Diagon Alley

Whenever DB hears Daikon he only hears Diagon Alley, as in the wizard's shopping avenue from the Harry Potter series. But the alley and the radish are two different things. And for the latter, it can be grown in your garden instead of just envisioned in your imagination.

Radish Spirit from Spirited Away

Originating from the Mediterranean, this particular radish became a star of Japan. From the spread 1,300 years ago, more than 100 local varieties cropped up highlighting different textures, tastes, and shapes independent to a specific region. Today, more than 90% of daikon is produced and consumed in Japan.[1] And this obsession is even reflected in the country's anime through the Radish Spirit character in Spirited Away. In the United States, California and Texas are the primary growers of daikon for specialty Oriental markets.

Similar to other monocultures, the number of varieties has been replaced by a hybrid meant to standardize growth and consistency with produce yields. That doesn’t mean that all is lost as local farmers and culinary institutes strive to maintain their country’s gastronomical history.

What does this mean for you the urban homesteader?

Different radishes: (L) my daikon & (R) farmer's market

That growing daikon radish is a rewarding endeavor, especially when considering heirloom varieties. Some grow just several inches others grow over a foot long with two foot wide foliage. Unlike other radish, these require a longer growing period of 60-70 days, best for a late summer sowing in warm climates (two months before first frost).[2] If you live in the north like me, then feel free to start these in the spring with successive planting every two weeks for a continuous crop.

That’s great, but how do you eat it?

I prefer my daikon pickled, matchstick sliced with carrots. They’re great this way on Vietnamese dishes like Banh Mi or Būn and even rolled up in sushi. Whichever way you slice it, with the mild flavor, daikon can be treated like any other radish. Sliced or shredded over fresh salads. Created into little daikon cakes or chips. Or just added to stir-fry. It’s not that hard to come up with something useful for these delicious white tubers.

Final Thoughts

The leaves are already starting to fall and if you’re not doing a second planting this year then think about adding a cover crop to protect against soil degradation before spring. Another option is mix in compost and manure then top with mulch. This gives the soil a breather to build up much needed nutrients to grow next year’s bounty.

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[1] Motoko Fukuda, “Japanese Radish,” The Tokyo Foundation: November 3, 2009, http://www.tokyofoundation.org/en/topics/japanese-traditional-foods/vol.9-japanese-radish (accessed September 28, 2013).

[2] Grow This! “How to Grow Daikon Radishes,” June 26, 2013, http://www.growthis.com/how-to-grow-daikon/ (accessed September 28, 2013).

Do the Can-Can!

Fall is already announcing its presence here with chilly nights and rainy days. It's like you wake up one day and you have to find the sweaters and slippers. And unfortunately, it means a close to the hot weather crops since as peppers, tomatoes and all those other delicious delights. But don't despair! There's ways to extend these items via greenhouses, hoops, or just dragging any containers into the house...

Getting ready to make salsa!

But talking about tomatoes...we've been having fun on coming up with what to do with the plethora that our plants are producing. So far we have six pints of salsa and six pints of tomato basil sauce. We're probably going to end up with another six pints of just regular canned tomatoes at the end of the week.

And if you've never canned before don't be discouraged! It's an easy enough concept once you get the hang of it. Additionally the price difference of home canned versus store bought can be minimal after the initial purchase of the canning supplies are figured into the equation. The only thing that needs to be replaced are the lids, since they're one time use. Most important, you know what is going into your recipe! Lemon juice/citric acid to help balance the acidity of tomatoes for water bath canning or to prevent apples from browning. Just the right amount of sugar and spice for applesauce or salsa.

The list of ingredients for your canning adventure doesn't have to be taken from a chemistry text book! I know I get a fright whenever I'm perusing the grocery store shelves...yellow 5, cellulose, BHT/BHA, etc, etc. What happened to using turmeric for that yellow color? Getting whole foods/minimally processed for fiber? Don't get me started on BHT/BHA...But I digress....

Tools of the trade

Canning. It began during the Napoleonic Wars when the need to feed troops extended logistical supply lines from France to Russia. And if you have any concept of supply lines then you understand they can be delayed, broken, or obliterated leaving the troops wont for food stuffs. Flash forward from the 1790's to present day and you'll still find people canning their own food. There's a deal more science and technique behind it to prevent spoilage but you get the picture. Average people can do it, it's not abnormal to have a vested interest in your food.

And there are several publications out there to help you out. Doing any search on 'books on canning' and you're bound to get an extensive list. My all time go to is the Ball's Blue Book Guide to Preserving but Better Homes and Gardens does release a nice magazine style guide each fall (found near the checkout aisles of local grocery stores). Never mind the fact that more people are getting on the bandwagon for home canning and preserving with publishers taking a notice.

