Can You Feel It In The Air...

Spinach, Chard, and Kale- not only edible but gorgeous!

The mornings of late have been cool and there is a change in the air, fall is just around the corner.  Even if we can't trust the weather, pre-season football games have begun so really, fall is just around the corner.  With the heat breaking and rains returning, now is the time to prep your fall beds and start planning cool season crops.

First step in preparing the garden beds is to clean up what may be left over from the summer garden.  As I write this the last of the lettuce has gone to seed and looking quiet toasty.  Squash and cucumber plants are also due to be pulled up as they are well past their prime.  Of course, as the veggies fell prey to the Texas heat weeds gladly popped up and grew happily in the heat with very little water- go figure.  So, now is the time to pull weeds, clean up dead plants and feed the soil.

Regardless of the type of gardening you do- raised bed, square foot, or traditional rows- you must return to the soil what you are taking out in the form of nutrients.  The best way to do this is the use of compost.  Twice a year, at the end of summer season and just before spring planting, I take compost and spread about 4 inches on the top of each bed.  I do not worry about tuning this under because as I am planting the seeds or seedlings, enough turning over occurs.  Every time you till the soil, whether by hand or machine, you interrupt the soil biology and slow things down, so the less you disturb it the better your garden will grow.  There are a lot of beneficial bugs in the soil, such as earthworms, that will gladly come up and process the compost for you bringing the nutrients down into the soil making them ready for the roots of your new plants.  Other ways to help feed the soil is to use liberal amounts of mulch and feed your plants with a liquid fertilizer such as compost tea during the growing season. For information on compost tea follow this link: http://farmonthehill.blogspot.com/2011/10/compost-tea.html .

Now, its time to plant.  I firmly believe that the easiest gardens to grow in Texas is a fall garden.  There are so many choices.  Carrots are best planted in fall.  Some will be ready by October, definitely by November and the rest will grow happily all winter long just waiting on you to come get them.  Our ground does not freeze, so all root crops keep well for us all winter long in the ground right where you planted them.  So make good use of this and plant plenty of carrots, radishes, turnips, rutabagas and such things.

Nothing beats fresh spinach!

Turnips also fall into the category of greens.  As you wait for the turnips to ripen, you can eat on the greens of the plant ( the leaves above ground) all winter long.  You simply pick and prepare them like you would spinach.  Spinach also being my favorite green to plant in the fall.  Of course, I type that and think, "Oh, but don't forget about Kale, that is also our favorite".  It's true, we love Kale and Swiss Chard and so many other greens that grow great, most not really caring if it freezes a time or two.  Most years, Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard, and  Turnip Greens grow fabulously all winter.

Lettuce is an awesome crop for fall.  Although it may now tolerate a lot of freezing weather, it will produce really well for several months.  For fall planting, look for the varieties that are known to like the coolest of weather.  Drunken Woman (seriously) is a great variety both pretty and tasty.  Tom Thumb is great and there are many others.  Mescalin Mix is simply a mixture of lettuce, spinach, greens and so forth snipped off with scissors when they are just a few inches tall.  The great thing about this is that they will all grow back.

 Any tomato, pepper, and eggplants that you nursed through the heat of the summer will begin to produce again.  Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbages, and very short season English peas also make good choices for a fall garden.  As you can see, there is a lot of variety to be had in the winter.  It kind of make up for the fact that our veggies stop producing well at the end of summer unlike our northern neighbors that grow right on through August.  Grow something this fall, you will be glad you did!

For the love of Salsa!

Me & Cheyenne (drinking bubbly apple juice)

Cheyenne and I share a lot of things.  For instance, neither one of us can hide our feelings very well, what we think is telegraphed on our faces, we love taking care of our animals, we are strong willed, and we love babies.  Also, we share a love of really good Salsa.  Mexican food makes us happy and we like a little heat.  She is her mother's daughter, with just enough of her daddy mixed in to mellow her out in a nice way.

She has been making some noise about needing to make salsa with our bountiful harvest of tomatoes.  Apparently, Cheyenne has not thought that using the tomatoes to make tomato sauce was a very wise use of those beautiful ‘maters.  A love of spaghetti is not something we share.  So, I surfed the internet for a recipe and found one that was simple and looked promising. And yesterday we got busy over some tomatoes, hot peppers, and cilantro.

The recipe was simple and we followed it up until we tasted the salsa, then we went to tinkering.  Cheyenne is really good about making notes as she improvises so we were able to recreate the same flavor this morning, as we already needed more.

