Slow Food Challenge - Meal Version 2

Dear Folks,

Here is the second and final meal I prepared for the Slow Food Healthy Meal Challenge.  As I noted in my first meal post yesterday, I approached this as a homemade option to a "happy meal" to make something appealing to both adults and children.

Additional Note about Melted Cheese Sandwich Meal Version 1. I forgot to note that a great savory option to the apples is to substitute grilled eggplant and peppers for the apple (or keep the apple in) but make sure you use the basil with both.

Toaster Oven Pizza
Spiced Apples

This is a quick fix pizza and the ingredients are limited only to your favorites and imagination.  If you prefer more doughy pizza’s see the notes below.  I’ve been experimenting with this kind of pizza for a while and finally decided on the 2 flour tortilla layer to make it sturdier.

2 10-inch High Fiber/Protein Flour Tortillas
1 large tomato or 2 medium
1 leek
Half large yellow sweet bell pepper
4 oz low moisture mozzarella cheese
3 sprigs fresh basil
1 sprig fresh oregano
1/4 tsp coarse salt
2 tsp olive oil
olive oil spray
1 apple
½ tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Most of the effort in this pizza is chopping the veggies, you can choose to leave them larger.  This sounds like a lot of work but you can saute, chop and toast the pizza in under 30 minutes total time.

Core and dice the tomato.  Rinse and dry the basil and slice into slivers.  Place the tomatoes in a colander over a bowl, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of coarse salt and sprinkle the basil over. Set aside to drain.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the leeks, and about 3 tablespoons of water, saute on medium to low heat for 10 minutes.  Browning is okay, stir occasionally, don’t let burn.

Using an apple core and slice the apple into 8 segments and put in a microwave save bowl.  Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle over the apple.  If you want them hot when served do this last, otherwise, cover with a paper towel and microwave for 2 minutes. Set aside.

Dice the bell pepper. Set aside.

Shred the cheese and separate into 4 piles. (You can always use more cheese.)

When the leeks are done cooking after 10 minutes you are ready to assemble the pizza.

Using a Pyrex pie plate, place one tortilla in it, sprinkle with 1/4 of the cheese and place the other tortilla on top.  Spray very lightly with the olive oil spray and spread the tortilla. Sprinkle with another 1/4 of the cheese.  Next, stir the tomatoes with basil and spread on the pizza, top with another 1/4 of the cheese.  Spread the bell pepper and top with last bit of cheese.  You can always add more cheese.

Turn your toaster oven on the highest temperature and “toast” and place the rack at the highest point in the oven.  Put the pie dish in and turn the timer on for 10 minutes.  Watch, that there is no ‘burning’ of the top cheese.   10 minutes is usually sufficient to melt all the cheese, maybe brown slightly and heat all the veggies completely through.

Cut while hot into quarters or eighths.  This is a very high protein/fiber pizza.  I’m going to show 1/4 slices as a meal.  A small child might find an eighth a filling snack/lunch with a glass of milk, an older child or adult will find a quarter slice satisfying with a glass of milk.

Serve with 4 slices of the apple and beverage of choice.

Nutrition and costs Stats
4 lunches for older child or adult
I am showing, again, only the totals for the meals. If you want the detail email me and I will be happy to send it to you.

Total Stats for 1/4 pizza, half of the apples and 1 glass of milk

Total Per Serving    Protein=20.58    Fiber=9.78    Calories=354    Cost per serving    $ 1.46
On hand sugar, cinnamon, fresh basil and oregano, olive oil, olive oil spray and salt.


#1 Choose a tortilla that is high in protein and fiber - I chose La Tortilla Factory- these usually have a combination of grain sources.   IF YOU prefer to have a doughy base, try a pita or focaccia bread halved as the base.  Dr. Humus and Classico Italiano have the pita or focaccia.
#2 Meaty or any heirloom if you can find them (I purchased the leek, tomato and pepper from One Windmill Farms)
#3 The colored vegetables add not only color to the pizza for visual appeal, they also add more antioxidants.
#4 Fresh mozzarella is wonderful, but low moisture is more nutrient dense.
#5 Milk fat level is a matter of preference and need -low fat is just as nutritious.

NOTES: The wonderful thing about this kind of pizza is you can use any toppings you desire.  Deane loved this version, but wondered if a bit of pineapple added would have made it even more delicious.  You can certainly choose to add meats of your choice, like cooked sausage, hamburger, or healthy choices of cured meats like salami or pepperoni.   By alternating the cheese with the layers of vegetables I used less cheese but still got a nice gooey cheese mix in with the layers.  I served the tomato water from the drained tomatoes because it still has a lot of good things in it and is refreshing.  I have not tried cooking this pizza in a frying pan on the stove top, but I’m going to give that a try.  The toaster oven is just so handy and does not heat up the kitchen in the summer, like the main oven.  The down side is that bottom tortilla does not harden up, which is why I’m going to try the next pizza in a covered frying pan.  I chose a pyrex to keep all the ingredients ON the pizza.

In keeping with the “happy meal” concept, I am showing another of Susan Decker’s cute toys.  Available from Susan beginning the end of September or beginning of October at the Mesa Farmers Market. Susan's site is here.  Either of these toys are priced at $1.50 only at the Market.

I hope you enjoy and are able to try these recipes either as I have presented them or make them uniquely your own.

Have a great weekend,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Slow Food Challenge - Meal Version 1

Dear Folks,

Here is the first of 2 meal versions for Slow Foods Healthy Meal Challenge.  I decided to make "happy meal" versions which I think will be appealing to either adults or children.  I tried for nutrient dense options with a lot of flavor.  Due to time constraints I purchased items from traditional grocers, but you will be able to find many, many of the ingredients or all of them from your local farmers markets.  I chose high quality ingredients, organic when I could so the prices will be in the ball-park when shopping with your local farmers.  I have provided only the totals for the nutrient value and cost.  I would be happy to email the detail to anyone who wants it.  I kept the cost of each meal well under $5 and added a toy option for the children's options.

