore your blog, Jennifer!

Reply

Leave a Comment