Updates from the Garden: Time to Plant Fall/Winter Crops

Sorry for not posting in a while, but the heat in the South is not kind to the preggos! I'm so glad to finally have some cooler weather =) I just planted my fall/winter garden a few weeks ago. All of these veggies/herbs (with the exception of the tomatoes) should last until the spring. The tomatoes will produce until it gets really cold (usually till January around here). I bought the plants at Home Depot and Charvets Garden Center. When buying from Home Depot, I always look for "Bonnie Plants". After doing a little research, I've found that they use very little chemicals on their plants...which makes me happy =)
Here I have 2 different types of lettuce: Romaine (in the front) and Butter Crunch (in the back). Lettuce is great to have in the garden because you can just pick off the leaves as you need them, and they grow right back in a week or two!

I've also planted Tomato Plants. I just noticed some buds on them so I should have tomatoes ready to eat in a few weeks.

Here's a tip on how to get more tomatoes from each plant: always pick the "suckers" off of the plant when you see them. "Suckers" are the the leaves that grow between the base of the plant and another stem. If you don't pick these off the nutrients will go to the green foliage and not to producing more tomatoes. In the picture below I've shown you what to pick off.

I have a few plants each of cauliflower and broccoli. Now don't be disappointed, but you only usually get one head per plant. Some may think it's not worth it, but I just love the way these taste fresh!

Below are my brussel sprouts. In the past I've been able to get enough brussel sprouts for a meal or two a week through out the fall and winter.

If any of your plants look like this, they are probably being eaten by either a slug or a caterpillar. Chances are if you go out to your garden and inspect the leaves through out the day you'll be able to find out what's eating them. Slugs usually come out at night and caterpillars during the day. If you find slugs, try breaking up some rinsed off egg shells and sprinkling them around the base of your plants. The slugs have a hard time crawling across them. If you're brave enough, you could also just put on a pair of gloves and remove them yourself. Even better, if you have boys you can just call them out there to handle them =)

Here's a few herbs you can plant now too:
Rosemary

Thyme

Sage

Green Onions Here's a tip: You can plant the green onions you buy in the grocery right into the ground because they usually have the roots still on them!

Oregano is great to plant as well. Mine got taken over this summer by my strawberry plants. After I trimmed those back, I noticed my oregano started to come back to life =)


Here's an update on my fruit trees! Below is my satsuma tree, which I just planted a year ago, and it already has fruit. They are ripe and ready to eat! The boys love being able to pick them right off of the tree when they are playing outside. I even caught my dog yanking one right off the tree and chowing down on one the other day! NICE!


Here's the grapefruit tree. We planted this tree a couple of years ago, and this is by far the best it's ever done! I've finally discovered the key to having an abundance of citrus fruit. You don't really need to do much watering when there are no grapefruits balls on the tree. After they appear, water only one time a week, but make sure it's a "good watering". This is the first year I've tried that and it definitely paid off! It has around 50 large grapefruits that should be ready to eat some time next month =)

Garden Tomato-Basil Pizza Recipe

Celebrity Tomatoes

Basil grown from seeds I saved last year.

Nothing better than sun-ripened tomatoes!

If you've been to a play date at my house chances are you've had this delicious pizza! It tastes 10 times better when using fresh tomatoes and basil from your garden. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Garden Tomato-Basil Pizza
1 pizza crust (store bought)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided in half
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup mayo (i use the kind made with olive oil...a little healthier)
2 tbs. snipped fresh basil (julienne sliced or leave whole)
1 garlic clove, pressed
1-2 tomatoes or 4 plum tomatoes, sliced
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle crust with 1 c. mozzarella; set aside. Mix remaining mozzarella cheese, mayo, basil, and garlic. Arrange sliced tomatoes on pizza. Scoop cheese mixture evenly over tomatoes; spread evenly. Bake 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Strawberry Salad and Raspberry Vinaigrette Recipe...Delicious and Light!!

My uncle gave me this pot of strawberry plants from his garden last spring.

I set it down in my little garden, and it literally took off like crazy. It began to grow over the pot's edges, and plants started popping up everywhere.

*One thing to keep in mind when growing strawberries is to not let the berries sit in the dirt because they will rot. Easy solution: lay some pine straw down under and around the leaves of the plant.