MELTED CHEESE, APPLE, and BASIl Sandwich 

Yogurt onion dill dippers
Apple Cider

Makes 2 Children’s Lunches (half sandwich) or 1 Adult

2 Multi-Whole Grain Bread slices
2 ounces whole milk, white American cheese slices
8 fresh basil leaves
half of gala apple sliced thin
half cup of yogurt
1 tsp of dried onion
1 tsp of dried dill
pinch of salt
1 carrot cut in sticks
1 celery stalk cut in sticks
Apple Cider

1. Toast bread       
2. Mix yogurt, salt, onion and dill, set aside
3. Layer one slice of bread with cheese, basil, apple and repeat to create 4 layers ending with cheese.  Top with other slice of bread and microwave for 30 seconds to melt cheese.
4. Spoon yogurt dip into glasses and divide the carrot and celery between them.
5. Serve with 8 ounce glass of apple cider (Or substitute with milk)

2 Children’s Meal Stats
Total    Per Child    Protein=11.93g     Fiber=4.25g    Calories=388    Cost            $ 1.73

1 Adult Meal Stats
Total Adult        Protein=21.10g Fiber= 8.2 g    Calories=622        Cost            $ 2.68

On hand:   dried onion and dill, celery, carrots, salt and fresh basil

ADD a toy!  Susan Decker came up with a toy for each of the two meals I’m creating for this challenge.  Susan will have this toy beginning the end of September or beginning of October at the Mesa Farmers Market (Fridays) for $1.50 plus tax.  Susan is only able to offer the toy at that market and not through the mail because the cost would be prohibitive.  She is the most incredibly gifter I have ever met.  Susan's site is here.

NOTES:   Options include choosing a different fruit, bread or cheese.  I used whole milk White American Cheese - low fat versions (I bought Boars Head) will reduce calories by about 40.  The flavor of La Brea multi-grain whole wheat is excellent for people including children who may not like the flavor of whole wheat.  The addition of honey offsets the slight bitterness of the whole wheat and there are a lot of grains in this ‘multi’.  I chose yogurt for the dip to boost the nutrient value over ranch or sour cream.  You can choose to double the cheese and reduce the amount of apple.  Use pear or other fruits in place of apple.  The basil goes well with all fruits, but can be left off if the children are not used to its flavor.



I hope you enjoy this idea for a homemade option to fast food and slow down for a family meal that is enjoyable, tasty and wholesome.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

There's Rosemary For Remembrance..Pray, Love, Remember --- 9/11

Dear Folks,

Most people are familiar with Ophelia's sad statement.  I have thought it was particularly appropriate following 9/11 and I still do.

I think if I had hoped for anything more 10 years later that there would a universally greater tolerance and understanding between cultures.  Is there?  To be sure there is so much kindness shown every day in many, many small ways, but if you listen to political and social commentary I wonder if the people we listen to, learned anything except 'lock the gates'.


Just my musings on a day of sad memorials honoring the fallen and the heroic along with the American spirit.

The link to my post from 2009 is still valid and still informational.


http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/2009/09/911-8-years-later-remembering-what-hate.html

A few notes from that post:

FIRST RESPONDERS
I come from a family of many firefighters and Deane is a retired EMT, so they have always held a special place in my heart, even more so after 9/11 -- and what the rescue workers and police had to do.
Find the fire station and police station in your neighborhood and mail or drop off a thank you card. They put their boots on every morning never knowing what the day will bring, that is a hero in my book.

If you are in the area of the gas station owned by the family of Balbir Singh Sodhi, consider placing flowers on the memorial. That is part of my neighborhood.  Mr. Sodhi was known in the neighborhood for his kindness and generosity. A memorial page was dedicated to him on Sikh cultural site, click here to see the page - it has not been updated for a while but gives the story of the murder and the community support.


Plant rosemary for remembrance -- at the foot of your flagpole or anywhere it works for you.

And, finally, never forget our soldiers.  Send a card free through Xerox's special site http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1280.html

Be kind to yourselves by being kind to others,


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Hesterman: The Cost Of Unfair Food.

Dear Folks,

A question to ponder -- What is the real cost of food choices?

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/food/7277419-423/food-detective-the-cost-of-fair-and-unfair-food.html

The above is an article about the questions raised by Oran Hesterman the author of Fair Food: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for All.

I have not read the book, however the question gave me an opportunity to think about the long-term as well as short-term collateral issues of food choices.

In this article, Hesterman, briefly, discusses the potential future problems with what he terms "unfair" food choices eventually causing more environmental damage in addition to the growing (no pun intended) obesity problem in America.

Why should you care what someone else chooses to eat?  Because eventually you may be paying the cost to either treat the issues down the road through reduced viable crop land and health care costs rising even higher because of diseases related to obesity.

Before anyone gets worked up about targeting the people struggling with weight, the point I'm making is about YOUR choices, not someone else.

The more people who choose locally and naturally grown food, the less factory farming which contributes to 'dead zones' in the gulf from fertilizer and pesticide runoff,.and the less Oil we need.

How does oil fit in here?  Have you seen the oil industries commercials touting all the jobs etc. the industry provides.  There is a little side note, with visual, highlighting the use of oil in fertilizers and pesticides.

Besides 'un-natural' fertilizers and pesticides, did you know oil is used to make alcohols which are then processed to create food items such as distilled vinegar and food flavors and colorings?  A "natural" product, oil, in my opinion, has absolutely no place in our food system. What do you think?

Choices that people make about lifestyles including food, can have long-term consequences that impact the rest of society as well as themselves in the 'fall-out' from those choices.

I had an interesting conversation with a young friend several months ago.  I was remarking on the inevitable hearing problems young people will have listening to their music with earphones and in cars with the volume turned up so loud.  What my young friends said, just dropped my jaw -- "they are not really worried about their hearing - they just figure by the time it becomes an issue, medicine will have found a treatment or remedy."

And who would pay for that is the question that rolled around in my mind for weeks after.  We can kid ourselves that a premium for insurance pays for our rights under the policy, but the benefits and costs are directly tied to what the insurance company finds is a common and customary need and cost.

In an un-fair scenario any individual who has a condition or disease directly associated with poor choices on their part would have to pay for the real value of the cost of treatment.  There is no way to cover, fund or single out such an option and no way to fairly apply it.

There are currently calls to 'sin-taxes' on things like sodas and junk foods.. Whether those ever become reality the point is there are some who think that is a great idea and others who feel it a private choice of food and not someone else's business and then "that" point gets embroiled in down-the-road health costs, and on, and on, and on.

So I choose to make better food choices because in the long run I believe it will benefit me and my family and society as a whole, as an extension of a single individuals choices, multiplied by the estimated millions of people choosing to spend some of their food budget on organic or naturally (really naturally) grown foods.

Statistics for 2010 on organic food purchases:  "...organic fruits and vegetables, now representing over 11 percent of all U.S. fruit and vegetable sales."  Source: Organic Trade Association’s 2011 Organic Industry Survey 


Think about food choices as a "Now" kind of choice and a "later" consequences choice.

By the way, no one is perfect and no one should point fingers at someone because they want the occasional 'guilty pleasure' - think of it as making better choices most of the time or at least aiming in that direction.

Some of the people my family has lost, could perhaps have had longer and healthier lives if they had made better choices.  Something to ponder.

Be kind to yourselves,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Slow Foods Healthy Meal Challenge!

