After Some Failures I Am Making Progress Gardening in Arizona

 Gardening in Arizona has been a learning experience.  First, it gets very hot, so after trying to find the best spot for my raised beds, (I have moved them twice) I think I may, now,  have some success. Now the beds get early morning sun and late afternoon sun, so the seedlings don't fry before they start to grow.  And we do have rabbits here and they have munched on all my bean sprouts, so I have replanted twice.  Now, as you can see in the top left photo, I have the beans raised up so the bunnies can't nibble.
The top right and the bottom left photo show my beds on the north side of the house.  Kale, Swiss Chard and Potatoes are doing well.  Beets and zucchini are struggling, but still producing.  I have an abundance of beet greens but not much fruit.  And the zucchini is doing well enough but I chose a species I had not heard of before and it turns out to be a miniature variety.  I have to wait for 10 fruits for one meal.  Jeez.  I will have to read up on any new varieties I decide to choose here before buying them.  I have basil growing well, but have to pick it often.  If it gets too high, it starts to fry in the sun.  Just like my 6 tomato plants I initially planted on the south side of the house.  After yielding 10 tomatoes, they fried up!  I lost all but one plant, which is struggling to come back since we moved our planter, (shown on the bottom right photo, right hand side).  I tried planting peas twice but much too late.  I have to replant in November again, it should be cool enough then to reap some yield.
Had a batch of radishes but they are gone now and I have replanted them again.  I also planted cucumbers which I hope will grow up on the trellis.  We will see how they do.
All in all, for the little amount of work it takes to maintain these four beds, we are eating two fresh meals of veggies every week, with extra nibbles (green peppers and zucchini) occasionally. 

Morning Pick From My Garden & Kale Salad Recipe

About twice a week now, I get a basket of greens from my garden, here in Phoenix.  Swiss Chard, Kale and gourmet Romaine Lettuce.  So, while others are eating what ever they can find in the grocery stores or drive-thru lanes at fast food restaurants, we will still be eating fresh greens.
I had lots of kale so I wanted to come up with a salad from what I had in the fridge.
Here is what I came up with:

Kale Salad
4 cups shredded kale, with stems removed
1 cup finely sliced green cabbage (had that left from St Patrick's Day
2 honey mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup lightly salted sunflower seeds, just the nuts, no shells
1/3 cup of Cilantro Lime Salad dressing (Adrianne's) but you could make your own.
Give all ingredients a toss and let sit in the fridge for up to 30 minutes before serving.  The greens will soften and marinate, then taste like candy.
We served this with grilled Salmon!
Yummy!
Happy Eating!! And be well.

Good Things to Eat During a Trying Time in America!!!!

Christopher Elbow Chocolates from Kansas City, what a treat.  Each one is hand made and creatively painted so each piece is a work of art.  A feast for the eyes as well as the mouth.
This is an extreme decadence during this crazy time in America, so I will get back to the purpose of this post.

I went grocery shopping two days ago.  The shelves were nearly empty.  All basics gone with very few items left.  I am lucky to be a foodie, who has an extensively stocked pantry, thanks to my Mom who trained me well as a young adult.

But what do people do when they can not find usual items to build a decent, nutritious meal for their family?  Strolling down the aisles, I was reminded of those cooking shows where the chefs were given just two or three items to build a dish to serve.

For those folks who do not have the flexibility or the means to store lots of food ahead of time and are at the mercy of what is left on the shelves and I have some suggestions here for healthy meals to serve.  Keep an open mind and try a few things you have never had before.  You just might become a fan.

In the Canned Meat aisle, the only things left were Sardines.
Sardines in Mustard Sauce are delicious, and served on a whole wheat cracker with pickles makes a fast meal.  The Mediterraneans are very smart as they eat a lot of sardines.

In the canned Vegetable aisle, there was only one large can of Collard Greens left.  These are like the king of green veggies!  Try them micro-waved with some minced garlic, red pepper flakes (by the way, never throw out those extra packets you get from your pizza delivery, they last forever) and 2 TBSP of vinegar.  If you have kids, saute the greens with apple chunks and a TBSP of honey, it will taste like candy.
Another item  left in the same aisle was a bag of Lentils.  A teasure!  Clean those lentils, pick out any bad ones or pebbles, then cook them in boiling water until tender.  Add chopped tomato, chopped onion and minced garlic and drizzle with olive oil if you have it.  Fantastic eating.  Lots of vitamins and minerals as well as protein.

