I wanted to do a food and gardening diary and Chocolate Ink suggested I link it to Earth Day and here is the rest of her thoughts which were so well said I thought I would just include here:
So do you have any favorite recipes to share or links to good recipe or food sites.
How about organic gardens, do you have one, or do you have any kind of garden. What are you favorite things to grow. Tips, tricks, hints, anything you want to share. If you love your garden, tell us why?
Even if you have no vegetable garden, do you grow any plants. Tell us what your favorite trees, plants and flowers are. How much time do you spend gardening.
Food: What are your favorites types of food, traditional foods that you have in your family, recipes or links to sites you love. How does your traditional family food link you to your ancestors.
How does food and gardens and nature itself connect you to the great Mother Earth, and does it make you want to do more to protect her? Do you have any special projects you care about or work on?
Picture welcome too, of your gardens and even of food you have prepared. Digital cameras come to the rescue.
And Chocolate, I’m waiting for a good chocolate comment from you, thanks for your help.
I posted the diary about food and gardening, so I hope you and other will join me here and give me some great new ideas for cooking and gardening.
Hey diane, thanks for the mention but you already had most of the idea to start with.
I’ll try and post more later but here’s a link that I’ve gone back to more than once. For anyone who loves chocolate this is it and it’s also fun. Has wallpapers of gorgeous chocolates, books that are about chocolate and some other cool stuff.
One of my favorite quotes about chocolate: “I could give up chocolate but I’m not a quitter.”
One more than go check out this site for yourself.
“A life without chocolate is like a beach without water.”
I’m looking forward some good gardening tips in honor of Earth Day and some good healthy recipes …to counteract my smoking of course.
http://www.virtualchocolate.com/index.cfm
Here is a recipe I posted in another thread (that had nothing to do with food) on here a few weeks ago, but it is good, so here it is again:
go get some Basmati rice, put it in some water, let it sit.
Put some ghee in a pan, put it on the fire. Put in 4 or 5 cloves, a bay leaf, a few cardamom, about a teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of cumin seeds. Now drain the water off your rice and dump it in the pan, Stir it around and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Put in about a pint of cream, a cup or so of water, a spoonful of sugar and a little salt.
When it starts to boil, turn the fire way down and cover it up.
While it cooks, cut up an onion, Sufi/Episcopal chop. Chop up some dates and a little ginger. Get some pistachios, cashews, and almonds and white raisins ready. When the rice is cooked, mix in the onion, all the nuts and fruit, sprinkle a little rose water on it, insert spoon in rice, remove, insert spoon in mouth.
I just planted a few herbs, some chiles and tomatoes and I am hoping that they will forge a connection between the earth and my food in a short time.
While I am waiting for that to happen, I cut up a lemon and mixed it with an immoderate amount of cypress mulch for a hydrangea with a predeliction for being lavender, and requires this treatment, as well as a weekly dousing with lemonade or vinegar water in order to be blue, which is the color hydrangeas should be.
I have been called utterly insane because a very gracious old gentleman from Ethiopia gave me some Marvel of Peru seeds, and I have planted them. Everyone says they will take over. I say Bring it On. I like it when things take over. I am just hoping they will actually germinate.
Here is a link to a picture of Marvel of Peru, Looks lovely and I wish I had some seeds. I am going to
check on buying some.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/newsletters/hortupdate/jul03/four.jpg
The kashmiri rice sounds delicious, I am going to try it, will get ingredients next time I go to the store.
Do you by chance have a good recipe for couscou, I have tried making it and never seems to come out right.
At least Moroccan kind is, it is the tiniest, and you just boil about a cup of water or chicken stock for every 2/3 cup or so of couscous and let it cook for about a minute, take it off the fire, cover it up and let it nap for 5 minutes or so.
You can put just about whatever you want in it, add some curry powder to the chicken broth, or almonds, dates, whatever you have around the house that you think will taste good. Think of couscous as little tiny quick cooking rice.
Even easier, just buy a box of Near East brand and do whatever the box says.
You can get it in the grocery store, where rice and things are, or you can go to NearEast.com and order some.
Now all of this is about Moroccan couscous, Israeli couscous is bigger, and so takes longer to cook, and people in Lebanon eat really huge couscous that takes even longer, but I don’t know much about those, except they taste good 😀
I am excited about the Marvel of Peru. I have no idea if mine will be yellow, purple or what. Of course I hope every seed is a different color Marvel.
