Tag: tomatoes

Gardening Diary: Busy Bees Buzzing

I was weeding the vegetable garden this morning, and it made me so happy to hear the sound of working bumble bees buzzing in my blossoms. A few whizzed by my ear, and it’s funny but it didn’t scare me or make me flinch. Oh how times have changed.

I’m in the thick of it, working side by side with bugs!

What’s New?

The weeding has been kept to a minimum because of the thick layer of grass clippings I added around the tomatoes and peppers.

The cabbage is bouncing back. The critter(s) hasn’t been back, so I have only one that has been eaten to the stump. The rest seem to be doing well. My container cabbage is really thriving!

No cabbage worms to speak of for awhile now. I hope that is normal, and they are not just hiding deep inside the cabbage heart ready to pop out when I cut into it after harvest! eeek!

I only have one remaining brussels sprout plant in a container. It seems to be okay, but I’m not really an expert on what it’s supposed to look like at this stage. Let’s just say that the leaves are continuing to grow.

My carrots, well, I don’t think they are going to make it, the greens are stubby and not full and lush like you might think. But I am leaving them in the ground just in case the critter comes back. I’d rather him eat the rest of the carrot leaves and leave the other veggies alone.

I removed all the pea vines a week or so ago, and today, I pulled up what was left, along with the lettuce stubs. I hope to plant some more beets and some Chinese greens in mid-August for cooler harvesting. Yum.

What else?

OMG, the tomatoes are out of control. I’ve harvested a lot of cherry and sun golds. Still waiting for my big ones to turn red.

The ones in containers are doing okay, but they are mostly tall and skinny. Probably bolted?? The in-ground tomatoes are all over the place, branching out in all directions, definitely crowding my poor peppers.

The carmen peppers are goners I think, but I do have hope for my jalapenos.

Pickling cucumbers are awesome. I already made a batch of homemade refrigerator pickles. Oh they were YUMMY!

Eggplant is also excellent. We had some last night, sauteed with some green beans, scallions and cherry tomatoes. I don’t know that I’d plant eggplant again. Yes, it seems easy to grow, but after awhile, what do you do with all of it? haha. Even though the fruit is thin, long without much seeds, I’m realizing there isn’t a lot to do. I’m going to have to google some more recipes. I know I’ll probably be making some roasted veg pancakes using it.

Oh and speaking of beets (earlier), the ones I’ve planted are good. Cute and small. Love the beets!

I still have my two containers of butternut squash. There’s blossoms, but I don’t know if I see any female fruit blossoms. I think by now, there should have been some fruit, no? Oh well, next time I will plant in the ground or in a larger container.

On the other hand, the watermelon seems to be doing super well! DH is very pleased. Both the watermelon in the ground and in the large recycling bin have lots of fruits, getting larger and larger. It’s exciting. We can’t wait for harvest!

I think that is it for now. I still haven’t posted many photos. But I’m taking them regularly so I can see the progress, especially for next year. I’ve been so busy with my new job, that it’s been difficult to juggle everything I used to do now that I have less time. But I’ll eventually manage. DH has been a big help!

Gardening Diary: Tomatoes!

Yay!

The other day, I noticed a couple of my cherry tomatoes were on the verge of “redness” and this morning, I was able to pick some red cherry and sun gold tomatoes! 11 in all! (I picked 1 sun gold to taste to make sure they were ripe)

Unfortunately, there is a critter(s) that’s eating some of my leaves. The planted brussels sprouts plants are gone. I plucked one out of the ground a few days ago, and the other one is also now down to the nub as well. The cabbage right next to it is also being eaten, but I’m leaving that, hopefully it’ll keep eating that and leave the other cabbages alone. We’ll see.

My carrot tops are also being eaten. They were lush and tall the other day, and they’re a bit shorter when I looked this morning. The lettuce I was saving is pretty much gone too. Oh well.

I’ll be pulling the pea vines out of the ground maybe today or later in the week. They have given all they can give. I think it might have been a bit too warm for them this season, I didn’t yield as much as I hoped. I know I’ll plant earlier next season, and maybe that will help.

