January Plantings

I was buying lettuce at the grocery store yesterday and my 9 year old son says, “Can’t we just make lettuce?”  Huh, I thought...make lettuce?  “What do you mean?”  “You know, can’t we just plant some seeds and grow it?”  Yes. Yes, we can.

So today, on a cold day in January, "we" planted lettuce, kale, and beet seeds.  I also pulled some weeds while they dug holes looking for worms.  It was nice to get the rest of one side of my garden planted.  The ground was still soggy from all our rainy weather but by the end of our gardening session together, we began "making" our lettuce.  You know it's a good day when your shoes are full of mud and you're growing food for your family.  It was a good day.

Special Occasion Stuffed Shells or Manicotti

For some reason ever since my Grandfather passed away, we have strayed from our normal Italian Feasts for special occasions.  However, from this year forward, Christmas dinner will always be Italian.  Always.  Christmas Eve can be anything anyone requests, but Christmas dinner must be Italian.

Isn't he so handsome?!
Grandpa Ciaccia, WWII

My red headed, blue eyed, Irish Grandmother married a Southern Italian. When they were newlyweds and young parents they lived right next door to his parents in Brooklyn, NY. It was my Grandfather’s Mother who taught my Grandmother to cook.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Ciaccia...aren't they just so cute?!

Ruth Ciaccia and baby Nancy in 1946, Brooklyn, NY

Grandma called me about a week before Christmas to see what she could bring for Christmas dinner.  She always does that.  So, we decided on a menu.  Italian Feast.  Grandma (87), eagerly made the meatballs and the eggplant parmesan.  I made the stuffed shells, bread and salad (easy).  I like to make Italian food for Christmas because it’s something you can make on Christmas Eve morning and then, after you wake up from an afternoon nap on Christmas Day, you can pop it in the oven, set the table and voila...you’ve got yourself a tasty meal!

My basil is still hanging on (just barely) in my December garden.  Fresh garlic...well, we used all of last season’s crop, so I had to buy garlic.  In Southern California we can have an herb garden that is available all year round...in fact, I have two herb gardens...one in my backyard and one in the front yard.  It’s a treat to take a clipping of oregano or rosemary to use for our meals.  It’s easy to add to an herb gardens all year round.  Just plant what you will use and use it!

Oregano and Basil

Basic cheese filling for one box of jumbo shells or manicotti
In a bowl mix together:

• Ricotta 15 ounces 
• Mozzerella: about 2 cups, shredded
• Saute: one diced onion (add a pinch of salt), and fresh minced garlic at the last minute
• Oregano and basil (fresh tastes best, but dried will work in a pinch)
• Thawed chopped spinach - drained (just sneak it in and don’t tell your kids... “they’re just spices...”)
• 1egg
• Traditionally, you’re supposed to add a pinch of nutmeg...try it and see if you like it.
• Optional:  sneak in some shredded zucchini

I forgot the spinach this time around...too much to do at Christmas time!

Cook the shells till they are almost “done”...al dente.  They will finish cooking when they are baked.  Stuff the shells (about 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture per shell) and arrange them in a baking dish.  Cover with some good sauce and bake (covered with foil) till hot and bubbly (375 for about 45 minutes).  Let it sit for 15-20 minutes (covered) before serving.  Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Christmas Dinner

Happy (late) Birthday Grandpa!  I miss your wit, your jokes, your love of family.  You made the party...always.  I miss you so much!

Grandma and Grandpa Ciaccia, 1999

A Sneak Peak at the Winter Garden

It’s 11am on December 23 and I should really be at the grocery store...BUT, it rained.  A LOT.  It rained for 5 days straight and that’s a lot for our desert climate.

Moss!!!

My garden was calling me to come out and play.  I left the cinnamon dough rising (recipe in the next post), the laundry on the bed (in the washer and in the dryer), a table full of Christmas crafts, and threw on some gardening clothes.  The boys followed me out to the backyard...not dressed for gardening (no shoes...just socks), but I knew I only had a small window of time before it was time to feed lunch to everyone and put the babies down for a nap (it’s a whole routine that involves teeth brushing and books, snuggling...etc.).  I wanted to see the progress of my winter garden and to see how much it really rained.

