Flavors, Foods and Fertilizers

                I shop regularly at a Vietnamese hole in the wall grocery store.  It started because of their assortment of mushrooms.  Gradually over time I pick up other vegetables and have expanded my basic list when I stop there.  My frustration is that they have twenty or so vegetables/green/herbs that I can not Identify.  A gingo like me needs a sign written with the English word ID ing the item.  The other day, I started telling this young man working in produce my suggestion and he is politely listening.  That is when I pick up a package and said, " Now, how would you cook this?  What would your family make of this?"  His reply, you will love, "I don't eat that stuff, I am Mexican!"  I guess you ask why do I want to expand my food choices to a Vietnamese greens--- well, I have found that some of them do kick my taste buds up a bit making dishes more interesting, they are fresh, and everyplace I read about health the wider the food base the healthier we become.

                Two books to read from the library, if you town still have one!  THE GOURMET GARDENER, written by a English man.  This is the first book I read that explores how to make vegetable and fruits more flavorful.  What organic methods to use to spray and fertilize.  If the soil is lacking minerals and life, the plants will also and the consumer of this food gets little nutritional value.

           Think of the fields in the center part of this country-- top soil blowing away, pesticides and herbicides dumped on it, GMO seeds used and the U.S. consumer has 12 aisles of selections in the grocery store of this chemical mix to buy.  I understand that 80% of the corn in this country are from GMO seeds.  Corn syrup anyone? Add the grains like soy and wheat and those 12 aisles in that building are loaded for profit and illnesses.  When Idaho potato farmers will not eat what they sell to the restaurants and grocery stores, one has to ask what do they know that we all should know.  

               It is not enough anymore for me to grow my blueberries, peaches or strawberries, I want them to be the most flavorful possible.  It is rather simple, really.  The guide lines for good stewardship of the earth, do it the ways of mother nature does it, let the leaves decay in place, feed the worms, don't place plastic on the soil, add animal composted manures, natural minerals like rock dust.  The use of fish oils, molasses, teas made of comfry, nettle and worm casings are easy and available.  The interesting thing about this book is he hints at what is best for different plants.  I got my copy from amazon!  Healthy plants resist diseases easier and produce sweetness and flavor. 

              The second gardening book, I recently purchased after reading from the library is WILD FLAVORS.   It is written by a Boston chef who wanted to know more about the organic farm that she had been using for her resource of vegetables and herbs.  This is a tale a couple strong women, one is a gardener and the other the chef. It is the adventure of seasons and a love story of a community of sharing and like minded people using their skills and the harvest.  It is about how no part of the vegetable is wasted, how animals are raised, wine and apple cider are created and poured at potlucks that are feasts. It changed me in little ways in the kitchen along with using her new recipes, I found this book delightful.

My Gay Moment

      I am one of those people that evolved about marriage and the subject of gays get those rights to marry but today it hit home for me.  I had always thought legal right/ partnerships were enough.  I have been educated more about the subject and have changed my mind that I think of it as a civil right now.  The key is was the fact that laws are on the books in over 1,000 ways giving married people certain rights that are not afforded to singles or unmarried people.

     Today I was told if I took John off the auto insurance policy my insurance cost would jump.  Now John has not driven for a couple years and I question if he was still on the policy.  It was explained to me that married people are more stable, have less accidents than single people so that is their policy will cost more for me.  I had that flash of craziness, I had a feeling of being marginalized, totally based of useless information. I shared how gays must feel about not in that class of people having the benefit of laws for married people.

      I found a new auto insurance company this afternoon.

Planting tomatoes

    It is time.  Maybe it is true. The weather has turned from the rainy season to the complex days of spring weather.

     Recently, I looked at one of my raised beds for tomatoes as I earnestly try to rotate where I planted tomatoes and potatoes.   This meant that the kale beds of two years had to be harvested and pulled out to make room.  As I studied the plants that have feed us much of two winters and now are in bloom I could not think of the waste.  I moved the plants to save the plants going to seed that will be my own little reserve if I ever need them in the future.  Seed saving is becoming more of a goal of my gardening practice.

      These plants number about 10 or 12, three feet tall, were moving to open flat garden area that I usually grow garlic, potatoes and beans.  I can let this kale varieties go to seed and then I will use this space later in the season for some warm weather vegetable.

       In the meantime, I have planted two raised beds of tomatoes with companion pepper plants I have started from seed.  These will spend most of the growing season under a hoop house unless Olympia has a hot summer this year.

        I planted my tomatoes by laying them down as if they were going to sleep in a bed at night.  Pulling of all the leaves except the top cluster and running the stem only a inch deep, warmer soil at that level.  Allowing the top inch and half each plant to have it head up, they are planted down the line this way.  This little ditch got some chopped up eggs shells for calcium to prevent end rot, some Mycorrhizal fungi to develop a strong root system and a general vegetable organic fertilizer.

        It has been about ten days and all seems to doing well.  Today is going to be warm and I have one more beds of tomatoes to go into the ground.  These will be planted closer with much care but I have many seedlings left, my desire is to have a bumper crop for canning.

        Yesterday I harvested two types of chives, parsley and asparagus from the garden.

         Just a note of interest.  Last night on Master Classes on the OWN channel, Ted Turner made comments about his land.  He was eloquent about the use of land, the connection of insects, birds, mammals and the cycle of life needed for this planet earth.  I find it amazing that at 72 years old he is still refreshing honest and passionate about his beliefs in working for peace, nuclear free world and his love of this earth.

Diary of a daily Harvest

Today I picked four large stocks of rhubarb to make a little sauce for dinner.  It  will be the first of 2012.

It made me think about how many things I daily harvest from my garden and remembers of the three women about my age that are role models for me as I read their books.  They wrote of the joy of eating daily from the garden in a seasonal way. Rhubarb reminded of that fact today .  This idea of doing a diary of what I eat out of my garden hit me as an interesting idea.  Hopefully, it will make me better seasonal gardener.  

Two leeks, ten leaves of mustards, kales and one boy choy plant came out of the garden a little before five in the evening.  I sauted the chopped leeks in a little coconut oil and sea salt which I added to the potatoes.  Steamed the chopped greens a bit, dress them with preserved lemons, I made a couple months ago, olive oil and sea salt.  I have a cup or so of mashed potatoes left over from last night which I will warm in a fry pan with the leeks.  Tonight is the evening we are have a small hamburger.  After reading Costco's processing of making organic ground beef I feel very comfortable about eating their beef.  Meat is becoming rare food in our house of late.

Small portions of many different foods is my goal in planning meals.  I am hoping that it serves up all the vitamins and minerals that is needed daily.  John is very easy to cook for as his only dislike is rice but his companionship is lacking at meal time.  John eats as he is shoveling coal in a furnace.

Soon I will write about my three favorite gardening/cooking books by women my age.

menu
Leeks in the potatoes
Greens with olive oil, sea salt, lemon
Hamburger
Rhurbarb sauce