Dear Folks,

Slow Foods USA is having a challenge event on September 17, 2011.  Can you make, share, host or write about a meal that is a homemade, nutritious and overall healthy option to fast-food offerings for $5 or less?

Click here to learn more about the challenge itself.

I have taken the pledge to make such a meal.  Here is what I'm going to do.  I decided to address the meal options as versions of "happy meals" (I am working with a crafter friend to come up with a locally made 'toy'- and hoping that works out).  These won't be for just children only, I expect adults to enjoy the meals I have in mind too.

If it were adults alone who need to make better food choices some of the "challenge" would not be so challenging.  But finding healthy options for children when you are competing with some of the top social/food addictions is a real challenge.

For those of you who are not familiar with Slow Foods - it is an organization devoted both to alternatives to both fast food, and the re-focus back to community and local.

"Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment."

On September 16th, I will publish my recipes and other related information to the challenge, and hope that you can do two things:  1)  try them yourselves, and 2) pass the information around to as many people as you can.

Get off the fast food track and onto the community slow food trail and enjoy a renewed sense of community and, oh by the way, better health :-)

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

What Is A Market Town? What Is A Made Over?

Dear Folks,

I am particularly drawn to old fashioned ideas - when they make perfect sense most of the time.  There is something comforting to me about terms like 'made over' and 'market town.'

The former (made over) is an old fashioned term for using 'left overs.'  Now a days more recent terms referring to left overs are Rachel Ray's "cook once, eat all week."  Yesterday I made a rif on an Italian pasta fagioli (bean) soup, using a couple of left overs, to 'make over' into this outstanding soup. (Recipes below.)  Made over foods are the ultimate in recycling and if done with creativity, no one has to know you used left overs unless you tell them.  Growing up in a financially challenged family, I had a negative 'thing' about anything hand-me-down or leftovers.  I have matured in both age and appreciation for making complete use of something, or even planning ahead to consider the other uses for things down the road.

What Is A Market Town?

The phrase has history in both England and other countries in Europe and other areas of the world might call these marketplaces bazaar or souk.  Whatever the term it means a central place to come together to sell and buy things.

I like the term 'market town' because to me it means community.  While England is known for its market towns operating as a hub to the smaller residential villages and towns surrounding it, the need for market towns was utilized here in the US, although not always under that name. Any rural farming or ranching area had a place where residents "went to town" weekly or monthly to buy or sell supplies, visit and catch up with other residents and then return home with their purchases.

In this day and age the concept of a "market town" for centrally located merchandise sources might be called a "mall" (shudder) but really should be looked as "your neighborhood" community.

The valley does not have the advantage of several centuries of community history like some areas of the east coast.  The almost ancient areas there had to forge extensive community reliance in the 16 and 1700s in order to literally survive.  That history made it a little easier to form communities where most people knew each other, and share not only commerce, but social interaction.

Here is the valley while there is a rich history of cultural diversity, there is less community because we are soooo spread out.

Where am I going with this?  I would like our valley folks to look at their neighborhoods as their community, not just the city at large, although that is certainly a part of it.  There are a lot of reasons for choosing to look to neighbors and most it has to do with a kind of survival resource.  In a disaster who would you turn to first?  What if you can't call or drive or even bike to help?  Most of us would either call for help to our neighbors or we would see that our neighbors need help.

This past week's earthquake and then hurricane Irene on the east coast made me contemplate community a lot more - I have extensive family all up and down the eastern seaboard.  So far all reports are they are all safe and un-injured.  Some may be without power until early September, some can't go to work because the roads are either blocked or the companies themselves shut down.  On a side note I am very angry at those who think the hurricane was over-hyped.  You can't over-prepare for a hurricane or other potential natural disaster.  If you are lucky enough to survive with extra, store it or donate it!

So the community I envision is my neighborhood.  If you think, as I do, about what my neighbors do for a living or are good at in retirement, I can think of my neighborhood as a 'market town' and by extension as "my community" where I might get help from a plumber or Deane can help someone start their car, or . . . I help them.  I like to share my meals with neighbors, particularly an elder one.  One neighbor and I do cookie/candy making at the holidays and deliver trays to those we know.  We bring fresh things from our garden to newbies.  My neighbor and I going to organize a cookie swap for the holidays.  What can you do in your neighborhood that would make it your community?  It does not have to be houses.  An apartment complex or dormitory is a community.  Years ago I lived in a small garden apartment complex and we all routinely got together for parties and holidays, going in and out of apartments like a huge progressive party.

I hope you see what I mean here.  Who are your neighbors and what can you and they share?

Besides a 'market town' for buying and selling things, your community can also be your participation with your neighbors in a neighborhood community garden.  I have written about this before. A community garden, can certainly be a lot set aside by the City (Mesa Community College also has a community garden), but it can also be several neighbors growing what they are either good at or have space for and then getting together for a good old harvest gathering and sharing.  And during that event you can find out what each do, and plan for a cookie or candy swap during the holidays.

More on community gardens.

Here is a new buzz word SPIN -- Small Plot INtensive farming.  Deane's son Travis has launched a tour with his gal-friend Morgan highlighting gardeners, small farmers and others with great ideas on permaculture and sustainable agriculture.  The SPIN concept is to make use of urban lands either by lending, renting or purchasing them for sustainable farming, to create a small commercial farm in an urban environment.  A 'community farm'.  The main "Eco-Jaunt" site is here.

The feature on SPIN is here.

Learn more about SPIN here.

While you might not be interested in staring your own commercial farm the ideas in the SPIN concept of utilizing local and urban areas for community are worth learning.

Made Over Recipes.

CATHERINE'S POTATO, PASTA, BEAN & CHICKEN SOUP

Home made chicken broth (sure you can use store bought)
Boiled Dressing (see below for recipe)
1 Left Over Cooked Chicken Breast (see directions)
1 can organic northern white beans or cannellini beans (more power to you if you cook your own from scratch - save about 2 and a half cups worth of cooked with some of the liquid)
1 large potato (I used a very large new red) - I always leave healthy skin on potatoes while cooking
1/4 cup stellinie or pastini pasta (small star type)
1 heaping tablespoon of corn starch
water as needed
Herb blend of choice - I used rosemary, garlic and black pepper
salt to taste (I used a total of about 1/2 teaspoon)
Optional:  Other vegetables to add more depth and color - carrots, celery, parsnip, sweet potatoes.  The extra veggies should be added at the same time as the potatoes and the liquid increased to completely cover them while cooking.

BOILED DRESSING
A boiled dressing is an old fashioned recipe where you thicken a liquid mixture of flavors to create a sauce which can be used hot like a gravy or cold like a salad dressing.  The beauty of this recipe is at your choice there can be no fat at all, it has a lot of flavor depending on what herbs and spices you put in it and the citrus brings out better flavor in most foods.  This is an unsweetened lemon or limeade.