Below is the recipe- our rendition, not the one from the internet.  Before putting everything in the food processor, we cored the tomatoes and scored the other ends and dropped them into boiling water for about a minute.  The tomatoes are in the boiling water just long enough for the skin to start to curl.  Then the peeling just slips off, chop the tomatoes roughly and toss in the processor.  The longer you run the food processor the finer the salsa, so if you like chunky then just pulse a few times.  Also, for thicker salsa use paste tomatoes such as roma or Illini Gold.

Cheyenne’s Fresh Salsa

2-3 medium tomatoes, stems and peelings removed (see above)

½  onion coarsely chopped

2- fish peppers seeds removed- unless you want to up the heat then leave the seeds in. (if you don’t have fish peppers, jalapeno or any other hot pepper will work.

Juice of one lime

1 cup cilantro

1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)

½ tsp of cumin

Put tomatoes, peppers & onions in food processor and pulse for about 2 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse till you are happy with the consistency.  Taste- if too hot add more tomatoes, if not hot enough, add more peppers.

Let set in the refrigerator for one hour to let the flavors blend- if you can wait that long, we just eat right out of the blender bowl. 

ENJOY!

An Herb That Makes My Tastes-buds Happy- Cilantro

Cilantro Seedlings @ The Farm On Holly's Hill waiting for someone to take them home!

For years I always wondered what that flavor was in the Mexican restaurants that I could not replicate at home.  Then I became a Pampered Chef Lady back in the nineties and several of the recipes called for Cilantro.  I had to hunt this up in the grocery store as I had never heard of cilantro.  Once home, I cooked up the new recipe and how excited I was to find that flavor I had been missing!  I love it and so do lots of other people, but there are those who DO NOT like it.  So for those of you in the latter category, check back later and we will talk about an herb that you like.

Cilantro is the plant parts of the spice Coriander- which is the seed of the plant.  Cilantro is not hard to grow, but it does like the cooler temps so start it early inside or start with seedlings in the spring.  Moisture is important to this herb so keep the pot or bed watered once a week if the rain doesn't fall for you.  Spring is not the only time to plant cilantro, fall is great, too.  I have plants in my garden right now (February) that have not been bothered by the light freezes we have been having this winter.  You should grow some, not only will your tastes-buds thank you, but so will your body.

Cilantro and Dill growing happily in February!

The Global Healing center has this to say about the medicinal benefits of cilantro:

"This herb isn't just a commonly-used leaf and seed ingredient found in many tasty and exotic recipes, it's also a powerful natural cleansing agent. Cilantro has been effectively used to help remove heavy metals and other toxic agents from the body.

The chemical compounds in cilantro actually bind to the heavy metals, loosening them from the tissues, blood and organs. Cilantro's chemical compounds then aid to transport these harmful substances out of the body through elimination.

There is also a large amount of literature suggesting that cilantro could be one of nature's best chelation agents, particularly for individuals who have been exposed to heightened levels of mercury. Mercury excess is a common problem that may be the result of metallic teeth fillings or over-consumption of predatory fish. Many people suffering from excess mercury report that the feeling of disorientation resulting from the poisoning can be greatly reduced through consuming large and regular amounts of cilantro over an extended period.

Also, the rich qualities of cilantro oil have a powerfully positive effect on our inner digestive tract. The oils aid our digestive system in its production of digestive enzymes, acids and juices. The oil also helps to stimulate digestion through peristaltic motion.

The known benefits of cilantro are extensive, and researchers are discovering more every day. Currently, there are several well-known, well-documented benefits of organic cilantro, including:

List of Cilantro Benefits:

• Powerful anti-inflammatory capacities that may help symptoms of arthritis
• Protective agents against bacterial infection from Salmonella in food products
• Acts to increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind), and reduces LDL cholesterol (the bad kind)
• Relief for stomach gas, prevention of flatulence and an overall digestive aid
• Wards off urinary tract infections
• Helps reduce feelings of nausea
• Eases hormonal mood swings associated with menstruation
• Has been shown to reduce menstrual cramping.
• Adds fiber to the digestive tract
• A source of iron, magnesium, and is helpful in fighting anemia
• Gives relief for diarrhea, especially if caused by microbial or fungal infections
• Helps promote healthy liver function.
• Reduces minor swelling
• Strong general antioxidant properties
• Disinfects and helps detoxify the body
• Stimulates the endocrine glands
• Helps with insulin secretion and lowers blood sugar
• Acts as a natural anti-septic and anti-fungal agent for skin disorders like fungal infections and eczema
• Contains immune-boosting properties
• Acts as an expectorant
• Helps ease conjunctivitis, as well as eye-aging, macular degeneration, and other stressors on the eyes.

