First Spring Planting-Onions

Yay!  Spring is almost here (well at least it is in South Texas)!   Although you'd never know it by today's weather...it's 25 degrees and freezing!  But it wasn't like that on Tuesday.  Tuesday was sunny, windy, but very warm.  The puppies were in puppy day care so it was a great day for me to prep a few of my garden beds and plant my onions!

My garden beds were in pretty good shape actually; but they did need some attention.  And I always add organic compost to each bed before I plant.  I've been using Lady Bug Soil Revitalizer for years and just love it.  It's completely organic, made locally (in Austin) and contains NO biosludge products.

First thing I did was rake away all the hay that was on top of the beds.  I put the hay on to insulate the soil somewhat and encourage worm production.  And it worked!  As I was turning over the dirt, I saw lots of worms...gotta love that!

 

  

I then dumped three bags of compost into each bed.  Now I only prepped three of my six beds on Tuesday because I won't need the others until later this spring.

I turned the dirt over and incorporated all that great compost into the soil and that was pretty much it.  Pretty simple process, really.  

Then I planted my onions.  These are Texas 1015Y...my favorite type of onion that I use in just about everything I cook. But I only bought one set...bad call.  I ran short and had to run out and get a 2nd set.  But by the time I got back home, the weather turned and it got very cold so I'll save planting the 2nd set till the weather warms up a bit, hopefully in a couple of days. 

When planting onions it is crucial to choose a site in full sun, ensuring your transplants get at least 8-10 hours of direct sun per day.  More is better.

My garden beds are rectangular (9' x 5') and so I plant my onions in rows, spacing each row about 6 inches apart.  What I did was create 4-inch deep furrows midway between the rows and spread a band of my favorite, well balanced organic fertilizer, Medina Growin Green Organic Fertilizer (you can get it at Amazon.com), in the bottom of each furrow--about 1 1/2 cups per row--then covered the row with soil.  This makes the fertilizer easily accessible to the roots of each plant as they grow.  I will continue to fertilize the bulbs every 2-3 weeks.

Onion sets are easy to plant and don't require the special attention that onion seeds do (won't ever plant onion seeds...no...no...no...not me...).  I just poked the sets into well worked soil so that the top of the set is level with soil surface...about an inch deep.  It's that's easy.

The care of onion sets is pretty straight forward:

• weed early and often
• don't overwater
• when the tips of the the foliage start to turn yellow, leave off watering.  This is a sign that the bulbs are maturing
• Fertilize young plants, but stop fertilizing about 5-7 weeks before the expected harvest date

Harvesting is easy too:

• pull young green onions if you want to use them for scallions
• watch for the plant tops to start to die back--a sure sign the bulbs are enlarging
• store in cold dry place

Last year my onion crop was great!  I hope this year is as good.  

I'm so happy to get my spring garden going!  The seeds I ordered should be here any day now and hopefully this weekend I'll be able to start some of my seedlings in the greenhouse.  I'll keep you posted :-)

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Y'all know my lemon tree is still full of lemons and it's a constant challenge to think of what do with them, besides the usual vinaigrettes, lemon-butter-caper sauce for fish, a wedge for my vodka and clubsoda ;-) etc, etc.

Last week, Cat who writes the wonderful blog, The Whimsical Gardener, suggested lemon cookies.  Well that got me thinking and researching.  I found this wonderful recipe and tried it yesterday.  These cookies are delicious and easy!  (My friend Cheryl called them scrumptious!)  I'm a good cook but I'm not much of a baker.  Cookies scare me actually.  But these are easy and they turned out great.  I hope you give them a try.

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Recipe courtesy of Giada DeLaurentiis

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 15 ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
l lemon, zested

Little braggin' here:  Look at this lemon!  This is pretty much what all my lemons have looked like!  Very little seeds, maybe 1 or 2, and so much juice.  I get almost 1/4 cup of juice out of each lemon. And look at all the flavor-filled zest from just one lemon...Love it love it :)

 
Ok...Back to cookies ;-}

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juick
1 lemon, zested

Preheat the oven to 375F

Cookies:
In a medium bowl, combine the flower, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugar.  Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating each until incorporated.

