rhubarb

The first time I visited the farm in Iowa, Janelle served a rhubarb pie. Apparently, it was one of Gabriel's favorite desserts. Like a true Southern California girl, I had never even heard of it.

My first response: What is it?
My second response: mmm...

And so began my love affair with rhubarb.

It is generally regarded as an old-fashioned plant, probably because once a crown is planted, it grows for generations. In the spring in Iowa, it seems to sprout up everywhere. The plant itself is as much at home in an ornamental garden as the traditional vegetable plot. Celery-like stalks of reds and greens shoot up into broad leaves, reminiscent of elephant ears. Because it needs a winter's freeze to grow, it is unheard of in California. But Arkansas freezes.
When we first bought our house, I purchased several bare roots from Atwoods, the local farm store. That first spring, they popped up, but then a hot summer's drought finished them off. Last spring, we brought home a portion of an old root crown from the farm and planted it in a full-sun location. That is how it grows in Iowa. This spring it seemed to lagging, and then I overheard a vendor at the Fayetteville Farmer's market explaining how to grow rhubarb in Arkansas. Apparently, for our Southern climate, it needs to go into the shadiest part of the garden. So, my rhubarb is now settled in behind the bench-log in the pond garden. It seems happy there.

We brought home several pounds of rhubarb from the farm last week. Of course, it is already gone. Here is what I made with it:

Rhubarb Crumb Bars from the May 2009 issue of Everyday Food. Except, I made them in a spring form pan for coffee cake instead. Yummy.

The obligatory rhubarb pie. My favorite recipe comes from Baking Illustrated, which calls for 1/2 strawberries, 1/2 rhubarb. This time I substituted all rhubarb, but didn't increase the amount of sugar. It was a bit too tart. But I kind of like it that way. My favorite pie crust recipe is Martha Stewart's pate brisee. It's amazingly flaky. But how could you go wrong with 2 sticks of butter...?

Rhubarb muffins. These turned out delicious.
here is how I made them

Sometimes Vegan Rhubarb Muffins

• 1/4 cup butter (I've also used vegetable shortening when they need to be dairy-free)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar (I use sucanat)
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (Of course, these could also be made with all-purpose flour, or a combination of the two)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk (or soymilk)
• 2 cups sliced rhubarb

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin cups as desired. No matter how well I grease a bare muffin tin, my muffins stick, so I usually use unbleached baking cups, but in a pinch I sometimes use squares of parchment paper.
2. Cream together butter, applesauce, and sugar. I use my KitchenAid, but these could definitely be made in a bowl with a wooden spoon.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients, just until combined. Don't overstir or they won't rise well.
4. Spoon into muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.
5. Bake 35 minutes, or until tops are firm. I know, that seems like a long time for muffins, but they turn out great this way. Cool slightly before serving.

strawberries

Sorry about the blogging hiatus over here. I've spent the last week catching up from our trip. But now the laundry is done, the garden is weeded, and my kitchen floor is mopped. So, here we go again.


When we bought our house 5 years ago (wow, has it really been that long?), one of our first major gardening projects was to convert the side yard from a blank grass pallette into a pond garden with an arbor at the entrance. The major hardscaping was the easy part, filling in all of that now-empty dirt with a lush garden was the hard part. It's taken this long, but I think we're pretty much there. But it has taken a lot of replanting, transplanting, and giving up on certain species (hybrid roses...definitely not my thing. Or Irish Moss, alliums, gladiolus...this list goes on). One of the only plants which has been perfect from the start is the strawberry patch stretching down the one side. It must be just the right amount of shade combined with the heavy layers of mulch we faithfully apply each year. These berries just keep growing. And spreading.

Then last year we almost killed them. The summer grew hot. Liam was a fussy little thing. And the weeds kept growing. Up and over the strawberry patch. When Gabriel and I finally took care of them in the early fall, many of the plants had shriveled up.

I watched them, the remnant, through the winter, huddling under the snow and ice. But then this spring they popped back up, as they always do. And once again they're growing. And spreading.

And I'm weeding.

The strawberry crop this year has been pretty steady, but definitely not by the bucketful like last year. The slugs have also been a problem. Good thing we now have chickens who happily search out the little slimies and slurp them up.

And so, we've been enjoying fresh strawberries. Vine ripened.

Liam loves them. And so does Gabriel. Me, too.
The best part of growing your own berries is finding fun new ways to enjoy them. Like this ice cream recipe from the June 2009 issue of Everyday Food.

Perfect with a slice of Angel Food Cake (from Baking Illustrated) and extra sliced berries.

Grandma Dotha's Poppies

Last Memorial Day weekend, we went up to the farm in Iowa and were nearly blown away by a tornado. Although that adventure will always be the reference point for that particular trip, my garden also holds some reminders: ferns, hens n' chicks, and poppies from the farm.

When I planted them in their new home, the poppies died almost immediately. I thought perhaps I didn't have enough of the roots. I certainly didn't expect to see them resurface.

This spring, that is just what they did. So, here is one of Grandma Dotha's poppy's, straight from the farm in Iowa.
I'm not deadheading them, in hopes of having more spring up next year... We'll see.

a bit of today

If today was only this, life would be calm and serene.