Hmm, what else? Eggplant is getting taller and bushier. Lots of blossoms, but no sign of any fruit yet. The butternut in the container by the garden is blossoming. I don’t think I see any “female” though, so I’ll keep an eye on that.

Our Sugar Baby watermelon, on the other hand is thriving! The plant in the ground has finally taken off, and there are a couple of little watermelon babies. The one in the recycling bin has a lot of fruit, some getting quite large! We moved the container to the middle part of the yard so it’ll get more sun. I’ll have to google if it’s okay to have so much fruit, or if some should be pruned to make it easier for the stronger ones to flourish. I did notice some blotchy holes on a couple of fruits.

And back to the tomatoes, wow! The ones in containers are a bit leggy, but still bearing fruit. But the ones planted are thriving beyond belief. Bushy branches taking off in every direction! I’m hoping that is a good thing! They seem very healthy! I keep having to re-stake!

Pickling cucumbers are doing very well. I’ve picked a bounty of cukes already, with hopefully more to come well into August!

My peppers, eh, I don’t have high expectations for most of them. There have been some blossoms on the jalepenoes, but unfortunately some are so close to the tomatoes, that they are getting shaded by the low flowing branches. I’ll have to rethink some staking. The bell peppers in containers have shown some blossoms, but I don’t know if they are able to go forward into fruit. I might skip peppers next season, and just stick to the farm stands and farmers market, where they are plentiful!

When I started my garden I had recently become unemployed, but thankfully, I did find a new job, but that means my time in the garden has been cut back considerably. I’m a little behind on weeding, but it still seems to be thriving. I’ve been adding grass clippings and that helps.

So, that is my update! I’ll add some photos later.

Gardening Diary: Garden Expansion Photos

I wanted to share some of the photos I took of my little veggie garden. It started off smaller, then expanded, and expanded.

For now, I’m posting wide angles, but soon, I’ll share more detailed photos to show the growth of each plant.

Last season, we started with a very small patch of garden, as you can see from notes on two photos. Our first expansion was adding a few more feet next to the fence, and another row with a pathway.

Here’s what it looked like on 5/24 (with notations for last season).

We’ve got (1st row near fence) snap & shell peas, a large perennial oregano plant, beet seedlings, more peas, pickling cucumbers, then (2nd row), carrots, lettuce, brussells sprouts, red cabbage, and eggplant. In containers, there’s red cabbage, potatoes, (2) lettuce, and (2) brussels sprouts.

Oh and we also have grape vines in the fence corner, and another vine in the middle area of the fence.
the garden started
The containers were placed on top of long metal fence posts to allow good drainage.
the garden started
garden diagram from last season

Continue reading “Gardening Diary: Garden Expansion Photos”

$5 Challenge – Slow Food With a Budget

So the Slow Food movement has been promoting a $5 challenge that is starting today, Sept 17th. Cook a meal for yourself, your family, your neighbors, a party, for $5 or less per person, using the slow food ideals: “food that is good for those who eat it, good for farmers and workers, and good for the planet.”

The $5 challenge has been met with praise and some criticism.

Yes, for a family of 5 or more, @ $5 per person, that could pose a bigger challenge for some families to afford on an ongoing basis. But I think the point is, the $5 amount is a guideline, as in “$5 or LESS” – so work within your own monetary means.

