It’s Garden Lust Time!!

Hello Friends,

Today I am feeling giddy thinking about the seeds I purchased on Sunday. I also picked up seed starter soil, cell flats and some vermiculite. I decided I wanted to buy seeds this year to diversify my garden. I still have plenty of seeds that I have saved that I will use this spring, however I could not resist the seed catalog!

Image Courtesy of Amenic181 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A list of the newbies:
Blue Hubbard Winter Squash
Andover OG Parsnips
DeLuxe Lettuce Mix OG
Watercress Cresses
Roodnerf Brussels Sprouts
Kale Mix
Cosmonaut Volkov OG Tomatoes
Black Prince OG Tomatoes
Gardeners Sweetheart OG Cherry Tomatoes
Elecampane OG Elecampane
Winter Savory Winter Savory
White Yarrow Achillea
Love-Lies-Bleeding Amaranth
Butterfly Weed
Autumn Beauty Mix OG Sunflowers
Mammoth Grey Stripe Sunflowers
State Fair Mix Zinnias
Beneficials Flower Mix
Cutflower Mix

And of course I have the usual standbys:
Kabocha Squash
Calabasa
Peas
Acorn Squash
Butternut Squash
Borage
Calendula
Peppers
Swiss Chard
Collard Greens

Looks like I will need to fill my calendar with seed starting dates. I also plan to start expanding the beds into the back of yard as I would like to have more of a botanical garden in the yard than just a lot of grass. That’s where a lot of those herbs and flowers will go.

What seeds are you lusting after this season?

Garden Update

I figured it was about time I gave you guys a garden update.

This spring I didn’t have a chance to get my seeds started early so I pretty much planted as late as I ever have. As I was telling my friend Nelson, who does an awesome job running the Metuchen Farmer’s Market, my gardening philosophy is to take whatever I have and throw it in the ground…

So here’s what has come up

Kabocha Squash

Kale and Mystery Squash

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Borage

Calendula

Asparagus

“Permaculture”

I also have these wild flower looking weeds that have really come in, thanks to my lack of weeding and making it more of a “permaculture” type plot. If anyone knows what these are please let me know!

Mystery Flowers

What do you have growing in your garden??

LIEBSTER AWARD:

I want to thank my friend Charanya from Yes I’m Vegan 🙂 for nominating me. Below are the rules and questions to answer:

Rules for this award:

• Thank and link back the person who presented the award to you.
• Have the award on your post.
• Answer the questions that has been asked.
• Award the same to other upcoming blogs.

Charanya’s Questions

1. What’s your favorite cuisine? Too many! Middle Eastern Maybe
2. What would be the last meal you will love to eat? Something Indian or Falafel
3. What is your favorite vege? Changes every day!
4.  Do you watch Game of Thrones? Yes, though I am behind but have read through book 5
5.  If you are vegan, why? If not, do you think you could be one for few days? at first it was fr health reasons but as I did more research my reasons became more ethical and environmental
6.  Is there anything your life wont be the same without? Nope not really
7.  What’s your favorite movie? Too many to name! I love bad movies!!
8.  Is there any color you loved as a kid? Green, now my fave is red
9.  Is there anything you would change in your life if life had a rewind button?
10.  Do you own an iphone or an android? iPhone
11. 3 words that could describe you: Passion, Loyal, Independent

My nominees are:

1. Vegan Flavorista
2. Earthpages.org
3. A Lazy Girl Goes Green
4. Veganomics
5. The Novice Gardener
6. Vegan Muffin Woman
7. Epicurean Vegan

My questions are:

1. What is your favorite book?
2. What gets you up in the morning?
3. What color best describes you?
4. What do you do for fun?
5. If you could make one thing in the world right, what would that be?

A Nice Fall Recipe

With fall here in full force, maybe a little too full force, I realize I haven’t given you guys a recipe in a while and thought that a nice recipe would make the season a little brighter.

Autumn Japanese Maple by porbital

I love squashes, now I have to admit that I have not had the opportunity to try a lot of the vast variety out there, the old standbys have worked well for me.

So using an old standby, I wanted to make something easy with only a few ingredients, and came up with this amazing dish.

White Bean and Escarole with Spaghetti Squash and Roasted Garlic

Ingredients
1 Spaghetti Squash
1 Bulb of Garlic
1 Head of Escarole
4 Cups Cannellini Beans
Olive Oil as Needed
Salt To Taste
Fresh Ground Pepper To Taste

Preheat oven to 425. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds with a spoon. Cut the edge off the garlic bulb – the one that doesn’t have root. Drizzle oil all over the squash and the garlic (keep bulb intact with peel). Bake for 30 minutes or until soft.

In a large saucepan sauté escarole, use the whole head since it will cook down a lot. Squeeze the garlic out of peels and add to the escarole. Add beans and more oil, white wine or homemade vegetable broth to sauce it up. In a separate dish take the squash and run a fork through it to get the spaghetti like strands.

Serve the beans over the squash and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Serves 4 to 6

Be careful for what you wish for…

OK, in my last post I had a garden wishlist and well, yeah, since then I started a lot of seeds. Sometimes what you wish for is a good thing and comes true. Check out what’s been growing since we last chatted:

Kabucha Squash

Zucchini

Black Beans

Cucumber, Spaghetti & Butternut Squash

Mammoth Sunflowers

Calabasa (Pumpkin)

Sweet, huh, all were planted between 4/5 – 4/9. I am very happy and can’t wait to transplant them next month. Our last frost date is 5/15, though I have a feeling we are done for the season, I hope!

There was something else that I wished for that didn’t turn out quite as well as my seedlings or as I had hoped for. I had a position at a shop that was always a dream job for me, the kind of store I thought I was meant to be working in. I loved the customers, however my values didn’t align with the owner’s and a falling out in January didn’t make it any easier. Why did I stay? Well, I needed the income and the people I met kept me coming in, and quite frankly I liked getting the discount. A few weeks ago I was asked to leave that job and I am glad it happened. I was not happy there and though the customers kept me there I felt my vitality being zapped when I dealt with the owner, which was always. I don’t blame him, I should have left a lot sooner.

The big lesson that I learned from this whole experience is that if something doesn’t feel right then it isn’t. Sometimes it’s not easy to change a situation, however, you have to do what’s right for you. Like plants we all need the right environment to thrive.