Autumn Recess

November 23, 2016

Autumn has arrived in North Carolina, bringing with it the final harvest of bell peppers, roma tomatoes and serrano peppers.The herb garden has brushed off the first few light freezes and stands ready to make meals fragrant and savory for months to come. I am confident that the thyme, oregano and sage will over winter well and hope that the french tarragon and parsley will also.Parsley is such a staple of fall and winter dishes that I have more growing on my deck. I have been poaching from the deck parsley for a few weeks thinking that it would not handle the frosts as well, but so far it is also doing wonderfully.In previous years I have repeatedly removed pine needles from the garden beds only to replace it with a different mulch. This year I have come to my senses and am embracing the pine trees taking care of mulching for me.Collards, carrots, cabbage and parsnips are tucked into their naturally (and effortlessly) mulched beds.The fall planting of sugar snap peas has been supplying tender pea shoots and now has peas forming as well.The hydroponic herbs were changed over 10 days ago to the varieties I know and love to cook with and are already doing quite well. I am growing 2 plantings each of my favorite basils and cilantros, 3 of the flat leaf parsley and just for fun I am trying to grow 2 red kales hydroponically.With the Super Bowl and attendant tomato starts almost 2 months away, this cozy, fall garden that is mostly taking care of itself feels like a recess.

Aero Garden Update - Day 46

November 14, 2016

Day 46 of the prepackaged herb pack that came with my AeroBount and I have excellent basil growth, both genovese and thai. The mint was just starting to grow and the cilantro, parsley and chives never really took off. The genovese basil, while in the same family, is not the basil I usually grow. I do not know if it is a function of the variety or of the hydroponics but it bruises extremely easy and blackens quickly on warm dishes.My Baker Creek order came in last week with seeds for my hydroponic herbs and counter top microgreens so I decided to ditch the prepackaged herbs and start my own this weekend.My aero garden has space for 9 pods so I planted 2 of each except for the parsley that I planted 3 pods of because fall stews + parsley = YUM!

Living Ingredients

October 22, 2016

Although I have grown herbs indoors for each of the last 5 winters, my indoor garden has always been in a designated growing area and not particularly convenient to the kitchen. So in a kitchen that is already small on space, I gave over fully 1/2 of my breakfast bar to try the AeroGarden, because the idea of growing fresh, green herbs right where I cook this winter is very appealing. That probably also explains the microgreens taking up the other 1/2 of my breakfast bar now.Microgreens are a great choice for indoor veggies in the off seasons since they aren't usually around long enough for pests or disease to become a problem and can be used in a variety of dishes. They do need a little more attention in terms of keeping them moist and harvesting on time, but that is all the easier when they are located in the heart of a home.My breakfast bar has become a living pantry :)

Fall Harvest Asparagus

October 3, 2016

This post comes after more than a year of researching every way I can think of and completely failing to find anything related to the matter at hand. The matter at hand is the second growth of asparagus spears in the early fall, long after the asparagus crowns have been allowed to grow the long, bushy fronds they need in order to feed the crown for next year's growth and more specifically, whether or not a small portion of the second growth can be harvested.Unable to find any information either for or against sneaking a few of these late season spears, I have had to reason this out for myself for the past two years and while the result is probably entirely predictable (Garden fresh asparagus in fall? Yes please!), I like to think my reasoning well rooted in a layman's pseudo-botany. The rationale goes something like this: the individual asparagus crowns have been photosynthesizing since May, and of the new spears coming up in September/October I am only taking about 1 out of every 3 of the new growth spears and then only off of crowns that already have more than 3 stems that have fully grown out and are working hard to supply nourishment to the crown to take it through winter and make a stronger growth next year.With 16 crowns all together (8 Jersey Knight and 8 Purple Passion) all of which are enjoying a youthful resurgence right now, this equals out to around 4-5 spears per week that are coming indoors and leading to some interesting, not-normally-on-the-same-plate combinations. This afternoon for lunch, I sauteed some asparagus picked 30 minutes earlier along with some Italian kale harvested at the same time.But my favorite has been adding asparagus to my Whatever Is Fresh Scrambles!This one featured rehydrated morels, 4 spears of asparagus, 4 cherry tomatoes and 2 red serrano peppers - all from the garden except for the morels. I saute all ingredients except the more delicate tomatoes in butter with a little olive oil until the asparagus is just shy of done.When the asparagus has softened, add scrambled eggs to the mix then fold in the quartered cherry tomatoes.When the eggs have finished cooking, plate with a little shredded cheese of your choosing - I have used both colby-jack and mozzarella and both have worked wonderfully. Top with your choice of fresh herb (I alternate between basil and dill) and voila - delicious and nutritious meal in just a few minutes!