I found this tub full of water right at the gate to my garden! 

The pathway had sprouted a lot of weeds so the shoeless boys and I weeded the garden together.  I never mind weeding when the soil is completely soaked because the weeds pull out so easily and I feel a huge sense of accomplishment.  I sprinkled some fertilizer throughout the garden and "watered" it in with the rain water.  Even though it didn't need to be watered, the package said to "apply to wet soil then lightly water in"...so I did.

Here's what's growing in my winter garden this year:

The flat leaf (Italian) parsley is still going strong.

These Christmas oranges are perfect this year!

The garlic patch is sprouting nicely.

My celery is growing strong!  I'm so excited about these...

The onion patch is taking off...nice.

Baby carrot plants...

The curly leaf parsley smells so good.

And, the boys played nicely waiting for me to finish.

While the kids ate lunch, I rolled up the cinnamon rolls and set them in the oven to rise then then bake.  I love my “delay-oven-timer” feature on the oven.  It remembers to cook things when I’m too distracted.  Can’t imagine why I’m too distracted!?!?

Now it’s 3:15 and the babies are asleep.  My daughter has a friend over, my son is enjoying some TV time and I’m ready to tackle the kitchen and the laundry...oh, and take a shower...or maybe I should get to the grocery store!?  But first, I NEED a cinnamon roll.  :)

Roma Tomatoes in December?!?

Would you believe that in mid-December I harvested 34 (yes, I counted) roma tomatoes!?!?  We had an unusually cold summer this past summer.  In fact, in all my year, I think it was by far the coldest summer that Southern California has ever had.  So, at the end of August when it was still cold-ish (for August), I bought a roma tomato plant from OSH and plopped it in some prepared soil in a sunny spot.  I thought that it might be a warm fall since we didn’t really have a summer.  September was HOT and so was October.  It cooled down in November and I didn’t think that those green Romas would ripen...but they did.

  

So, today I decided to use them up.  I roasted them skins and all plus some onions and garlic and salt and pepper (kinda like I did when I made my spaghetti sauce this summer).  I followed Ina Garten’s recipe for Basil Tomato Soup...yes, I still have some useable basil in the garden!  My son, who does not like soup at all, at this up fast and said, “Mom, it wasn’t that bad!”  I took that as a compliment ...coming from him.

Pie Pumpkins...and LOTS of 'em!

I hit the jackpot at the grocery store.  They were practically giving away pie pumpkins just after Thanksgiving...so I snatched up...A LOT!  People were asking me "What are you going to do with those?"  Duh...

Pie Pumpkins are the cute small ones.

I found a recipe on line with complete instructions on how to turn them into PIES!!  I steamed the pumpkins (cut in half with seeds scraped out) for about 30 minutes.  The pumpkin scrapes right out of the shell.  I used my stick blender to blend the cooked pumpkin.  Because I had so many pumpkins to cook up, I froze them for future use.

I did make a pie.  Here’s the recipe I used and, to my surprise, it turned out perfectly!
I took the the pureed pumpkin out of the freezer a day ahead of time and once it was thawed I put it in a strainer over a bowl for a few hours to get out excess water.

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3 cups prepared pumpkin
1 1/2 cans (12 ounces each) of evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Use a stick blender to combine all ingredients and pour into a homemade pie crust.

Bake at 425 for the first 15 minutes (cover edges with a foil tent), then turn the temperature down to 350 and bake for another 45-60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let the pie cool.  Refrigerate until you're ready to serve...with real whipping cream, of course!

Note:  I used to use "pumpkin pie spice" and now after buying all the spices separately and following this recipe, I will never go back.  The flavor is unbelievable when you use the real spices (cloves, allspice, ginger and cinnamon) separately!  Try it, it’s not that hard!

Note #2:  I saved the seeds, dried them out...and I'll plant them next summer...good plan.

Got left over pumpkin?  There’s always pumpkin muffins, pancakes, bread...the list goes on!

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!

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.