Plant It To Eat It

A few years ago, my husband signed us up for a weekly CSA basket.  CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  We bought from an inspiring little store called, "Road Less Traveled." So, each week I picked up this basket full of vegetables and fruits and we tried our best to eat them all or preserve them.  We were introduced to many new vegetables and fruits.  Check out Delilah's blog:  projectsmall.blogspot.com/ for CSA basket information and recipes.  I admire her outlook on life.

After tasting these new vegetables each week, I decided to make a goal to do my own backyard personal "CSA."  Why not?  I have room in my backyard, my kids love being back in the garden with me and I live in the best place for growing food year round!  With that, I began paying attention to what we received in our basket throughout the year.  I began researching what to plant in each month in Orange County.  I am embarking on my first real year of growing what we will eat, cooking it up, preserving it for use in other seasons, saving money, eating healthier and living better.

I love how easy it is to plant onion bulbs.  They just grow so effortlessly!

It seems that "what to plant" varies depending on who you ask.  So, for now, I am just going to experiment.  However, I checked out a book at our Orange Public Library written many years ago by a guy who grew everything.  The book is called, "Year Around Gardening in Southern California."  No joke.  This guy lived in Orange and typed up this book (on a typewriter) and published it himself.  He was born in 1903 and published it in 1975.  I trust his research based on the fact that he grew everything he could.  I often wonder what he was like and if he was married, what his wife was like.  Did they preserve their bounty?  How did they use it all?  Did they have a big family?  Fun to think about as I use his passed on wisdom to benefit my family.  I feel it has been tested, tried, and successful.  I use his guide plus pamphlets from Flower Dale and OC Farm Supply to know what to plant and harvest each month.

My gardening motto is:  Plant it to eat it!

Here's what I'm /planting in October:

broccoli, kale, beets, carrots, celery, lettuces, swiss chard, garlic, onions, leek, peas, potatoes, parsley, and if I can find an artichoke start, I'll plant that too... at the request of my daughter.

Other vegetables that you can plant in Orange County in October are:

cabbages, cauliflower, kohlrabi, collards, endive, turnips, rutabaga, salsify, spinach, curly cress, parsnip, asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish.  I'm not ready for these yet... but someday I will be.

Two girls, New England and the "right time of the year"

I just returned from a trip to New England.  So, no I haven’t worked in my garden or cooked very much.  I did, however, visit some beautiful gardens while I was there and made it in time to see the fall foliage.  I went to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Children's Garden.  It is a beautifully organized garden designed to allow children to run through it exploring it's nooks and crannies.  This prominent structure is artfully designed and kids can actually climb up into it!

This is what it looks like from the bottom of the ladder heading up

One of the reasons why I like to garden is because it is fun to organize... and it stays organized longer than my home and my kitchen!  Rocks and stepping stones stay where I put them... most of the time.  Pathways are fun to design in gardens.  This meandering pathway was lined with these posts and each post was topped with a simple birdhouse. Simple and sweet!

It seemed that everywhere we went mums had been planted or placed in pots, window boxes and urns.  They were colorful and delightful to see.

 I like how simple stepping stones invite little feet!

I love garden benches, trellis', and interesting fences and gates.  Here are some that we came upon:

When I left this garden, I looked back and this is what I saw:

While I was out for a run one morning, I came upon this little tree:

BEAUTIFUL!!!

We came upon this shark that was placed in a garden near a restaurant called "Finz" .  It is a seafood and grill near the wharf where we took a harbor cruise.  Isn't he cute?

It was a perfect vacation.  I was with my favorite little girl who is not really that little anymore.  She was a great travel companion.  The boys held down the fort at home beautifully without us.  We got lucky to visit during the best time of the year for seeing the fall foliage.  The weather was perfect too.  Fall is my favorite time of year and to be able to visit a "real fall" was absolutely a dream come true!

You just can't go to Rockport, MA without enjoying real lobster cooked up by real fishermen eaten out on the docks.

