Gardening

Yesterday I did some gardening. Today I am sunburned.

Nobody needs to stress the importance of sunscreen here as I am so rarely outside long enough to require it, but apparently I didn’t realize just how long I was potting flowers and planting my at long last located Brandywine tomato, my favorite heirloom. I also put hanging baskets on the chicken coop to dress it up a bit as well. While a majority was container gardening, we did get a few plants to put around the pond in the front yard to help spruce it up a bit. After doing so, I think we should get a couple more pots and plant some more stuff as it looks a little, well, naked. It never fails to surprise me just how ugly everything looks right after you pot it, but I know that in a week it will all look amazing.

Spring... Finally

The sun is shining; the birds are singing; the flowers and vegetables are beginning to sprout. It finally must be spring!

With the dahlias we got last year and planted in a couple of our large terra cotta pots making another appearance this year, it is indeed proof that spring is upon us. Of course, soon after will be summer when a majority of our flowers will be in bloom and vegetables will be in full production mode here in the Pacific Northwest. While the lilac is beginning to show signs it will soon fade its fragrant and beautiful purple blossoms for more luscious greenery, the butterfly bush is just now getting ready to put on its much longer and just as showy display.

However, there might be a snag. We have no idea how long we will be living at this particular house, and with that uncertainty comes the reality I probably shouldn’t plant anything we wouldn’t be able to take with us. So for the immediate future anyway, it looks as though whatever we’ve got in the ground will probably be it. My hope is that we will be able to stay here until October or November, but with everything depending on our landlord’s mother’s health, that might not be an option.

I will try to focus on the positives instead of the negatives. For now, we have full vegetable garden boxes and some perennials getting ready to bloom for the remainder of the year until the first frost. For now we have happy hens giddily pecking at the ground for weeds and bugs. For now we have a deck and a yard to enjoy the outdoors. For now. Hey, I said I would try, I didn’t say I’d be any good at it.

Rain

I feel it on my fingertips, see it on the windowpane. It must be rain.

Rain has its purpose, I just don’t know why that purpose has to be so constant. It seems that once the rainy season here in the Pacific Northwest starts, we don’t see the sun for at least three months. Sad, really. There are benefits, I suppose. I don’t have to water the vegetable garden. There are downfalls as well, in that our Great Dane, Lucy, comes in after going potty pretty much with mud all over her feet.

And so it is, halfway through another rainy spring. I wonder if that means I will be motivated to do some sewing tonight? Magic Eight Ball says, “Doubtful. Outlook is grim.” And now I can't get the Madonna song of the same name out of my head either.

Food

Do you ever stop to think about where your food comes from? If not, why?

Last night after work my husband and I watched the movie Food, Inc. with our pastor’s wife for an upcoming adult education session they were preparing for church. We’ve seen it before, but it seemed like we all discovered something about ourselves while watching the film again. For me part of it is that while I like to be informed and prefer to eat natural and not chemically engineered foods, it isn’t going to necessarily stop me from having a Coke every now and then, even though our United States variety is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, an ingredient you can’t buy on the shelves but is in practically every packaged food.

I’m not an advocate for going one-hundred percent all organic or anything, but a few things I don’t understand are how we’ve allowed our food supply to be taken over by multinational corporations. So many of the seeds farmers grow are made and patented by the same company that created Roundup. Seed saving, a common practice among farmers in decades past, is now threatened by lawsuits for patent infringement, even with farmers who didn’t plant those seeds but instead had seeds migrate over from neighboring farms. Personally I buy heirloom seeds when I can and won’t purchase anything from Monsanto. Well, anything except Roundup. Actually, I haven’t bought Roundup in six years, but the bottle of concentrated stuff I have still works.

We decided years ago to be just a little bit more self-sustaining. I mean, I’m not plowing the entire yard and planting wheat or anything radical like that, but we did get chickens for eggs and have a small raised vegetable garden. Of course, if we had more land, I’d love to have a fully working farm. I’d want a couple goats and cows as well, for milk to make cheese and butter and for drinking as well as field mowing. I’d probably plant more vegetables that can be canned or frozen for later consumption in the winter and early spring months. But if I had to fend for myself, I’m afraid I’d become an instant grain-free vegetarian.

Next time you are in the grocery store, make a conscious effort to find out where your food comes from. Better yet if you are unable to grow the food yourself, shop at local farmers markets or go to the farms and buy directly from them.