Taking The (hydroponics) Plunge

October 2, 2016

It all started so simply...I was looking for a birthday gift for a friend. She does some gardening and is always looking to eat healthier so I went to a few of my favorite online shops and searched Gifts For Gardeners to see what came up.What came up (over and over) were the counter-top, hydroponic growing contraptions that promise fresh herbs, greens and veggies faster than their soil bound counterparts. The reviews spanned the positive to strongly positive and some of the user videos showed amazing results.I have been resistant to the idea of hydroponics because it is not a natural system and doesn't even attempt to mimic a natural system. Food plants grown hydroponically are not dining at the full banquet of known and unknown plant (and human) nutrients, minerals and components found in organically rich soil, but instead are fed a simplified diet of nitrogen, phosphate, calcium and magnesium diluted in water. What does that mean for the creatures that are eating them? But there is the not-so-small matter of having fresh herbs to cook and garnish with through the winter months... Many of my outdoor herbs are still doing very well, though my beloved basil is already beginning to look pretty rough and with fall officially here, some of the others will begin to say good-bye for 2016 in the coming weeks. This is the time of year I usually begin my indoor herb garden in the dormer nook upstairs as a stop-gap measure to cover the basics (basil, rosemary, oregano, cilantro) until they can be sown outdoors again.Overall, my indoor herbs usually do pretty well each year in their little corner of the house, though they do have to cope with occasional fungus flies, aphids, powdery mildew outbreaks and a water deficit when I travel. The more I considered it, the more it seemed that growing a mix of fresh herbs through the winter months right on my kitchen counter, right where I cook and where I can be a bit more attentive on a day-to-day basis, even if it is hydroponically, is maybe not such a bad idea. Herbs are especially dense on flavor and hopefully will not have a watered down taste. Enter the AeroGarden for my friend and myself.I opted for the Bounty Elite from William Sonoma because it has the most space for plants (up to 9 depending on variety) and the LED light can raise from 15" to 24" as plants grow.I have to admit, I was impressed by the touch screen display that shows days since planting, days until nutrient add and monitors and alerts for water level. It is programmable by plant group being grown (herbs, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, flowers, etc).If you happen to have kids under the age of 10 in the house, the space age looking pod domes are an added bonus.So I am taking the plunge, I hope this particular horticultural/culinary experiment works out well - if the herbs I am growing are as robustly flavored as their soil bound brethren, it will mean my indoor garden upstairs is relegated to spring seed starting and even more herbs are making into everyday meals than they already are. Updates to follow!

Saving (Pretty) Seed - Glass Gem Corn

September 26, 2016

My Glass Gem Corn has been happily drying above my home office and today was the day to strip the cobs and put up the kernels for popcorn and next year's planting. If you have been following my blog for any amount of time you know that I have an abundant affection for this particular varietal which translates into an excess of photos...I stripped all the multi-color cobs leaving the two almost entirely blue cobs for last.Some of the kernels will be seed for next year and some will be popcorn, but in the meantime, they are still decorating my home office.

Mangia - Seconda Parte

August 20, 2016

Recently I wanted to find some great make-ahead recipes that I could prepare in batches and freeze for fast and easy, but still homemade meals that I would feel good about on those "I don't feel like scratch cooking" nights. Stuffed pastas kept catching my eye as something highly versatile (options including but definitely not limited to: cheese, spinach, squash, beef, tuna with a bechamel sauce) and are super easy to freeze and reheat.I already had a great homemade pasta dough recipe (for use with the KitchenAid stand mixer and pasta roller attachment) and ravioli filling recipe but wanted to do some research and see if some varieties freeze better than others.While doing searches for freezing homemade stuffed pastas my results kept turning up all these recipes and ads for pasta maker machines...hmm. A few dozen YouTube videos and Amazon.com reviews later, I decided a pasta maker was just what I needed both to make fast and easy ravioli for my make-ahead meals as well as ditching the boxed, dried stuff in my pantry for fresh, on-demand pasta made with high quality wheat*.I found the pasta maker I wanted on sale at Williams-Sonoma - the Philips Smart Pasta Maker. I liked this one in particular because in addition to the weighing function which helps you fine-tune your liquids if you are using more or less than a perfect single or double batch of pasta flour, it comes with 8 shaping discs meaning no accessories to purchase later.I had to try it right away after it arrived so I made a simple angel hair pasta to get a feel for the machine and process.The adverts say that you will have fresh pasta in 15 minutes, I am pretty sure they mean when the last of the noodles come out because this machine begins extruding pasta in just 3 minutes!I made a double batch which was double the amount I needed. The other 1/2 can be dusted with flour and refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a longer storage time.The pasta was fantastic - delicious and with great bite, perfect al dente!* A note on the pasta flour I use - as much as possible, I buy my grains from Anson Mills. I could do a whole series of posts on Anson Mills and founder Glenn Roberts and how they are reviving lost tastes through heirloom grains. If you haven't read it yet, a great way to get to know Glenn is through Dan Barber's seminal book The Third Plate. I became an instant convert based on what I knew about Glenn's grains. Tasting them only further cemented my ardor.

