We're coming up on fall which I adore. I can be out mid-afternoon without roasting and can take my bike everywhere without fear of offending due to sweat.
Saturday I pedaled to the grower's market, something I haven't done in a long, long time. The crowds tend to put me off but going early negates that worry. I picked up purple beans, rattlesnake beans, a native melon, okra, collard greens, tomatoes, sweet corn and a multigrain loaf of bread. I would have loved to take more, but that was all I could fit in my pannier.
Some of the corn was roasted on the grill for vegetarian enchiladas and some was eaten as a side with a variation of this gumbo. I had forgotten how much I love okra and will definitely do a better job at planting and caring for it next year. We had the collards on the side tonight too and they were delectable with some spicy vinegar from home-canned pickled jalapenos.
Next Saturday I plan to hit the market again but with more storage space. It's apple season after all!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
What's New
Things here are settling into a nice routine between work and home. Unfortunately more time is spent on the work side of things, but that's how it goes sometimes.
The garden is growing but I had less than ideal germination rates for the beets, turnips, rutabaga and the carnival carrots. This is mostly due to the seeds being a tad old, I think. We'll make do with what comes up! I'm also plucking tomato hornworms off the tomatoes a few times a week. They make for a good chicken snack!
The sunflowers are putting out seed which the goldfinches and sparrows love and Chipper the chicken gets to have any leftovers.
I'm still juicing every day and it helps me get through the long mornings before lunch. I think it's like a little sanity tonic when working with middle schoolers!
And last but not least, Lane has started a masters program--the house has never been cleaner!
The garden is growing but I had less than ideal germination rates for the beets, turnips, rutabaga and the carnival carrots. This is mostly due to the seeds being a tad old, I think. We'll make do with what comes up! I'm also plucking tomato hornworms off the tomatoes a few times a week. They make for a good chicken snack!
The sunflowers are putting out seed which the goldfinches and sparrows love and Chipper the chicken gets to have any leftovers.
I'm still juicing every day and it helps me get through the long mornings before lunch. I think it's like a little sanity tonic when working with middle schoolers!
And last but not least, Lane has started a masters program--the house has never been cleaner!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Cookin' Ahead
Now that school is back in session, time is really at a premium. To avoid the nightly "what's for dinner" conundrum I thought I'd try to get ahead of the game today. I prepped a few meals in advance in the hope that they'll be on deck when I get home too tired to start from scratch. Today I used the grill to roast 2 eggplant, corn, and a few bell peppers. The eggplant became a lemony spread for home-baked baguette. The corn and peppers found their way into some black bean enchiladas. We'll be eating those for days. I also roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic to stir into a basil pesto with pasta later this week. Pizza dough is also rising in the fridge for a night this week where we can grill up a tasty pie. And, while they have nothing to do with dinner, I also threw together a batch of chocolate chip cookies. There was no need to have the oven going and not bake cookies!
In the garden many of the brassicas have sprouted: tatsoi, turnips, rutabaga, kale and the spinach and beets are also showing their tender sprouts. I may be wrong, but I think some carrots have also started to come up. If I can manage to remember to water, we may have a good harvest at the end of fall. The added water has also helped coax the tomatoes into productivity. It's such a joy to be able to eat a cherry tomato (or two) while watering the garden. Bliss!
One part of the weekend that was far from blissful was the weeding of the mini forest of silverleaf nightshade that took over the side yard. These plants look innocent enough, but they are covered in spines and seem to proliferate through some sort of underground runner. I feel like I can never get rid of it and in some states (WA and OR) it is considered a noxious weed. I'd love to get that part of the yard more landscaped, or at least mulched, in an attempt to suppress this and other weeds.
In the garden many of the brassicas have sprouted: tatsoi, turnips, rutabaga, kale and the spinach and beets are also showing their tender sprouts. I may be wrong, but I think some carrots have also started to come up. If I can manage to remember to water, we may have a good harvest at the end of fall. The added water has also helped coax the tomatoes into productivity. It's such a joy to be able to eat a cherry tomato (or two) while watering the garden. Bliss!