My $5 Challenge Meal

Last night I started to think about what I would like to cook for my $5 challenge meal. I won’t know exactly how the finished dish will come out until I start cooking, but I was inspired by a couple of recipes:

  1. Butternut squash with celery leaves and orecchiette (Whole Foods recipe) – now I wish that I didn’t “dry” all the leaves from this week’s fresh CSA celery.
  2. Pasta with Winter Squash and Tomatoes (Mark Bittman from cooking channel)

Here are the planned ingredients (I’m not counting salt & pepper or dried spices or balsamic vinegar):

  • $1.22 per person – Air chilled boneless chicken breast $4.89 for just under a pound = 4 servings. We’ll have leftovers! (boneless chicken breast is a treat for us, I normally buy whole chickens – pastured or organic. Eventually, I’d like to find a local source, but for now, I purchase at Whole Foods store.
  • $.52 per person – Butternut Squash @ 2.11 for 2 lb squash = 2 4 servings – after cutting up the squash, I realized there is more than enough for 4 servings.
  • $.38 per person – Dececco Pasta 3oz each person @$2 for a 16 oz box (Dececco is my splurge pasta. I think this brand is worth the slightly extra cost.)
  • $.17 per person – one 8 oz onion – 3 servings
  • $.58 per person – received a pint of mixed cherry tomatoes in our CSA box this week plus I picked a tomato from our garden (FREE). I’m estimating the cost to be $3.49 for the whole pint. Only using half the pint box tonight – 2 3+ servings.
  • $.14 per person – Olive oil 2 Tbsp. $7 for a bottle of California Olive Oil = 50 Tbsp per bottle
  • $.33 per person – Parsley from CSA. A batch of parsley – 3 servings
  • $.66 per person – I’m adding left-over cooked green beans, and a batch of pea tendrils, both from my CSA share this week. I’m estimating the cost for 3 servings.

$4 per serving!

Our Meal: Orecchiette Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash, Sauteed Onions, Pea Tendrils, Tomatoes, Green Beans, & Parsley Topped with Baked Boneless Chicken Breast

$5 challenge - slow food

UPDATE: Well our meal was great. Not the BEST dinner we’ve ever had, (I wasn’t totally happy with the butternut squash mingling with the other flavors) but it was very tasty and VERY filling. I even had a lot of leftover veggies that I’ll throw into a soup tomorrow with the rest of the chicken.

Note: I ended up tweaking the ingredients’ cost per serving due to the left-over veggies.

Even though I have been regularly cooking and eating “slow”, it was helpful to organize my ingredients beforehand and really “see” how I was spending my money. It made me think about how I can create a better meal but save money at the same time! On the negative side, it was a little more stressful than usual. I don’t like being held in a constrained box when I’m cooking. I like being spontaneous. For me personally, I’d rather stick to a monthly or weekly budget, not a per meal budget, but it is a good way to start for newbies just learning to cook homemade food.

I hope the slow food $5 challenge brings much needed attention to good old-fashioned family dinners! Whether your table is set for two or twenty, get back to cooking from scratch! And challenge yourself to create something wonderful without spending a lot of cash. It can be done!!!

Links:

Wilson Farm in Lexington MA

I’ve always wanted to visit the Wilson Farms store in Lexington MA. It’s not very far away, but it’s still a little bit of a drive.

Well I was planning to be in the Lexington area yesterday, so I decided it was definitely time to check them out.

The night before, I browsed their web site, looking at their “sale” page. Wow, exciting. Prices look great, but I was a little skeptical. Then I found their growing page – actually their IPM (integrated pest management) page. Perfect!

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a way to control insect pests and diseases on crops by combining several complimentary strategies such as sanitation, soil enrichment, variety selection, pest detection, and biological controls. Chemical pesticides may be used, but only if absolutely necessary.

That’s how I want my food to be grown!

Yes, I know “organic” is supposedly better, but truthfully, I would rather buy from a local farm using sustainable and responsible growing practices like this, than an organic farm in California. Organic does not mean sustainable, especially when referring to the high yield organic farms.

My First Wilson Farm Visit

When you arrive, there is an open area full of produce bins. There are large canopies covering part of the area, but the sun beams in, depending on the time of day. I was concerned about the bin of mozzarella cheese, sitting in direct sunlight. No one thought it was necessary to move it. I wondered how long it was out there and how easily it could spoil.

Anyway, I was a little intimidated as I walked around. There was so much to take in. I felt like a newbie, slowly wandering around, pushing my grocery cart, looking in amazement at the bins of fresh produce. I was in heaven!