What are you waiting for? Go to your local you-pick raspberry farm and whip up raspberry jam! Swing by a local orchard and nab a bushel of apples perfect for applesauce, apple butter or pie filling! The options are only limited by your imagination.

Harden the Flesh

Everything in the garden is slowly finishing the harvest. The giant, Big Boy tomatoes are all starting to give their last hurrah as well as the okra. However, the ones we looked forward to the most this year had to be, without a doubt, the butternut squash and pumpkin.

We’ve grown squash before but not on this level and the drought last year killed the pumpkins, so we were tickled to see so many forming on the vines. And if you’ve been following the blog then you know the small problem with had with the lack of bees early on in the season that had us worried. The boy freaked out for a short period saying that there wouldn’t be enough of either at the end of harvest. But I think this week proved him wrong.

Butternut Squash and Sugar Pie Pumpkin

The tally so far is four squash with four more on the vine and five pumpkin. The squash range in size from 3.19lbs to 4.38lbs, while the pumpkins are a little bit smaller at 2.47lbs to 3.53lbs. I think we made a killing. Typically, the squash can go for .99/lb or up to 1.99/lb depending on when it’s in season. The pumpkin, normally in the grocery stores starting in mid- to late-September can run .99/each to .99/lb. When you’re talking 3 to 4lbs it starts to add up. Never mind the fact that I knew what went into growing these particular fruits and didn’t have to worry about pesticides, insecticides, GMO, and other unsavory growing conditions associated with larger scale farming operations.

Now after harvest, you have to ask yourself “how can I store this bounty aside from freezing since pumpkins and squash are not recommended for home canning?” Great question. Harden the flesh. Sounds stoic and something you’d hear in a Schwarzenegger film, but the heart of it is similar to potatoes and onions that you’d prepare for root cellars.

Once you cut the fruit, give it a gentle wiping with a solution of bleach and water that helps to prevent mold and premature rot (1:10 ratio). Place the cleaned squash and pumpkins in a nice warm area for one to two weeks (80-85F); this allows the outer flesh to cure. This curing process gives the pumpkin a chance to firm up before long-term storage and unripe fruit the chance to mature.

From there, the fruit can be stored in a frost-free area that is not too damp, such as an enclosed porch or shed optimally with temperatures between 50-55F with humidity 50-70%. Set the fruit in a single layer on top of porous material to allow for proper airflow such as straw, crumpled newspaper or cardboard. Done correctly, the pumpkin and squash can remain in storage all winter – roughly two to three months. Important though keep away from apples since they emit ethylene gas that speeds up the ripening process.

Final Thoughts

Don’t forget to start thinking about next year’s garden this fall. Order catalogs, visit the local library, browse Pintrest and other image based boards to gather ideas. Don’t be afraid to try something new.

Beet Juice! Beet Juice! Beet Juice!

Now I want to watch Beetlejuice...but never mind that. Today, I spent my late morning canning. It's something that I've been doing for the better part of two weeks. See it's one thing to grow or harvest vegetables and fruits, quite another to store said items. Needless to say, the pantry is beaming with canned goods to the point that DB called me a "prepper." Um...not even close. But getting there. The shelves are stocked with strawberry margarita jam, peach jam, peaches, applesauce (reg. & spiced), apple butter, dill relish, daikon, salsa verde, and my newest adventure, beets.

I've never played with beets before. Sure, my grandmother would try to get me to eat store bought commercially canned beets and I would have none of it. But after asking a friend about beets and pickling them, I decided to give it a go. Picking up a bunch from the farmer's market on Saturday, I got started on my adventure...this morning. What? It's Labor Day weekend. I spent most of my time away from home with family...swimming....and going to RenFairs....

So, beets. When I read that beets would stain whatever it could leak it's juices onto pink, I didn't think it would be that bad...I think I should just cut my nails now before I go to work instead of having my boss ask why my fingers are bright pink. Best to avoid that situation if possible. And when I removed the jars from the water bath, one decided he didn't like being upright and for a second there I thought all hope was lost as juice dribbled out. But the seal took, I just made sure to label that one as the "tipper" so it gets eaten first. As far as I know all the juice is cleaned up and the sink doesn't even look that bad. The interesting part is going to be trying these home canned beets.

Final Thoughts

Don't forget that it's not too late to start sowing for the fall harvest. Great ones to think about are carrots, Swiss Chard, Spinach and other short term, cool crop varietals. Right about now the pumpkin vines should start to die back and the fruit themselves begin to finish off their color. Our 'Sugar Pies' are almost ready for harvest!! Lastly, I leave you with the double headed sunflower. Yes, double. The individual heads grew together to form this:

A double headed sunflower.