One part of the weekend that was far from blissful was the weeding of the mini forest of silverleaf nightshade that took over the side yard. These plants look innocent enough, but they are covered in spines and seem to proliferate through some sort of underground runner. I feel like I can never get rid of it and in some states (WA and OR) it is considered a noxious weed. I'd love to get that part of the yard more landscaped, or at least mulched, in an attempt to suppress this and other weeds.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Fall Garden
The fall garden was planted today. Hooray! I "weeded" a good pile's worth of sunflowers that had blown over in a freak microburst that came through yesterday. I think we had gusts of about 60mph for about 5 minutes which toppled our sunflowers and broke branches all over the neighborhood. Weird.
Along with the preexisting tomatoes I planted the following seeds: parsnip, turnip, rutabaga, 4 varieties of carrots, 3 varieties of beets (including Bull's Blood), a lettuce mix, collard greens, spinach, tatsoi and red kale. The trick now is keeping it moist and watered. I'm so glad I was able to get these seeds planted today. Last year I missed the planting window and missed out on from-the- yard produce, which was a bummer. In other good gardening news, our neighbor across the way has agreed that we will co-garden his large lot this spring! I see corn, more tomatoes, peppers, beans and eggplant in our future...
Today we also met a lovely couple from this part of town. They have several fruit trees and will be out of town for a few weeks. We're going to keep an eye on their house in exchange for the fruit (pears & apples) and whatever is ready to harvest from their garden. Lucky us!
Yesterday I harvested at least 5 lbs of peaches from my school's orchard. We've been eating them out of hand all day and I made this incredible peach crumble. This is why we will never be able to truly go vegan--the butter made it all the more delicious! I went on a cooking spree yesterday baking two baguettes, two pizzas, roasted eggplant & tomato spread for the baguette and hummus. We'll be eating well this week!
Along with the preexisting tomatoes I planted the following seeds: parsnip, turnip, rutabaga, 4 varieties of carrots, 3 varieties of beets (including Bull's Blood), a lettuce mix, collard greens, spinach, tatsoi and red kale. The trick now is keeping it moist and watered. I'm so glad I was able to get these seeds planted today. Last year I missed the planting window and missed out on from-the- yard produce, which was a bummer. In other good gardening news, our neighbor across the way has agreed that we will co-garden his large lot this spring! I see corn, more tomatoes, peppers, beans and eggplant in our future...
Today we also met a lovely couple from this part of town. They have several fruit trees and will be out of town for a few weeks. We're going to keep an eye on their house in exchange for the fruit (pears & apples) and whatever is ready to harvest from their garden. Lucky us!
Yesterday I harvested at least 5 lbs of peaches from my school's orchard. We've been eating them out of hand all day and I made this incredible peach crumble. This is why we will never be able to truly go vegan--the butter made it all the more delicious! I went on a cooking spree yesterday baking two baguettes, two pizzas, roasted eggplant & tomato spread for the baguette and hummus. We'll be eating well this week!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Catching Up
School is back in session which is sadly leaving limited time for things like blogging. I really like my new students and enjoy being with those who have returned. Middle school has brought me more joy than I had ever imagined. Something about my own junior high experience had me thinking that teaching middle school would be miserable. It's not without it's quirks and irritations, but it is really joyous too.
At the lean-to I'm getting ready to plant the cool season crops. The garden beds have been cleaned and this weekend will be a compost/double dig kind of time. It's this time of year that I can enjoy being out in the garden as the days are getting cooler. I haven't planned exactly what I'll plant but I know we'll have plenty of greens and root vegetables. This summer the winter squash went gangbusters and we should have enough to last us for a time. Tomatoes are still producing too which is such a pleasure. There is nothing like a tomato straight from the vine.
I've been juicing tomatoes in my daily gazpacho juice which has been delicious! My students think I'm a little kooky, especially when the color of the juice is not particularly appealing and they've taken to asking me daily what's in it. I appreciate their inquiry and they seem genuinely interested, if not baffled and intrigued.
I've been cooking a lot from scratch lately--breads, beans, pizza, whole grains-- and it feels good to be back in the cooking saddle. When it's so hot outside the desire to cook gets sapped out of me and even using the outdoor grill hasn't helped much. Last week a neighbor gave me a huge bag of apples from a friend's tree which I processed into apple jelly. I'm looking forward to cracking one of those open soon and processing more fruits as they come into season.