So, all their farm fresh produce is located outdoors. Every kind of tomato you could possibly imagine…including lots of heirloom varieties. A whole outdoor wall/bin of many varieties of apples, some local, some further away, in PA.

I also loved that they offered some of the more unusual produce, like purple carrots! You do not find those at the local grocery or even at Whole Foods stores!

After browsing outside, I walked into their large indoor area as well. They offer cheese, meats (hormone-antibiotic free), seafood, baked goods, lots of locally produced foods along with a wall of their own fresh-made packaged convenience foods, like soups, salads, meats, etc.

When you first walk in, under the potatoes/onions, that’s where I found the bags of Baer’s Best Heirloom beans. I heard about Baer’s Beans when I became interested in learning more about heirloom bean growers. I learned there aren’t any local growers….except Baer! How sad!

So, I looked at all of the varieties, and it was a tough choice between Jacob’s Cattle and Vermont Cranberry. I chose Jacob’s Cattle. They looked interesting (loved the color, too bad it doesn’t stay after cooking) and truthfully, the bag was a buck cheaper than the VT Cranberry, so frugality won out. I figure I’ll be back for more, so they’ll be plenty of time to try more varieties!

The one favorite thing about Wilson Farm is EVERYTHING is specifically marked where it’s from, which I appreciated. You knew right away if it was grown on their farm, or another farm in MA or in California.

Note: I’m trying to boycott any produce from Florida since I heard about their poor soil conditions, which necessitate using harmful pesticides and other chemicals PLUS more importantly the horrific treatment of their employees. I will never knowingly purchase a Florida tomato, so it’s nice to see specifically which state/area my produce is coming from.

There are lots of employees busily buzzing inside and outside, stocking shelves and bins with fresh produce and freshly prepared foods. It’s a friendly homey store! If you have a question, there is always someone close by to help. I was looking for fresh-made ricotta cheese, and couldn’t find it in the cheese shop; a helpful employee pointed me to the dairy department where she said she stocked the fresh ricotta.

So it was a very exciting, fun visit to Wilson Farm yesterday! I will certainly return.

What Did I Buy?

  • A big box o’ tomatoes – $5.99 – got home and weighed it, over 7 pounds. That’s under a dollar a pound. Perfect for roasting for tomato sauce!
  • Ginger Gold apples (local MA) – 1.1 lb for $1.64
  • Gala Apples (I think from PA – 1.2 for $2.31
  • Honeycrisp Apples (MA) – .71 lb for $1.41
  • Butternut Squash (their own) 2.13 lb for $2.11
  • Various shell beans (their own) – cranberry, fava & romano .90 lb for $2.69
  • 1 Sweet potato & 1 AP potato – $1.84
  • Baer’s Best Jacobs Cattle Beans – 1 lb bag for $4.59
  • Fresh Ricotta cheese – small container $3.89 ($4.99 lb)

Looking forward to autumn veggies, like potatoes, leeks, squash, fennel, lettuces, etc. Life is good!

Note: Wilson Farm is located at 10 Pleasant Street in Lexington MA

Roasting Tomatoes and Drying Celery Leaves

Went to a local farm in a neighboring town and picked up 6 lb gorgeous tomatoes ($1.75lb) along with a big celery with tons and tons of leaves ($1) and two small pickling cukes ($1). All for under $13.50!

As soon as I returned home, I washed and chopped the tomatoes into halves/large chunks and put them in the oven to slow roast @ 260F.

Never ever throw away fresh celery leaves when you buy them fresh at the farm or farmer’s market. They dry out so easily in a low oven and will keep in a air-tight container for awhile. Use like any dry herb, for soups, sauces, etc. Penzey’s Spices charges over $8 for a 4 oz bag of celery flakes and the dried leaves work just as well!

Just tear off most of the deep green celery leaves (thin stalks too), rinse and spin dry. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and into the (260F) oven. I had mine drying along with the tomatoes.

