urban gardening part IV - air & water

Tilly

Have you ever seen one of these? This is a Tillandsia, often referred to as an air plant, or Tilly. I added one to my bay window garden a while back and although it requires a bit more maintenance than an herb, succulent, or pot of carrots, caring for it has been an interesting experience and it seems to be enjoying the environment here.

The photograph above shows the plant being watered. There's no use for a watering can when a Tilly needs a drink, and by the way, this drinking is something they need to do very often, which makes the name "air" plant seem odd. Anyway...watering this plant means fully submerging it inside a bowl of water for at least an hour. I'd never heard of such a thing. There are rumors that you can just mist them every so often with a spray bottle, but that doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Even after a one hour+ soak, the Tilly is pretty dried out before the week is up. The submersion method works for both of us, so why mess with it. I skip the misting.

When we purchased our Tilly from Flora Grubb Gardens it had a big bloom emerging from the center of the plant and watering was a bit complicated because the bloom was not supposed to be submerged with the rest of the plant. Now the bloom is gone and I just place the entire plant in a full bowl of water for about an hour, once per week, shake off any excess water, let it dry completely, and then place it back on its pedestal in the window.

Tillys don't need any soil because water and nutrients are absorbed through their leaves. I suppose this is the explanation for this "air" plant business, but I believe something like "octopus" plant would be much more appropriate.

I don't think this plant really cares what it is called. It's the carefree type. With no soil to hold it down, the Tilly just rests quietly upon its pedestal and sunbathes all day. No hat or sunscreen required. And then there's that weekly dip in the pool... What a life.

a night to remember

my first homegrown strawberry in Point Reyes

It was a hot sunny day in San Francisco and this is not a place where hot sunny days come along often. I was hoping it would be one of those hot sunny days followed by a comfortably warm evening, the type I grew up with in Chicago. An evening without a light jacket is something almost unheard of around here. I really wanted to make the most of this surprise heat wave and prepare a dinner that fit the mood, something simple, beautiful, and light.

I'd been reading a lovely new book written by Molly Wizenberg, the creator of the blog Orangette, and thinking of making her bouchons au thon. I'm not sure if I was truly interested in her recipe or just charmed by her story, but decided that it didn't really matter. I forged ahead.

I rarely follow recipes, but Molly particularly noted that she always did, so I thought I'd try and practice restraint. I was almost 100% successful with the only exception being a substitute of sour cream for the crème fraîche I'd forgotten to purchase during my trip to the market.

The recipe turned out wonderfully and my only complaint is that the bottoms of the bouchons stuck to the well greased cups of my muffin tin. I'm not sure if it was my tin, if I did not use enough oil on the cups, if using butter would have made things less sticky, or if it is simply the nature of the beast. It was so minor I probably shouldn't even be referring to it as a complaint.

When Molly refers to the bouchons as odd and homely, my guess is that she does so lovingly. I think the little puffs are darling. I served the bouchons, two small puffs per person, atop a bed of ancho cress and sliced strawberries.

Ancho cress is a cress I had not yet met, before our Tuesday visit to the farmers market. If you too are unfamiliar with this cress you can see a photo of an ancho cress and scarlet runner bean salad on the Rancho Gordo site. This salad made me miss our beautiful scarlet runner bean and christmas lima bean tepees. They were really fantastic!

bean tepees we built from a type of flax growing on our neighbor's property (thanks Ruth!)

The ancho cress called out to me that day at the market. So did the pencil thin asparagus, Yerena Farms strawberries, and some small pale yellow carrots. It really was a perfect day.

The first bite into a leaf of ancho cress tricks you into thinking it is a tame green, but it is quickly followed by a peppery bite. I tamed the bite by tossing it with a light dressing of olive oil, fresh orange juice, a very small squeeze from the honey bear, and a little s&p. I decorated the top of the cress with sliced strawberries, lemon zest, and some thin shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Petite plates of crisp green decorated with red, creamy white, and tiny flecks of yellow--all topped with golden puffs. A small round table for two in front of a large window on a warm night, the city humming below, and sharing it all with someone you love. A night to remember... Sigh. Smile.

urban gardening part I - succulents UPDATE

Fort Mason succulent
gift from Mary Anne

Well well well...look what I found upon arriving home this evening. It appears this one flowers!

