Tag Archives: garden

Make Dried Arrangements With What’s Left in Your Garden

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Fall seems to be going as fast as it has come this year! The leaves are just starting to change here in Maryland and this is my favorite time of year. Even though we’ve had a few cold spells, it’s been super warm and even in the 80′s these last couple of days. It’s the perfect time to finish up in the garden! (Especially with Hurricane Sandy headed our way!) Whether it’s cleaning out weeds, breaking down tomato cages, laying down straw or a winter cover crop, even dead-heading your perennials and flowering trees.

Now is the best time to grab those Hydrangeas still in color, cut the blooms, and store them so you’ll have dried Hydrangeas for up to a year and color in your home throughout the winter. With the end of August came horrible storms with torrential down pours for the east coast, leaving ruined gardens and major flooding. ( See my old post on “How to Start a Container Garden” with pictures on the gardening damage I received this year) :(

It took me a good 2 weeks to just get back to my garden due to the debris and high water levels so in the mean time my Okra went crazy and if you’ve ever had Okra that has grown too large, it’s too tough and woody to eat! (Which can totally happen in a day!) So, instead of composting it I decided to dry it this year for fall arrangements! Check out my video with my daughter Lyla who loves getting in the dirt as much as I do. We’ll show you how to dry your Hydrangeas and Okra from your garden to make arrangements for the upcoming seasons and year!

Planting Garlic for the Fall

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Garlic is one of my favorite things to grow in the fall. Probably because it is so easy to do and then you can just forget about it for the winter and go on about your business. Then in the spring the stems start shooting up as the soil begins to warm and then by the end of June to the middle of July you can harvest! It’s probably the lowest maintenance vegetable I grow all year. After it’s harvested as long as you hang it to let it dry and store it in a cool dark place you’ll have garlic for up to a year or longer depending on how much you grow and how much you use!

Garlic is packed with anti-inflammatory agents; it’s an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal. It’s great for the skin, helps fight infection, prevents cancer, boosts the immune system, and helps with ear aches, coughs, and sore throats. It’s loaded with Vitamin-C, helps with fatigue and digestive problems, while it detoxifies your entire system.

Garlic is great to naturally add incredible flavors to spice up your food. I think the best way to enjoy it is to roast it with some olive oil until the cloves soften and then spread it across crusty bread. It’s so good you could possibly eat the whole thing! But hopefully the next day you won’t be going anywhere because garlic’s only downfall is that it can leave you smelling pretty ripe! But if you have garlic coming from your pores you know it’s doing what it’s supposed to!

Here’s how to add it to your garden and then forget about it till next spring!

  1. Prepare your soil with some good compost or soil.
  2. Dig 1 ½” or 2” holes and space them about 3” apart.
  3. Take your bulb of garlic, (don’t get it from the grocery store-they’re sprayed so they won’t sprout-so make sure you buy from a seed/plant company-see some companies below.) break the bulb into smaller cloves
  4. Place root down into soil and then cover with soil.
  5. Cover soil with organic or “clean” straw, pine shats, or anything organic to keep the soil as warm as possible throughout the winter.
  6. Water, just to moisten the soil.
  7. In about 2 weeks you should see little green sprouts. Then you can pretty much leave it till the soil warms back up in the spring.

I check on mine once a month to make sure they’re still covered up and if we go through a dry spell and the ground hasn’t frozen I’ll continue to water until we get a freeze. Then in the spring when it’s time to start gardening again just give them some more compost and some organic fertilizer and they should be good to harvest by late June into mid July for zones 6 and 7!

Where to buy garlic:

www.cooksgarden.com

www.burpee.com

www.territorialseed.com

Healthier Fried Green Tomatoes-Oven Style~

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Fried Green Tomatoes are one of my favorite things to eat! I just don’t eat them very often, first because no one does fried green tomatoes like the south and since I don’t get down as much as I would love to, I’m forced to eat Maryland ones. :( So here’s my healthier spin on fried green tomatoes. We just did it oven style with a Maryland twist! Forgot to take a picture of the remoulade sauce before my family gobbled them down! Hope you enjoy them as much as my family did! Let me know how yours turn out!

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 large green tomatoes
  • 1 1/2c almond milk
  • 1 c quinoa or wheat flour
  • 2 c of Panko bread crumbs
  • coconut oil vegetable spray
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp parsley (chopped finely)
  • 1 1/2 Tbs of Old Bay-(crab seasoning)
  • Large pinch of salt and pepper
  • Arugula (optional)

Remoulade:

  • 1/3 c of olive oil mayo
  • 1 Tbs whole grain mustard
  • 1 Tbs cornichons
  • 2 Tbs parsley
  • 1 garlic clove mashed
  • 1 tsp of capers
  • 1 tsp of lemon juice
  • 1 tsp of olive oil

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Dry Your Garden Herbs For The Winter

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There’s nothing better than fresh herbs to season your soups, chilis, chicken, meat, and even seafood dishes. It’s hard to find fresh herbs during the winter unless you get them from the grocery stores, but then you really don’t know what they’ve been treated or sprayed with or how they were grown. Unless, of course you’re shopping organically at Whole Foods (some of us aren’t so lucky-my closest is almost 2.5 hours away) :(    Organic fresh herbs are hard to come by especially in the winter, so why not save your own from the garden before the frost gets to them first??