My favorite season and my favorite time of day with my favorite "little" girl!

A Boy, A Summer Day, and Squmpkins!

In July, my son poked around my seed basket and found some acorn squash seeds.

"Can I plant them, Mom?"

"Of course."

"Ok, what kind of sun do they like?"

"They like a lot of sun."

"Ok, how big will the plant grow?"

"About the size of a zucchini plant."

So off he goes planting seeds here and there.  I mentioned that they will need to be near the soaker hose or a sprinkler.  Now, it’s October.

"Mom, I think my Squmpkins are ready!"

"Your what?"

"Squmpkins.  They look like a squash and green pumpkins!"

So, we picked them.

I thought we should try two different recipes so the kids would be able to taste two very different ways of serving up acorn squash, um, I mean squmpkins.

I baked both of them up in a 375 degree oven face down (cut in half, seeds out) for 30 minutes.  To one of them I added a little butter and brown sugar and returned to the oven face up for about 25 minutes.  The other one I made into a savory dish.  I sauted 1/2 an onion in butter till lightly browned, added in a clove of garlic (minced), 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.  I added a little more butter and then added the chopped up mostly cooked acorn squash.  Once it was all warm and coated with the onion mixture, I added a pinch of salt and a few turns of pepper.  I spooned a little into “taster” cups for all of us.

Savory acorn squash

Sweet acorn squash

Without telling anyone, I predicted that they would all hate the savory sample and love the brown sugar sample.  To my surprise, all four kids loved both!

Garden Fresh Lasagna

Today, I made garden fresh lasagna and froze it so my husband could have a ready-made dinner while my daughter and I are out of town.  We are headed to Boston to visit my friend, Whitney, and tour New England for almost a whole week!

Whenever I make lasagna, I try to see how many vegetables I can cram in it without my kids really knowing.  This time, I was able to put in: zucchini, yellow squash, spinach and carrots.  I added ground turkey for the meat.  I added basil and some more garlic to the sauce.  Whenever I cook up the sauce, I like to add shredded carrots to cut down on the acidity rather than use sugar.

This looks like cheddar cheese, but it's really shredded carrot.  Note to self,  save up for a nice camera.

I add shredded zucchini to the ricotta mixture along with spinach.

Then, when I'm layering the sauce, cheese and the pasta (I use the no boil kind...shhhh, don't tell Giada), I also layer in more zucchini.

Yes, from the garden

And, that was my afternoon... mixed in with homework, piano practice and babies.  For dinner tonight, along with leftovers, I made this garden pizza using my left over pesto and tons of vegetables from the garden (garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, basil).  I vote for real food every time I can.  And, yes, the kids ate it.

A Whole Lotta Tomatoes!

I love home grown summer tomatoes... so much, that I planted 15 plants this past spring.

This is just one of the tomato plants before it started producing fruit.  It was an unusually cold summer this year.

Every March, my friend Caylynne and I mark our calendars and trek over to the Fullerton College Horticulture Department to buy our tomato plants.  We make sure we are there early to get the best selection.  The varieties I bought this year were:  jelly bean, tiny tim, Thai pink eggs, cherry, yellow pear, san marzano, san marzano redorta, sweet pea currant, window box roma, tumbling tom, patio, grape, fresh salsa.  I also bought some bell pepper plants too.

These are the san marzano tomatoes mixed in with the a few cherry tomatoes.

This year's goal:  DO NOT WASTE A SINGLE TOMATO!  Rules: either eat them, share with friends, or preserve them in an easy way.  So, we ate salsa (and chips) ALL summer.  This is one of my favorite things about summer.  I also shared my bounty with friends.  We ate a lot of pasta salads and green salads with tomatoes.  I made several batches of Summer Salad (tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, mozzerella medallions and balsamic vinegar) ...I could eat that everyday.  However, even after all that, I had literally hundreds and hundreds of tomatoes both large and small needing to be preserved or eaten.  I’m new to canning, but with the twins being so young, I still don’t have the time to tackle canning “all the way.”  Plus, we had to have time to go to the beach.