More of a description below of Marvel of Peru:
The fragrance is what I would like most, the only plants I have with any frangrance are lantanna and rosemary.
About couscou, would you follow the same directions to make a tomato and cucumber based couscou. And thank you kindly for the recipes.
(Which just happens to be in the oven right now)
Ingredients
40 Asparagus spears, trimmed (about 2 pounds)
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon Black pepper
2 tablespoons Butter
2 teaspoons Low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Arrange asparagus in a single layer on baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until tender.
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and vinegar. Drizzle over the asparagus, tossing well to coat. Serve immediately.
Diane, please check your email.
This is a very interestng project I ran across when writing my gardening book, good for community projects.
http://www.arts4all.com/elca/page1.html
The hope was that the rooftop garden would serve as a role model for creative use of urban space throughout the country. The need for such a project evolved out of issues of food sustainability and several global trends: urban population growth; farmland and forest land loss due to development; creative use of wastelands in urban areas; recycling of food wastes in cities, and a burgeoning community gardening movement that empowered poor people to grow their own food in their own neighborhoods.
Dr. Ebenezer set about to prove the feasibility of growing vegetables in plastic wading pools. The demonstration garden has proved to be highly successful. In 1997, gardeners harvested 984 pounds of vegetables from 38 pools in an area measuring 1,625 square feet. One pool alone yielded an average of 22.5 pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini and a variety of greens. This is equivalent to about 26,800 pounds. per acre, which far exceeds that of commercial yields in the state of Wisconsin and even the national 1996 average yields.
See pic here:
http://www.arts4all.com/elca/images/jobroof.gif
More intructions are found on the site:
http://www.arts4all.com/elca/page4.html
Feed sacks, or grain sacks as they are sometimes called, are the least expensive of the containers in which you can grow vegetables, and due to their porous yet strong nature, are quite well-suited to wet or moist climates. Feed sacks may be found for free or cost about $1 each.
They are available from feed stores, mills, coffee shops, restaurants, garden centers, farms, racetracks or golf courses. The bags might have been used for such items as coffee, bulk grains, grass or sunflower seeds.
1. Find a used polyethylene feed sack or purchase one from a hardware store or grain co-op. Modern feed sacks, as opposed to their burlap predecessors, are made of woven plastic ribbons and are quite durable. Check for tears, clean out any debris and wash the sack in clear water if necessary. Allow to dry. If the sack does have a small puncture hole or two, do not discard, but use with that side as the `bottom’ side and place it down against the ground.
Pic here:
http://www.arts4all.com/elca/images/sacks.gif
Well, I have some chile peppers started back in the city, but I’m up in the mtns at the moment, and here the growing season is about three months, and the deer are going to eat whatever you plant anyway (unless you build some absurdly high fences), and the earth here seems to do pretty well on its own.
The flowering trees in Denver are all magnificient, but here the aspen haven’t even begun to leaf out.
I’ve been known to do some mean enchiladas with tomatillo salsa. Not really family traditional food, but sometimes I wish it were.
“”I’ve been known to do some mean enchiladas with tomatillo salsa.””
Your comment above; well how about giving us the recipe, I love to cook mexican style food.
Anyone have a good recipe for tamales.
I am growing a variety of chilli’s this year and don’t remember what is what, so I have to wait to see what they look like and then guess. Already have some pretty good sized jallapeno(sp) peppers, I think?
Recipe? As in a list of ingredients and cooking instructions? I’ve heard of those, but don’t really have one.
Tomatillos, onions, a little lime (or lemon) juice, some cilantro, bit of water. Hit the blender button until it seems right. Taste. Salt, pepper, touch of sugar, maybe a little hot sauce–add whatever seems right.
Throw chicken in boiling water for a while. Rip meat off bones. Shred with a couple forks. Throw in whatever other good stuff’s around (the usual–onions, cilantro, some lime or lemon juice, a bit of the salsa, maybe some cheese, a diced jalapeno or serrano or two. Briefly immerse tortillas in hot oil. Put some of the chicken mixture in each one. Roll ‘er up. Put enchiladas in baking dish. Top with some enchilada sauce from can, some tomatillo salsa, some cheese, heck some sour cream would be good. Put into oven at some temperature or another and cook for a while.
How’s that for precision cuisine?
Hold the tomatillos under lukewarm running water, peel off the outside leaves, and rub the tomatillo gently to remove the sticky stuff.
Get some jalapeno peppers, and pull the stems off, but don’t cut them.