But the dialogue is missing -

C: Put your hand in.
O: I do! I do!
C: The fish will bite you.
O: No!

And then Liam fell face first into the pond.

Today was a long day. A good one. But, still, a long day.

Sometimes I get just what I need to make the day a bit sunnier. My peonies finally bloomed and they smell better than you can imagine.

cilantro

I grew up 5 minutes from the Mexican border, which means I grew up eating lots of cilantro.

I love the stuff. It tastes like freshness.

Gabriel hates the stuff . He says it tastes like soap.

When we first got married, there was an entire list of foods he hated and refused to even try. Of course, many of these were foods I loved. Somehow, he's a bit more wiling to try it if I grew it in our garden. If he turns his nose up at a dish on the table, all I have to say is that it came from our garden, and he'll at least give it a try.

This is the story of the sweet potatoes. They used to be the worst. After several summers of growing them in our garden, they are now one of his favorite foods. Triumph!

This is my first try with cilantro. I snuck some into an early spring greens salad the other night. There were no complaints...I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

that ugly stage

Oregon Snow Peas

Nothing says spring like fresh snap peas.

This year, we're trying snow peas, and I can hardly wait to pop one into my mouth. Snap pea pods are my all-time favorite road trip food. They have all of the crunch without the weight of the usual greasy fare. These should be ready just in time for Memorial Day weekend :-)

in the garden

It seems that I have been spending every spare moment in the garden for the past few weeks, although you'd never know it from my blog. Oops. I'm going to make an effort to post more frequently. Especially since everything changes so quickly this time of year.

Yesteray, Gabriel finished moving the enormous pile of mulch in our front yard that we had delivered from the city. A full dump truck of it. It is now spread throughout the yard, and we both have the scratched forearms, sore backs, and dead patch of front lawn to prove it. But the yard looks fantastic, and the much will keep the weeds under better control.

So, here is what the yard looked like this morning:

Raised garden beds, all finally planted

Another raised bed, serving as the boundary for the chicken run.

The side garden.

The pond

So, that's the big picture. Today.

I'm going to try something new here and post a "plant of the day" everyday. It'll be fun to see how quickly things grow and to be reminded of what all is growing in my garden. And sometimes, what isn't really growing :-)

another cold snap and maple walnut biscotti

Saturday was the perfect return to normalcy:

• A breakfast of pastries and coffee at the Little Bread Company with Crystal, Micah, and Simone


• The first Fayetteville Farmer's Market of the season, where I purchased some early onions and a fig tree


• Some browsing in Terra Tots


• Shopping at Ozark Natural Foods, where we were filmed in the bulk section for an ONF commercial :-)


• All in 70 degrees weather!

Sunday was a big step back into winter. Grey skies. Freezing temperatures. And it's supposed to freeze again tonight.

Once again, our peach and plum trees are covered in fruit, all of which is likely to shrivel and die. This is the 3rd year in a row that this has happened. At least I haven't planted any tender vegetables yet.

As a move of desperation, Gabriel and I mummy-wrapped the plum tree and select branches of the much larger peach tree. It looks comical and a bit frightening, but if it saves any of the fruit it will be worth it.

So now we wait inside our heated house, hoping and praying for our fruit trees.

I console myself with a cup of coffee and some freshly-made biscotti. The recipe is from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.

Maple Walnut Biscotti

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchent paper or lightly grease with baking spray
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the flour mixture. Stir in the maple syrup, vanilla, and walnuts, mixing just until smooth.
4. Using a rubber spatula and well-floured hands, scoop half of the dough out of the bowl and onto one side of the baking sheet. Shape the dough into a 15-inch log (about 3/4 inch thick). Repeat with the other half of the dough, spacing them about 6 inches apart.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top of each biscotti log is firm. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Cut each log on a severe diagonal into about fifteen 1/2-inch thick slices and place them cut side down on the baking sheet.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Hot from the oven, the biscotti may still be soft in the center, but they will harden as they cool. Allow to cool completely. Stored in a tightly closed container they will keep for several weeks.

Encouraging blossoms

I've seen Martha Stewart and other crafty sources go on and on about the joys of forcing early blooms, but I never tried it. Maybe it was because I was afraid that my cuttings just wouldn't work, or perhaps it was the barbarity of the term: I didn't want to force my plants to do anything. Then I realized that was just plain silly. I wouldn't really be forcing my plants into anything they weren't ready to do; instead I'd be giving them the opportunity to get a head start on what they were planning to do anyhow. I'd be encouraging them in their springtime efforts.

So I did it. And the results are fantastic. An early peek at spring above my kitchen sink.

Here's how I did it:

Take clippings of any spring-blooming shrub or tree. I used forsythia.

Stick them in water in a sunny location. Change water periodically until blooms emerge.

That's it! And look how beautiful they are: So, for some early spring time blossoms, encourage some clippings on your window sill.

For more Thrifty Green Thursday ideas head on over to the Green Baby Guide.

First sprouts of spring

Last week, I planted a flat of seeds to get a head start on our spring planting. The broccoli wins the first-to-peek-through prize!

Remember when

it used to be green outside?