It’s super easy, inexpensive, and they’ll be ready to go the next time you’re in the kitchen digging frantically through the cabinets, searching for the oregano, thyme, and rosemary shakers. Here’s our fun and simple way to use everything you can from your garden and dry your own herbs for the winter, while also knowing where your food comes from. Just as a side note: we put down 2 inches of straw throughout the “herb” raised bed last winter. Since it was so mild last year, we were still able to pick fresh chives, rosemary,mint, thyme, rue, and oregano through out the whole year. Just that little bit of straw will keep the soil warm enough to protect all those savory treats.

Here’s to herbs all year and always having a garden’s bounty! Make sure to turn up your volume loud, my videographer had a bit of technical difficulties so sound gets a little quite for about a minute.


Homemade Eggplant Lasagna

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It is that time of year again – the seasons are changing! With the change in seasons comes a change in produce. You have probably noticed more “heartier” fruits and veggies popping up in your garden and in the local farmer’s markets, like melons, peppers, the start of the fall squashes, and lets not forget eggplant.

Eggplant. I never quite to know what to do with eggplant. It’s one of those vegetables that I don’t get overly excited about and always end up dicing it and tossing it into a pasta dish of some sort. A few Fridays ago, as I was about to start the pasta water boiling, I stopped and thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be cool to use the eggplant as the pasta?” I did a quick check to make sure I had all the ingredients on hand, and a few minutes later, a new recipe was developed! (Find recipe here***)

This Eggplant Lasagna is a fun, healthy alternative to the traditional lasagna recipe. It works great for people looking to reduce their carbohydrate intake, or for people who are on a gluten-free diet. It stores well in the fridge, so you can take it to work with you the next day for lunch, or serve leftovers the following night for dinner! Continue reading →

Sundried Tomatoes-Make Your Own!

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Still looking for other ways to use your abundance of tomatoes from your garden? Here is a simple and universal way to use up all those garden-fresh lovelies! Make sun-dried tomatoes!

They’re so fast and easy to make and once your done there is so many ways to use them. You can add them to pasta, salads, make pesto, even include them to risotto dishes. Add them to sauces, to top off chicken or pork, even incorporate them into dessert. They store for up to 6 months, or  freeze them and they could last well over a year.

I made mine using my dehydrator, you can also use an oven. If you do use your oven, bake them at 150 degrees for 10+ hours or if you want to speed up the process, increase the heat to 200 degrees but make sure to watch them because they tend to burn,

To make them with your dehydrator… Pick a tomato you really like or have an abundance of. I like to use Romas because they tend to hold up longer. Core them and then cut them in halves or in quarters. Place them on the dehydrator racks, make sure to separate them so the air can circulate around them to help drying more quickly. Add salt, pepper, garlic or even fresh herbs to make them unique. Put the dehydrator on 140 degrees and wait for 6-12 hours. Just remember to keep  checking on them.

Once they’re done, store them in Ziploc or vacuum seal them. Then, give them away or keep them for yourself! Enjoy!

Homemade Garden Fresh Pizzas With the Kids

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As families these days, it’s harder and harder to find quality time together every week with all the sports, school functions, parties, traveling, and the constant to do list. Why not spend Friday nights at home with the kids and make homemade pizzas? They will love getting involved! It’s fun, a healthy way to eat everyone’s favorite food, plus you’ll be spending time as a family, and the kids will learn how easy it is to make healthy and delicious meals. (Even if you don’t have kids-invite friends over for a “pizza party” make your own, add your favorite toppings, and then share different slices to get an array of tastes and take home recipes we can all act like kids every once in a while. right?)

With fall right around the corner it’s the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the grill as well. So, we made this pizza recipe perfect for the grill. A little secret my friend Debra just recently shared with me. (Make sure to check out her blog too. www.breathelighter.wordpress.com)

My family and I made a fun and not so perfect video on how to make these awesome grilled pizzas. My 3 year-old daughter had a blast, even after almost licking her fingers in the middle of it and if you hear a crunching noise, that’s my 1 year-old smashing his veggie sticks into the high chair!

Remember you can add whatever you like to your pizzas, change-up your toppings, add fun ones like ricotta cheese, asparagus, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes or combine Brie, prosciutto, and figs-this one is so good! Just remember to have fun and spend time with those you care about most, doing something as simple as mangiare! (eating) Hope you enjoy our little video and recipe. Let me know how your pizzas turn out!

Ingredients:

whole wheat pizza dough (frozen), home-made sauce (garlic, tomato paste,oregano, basil, salt, pepper, olive oil, red chilies), shiitake, Cremini, and Hen of the woods mushrooms, Zucchini, tomatoes, spinach, black olives, and fresh basil.