Watch the celery leaves in the oven, remove when they get crispy and can crumble completely in your hands. It takes about 30 – 45 minutes. Then allow to cool (only takes a few minutes) and crumble the leaves and stems into an air-tight container or plastic baggie. They keep for awhile, but will lose flavor the longer you keep, just like other dried herbs.

Back to the tomatoes. It’s about 2-3 hours to roast the tomatoes, and once they’re all roasted to sweet goodness, allow them to cool. I transferred into quart freezer bags, ready to use in the winter months when I’m longing for fresh tomato sauce! You can also freeze fresh (uncooked) tomatoes. I just core them and freeze them whole. Works great!

I’ll probably buy more tomatoes from this farm and freeze those raw, but this time, I wanted to get them roasted up first.

Oh it will be soo nice to have summer tomatoes available for my tomato sauce in February…if they last that long!

Skipping CSA Next Season

I think I’ll be skipping the CSA next season.

We’ll see how it goes, buying directly from the farm and other farmer’s markets, and then I’ll decide if I want to go back the following season.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with CSA, and I adore Farmer Dave’s and the staff, but I think I need a break.

#1, vacation. This year we will only miss two pick-ups, but there was a chance we’d miss four pick-ups if timing wasn’t perfect.

#2, pressure. There is so much pressure to process a large amount of food at once. Lettuce and other greens have to be washed then packed in towels & bags. Meals have to be planned around foods you might not be in the mood for. It’s tough, and it’s starting to get to me.

#3, cost and variety. Yes, I think I’m getting my monies worth every week, but it would be nice to spend the same amount (or even more) and get exactly the vegetables and fruit that I want. I will still promote and support Farmer Dave’s farm stands, but I’d like to maybe sample some of the other local farmer’s markets. Yes, it might be more expensive, but I’d be getting exactly what I want. And when Whole Foods has a sale on local veggies, I won’t feel like I have to pass it up because I have a full fridge.

#4, my garden. Sure, I feel ambitious now, but I’d like to expand my little backyard garden to include more vegetables and herbs next year. Right now, we’re growing 4 tomato plants, along with basil and oregano plants. I’m experimenting with potato plants too, but I don’t know what’s going to happen with those! I’d like to add hot and bell peppers, cucumbers, summer squash and possibly some lettuce plants. When the tomatoes die off, I’m hoping to plant some hearty greens.

I know it’ll be very difficult not to register for next year’s CSA. I will feel like I’m letting down a friend. haha. But it’s the best for me, and as I said, I will still continue to support Farmer Dave’s farm.

I will also continue to support the Groundwork Lawrence Share-a-Share program – it’s an important program that subsidizes CSA vegetable shares for those that can’t afford it.

Picked My 1st Tomato

Yay, I picked my first “early girl” tomato this morning. It had turned red a couple of days ago but I kept it on the vine so it could ripen a little more.

We planted 4 tomato plants along with basil and oregano in a small garden. We also tried planting 4 organic sprouted potatoes and I’m curious to see what will become of them later this season!

first tomato from the garden this year

Spicy Fennel Tomato Soup Recipe

bowl of spicy fennel onion tomato soup for dinner

I’ve borrowed the new Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook from the library – “My Father’s Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness“.

I started reading and was immediately intrigued by the recipe on page 58 – “White Bean Soup: Two Ways” – I had a fennel bulb in my crisper drawer and was stumped on how I was going to cook it. So many other fennel soup recipes called for multiple bulbs, but this recipe only needed one fennel bulb!

I made a lot of alterations to the ingredients, but next time I’ll definitely stick closer to the original recipe and include the beans so it’ll be a complete meal! But I did really like my addition of both canned and sun-dried tomatoes.

If you’d like to take a gander at Gwyneth’s original recipe, it’s available at various locations online.

