orchids

okay, well technically i'm not growing orchids to eat them.  unfortunately i can't grow vanilla at my house.  but this past year i have ventured into the amateur orchid world by trying my hand at a few.  they bring much needed color to the winter indoor garden.  the ones that i have blooming now are phalaenopsis - pretty much the standard orchid varieties that you see around.  the purple one i've had since december, and it's been blooming steadily since then - 4 months and counting, meaning that i passed the first level of orchid growing - 'i didn't kill it!'.  the white and yellow orchids are ones that i've had since last year.  with these, i've reached the second level of orchid growing - 'i got it to bloom again!'  we'll see how i fair for the third level ('i got more flowers than last year!'). 

beets - love 'em or hate 'em

i tried growing beets last year, and i must admit i don't think i quite succeeded.  the ones i harvested were never more than an inch in diameter even though i left them in the ground longer than recommended.  they were tasty, but not big enough really to do much with.  maybe one of these days i'll try growing them again.  until then, i'll have to make do with ones available at the grocery store.

in my experience there tend to be 2 kinds of people:  those who love beets and those who hate them.  there don't seem to be many folks in the middle of the beet continuum.  as for me, i'm in the love them category.  i love everything about them - their deep purple red color, their earthy, sweet taste, even the greens.  but i've always felt a little limited in ways to prepare them.  a few months ago i came up with this recipe adapted from one that i found in Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian cookbook, and now i can't get enough of it.  while i can't guarantee it will make a beet lover out of someone who can't stand them, if you do like beets, you should try this.  i prefer it room temperature, so if it's been in the fridge, i find it's best to nuke it for 20-30 seconds just to take the cold edge off.  the proportions are for approximately 3 medium sized beets (2 to 2-1/2 in. dia.).

boil beets whole, unpeeled (i use a pressure cooker - a great time saving device) until softened.  in a food processor combine about 1/2 cup walnuts, 1/4 -1/3 cup good quality olive oil (it's worth using a really good olive oil since it's not being cooked), a pinch of salt, a clove of garlic, and a handful of parsley.  pulse a few times until it's blended.  slightly cool the cooked beets, peel, and coarsely chop.  mix beets and walnut/ oil mixture together.  that's it.  so simple and so delicious!   

 

   note: it's important that the chef have a glass of 

   wine while cooking - walnuts, olive oil, and wine:  

   all heart healthy!

 

   gorgeous red beets

 

   no need to serve on a plate - just eat straight 

   out of the bowl

asparagus is here

i looked out into the yard today and noticed my asparagus spears were starting to come up.  asparagus is a perennial so each year you can harvest off the same plants.  this is the third growing season for my plants so i should be able to harvest them for 4 weeks or so.  each year, you can harvest them for longer as the plants get more established.  i love asparagus, so it will give me something to look forward to during dinner the next few weeks.

basement growhouse

so by now my basement is full of amazing little seedlings.  the first week of march i got my tomato seeds (4 different types) and the eggplant seeds (just one type this year) started.  the eggplants have taken longer to get going, but by now the tomato and pepper plants are really going strong.  once the seedlings start to develop their first set of real leaves, i transfer them into potting soil.  i use a very advanced technique learned in elementary school of just using plastic cups to grow the seedlings in.  i poke holes in the bottom of the cups so they can drain well and usually end up cutting off the top rim too so they aren't quite as tall.  you have to make sure though that you remember to write the name of the plant on each cup.  it's pretty easy to tell a pepper from a tomato plant, but if you have 4 different kinds of tomatoes, it is sometimes hard to tell them apart.  i have way more plants growing than i'll need, but it's just so hard to discard the seedlings.  plus i love being able to give some of the plants away for others to have in their garden.

 

   sun gold tomato (yum) 3 weeks after sprouting

 

   4 week old pepper plant

   tiny eggplant seeding that i just potted today.

 

   the petunias are filling out 

   i took this picture of my peppers today.  it is really looking like a pepper plant now

 

   lots of tomatoes

 

   this is the grow light setup.  i keep the lights on for about 15 hours a day

braised butternut squash

a few weeks ago i cooked up the last of my butternut squash from last fall's harvest.  i had ended up giving away at least half of the harvest, but the nice thing about them is that they last for months.  i had grown tired of butternut squash soup so i ended up improvising a braise to cook it up.  i mixed in some leeks with the chopped butternut, along with some rosemary from the garden, a few grates of nutmeg, a couple pats of butter, and about a cup of homemade chicken broth.  i then cooked it in a covered dish for about an hour in a 325 degree oven.  after that, i took off the lid, cranked the oven up to 425, added about 1/4 of cream (you can never go wrong with adding cream) and cooked it for about another half hour.  it ended up delicious and left me with leftovers that i really looked forward to.  i'll have to remember this one for next year's harvest

sprouting seedlings

i got the first seeds started the last week of february: peppers (hot and sweet), lettuce, petunias, and marigolds.  i usually make my own seed starting mix - 1 part perlite, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part spaghnum moss.  i then fill the flats with the seed starting mix that has been soaked heavily with water.  then carefully, i place the seeds into the flats according to the depth recommended on the seed package.  that's it.  i keep the flats under fluorescent lights so as the cotyledon emerge, they are ready to start photosynthesizing.  within a few days the lettuce was already sprouting.  the peppers took longer, but within 10 days they all had begun to grow. 

 

 

     peppers beginning to sprout

 

   the lettuce gets going really quickly

   my workbench in the basement
  

begin to dig

i am here. with my thoughts. with my house. with my 2 cats. with my kitchen filled with pots, pans, cookbooks, and memories. with my plants growing with wild abandon. but without my husband, eric, who died just a few months ago (a few days before thanksgiving of 2010). he was 34 and had a long struggle with cancer. yet despite the lack of 'suddeness' of his death, i'm still struck with the incredulity that it happened. 

so now i am here. in my mid-thirties transitioning back from a life of 'we' to a life of 'i'. wondering how to move forward and find the motivation to do so. hence this blog. one thing eric and i loved doing together was gardening, specifically growing our own vegetables. as the winter wore on these past few months i was determined, no matter how much force of will it would take, that i would get the garden started. first as seedlings in the basement.  then hopefully as the weather warms to the yard. this blog is an attempt to keep that motivation going by sharing the gardening experience with others. it is also an attempt to rekindle my interest in food and cooking again. i have to be honest, it's not much fun cooking for one.  i've been 'eating to live' and not 'living to eat.' so now with the garden started, and the promise of upcoming harvests, i hope to renew that fire in my belly and take to the kitchen again. 

here i am.  ready to get started.  ready to dig to eat.