Twitter Review and Trail Mix

Just recently I was invited to join Twitter and since I had heard some talk about it, I decided to register and give it a try.  You don’t have to be invited to join; you can just go to the website and look around and join if you decide.  Well, I think it is COOL and it’s only been a few days for me.  There is Followers and Following – you can Follow people and when they make an update to their Twitter account about what they are doing, you see it and can go check out a blog post or website if they include the link.  Some posts just advise what they are currently doing – like weeding their garden or starting seeds or even eating breakfast.  Then people can Follow you if they want to see what you are up to.  I found this link to Organic Gardening back issues of the magazine that you can actually just read on-line.  I haven’t had time to read any of them yet, but how neat is that?!?!  I am also following FarmFoody.org who connects folks with local farmers; seems similar to Local Harvest.  I know I will be following a lot more folks who garden and I hope I can share with them some of my gardening experiences.  I only have 3 updates on my Twitter account right now (an update is when you type in what you are doing).  So today I said I was Drying Strawberries and ….  <–the link to my Twitter account.

I made Trail Mix with the dried strawberries and cantaloupe.  Just added almonds, raisins, cheerios and a few chocolate chips. 

Update found on Twitter http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6961929

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Spinach quiche with dried tomatoes

This spinach dish is very easy to whip up and can be served as any main meal; breakfast, lunch or dinner! 

8 Oz Fresh Spinach
1 Small Onion – Diced
1 Clove Garlic – Diced
4 Oz Mushroom – Sliced
1 Cup Egg Substitute
Feta Cheese – Crumbled
2 Tablespoon Dried Tomato – Cut In Small Pieces
1 Teaspoon Dried Jalapeno Pepper – Cut In Small Pieces
Prepared Pie Crust
Saute diced onion and garlic on low heat.  Add mushroom, spinach, dried tomato and  jalapeno pepper. Continue to saute for several minutes.  Add crumbled feta cheese to prepared pie crust – add saute mixture and 1 cup egg substitute.  Blend ingredients gently.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes at 350
degrees.
Note: The dried tomatoes and jalapeno pepper were fresh from the garden earlier in the year and dehydrated in the Excalibur food dehydrator.  The jalapeno gave this dish just the right kick!!

 

Tomatoes in the dehydrator before drying

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Gardening Indoors with Herbs

I have added a “Herbs” page to the blog and listed herbs that I know for sure I will be planting.  I received Richters 2009 herb catalog and there are a TON of herbs listed, so I am sure I will be adding to the list!  I actually planted some herbs last night indoors and they are under the grow lights.  I always start my seeds too early, but with herbs you can actually use them – they don’t get leggy like the tomatoes and peppers that beg to be planted outside (no, I haven’t started those yet).  The herbs will help me focus on eating healthier since that is one of my resolutions.  Here’s what I planted: thyme, summer savory, oregano, basil – lemon sweet dani, parsley, marjoram.  I have a sheet of plastic wrap over the containers to keep the moisture in since that seems to be one of the biggest problems growing at this time of year; the soil dries out very quickly with the dry air in the house.  I will keep the plastic on as long as possible but watch that mold doesn’t start to grow.  I will be sending my seed order off to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds today – what a spectacular catalog they have this year … it’s Beautiful!

I also added a Recipe page to my website and hope to post those healthy recipes I come up with.  Researching grains is one of my newest ambitions and I actually bought Buckwheat pancake mix today to see what it tastes like.  I did grow buckwheat as a companion crop last year and it grows very easily – so I may be growing a whole lot more to harvest for eating.  To those who are receiving the Luffa seeds I plan on posting to the forum some information on growing them (there is a blog post here also; search Luffa).  I added a calendar function to the forum also so we can add events going on around us that others may be interested in.

Looks like 2009 is shaping up just dandy!  Happy New Year!