Planting Season

Despite the odd Northwest weather we’ve been having, it is indeed the season to plant early spring veggies. So I did.

Seeing a break in the rain, I decided to go ahead and plant some cold weather crops; Radishes, carrots, fennel, spinach and lettuces, along with some parsley and cilantro in the herb box. Of course, in the middle of planting I had to dodge another rain shower, hail and even a bit of snow, but alas, nothing was going to stop me from finishing what I started. Hopefully the fact that it is snowing right now won’t affect the seeds, but if they do, oh well. I guess that means I will just have to replant them.

Ratatouille

Do you ever watch something on television or a movie and ask yourself, “Is that any good?” I assure you, ratatouille is.

The first time I made ratatouille it was the grilled version. Grilling the tomatoes, red bell pepper, eggplant and zucchini brought out a lot of flavor for the dish. Of course, the bulb of garlic I roasted along with it didn’t hurt either. But a couple nights ago I wanted to make ratatouille like Remy did in the Disney/Pixar movie. However, because it is well into the autumnal season, my eggplant was frozen (side note: eggplant freezes quite well when sliced thickly and tossed into a Ziploc bag) and I decided to add a little more substance. Internet research led to a multitude of variations of the dish and a little history. As a typical peasant dish from the south of France, the main ingredients haven’t changed since they are all late summer vegetables, but depending on what was available at the time, substitutions or additions could be made. I decided to add some potatoes to the mix. And then the next Google search option was Rachel Ray’s version which included potatoes. Go figure.

For the sauce I decided to go chunky rather than smooth, but if you feel like a puree, go for it. Or, if you feel like using a premade pasta sauce that will work too. Personally, I felt that I wanted to go somewhere between traditional and trendy so I kept the sauce rustic and sliced all the veggies thin for the roasting process.

Cory’s Ratatouille

1 to 2 medium eggplants, thinly sliced

1 to 2 medium zucchinis, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

3 to 4 small red potatoes, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons olive oil, separated

1 small onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can petite diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz

2 to 3 teaspoons Herbes de Provence

4 sprigs fresh thyme, stems discarded

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a sauce pan over medium heat, pour in two tablespoons olive oil. Add the onions and cook until slightly translucent, about five minutes. Add the finely diced bell pepper and garlic and continue to cook until everything starts to turn golden brown. Pour in the can of tomatoes or if using fresh about one pound. Next, add the Herbes de Provence, salt and pepper and allow sauce to cook down slightly, letting the flavors mingle together, about 5 minutes. Don’t have Herbes de Provence? Use equal parts basil and thyme. Not the same, but it will do.

Pour the sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish. Yes, it is supposed to be chunky. Don’t like chunks? Puree it then. Anyway, with the sauce as the base, begin arranging the thinly sliced vegetables in a circular motion around the pan and then into the center by alternating. By alternating, I mean zucchini, eggplant, red bell pepper, potato, repeat. Did you see the Disney/Pixar movie Ratatouille? Do it like that. When the pan is full or you run out of veggies, top with the remaining extra virgin olive oil and season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme leaves. Don’t have fresh thyme? Use about ½ teaspoon dried.

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit over the top of the ratatouille and bake 50 to 60 minutes or until everything looks nicely roasted. Serve right away with French bread for a vegetarian meal, or as a side dish. Can also be eaten at room temperature or cold. Leftovers actually taste better so don’t be afraid to make a big batch of it.

Ratatouille

For some reason yesterday, I was in the mood to try something I’d never made before. I love those days.

Looking at the growing heap of zucchini, eggplant and Brandywine tomatoes from our garden, I wanted to do something with them. Then it hit me: Why not make Ratatouille? So I opened up my trusted Joy of Cooking cookbook to find out if I had everything else to make it, and sure enough, I did. Not only that, but there was a grilled recipe too. Me being me, I used the basic ingredient list and made it my own. All I can say is, damn, I’m that good.

Of course, since I was making ratatouille for dinner, I figured it would be fun to also watch Pixar’s Ratatouille as well with our oldest boy. I don’t know if he got the message about trying new foods and not eating garbage, but liked the movie nonetheless. He also, after managing to finally take a bit of the ratatouille, liked it as well. Funny that.

Cory’s Grilled Ratatouille

Preheat gas grill to medium to medium-high, or charcoal to medium hot coals.