I'm not sure if the flowering is a good or bad thing. I know it's exactly what you don't want your arugula, chard, lettuce, and the like to do, but I'm not so sure about succulents.

It is also shooting up a bit which might mean that it needs more sun. Unfortunately, I am already giving it all of the sun this apartment is set up to allow. Hopefully it will adjust.

For now, I'll just think optimistically and enjoy the view.

urban gardening part III - carrots UPDATE

goodbye cotyledons(s)... hello true leaves!

The carrots are progressing.

Eight sets of true leaves have appeared. I had one original seed (1/9) that did not germinate, so I planted a new seed to fill in the empty space. The newbie has now sprouted!

It is 9:30am and the sun is shining brightly.

So far so good.

you mustn't cook!

making homemade tamales @ Dad's

I just finished reading the short story,
The Cottagette by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
(EDIT>FIND>'The Cottagette' until you see the full text of the story...)

Ms. Perkins Gilman always had such an interesting perspective on the topics she explored in her writing.

I love my time in the kitchen, but after reading this story I can't help but wonder, what would my life be like if I didn't cook?

Hmmm...

excerpt:
We were off in ten minutes, light-footed and happy, and the day was all that could be asked. He brought a perfect lunch, too, and had made it all himself. I confess it tasted better to me than my own cooking; but perhaps that was the climb.
When we were nearly down we stopped by a spring on a broad ledge, and supped, making tea as he liked to do out-of-doors. We saw the round sun setting at one end of a world view, and the round moon rising at the other; calmly shining each on each.
And then he asked me to be his wife.--
We were very happy.
"But there's a condition!" said he all at once, sitting up straight and looking very fierce. "You mustn't cook!"

The Obama's are gardening!

they've planted all sorts of good stuff, shelling peas, fennel, carrots, kale, even hyssop (i had to look that one up!).

check it out here!

take a look at the garden layout and some photos here...

urban gardening part II - herbs

herbs-in-waiting

My herbs are waiting for me to throw some pots for them and track down some gravel to cover the soil. I was told the little flies that hover around potted herbs will go away if I cover the soil in a thin layer of gravel. I've only spotted one of these little flies so far, but I better find some gravel before more decide to come to the party. For now, my herbs will remain topless and in their plastic containers. They have moved from the kitchen table to the bay window and are sunbathing for as many hours per day as possible.

tags:
ROSEMARY 'Barbeque'
So-called because the stems are long and hard, perfect for bbq skewers.
Full sun, low water when established, DEER PROOF.*
*I learned while in Point Reyes that one cannot guarantee that any plant is DEER PROOF.
WINTER SAVORY (Satureja montana)
Shrubby perennial herb used for flavoring, like sage.
Full sun, moderate water. To 1ft. tall, pretty flowers too!
THYME 'Big Leaf'
Vigorous, great tasting thyme to 1' x 1'.
Good in pots. Full sun, reg. water.
OREGANO-ITALIAN MILD
Selection from Franchi Sementi of Italy.
Milder Italian Oregano, very versatile! Perennial, full sun, great in pots.
BASIL (simply labeled 'Live Basil')

I made a mistake in my last post, 4 pots of herbs were bought from one gentleman and 1 pot from another. The basil was the 1 pot from another and it started slumping over and looking unhappy almost immediately (within hours of purchase!). Even the stems started turning brown. I decided to just pull all of the still perky leaves from the plant, made a neat chiffonade, and sprinkled it atop our dinner of pasta with fresh English peas and grated Parmigiano Reggiano. We were not disappointed.

Finally, the last item on the table is a vase of bright yellow Ranunculus (Persian Buttercups).
wikipedia says:
The term sardonic (sardanios), "bitter or scornful laughter", is often cited as deriving from the name of the Sardinian plant Ranunculus sardous, known as either σαρδάνη (sardanē) or σαρδόνιον (sardonion). When eaten, it would cause the eater's face to contort in a look resembling scorn (generally followed by death). It might also be related to σαίρω (sairō) "I grin".
and they look so sweet and innocent...

carrots coming soon!

urban gardening part I - succulents

a gift from joen

a gift from mary anne and an orphan succulent

Wikipedia tells us:
Succulent plants, also known as succulents or fat plants...Succulent plants store water...The storage of water often gives succulent plants a more swollen or fleshy appearance than other plants, also known as
succulence.