Put a pot of water on the fire throw in the washed, peeled tomatillos and the jalapenos.
Let it boil. When the first tomatillo skin splits, take the pot off the fire, drain off the water, and put it in either a regular or electric molcajete.
Add some garlic, salt, pepper, lime juice, chopped cilantro if you want it, or you can serve that on the side.
Hit one of the buttons on the electric molcajete (be sure the top is on) and let it blend it all together, or if you are using regular, just mush it all up in there.
Pour it in a dish.
If you will be serving it to people who are opposed to flavor in food, put in a lot of tomatillos and only a couple of peppers, for regular people, do the opposite – lots of peppers and a few tomatillos.
For those recipes. I am going to try all of them on this page. Seems like we have some male cooks here, where are the female cooks.
Here a recipe from me an old traditional one from my family that goes back to Pa, and Pa. dutch.
Pork and Sauerkraut:
Cook a pork roast, any kind you want, either by baking or simmer and then add several cans of sauerkraut to pan and heat to boiling.
Prepare dumpling by mixing about 6 eggs with a fork, dash of salt, and enough flour to make a thick paste, thick enough to spoon by teaspoon and drop into boiling sauerkraut. Lower temp. a to medium and cover, allow to cook for about 10 minutes. The dumplings will all be fat at the top of the pot but then will shrink a little. These dumplings have been the favorite of all my kids. Serve with a heaping pile of mashed potatoes and the pork. Try to eat just one plateful.
That sounds so good, I have been intimidated by dumplings, but you make it sound so easy I am going to try it.
Speaking of sauerkraut, next time you want a hot dog, but don’t have any sauerkraut on hand, try kim chee!
It is like chili and sauerkraut in one. Add some honey mustard, your tomatillo salsa, and a little ketchup and chopped onion, and you will have the One True Hot Dog.
I grew up in South Western Pa, in Maple Syrup and dried corn country so this is a favorite out of my childhood.
Fried Mush:
Cook corn meal as in recipe on box for mush, but choose the method for firm corn meal. When it’s cooked and thick pour into a greased banna bread sized pan, cover with plastic wrap and cool, then put in fridge overnight. Next day, remove from tin, slice in 1/2 slices, dip the slices in flour and fry in corn oil till brown and crisp. Serve with maple syrup. and eggs and bacon if you like.
My Mothers family was famous for candy making, and had some unique recipes, but I only remember a few.
The only fat person in my family growing up was the grandmother who made candy.
Dutch in this case really means German and surrounding areas, but that’s what they were called in Pa.
I have never had mush, but have come to be quite fond of grits.
Like couscous, they are very flexible and love to embrace diversity. Jalapeno cheese grits, I am told, is rapidly becoming the bicultural breakfast favorite of the New South.
And curry grits are the perfect East West treat on a winter morning, served with biscuits, of course, dripping with butter and hot mango chutney.
Do you make your own kimchi or sauerkraut? Now THAT is a taste treat, also easy, cheap and healthy.
Off to plant berries and trees while the rain isn’t so bad…
Do you have a favorite kimchi recipe? I made it once and wasn’t to satisfied with it.
What kind of berries and trees are you planting.
I had 4 berry plants, but all died but 1 and now its growing quite well, think it is raspberry, but hope it’s boysenberry.
Do you have any fruit trees?
I don’t and I want some, orange, lemon and avacado.
What area of country are you in?
Nobody has seemed to want to talk gardening much, so I am glad you did.
You can get this little packet of stuff, kim chee mix, you just put it in with the cabbage, I put onions too, and peppers, and vinegar and the stuff in the packet, in a jar, let it sit.
or squirt a little tomato paste in the water, or use V-8, after it’s cooked, put in your cut up tomatoes and cucumbers, maybe a little cumin, cilantro, chile, it really doesn’t care.
Thanks for all the info on Marvel of Peru, I like having things that smell good!
What kind of lantana do you have? Is it the regular yellow and pink or one of those hybrids? I have not had good luck with the hybrids, they seemed sluggish, and depressed and did not last long.
I have the purple variety and don’t know if it’s a hyrid or not, but it is quite common here in SEocal. Just a great plant, it grows fast, will cover a fence or ground quickly, blooms year round here, and has many flower clusters. So with a lantanna you have purple swirls of color all year long. The scent is not very floral though, it is hard to describe, buy kind of like eucalyptus scent mixed with jasmine, maybe.