Is that a Cucumber?

Oh, the pickle. I love pickles. Dill pickles, sweet pickles, bread and butter pickles, I love pickles. Especially on a warm summer day. We tried planting pickling cucumbers this year but the newly discovered neighborhood chipmunk loves them just as much so we’re only left with two burpless cucumbers. That’s fine, they’re more than making up for what they lack in numbers.

Part of the Cucurbitaceae family, the cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) has a long and luxurious history with mankind. You can find them in arid climates or the tropics, in Africa, Asia, or the Americas. In terms of cucumbers, most historians believe they arrived via India being cultivated in that area for at least 3,000 years.[1] However, no wild cousins have been found in the region between the northern part of the Bay of Bengal and the Himalayas.[2] The trade roads introduced these spiny fruit to Greece and Rome. Colonialism helped to spur the movement of cucumbers to new heights through the expansion to North America in 1494.[3]

The fruit can be eaten fresh, pickled, cooked, or any other way you can think of it. My grandmother loves to take fresh cut cucumber and soak it in apple cider vinegar for a half hour. Kind of like the poor man's pickle. Think it’s the same thing as a gherkin? It’s not. In fact, most West Indian gherkins (C. anguria) are a different species rarely grown in the United States. If you’re looking for one try to find those with a “prickly” oval fruit about an inch long.[4]

Most cucumbers are frost sensitive that love warm seasons. The vines can grow rapidly so it’s best to have a trellis ready for the seedlings once they start to emerge; however, there are newer varieties that do well in containers. At this stage, it’s best to provide cover from leaf munchers (i.e. bunnies, chipmunks, etc) otherwise you’ll be like me and walk out to a cucumber plant nibbled to the ground. Most varietals take 55-75 days to reach maturity, but to speed things along feel free to start seedlings indoor and transplant when all danger of frost is gone.[5]

Now, you’re probably asking, “what are you doing with all your cucumbers?” Great question. Pickle relish. I know, I know, I don’t have “pickling” cucumbers. But does that matter? It really doesn’t have to and can be up to personal preference. Most would argue against it due to the size of the seeds in the average cucumber. So scrounging the web for a recipe (my favorite thing to do), I set out on a quest to find a recipe that didn’t “require” pickling cucumbers.

Prepping for the relish making ^_^

I found one on Eating Richly’s blog. There’s a nice dill flavor and the turmeric really makes the color pop – but not as insane as some of that neon green relish, you know which one I’m talking about…laced with petroleum derived food coloring…Most of the time spent on the relish went into the brine bath. Otherwise, it was a cinch to whip up several half pints of this lovely condiment.

Is there anything in the grocery store that you’ve decided to make yourself? If yes, post a comment and tell us the what and why!

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[1] Kenneth F. Kiple & Kriemhild Coneé Ornelas, ed. The Cambridge World History of Food, Cambridge University, 2000. http://www.cambridge.org/us/books/kiple/cucumbers.htm (accessed August 19, 2013).

[2] Aggie Horticulture, “Pickles and Salads Owe a Debt to India,” Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/vegetabletravelers/cucumber.html (accessed August 19, 2013)

[3] Kiple & Ornelas, 2010.

[4] Aggie.

[5] “Watch Your Garden Grow – Cucumber,” University of Illinois Extension, http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/cucumber.cfm (accessed August 19, 2013).

Persistence

There's a tangle of morning glory vines along the back retaining wall. For the last few days, we've been watching this tangle reach new heights. Normally this is achieved through a trellis, a backyard tiki lamp or in the case of one year, a shovel that got left out one night. Not this time. This time it's a flower. Just a single flower struggling for all it's might against the strangle hold of these pugnacious morning glories.

And of course, it's a sunflower.

Pushing through life

Of all the flowers in my garden, it would be this one. A part of the daisy family, this North American beauty follows the movement of the sun, tracking the light throughout the day. The sunflower in many religious contexts is seen as a sign of adoration, warmth, and the search for enlightenment. To top it off, I didn't plant this flower, nature did. And it's finding it's own way through life even with all the obstacles using it for their own benefit.

So take this flower and go about this new day with a revitalized belief in yourself.

Fruit or Vegetable?

The baby eggplant

I always like this time of year when you can see the fruits of your labor maturing. Take for example the eggplant. I’m probably like most adults that are a product of poor households in the fact that I never had a variety of fruits or vegetables as a child. A majority of Americans only partake in the potato, corn, or tomato aspect of these wondrous products. So it wasn’t until I was older that I tried to venture out with my tastes in food.