James A. Duke, Ph.D., a former botanist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and author of The CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, states that cilantro has been shown to settle the stomach. He recommends drinking a cup of the tea made from a handful of the leaves, when experiencing any form of stomach discomfort.^4"

^{Just another great reason to have an herb garden!}

Homemade Memories



The family enjoying homemade soup and NCIS Los Angeles

 If there is one meal that speaks comfort to me, it is a bowl of homemade soup with cornbread.  My mom made this soup a lot when we were growing up and it was probably the first recipe I learned to make.  I have memories of making it when I was 5.  You may not believe me, but I did!  I have lots of preschool memories, plenty from 2 and 3 years of age.

The memory that stands out regarding the homemade soup is from Kindergarten.  While in kindergarten, my Grandad and Uncle Kenny picked me up from school and kept me while my mother ran her afternoon bus route.  I absolutely adored both of those men and loved seeing them waiting for me after school.  One of those days the subject of dinner came up.  I informed them that I could cook homemade soup and they let me.  This must have  been one of the reasons that I loved hanging out with them, they let me do a lot that my mother would not have turned me loose on.

Homemade soup is a simple affair with basic ingredients, which is usually the case with comfort food.  One pound of ground meat and chopped potatoes boiled fork tender are the base of the soup. After that, its any one's game.  Mostly, corn, green beans, English peas, carrots and stewed tomatoes are added.  At this time, canned veggies were common place in the kitchen and because they are already cooked, once the meat is browned and potatoes boiled, it is just a matter of assembly and bringing to a boil.  I had watched my mother do it many times and I am sure that she had let me pour in the cans of vegetables.

I have no idea how long it took me to peel the potatoes and brown the meat.  However, I received no burns or cuts, so it must have been going pretty well.  Just before I was getting ready to pour the veggies in the pot, Uncle Kenny  came in the kitchen.   Now in my five year old brain, I knew that you didn't pour off the water in the cans of vegetables because this juice has lots of vitamins in it as did the water that held the potatoes.  What did not compute in my little brain was that all the contents of the cans, the pot, and the browned meat would not fit in the stock pot I was using.  Kenny walked in and saw what was going to happen if I attempted to put all this in the same pot.  Now, I was fit to be tied that he had come in the kitchen and was insisting on draining the canned veggies!

To fully understand just how mad I was, you would have had to have had first hand knowledge of what it was like to be Kenny Ray's niece.  He hung the moon as far as I was concerned.  But, he would pick and aggravate until you were ready to inflict bodily harm.  The problem was that, being about a dozen years older than me, he was too big for me to actually do any damage- except to myself.  Like one time, I was so infuriated with him that I decided that I was going to kick him in the shin.  That was a great idea until he lifted his foot up and I kicked the bottom of his cowboy boot.  My toes were black and blue for weeks.  Of course, I would start crying and run and tattle- only to be told " Don't come crying to me, you know what is going to happen when you start playing with Kenny, why do you keep going back?"  Why?  I don't know, we just loved him.  He was kinda like chocolate, you just can't leave it alone.  He was the Uncle all the little kids adored. Period.

So, he had a history of making me mad and as far as I was concerned this was just one more injustice at his hand.  Stomping angrily, I left the kitchen determined not to participate in the ruining of a perfectly good pot of soup.  In due time I was told dinner was ready.  Being hungrier than I was miffed, I went to get my soup.  As we sat in the living room watching tv- which would have either been cartoons or westerns depending on whether or not he picked the program or I did- we ate our soup in silence.  After a few minutes, he looked over at me and said, "Now, isn't this good soup?"  To which I replied, "I've had better"  I can still remember the look of shock and humor in his eyes and then he replied, " So have I, but if we hadn't drained the water it would have overflowed."  The truth was, as much as I hated to admit it, it was good soup.  I loved it, but I just couldn't give him the satisfaction of telling him so.

If you doubt that a five year old is capable of all this and remembering, you just don't know me.  I did and if you ask any of my cousins you will know that everything I have said about Kenny is the honest to God truth.  Between Kenny and my mom's homemade soup, I had a very rich childhood.

Recipe for Homemade Soup

1 lb of ground meat or ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 medium potatoes peeled and chopped
2-3 cups of mixed veggies- any kind you like
1- 13 once can of stewed tomatoes
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

In medium skillet, brown the ground met with the onions.  In an  8 qt stock pot or dutch oven (you can use a larger stock pot- then you don't have to worry about over-filling) bring water and potatoes to a boil.  Add enough water to boil the potatoes, but not so much that you have to pour a lot off, because the water does have lots of nutrients in it.  If you are using fresh or frozen veggies, add them now.  Boil until the potatoes are fork tender.  Add the ground meat, stewed tomatoes  and veggies- if you are using canned or leftovers.  Add seasonings and more water or broth as needed to achieve the desired consistency.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes then let  cool a bit.  This soup is great with cornbread or crackers.