My Roses are Fixin' to Bloom!

...Eee gads...that is SO Texas!  But it's true :)  My roses *are* fixin to bloom!  Just look at the beautiful buds on these babies.  Now I know they aren't blooming yet, but to me there is something so beautiful about the buds...a tease for the show that is yet to come!

 

(See Greta standing guard, Shirley? :)

 

 

I've long since lost the tags on all these rose bushes so I can't tell you what they are.  But I've had them all for about three years and every year each one puts on a continuous show of beautiful, fragrant blossoms throughout the summer...some yellow (my favorite), some red, some pink and some a beautiful, vibrant, variegated orange (a close second choice).

They live in pots on my back patio and I feed them with a locally produced (Hamilton, Texas) organic rose food called Rose Glo that I get at my favorite nursery.  It's a natural fertilizer made from a blend of feather meal, alfalfa meal, soybean meal, ferrous sulfate, corn meal, phosphate, humates, kelp meal, molasses, sulfate potash and magnesia.

Although in the heat of the summer I do struggle with black spot, my rose bushes at this point in time are very happy and I can't wait to share their blossoms with you!  

Potatoes

OK...so my potatoes are doing so much better than I ever imagined!  Considering I've never grown this vegetable before, I'm very happy with how well this crop is doing.

Today was time for the 2nd step of growing potatoes.  This is not rocket science either.  It's simply a matter of mounding dirt up and around the plant.  Remember, the plants are in 10" trenches.  And I initially added 4" of compost around each tuber.  So I simply added about six inches of rich compost around each of the plants and then watered them thoroughly.  And that's it.  See I told you this was not rocket science.

I did all this under the watchful eye of my best old boy Tyson.  He is my constant garden companion and I love him to death.

Broccoli & Basil

Yes...I know...that's not a match you typically think of when you think of each of these wonderful greens, but I made a very tasty dish last night using just that...broccoli and basil.  I'm happy to have basil back in my Texas garden.  It was a very long winter without it.  Basil is one of those herbs I use all the time.  It's fresh and adds so much flavor to almost any dish. 

And I picked the first head of broccoli from my garden yesterday!  Although it's much smaller than the fall crop, it is still beautiful and plenty big for my husband and me for dinner.  Besides, the weather is getting very warm and the broccoli will flower and bolt soon if I don't pick it.

I made a delicious pasta salad with steamed broccoli and a healthy and delicious basil walnut vinaigrette.  You really should try this one.  It's easy and very good for you.

Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Basil/Walnut Vinaigrette
One head of broccoli, separated into florets and stems (if the stems are tough, peel them); chop the stems into bite sized pieces
1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti
Extra virgin olive oil

Steam broccoli till crisp tender then put in ice bath to stop cooking.  Drain thoroughly and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; cook pasta until al dente; drain and reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking liquid.  Toss cooked pasta with a little olive oil and set aside.  While pasta is cooking, make basil/walnut vinaigrette.

Basil/Walnut Vinaigrette
makes about 1/2 cup
10 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp low sodium chicken broth
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1Tbsp unsalted walnuts, toasted and chopped

In medium size mixing bowl or small jar, add basil, garlic, Dijon, vinegar, oil, broth, salt & pepper, whisking/shaking to combine thoroughly.

To finish dish:
Add broccoli and vinaigrette to pasta, stirring to coat thoroughly.  If pasta seems a bit dry, add a little of pasta cooking liquid to moisten.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Top pasta with toasted walnuts and if desired, grate a little Parmigianno Reggiano over the top and serve.

I served this delicious salad along side Baked Cod with Caesar Topping....yummy!

Buono Appetito!

Broccoli Raab...

Hmmm...Ok...so what do I do with it?

Like I told you earlier, this is a new vegetable for me and my Texas garden.  I had to do a little research to figure out how best to cook it.  It's also not a vegetable that is in my local grocery store so I have little experience in the kitchen with this green beauty.  But hey, I'm up for the challenge :)

Actually, I just did a little online research and found tons of broccoli raab recipes.  As is my usual MO, I picked one of the simplest preparations and made a batch for my dinner last night (hubby was out of town) along with some veal scallopini.  The broccoli raab (and yes, the scallopini too) was delicious!  I'm happy to say I have more of this tasty green in my garden...I really like it!  There are many other recipes out there that I'm going to try.  (But the key to cooking it is to briefly blanch it first). 

Here is a simple recipe that features this nutritious green vegetable in its most basic--but I think perfect--form.  I hope you enjoy. I took a recipe I liked and made it my own...I do that a lot :)

Broccoli Raab with Lemon & Garlic

• Separate the broccoli raab (BR) into leaves and florets
• Quickly blanch in boiling salted water; about 2 minutes
• Transfer BR to an ice bath to stop the cooking
• Drain and dry thoroughly
• Chop the leaves, stems and florets into bite size pieces
• Put a little olive oil and butter in a nonstick skillet
• Add thinly sliced garlic to oil/butter mixture and heat slowly, just enough to season the oil
• Increase the heat and add BR
• Saute 2-3 minutes until heated through (don't cook too long or BR will turn brown)
• Add a squeeze of lemon juice
• Remove from heat and add a grating a lemon zest
• Plate
• Gild the lily by grating a little Parmigianno Reggiano over the top and serve

Buono Appetito!

Full Moon Over the Texas Hills

I shot this at dawn a few days ago.  Absolutely beautiful...

One Perfect Bluebonnet

Baby Carrots...