I don't have to worry about the birds ever getting these things, because I have two 5 year old boys who snatch and eat them as soon as they get red =)

Some of my favorite lettuce grown from seed...it's called "bronze arrow head".


My good friend, Lori, got me hooked on Strawberry Salads! I have been so eager to use my strawberries and lettuce from the garden. So, tonight,I decided to play around and make my own raspberry vinaigrette...I know I say this a lot, but this was REALLY GOOD!! I was so excited as to how tasty it was that I just had to share it. We invited our neighbors over for dinner, and we devoured it in just a few minutes! =)
Here's the recipe:
Strawberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
mixed greens
strawberries, sliced
feta cheese
handful chopped walnuts or pecans
few slices red onion
Raspberry Vinaigrette:
Whisk ingredients below and store in the fridge in a jar:
1/4-1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. pure apple juice
3oz. raspberry jelly
1/8 c. white sugar (can use a little less)
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
I'm usually not a fan of the strong vinaigrette taste. This kind of masks it a bit with some different flavors.
Here's a tip (see picture below) if you harvest your lettuce in the heat of the day or if it's been in the fridge for a few days and it looks a little limp, throw it in a bowl of ice water for 15 minutes. It revives it and firms it up =)


Looking at this makes me wish I would have made more for tomorrow!

Cooking With Passion....

I tend to live my life "spontaneously". So, naturally, I have to be "in the mood" to cook (thank goodness it's pretty often or my family would starve). My creative juices seem to flow late at night when the house is quiet and the kids are in bed. This is usually when the idea of the perfect meal pops in my head. I "have" to cook it right then and there...never mind the fact that it's 11:30 at night! Seriously, who does this?!
My passion for cooking has grown over the years. I enjoy it so much more now because I have learned what food staples I love to cook with, and I always keep my pantry stocked with them.
Years ago, I planned out every meal down the sides and what type of bread to eat. Not only did it hurt my brain trying to plan the menu, but it made me feel so confined! Cooking became a chore...it was something I had to do, and I had to stick with the menu or the food would go bad! While this way of menu planning might work for some personality types it wasn't "fun" to me so I didn't want to do it!
By having all of your favorite staples along with a vegetable garden, you really don't need to do much planning. Ahhh...now this is my style of cooking!
THE "MUST HAVES" IN MY HOUSE ARE:
chicken broth, pasta sauce (I love Whole Foods sauce!), olive oil, garlic, kosher salt, cracked pepper, milk, breadcrumbs (Italian and panko), pasta, fresh Parmesan cheese, flour, eggs, frozen chicken and beef, and fresh bread.
Tonight I happened to see that my cauliflower from my garden was ready to harvest. Because I had all of my favorite staples stocked in my pantry...I knew I could easily make a meal with it =) I decided to make "Roasted Cauliflower Soup"...it was delicious!! Here's my recipe:

Roasted Cauliflower Soup:
Ingredients
1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 tablespoons roasted garlic-flavored
extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon dry sherry
Parmesan Cheese to top with
Extras I used from the garden:
few sprigs of thyme
few leaves of basil, minced
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Place the cauliflower and garlic in a small roasting pan. Drizzle with oil and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper; toss to coat.
Roast the cauliflower in the preheated oven stirring every 10 minutes until golden brown and tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook and stir until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir to coat. Slowly pour the chicken broth and milk into the pan. Mix with a wire whisk until all of the flour is dissolved. Bring to a boil while stirring continuously until it thickens, then reduce heat to low. Stir in the sherry and the roasted cauliflower. Serve as is, or blend half and recombine with the rest of the soup for a thicker consistency. Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
Let me know if you like it!!

Brussel Sprouts..."Yuck! Wait, They Aren't Gross?!"

Most people turn up their noses to brussel sprouts...the funny thing is when asked, most them have never really tried them! That was me, for 32 years =) I can honestly say, I probably wouldn't have ever tasted them if it weren't for my garden in my back yard. The only reason I planted them in the fall was I heard they were really easy to grow. At the time, I did this with out even knowing if I (or anyone in my family) liked them. I was really excited to see how many just 3 small plants have produced!
I roast almost all of my vegetable in the oven. It's such an easy and quick way to get such great flavors. It seems to intensify their natural flavors and the results are delicious!
I decided I would try and roast the brussel sprouts...I figured, if I didn't like them roasted I probably wouldn't like them any other way! It turned out my whole family loved them including my 5 year old boys! I'm sure it helped that I let them help me with the harvesting. That's a sure way to get them to like and try new foods =)
So here's what I did:
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim white ends off with a knife, and peel outer loose layer of the brussel sprouts off. Toss with a little olive oil, coarse salt, and cracked pepper. Spread on a sheet pan, and roast in oven for about 25-30 minutes....tossing every few minutes to create and even color all around. That's it!

