A much needed update

You know you need to update your blog when your mom, who can't remember its web address, tells you to update. Here you go mom!

The garden is growing, although not as quickly or as well as I would like. I can't grow peas or beans to save my life. I read somewhere they don't like water directly on their leaves, so I've been careful, to no avail. Then I read somewhere else that you should inoculate the seeds before you plant them. Too late. I'm just certain I won't get a crop from them. Eh, next year.

Growing well: tomatoes, watermelon, lettuce and spinach, carrots (slowly), the marigolds I planted from seed finally blossomed, and we've been eating little strawberries. Oh, and the asparagus sent up two tiny stalks that promptly blossomed.

Not so much: the herbs minus the basil, the aforementioned peas and beans, the salvia and Jacob's ladder I planted to encourage pollinators, and some of the strawberries.

Grow watermelon, grow!

Spiced Chiffon Muffins

I got the baking urge today as I was flipping through some magazines. Bon Appetit's January issue from last year had a section on traditional, comfort desserts with a twist. The recipe for Caramelized Winter Fruit Custards included in it Spiced Chiffon Muffins. I had all the ingredients, so I made them. Just the muffins, that is. The rest of the dessert, well, I'll have to plan ahead for that.

Michael seemed to love the muffins, as did I. They have ground clove in them, one of my new favorite spices. You whip the egg whites before folding them in to the batter, so they're super light and airy. I'd make them again! And please pardon me for not re-typing the recipe :)

A frost, and a dog

My garden's had a rough last couple of weeks. First, there was the frost. Three whole nights of it. I know that doesn't sound like a cold worth complaining about to those in the rest of the country, but for us, it was cold. And I had just planted my garden. So there.

The citrus trees are a wreck. The leaves are all shriveled. The more cold hardy trees fared better, and the peach is starting to turn green, so I still have hope. Maybe not for the strawberries, but the bok choy seemed to like it!

Then there was the dog. My sister's dog came to stay with us for a weekend, and let's just say she likes eating poop. I think she thought there was some cat poop in there, and she went to town. So I gave up on that seed batch, and started over yesterday. I just hope something grows. I don't care where.




On the plus side, I got a lovely present from my mommy in the mail yesterday. She sent me a book! A gardening book! With recipes! I've just read a few pages, but it's already awesome. It's called From Seed to Skillet. I'll let you know how the rest is. Thanks momma!

The beds are planted!!

After a long day of shoveling wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of dirt, we have planted beds! And sore backs. Well worth it. Oh, and the cat has already walked all over them.

We made a trip to Baker Nursery in the morning to get just a couple of herbs that needs to be planed as transplants (oregano and thyme). We left with strawberries (!), bok choy, lime mint, lemon thyme, regular thyme and onions. I forgot the oregano.

So... I thought I would have lots more space for planting than I did. The beds are full, which means I can't put anything else in next month... Michael, are you ready to build more?!

Kale Chips

It's official. I'm addicted... to kale chips. Have you made them yet? I'd been meaning to for some time now, but just hadn't. I bought some kale from the farmer's market last week and didn't get around to using it (oops!) so I made kale chips! Super easy, totally delicious. Oh, and healthy! We're planting some in the beds soon, so I hope to be making lots more in the very near future. Aren't you so excited Michael?!


Kale Chips

1 bunch kale (it can be totally wilted!)
1 tbs olive oil (I used blood orange olive oil from Queen Creek Olive Mill)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400º.

Cut the ribs off the kale. I just sliced right next to the rib, cutting the leaf in half lengthwise, and then cut those pieces in half. Rinse the pieces in a salad spinner, then pat dry. Place on a couple cookie sheets and brush lightly with olive oil. A silicone pastry brush works well, and a little goes a long way! Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

Bake for 5 minutes. Take out as soon as they start to brown. Enjoy!

Progress!

Poor Michael, he woke up with a terrible (terribly funny, at times) kink in his neck/shoulder a couple of days ago, and hasn't been able to move very well since, but that didn't stop him from (almost) finishing two of our beds today! They just need the artistic finish of a top bench, and they're done! Well, except for filling them with soil that we have to make ourselves (Phoenix soil sucks), and then planting the seeds... Still, it's great progress! We plan to have more beds eventually, but we have some other things to do in the yard first. I'll give you the details later. Suffice it to say, there's a LOT to do!

What we're growing - January

So I have a rather ambitious list for my first planting, which is right around the corner. I downloaded this great planting calendar (click on the Planting_Calendar.pdf link) from the Permaculture Guild, and picked what I wanted to plant on the 15th of January from their list, and ordered seeds from Seeds of Change. Get this calendar Phoenicians! It makes it so easy! I'm also keeping a garden notebook (geeky and totally not exciting, I know), which I have temporarily misplaced, along with my seed catalog and planting map... I will be really pissed if I can't find it, so if you've seen it, let me know.

Here's this month's plantings! (Click the image to see it bigger.)