July Garden Update

July 12, 2016

Under the best of circumstances July is an awkward time for the garden.Spring greens (spinach, lettuce, cilantro) still in the garden have bolted or browned, strawberries have stopped producing anything but dozens of straggly runners and asparagus has transmogrified into its less known, fuzzy small tree form. Between these only-a-mother-could-love-them beauties are the bare spaces where sugar and snow peas and pak choy have been removed but it is still too early to sow fall plants, July may be the worst time to have a garden guest.I have a garden guest coming next week.The wonderful REALTOR that patiently waited and watched while I stood in potential back yards mentally calculating full sun hours and painstakingly measuring for raised beds that were at the time, stored in a rented garage, is coming to see what I "have done with the place" and late July is the date we picked for dinner and a garden tour.This post is half garden update, half convincing myself that there are still beautiful things to be seen even in this straggly season. Here goes:The blackberries are huge and I should still have a good mix of ripe and unripe next week.I always overseed plants like basil so I can use the thinnings on meals while letting the main plants mature.There is only one butternut squash on the vine so far, but many blooms.I picked my first round of Envy edamame with only a handful left in the garden, but I had left the wonderful nitrogen fixing plants in the garden as companion plantings to everyone else.And the rest of this story is tomatoes, the beauties of summer. These are some of the Blue Cream Berries cherry tomatoes before they ripen and take on that creamy yellow color.The roma tomatoes are thick on the vine and ripening at a steady rate.A pretty average harvest day with a double handful of roma tomatoes, a couple of Mortgage Lifters, a bowlful of Hartman's Yellow Gooseberry cherry tomatoes (the most prolific and tallest of my cherry tomato plants this year) and my first Black Beauty zucchini of the year.Here's hoping she really likes tomatoes ;)

Food With a Story - Mortgage Lifter

June 29, 2016

When was the last time you ate a tomato and considered the intrigue and controversy surrounding it's provenance?This big guy, sold by Baker Creek under the name Mortgage Lifter is almost ready to harvest and when I save the seeds after enjoying my first taste of this storied heirloom fruit, I will be thinking of the dueling stories of where it originated. A little food for thought ;)

Countdown to Garden 2016

December 24, 2015

Even before presents are unwrapped, the countdown is on with less than a month to go before indoor starts of cabbage, leeks and rosemary get going in the first part of January with peppers (hot and bell) just behind.So I've been making my list and checking it twice this week to see what varieties will make it into my 219 square foot of garden space for 2016.I am making heavy use of containers for herbs (and one lettuce I just couldn't resist) and also using two composted trenches in the yard to grow The Three Sisters: corn, blackeyed peas and decorative squash. I currently have 8 1x1 boxes for cucurbits, but will be adding in 3 more before spring to hold all the zucchini, squash and cucumbers on my list.Despite planning 52 different varieties of annuals for next year, my 2016 seed order (including shipping) came in under $42. This economy was mostly due to saving more of my own seed this year than ever before and having plenty of unused 2015 seed for most of what I plan to grow next year - Square Foot Gardening makes better use of individual seeds than row gardening so more seeds are conserved for future use.One of my splurge purchases for this year was the Slo-Bolt Cilantro. I am still drawing down the huge supply of cilantro/coriander seeds saved from my 2012 garden. They still have a high germination rate so I have been using them for both outdoor garden and microgreen plantings since then. If the slo-bolt lives up to its name, my 2012 cilantro has had its last reproductive cycle and will be only for microgreens and I will switch to saving the slo-bolt seed.Next I will start plotting out the placement of these plantings on my garden map. 2015 was my first full garden cycle in Raleigh and the biggest lesson was that maximizing light has to be a priority for north facing gardens further complicated by some tree shade. To that end, I added a height column with each plant ranked Short, Medium or Tall to plan my garden for next year. Tallest plants in to the north and shortest plants to the south has always been the rule of thumb but is now a requirement for my future garden plans which will make crop rotations a little more challenging.It is damp, but in the low-mid 70's this weekend, so I will also spend some time putting in new grids into my raised beds. I have been using kitchen string for the past few years but the cottony string only lasts one year before stretching, breaking and needing to be replaced. This year I am going to try a white nylon string that is made for outdoor use and hope it holds up better.Here's to a wonderful close to 2015 and a bright start to 2016! Happy Holidays!

Glass Gem Corn

November 23, 2015

It's not often that a packet of seeds is so exciting that I cannot wait until spring to open the flap and take a peek inside. Glass Gem corn is a clear exception!The Glass Gem heirloom corn variety hit the homegrown stage a few years ago and has been offered only on a wait-list basis from very limited outlets until now. So when I saw the cover of the 2016 Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog I assumed they were just highlighting a very photogenic variety for the cover. When I discovered they were actually carrying the seed, I didn't hesitate and am now planning where to plant the star of my 2016 garden!

RECENT POSTS

Blogroll

Favorite Vendors

Local Farms

Categories

Archives