We are slowly but surely making our transition back to urban life and as the sun begins to shine again and the spring season comes our way, we are finding that some changes require more effort than others. One such change is transitioning from living with a large outdoor space to our apartment with zero outdoor space, not even a fire escape. We were spoiled with our giant backyard and patio in Point Reyes. We aren't greedy people, not at all, we don't need all of that yard space here in the city, but a tiny little corner...just a little ledge where we could arrange some soil and sprout something green would be nice. For now, this is not an option, we are committed to making our current living situation work. We were determined to find a solution for making our outdoor space transition run a bit more smoothly, one that would make us happy. We didn't give up, we kept thinking.

Envisioning a garden in our bay window required a complete shift in mindset. It's not really outdoor, but the windows are large and they do let a lot of light into the space. I've read about the viability of gardening in city dwellings on small patios and on roof decks, but in a window...hmmm...would it be possible?

So I decided to start with some hardy and friendly looking succulents. While in Point Reyes, we grew our fair share of fruit, vegetables, and a few native wildflowers and such, but we've never owned a succulent. I perused a few books at the library for advice and checked one out to take home with me and help me get started. It's been about a month, and the succulents have been very well behaved and look beautiful. Recently I added a cutting from Mary Anne's succulent area at the Fort Mason Community Garden and just this week I added a cutting from Joen's gorgeous selection of succulents happily soaking up the sun on her back porch (gifts pictured above). The new cuttings seem to be adapting well.

Today we purchased 5 pots of herbs from a very nice gentleman at the farmers market. More on the herbs soon...stay tuned.

bored with breakfast?

Chris relaxing on the deck (ours for the weekend)

We just spent three beautiful days on the Inverness Ridge. Our climb to the top was pretty intense, so we tried to limit our trips into town for supplies and cooked most of our meals in the house.

One morning Chris decided to make savory oatmeal. Yes, savory - no brown sugar, no cream, no raisins.

He patiently prepared 2 servings of Bob's Red Mill 100% whole grain steel cut oats. Steel cut oats are worlds away from the oatmeal most of us grew up eating. They differ in taste (better), texture (better), and preparation (l o n g e r). Steel cut oats cook for 10-20 minutes over a low heat, nothing like those cute little sweetened pouches of just add hot water instant oatmeal.

Chris topped our savory steel cut oats with diced salametto (Fra'Mani handcrafted salumi from Berkeley) found at Tomales Bay Foods, finely grated Pecorino Romano from Palace Market (the one cheese we forgot to purchase at Cowgirl Creamery - love that place!), a drizzle of McEvoy Ranch extra virgin olive oil (McEvoy is a class act, but Stonehouse is still my favorite), and he completed the dish with coarse ground black pepper.

It was fantastic! I know we will be experimenting with many variations on this theme.

Thanks Chris!

wintertime

Jen at Modern Beet recently wrote about a wintertime tomato sauce. Her post prompted me to think about the meals we have been preparing during these winter months. We have recently given up our garden and are once again living the urban life. The photograph above is of a bowl filled with my last trip to our garden. Although I am feeling a bit melancholy about leaving our garden behind, we really don't have it so bad. First of all, we are in California! Second of all, we live close to the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and we've been taking advantage of Mariquita Farm's fantastic Thursday night mystery boxes. Below you will find a laundry list of ingredients we've been combining to keep us healthy and happy during this winter season.

Greens
We tried chickweed & miner's lettuce from Marin Roots Farm for the first time this year and love both - love their greens in general!
Mariquita Farms has supplied us with all sorts of goodies! They have a great photo section on their website where you can look up a photograph and a description for almost any vegetable. Our last mystery box included items such as spigariello (leaf broccoli), smallage (soup celery), green garlic (it's partially green...), swiss chard, escarole, a variety of radicchio (i never really liked radicchio, but after trying Mariquita's, i'm a big fan), savoy cabbage (first time we tasted it - yum!), and dandelion greens.

Roots
More from Mariquita: french fingerling potatoes, carrots (a nice variety), gold turnips, parsnips, and parsley root (still need to try and cook these up).

Fruit
Our meyer lemons, cara cara oranges, blood oranges, and sun dried cherries have been from Hamada Farms. I have also purchased blood oranges in other markets. I'll try them wherever I can find them!