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Serious cooking

This weekend is Stan’s birthday … woohoo and we are going down south with both kids (wow!) and my sister’s family.  We will most definitely have a great time and I am bringing all kinds of food.  I do need to pick up a birthday cake tomorrow, but I did make a banana bread for breakfast or snacks …

 And I made this Garlic dip which I found on Recipezaar.  I had to roast a whole head of garlic and then add all the other ingredients ….. it’s chilling now.  I decided to start experimenting with Garlic since I am growing it in the garden … good thinkin! 

Check out this discovery … we went to another Fall Farm this past weekend and bought some more gourds which I talked about at The Crafty Garden Blog, but I didn’t mention The Delicata Squash we bought!  oh my goodness … it’s Good!

  Sweet and creamy tasting and so easy to bake.  Cut in half, place in a pan with 1/2″ of water, cover and cook at 375 for about 30 minutes.  Serve with butter and herbs or just plain.  We will be going back next week to pick up some more since this will be a dish we bring to Thanksgiving dinner.  It stores for 7-8 months too.  Yes, it will be growing in Deb’s Garden next year!

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Garlic planted, Beet recipe and Frankie the Dog!

I have planted the garlic in the garden and I find this Very exciting!  Four different varieties and since I have only cooked with store bought garlic in the past, this should be quite the experience.  Yes, I will have to wait until July to harvest but that’s ok I can keep busy.

 not so straight, but that’s ok

I planted the cloves 6″ apart, 2″ deep and the rows are about a foot apart.  The hardneck garlic is a bigger clove and there are less of them to a bulb.  The softneck garlics have more cloves per bulb but are smaller and they are the garlic with the longer shelf life….most certainly, the type we buy at the grocery store.

  I covered the garlic with soil and a layer of compost and will also layer with 2-6″ of shredded leaves once they fall.  I harvested the last of the beets this week and found an excellent recipe.  Now I realize not all folks like beets, but I love them and I am the only one in the household who does … so lots of beets for me!  The recipe calls for 2 lbs of beets –

  Wash the dirt off the beets and cover with boiling water, cook until tender (30-60 mins. depending on the size of the beet).  Cool and remove the skin and stems and reserve 1 cup of the beet liquid (the water the beets were cooked in).  The recipe calls for 1/2 cup but there wasn’t enough liquid to cover the beets in the jar.  Cut up the beets and add to empty quart canning jar.  Then boil the following ingredients and pour over the beets – 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 3 tblspns of sugar, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 teas. salt, 3 peppercorns and 1/4 bay leaf and the saved beet liquid. The additional liquid may water down the flavor so more vinegar may be needed as well.  Put on the lid, let cool and refrigerate.  I figure these will be gone in about a week so no need to can them up for a longer period.  For all you beet lovers….they are SO good!  My helper Frankie was watching and waiting for one of those beets to bounce to the ground……no such luck Puppy Dog***

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Garden Fresh Quiche … really

As much as I love gardening I do realize that I must make sure to use the produce I grow and once it starts growing, it can become overwhelming and so the challenge(s) begins….    and to think the tomatoes haven’t even started to ripen yet!

So today I sat back and looked at what I had from the garden – peas, green beans, zucchini, pearl cucumber, basil, chives, yellow scallop squash and flowers 🙂  The pearl cucumber is Wonderful … very crisp and right on for a cucumber.  I was thinking there would be a weird taste but Nope … cucumber all the way!

  Green beans/Pearl Cucumber

The yellow scallop squash we are saving for a stir fry tomorrow, but dang looking at the garden earlier there seems to be like a ton of them growing all the sudden so ONE ain’t no big deal ….

Now……… for the Garden Fresh Quiche I whipped up this morning!  I used Five garden ingredients … peas, green beans, zucchini, basil and chives

  The peas and green beans I simmered in a bit of water for just a few minutes and then sauteed the zucchini with the chives and basil.  I used a store bought pie crust because they are so simple, so next all the veggies went into the crust

  I added a cup of shredded cheddar cheese and a cup of fake eggs … egg beaters           It looks beautiful and healthy BUT it needs some ZIP!  More spices, some hot sauce, a bit of pepper  not sure, but will work on it.   I am open to all ideas, so please let me know what you think.   It is pretty darn healthy don’t ya think

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