 
Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Beat to combine.  Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Spoon the dough, about 1 tablespoon for each cookie, onto the baking sheets.  Bake for about 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges.  Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

 

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth.

Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread.  Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours.  Store in refrigerator for about 3 days.

Thanks for the suggestion Cat!

Buon Appetito!

Reflections

OK...I hope you all don't think I'm weird or anything but I want to share some of my thoughts and post a few new photos of the pups Gretchen and Laci. 

  Laci is all legs!

The puppies are doing amazingly well, growing strong and beautiful, and are turning into loyal, fun, want-so-much-to-please puppies. They have enriched my life beyond anything I could have thought possible and I cannot imagine my life without them.

I spend an enormous amount of time with these girls (like all day, every day except Tuesday) and I've been working so very hard to get them trained into well behaved dogs.  And I couldn't be happier with their progress. We walk at least 7 miles a day (as an aside...I've lost 8 pounds thank you very much :), train on basic commands at least twice a day and usually ongoing throughout the day, get out and about in the car running errands (curing their fear of the car), walk around town a couple of times a week, go to doggie day care once a week (Tuesday) to help with socialization (and give me a break so I can get things done!) and romp and play in the yard the rest of the time.  And we still have our bonding time every night and it's wonderful.

Gretchen's attempt to dominate other dogs has subsided dramatically. She's not where I want her to be, but she has made tremendous progress and I'll continue to work with her. She wants so much to please me and she will be an incredible watch dog.  And Laci is just a little love-bug who loves to wrap herself around my ankles, nibble on my toes, and have her neck itched. They have totally bonded with me and I love it.

Maybe I'm too much of a Mother Earth/nurturer,  but it's who I am and I can't change that. And yes, I know, they are dogs, not babies (as someone pointed out to me and kind of hurt my feelings). But when these pups came into my life, they gave me a sense of purpose that I guess was missing. Please don't get me wrong...I love my life and I'm blessed in so many ways.  But I'm a care taker by nature and I guess I was feeling a little lost, like what’s next in my life.  My sons are grown with families of their own and they all live out of state; my husband is wonderful and I adore him, but he’s very busy, travels, and is gone a lot. My sister was about to move out into her own apartment and after her living with us for nearly five months, I knew I would miss her terribly. Yes, I guess I was feeling lost. Then these two starving, tiny beings came into my life and suddenly, I had a job to do. I embraced it and I’ve not looked back. They are amazing, loving animals who have given me more joy than I can express.

Anyway, enough rambling. These thoughts and feelings have been percolating in my head for quite some time and I needed to write them down and get them out of my head. The good Lord knew what he was doing when my sister and I stumbled upon these tiny girls and I thank Him from the bottom of my heart for bringing Gretchen and Laci into my life.

Kale and White Bean Soup

I wish I could say this beautiful bunch of kale came from my garden...but I cannot.  However, it did come from the garden of my very good friend Cheryl who so graciously gave it to me.  She had an abundance of kale in her garden this year and was kind enough to share.  I love having friends who garden!

 

I have this wonderful Kale and White Bean Soup recipe that I haven't made yet this year (since I didn't have any kale of my own).  But now I have an excuse to make it.  It is delicious, easy, makes a bunch and freezes very well.

Kale and White Bean Soup
adapted from Gourmet Magazine

1 lb dried white beans, such as Great Northern, cannellini or navy
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon smoked, Spanish paprika
5 cups chicken broth
2 quarts water
1 (3 x 2 inch) piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind (my secret ingredient for all my soups)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 lb smoked sausage such as kielbasa (totally optional),sliced crossswise 1/4 inch thick
8 carrots, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb kale, stems and center ribs discarged and leaves coarsely chopped

As you can tell from the list of ingredients, this soup is chock full of good, healthy things:  carrots, white beans, fresh herbs, (I even added a few white potatoes) and I used homemade turkey stock that I had in the freezer from Thanksgiving!  Homemade stock makes such a difference in soups and I try to use it whenever I can.  