Combine:

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Prepare:

1 head garlic

1 sweet onion, peeled and quartered

1 medium eggplant, sliced about ½ inch

1 medium to large zucchini, sliced about ½ inch

1 large or two small red bell peppers

1 Brandywine or 4 Roma tomatoes

When grill is ready, coat the vegetables in the olive oil balsamic vinegar mixture and place on the grill, leaving the garlic, bell pepper(s) and tomato(es) whole. For easier release, I always spray my surface with nonstick cooking spray. Grill vegetables until done, anywhere from five minutes for the zucchini to twenty minutes for the garlic. Let everything cool. Peel the tomato and remove seeds if necessary before roughly chopping. Remove the peel and seeds from the bell pepper and chop into bite sized pieces.

When garlic is cool enough to handle, combine in a large bowl:

1 head roasted garlic, squeezed and mashed with skins removed

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 fresh chopped basil (or about 1 Tablespoon dried)

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the vegetables into the finishing sauce and let sit for a few minutes to an hour before serving. Serve at room temperature.

Grilled Veggies

Last Sunday we harvested some of our zucchini and an eggplant from our plot at the church. Last night we grilled some of it.

With most people having zucchini coming out of their ears, it is a wonder we haven’t seen an explosion of drop and dash at the doorsteps of those who don’t grow it. Honestly, our zucchini we’ve been growing at the church has been a nonstop producer for a month and a half now and, with the exception of the white powdery mildew it has formed, is showing no signs of stopping. Our eggplant, on the other hand, looks mighty healthy but only had one full-sized fruit. It did, however, have a multitude of smaller fruits that will be ready to harvest in the coming weeks, which is good because I love eggplant.

So what is one to do with eggplant and zucchini on a hot summer day? Grill them, of course! Sliced about a half inch thin and drizzled with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, they take only a few short minutes on the grill to make an excellent accompaniment to nearly any barbecued meat or seafood. Or they can be cubed as part of a kabob, if preferred, but I like the sliced versions more myself.

Gardening and the Garden

So this past week I’ve planted stuff, some here and some at the church. Frankly I’m disappointed in my efforts.

Here’s the thing, we moved from a place that we had built garden boxes into a place that had some already here, so you’d think that I’d have been able to plant stuff during the month we’ve been here in the new house. But no. It wasn’t until last weekend with the boys that I got any gardening done, and that goes for both here and the church’s community garden. Of course, Spring finally arrived just in time for Summer to officially start. We’ve had some serious rain issues all Winter and Spring that the ground has been too soggy, added to the cold air that has made it about ten degrees cooler than normal. Not good gardening weather.

So alas, we’ve got some stuff planted, mostly tomatoes, although I’m uncertain whether anything will come of them if we have a repeat of last Summer that barely felt like Spring except for a couple days. In any case, I’m just glad I got something planted, even if the boxes look ghetto. Of course, so does our chicken coop at the moment due to how we had to, er, notch out some decorative touches to fit it into the trailer we rented from U-Haul. Note to self, make sure that even though the measurements say they are six feet two inches wide on the inside that there aren’t any obstacles which actually make it less than six feet at the opening. I guess that’d be a nice note to leave U-Haul too so they can warn their customers.

The yard is another matter and will need a different kind of loving to get it into shape. One that I’m not too keen on delivering, so I think I’ll let my husband take care of that pet project. I’ll stick to getting the other two boxes planted with stuff once they’re prepped and make sure there is room for all our herbs in pots. I’m afraid to transport our sage as it is in bloom right now and almost five feet tall. I guess some casualties will have to be expected.

So much to do and so little inspiration. I guess I have got to work with what I’ve got, right? At least the front yard is a rock garden, but it is so overridden with weeds right now you’d be hardpressed to find rocks.

Vegetable Gardens

Yes, yesterday was absolutely gorgeous with eighty-five degree weather, perfect for planting vegetables. And yes, I forgot my camera yet again, so no pictures.

Having already made plans to meet my gardening partner to plant veggies in a plot at our church’s community garden on Saturday, luck would have it there was sunshine… lots and lots of sunshine. Well, by the time she showed up I was done and we were packing up. Oh well, at least we got stuff in the ground and plotted out the rest of the area with her starts she brought, which fortunately filled up the remainder nicely. Whew, I was worried I’d planted too much.

So here’s the thing, planting vegetables and fruits I find fun. Planting with a three and four year old who want to help but will, uh, to put it nicely, destroy the poor little plants before they really have a chance to live, not so much. This isn’t to say I wouldn’t like to continue to teach them gardening, just that perhaps they should have their own box to do it in and not with my stuff. Yes, I’m greedy like that.