2 ounces of fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice
6 ounces of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 heaping tablespoon of corn starch.
Herb/spice mixture - I used about a half teaspoon of a mix of dried rosemary, garlic and black pepper.

Mix juice with water, and place 3/4 of it in a sauce pan with salt and herbs and bring just to a boil, reduce to simmer.  Make a slurry of the remaining cold liquid with corn starch and blend well (the easiest way I have found to mix the corn starch slurry is to put in a jar, cap tightly and shake well.)

Slowly poor the slurry in the simmering pot, stirring - simmer for about 2-4 minutes until thickened.  At this point you can use while hot or chill and use later for heated gravy/sauces or tossed with salads.

CHICKEN NOW AND LATER
3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 recipe of the boiled dressing
1 teaspoon of olive oil

To a hot skillet add oil and then the chicken breasts, cook on medium high heat uncovered. Turn after 1 minute.  Cook other side 1 minute, turn once more and add dressing all at once.  Add more herbs if you like. Cover and cook on medium turning the chicken every few minutes until done.  It usually takes me a total of 20 minutes for this dish.

Save 1 chicken breast and some of the sauce for the soup on another day.  Sever dinner tonight with either a salad or a colorful mix of sauted vegetables.  You can saute the vegetables in a bit of the sauce to keep the flavor theme going.

SOUP DAY
Dice the raw potato.  Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and set aside.  Open the can of beans, but do not drain.

Bring 3 cups of chicken broth to a boil and add the liquid from the beans, setting the beans aside.

Add the potatoes and about a quarter teaspoon of the blend of herbs.  Add a shake of or pinch of salt.  Cover and cook the potatoes for about 7 minutes on a low boil.  A knife or fork should get just a bit of resistance.  Add the pasta, stir and continue cooking covered for 6 minutes.   Add the beans, chicken and reserved sauce all at once. Cover and cook for 1 minute.  Meanwhile to some chicken broth or water, add the corn starch and make a slurry.  Slowly add to the pot while stirring.  Taste for any additional salt or herbs.  Serve with crusty bread.  A very hearty and satisfying soup - we had it yesterday and it was delicious - keep the recipe for cool or cold fall / winter meals.

If those of you of Italian heritage are wondering why no tomatoes -- I love tomatoes, tomato sauces and lots of foods cooked with them.  I just want some wonderful soups and stews which allow other flavors to come forward.


Hope you can expand your community!



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Check out my books at the publisher's site

Container Gardening - Another Idea

Dear Folks,

When I did my recent poll/survey on what you want more information on 52% said "container gardening".  During the last couple of months I have been actively researching on variations of hydroponic gardening (including methods to include aquaponics).  All hydroponics is 'container gardening.'  Along the way I have found some truly ingenuous ideas for growing edibles in small spaces.  Most of the initial information I found was for the apartment/dense city dweller, like window farms made out of recycled 2 liter bottles.  That fits right in with my theme of growing a 'community garden' in an urban setting like an apartment complex or dormitory.  Several 'balcony farmers' get together and share the harvests.

After seeing the 2 liter vertical systems (see my post from June here ) I really felt that something like that was doable outside, but the challenge with 2 liter containers outside is it comes right up against the primary challenge facing those who want to garden, in containers, in the desert -- the heat impact on narrow or shallow containers.  So I went looking further.

The essential fact:  If you want to / choose to garden in small containers you have to limit your growing season to the less than 90 degree times of the year - that equals about October 1st to April 1st.  That is a nice growing season for all the cool weather plant options.  Outside of a green house you won't get basil or tomatoes for very long and only at the opposite ends of that calendar time frame.

So as soon as I made that decision for my hydroponic system search I discovered vertical systems made from 4 inch corrugated drain pipe.  I am purchasing the necessary components and will start blogging on the process over the next several weeks.

In the meantime, a lot of container garden questions are about 'grow boxes' and the limitations similar to what I discuss above.  Too narrow and too shallow for year-round growing.  I am always focused on how gardeners can take advantage of our year-round growing conditions to maximize harvest potential.  You can use the grow boxes in the same time frame mentioned above October through March

However, if you want to use the growbox type concept AND garden year round with it, I came across a site with some cool DIY ideas for building your own grow box, self watering and contained for balconys, patios or even indoors (keep in mind indoor gardens require additional light AND air circulation to be successful).



Insinde Urban Green

From this creative person is a neat way to build a container garden using perforated corrugated drain pipe, some form of a container (so you can choose a larger one more suitable to our heat impact) and some recycled bottles.  Viola - you have your own grow box.  NOTE: Important - for this kind of system you must use perforated CDP.  For the hydroponic system I am designing I have to use non-perforated.  Excellent photos to illustrate the concept.

And finally, a note about why I am going to do a hydroponic system - I'm running out of space :-) and I needed to go vertical with a system which I could automate to some extent.

More later

Have a great day!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Fall Garden Preparation and Sweet Potatoes - What's Not To Love!

Dear Folks,

Got back from our vacation and shaking the cobwebs out of my brain.  Got back to find my sweet potatoes doing great - more on that below.

First up:  Fall Planting and Preparation.

The desert gardener has learned the great secret non-desert dwellers do not know - we can grow almost any edible, despite our summer heat, and fall is the gateway season to begin, enhance, add to and learn about gardening successfully in the desert.

We have 330+ frost free days in the valley and that means we can grow almost year round.

We tend to think of Fall as our "spring" because so many of the perennials are planted October through February for maximum success and longevity.

GARDEN TIP:

If you plant at the right time of year for the variety you do not usually have to do things like chose shady spots or arrange for covers on the plants for either sun or frost protection.

Many beloved edibles like tomatoes and basil are really tender perennials here in the desert which means they can last several years.  As tender perennials they produce most and thrive in the hot sunny days of Spring through Fall and then decline somewhat in the winter.  If we do not get hard freezes (like we had this past winter) the plants will begin to generate new growth in the spring when the soil and air warm up.

Below is a list of plants / seeds I recommend for planting in September.  You will note that tomatoes and basil are NOT on the list.  You can get some production from them before first frost (typically about November 17th) but then they will stop production in the case of tomatoes and they will not smell or taste good in the case of basil.

Seasonal means BEST production and taste, so keep seasonal in mind when you are shopping for additions to your edible garden.