Preserved
Anchovies have become my secret ingredient. I buy anchovies from Italy that come in a little glass jar. I have no idea what's available locally, but I'm open to suggestions and willing to try a new type of anchovy. I use anchovies in salads, sauteed greens, pasta dishes, etc. Muir Glen makes a great canned fire roasted tomato and I use them on pasta, in chili, in soups, etc. We use Niman Ranch bacon as a condiment, a few crumbles here and a few crumbles there, and yes, it is true, bacon makes everything better!

Prep
We use all sorts of greens in simple salads (often adding toasted nuts and fruit). Sauteing greens with olive oil, garlic & s&p and combining them with polenta, pasta, Israeli couscous, or quinoa is a staple in our winter diet. I also saute greens with peanut oil, soy, and a little sesame oil. Breakfast might involve greens with scrambled eggs or the wonderful crustless quiche that Chris makes with goat cheese and vegetables (most recently green garlic and spigariello). Soups! Roasted vegetables are always good. Recently I simmered parsnips and turnips in stock and then prepared them mashed potatoes style - quite good!

When I'm really lazy I make jalepeno refried bean and whole wheat tortilla burritos.

I'm sure there's more, but that's it for now. Time to celebrate a birthday.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

some more simplicity…

Life has been busy lately and we've been keeping our meals simple. Busy or not, it's been a satisfying way to eat. Superb ingredients shine with minimal preparation.

Baby Arugula Salad
Mince 2 cloves of garlic, sprinkle with salt, and use the edge of a knife to smash into a rough paste. Place the paste in the bottom of a large wood salad bowl. Finely chop two anchovy fillets (packaged in olive oil) and add to the bowl. Drizzle some olive oil (I am currently using Stonehouse Estate Blend) into the bottom of the bowl...don’t be shy...indulge a little. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the bowl. Add a large amount (as much as you can fit and still have room to toss the greens) of crisp clean arugula into the bowl. Toss to coat with contents in bottom of the bowl. Add salt and course ground pepper to taste, and toss again. Top with shavings of Pecorino Romano cheese and homemade croutons (I cheated and used Mollie Stone's).

Inspired by a perfectly balanced arugula salad made by my Mother-in-law during her visit to Point Reyes Station.

citrus & cinnamon

I cannot stop thinking about blood oranges. The lovely specimens I have found lately have been so delicious and juicy that I've been hesitant to alter them in any way, but I have perfected a very simple pairing to which I've become addicted.

My inspiration was found in Claudia Roden's The Book of Jewish Food (thanks Mom). Ms. Roden writes of a common and very popular North African dessert, Salade d'Oranges, a combination of oranges, orange-blossom water, and cinnamon.

I typically begin preparing my version before dinner. 1st I find a pretty bowl and a sharp pairing knife. 2nd I remove all skin and pith and separate oranges into sections. 3rd I drizzle honey over the oranges. Lastly I sprinkle cinnamon on top.

I let the oranges, honey, and cinnamon mingle while I am eating dinner and thinking about how fabulous the oranges are going to taste, and then I eat them for dessert. Pure bliss.

CHILI

i use a different combo of meat and veggies each time i make chili. here's what i did last night:

brown two mild italian sausages (casing removed) in a stock pot, crumbling w/ wooden spoon while cooking (chris did this for me). remove sausage and set aside in a bowl.

brown one large yellow onion (chopped) and about 5 cloves of garlic (rough chopped) in the sausage drippings (scraping up brown bits as the onions and garlic cook).

add carrots and bok choy (yes, this seems very odd, but i had some leftover home-grown veggies from the night before...there were probably about 4-5 small carrots sliced super-thin on a mandoline and 1 smallish bok choy chopped up thinly (leaves and all)...i had made a very simple stir fry the night before and had only added a bit of soy sauce - i was a bit worried about the soy sauce, but by the time the chili was finished cooking there was no soy sauce taste at all...so...you could add some carrots and bok choy at this point, or whatever you like - the colors, texture, and taste of the carrots and bok choy were great and i'd definitely do it again.

add one seeded and finely chopped serrano pepper.

add a 15 ounce can of great northern beans.

add a 28 ounce can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes.

add the cooked sausage.

