In Season & Fresh from the Garden, the Fields, the Orchards & the Woods
It’s funny how some posts draw comments… and what for…Like my post on spring salads prompted requests for the recipe of the potted meat I served with it! Which, of course, one should rightly ask for the recipe, because it is simple, simply delicious, can …
Actually not from the woods but from a very nice garden that was open during Virginia Historic Garden Week. But the dogwoods are blooming in the woods too – although the last couple of very hot days is shortening the bloom time. Other than that, …
I know. I am supposed to post the recipe for Pork Rillettes. But I am too tired. It’s spring after all, with its myriad tasks: making new beds, planting like crazy, transplanting like there is no tomorrow, watching the chicken scratch through the weeds, weeding!, uppotting tomatoes, feverishly writing labels… and ah! yes! morels! from the hills! fresh! meaty! smelling of the forest floor…
I’ll post the rillettes recipe. Just not today.
The secret is in the dressing. Well, not really. The secret is a just-picked mix of lettuce and other greens such oak leaf-lettuce, Reine des Glaces, baby arugula, baby spinach, frisee, a few pea shoots, an asparagus or two (thinly sliced), sorrel, escarole, a smattering …
Did you know red currants bloom as the same time as the cherries? They do. But unlike the billowy dreamy snowy cherry blossoms, the flowers of red currant are rather inconspicuous. One hardly notices them – especially with the explosion of greens and colors in …
Before the rain is a good time to:
1. transplant Swiss chard
2. transplant lettuce
3. check on tomato seedlings in greenhouse. Sigh. Too early to transplant outside. BUT Continue reading Before The Rain
This is the 2nd article of a 2 part-series geared at first-time would-be food gardeners (Read Part I here) What should I plant? Not so fast! (aren’t you getting tired with me saying this so often?) Before you plant, you need a place to plant. …
Bow to the mighty asparagus! The first ones are now tentatively pushing their rosy tip up – just checking on the above ground weather. Is last year holds true (and so far, it does, as after a few days of warm weather, we are back …
It’s heartening to hear so many people say they want to start growing some of their food. Many also say they are overwhelmed by what it seems to require – or have no idea how to start.
However, millions of people have been gardening for thousands of years. So, it can’t be that complicated. It’s just like cooking: everybody has the ability to do it, some will do it better than others, most will be adequate, and a few will take it to an art form. You don’t need gadgets (no more than you need gadgets in the kitchen) nor the latest do-dads: they tend to run the bill up. But you do need a few simple tools, the knowledge of a few basic techniques and the willingness to learn. Continue reading A Beginner’s Guide To Starting Your Kitchen Garden
Cherry blossoms in early April are incredibly lovely, aren’t they? and incredibly fragile. They open their snowy petals for pollinators to do their jobs when the chance of freeze or frost is still real and so one wonders: is this too early? will a frost …