September Planting

Anise;  Beans;  Beets;  Bok Choy;  Broccoli;  Brussels Sprouts;  Cabbage;  Calendula (Calendula Officinalis);  Caraway;  Carrots;  Cauliflower;  Celery;  Chard ;  Chervil;  Cilantro;  Cornflower/bachelor Buttons (Centaurea Cyanus);  Cucumbers;  Dill;  Endive;  Fennel, Leaf;  Green Onions;  Greens;  Kale;  Kohlrabi;  Leeks;  Lettuce;  Marigold;  Mustard;  Nasturtium;  Ornamental Cabbage/Kale (Brassica Oleracea);  Parsley;  Peas;  Radishes;  Scented Geranium;  Snapdragon (Antirrhinum Majus);  Spinach;  Sweet William Aka Pinks (Dianthus Barbatus);  Turnips

All of the above plants are edible including the flowers.

If you have not done so, prepare you beds by fluffing with amendments to a depth of 12-18 inches.  Do not use fresh manure as you will not have success if you plant immediately - the fresh is too "hot" and will burn the plants.

Sweet Potatoes

I have been experimenting with growing sweet potatoes for several years now and recently got some heirloom varieties:  a purple and a deep orange (Barberman) - I planted them in large pots on July 10th and they will take up to 120 days to harvest (mostly determined by size and my patience to try them :-)

Harvest is one of the great advantages we have here growing sweet potatoes, because cold is the enemy of them.  The picture taken this morning shows 37 days worth of vine growth from nothing.  That is a sweet potato for you - they love to grow in the right conditions.

So why sweet potatoes?  I like sweet potatoes and have grown more fond of them over the last several years as I both experimented with different ways to cook them and learned more about how nutritious they are and that the entire plant is edible !!!

When I started experimenting with growing them I talked to Deane about cooking ideas and he did not think he would like them frequently as his memory of them was the overly sweet marshmallow sweet potato casserole.  So I began with roasting them, whipping them like regular potatoes and adding them to stir fries and making baked 'fries.'  He decided they were really good after all :-)

I have been talking to and reading about the edible leaves and we had our first taste test of the fresh leaves yesterday.  Just a taste so I could decide how I want to prepare them.  Evidence of domestication of sweet potatoes has been dated 1000 AD.  Many Asian cultures make ready use of the leaves and tender stems steaming them like spinach.

Our taste test yesterday was really good.  A hardy first taste finishing up with nutty.  I can't wait to try several ways including in a salad.

Nutritious, Delicious and Easy To Grow:

Growing:  The nice thing about both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes is they grow seasonally opposite of each other, so you can have a single large bed for growing them:  Regular potatoes planted November - January 1st and harvested in April/May and sweet potatoes planted May/July and harvested no later than November.  Both require fluffy and amended soil.  Here is the limitation and why I chose to put the sweets in pots.  They are almost invasive if they are happy and so far we usually have REALLY happy plants in the garden.  Since I am experimenting with 2 heirloom varieties I also want to keep them separated so I can track growth habits and needs.

The plants grow from 'slips' a kind of eye where you get miniature plants growing from the older tubers.  This is different from the regular potatoes which put out roots from the eyes.

Nursery growers who specialize in sweet potatoes harvest the slips and ship them anywhere from May through mid-summer depending on when their sweets grow their slips.  Some like the purple are more difficult to get to grow - one of the reasons I wanted to try them, they are rarer.

Cooking:

The sweet potato foliage is edible because it is NOT from the solano family (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and potatoes).

As I try recipes for the leaves I will post them later on.  I mentioned several way to cook the tubers above.  Basically any thing you use a regular russet or new potato for, you can use a sweet potato as a substitute or addition.  As they are naturally sweet, they caramelize well in high heat like on the grill or in the oven.  A little cinnamon and chili powder are great spice options for roasted chunks or fries.

A link to check out:

Be sure to check out Lola's Kamote Salad Recipe :-)

http://nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/ethnic_crops/vegetable_details.php?veggieid=70

Nutrient Dense:

So about the nutrition.  Sweet potatoes could be called a super food.  The dark the flesh the more nutrient dense in terms of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  The purple have more than the orange variety.

Some Info:

1 cup of baked with skin on (values do not include skin - but I eat mine)
No Salt

Calories 180
Protein 4.2 grams
Fiber 6.6 grams

Some mineral references

Potassium 950 mg.
Calcium 76 mg

Some vitamin references

Vitamin C  39.2 mg
Beta Carotene  23 mg
Vitamin A IU   38436


Edible Sweet potato leaves: 1 cup steamed without salt has a mere 22 calories and 305 mg potassium and 586 IU of Vitamin A along with lesser amounts of protein, fiber and other vitamins and minerals.

Nutrition information is from:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

One more informative site about sweet potatoes is the Extension Service in Hawaii where they grow a lot of sweet potatoes.

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/CFS-SP-1A.pdf

That's all for now, folks.  Have a great day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Taking A Break - But Real Short :-)

Dear Folks,

I taking a brief vacation, but wanted to share a couple of meeting/lectures coming up on August 3rd and the 16th.

Check out the info on my google group newsletter site

http://groups.google.com/group/edible-landscaping-in-the-desert-gl-gs-ge/browse_thread/thread/8bcc2b4b66a79d55

Next post will be on fall gardening preparation.

Have a great day,

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Bits and Pieces - Gardening, Cooking, Greening, GMO, Organic

Dear Folks,

I have been collecting bits of pieces of information I wanted to share with you.  The problem is I have also been trying to get ready for a vacation and the result is I have not posted as I collected.  While I wanted to give you some additional thoughts on each of the "bits" I have to do something with them now before I create a monster of a rambling post :-)

Let me start out with a quote from Ghandi, which is so appropriate to our time and the focus of many of you and myself.

"To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves." -- Mohandas K. Gandhi


My reader Neyeema shared that with me.


When I look at the stated focus or purpose of "sustainable" I find all sorts of references to it that seem to be one of those ???? moments.

Sustainable - Definition from Websters

 

 a : of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damage.

 

So I think that is pretty clear.

Then I look at Monsanto's "mission" statment

"Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality."

 

Food quality, yes, hmmmm?

 

 

Can we afford not to go organic?

A very interesting article on the subject.

 

From the studies mentioned above and from an increasing body of case studies, it is becoming evident that organic farming does not result in neither catastrophic crop losses due to pests nor in dramatically reduced yields as many critics from agribusiness and in academia would have us believe. A report from UC Davis predicted a 36% reduction in tomato yields in California if conventional insecticides and fungicides were eliminated (Agricultural Issues Center 1988).

On the contrary, organic farming systems have proven that they can prevent crop loss to pests without any synthetic pesticides. They are able to maintain high yields, comparable to conventional agriculture without any of the associated external costs to society. 

http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/~christos/articles/cv_organic_farming.html

 

Research Confirms Organic Farming Produces Higher Yields

 

But a spate of new research has shown that organic farming actually yields better results than modern techniques when evaluated more holistically. A series of peer-reviewed papers published by the international journal, Nature, showed that organic methods for growing rice, corn and wheat all produced significantly higher yields—and at less the cost—than monoculture farms.