add cumin, chipotle chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a little brown sugar and let simmer a while. i took it easy w/ the spices thinking i could add more later after i let it all settle and let the flavors mingle together. it turned out to be spiced perfectly and i didn't have to add anything.

so that's what i did. we just finished off the pot for lunch. it's cold and rainy, so hot chili was just what the doctor ordered!

have fun making your version : )

There are beans in my attic (take 2)

OK, so you are supposed to dry shelling beans on the plant. Problem was, I wanted to pull our bean teepees down to make room for a fall planting. So about a month ago I pulled all the Scarlet Runner Beans off the vines with the intention of drying the beas for soups. I somehow thought that you dry beans like you save seed for other varieties - by shelling them and laying them out on a flat surface. It turns out, they are supposed to be dried in the pods so we had to invent a space to dry them....

Introducing the world's first bean hammock. They seem to be happy up there and are moving along quite nicely. And best of all...I have lettuce sprouts where the beans used to be.

Apple Pie

Denise and I have worked out a great one-two punch in the pie arena. I make the filling and she rolls out a great olive (or canola) oil whole-wheat crust. Once I realized how much fruit we were going to cook through this summer/fall, I realized we needed to find a healthier way to make pies. The plum, pear, and apple trees have been keeping us busy. I think we're at the last apple harvest of the year...but I'm going to try to squeeze one more out of the tree next weekend.

Below you can find my Pie Filling and a link to Dene's crust.

Basic Filling (feel free to add ginger, cloves, etc.)

10 apples or pears (or half and half)
1/2 cup sugar
3 lemons (juice and zest to preserve fruits while peeling)
3 tbsp. flour

Crust

http://whatscookingamerica.net/piecrst.htm

Pickled Green Tomatoes

We've all heard about Fried Green Tomatoes, but my mom insisted that we try making pickled green tomatoes with the balance of the crop that didn't quite turn out this year. Rounding out the pickle were some of Denise's Lemon Cucumbers (one of the highlights of our first growing season) and some sliced onion.

We sliced them up and salted them overnight and I canned them today. You can find the recipe in the New York Times Cookbook. Haven't tasted them yet, but according to Mama Parsons there isn't much better than a pickled green tomato on dark bread with butter. Kind of helps get over the fact that tomato season is over. However, I've already got a shortlist of eight tomato varieties for next year...kind of a leap from the three this year...

little potato

i wanted to link you to a nice concise explanation of how potatoes grow, but all of the descriptions seemed to make it sound so intimidating and more complicated than fun...too many rules.

here is what works for me:
1) my neighbor hands me a few little potatoes that have grown eyes (she grew them in her garden and they grew eyes on the shelf in her pantry)
2) i bury them outside in a container (w/ drainage holes in the bottom) under some soil & compost (about 4 inches) and watch the green leafy plants emerge (burying whole potatoes versus pre-cut sets is a common practice in England and...it is simple and i like it)
3) after a few weeks i hill up more soil (i hear you can do this w/ straw versus soil, and that sounds nifty, but i have not tried it yet) around the green leafy plants, leaving a few inches of each plant above the soil
4) the visible parts of the plants eventually turn yellowish brown and slump over
5) i dig* into the soil beneath and around the slumped over plants and find potatoes** of various sizes, including the little potato shown above

what fun! i highly recommend planting potatoes.


* don't wait too long to dig or your tubers may decay

**don't eat any tubers that have been exposed to the sun and turned green, they contain a moderately poisonous substance called solanine

afterglow, defintion #2

The day was too short. It was still early, but the sun was slowly sinking and then suddenly dropped behind the hills. As I finished planting this new box the sky grew quite dark. One might think I'd be disappointed, but the transition from dusk to dark this evening was so calm and peaceful that I didn't really mind at all. I pushed the last remnants of soil off the edges and into the box and was ready to head inside with my shovel and empty black plastic pots, but I could not pull myself away. I quickly went inside and turned on the light so I could hurry back outside and admire the box, filled with it's elegant plants and grasses, standing proudly beneath the glow spilling out of the window. It's the little things in life...


af·ter·glow
noun

Definition:

1. light glow: radiated light that remains visible after a source of light or energy has been removed, e.g. the glow sometimes seen in the sky after sunset

2. good feeling: a feeling of pleasure or a favorable impression that remains after a positive experience
basking in the afterglow of victory

a great fall weekend...