...there are still some in the garden!  I picked a handful for dinner tonight.  Aren't they beautiful?!  They don't even need to be peeled...a good scrubbing is enough. 

The carrots are the last of the vegetables from my winter garden.  I have enough carrots out there for a few more meals.  (Easter dinner comes to mind :)  These carrots froze more times than I care to remember this past winter, but they kept on growing and are just as sweet as ever.  As with all fresh veggies, the best preparation is a simple one.  These Ginger-Glazed Carrots are easy to make and delicious.  Fresh ginger and carrots are natural companions and dill (or cilantro) gives this dish an added boost.

Ginger-Glazed Carrots
Serves four to six
1 1/2 lb carrots, thoroughly scrubbed, peeled (if necessary) and trimmed
About 2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sugar
About 1 teaspoon kosher salt; more if needed
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (optional) (cilantro is a nice alternative to dill)

Cut the carrots in half lengthwise.  Holding your knife at a sharp angle, cut the carrot halves into 1-inch diamond shapes.

Put the carrots in a single layer in a 10- to 12-inch saute pan and add water to come halfway up the sides of the carrots.  Add the butter, sugar and salt and bring to a boil over high heat.  Cover the pan with the lid slightly askew, reduce heat to medium high and cook at a steady simmer, shaking the pan occasionally until the carrots are tender but not soft (a paring knife should enter a carrot with just a little resistance), about 7-9 minutes.

Uncover, stir in the ginger and continue to simmer until the liquid evaporates to create a syrup.  Shake the pan and roll the pieces around to evenly glaze the carrots.  Add a pinch more salt, if needed, toss with the dill (or cilantro) and serve.

Buono Appetito!

Spring Vegetable Seedlings

Such a beautiful morning...clear, breezy and very cool.  But another 70-degree day forecast...gotta love it :-) 

We've had about a week of intermittent light, steady rain and sunshine and my garden is very happy with this weather pattern :)  Talk about budding out...the little vegetable seedlings are all growing beautifully.  I've been fertilizing everything with Medina Growin Granules every three weeks and it must be working because all the seedlings look very healthy. 

All my potato tubers have begun to poke through the soil.  This is my first experience growing potatoes and I'm pleased that at least they've gotten to this stage!  It's so neat to see :)

And the broccoli raab are all growing strong and tall.  This is also a new vegetable for me.  Broccoli raab is a member of the nutritious cruciferous family.  It is a nonheading, broccoli-like vegetable that resembles broccoli florets on long thin stems.  Broccoli raab has a bitter but zesty flavor and it's best to quickly blanch it before cooking. 

Even my broccoli plants all have little broccoli heads forming. 

The romaine seedlings are beginning to look like baby lettuce.

and the beets are growing slowly but surely.  Notice how I've already thinned them considerably ;-)

And my Texas 1015 onions are marching right along.  

I told you I was going to have tomatoes and peppers on these plants before I put them in the ground...check out my first tomatoes and one teensy pepper beginning to form!

Seeing the overall progress of my spring garden made for a great start to my day :)  Blessings to you all...

Everything is Budding Out!

Spring is here for sure!  This morning I was taking my morning walk to the greenhouse and around the property with puppies in tow and I had to run back to the house to get my camera (I can't believe I forgot it in the first place).  Everywhere I looked, something was blooming.  Fall is my favorite time of the year, but I do love the spring.  This has been an exceptionally cold and long winter (for us in South Texas anyway) and I, among many, am very glad for the recent warm weather and signs of spring.

And it's not just we humans who are loving the sunshine.  All the flora in the hills are welcoming spring's warm rays. Although the temperature did drop to 27F last night!  But it made for some beautiful, frosty wildflowers this morning :)  and it's supposed to reach 72 degrees today...God I love Texas!

(This photo looks really cool if you click and enlarge it)

I discovered a Texas Paintbrush blooming in the front part of the yard.  It's also known as Indian Paintbrush or botanically as Castilleja indivisa, and it is a beautiful wildflower.

 And one of my bluebonnets is almost ready to bloom!

My Texas cedar elms, Ulmus Crassifolia, are budding out beautifully.  I have two trees and each is budding out in their own sweet way...one a few days ahead of the other.

The Texas red bud tree, Cercis Canadensis var. Texensis, in the front yard is bursting with color.

And look at the beautiful buds on my tomato and pepper plants.  I may have fruit to pick before I even put these babies in the ground!

My beautiful Texas Everbearing Fig Tree is budding out too.  I had to put a cage around it.  I discovered tell-tale signs that the axis deer are jumping the fence at night and getting onto the property.  The last thing I want is those little deer-people eating my fig tree!  I feed them plenty of kitchen scraps that they don't need to be eating my fig tree.

And the Agarita bushes, Mahonia trifoliolata, all over the property are budding.  I love their beautiful yellow flowers.

My roses are just beginning to leaf out after their Valentine's Day haircut :)

In walking around the property, I found a few more wildflowers beginning to bloom.  I'm not sure what these are (remember...I need a new Texas wildflower book), but they sure are pretty.

And look at this beauty who was around visiting me all morning.  She sure loved my tomato and geranium blooms.

Even my cattelya orchid is blooming!  I never thought that baby would bloom again.  It languished in the greenhouse for about a month before I decided to bring it back in the house.  I set it on the Southeast side of the fireplace and it must be happy, because it's throwing off two new blooms!

So as you can see, things are beginning to bloom in my Texas hill country garden and I couldn't be happier!