Now, because I didn’t have enough fun planting at the church, I also decided tonight, after cooling off, to go ahead and plant the tomatoes we bought last week. The boys naturally wanted to help so I figured, why not let them. After we picked all the weeds out of the box I mixed in the rabbit poop my husband threw in there right after we moved in and we began digging holes for the tomatoes. This time I decided to go ahead and let them actually handle the plants, which could have been a multitude of factors, but more likely a bit of heat stroke. Fortunately there weren’t any casualties. We then planted some marigolds in the corners, stuck the cages in and watered.

Okay, so with all this done, what kind of response did the kids have? Well, the younger boy was busy chasing the dog, and the older one asked why the tomatoes weren’t ready to eat yet because we planted them already so they should have grown and made tomatoes. Apparently I’ve still got my work cut out for me in explaining just how long it takes food to grow.

Rotten Tomatoes

Gardening is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get. Okay, so you know, but you don’t know if it’ll actually come to fruition.

With the abundance of green tomatoes on the vines in our garden boxes, from some we planted from seed, some we purchased, and some that sowed themselves from the previous year, I thought for certain our tomato harvest would be plentiful. Instead, an abundance of rain and cool weather has not only prevented them from ripening, but has caused them to start rotting. I’d say a little over half our crop has rotted out, and that’s quite a bit from an already miniscule amount of fruit these plants have produced (on the ones that actually produced fruit at all.) I guess this is what they refer to as slim pickings.

My original thought on the matter was that we would at least have green tomatoes to fry and dip into some freshly made garlic mayonnaise, but now I don’t know if we’ll even have that. The only two tomatoes that have been giving ripened fruit are the Roma and Sun Gold (orange cherry) plants, the latter being the more proficient. Our Early Girl and Oregon Spring seem to be the most susceptible.

So I decided to do a little more research about rotting tomatoes, and a whole host of things I didn’t consider popped up. I did think blossom end rot could be the culprit on some, but most of these fruits were getting all brown and squishy in various areas and not near the blossom end. As it turns out, even though our summer has been less than ideal, the sun we have been getting has been scalding the tomatoes, probably due to an insufficient amount of leaves to protect them. That, and it also appears that a couple of the plants have early blight which severely decreased the amount of shade available to the fruit. Due to this, there will absolutely not be any tomatoes in that box next year. Methinks lettuce and spinach will have to take their place.

Gardening is a lot of trial and error, and unfortunately this year had a lot of errors, both on our part and the cool, wet summer we had. However, we had absolutely delicious onions, carrots, and strawberries, and our herbs did extremely well too, especially the basils and sage. Our squashes are a different story, as from the thirty or so pumpkin plants we have two pumpkins, and from the four zucchinis we actually pulled four zucchinis… all from the same plant. Oh well, you can’t have a good harvest every year!

Homegrown Vegetables

Last night I made Chicken Curry and decided to pull a few carrots and onions out of the garden to make it with. It was, hands down, the most delicious curry I’ve made.

When I pulled the carrots, I expected them to be like ones that I’d pulled before: short, stumpy and wide. However, the three I pulled last night were near perfect specimens. Okay, so one was a near perfect specimen, one looked like a mandrake root from Harry Potter, and the third was somewhere in between. Still, larger than any I had pulled up before. The onions have been slowly getting harvested as needed, and part of me wishes I had planted more. They are sweeter and have a pretty intense bite compared to their grocery store counterparts, and actually made me cry as I cut into them. I lit a candle and moved on.

Potatoes I can’t justify planting myself, just yet anyway, because they are so incredibly inexpensive. The same, I know, can be said of onions, but if you’ve been buying onions for the last few months, at least here in the Northwest, they’ve been pretty terrible. I’m glad we planted our own this year. Perhaps I should plant a winter crop of onions for a spring harvest?

After roughly chopping the veggies and throwing them in a pot with a few chicken breasts cut to about the same size, I allowed everything to simmer for a couple hours as we waited for my cousin and her daughter to show up for dinner. The rice had been done before I even got to cooking the curry, so I put a lid on it and kept it off the heat. Meanwhile, we watched the Emmy’s. Our favorite show one best Comedy and my cousin never showed, but the curry was to die for. I’m telling you, there really is nothing like making a meal with food you’ve grown yourself.