It's almost time to get your beds ready!

It's time to take advantage of the beautiful weather and start getting your beds ready for your spring plants. If you're wanting to start a garden for the first time and need help, look back to my May of 2010's post. It should answer alot of your questions about starting from scratch. If not, I can try and answer any other question you might have =)
It's always a good idea to prepare your soil a little ahead of time to allow it to settle and rest for a few weeks before you plant your first spring veggies. If you need to add soil to your garden, I would recommend going to Charvet's. They have good rich "garden soil" at a great price...their small bags are $2.49 and the larger bags are $4.99.
Start by turning the top foot of your soil over with a shovel, and then add the bag of new garden soil. Work this in to mix with the soil that is already there. This will help the new plant roots to grow much faster. If you live on the Southshore like I do, consider yourself lucky! Our soil is so rich and doesn't need a whole lot of extra ammendments....makes gardening a little easier =)
Don't let the warm weather fool you!! It's still a little early to plant things like basil, eggplant, and bell peppers. They all are sensitive to cooler weather...wait a few more weeks before planting these veggies. If you are itching to plant something right now, you can probably get away with planting some tomatoes.
Until next time...hope you enjoy the gorgeous weather!!

Here are a few pictures of my winter garden. It's coming to an end, but still producing =)

Cabbage

Red Leaf Lettuce

The truth comes out...

I have an addiction, and it shows up every spring. The first day of warm, sunny weather I load the kids up, make the drive across the river to Bantings Nursery, and buy more fruit trees. This time we did it while Justin was in Texas...probably a good thing because I went a little crazy! I went there to buy another apple tree to cross pollinate with the Ana's apple tree that I already have. I ended up with a plum tree and a satsuma tree as well...oops!
So, now I have a peach, plum, grapefruit, satsuma, 2 apple trees, and 2 blueberry bushes....I have to stop because I'm running out of room!

If you want to plant fruit trees in your yard do it now before the weather gets too hot. Best time to plant trees down here is fall through the early spring. One of the hardiest, most disease resistant fruit trees for this area is the satsuma tree.

Apple trees are typically grown in areas with much colder weather, but they have a few new varieties that can take the heat. The two that I have are Ana's apple and Einshimer's apple. You have to get 2 different varieties in order to cross pollinate. Without the second tree, the apples will not get plump, and they won't produce much fruit.
Bantings Nursery...they have great prices on fruit trees and shrubs.

I have to admit this is my least favorite part about gardening...the digging. Luckily, I have to stong boys who love to help me now =)

Our newest apple tree.

My Special Valentine

Justin had to go out of town for work so we celebrated our Valentine's day yesterday instead of today. So, I woke up this morning thinking of today as being like any other day. That is until my sweet kids decided to surprise me with a gift that they put together all on their own. I have to admit, I'm gift bag re-user =) They found an old Valentine's bag in my stash. Inside were cards and pictures that they drew for me and beautiful hand picked flowers. Others might call them "weeds"...but to this mom they were "wild flowers" =) that were picked especially for me. Life doesn't get much better than this....

It's days like today that make me glad I'm alive

I look forward to this day every year. After weeks of cold, rainy weather and being stuck inside for days, comes the most beautiful day. The boys were just as excited to see the sunshine and feel the warm air. They ran out this morning into the backyard, and before I could make it out there Colby came running through the house to tell me that his apple tree was blooming!
I love to see my kids' excitement over nature. They "get it". There is something so spiritual about stepping outside barefoot in the sun warmed grass, gazing up at the vibrant blue sky, and seeing God's creation come back to life again. I love the feeling of being reconnected to the Earth and God's beauty again. I simply love it.

Just a peak at what's blooming in our yard....Ana's Apple Tree.



This isn't a fruit tree, but it has beautiful flowers this time of year.


Strawberry plants are flowering...can't wait to harvest the berries =)