In the produce aisle they had mountains of Sweet Potatoes, which are fairly cheap.  Micro-Wave them with chunks of apples and sprinkles of cinnamon.  You can add a pat of butter if you must.  Any dried fruit will do with this, raisins, cranberries, apricots, blueberries too.  You think its a weird combination but so good!
Also here in Arizona, citrus is plentiful. I buy or pick Oranges as often as I can. And I always have a jar of green olives and pimentos in the pantry and you can usually find these even in the 99 cent stores. Always keep one on hand.  Olives are good for you in moderation, watch out for your sodium intake, especially these days when you are reverting to processed food.  Or better yet, don't!!!  Don't be an alarmist and eat nothing but processed food.  You are stuck at home, and have time to make things by scratch. Don't know how, watch a video or read how.  Ask a neighbor to borrow a cook book if you don't have one.
Okay, sorry for the rant. Back to the Oranges and Olives.  My favorite salad is a Tunisian Orange and Green Olive Salad.
4 to 6 oranges, peeled and sliced 3/8" slices.  Spread the oranges out on a flat platter or large dish.  Drain an 8 oz jar of green olives with pimentos and scatter them over the orange slices.  In a bowl, add 1/4 c Olive Oil, 4 TBSP Lemon Juice, 1 tsp ground cumin, salt & pepper to taste.  Whisk ingredients and pour over the oranges.  Let site about 10 minutes before serving.  This is so good you might want to lick the plate!

And I can't forget my Missouri Friends, who are now watching for those first blooms of spring and their yards filling with Dandelions!  Dandelions greens make great salads!  The new tender leaves are so good when you toss them with sliced sweet onions and a vinaigrette made of equal parts of Blasamic Vinegar, Olive Oil and Maple Syrup.  Wow that is good!  Don't have maple syrup, no problem, you can use Agave nectar, honey, raw sugar, or any other sweetener, just don't use refined white sugar.  That's blaspheme.

Well I hope all my readers will try one of these if they get in a pinch.
I hope we will all be able to get out and mingle again soon.
Be well, stay healthy!

Growing again but in the Southwest!

Writing from our new home in Phoenix Arizona, very close to the South Mountain Preserve Park.
After 6 months of completing all the updates and renovations on our very modern farm house, we sold it to a younger couple, who hopefully can handle all the farm work and we moved to Arizona in August 2019.

The photo is of  the terrain we now see out our windows everyday.  The sun rises and sets with a display of purple, pink and blue that is just breath-taking.

On December 17th, 2019 I actually planted my first garden beds of Swiss Chard, Kale, Radishes. lettuce and herbs. The raised beds are on the shady side of the house, so hopefully I will get a yield for more months than on the sunny side of the house.  The thought that you can plant all year is just astounding to a former "northerner".
On February 16, 2020 I planted the summer garden on the south side of the house.  Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Peas, Spaghetti Squash, Zucchini  and two kinds of beans, Long Beans and Blue Lakes were added.  In just one week they all sprouted ad are doing quite well.  We also planted our banana tree in the ground after living in a monstrous pot for 10 years, and a mandarin orange tree.

I'll be adding recipes occasionally, as I learn what's available in plenty and as my garden matures.

Until then, it is now March 5th and I am enjoying the 80+ temperature today.  Might stick my feet in the pool when I get home!  My favorite location for happy hour is by the pool!

Growing again but in the Southwest!

I Have Been AWOL Too Long!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Its been a challenging year at work and in our personal lives that required a break from posting.
The growing season came and went with only a fraction of yield I usually receive from a season, but sanity and less stress was diagnosed.

As we move into the holiday season though, my love for food and celebrating what comes from mother nature and giving thanks for all the blessings we receive here at the farm, I had to post again.

First a diary of the Thanksgiving Meal:
Wednesday Night Prep:
Brine Turkey- my 13 lb. turkey is now soaking in a bath of salt water, bourbon and maple syrup.  It will soak until tomorrow morning, absorbing all those luscious juices before cooking.  Then I will drain it, pat it dry and mix melted butter & maple syrup and spread it under the skin, over the breast of the turkey.  I will also add a basket weave blanket of apple smoked bacon across the top of the breast so it doesn't burn.  Then bast it with melted butter and bourbon all through the roasting process.  Yes, it tastes heavenly!!!!  The gravy made from the juices is packed with bourbon flavor and I add whole sweet potatoes to the roasting pan, just 45 minutes before the turkey is done. Bourbon butter sweet potatoes! Yummy!