Solution?  Make and freeze spaghetti sauce.  Recipe?  I asked my friend, Ginni, whose husband had mentioned how good and easy her recipe was.  I eventually got a system down and did two pans each day.  I used all the different types of tomatoes to make the sauce.  I used oregano, onions and garlic from my garden as well.  Here's how:  cut tomatoes in half, chop up garlic, onions and oregano.  Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper.  That's the prep.  Now, roast in a hot oven.  400 degrees for the first 10-15 minutes and then broil for 10 minutes till it's a little charred.  It will look like this when it comes out of the oven:

Then, pour that into a bowl and with one of my favorite tools, the Cuisinart Smart Stick, blend it.

That's it.  I then, poured this sauce into quart sized freezer bags and froze it.  I have stacks and stacks of sauce ready to be used when I need it.

I didn't can these jars.  I just used these that week or gave them to friends  (yes, I explained that they weren't actually "canned" and to use them right away).  I love that I could use the garlic and onions from the garden as well.

And, that's what I did in my spare time this summer.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely! 

Soil, Soil, Soil

Both my grandfather and my dad were Realtors.  In real estate, they say there are three important aspects to consider when purchasing property.  They are: location, location and location.  In gardening, I’d say that it’s soil, location and water.  But this past week, I focused on soil, soil and soil.

In the past, I have just bought a few bags of potting soil, mixed it in with my existing dirt and planted whatever.  I am finally ready to learn how to do this right.  Last week, I went down to Orange County Farm Supply and talked fertilizers with the guys who work there.

I had read in one of my favorite books about gardening, “52 Weeks in the California Garden” by Robert Smaus, about fertilizing.  I wanted something organic.  Here’s what I bought:

My neighbor across the street (an older guy...wise in the world of gardening), mentioned that after you plant tomatoes (of which I had 15 plants this summer), you’ll need to add calcium back into the soil.  Great.  How do I add calcium back into the soil?

Egg shells!  That’s the answer, so I began saving my egg shells.  (We tend to eat a lot of eggs).  I’ve got it down to a system.  I collect them in a small container like this:

Sometime during the day, when I’m finally cleaning my kitchen from the morning mess, I rinse the egg shells and put them in a tray on my potting bench.

Then, after a week or so, when they are nice and dry, I’ll crush them.  I usually take a piece of newspaper and cover the pile and press down.  Then, I’ll bring the whole  tray in and use my cuisenart mini-prep to further break them down.  This is probably not necessary, but I’m impatient and want it broken down in my soil as quickly as possible.   I then store the shells in a jar till I’m ready to add them to my soil.

Today, I added it right to my soil, added the fertilizer, and mixed it all up and watered it in.

A sprinkling of egg shells and fertilizer before I mixed it in

 Today, I planted onions, garlic and celery in another part of my garden.

New celery plants... 

I have never planted celery until this year... only time will tell!  I just bought plants from OSH, but I have seeds to start as well.  I have found that I use a LOT of celery while cooking... and onions, and garlic and CARROTS!  Yes, carrots are next.

Baking our Family's Daily Bread

About 4 years ago when I mentioned to my husband that I thought it might be a good idea if I started making bread for our family on a regular basis he jumped on that idea and got me “all set up” for success.  Apparently he LOVES homemade bread and we soon found out why. He began researching to find the best wheat grinder and mixer for the job.  This is what we got.

My mom found these great bread pans at Sur La Table (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this store!).  Four of them work perfectly for this recipe and for making sandwiches that fit into sandwich bags.  A slice of this size and shape of bread also fits perfectly in the toaster.

I’ve now been making our family’s daily bread for about 4 years now.  Today was bread making day.  This is what the twins were doing while I was making bread:

Notice that he is in socks without shoes and he is wet.  Yes, sometimes this happens.