Since trying eggplant, I have used it in many forms from soups (ratatouille) to pasta dishes (eggplant parmesan) and anything in between (baba ghanoush, anyone?). But the best we’ve found so far is the Spicy Peanut Eggplant Stew as described in the Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. The little purple fruit growing on our plants have a future in the culinary arts.

Yes, I said fruit. Botanically speaking the eggplant is a fruit (see also tomato, cucumber, chili peppers, and some pod vegetables). In some European countries, it is known as aubergine and is part of the nightshade family.[1] While some species of the nightshade family are toxic due to the high levels of alkaloid, most edible varieties contain healthful benefits. Other members of the nightshade (night growing plants) family include potatoes, tomatoes, chili-, and bell peppers. Eggplants themselves contain small amounts of potassium, manganese, copper, vitamins B1, B3 and B6, folate, magnesium, and tryptophan while also being low in fat and cholesterol.[2]

Grown in a variety of sizes, colors, and textures, the eggplant is a warm season plant with sensitivity to frost. It’s best to transplant the tender plants after all danger of frost has passed in your area. And don’t think bigger eggplant are better. Instead, cut them when they are 6-8” long with a glossy, smooth flesh. Cutting them early results in a more palatable, less bitter flesh with smaller seeds to contend with compared to the larger ones. If you grow your own eggplant try to use it right away after harvesting since eggplant do not store well.

When you get ready to cook it there is the option to salt it. The salting only draws out extra moisture and doesn’t draw out any bitterness. Think of eggplant like a sponge. You want to remove the extra water and air trapped in the cells to ensure that whatever flavors you cook with are soaked up into the meaty flesh.[3] In addition, it reduces the amount of water bleed out and rate of oil absorption. Prior to using rinse off any salt then dry with a paper towel.

What are your thoughts on eggplant? Have you tried any other varieties aside from the classic black beauty?

Beautiful sunflower along the house

Aside from eggplant, there's a lot more going on in the gardens. The sunflowers are bursting with color and there's even one in the backyard - I don't know how it got there. But the morning glory are using it as a trellis. The 'Early Girl' tomato is almost ready for harvest while I still need to plant something in the empty void of the raised bed since we pulled out the spent sugar peas. The butternut squash is starting to change colors while the pumpkins are starting to gain weight. All in all a sight to behold.

The house sparrows are flocking to the feeders with their young in tow teaching them the ropes in foraging backyards for food and dirt baths. The mighty bird dog he thinks he is, Jake tries to constantly chase them from the yard to no avail. At the end of the day, I like to sit back at watch the zany antics conspiring in my backyard.

Final Thoughts

They're not much to look at but I leave you with my children as my closing remarks, enjoy!

Sputnik and Wicket pretending to be beached whales

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[1] “Nutritious Eggplant is a Misunderstood Veggie…er…Fruit.” The Florida Times-Union. February 17, 2011. http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/food-and-dining/2011-02-17/story/nutritious-eggplant-misunderstood-veggie-er-fruit (accessed August 6, 2013).

[2] IBID.

[3] University of Illinois Extension, “Watch Your Garden Grow – Eggplant.” http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/eggplant.cfm (accessed August 6, 2013).

We Got Worms!

We've been really enjoying the fact that our local farmer's market has been pushing towards Green Living. This included a fair attached to last week's market that focused on sustainable practices and organic foods. Demos/discussions were held every hour, which included one on vermicomposting. Now, we've been composting for a few years, but vermicomposting. Our first thought: what the hell is it?

Scouring the web we came up with this: worms.

Ok...but how does it work? The lovely Kate Jerome, our demo host, explained that the worms work in the same way as composting.[1] Instead of just breaking down the food and paper waste, they act like mini garbage disposals. Even better? The bin - either bought or made - can stay in the kitchen year round. Begin the experiment!

Preparing the bins

Layering the material

We went out to the local Big Lots! and picked up two plastic bins. Of course, with the limited selection we had to make do with clear bins. Problem is, the worms are night crawlers, but thank goodness we keep a steady stock of black spray paint. A few coats later and some fun with a hand drill and our bin is ready for assembly.

There are different methods for building a worm bin.[2] However, we decided to keep it simple by drilling a series of holes on the bottom of the first bin that way the worm castings can drain into the bottom bin. There should be something to create a gap though to ensure proper airflow and give depth to the reservoir. It's not in the photos but we have PVC that we used when we created our self-watering containers to aid with aeration. You can use plant saucers, bricks, whatever else you can think of to provide stability and support.