Tonight I will also make our new favorite pies, straight from our own harvest of pears and pecans.
The first pie is Cranberry Pear Pie!  If you haven't tried it, it have tested it against my favorite apple pie and my family likes the cranberry pear pie the best.  The next pie is the Maple Pecan! (do you see a pattern here?  With a former Canadian husband (still my husband, but a new American citizen) we must use Maple Syrup on as much food as possible at the holidays!

Always a busy day before Thanksgiving.  I am now drawn back to the kitchen where my giblet stock is cooking and smells like its done. Until tomorrow.

A New Twist on Mac & Cheese! Winter's Blast Has My Garden On Hiatus!

2017-2018 Winter came in with a blast!
This fall we added a new sliding entry and a 32' by 16' deck in the back of the house.  We are so excited to have a deck again and we are anxious to have friends over to experience the colorful sunsets we often have here in Missouri.

But in December, the snow and frigid cold came in and did not leave. January has been no better, a direct opposite from the last two winters when I was able to grow greens under plastic the entire winter.  This year, I planted late lettuce, spinach, kale, parsley and radishes.  In early December. cute little green shoots were showing a hopeful harvest but when the winds and cold came in at Christmas, and at - 10 even the shoots froze under the 8 mm plastic which kept the greens so warm and cozy last year.  I frankly gave up trying o keep them warm and watered. I was watering frozen leaves.

So, I will start my seeds in the warmth of my basement grow lights and hope for warmth in March.  In the mean time we have been enjoying all the greens that I froze during the spring, summer and fall.  Thanks goodness for those. Lots of Swiss Chard, Spigarella, Spinach, Green Beans, and Broccoli to fill our winter dishes and soups.

We are also trying to stay away from those fatty comfort foods.  Its tough this year since its so cold. And Steve loves dishes like Mac & Cheese and Poutine!  High Fat foods,  only good for a hibernating bear!
So, I came up with a lighter version.  And, if you don't tell anyone what's in it, they will never guess its cauliflower! (I originally mashed it with fresh ground pepper and a bit of chicken broth.

1 cup leftover mashed Cauliflower
8 oz. elbow macaroni, cooked
2 TBSP Butter
1/4 c chicken broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

As soon as the macaroni is drained, after cooking, add the mashed cauliflower, butter, and broth to the mac in the pan.  Stir continuously and season with salt and pepper.  Once all the butter is melted and ingredients have been mixed well and heated, add the cheese and mix for one more minute.  Serve immediately.

Planting for Spring and Summer 2017 is done!

After a very busy winter, which,  many of my greens and carrots grew straight through,   and installing solar panels for all our electricity needs,  we have finished our tilling and  planting for 2017.  We celebrated our first electric bill in March, which was (-$137.00) .  We should have installed Solar years ago!

We have planted fewer vegetables and planted about 6000 sq ft instead of the past 10,000 sq feet.  It just got too big to handle.  That's a lot of real estate to weed!

Right now I am still picking Pac Choi, Spinach, Radishes, Lettuce and herbs from the winter raised beds.  I did plant green beans and then  after two weeks of rain, not one bean sprouted, so I have just replanted.  I dug up the soil to see what the problem was and did not find one seed.  I think they all washed away.

We are picking strawberries and each day its a race to see who gets the ripe ones, me or the chickens!  I did just buy some cover fabric and will cover the berries and grapes to keep out the birds.  I want to have a fighting chance at some of the fruit.  Pears are doing great again this year.  Apples look good too but I see the starts of rust on the leaves.  Going to have to spray again this winter.  This fungus is killing my apple crop.

Steve has been making progress on the house foundation, we are 3/4 completed with the basement wall adjustment and he has begun to rebuild the deck.  We will have a 32' by 16' deck which is much bigger then it was.  He also installed a new exterior back door and raised the landing to be even with the rest of the house.  We had a very weird landing before going to the basement, you had to step down to a landing, then go down the stairs.  Now the floor flows evenly.  Just another example of a lazy contractor when they built this house.

The pond is overflowing since we have had lots of rain this spring.  The ducks are very happy.  We have 3 new ducks, given to us by our neighbors Miles and Angela and their 2 year old daughter, Ellis.
Miles and Angela bought the ducks for Ellis but as they grew they realized they were a bit too much to handle especially since they didn't have a pond.  We were glad to welcome them into our gang.  After keeping the 3 new ducks in the barn with our other duck couple, they soon became one big group.  Although the older male still chases the 2 new males around a bit.  Great for laughs because after about 10 seconds of chasing they turn around and then follow each other again.  Ducks in a row for sure!