Blondkopfchen

Since my Blondkopfchen tomato seedlings were started way back in February at Little Miss' birthday party, it makes sense that these are the first tomatoes to ripen in our garden. In fact, I believe the first grape tomatoes turned yellow-orange at the end of June.

And of course, we ate them immediately.  And by "we," I mean the kids.

Little Guy assured me they were quite tasty.

Little Miss kept asking for more, and I had to stop her several times from picking the unripe tomatoes.

And now, Little Miss is absolutely hooked on fresh Blondkopfchen tomatoes. Every other day, we check the vines to see if any are ripe, and end up eating them right then and there.

A week or so ago there were almost 20 ripe at once. I convinced Little Miss to wait until dinner to eat them.

At least, I thought I had convinced her to wait.

But these little tomatoes are just too tempting for Little Miss.

As it turned out, we didn't have any tomatoes to go with dinner. 

I am totally okay with that.

Martha Monday--Skillet shrimp and orzo

In the May 2012 issue of Everyday Food, there is an amazing one-pot recipe of skillet shrimp and orzo:

The ingredients are fairly simple, as is the process, and I just had to make it. The recipe calls for 3/4 pound of orzo, but as you might know, most boxes of orzo are a full pound. Rather than deal with the math, I put in all the orzo and two full cans of chicken broth.  And, since I used canned tomatoes, I added all of the juice. The orzo turned out just fine.

However, I got the crazy idea to GRILL OUT the accompanying shrimp (along with some chicken). As you can see, that did not turn out just fine.  Grilling simply isn't my thing.

Then, to add insult to injury, I wasn't watching the orzo closely enough during the cooking process and a small layer was burned to the bottom of the pan.  Not fine. I'd say cooking isn't my thing, but I will not let this one mishap diminish my quest to become Aurora's version of Martha Stewart. 

COOKING IS STILL MY THING.

And because it is summer, watermelon is also my thing. A thing which, when following dinner, totally makes up for blackened shrimp and chicken and burned orzo at the bottom of the pan. Which is just fine with me.

I will be trying this recipe again. The orzo was delicious, and I can only imagine that by following directions and cooking the shrimp in the skillet that the entire dish would be amazing.  Give this recipe a try today, but please learn from my mistakes and follow the instruction.  Just in case, keep some watermelon on hand and you'll be just fine.

A note to Tenney in Hawaii:  your emails always brighten my day. Aloha!

A note to everyone: As always, thanks for reading. Have a wonderful week!

Perimeter garden

Last year, I made garden beds around the perimeter of the backyard but severely underutilized the space.  I was new to the gardening game, and I didn't want to get in over my head. Last year I enjoyed a good harvest from nearly everything I planted.  This year, I was determined to get the most use out of my garden space. 

I may have gotten in over my head.

Along the north fence with the pear and peach trees is the Wall of Tomatoes.  I believe there are 25 or so tomato plants along that fence, though I've lost track of the exact number. There's a pepper or two nestled amongst the tomatoes, and two basil patches thrown in for good measure. This area gets a decent amount of sunlight which hopefully lead to bushels and bushels of tomatoes.

Along the west side of the fence, I have two sections of potatoes. This is my first time growing potatoes so I have no idea what to expect. So far, not a lot is happening.

Moving south along the west side of the backyard, you'll find the broccoli. As with the potatoes, this is my first time growing broccoli and I really don't know what's going on here.  The broccoli is green and the leaves get bigger each week, so I'm taking that as a good sign.

I planted four varieties of eggplant: Epic, Fairy Tale, Gretal and Hansel.  In that order. Which is alphabetical, you might have noticed.  Which gives me a great deal of satisfaction.

I have two strawberry patches along the west fence.  All Star is a June-bearing strawberry, and Ozark Beauty is an ever-bearing variety.  Strawberry plants can take a full year to get established, but once they are the plants will last for several years.  While I won't get nearly enough berries for freezing or jam, there have been a few to nibble on. Yum!

Turning the corner to the south side of the yard (same side as the apple trees), you'll find my beet patch.  I first tasted fresh beets at Uncle Rich's house last November. They were delicious, and I was compelled to plant some of my own this year.

To the left of the beets is the kale patch. I've been collecting kale recipes on Pinterest for quite some time...now I just need to pick this stuff and start cooking!

Next are the peas and carrots flanked by two more tomato plants.  The trellis is actually a broken baby gate I found by the side of the road. Peas don't grow very high, so I thought this support would be sufficient.

Pole beans are next.  The seeds I used were from last year, and so far only half of them have sprouted. At this point, I think that's all I'm going to get.  Soon, I'll get some trellis' up for the beans.