Our worms

Next we added a bed of shredded paper and kitchen waste. Ms. Jerome was kind enough to give those of us who showed up to the demo a cup of her extra red wigglers as long as we pledged not to use them as bait. Well Ms. Jerome, they're not bait!

Now, you're probably asking yourself "Why use worms? What's the point?" Damn fine question.

When it comes to organic material, we're not at the top of the food chain. Something that is barely a 1/2" wide and 3" long provides a vital service to soil amendment. In fact, most artificial soil supplements/fertilizers kill off helpful microbes and earthworms creating a cyclic dependency on petrol based products. Microbes are nature's way of providing equilibrium through the addition of vital nutrients to the soil.[3] This aids in not only the addition of nitrogen (readily available as a gas but not in a plant soluble form), phosphate, and potassium – the N, P, K that you see on most fertilizer packages – but also iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and carbon.[4]

Secondly, between 30-70% of household waste is organic material that can easily be composted. Instead, it is included in overflowing dumpsites as it goes out with the regular trash. Think about what you’re throwing away.

I don't know about you but I'm damn excited to begin this new project!

But just because we have this going for us doesn't mean we can neglect everything else around the house. Nope! The pumpkins are doing fabulous now that the blooms are getting pollinated and we should have six good Sugar Pies by the end of the season. The butternut squash is doing equally as well. Also, we have three baby eggplant which I'm sure DB is counting the days until those become Spicy Eggplant Peanut Soup...The tomatoes are doing too well and I've resorted to using bricks at the base of the cages to keep them upright since we live in a wind tunnel. Other than that, I leave you with my final thoughts which is just a picture, enjoy!

Sputnik lounging

[1] Kate Jerome, “Vermicomposting,” Demonstration at Getting Green by the Lake July 27, 2013.

[2] University of Nebraska – Lincoln, “Vermicomposting: Composting with Worms,” http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/vermicompost107.shtml (accessed August 1, 2013)

[3] North Carolina State University, “Vermicomposting,” https://www.bae.ncsu.edu/topic/vermicomposting/ (accessed August 1, 2013)

[4] Clell Tompkins, “Worm Composting 101,” http://wilsoncountymg.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/worm_farming_101_by_clell_tompkins.pdf (accessed August 1, 2013).

Q-tip Love

It's nearing the end of July and things don't seem to be slowing any time soon around the house. I've been picking up hours to afford all our outings while the boy has been bashing his brain to bits in order to finish his undergraduate dissertation. Needless to say, it's a bit chaotic.

The garden with me in the background, hi!

Speaking of chaotic...the garden has exploded. I meticulously planned the 4x8 raised bed with square foot gardening in mind. I don't think the plants got that memo. The tomatoes tower over me and try to crowd out the poor bell pepper plant - even with pruning. The butternut squash and pumpkins have run amuck, sprawling across the lawn as if it knows it has better places to be. Let me tell you...nothing says fun like Q-tip pollinating pumpkin blooms because the bees are slacking...(too many blooms to choose from)

By the way, if you're going to play with cucurbitaceae family plants (i.e. cucumber, squash, pumpkin) be careful if you have sensitive skin. I'm out there in shorts and flip-flops with my Q-tips, next thing I know it's hive city on my arms and legs.

Slowly emerging

The, sometimes itchy, fruits of our labors are starting to pay off as we harvested a nice sized cucumber today and over the last week collected 6oz of snap peas (there would've been more but I kept eating them). There are more cucumber on the vines and the super chilies are hanging out until they redden. We've got a few okra and tomatoes that are ripening as well. It's nothing significant with some of the veggies - like the snap peas and okra. But it's something to put on our plates outside the normal farmer's market fare.

As for the rest of the gardens the daylilies and hosta have finally started to bloom with the Black-eyed Susan not too far behind. The sunflowers are already producing wonderful yellow flowers. But the chocolate ones are just starting to open. The golden finches love the sunflowers and I often times see them hanging around our front porch.  Meanwhile, the regular house finches are using the bare patches of our yard as their personal sand bath. There are whole colonies crowded in the 'dead zones.' It's a mad house out there....

Birds of Paradise

Jake, enjoying the weather and the dirt

The 4th of July has come and gone. The weather is picking up that it's summer and July, meaning the days are warm and humid. At night you can feel the moisture on the linoleum floors of the kitchen, collecting as the night tries to cool the evening air. The kids are just puddles on the floor during the worst of times. Otherwise, they're packed against the windows watching the wild birds that claim our neighborhood frolic in the yard.