 

OK...back to the recipe.

Cover beans with water by 2 inches in a pot and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, one hour.  Drain beans in a colander and rinse.

Cook onions in oil in an 8-quart pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5-8 minutes.  Add garlic and smoked paprika and cook, stirring for one minute.

Add beans, broth, 1 quart water, cheese rind, salt, pepper, bay leaf and rosemary and simmer, uncovered, until beans are just tender, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.

A quick aside here about the cheese rind:

I save and freeze all the rinds from my Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and I add a hunk of rind to just about every soup I make.  It adds a depth of flavor and body to the soup that is simply delicious.  

Ok...back to soup:

While soup is simmering, brown sausage, if using, in batches in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, turning once or twice.  Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Stir carrots into soup and simmer five minutes.  Stir in kale, sausage and remaining quart of water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until  kale is tender, 12-15 minutes.

Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.  Sprinkle with a bit of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and serve.

This soup is much better the 2nd day.  Let it sit in the refrigerator for a day or two before serving.  Doing so gives all the wonderful flavors in this soup time to meld and really come together.

Buon Appetito!

Baby Beet Salad - New Recipe

You gotta try this one...it's delicious!

You know I picked the last of my beets about a week ago and I wanted to try a new salad recipe with them.  The original recipe called for Endive lettuce, but I couldn't find it at my grocery store, so I simply used a spring mix, which I really like anyway.  Actually, you could probably use any lettuce or bitter green you like in this recipe.  It's very adaptable (my kind of recipe :-}

Blue Cheese, Roasted Beet and Spring Mix Salad
1 pound baby beets, tops and roots removed, scrubbed clean
Spring lettuce mix or any salad green you like
2 ounces Roquefort or other blue cheese
1/4 cup slivered almonds or chopped walnuts, roasted
1/2 cup Orange Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Orange Vinaigrette
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
White or freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons light extra virgin olive oil, grapeseed, sunflower or canola oil

In small bowl, combine orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  Slowly whisk in the oil until emulsified.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Place beets on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and wrap to form a well-sealed packet.  Roast for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until the beets are tender.  When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into bite sized pieces.

In large salad bowl, combine the lettuce with enough dressing to coat.  Toss beets with a little dressing as well.

Plate lettuce on individual serving dishes, top with beets, blue cheese to taste, toasted nuts and drizzle with a little more dressing as necessary.  Garnish with orange slices.

And again, if you really want to be decadent, add a sprinkling of that wonderful Truffle Salt!

Buon Appetito!

I Ordered My Seeds!

Yesterday, I went online to Seeds of Change and ordered the seeds from my spring/summer garden.  Here's what I got:

Blue Lake Bush Bean
Gold Rush Bush Bean
Pronto Beets
Touchstone Gold Beets
Red Core Chantenay Carrots
Dragon Carrots
Golden Chard
Italian White Eggplant
Argula
Lolla Rossa Dark Lettuce (red leaf lettuce)
Little Gem Romain Lettuce
Muskmelon Cantelope
Sweet Corno Di Toro Pepper
Red Ruffled Pimiento Pepper
Bloomsdale Spinach
Golden Scallopini Summer Squash
Peron Sprayless Heirloom Tomato
Giant Martian Slicer Tomato
Chadwick Cherry Tomato

As you can see, I got quite a variety of vegetables.  But I did my research on each variety before I decided to order it.  I wouldn't want to try and grow something that only does well in cool, moist weather.  That is NOT what our South Texas summers are like.  Yet, I want to try and grow different things this year instead of the same old yellow squash, zucchini, purple eggplant, yadayadayada...  Not that I don't like those veggies, I do, but this year I want to push the envelope and see what kind of out-of-the ordinary vegetables I can grow in my little Texas Hill Country garden.  

So we'll see...but to say the least, I'm super excited that my humble 2011 Spring/Summer Vegetable Garden has begun!