I was born and bred in Tacoma and should be used to this crappy summer weather, but I continue to let it bug me.
Garden news:
We got started a little early this year with gardening. We sprouted some seeds inside and moved them to little pots in the green house prior to planting them in the ground. We also did 2 4x4 raised beds with greens that we covered with plastic until the weather warmed up. We have been enjoying lettuce, kale, spinach, arugula, collards and chard for months now.
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| 2 Types of Kale, Collards, and 2 kinds of Chard. |
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| 2 Types of lettuce and what's left of the spinach. I need to plant more spinach. |
Our first planting of radishes are already gone and we just started getting beets as well.
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| Beets |
Our zucchini has just begun coming ripe as well as some peppers in the green house, and we have harvested a couple of hundred peas.
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| Squash |
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| Peppers in the Green House |
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| Peas and Squash |
Last night we picked our first 5 raspberries. The tomato plants are huge and some have fruit although it is still green fruit right now.
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| Tomato Land |
For the peppers and tomatoes I am using self watering containers that allow the plants to "wick" water from the roots instead of top watering them. That way you can put a small amount of organic fertilizer on the soil and allow it to slowly leach into the soil so you don't ever burn the plant or under feed them. Both the peppers and the tomatoes have loved the containers. The plants are huge and healthy. I'll keep you posted on the output as the summer goes along.
We have also been harvesting Basil - 3 types - and oregano - 3 or 4 types for about a month.
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| Oregano |
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| Basil |
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| More Basil |
Gardening really is the first line of defense for those of us trying to eat clean and organic. What can be fresher than something right off of the vine?
The self watering containers are really easy to make. You need 5 gallon buckets, small plastic pots, some 1 inch PVC and the hole saws to cut the holes for the small pot and the PVC in the inside bucket. The small pot in the middle of the bucket has holes drilled in it and you pack it with soil and water it in and then fill the bucket with soil 3 or 4 inches at a time watering each addition until you get to the height to add the plant. You then water it for the last time from the top and fill the bottom bucket through the PVC water tube. From there you need to water every week at the beginning and watch as they get bigger as they will use more water as they grow. I can provide actual plans for the setup if anyone is interested.
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| You can see that there are 2 buckets for each plant and the white tubing is the PVC. |
Recipe:
Zucchini "Pasta" with Pesto
You need either a mandolin slicer with a shoestring slicing grid or patience and knife skills to do this. You run the squash through the mandolin and it becomes your "pasta." You then make your favorite pesto and toss the squash with it and let it sit for a couple of hours to soften the squash. It is really good and healthy for you.
Pesto:
2 cups herbs. (Parsley, Basil, Thai Basil, Lemon Basil, Oregano, Spinach, Kale, Arugula) Make this stuff to your taste. If you like strong flavors add some arugula or kale. If you don't use all basil. I like to use a different mix every time I make pesto.
2-4 cloves garlic (Or 1-4 tbsp roasted garlic) Again to taste. It isn't really pesto without garlic, but the roasted garlic option gives you a sweeter garlic flavor.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This you use what you need to get the right consistency. See instructions below.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Parmesan Cheese - NOT the stuff in the green can! The end product is only as good as the ingredients.
Nuts Either Pine nuts ($20 per pound) or walnuts (Much less) and you can use raw or toast in a dry pan and allow to cool. I suggest you try bath at some time and decide for yourself which you like.
Other Additional Ideas: Sun dried tomatoes, Olives, Artichoke hearts, ?. I like the "ready to eat" sun dried tomatoes. They are not in oil so they hold their shape and color better. The ones in oil tend to blend out and the color of the pesto goes kind of baby poop orange.
Instructions: Add herbs to food processor and turn on. Add garlic and nuts and process. drizzle in oil until you get the right consistency. I like mine reasonably thick, but not chunky. If you plan to add additional items add them now. 1/3 cup of sun dried tomatoes works very well. Next add the cheese and taste. About 1/3 to 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan is what I use. Add salt and pepper to taste now and toss with hot pasta or the squash.
Other Uses: Pesto is great for the following:
Spread on a sandwich
A Tablespoon in the middle of a bowl of Minestrone
A swap for the normal sauce on your potato salad - Trust Me! You'll be the star of the pot luck!
Afraid to do this for potato salad? How about pasta salad?
Etc.
More soon.....
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