Trellis' are already in place for the cucumbers. For some reason, my cucumbers are not getting off to a great start.  Maybe they aren't getting enough sun?  Though last year, I did have one cucumber vine along this fence and it did just fine. Maybe they're just slow to get started.  I planted three varieties this year, and if I have a large enough yield I'll try my hand at making homemade pickles.

Finally, this last section is a mish-mash of the peppers and tomatoes I couldn't fit anywhere else.  I'm not complaining, though...there is no such thing as too many peppers or tomatoes.  Overall, I think I have 20 or so pepper plants (I'll share those pictures tomorrow) and 30 or so tomato plants. I lost count.

So that's my perimeter garden, which accounts for almost 3/4 of my total garden space. I'll share the rest of it with you tomorrow. 

Have a great day!

Garden love

Summer is over according to the calendar, but for me it ended on Labor Day Weekend when I brought in all the produce from the garden and put the my garden to sleep.  All of the plants (except for the pumpkin vine) were pulled out and tossed in the compost bin.

I wanted to become a gardener this summer, and I did.  Here's what I learned along the way:

There is no such thing as too many tomato plants, or too many tomatoes.  Well, there might be, but not at my house. Twelve plants kept us eating delicious tomatoes all summer long, and I've made several batches of marinara sauce with the surplus.  Next summer, I'll put in at least 12 plants, but I'll be sure to include more cherry and Roma varieties, and leave the beefsteaks out (those didn't perform well for me). 

Horn worms might be one of the most disgusting things on the planet. Seriously.  I was not prepared for horn worms or cucumber beetles (had a horrible infestation of those) but next year I will be ready!

Sharing a garden with children is a rewarding experience.  The Little Guy helped me plant the green beans from seed and water the plants, both kids helped put things in the compost bin, and Little Miss helped me harvest.  Of course, she occasionally picked still-green tomatoes off the vine and tossed them in the compost bin, but that's how it goes sometimes.  Sharing this experience with my kids this summer was amazing. It was a lot of fun to explore each day and see what was appearing or ripening, and enjoy--literally!--the fruits of our labors.

Zucchini grows fast.  Holy crap, does zucchini grow fast. I'll plant at least two zucchini next year, if only to be twice as fascinated by it's speedy growth rate.  Goodness knows I don't actually need any more zucchini than what I had this summer, but that's what neighbors are for, right?

The satisfaction that comes from eating produce I've grown is immeasurable. I've made tons of delicious cakes and beautiful cookies, but I don't think I've ever been so pleased as when my family started eating the cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden. Plus, it feels good to know where our food is coming from. 

Weeding is by far the most time-consuming task in the garden.  I only weeded a few times this summer, but those times lasted an entire weekend each.  It was brutal, and certainly not how I want to spend my precious summer weekends.  Spending hours harvesting or tending, I don't mind. But hours spent weeding is just not fun.  I don't want to spray weed-killer in the garden, so my solution for next year will be to spread layers of newspaper around my plants to discourage weeds. 

Fruits and veggies ripen on their own schedule, not mine.  This was a hard lesson to learn.  Tomatoes took too long, and cucumbers were too fast.  If only they would cooperate with me!  Garden produce can be so stubborn.  Next year, I'll be ready for those fast cucumbers and make some into pickles. As for the tomatoes, I suppose I just need to be more patient.

There is absolutely nothing on earth like a homegrown tomato.  It would be easy to say that homegrown tomatoes just taste better, but that doesn't even begin to describe the astounding difference in taste, texture, feel and smell between a store-bought and homegrown tomato.  Now that I've had the luxury of true tomatoes all summer, I'll dread going to the store for a 'fresh' tomato this winter. Homegrown tomatoes = heaven. Store-bought tomatoes = cardboard.  End of discussion.

Planning a garden is almost as fun as growing a garden. I've been planning this garden for years and while it was great to see it finally come to fruition, I have to admit that I started planning next year's garden back in June, before I had harvested anything.  By June, I could see what was doing well and what I had the space for next year.  Also, by then I had fallen so in love with gardening that I knew I had to do it again next summer, and the summer after that, and the summer after that. 

My plans for GARDEN 2012 are extensive. I hope to expand my repertoire from seven types of plants to 30, and plant two permanent perennial gardens to attract butterflies and bees. I want to put in a semi-permanent strawberry patch (most strawberry patches last for three years) and a permanent asparagus patch (those can last for over 20 years) as well as experiment with corn, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant and potatoes.  These plans will keep me going during the dark days of Midwest winter.

Isn't that amazing? In the course of a season I went from total garden newbie to full-blown garden fanatic.  From now on, the summer of 2011 will be referred to as "The Summer Amanda Finally Learned How to Garden."  Better yet, it should be known as "The Summer Amanda Fell in Love with Gardening." Because that's exactly what happened.