 

http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/organicfarming.htm

 

So there are many folks out there who 1) don't believe the organic foods make a difference health wise, 2) feel that most organic foods are priced too high to be a good enough alternative to factory-farmed foods, and 3) don't believe there are health or other consequences to factory farming or in the alternative believe that the consequences are out-weighed by the benefits.

Health

A new study out of the University of Sherbrooke, Canada, recently found Bt toxin, a component of certain genetically-modified (GM) crops, in human blood samples for the first time.
Set to be published in the peer-reviewed journal Reproductive Toxicology the new study shreds the false notion that Bt is broken down by the digestive system, and instead shows that the toxin definitively persists in the bloodstream.

 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08906238

 

http://www.fondazionedirittigenetici.org/fondazione/files/allegatonews27aprile11numero2.pdf

 

Environmental

Scientists predict this year's "dead zone" of low-oxygen water in the northern Gulf of Mexico will be the largest in history – about the size of Lake Erie – because of more runoff from the flooded Mississippi River valley.

 

If you have never heard of the "Dead Zone" you should be doing some reading.  When the Mississippi River waters fill with the run off from factory farmed land (fertilizers and pesticides) each year in the spring, the resulting algae bloom in the gulf chokes out the oxygen and the fish kill is enormous.  This year's (2011) dead zone is expected to be the largest in history - the size of Lake Erie between 8,500 square miles and about 9,400 square miles - The impact is not just about a 'temporary' die off of fish, but of the economic and environmental consequences to the fishing industry in the already-damaged Gulf.  40% of seafood harvested in the 48 states comes from the Gulf.  Louisiana's economic lively-hood is directly affected by these kinds of man-made challenges.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/14/gulf-dead-zone-predicted-largest-in-history_n_877188.html

 

SO where will our food come from?

The United Nations says world food production must increase by up to 100 percent by 2050 and focus on greener methods to sustain an expected 9 billion population.

Put politics aside for a moment and consider the total picture.

If factory-farming methods produce environmental issues like dead zones, reducing other food sources like fish, if chemicals wind up in our bodies as a result of eating franken-foods, or we consume too much poor quality 'generic' food (the GMO and hybrid produce and grains are simply not as healthy for us), so we take more supplements to balance what we do not get from our food, if the ever decreasing nutrient density of the soil continues as its current pace, no amount of available farmable-land will produce enough food to feed the 7 billion people now on earth, let alone the future population.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/05/un-food-production-sustainable-green_n_890138.html

 

 

Joel Salatin is a sustainable guru to many.  His Polyface farm in Virginia is a permaculture shrine of sorts.  He has the resolve and energy to continue getting the message out.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KBqfKh-myZk

 

Heirloom seeds

 

Heirloom seeds are historic.  They may only be 50 years old or may be centuries old.  Passed down from generation to generation.  Reliable, filled with flavor and nutrient dense, these seeds are being carefully and loving preserved by more and more individuals and companies.

Baker Creek Seed

The People Who Feed Us is a group dedicated to focusing - in this case with videos - on the farmers and ranchers and other food producers who bring us the food we eat.  Take come time and check out some of their videos.  The Joel Salatin and Baker Creek videos above were posted by them.

http://thepeoplewhofeedus.com/

 

Elegant Edible Landscaping services --Free classes at Harper's Nursery

 

Check out these folks and their classes at locally owned Nursey Harper's

 

http://iagriscape.com/

 

I know the above information is diverse and I hope I have not glazed your eyes over so much that you lose the points I am trying to make.

Have a wonderful day!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Tea Parties - A History and Gardening Suggestions

Dear Folks,

Tea as a political statement has been around for a while - but the beverage itself is a wonderful blend of 'what's local' because what is called tea has many meanings depending on your location and needs.

Infusions, tisane, liqueur, even extracts like "vanilla" are a form of tea.  And these flavored liquids date back not only to the time of Monks' herb gardens but further back to the stone age time when the first 'beer' was made.

Have you considered a beverage or tea garden theme in your garden?

Check out my newsletter post for some fun links and history.

Catherine's Newsletter

I also give you some news on a meeting tomorrow morning (Wednesday July 6th) for like-minded folks in the east valley.

I mention Tom Standage's wonderful book "History of The World in Six Glasses"  I highly recommend this readable and informative history of water to water and everything social and political in between.

Have a great week!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Greening - Monsanto - What Did They Know and When Did They Know It?

Dear Folks,

A report recently released on more of the potential dangers of Monsant's Roundup, brings up more questions about what Monsanto knew, who else knew and when did they know it.

Here is a Huffington Post link to read.

I want to draw your attention to a couple of, what I consider, important points.

Let's take for example a new drug out that has had years of R&D and the FDA approves the drug.  The companies are required to (and hopefully be really honest about) detail any potential contraindications, allergic reactions and anything that could cause a potentially life-threatening event.

In other words they are required to give doctors and patients all the information they need to make an informed decision on whether this drug is safe enough to use, or in the alternative has limited enough risks to out weigh the potential health issues over using it to treat "the" health problem.

So why is a chemical substance, applied to soil and food not treated the same way.

Do you remember all the 'exposes' on what the cigarette companies knew when they were telling people the butts were perfectly safe?  People were outraged and lawsuits followed - the companies are still in business, albeit with stronger and stronger health warnings required.  At least most smokers can't now say they don't know the risks.

I moved to the Valley in 1976 and experienced the massive floods of 1978 when the salt river destroyed the main bridge connecting the two sides of the east valley (for safety's sake I got stuck on the opposite side of the river from my home).  The planners had to make a decision about rebuilding the bridge based, in part, on costs and whether the bridge could survive a 50, 100 or 500 years flood.  Experts reported that given the nature of the flooding in '78 we had all three events!  So I remember reading with opened mouth alarm when the powers-that-be released reports on why they were rebuilding for a 50 year flood, because of the considerable cost to build one for a 100 or 500 year flood.  By the way the much Older Mill Avenue bridge withstood all of them!

Anyway, here is what I remember one of the reports indicated:  Because of the cost of the 100/500 year options, part of the factor was the number of acceptable deaths going with the 50 year version.  Did you get that?  It may be that they never intended that little piece of information to be released to the public, but it was - wish I could find the reference - it may be out there on the internet in archives.

The point of that little story is:  What health issues, deaths and environmental impact did Monsanto's own chemical engineers and others know and what did they decide to keep from the public?

Evey choice we make as consumers is or should be an informed decision.