A new garden shed

Ever since we first bought our home 5 years ago, Gabriel has been wanting to rebuild our little garden shed. Yes, it was cute. But, it also leaked terribly, and even I had to duck to get through the doorway.

Thanks to Uncle Sam's refund and that nifty child tax credit, we finally have the funds to build Gabriel's dream shed. He has been working on plans for the past few months, and yesterday, we finally got to work on it.

The Grays came out to help, even though Micah had worked a 24-hour shift the day before. What an amazing friend!

Crystal and I hung out with the little ones inside and were so incredibly sad to miss out on all the hard work outside in the freezing cold.

Here is what the shed looked like last summer. Notice the window is boarded up, thanks to an accident during our home remodel 2 years ago.

Unfortunately, the camera missed the exciting roof-removal process. It seemed to be a highlight of the day.

The slab all cleaned off and ready .

The Element earned its keep.

Somehow, the roof is ending up a bit taller than we had anticipated. But we sure like the storage possibilities: bikes, ladders, etc...

tricky, tricky, tricky

By the end of the day, the roof was nearly framed, and the guys were a wee bit exhausted. Gabriel is out there today, finishing up with the framing.

More pictures to come...

You can see more about it on Crystal's blog.

Great Expectations

There is something so satisfying about flipping through the many gardening catalogs which fill our mailbox this time of year. So many opportunities. So many old friends. So many new seeds to try. These catalogs say that winter doesn't last forever. In fact, it's slipping by fast. Quick, plan your garden, send for seeds.

Yesterday, that is exactly what Gabriel and I did.

Our favorite mail-order seed company is Seeds of Change, an exclusively organic seed company which emphasizes the importance of biodiversity while still continually working to develop the best varieties.

We also will be ordering from Gardens Alive!, which offers not only organic seeds, but also a good selection of fruiting trees and shrubs along with a variety of organic fertilizers and pest remedies. One year, I ordered their sea fertilizer. It worked fantastic, but all of that algae and fish manure made my garden smell like Sea World. They also have a $25-off coupon...

This year, we're planning to try and eke even more out of our garden, working really hard at maintaing succession plantings as well as rotating the crops in each bed based on the season. Also, we're planing to try undersowing cover crops beneath our tomatoes and corn (to boost the soil's nutrition, and also as a fun experiment). We're using Eliot Coleman's Four-Season Harvest as a guide.

from Seeds of Change

d'Avignon Radish

Painted Hill Sweet Corn

Hooker's Sweet Corn

Silverado Swiss Chard

Sugar Daddy Snap Pea

Turga Parsnip

Golden Giant Amaranth

Imperial Star Artichoke

Jacob's Cattle Dry Soup Bean

Yellow Mangel Beet

Dinosaur Kale

Scotland Leek

Rouge de Grenoblouse Lettuce

Charentais Cantoulope

Slow Bolt Cilantro

Perfection Fennel

Tiger's Eye Sunflower Mix

Buckwheat

Winter Barley

from Gardens Alive!

Large Leaf Basil

Mesclun Greens Mix

Red Core Chantenay Carrot

Optima Butter Lettuce

Edamame Sayamusume Beans

Tavera Snap Bush Bean

Dark Green Zucchini

Straight Eight Cucumber

Oregon Giant Snow Pea

Red Wethersfield Onion Set

Pixwell Gooseberry

Red Lake Currant

Yep, we have high expectations for this year's garden.

Give prunings a new life

We are now settling into that time of year Christian Rosetti calls the bleak midwinter, when the joy and excitement of Christmas wanes into frigidly cold days when all you want to do is spend time outdoors, but the cold makes that impossible. At least in Arkansas, this weather doesn't persist continually until spring. Here, we have random 70 degree days, interpersed with the days down in the low 20's. On those warmer days of winter, Gabriel and I always end up in the yard, looking for something to do. Often, we end up pruning our trees.

One of my favorite crafty things to do has been to make the pruned branches from our yard into home decorations. Not only does it give the branches a new life, but they are natural decorations that don't have a shelf life - they look good indefinitely.

Here are a few of our past creations. Some are easier than others, but none of them were particularly difficult to make.

This is Barnaby, the porch reindeer and watch dog. For Christmas, he sported a jingle bell. In the spring and summer, he'll be moved to the backyard to keep an eye on the garden.
Gabriel made him in an afternoon and had a ridiculously good time. Barnaby is made from hickory and wild cherry.

Perhaps the easiest decoration, but also one of my favorites, is my bucket of branches. Gabriel really doesn't like them since he tends to get caught on them. I have never had that problem. And they look so nice. However, once Liam finally learns to crawl, they'll have to go elsewhere.

These branches are all mulberry clippings. Simply clip, gather, and put them in the bucket. Easy.

This wreath goes on the door every winter when I take down the evergreen one I make for Christmas each year. It is made of mulberry branches (when they are fresh cut and still pliable) with raffia ties.

This coat rack is Gabriel's latest creation, which also only took only an afternoon. It is made from wild cherry.

I hope our ideas inspire you to try your own. For more Thrifty Green Thursday ideas, visit the Green Baby Guide by clicking here.