Easy caprese salad

Caprese salad is such a summer delight...fresh tomatoes and basil, olive oil, mozzarella.  Delish!  And with only five ingredients, it's a cinch to make.  Here's the official TMI-Amanda-Grant way to do it:

1. Realize that BUNCO is that very evening, and you need a quick dish.  Bonus points if there is a TON of ripe tomatoes sitting on the counter at home.  Decide on Caprese salad and buy a block of mozzarella cheese on the way home from work.

2.   Upon arriving home, try to ignore the complaints and complexities of any small people in the house.  This might be the only chance for a Girls Night Out--no need to blow it by pandering to the children.

3.   Don't worry about making a clean work space; instead, just shove things off to the side.

4. Dice up several ripe tomatoes, and then dice up a few more.  Let everyone share in the bounty of the garden.  Bonus! This increases bragging rights later on.

5. Dice up the block of mozzarella cheese.  Ruminate over why the block was purchased instead of the cheese balls in juice. Remember that the Big Guy still needs to be picked up at the train station and stop pondering the merits of different forms of mozzarella cheese.  Throw the cheese in with the tomatoes.

6. Liberally sprinkle extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes and cheese.

7.  Add some fresh basil leaves.  Bonus! More bragging rights since the basil is from the indoor herb garden.  Consider taking a photography class so pictures turn out better than this.

8. Stir everything together so the olive oil and vinegar are coating everything.

9. Realize that OMG THE TRAIN IS ARRIVING IN 5 MINUTES AND IT TAKES 15 MINUTES TO GET TO THE TRAIN STATION, so stop taking close-up pictures of this amazing concoction.

10. Put the caprese salad in the fridge for a bit, and then take it to BUNCO and bask in all the compliments.

Of course, that's just how I make my caprese salad.  You can leave out the frantic pace, unruly children, messy kitchen and racing to the train station if you like. It's just a matter of preference.

Why yes...

...my garden is doing well.

Thanks for asking.

Homemade pasta sauce

After weeks of anticipation, I finally had enough Roma tomatoes (plus a few others) ripe at the same time to make pasta sauce.  If you've never made your own sauce before, then I strongly encourage you to give it a try.  The sauce is sweeter and richer than anything from a jar.  I used only three ingredients with this sauce...it's amazing how little can do so much!

Here's how you do it:

1. Pick and wash a bunch of tomatoes.  You'll need 30 or so Roma tomatoes to make enough sauce for one box of noodles.

2. Boil a large pot of water.

3. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl.

4. Cut a small "X" in the bottom of each tomato.  No need to make the cut too deep--it just has to pierce the skin.

5. Carefully drop the tomatoes into the pot of boiling water. As they heat up, the skin will begin to pull away from the tomato where you made the X cut.

6. When you see the skins start to peel back, carefully take the tomatoes out of the boiling water and place them in the ice bath. This will cause the skins to almost completely separate from the tomato for easy removal.

7. Once the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the stem core and the skins.  Save those for your awesome compost bin.

The above steps are an ongoing process: put some tomatoes in the boiling water, remove them, put more in, work on the tomatoes in the ice bath, repeat.  This goes on until you have a nice pile of peeled tomatoes.

8. Heat up some olive oil in a large pot.

9. Add the peeled/cored tomatoes to the olive oil. Crush them a bit to release the juice and let them warm up. 

10. After the tomatoes have cooked down a bit, start running them through a food mill. 

The food mill crushes the tomatoes and separates the 'meat' from any leftover skins and seeds. Some seeds might make it through, but that's okay.

Be sure to scrape off the bottom of the mill--you don't want to miss all the great stuff hanging there.

At this point, what you are left with doesn't look too promising.  Don't be discouraged!  Tomatoes are 95% water, and this needs to simmer down in order to thicken up. 

11. Return the red glop to the pot, and simmer it for 2-3 hours.  I added some fresh basil at this point, but naturally forgot to take pictures. My bad.   Simmer the sauce down and once it thickens up, it's ready to add to the pasta.  Delicious!

Because I am not completely Martha-fied, I used boxed Barilla noodles.  One day I'll learn to make my own pasta noodles, I swear!  This batch of sauce was just right for one regular box of fettuccine noodles.

To liven up your sauce, feel free to add onions, garlic, oregano and more at the simmer step.  After your sauce is done, you can eat it immediately, save it in the fridge for a few days, freeze it or can it for enjoyment months down the road. 

I'll be making some more sauce in my immediate future, as another round of Roma tomatoes are ripening.  Happy saucing!