I am very sensitive to smells and when I got my first lantanna, I had to put it far away from my door so I wouldn’t have to smell it all the time, now I have to lean into the plant to get its scent, guess I just got used to it.
I think the scent may be animal or pest deterrent because I never have any problems in those areas. The info says drought tolerant, but if in a container you have to water frequently if you live in hot weather like here. Mine is lighter purple than this.
Here is some more info:
Texas Native
Drought Tolerant
Mature Size: 18 inches x 6 feet
Sun, Part Sun
Purple Blossoms
Blooms Spring through Winter
Deer Resistant
Attracts Butterflies
Attracts Hummingbirds
Tolerates salty soil, constant southeast wind, salt spray and occasional sand blasting
Tolerant of storm winds and/or a constant southeast wind
You are lucky if it will grow like original recipe for you.
I like the smell, but it is not really ostentatious enough for me. I like gardenias and jasmine and roses and those pink and purple lilies that smell beyond all boundaries of good taste.
The goal is to have visitors stagger slightly on entering the garden and ask if there is somewhere they can lie down for a while.
Ok, thanks for that, it’s a hybrid then. I agree about the scent of flowers. I desperately want to add scented flowers to my plant collection, but have limited space and it must be ok for containers, do you have any suggestions; also I have very little area in sun for plants, mostly partial sun.
“”The goal is to have visitors stagger slightly on entering the garden and ask if there is somewhere they can lie down for a while.””” Is your garden like you describe above, if so I want to visit!! !!! sigh……
If it is something that will get big, just prune it, and keep it the size you want it. If you are worried about it becoming root-bound, just take it out and chop off the bottom of the roots, sprinkle the cut edges with root hormone, and put it back in.
All the ones I mentioned are the smelliest ones I know of, if there are others of similar fragrance extremism, I want them, what are they?
I really wish there were something blue and smelly.
There are not nearly enough blue flowers to begin with, and this is a problem that should be addressed.
Yes I know you can put anything in a container, but some plants do not do so well, at least for me. I have tried roses several times and they do good for awhile and then die a savage death. It could be watering. I managed to kill a hydranga last year, and cannot figure out if over watered or underwatered. I also have some camillas but they are finished blooming for the year.
Blue flowers, I love too, but love purple even more. I miss lilacs so much here (from Pa. past), but we do have jacarandas everywhere in this county (Orange) and especially where I live in Santa Ana. A lot of city trees lining street are jacarandas, and driving down one of those long streets with their beautiful purple flowers is just magnificant. They are just starting to bloom, by the way, so I can’t wait.
Jacaranda Tree:
Some people who have had problems with containers have had success with wire baskets lined with sphagnum moss. It seems like the downside of containers sometimes is drainage, wire and moss takes care of that.
With new hydrangeas, it is possible to overwater them because they will wilt in the sun and make you think they are dying of thirst. This is because the roots have not had a chance to grow enough to store enough water for the leaves. The trick is to just water them a little bit when that happens, if it is really traumatizing you, if possible just wait for the sun to get dim, and you will see your baby hydrangea perk back up without any extra water. The other thing is to put huge amounts of mulch around it, to hold water in and prevent the too-small roots from really doing any damage.
I have seen people who just could not stand it and made umbrellas for their hydrangeas. The good news the problem goes away in a couple of years.
through this thread real fast, you get the impression that, if you blend rogether tomatillas, onions, and jalapenos, then plant it in a container filled with couscous and dumplings, you’ll get a beautiful tree. I may just have to try it.
That made me laugh Denver.
ductape, I do not know the difference between grits and mush, but it maybe the grind of the corn or something like that. I have never had grits. Corn meal takes very much like corn, do grits. Well I suppose you could do grits the same way.
Any other urban chicken folk around? We’re getting our flock today as our youngest daughter’s 4th birthday present.
I have been in the past an urban chicken farmer. We had about a dozen chickens, no roosters because of the noise, right in the middle of Newport Beach, Ca.. We sectioned off an area, built a roof on one side with roosts, etc. with another area fenced in for them to roam a little.
One thing to watch out for is pecking on young chicks, other chicks will peck their tail area and then when it bleeds they all will start pecking and kill the chick eventually.
There is a lot involved with raising chickens, clipping feathers, etc.proper housing and feeding. Sickness spreads quickly among chicks so care needs to be taken for keeping area as clean as possible.
I would suggest researching on Internet if you have not already.
But it is a lot of fun, we used to get about a dozen eggs a day and made a lot of angelfood cakes. Hope you have a garden as well.