Figs and Radishes

My fig tree is starting to bud. It is a mission fig so a little slower then the Brown Turkey fig more common to our part of the world. I had cut the tree back drastically because it had gotten so big and I was starting to get worried. I was also concerned about some of the fig trees I had tried to start and gave to friends.
However, I have received word that at least one is leafing out.

Each one of these beautiful little bells will be a blueberry in a few months.



















This are some of my French Breakfast radish. I have been eating 2 or 3 a day but they grow so fast I will have some to share with friends.

Finally, I have some Fava beans growing. They did not do so well last year and I had not thought to try them again but I had some seeds left and there is plenty of room this time of year. In any case I think the plant and the flowers are quite nice and maybe this time we will have some beans!

1.859KG of additional produce for total of 13.466KG

From Garden to Freezer.

We had Cabbage in the garden that was going to seed so I fixed them for eating later. I almost feel like I am back on my little farm. So much fun and waste not. The weather has been great and I want to plant but the Farmer says we could have frost until April 15th. So we are putting in just stuff that can take the cold. Looks like our Bunny is back and he ate some of our sugar snap peas. The Farmer's wife and daughter put up a little fence. He Has Got To Go!! I am so looking forward to this growing season, my first full season here. Bon Appetit!

Kale and Cabbages and Planting

The weather has been very warm with and high of 82 degrees.  However, the last frost date is not for another 3 weeks and so you cannot put the tender plants out yet. This heat has has lead to a lot of the kale and other cruciforms are all bolting and going to seeds this has added a lot to our total. It has also meant that we have shared kale and collards with friends and neighbors.
I have made soup for our Friday Soup(er) Learning Lunch for work and used a lot of the kale in that and the Farmer Wife's recorded the recipe for me so that I can share it with all the readers.

This is what a pound of kale looks like and going into the soup.  
 
The recipe

    St. Patraick's Day Soup

Chop Up:
    1 whole bunch of celery
    1 small onion
    3 carrots
    1/2 green pepper
     2 cloves garlic
    1 lb. Andouille sausage
Mince:
    1 T. fresh thyme
    1 T. fresh marjoram (Greek oregano)
    1 T. sage

In an Extra Large soup pot, add 3 T. olive Oil and all the above ingredients.
    DO NOT Add any Liquids Yet!
Cook on medium/low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to 'render' and
"carmalize" the contents.

Then add 2 bay leaves and 3 boxes of 32 oz Chicken Broth. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, Chop up:
    3 lbs of red potatoes, washed, not peeled
    1 lb of cury Kale (remove thick stems) (substitute?- bok choy)
    1 lb frozen green peas (whap bag on counter to break up)

After stock pot is boiling, add potatoes and peas. Cover and Cook 10 minutes.

Now add kale (It will look like too much kale).
Cover and Cook on medium heat another 10 minutes until potatoes are done
and kale is wilted down.   Remove bay leaves if you can find them.
Taste. It will be plenty salty, but add freshly ground pepper to taste.

Chef Suburban Farmer

We are starting a lot of the squash and other plants today in pot that the New Farmer and the Farmer's Daughter had prepared. In three weeks it will be time to transplant these into the garden.
This is how some of the cabbages have started to look as the go to seed. I think that the leaves will still taste good so we will try to cook those that are spread and the others can be used for coleslaw.
4.433 Kg to add the 7.174KG for a total of 11.607 KG which is 25.5 lbs

Collards good eating later.

I picked collards today. They were going to seed and we need room for summer stuff. I cooked them and bagged them for the freezer. I got 5 Quarts for eating later. Waste not!!!! They will be so good when no else has any.

Strawberry Blooms: The Signs of Spring

The strawberry patch needed to be cleaned up. I had been waiting for some time to tackle this job. I was surprise to notice that there was some flowering plants. I think that the strawberry is one of the most attractive of flowers and plants.
Broccoli has been delicious this spring. When you cut off the main floret you get a lot of little florets that are second shoots for the picking. I have never seen broccoli to be so green when you cook it and it incredibly sweet tender and delicious.
   The peas are almost big enough to grab hold of the netting and climb their support.
 
Over the next week we will have the last of the collard greens. There are still lots of of leaves but in the center the flowering buds as they begin to bolt.
I have 3.749KG to add to the 3.425KG that we had already harvested.

7.174kg total  which is 16lbs already.

Beautiful week-end to plant.

We had a great week-end, warm and lots of sun. We planted potato's and some plants that we started inside. The potato's we planted are small red and yellow. I am looking forward to some of them with fresh green beans.

We have lots of greens to eat that wintered over. I had cabbage, kale and collards for dinner yesterday and will have spinach salad today. Things taste so good right out of the garden.

Rain, Rain lots of Rain.

 No planting this week-end. We had 3 inches of rain Fri. night and Saturday. Ground way to wet. I took pictures today of what we do have growing.














 
Sugar snap peas are coming up as well as radishes and Arugula. The collards are looking great. I plan to cook more this week. The time changes this coming week-end so we will have more time in the afternoon to work. Hope it dries up soon, we have both red and yellow potato's to plant.

Cooking with Greens

The New Farmer has enjoyed several good green dishes.
Spinach is doing great right now. These are plants that have made it through the winter and have lots of good new green leaves coming out. One of the things about greens is that a lot of greens cooks down to a much smaller amount. This Italian recipe has olive oil, a clove of garlic and pine nuts that toast in the oil and then the whole mess of spinach goes in and wilts down for a delicious dish that only takes a few minutes to produce.
I am still getting broccoli and cabbage and I have been sharing with some friends. I noticed that the broccoli when steamed was an amazing green color, the brightest and freshest I have seen by far.

Tonight it was time for collards. We were making a soup for dinner and I went out and picked 250 grams of collards and cut them up and they really added flavor to the soup and great for the vitamins too. I also added a bag of frozen tomatoes from the summer.

All total I have 1.575 KG to add, which brings us up to 3.425 KG for the two coldest months of the year.