The last five our six weekends have been pretty crazy. The tomatoes, cucumbers, pears, and apples are all peaking. In addition we've been digging new beds and putting in new crops (potatoes, peas, arugula, radiccho, broccoli, caulifolower, lettuces, carrots, spinach and more.) Between either cooking, preserving, gardening and digging there hasn't been much else.

Next weekend we're going to try to chill out when our friends Joen and Paul visit...but the next weekend we'll be back it.

I think the highlight of the weekend was the rain on Friday. We haven't had rain since we moved here in August. Not only did it feel great...the garden looked totally different in the rain. I also went for an evening hike in the rain. It was so nice to see some different weather.

compos(t)able

while harvesting my first round of vermicompost i proudly admired its simplicity, functionality, and beauty. As the worms scurried to the bottom of each pile to escape the sun, we harvested the compost from the uppermost part of each pile. in the end, the worms at the bottom get added back into the original box with new bedding and new kitchen scraps and the process starts all over again.

i also started to think about other types of compost. we had recently run out of compost and needed to purchase a couple of bags to amend the soil in some freshly dug vegetable beds. the quality of the commercial bagged compost paled in comparison to our home-grown vermicompost. i thought of how we had decided to escalate our composting efforts so we would not have to purchase compost in the future and how we had added a new compost box (thanks to our neighbor, ruth) to our yard so we could make use of our large scale yard trimmings that don't make sense in our worm boxes.

then i started to think about a compos(t)able coffee cup (note the missing "t" in the photo) i'd acquired earlier in the day. i usually tote my own cup to our local coffee bar, but this was an unexpected caffeine craving and i arrived unprepared and ill-equipped.

i was told that the disposable cup holding my coffee was compostable, but that we did not have an industrial composting facility in our local area. i began to ponder what that actually meant. what was an industrial composting facility? was it similar in any way to my backyard methods? i had the feeling the answer would not be simple and i was correct. apparently, it is all VERY complicated. i became exhausted after reading through 3 pages of the 187 questions and answers relating to my compostable cup. i found out that my cup cannot be composted in a backyard composting system, but it can be physically recycled, composted through industrial composting, incinerated via waste to energy systems, or chemically recycled back into its base monomer of lactic acid. i also learned that my cup was produced, in part, by dextrose from corn and that corn may or may not have been part of a GM corn crop, most likely a mix of genetically enhanced and conventional corn. i never found an explanation for the missing "t" on my cup (maybe it was part of an irregular cup sale), but i did decide that i would think twice about the value of compostable cups and packaging in my day-to-day life until i had a better understanding of industrial composting and our area opens an appropriate facility. i think i'll continue to carry along my own mug when going out for a cappuccino...my mugs are so much prettier than disposable cups.

thistles go to seed

yesterday i picked a few striking wild thistles that were growing out behind the fence of our backyard and tried to tame them with a few other wild flowers by arranging them all in a milk bottle turned floral vessel and placing it in my kitchen window. at the time i was not aware that the thistle had so many enemies. sigh...i seem to be a magnet for invasive weeds. the image above depicts what occurs when a thistle (or 2) goes to seed while confined indoors versus outdoors where the wind would scatter its seeds. i've never seen anything like it. it was early evening when i walked into the kitchen and saw that a couple of the more mature thistle heads had exploded, trying to send their seeds off for future generations. each tiny seed was surrounded by a beautiful soft fuzzy ball, light as air, worlds away from the thorny thistles i'd cut earlier that afternoon. if outdoors, the seeds would have floated away as passengers in mini hot air balloons.

sweet & simple cucumber recipe from mom

once i ran out and purchased the ingredients, i was able to quickly and easily prepare this recipe and mom was correct, i couldn't stop eating it - yum!

excerpt from an email from my mom:

My favorite way to eat them now is sliced into a pretty Chinese bowl with a bit of thinly sliced scallion, a tablespoon or more of rice wine vinegar (the seasoned one because it is sweet and salty), a drop or two of toasted sesame oil, a sprinkling of black and white sesame seeds, and a few grinds of black pepper. So delicious... You can't stop eating it.