Going Organic! Basil Pesto Recipe & A Week Full of Menu Ideas!

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Going along with Isla Magazine and my “How to Go Organic Without Overwhelming Yourself” article for last week. I’ve included a weeks worth of organic menu ideas, a green juice recipe along with a video on how to make your own garden fresh basil and pine nut pesto.

I hope this makes going organic a little easier for a lot of you out there. I know it can be super overwhelming with all the conflicting information out there. But these organic menu ideas should take some of the work and stress out of preparing meals this week. Let me know how your week goes, what recipes you liked the best, any new recipes you invented, and if you have any questions!

***And I forgot to note in the video that pesto can be stored in the freezer for up to a year, just use a teaspoon as you need it and add a little more olive oil to help the paste become more creamy again.***

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Get Moving and Get Outside!

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With the last weeks of summer winding down, now is the time to take advantage of the final dog days of summer and get outside. We spend so much time inside for work, on computers, and watching tv (especially lately with the Olympics, which I totally love!) Enjoy these last weeks of heat and get ready to jump into the gorgeous fall weather that is lurking around the corner! Now is the best time to learn something new, take a stand-up paddleboard lesson or enjoy a fitness class. Check your local area, my small town offers everything from aerial yoga, boot camp in the park, pole dancing, bikes on the boardwalk, surf lessons, golf, beach volleyball, even yoga and Pilates on the beach.

Getting outside can also include taking the dog for walk, gardening, make it a day at the pool with the kids, cut the grass, cook on the grill, find a farm and pick your own produce, the list is endless. The health benefits from exercise, fresh air, sunshine, and your daily dose of vitamin D make it priceless. Sunshine boots your mood and helps you absorb your Vitamin D. Fresh air will keep your feeling motivated and your energy levels up. And exercise always makes you feel that much better! So, here’s a little beak down of how many calories you burn an hour when you get outside and get moving. You’ll be surprised what actually burns the most!

The numbers will vary a little depending on your weight and if you’re male or female. This chart is based on a male or female weighing 145-165 pound range: The more you weight the more you burn and men tend to burn more calories faster. (Of course they would!) :)

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Canning! What To Do With All Those Tomatoes!

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Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes! Oh, how we love our vine- ripened tomatoes. There isn’t a day that passes all summer and what I can still get in the fall, that I don’t eat a tomato. All winter long I count the days till the first, perfect one shows up in my garden. Nothing is better than a warm, juicy tomato picked right before dinner, one that has been basking in the sun’s rays all day long. Most times they only need salt and pepper. But I’ll take them anyway I can get them, in caprese salad, smothered over homemade pasta, popping them like candy for an afternoon snack, or even just biting into them like an apple right in the middle of the garden!

So, the best way to get your vine-ripened tomatoes in the winter is to can them. I try to can as many as I can during the summer. It takes a little bit of time, longer if you have small children distracting you but it’s still totally worth it! :) Sometimes, I watch the weather for a stormy weekend day and plan a canning day for when I’m stuck inside. There is so many thing you can do with fresh tomatoes. Can them, make sauce or paste, or make your own salsa. I even make cute little labels and sell them at bazaars and shopping events or give them as presents at Christmas time.

Here’s my step-by-step on how to can your own tomatoes and stock up your pantry for the winter…

  1. Start with as many organic tomatoes as you can. Beefsteak, Better Boys, and Romas (for paste) are the best ones to use. Check your local farmers sometimes they’ll sell canning tomatoes by the bucket full for pretty cheap!
  2. Make sure to sterilize your jars, lids, and rings in a large pot of boiling water, use the highest temp or ”sanitize” on your dishwasher.
  3. Fill your bath canner or large pot half full with water and bring it to a boil.
  4. Place a few tomatoes at a time into the boiling water. This is an easy way to remove the skins by putting them into the boiling water for 45 seconds. Then plunge tomatoes into a bowl of iced water for about a minute. Leaving the skins on will cause them to be tough and chewy in your sauce.
  5. Cut off the skins, any bruised or rotting spots.Then cut the tomatoes in quarters or smaller if you wish.
  6. Fill up your jars with whole or cut tomatoes to 1/4 inch from the top.
  7. Add 1 Tablespoon of organic lemon juice (this keeps the tomatoes from losing color and spoiling) and then fill to 1/2 inch with boiling water or organic tomato juice. (I think the tomato juice works better and helps keep the flavor.)
  8. Wipe off the rim of each jar to make sure they’ll get a clean seal. Put on the lids and the rings.
  9. Boil the jars for 45 minutes in a bath canner or large pot. Let the jars sit out to cool before storing them.

Hope you have a great time canning tomatoes this summer. I know you’ll be enjoying them all winter. Let me know how it goes. My last canning day gave me 32 jars of organic tomatoes! Good Luck and Happy Canning!

Related Articles: www.pickyourown.org