I've seen and heard a plethora of the winged entertainment. The other day cardinals foraged in the yard with a female singing out our bathroom window for a good fifteen minutes. Little chickadees crowded the boxwood tree, an ironic backdrop of chirps to the book I was reading (Suzanne Collins 'Mockingjay') or house sparrows played around the old aluminum ladder we've yet to get rid of. Sputnik loves watching them all from his perch in the enclosed back porch. Funny thing, he sits atop an old kitty litter pail, that we've filled with wild bird seed. There's more - mourning doves, gold finches, house finches, red-winged black birds, robins, once we saw a blue jay. But the one bird we really want in the yard still eludes us: hummingbirds.

We try to plant with them and butterflies in mind. There are plenty of those - butterflies - in the yard too. A friend mentioned seeing a hummingbird last week. Makes me jealous and that much more resolved to attract them to my yard. It makes me wonder if there's some type of habitat (nesting area, water source) aside from our normal plant cultivation we can erect in our yard to meet their needs. Something, anything. Just another thing to add to the list of things to do to the yard, I guess.

Hell, a trip to the local you-pick strawberry field prompted plans to erect our own vertical strawberry planter. With my ingenious idea it would involve strawberries on one side and hanging potters with lettuce on the other. When I tried to describe this plan to my partner all I got was the blank stare. That is until I drew the damned thing. My verbal description of it's an inverted V actually turned out more like a swing set, but whatever. I owned up to the mistake of probably drawing it out first then trying to describe it.

The raised veg. garden exploding!

One thing at a time though. The raised bed we erected earlier this spring is overflowing with vegetables. The butternut squash probably wasn't the greatest thing to put in there but lesson learned. It needs it's own home next year. The okra is doing fabulous as well as the tomato plants which are taller than their cages. I'm excited for the harvest this year. The strawberries we picked became strawberry-margarita jam, pie and frozen nuggets for later use. So I'm sure you can only imagine what I'll turn my vegetables into when they're ready - pickled, canned, devoured!

Culinary Delights

Speaking of pie...I made a strawberry-rhubarb pie the other night. We picked the rhubarb up earlier in the season from our local farmer's market, which was bursting at the seams yesterday with over 7,000 people in the five hours it was open! I froze the rhubarb for later use because, honestly, I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but at $2 a bunch I couldn't pass it up.

The pie turned out wonderful (there's only 2 slices left), so good in fact the boy and I ate two pieces in one night. Not only was the filling good but the crust which was a coconut oil based experiment vs margarine, my typical choice. The crust still turned out flaky and wonderful. You can probably find any variation of this crust online and for the life of me can't remember where I pulled this one from but here it is:

mmm...pie....*drool*

Coconut Oil Pie Crust (makes a double crust)

1ts salt

2c flour

3tb coconut oil

6tb veg. oil

6tb cold, iced water

Directions 

1) mix the salt and flour together

2) add in the liquids and mix until well incorporated but not over mixed

3) wrap in saran wrap and chill for 1hr

4) divide into equal pieces and on lightly floured surface roll until desired thickness/diameter

What summertime treat/dessert do you look forward to the most? Is it berry based? Or do you prefer citrus?

Unruly Squash

     Hot damn! It's sticky outside! Summer took a while to reach us, but now that it has arrived there's no stopping the daily thunderstorms that rattle the house at all hours. At least for now, I don't have to water the plants. The sporadic downpours are doing that for me, thanks Mother Nature.

     The flower beds are a constant wave of color. The poppies already came and went but I managed to get a snapshot of the salmon colored blooms before a thunderstorm knocked them all away. The roses are thriving with blooms weighing down the branches and the boy keeps the small glass vase on my desk well stocked with new roses. The daylilies had to be thinned from the maple garden since they wanted to run amuck (hehe - amuck, amuck, amuck!), but they were choking the poor little goblin flower.

     In the new raised bed, the plants are thriving off this muggy and wet weather. The tomato plants are HUGE! Not to mention we are constantly having to move the tendrils of the squash and pumpkin onto their makeshift trellis so they don't overextend themselves into the rest of the garden. It's too bad that the carrot really didn't take this year. We have two, just two, baby carrots sprouting.

     Last week, we got the fence fully stained and we even put a gate on it. We had to take apart one of the panels, then put it back together, but I think it looks very nice. Considering that I'm the one that thought to put a curve along the top, I should think it looks very nice.

That's all on my end. I feel a game of naps coming on. Don't forget to keep yourself and your gardens hydrated!

They're cute when they're tiny!