cool as a cucumber

my first homegrown cucumber was cool, crisp, sweet, and oh-so-attractive (see above). this cucumber traveled a long hard road before making it to my cutting board today. at times i wasn't sure my sad little plants would ever bear fruit. the first problem was the pair of blue jays that would swoop down onto the bed and try to take the little seedlings away with them. chris and i fixed that problem with some bamboo, twine, and a little bird netting. but there were more bumps in the road...the seedlings were refusing to grow up, they were so very small for what seemed an eternity, then they looked a bit yellow, then a bit limp. i remained patient and optimistic as i watered them regularly, added some more compost around the base of the plants, and crossed my fingers. the cucumber vines are now bright green and sprawling. and today, hiding beneath some of those bright green (and prickly) leaves, i uncovered this little gem - fantasic!

when i recall the backyard vegetable garden of my childhood i think of our little cucumbers and the pickles my mom made with them. i'll definitely follow in mom's footsteps and be experimenting with some cucumber pickles of my own, but i must wait until i have more than one small cucumber. my time will come, soon i'm sure.

the cucumber is one of my favorite vegetables. it's VERY versatile, eaten in many cultures, and it tastes great without any prep - just slice and eat...done. i have always thought of the cucumber as a vegetable, but since it has an enclosed seed and develops from a flower, it is technically a fruit. as i understand, the term "vegetable" is not scientific and the usage of the word is subjective, so, for now, i'll continue to think of these green little guys as veggies.

i'll leave you with a lovely poem that i found today. it was written by a girl named Alysha. it seems there was a poetry competition and the children were asked to write a poem about a vegetable. Alysha, who must also think of the cucumber as a veggie, responded with this poem. you can read more vegetable poems writtem by children here:
poetry zone

Cool Cucumber
by Alysha Bhatti (aged 8)

Cucumber with noodles
Pizza or rice.
Even on its own
Cucumber tastes nice.

Cucumber in chutney
With yogurt and spice
Diced or grated
Or in a slice.

Cucumber with prawn
Cucumber with fish
Cucumber is the king
Of every salad dish.

Cucumber for hunger,
Cucumber for thirst
In this competition
Cucumber comes first.

The biggest surprise (updated)

I can say, without a doubt, that lettuces have been the biggest surprise for me in the garden. Lettuces never made the mental list of some-day crops that we had been maintaining over the last few years. When Steve Quirt, our local extension practitioner, brought a flat of baby lettuce to his seed-saving lecture in June, I was lukewarm on Denise's idea to take them home.

Granted, Steve's lecture on saving seed was eye-opening. I had no idea how such a thing worked with lettuce, and I had no idea how many varieties of lettuce there were. Steve has been growing lettuce in our area for almost thirty years and he pretty much seems to be growing his own cultivars now. His lecture piqued my interest in lettuce a little more...but not even really to a simmer.

Over the last two months we had our first crop of mesclun fail (planted too late) and our second crop of butter lettuces (planted too late, perhaps not enough sun) has puttered along. We obtained the seeds for both of these crops from mail-order sources. I haven't given up on our second crop, but I can't say they have been a success either.

Meanwhile, the lettuces we got from Steve were slowly moving along, growing bit by bit. We attributed this to planting them in the wrong season and the hot weather. However, the weather cooled off a couple weeks ago and Steve's lettuces got to eating size. We know that lettuces tend to bolt if exposed to prolonged hot weather so we thought we should just try some in case we ended up losing the crop.

It was excellent. (I'm kicking myself for not photographing the pea, mint, lemon, pecorino salad we made Friday night with it.) But the most interesting surprise was how fast it grew back in. I noticed this while hand-watering* this weekend and immediately called Denise over to see it. I am still blown away every time I walk by it.

Below there are two photographs that show the lettuce we harvested this Friday in the foreground and lettuces we harvested a week ago Friday in the background. We have been harvesting lettuces by snipping the leaves about an inch and a half from the base. Denise learned that the lettuces actually grow from the bottom (seems obvious enough I suppose) and if you look at the photos carefully you can see that the tips of the re-grown lettuces are flat where they were snipped.


So the logical moral to the story is that seeds / crops that have grown well in this climate, in fact in this case, were developed in this climate, will do best. We're looking forward to harvesting Steve's crop as long as possible into the fall, letting it go to seed, and planting a whole lot more of it next year.