The soup is just as delicious in its original chunky form:
chunky spicy fennel onion tomato soup-before blending

Or you can blend it with an immersion blender
spicy fennel onion tomato soup-after blending

I had purchased Applegate Farms turkey franks as training treats for the dogs, and since I only had a can of baked beans, they were a perfect combination with the soup.
along with the soup, I made franks and beans

Recipe: Spicy Fennel Onion Tomato Soup

Makes 3-4 servings

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (or olive oil)
1 bulb fennel, chopped
3 smaller “spring” onions or 1 large regular onion, chopped. (Leeks work well too!)
1 carrot, chopped
cayenne chile powder or flakes to taste – I used just a pinch, and it added a perfect spice undertone.
5 pieces of sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Small can of unsalted diced tomatoes – about 1 1/2 cups
salt/pepper to taste
1-2 cups water
Optional: 1/4 tsp of tumeric and/or paprika spices.

Directions

  1. Heat large soup pot over medium heat. Add the coconut oil, then fennel, onions, and carrot. Turn heat down to low, and cook until softened, about 20-30 minutes.
  2. Once the vegetables become soft and sweet, add a few Tbsp of water and scrape up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
  3. Add the rest of the water, plus the chile, tomatoes, salt & pepper, then simmer on very low for about 30-40 minutes (I used a gas diffuser to really reduce the stove heat)
  4. Once the soup is finished, you can leave it chunky or use an immersion blender to puree to your preferred consistency.

Nutritional Data

Use the nutritional data as a guide; the info is not absolute, your results might vary considerably depending on your ingredients. I left out the sodium data since it can vary so much.

Calories: 124
Total Fat: 5g
Saturated: 4g (from the coconut oil)
Cholesterol: 0
Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 5g
Sugar: 6g
Protein: 3g
Vit A: 68%
Vit C: 65%
Calcium: 9%
Iron: 12%

This soup tasted awesome the next day for lunch! Oh I love this soup!
leftover fennel onion tomato soup for lunch the next day

UPDATE 2011-05-11: Made the soup again tonight, adding freshly made (dried) navy beans. I baked a couple of Whole Foods chicken sausages to slice into our bowls of soup; paired with a large salad of baby greens, this was a perfect dinner. Really low calorie too!

A few days ago, I made a batch, but added too many potatoes, and they overpowered the soup’s flavor. Potatoes are a great addition, but only when you add one or two at the most!

Plan Ahead Cooking Sunday

Today was another plan ahead cooking day!

It’s been very busy at work, so time is limited for cooking healthy meals. I don’t want to revert to my old ways of “convenience” processed food and take-out, so I have been using my slow cooker (crock pot) a couple of days a week. It’s been a great time saver, but I was recently reminded about the crock pot/slow cooker lead problem. So, I am trying NOT to use it until I perhaps test the crock with a home lead test.

So, today in the oven:

  • A big pot of bolognese sauce (inspired by Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love Bolognese recipe)
  • Braising two large boneless chuck steaks (London Broil) with onions, warm spices (cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, pepper, paprika) and wine. Unfortunately the beef was mostly frozen when I started, so when I tried to sear, it was just steaming. It didn’t matter though. I tasted a bite, and it was fabulous!
  • I also decided to make a batch of brown rice in the already hot oven for use later in the week.

The Meal Plan:

  1. Bolognese sauce with pasta tonight.
  2. Cooked extra pasta for our lunches for either tomorrow or Tuesday
  3. Even after dividing into 4 portions, there is still some bolognese sauce left-over, so I think on Tuesday, that’ll be transformed into chili with beans and rice.
  4. The braised beef has been divided into freezer bags. It’ll be enough for three separate dinners, including a small portion for transformation into soup or stew.
  5. I also have boneless chicken defrosting in the fridge, and tomorrow or Tuesday, I’ll make chicken soup with rice. That’s usually a quick easy meal.
  6. We’ll have a meatless meal sometime later in the week. It might be a great time to finally try making a pizza with homemade flatbread!
  7. Gotta try to fit in salmon, and that could be a good day for DH to have left-overs. (He doesn’t eat fish)

I’m also considering a rice cooker purchase. It’s difficult to find a rice cooker that’s NOT non-stick, but these Vitaclay rice slow cookers look promising.