The shade structure is still lacking shade, but it will be finished in due time. The sunflowers are blooming like crazy which makes the goldfinches and sparrows incredibly happy, not to mention the hummingbirds and bees. Things here at the lean-to are fabulous and perhaps once I get into the school routine, I can get back to blogging more often.
At the lean-to I'm getting ready to plant the cool season crops. The garden beds have been cleaned and this weekend will be a compost/double dig kind of time. It's this time of year that I can enjoy being out in the garden as the days are getting cooler. I haven't planned exactly what I'll plant but I know we'll have plenty of greens and root vegetables. This summer the winter squash went gangbusters and we should have enough to last us for a time. Tomatoes are still producing too which is such a pleasure. There is nothing like a tomato straight from the vine.
I've been juicing tomatoes in my daily gazpacho juice which has been delicious! My students think I'm a little kooky, especially when the color of the juice is not particularly appealing and they've taken to asking me daily what's in it. I appreciate their inquiry and they seem genuinely interested, if not baffled and intrigued.
I've been cooking a lot from scratch lately--breads, beans, pizza, whole grains-- and it feels good to be back in the cooking saddle. When it's so hot outside the desire to cook gets sapped out of me and even using the outdoor grill hasn't helped much. Last week a neighbor gave me a huge bag of apples from a friend's tree which I processed into apple jelly. I'm looking forward to cracking one of those open soon and processing more fruits as they come into season.
The shade structure is still lacking shade, but it will be finished in due time. The sunflowers are blooming like crazy which makes the goldfinches and sparrows incredibly happy, not to mention the hummingbirds and bees. Things here at the lean-to are fabulous and perhaps once I get into the school routine, I can get back to blogging more often.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Yard Pics
This morning there was a roadrunner on our gate. Although they are somewhat ubiquitous in Albuquerque, I never tire of seeing them. And to have one in our yard--fantastic! I had to take the picture through the screen door so as not to alarm it which is why it is especially lousy. As soon as I quietly opened the door, it hopped off and ran away.
Yesterday and this morning I worked on our shade structure/bike storage project. We were given some redwood stain and, although initially worried we'd have that 70's redwood deck vibe, I'm pleased with the results. I just need to use a brush to fill in some of the gaps and then we're ready for the roof.
I've also been harvesting a few tomatoes from the garden and a winter squash every now and again. I had high hopes to plant beans, cucumbers, peppers and eggplant, but the no-maintenance volunteer squash and tomatoes helped my lazy side to put those off until next summer. Here is what appears to be a sugar pie pumpkin (also a volunteer).
Things are looking good in the yard and we had a neighbor say that our place has never looked this good in the 15 years he's been in the neighborhood. The yard is wild, but green and he could tell that we care about such things. I'm hoping for a more orderly look next year, but I'm glad we're not the scourge of the neighborhood.
Yesterday and this morning I worked on our shade structure/bike storage project. We were given some redwood stain and, although initially worried we'd have that 70's redwood deck vibe, I'm pleased with the results. I just need to use a brush to fill in some of the gaps and then we're ready for the roof.
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| The semi dwarf peach is totally taking over! |
I've also been harvesting a few tomatoes from the garden and a winter squash every now and again. I had high hopes to plant beans, cucumbers, peppers and eggplant, but the no-maintenance volunteer squash and tomatoes helped my lazy side to put those off until next summer. Here is what appears to be a sugar pie pumpkin (also a volunteer).
Friday, July 20, 2012
Blooms and Tomatoes
Today we ate the first tomato out of the garden. I think it's a yellow taxi which I tried to grow last summer and is a volunteer this time around. We shared it with some neighborhood kids who came over for help with bike maintenance. They were all surprised at how much they loved it. They also took home some winter squash, about which they were giddy.
The yard is overflowing with sunflowers large and small. It seems to me that they may be blooming earlier than last year. Some of the wildflowers are also blooming. See...
We finished securing the 2x4s for the shade structure and are ready for the roof. We're on New Mexico time so we'll see if it's complete by the time school starts in early August.
The yard is overflowing with sunflowers large and small. It seems to me that they may be blooming earlier than last year. Some of the wildflowers are also blooming. See...
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| These tall, single bloomed sunflowers are my favorites. A honeybee is coming in for a landing! |
We finished securing the 2x4s for the shade structure and are ready for the roof. We're on New Mexico time so we'll see if it's complete by the time school starts in early August.
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