Last week, DB and I got the chance to enjoy some nice weather and a trip to the Boerner Botanical Garden. We missed the tulips last year because of the unusually warm winter and that made me sad. Not this year! And with the help of a Groupon discount, we got to enjoy it at half price. The tulips were in full bloom and some of the irises as well. The one thing I want to go back for is the daylilies and roses. But there's a problem. A giant bumblebee claims the rose garden area as his own and makes it impossible for us to wander around that area. Stupid bee. Reminds me of the honey bees currently hanging around my cauliflower's container. They think they own the place. And I have a fear of bees getting into my hair because I had a bad experience once. A hornet got trapped in my ponytail and stung me when I went to fix it. Needless to say, when there are bees about, I scream like a little girl, flailing my arms as I go running.

The two nice days turned into chances of showers and thunderstorms taking the wind out of our sails for finishing the stain on the fence. To keep ourselves occupied we moved onto a different project: the raised garden bed that we've been talking about for years now. If you recall in a previous post (Hyacinths and breakfast sausage) we pulled up the old, busted driveway to make room for the new garden.

My SFG plan

Pulling together some semblance of a plan we got to work - between thunderstorms. The plan resulted in a raised cedar bed 8' x 4' x 1' along the lines of the one featured on Sunset's website. Using this concept, we wanted to try the square foot gardening (SFG) to get the most bang for our buck. This method, as authored by Mel Bartholomew, provides a practical means to grow an abundance of plants in limited space where the soil might not be the best, to reduce maintenance efforts, and increase yield, among other things. But it needs to keep in mind companion/foe plants considering the amount of space (i.e. carrots do well with lettuce but not celery). Any simple internet search will give you a plethora of results to help determine companion/foe planting for your own garden.

Starting the work on the raised bed

Spread out over a few days we got to work. The frame was easy enough - after we figured that flipping it from one side to the next would be the easiest in order to make sure the boards were level. Taking a concept from the book "I Garden: Urban Style" (2010, p 66), we used a 'lasagna' effect. Newspaper and cardboard on the bottom with garden fabric along the sides then layers of compost, peat moss, and garden soil until we filled up the bed (it took two trips to the hardware store to get all the 'dirt' mainly because we short-changed it the first time around, oops).

Full of dirt and segmented into square feet

After a trip to the local nursery, we picked up some of the transplants, while direct sowed some of the other stuff (i.e. pumpkin, carrot, bean). The nursery offers a great discount for flats of 4-cell veggies. Only needing a half-flat it still gave us extra plants. So we filled up the raised bed and put two each of hot peppers, bell pepper and eggplant in self-watering containers. Because, you know, you can never have enough peppers...but as an added precaution I made little paper bag collars for those plants. If you can recall, I had a problem with cutworms last year. I didn't bother putting the lettuce in the SFG and instead opted to use just a SW-container.

Little, baby veggies! ^_^

To say I'm excited about my vegetable garden is an understatement. I cannot wait until the plants grow and begin to fruit especially since we're trying our hands at 'classics' and new stuff (okra! beans!). Last year's drought worked well enough for my peppers but not for most other things, I'm hoping this year will do a little better. Otherwise, I'll be canning another batch of peppers and salsa, not that I mind but it would be nice to add other things to the pantry/freezer.

Final Thoughts

Most of your veggies and fruit should be outside by now so it should be all about maintenance. Keep the weeds back, stake the peppers and eggplants if needed, and watch out for garden pests - I'm looking at you squirrels. And now is the time to attract honey bees and other pollinators to your garden! Use spring blooming flowers to get their attention so by the time your veggies need them, they're there and ready to roll.

"Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get."

- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Skeletons in the garden

North side tulips: white, purple & black

What a busy few days! The weather has been playing nice allowing us time to go outside and roll around in the dirt. New flowers and bushes are in their new homes while the existing beds got an update with new mulch. All of the tulips are up and blooming. But it's too bad that the tulips on the south side of the walk up to the house aren't as strong as the ones on the north side. Makes me wonder if our cocker spaniel, Jake and his winter habit of peeing right there, had something to do with it...ponders...

We keep our skeletons outside in the garden

A few days ago on Facebook, I made a post about zombie gnomes and how they'd go well with our skeleton flamingos. A friend commented and I had to take a photo of our skeletons that just chill with the orange tulips and (normally) mums. The flamingos aren't for a Halloween display, instead, we keep them outside year around. Kind of like the wall decals in the house of spiderwebs and spiders.

Doing my part to help

This weekend we also decided on a stain for our cedar fence. If you've been reading the blog then you remember the fence the boy and I built last year. After letting it weather for a bit, we decided to stain it. Using a semi-transparent, oil based stain we chose 'Burnt Hickory.' The picture doesn't do it justice, but the stain gives it a nice old, spooky vibe. We joked that we'd finally get to a project that we started but haven't finished. Now if we can get a ladder long enough to get to the peaks of the house to finish painting that.