-- Chris

* Hand-watering. We've been getting some grief from some of our friends for not putting in drip irrigation. usually this comes after we say something like "I'd love to attend your baby shower/birthday party/wedding but I have to water my tomatoes." OK, that's an exaggeration, but it is not an overstatement to say that growing food without irrigation can put a bit of a cramp on your social life. Which is fine with us. That, and we're cheap. Especially on rented land. Add in that we didn't exactly know what we were doing when we laid out the beds, and irrigation is kind of ruled out for us.

But I have been reading more and more that indicates that hand-watering is the way to go for several reasons, but the most interesting one to me is that it forces you to slow down and spend time with your plants on a regular basis. You notice little things (like lettuce re-growth) and you learn about how your plants grow in a way you never would if you let a nanny raise your kids. Oops, I mixed metaphors there. But I stand by my opinion.

Starting Over

Over the last few weeks we've been swimming in blackberries, plums, beets, shelling peas, beans, and summer squash. We've also been falling in love with growing (and re-growing) lettuces. The lettuce story is a whole other blog post.

Denise made a count the other day and I think she figured out we are growing something like FIFTY-FOUR different varieties of vegetables. Wow. I really don't know how that happened.

Actually...

...that's a lie. I know exactly how it happened, cause this we added five new varieties, all five of which were unplanned. Our neighbor, Ruth, continues to bring us things she thinks
we'd like to plant. In the case of leeks, two types of potatoes, and fennel - she's right.
In the case of cilantro...not so much. For me. But I have to say that it is always interesting to see how things grow.

I think if I took the time to think about it, I could probably list another five that came from Ruth, and another five or so came from community seed / plant exchanges in town. That's how we ended up with Oca. (The middle plant in the picture above). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oca. That's how we ended up with the lettuces that will be the star of the next blog post.

It's almost like we're the pet rescue shelter for vegetable plants and seeds...we've just been suckers for anything new, because it is really interesting to watch them grow. (Two varieties of newly planted potatoes above.)

But don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, and I also can't quite lay the blame outside the household. The final pictures, below, are of the newest major addition to the garden, a 4’ x 12’ bed, our first non-raised bed, that I dug out, gopher-proofed, and cultivated about a month ago. Yes, a month ago. The bed is composed of two varieties of beans, four squashes, and one watermelon. (We have planted two of the "three sisters," and we cut down some New Zealand Flax from Ruth's garden to stand in for corn as the vertical supports for the beans.) This bed is also our first experiment with using straw as a mulch...and so far so good. And we like the way it looks as well.

So… back to the title. We have seen the end of some of our earliest crops (radishes, carrots, and beets) and we can see the end of several more coming. So over the next few weeks we'll continue to do more planting, scheming, digging, and planting. And if the past is any indicator of the future...we'll be proud foster parents of some new transplants as well. Here's to seventy-five varieties.


--Chris

Link to more about the three sisters - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(agriculture)

still knee-deep in plums!

Why is it called “canning” if we are putting food in jars?

according to Intercourse Canning Company:
In 1795 Napoleon offered money to anyone who could find a way to preserve foods for his troops. Nicholas Appert of France found a way to preserve food in jars sterilized and sealed with pitch and had a vacuum-packing plant by 1804. This process was a military "secret" but by 1810 Peter Durand of England had a patent for tin-plated iron to use in "canning." Canned rations were on the field at the Battle of Waterloo.

In 1812 a small plant in New York produced hermetically sealed oysters, meats, fruits, and vegetables in cans. Durand introduced his can to America in 1818. Henry Evans patented a machine that made the tin cans increasing production from 5-6 cans to 50-60 cans per hour.

In 1858 American John Mason invented the now famous glass jar for home canning. By the 1860s the process time had dropped from six hours to 30 minutes, making canned foods commonplace. In the heating process the sterilization destroys bacteria and enzymes that can cause spoiling, and the seal prevents new air or other organisms from entering.

what have we canned in the test kitchen?

• mixed garden plum w/garam masala preserves* (we've tried this one on bread and butter, toast, w/ cheese and toasted baguette slices, and on lamb chops)
• santa rosa plum w/rosemary preserves (excellent on french toast!)
• yellow garden plum w/ginger & clove preserves (tastes like peaches)
• garden plum chutney (waiting 3 weeks to allow it to mellow)
• garden plum w/vanilla bean preserves (tastes like raspberries)
• pickled garden plums (cooling off as i type...)

*noted in Can't take credit for them...

i need a nap.