You may not choose to decide if the jacket you are buying will last 1 year or 10 years - it would not be a bad idea.  But the point is when it comes to foods, chemicals and environmental impact on our lives and families we have a right to access all information on which we would reliably make an informed decision.  By withholding any part of "material" facts which alters what decision we would make if we knew them, a company or regulator is making the decision for you - without your knowledge.

Whether you believe an acceptable risk is 'acceptable' to you, each of us should support the right to know by the public at large.

It offers no comfort to me that people can sue a company which misleads the public, after the fact, after someone is dying or dead, because of that 'material' information which was not allowed to be accessible.

And, no, I do not support peoples right to sue when they are behaving so foolishly they bring the danger on themselves.  You can only give people information or make it available - you can't make them pay attention.

I want to know if my food contains GMO products.  I want to know what Monsanto knew and knows.  I want the USDA and FDA to require as much 'material' information as they require on drugs.  And I want all of it.

Monsanto defends its roundup and related products on the basis of preventing mass-starvation.  That is a really good motive.  However, if you knew that farming and eating those products would shorten your life, cause birth defects in your children, deplete the world's pollinators, and eventually 'cut' production of food crops - what decisions might be made instead?

Food for thought!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Homegrown Sustainability - Some Ideas That Make Cents!

Dear Folks,

I am always on the lookout for ways to get more out of my efforts, garden, cooking, and life in general.  I like to recycle, not just in the current meaning, like turning in cans to metal recyclers (I do that), but in real - use-as-much-of-it-as-you-can ways, or maybe a better way to say it would be to waste as little as possible. I compost kitchen scrapes, feed stale bread to the birds (along with the birdseed we dole out), share extra food with neighbors, calculate my driving route to make as many stops with as few miles as possible, recycle using community bins, give things I can't use anymore to Goodwill, and share my ideas, experience, and knowledge with you.

And I worry, about everything - drives Deane nuts - but it is also what gets me looking into "how" to do things better or easier.

What if, I say to myself, everyone who could garden, did so, and then shared some with the folks next door?  What if you made a decision to waste as little as possible?  What if you got as involved in concepts like sustainability, local-focused purchasing, or really making every cent you spent worth more than the value you purchased - you know the old expression - "got my money's worth" - I look for "more than my money's worth" in many of my purchases.  But I'm not cheap - I don't try to get a good value for a poor price and put a neighbor out of business.  The built-in obsolence so prevalent today really makes me sad.  What if you got creative to achieve those goals?

Don't have a 'yard' to garden in?  A florescent light fixture, windows, plastic 2 liter soda or water bottles, some organic fertilizer and you have a "window garden" producing edibles -- some people have even made them with wine bottles.

Hydroponics and Aquaponics and really neat ways to grow food with as little waste as possible. 

Check our "WindowFarms" for a really creative way to garden in your home.  A couple of points about these ideas - the 'elaborate' farms are truly inspirational, but also require more investment in pumps and tubing, etc.  I am going to try to get around to setting up a simple version by just positioning bottles in a vertical pattern, where one drains into the next lower one and the bottom bottle catches the nutrient dense liquid and then I can take and pour it back through the top once a day.

SIDE TIP:  If you have an aquarium, you quick start your seed sprouting for sowing in the garden, by tying up the seeds (best with larger seeds) in a bit of cheese cloth and placing them in the tank or filter compartment.  The constantly circulating water speeds up germination time and rate (the amount of seeds which actually sprout).

Some very impressive systems have been set up to circulate water through fish tanks raising fish like tilapia for food and growing edible plants hydroponically.

Check out this Mesa family's big project to turn their pool into producing most of their food.  Besides their website they have also written a book about it called "Year of Plenty."

On a smaller but highly motivated scale - one cook who shares tips and recipes on Allrecipes.com started a blog on their decision to home-grow at least some of their food weekly.  Begged, Borrowed and Homegrown    "When I became unemployed last winter, I had to rethink how I cook, and what I eat, so that I could fit it in my budget. "

Ideas, these kinds of experiences give me lots of ideas.

One I looked into several years ago, but have not yet implemented is growing rice and crayfish in a kiddie pool.  Before you send me a note that it is illegal in Az to raise crayfish (they are an invasive species), I checked in with some officials at the UofA about it and "contained' and not accessible to rivers and streams etc. is permissible.  The idea is based on the Louisiana practice of farming rice and crayfish together, which began in the 18th century. "The concurrent culture of rice and crayfish makes use of land, resources, equipment, and infrastructure already being used for rice production."  I have not tried the concept yet because I am still trying to get my mind around actually eating the crayfish, that I raised (had a "pet" crayfish when I was a child).  But I like the idea of raising them on vegetation as opposed to the wild alternative.

Chickens - there is just something about raising a few hens for eggs and having them help you - in a supervised way - with the garden:  they fertilize it, eat the bugs, turn the soil and generally rotate any plants you want them working.  And if you need something spread around in the garden (like mulch), put it in a pile in the garden and let the chickens have at it - they can spread it faster and wider than you can!

And of course, there is the just plain simple idea of gardening in the soil or large containers here in the desert which is easy, economical, rewarding, peaceful, and you get to eat the results!

Hope these impressive ideas give you ideas!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Garden Like Your Quality Of Life Depended On It - Blast From The Past.

Dear Folks,

You have seen the references before - during World War II 40% of fresh foods were grown in backyards.

Here is a cool poster from 1917, with Uncle Sam urging home gardeners to save money.  Not mentioned is how wonderful home grown food tastes.  Our tomatoes are supplying us with yellow, striped and deep flavored options.  The last of our peaches are ripening and I'm still enjoying our summer apples, plus all the herbs for flavoring things.  My horseradish is getting close to harvesting time and I am awaiting a special order of sweet potato slips to plant for fall production.

Back to the poster - it is part of an exhibit at the National Archives on "What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?"

The exhibit explores some of the history of the government in the American dinner table, from farm to gardening, to shopping and menu planning, even the school lunch program.

What's For Lunch?

One of the posters is for something called "Ham Shortcake" one of the very first menu items in the school lunch program in 1946. The poster for the recipe feeds 100.  For a similar recipe to try at home, check out the one on cooks.com  These kind of recipes arose out of farm life to make the most of what you had available.  In expensive and nutritious, this would make a hearty lunch for children or adults.  Fresh fruit or a salad on the side would make this a pretty complete meal.  By the way, when I say salad, I do not mean just lettuce and tomatoes.  To qualify as a good-for-you salad I personally like to have about 5 different ingredients - not including the croutons!  Greens (add fresh herbs to the mix of greens), tomatoes, celery, carrots, peppers, Jicama, maybe a small amount of shredded cabbage or kale, olives, apple if you want something sweet, dressing on the side so each person can add their own.  That also makes storing left over salad easier, it is not swimming in excess dressing and stays fresher, longer.  If you make up a large batch and store in the frig, it is easy to grab some for meals because all you need is the dressing.