It’s about a 2 hour process from set up to clean up.  Here’s the recipe I got from my friend, Sally Johnson that I use for our “everyday” bread for toast and sandwiches:

6 cups hot tap water (but not so hot that it kills the yeast)
1 cup ground flax seed (optional, if you don’t use this, just replace it with the wheat flour that you’re using)
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
7 1/2  cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
2 Tbsp. Saf instant yeast

Put ingredients in Bosch mixer in order listed.  Turn mixer on low for 1 or 2 minutes until all flour is moistened.  Turn off mixer and let dough "sponge" for about 10 minutes.

Now add to the bowl:
2 Tbsp. salt
Approx. 6 cups additional whole wheat flour

Turn mixer on for one minute and if necessary add additional flour, just until dough completely cleans the sides of the bowl (I usually need to add more flour at this point).

Let knead on medium for 6 to 8 minutes.  Grease hands with oil and pull dough out of bowl and divide evenly (and shape into loaves) between 4 large bread pans.  DON'T FORGET TO GREASE THE PANS!  I use a spray.

Let the formed dough rise about 35 minutes in a warm oven.  Note:  when I begin a bread making session, I turn the oven on till it reaches about 200 degrees.  Then I turn it off and by the time I’m ready for the bread to begin rising, the oven is the right temperature for a rise.  I have an oven that has a delayed timer option.  This is great for making bread.  I calculate rise time + cook time and set it all up.  The oven then turns on and warms to 350 degrees and bakes for 35 minutes.  Remove from oven. Let bread cool in pans for 2-5 minutes.  Remove from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.  I rub some butter on the tops when they are fresh out of the oven.  Store cooled loaves in plastic bags.  Loaves will store longer if frozen.  Tip for small families:  Slice loaves before freezing, so small quantities may be removed easily from freezer.  

I was still making bread and it was time for lunch.  Notice how they each have one foot up and one leg down.  They tend to do the same things sometimes.  Also, the dog is there waiting for any good lunch droppings... see how he is focused on the floor?

The finished product.  I rubbed some butter on top while the bread was hot out of the oven... can you smell that? 

Part of my work that I enjoy because it's worth it.  Once you've tasted this bread and have enjoyed it for so long, store bought bread is not worth eating.

It's PESTO Season!

If a blog is named "Tasty Pesto," it better begin with a pesto recipe!

Last year, I harvested my basil and made pesto.  I found out that we ran out of it far too quickly.  So, this spring/summer I planted several basil plants (some from seed and some from little plants) to make sure that when it came time to make pesto...we would have enough to last many months.  I make batches and freeze them so they are ready when I need them.  We will just have to see how long this year's pesto lasts us!

Use a salad spinner to clean and spin dry the basil and parsley leaves.  Using real garlic will make a difference.  Plant a lemon tree in your yard so you'll always have that one lemon when you need it!  I store my various types of nuts in canning jars in the fridge so they will stay fresh.  I put the date on the back of the label.

Here's the recipe that I like:

1/2 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
3 Tablespoons chopped garlic (the real stuff)
1/2 cup italian parsley, packed
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon real lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated parmesan

In a food processor, put all the ingredients except the olive oil and the parmesan cheese.  Turn it on and slowly pour in the olive oil down the feed tube.  The basil leaves will begin to break down and everything will combine.  Turn it off and scrape down the sides.  Add the parmesan cheese and process for one minute.  I have found that it makes about 2 and 3/4 cups of sauce.  You can freeze this sauce in freezer bags and it will keep just fine till you need it... just make sure there is no air in the bag.  Air is the enemy to basil and will turn it black... which is unappealing.

I cooked up some pasta and added the pesto.  I steamed the broccoli, chopped up a fresh tomato and used leftover Italian parsley from the pesto recipe and sprinkled that on top.  Lastly, I sprinkled a pinch of red pepper flakes for some spice.  And, yes, my kids ate it... because, eventually, kids will eat what you serve them.