Have you been watching? I have! More from the Garden

Dear Folks,

Have you been watching all of the free videos on the Grow Your Own Food Workshop links?  I have because one is never finished learning, even when considered an expert.


The Self Reliant group is kicking off the full Grow Your Own Food workshop with a challenge and prizes!

The FREE workshop has been addressing the “why” behind important gardening concepts. Then if you decide to purchase the workshop you’ll get more videos with step by step tutorials.

You can go here to purchase 

More on the workshop below.
 
The picture above is my Feverfew, which I discuss in one of my videos.  This wonderful headache remedy has reseeded in my gardens for a couple of years and I was looking for something else and viola - a young new Feverfew to grab and eat a few leaves to stop a headache in its tracks.

Around The Garden!
 

My caper is starting to put out flower buds!  I have been growing the caper plants for some years now and the ability to pick and brine my own caper berries is just plain and simple wonderful!

Speaking of capers, did you know the green immature seeds of the wonderful Nasturtium can also be brined/pickled for a Poor Man's Caper?  Pregnant or nursing women should avoid them.  I have a lot of colorful nasturtium flowering now.  This lovely red is one I did not get a picture of when I last posted about them.  Having them in the gardens all winter means a whole lot fewer pest bugs and a lot more beneficial insects plus the pollinators (including humming birds) love the flowers.

Our huge cherry tomato patch wintered over big time, with only a couple of weeks from when I was last harvesting tomatoes.  These one year old plants are pumping out soon to be ripe fruit, oh boy!

Horseradish

Mulberry ripening

Elephant Garlic Scape

Barbados Cherry Flowers

My Horseradish is coming back.  There are ripening berries on my Mulberry, and flowers on my Barbados Cherry and I have some "scapes" on my Elephant Garlic, and hoping to see the scapes soon on my regular garlic.  It would mean we did get enough chill this winter and I can harvest heads of garlic later on.

I transplanted some strawberry plants (Alpine) into my desired area the other day.  I had a major die-back of my strawberry bed last summer, with just a few plants remaining (it was a very old bed, just time for them to retire).  I took some seed heads and sprinkled them around AND the plants had also thrown seed here and there so I have been watching for young plants to put where I would like them to start filling in the bed again.  TIP:  I knew the beds were going to water the next day, so I transplanted, gave them a bit of a drink, they wilted a bit by the end of the day, and here they are a day after the watering and they are nice and perky.

RECIPE:   I can't talk about all the wonderful edibles we grow without leaving you with a recipe.  I am SO in love with my new go-to soup recipe and the really nice thing about the special method of roasting the vegetable first is:   those roasted vegetables can make not only a soup, but a salad or a pasta primavera!

Asparagus, Potato Cheese Soup

Makes about 3+ cups of soup

From the Garden I harvested fresh asparagus, I'itoi onion tops, limequat, cilantro and dill to make this delicious soup.

Cheese is really optional if you want to keep it low calorie, but the cheese adds protein.

2 tablespoons of avocado oil

2 cups of large diced asparagus (or any vegetable of your choice.  I have made broccoli soup and am going to work my way through the various vegetables as they come ripe in the garden)

1 potato
4 ounces white American cheese
handful of I'iotoi Onion tops
2 cups of water
salt and cracked black pepper
limequat
Garnish of choice (I used dill and cilantro for the asparagus soup)

An emersion blender works best for this, or you can use a counter blender working in batches and return to the pot to continue cooking..

Heat oven to 450, prepare a pan.

Cut asparagus
Clean and cut potato into about 1 inch chunks - I leave peels on, I put them in the 2 cups of water and do not rinse as I want the extra starch
Snipped onion tops
Shred or cube cheese and set aside

Snip herbs for garnish or prepare any garnish of choice, edible flowers are wonderful.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium size pot.

Spread asparagus in pan, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of oil over, season with some salt and cracked black pepper, stir and roast for  5 minutes.  TIP save time -- put 1 tablespoon of the oil in the pot you will use, add the asparagus, toss to coat then spread in the prepared pan.  Does a better job of coating the veggie.  Then add the final tablespoon of oil to the same pot and proceed.

While the asparagus is roasting add onion to hot oil in pot, stir and reduce heat and cook for about 5 minutes more, stirring as needed.

Add water and potatoes to pot bring to a boil, add a bit of salt, cover and cook at a low boil.

Stir asparagus and roast for 5 minutes more.  When the asparagus is finished add to pot, keep at a low boil, cover and cook until all are tender - about 7 minutes.

Using the emersion blender puree.  I like to leave some chunks in the soup.

Add cheese to melt, stirring into the soup to combine.

Serve with garnish.  Squeeze a bit of lime juice over each bowl.


 

NOW FOR THE workshop information.

If you have been reading my blog posts for some years you know I encourage you to begin or add to your gardens.  I appreciate all of your questions and comments. Some of you are not in the desert southwest but still take away helpful tips and even "oh I want to grow that" after seeing some of my garden pictures.
 


THE workshop is 15 gardening experts (I am one of them) speaking about one or more of their favorite and helpful how-to concepts with written manuals/materials to show you the step by steps.  These experts are from all over the country, so not just one region, but many.

Here is what people are saying:

From Carrie: “I am already HAPPY I have purchased the whole Workshop!! I can’t wait to dive deeper!!!!
Thank you so much!!!!

From Donna: [About Melissa K. Norris’ Seed Saving Presentation] Her passion can be heard in her voice and shows on her face. I loved this presentation!

Don’t miss out - the workshop closes Saturday April 14th. Come grow with us this spring and show off all your plants. Each time you do you’ll be entered to win! The grand opening is on Thursday at 1:30 PM CST in the workshop Facebook group.

Click here and don’t miss a thing and learn what is included


Catherine, The Herb Lady

P.S. Hurry, the Grow Your Own Food Workshop purchase window closes on April 14th so don’t miss out! 




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