On my own today, I decided to entertain myself by pulling dandelions from the yard. Filling two buckets that little side project took me almost two hours. I didn't get them all but I got 99% of them. I really don't like using chemicals on my lawn. Instead, I don't mind the manual labor of using a dandelion digger and bucket doing a quasi-duck waddle. I'm sure it's a hilarious sight for the neighbors, but I like the feeling of accomplishment.

Final Thoughts

Birds are great entertainment, not only for yourself but if you own cats. I know mine like to hang out in the enclosed back porch and watch their version of TV  Try to keep a variety of feeders and water/bath dishes throughout your yard. Most birds are territorial and don't like sharing, while different feeders accommodate the different feeding requirements of larger vs. smaller birds. And while you surely don't have to feed them everyday try to keep to a routine. Right now we have mourning doves, cardinals, golden finches, chickadees, house sparrows, and black birds that frequent our yard, sometimes we even get a blue jay. We're still holding out for hummingbirds and keep trying year after year.

Zone 5: Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants should be already hardened to the outside temperature, but make sure to keep on eye on the small plants. Keep sowing lettuce, carrot, and sweet corn for a rotation of harvest times.

Hyacinth and Breakfast Sausages

Who you callin' pansy?

What a week it has been already!  The local stores and garden centers are in full bloom with the various trees, shrubs, and plants on display.  Have you hit up your local garden center to check out the latest variety of fruit or vegetable this year?  I'm a little sad that the only place that I can get the black petunias at is a small drive away.  Even then, they're not the 'Black Cat' variety but 'Phantom' (yellow/black) or 'Pinstripe' (pink/black) since most are making way for this year's varietal of 'Blackberry Hybrid.' That's all well, but I want my black petunias!  Maybe there will be something at this years plant sale.

The nice void

Hey look! I made a mountain!

I'm looking forward to spring since we're working on expanding the vegetable gardens.  Container gardening is nice, but since we have the room we're going to try our hand at raised beds.  It's just a matter of clearing out the old driveway to make room for said beds.  So what did we do this weekend?  Took a sledgehammer to the old concrete.  We didn't get all of it out, but a good 8ft section.  It made a nice mountain in front of the fence.  There's a local place that accepts old concrete so it's just a matter of hauling it away.

While visiting the local centers this year, we found a new flower that we're in love with: hyacinth. The blooms have a sweet aroma with delicate looking flowers in a variety of colors.  Of course, I got a few.  Two purple, grape hyacinth and two pink.  In my zone they're perennials but above zone 8 they have a tendency to become annuals.  Arriving at the same time as daffodils and tulips, these bulbs can add a nice accent to the larger flowers.

Ms. Mouse's Thoughts on Food

I have made vegan breakfast sausage.  There, I said it, I am awesome.  Go ahead and ponder this thought for a little bit.  Now you may ask how I accomplished this wonderful feat of culinary genius?  Trial, error, and taking apart several other recipes to create a hybrid. Ready to try your own hand at these nummy little patties?  Then read on!

the work in progress

McSmee Early Risers - 12 patties

oil, for cooking
1/4c onion, sauteed
1c black beans, rinsed/drained
3/4c oatmeal
2tb flour
1/4-1/2ts fennel seed
1ts sage
1/4ts salt
1/4ts onion powder
1/4ts garlic powder

They look like sausages!!!

1/4ts cumin
dash cayenne
1ts maple syrup
+/- 1/4c water

Directions:

1) Chop & saute onion
2) Place all ingredients in a food processor until smooth
3) Use a melon baller or something similar to plop mixture into the skillet on med/med-lo heat (stove temps vary)
4) Let brown on each side (cooking roughly 3-4 minutes) and gently flip, repeat

As I said in an earlier post, recipes are like guidelines - unless of course it's a baking recipe then try to stick with that unless you can without uncertainty fiddle with the ingredients/ratio that most baking requires.  After testing these sausages out, I found the 1/2ts fennel seed to be a little much for my taste even with processing it into microscopic bits.  The maple syrup gives it a nice sweetness that can compliment any breakfast entree.  The next thing I need to figure out is how to do omelets without egg...that way I can make my own damn breakfast sammies.

Final Thoughts

Got your garden all planned out? Great you're one step ahead of me. If not, it's okay, it's not too late to get some idea of what you're planting this year, but don't wait too much longer! Soon the major planting time will have long gone and it will be time to focus on keeping those little buggers alive and producing!

Zone 5: pinch back strawberry blossoms, sow bush/pole beans, and start installing collars to protect seedlings from cutworms!