If you are having trouble getting started gardening or don't think you have enough space for what you want to grow, check out community gardens in your area.

In the East Valley, Mesa Community College has opened up a community garden to the public with folks able to rent a 10 x 20 plot for $80 / year.  Considering they provide the water and access to help that is a smoking deal.  http://www.mesacc.edu/community/garden/

Because I am such a cookbook and food research nut, I am constantly reminded of how different foods we eat and meals are today (on average) from 40+ years ago.

In those years we were far more like our European neighbors.  Foods served were more seasonal and fresher.  Leftover fresh were canned.  "Leftovers" were "made over" into nutritious meals with little waste.

Digressing here a bit...
Did you happen to see the info-mercial on the vacuum food-storage ad? (I was at the gym - don't laugh - and working on the treadmill and watching the cooking channel - I said I was a nut.)  Anyway back to the ad, they wanted to show how a family wastes food by simply storing in the freezer, store packaged meats.  They tossed and tallied everything "freezer-burned" after 2 weeks!!!!!  I don't get it.  I think the vacuum storage option is great for some folks, but tossing the freezer-burned foods without assessing whether you can make a stew or soup is mind-boggling.  Once you understand the safe food handling options wasting food is just not right.  I grew up in one of those families where we told repeatedly that people were starving in (fill in the blanks -- now a days it could be your neighbor who is out of work) and I was supposed to appreciate the food I had on my plate.  Well it did make me eat the food, no matter how much I did not want to (flash forward to Bill Crosby's famous ad of children eating without swallowing LOL), and we did not have a lot of food choices - my mom bought what she could afford).

The point is careful consideration to what is seasonal and fresh, making it easier on yourself to prepare meals (for example: making a large batch of grains and freezing in portions for one meal (times how many are in your household), in addition to the easy salad reference above, and maybe sharing an abundance with neighbors is a better 'modern' way to approach food - by going backwards to what worked before.

If I get into one of my cooking modes and prepare more than we can feasibly eat in a couple of meals I share with my elderly neighbor, or my working mom neighbor.

Food can be about community and maybe should be.  What is growing locally, what are you growing and cooking and who can you share it with.  Food binds us whether we are family, extended family or a community - we have choices.

Have a wonderful day,



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Hot Times In The Garden: I Want You To Do What?

Dear Folks,

It is that time of the year when even us desert lizards change habits and concentrate our outdoor activities to early morning, twilight or later.  And I want you to think about gardening!

But first, my ginger is popping up and I'm pleased to find additional locations where it wants to grow more happily.  For all you folks who ask about things to grow in the shade, or some shade, ginger could be one of them.  I have some ginger growing in a south exposure - in front of the asparagus bed, and the asparagus is now in full 'feather and about 4 feet + tall.

When I harvested the ginger last time (last October 1st) - I re-planted some of the root in a shady spot - north of one of our peaches (deciduous - keep that in mind) and beside the variegated society garlic. I just noticed the new growth yesterday, 3 times the size of the sunny spot location ginger, so I think my usual experimenting process of trying different locations is providing once again information to pass on to you.  Ginger is one of those foods which is so good tasting and so good for you, it is a shame to NOT grow it.

Harvest ginger when the top dies back or flowers - it can take anywhere from 7-10 months.  The sunny spot ginger has been in the ground now about 2 and half years and dutifully comes up, but I'm hoping for more production out of the shady spot ginger.

Read my post of 2 years ago on ginger and my early attempts to grow it.  The picture above is from that post.


Onto gardening in July.

When we are looking at temperatures of 108 - 114 I sure I'm getting the 'eye roll' when I discuss doing soil preparation and seed planting in the middle of all of that, but if you want a fall garden, you have to consider the fundamentals.  If you want pumpkins you have to count backwards 120 days from the holidays.  If you want root vegetables, lettuces, and cool weather herbs like dill and cilantro as soon as the weather is really more comfortable you have to keep in mind when and how those plants germinate -- in the cooling soil.

For easier seeding in, you need either an existing garden bed or one that you can prepare by fluffing up with compost or well-rotted manure.  Did you miss the planting time for tomatoes this spring?  You can sow seeds in an established bed NOW, or you can also start them inside and transplant, in an established bed in mid to late July -- the key to success with that is to sow or plant in amongst summer flowering plants, so they have some canopy from the growing plants and that allows them to get going, while reaching for the sun.  You will get tomatoes producing as soon as the night time temperatures go below the 80s in September and harvest into November.

Most of the heavy fall sowing time begins August 1st - but pumpkins should be sown in starting July 15th.

The list of seeds to be sown then is impressive.  And while not normally listed, you can start basil seeds along with the tomato seeds so you have more basil growing when the tomatoes start producing later on.

Anise;  Beans, Snap (bush and pole);  Bok Choy;  Broccoli;  Brussels Sprouts;  Cabbage;  Caraway;  Carrots;  Cauliflower;  Chervil;  Cilantro;  Corn;  Cucumbers;  Dill;  Fennel;  Greens, all;  Kale;  Kohlrabi;  Lettuce;  Marigolds;  Mustard;  Nasturtium;  Onions, Green;  Parsley;  Portulaca (Moss Rose);  Pumpkin;  Purslane;  Squash, Winter;  Stock;  Sweet Alyssum.

With those types of herbs and lettuces that you may use the most, you can plant successively every 2-4 weeks through November/December.

Choose leaf varieties over "head" type on lettuces and kales - you will have faster and more production.

If you have portulaca (moss rose) growing - you can break off stems and just stick them right back in the ground next to new plants or seeds - they root very easily because they love our sun.  As invasive as that sounds (and their wild cousin can be really invasive) they do you the supreme favor of dying back as soon as the temps cool in the fall.  (The purslane family is edible.)

Give some serious thought to handling the aphids in early to late fall as they really want your dill and cabbage family.  Aside from the safe soil/soap spray referenced here on the blog site, consider the easy method of making up a quart of water with a finger tip of dawn.  Pour a 1/4 cup of this solution right down the center of growing cabbage and dill plants at the first site of aphids and you can do this once a week without harm to plants or soil -- this works because the aphids start out in the leaf axis and are not always easy to spot to until they mass.  You can even do it preventatively when the temperatures are hovering in the high 80s/low 90s in September after the plants are 6 inches tall or so.

As the heat gets more intense and you ramp up the watering (make sure you use your meter to measure soil moisture) you may see yellowing of leaves particularly on trees and shrubs.  This is usually due to the amount of water (necessary) applied which in turns causes the iron in the soil to bind with the calcium and make it unavailable to the plants (Chlorosis - yellowing of the leaves with the green veins standing out).  Easily treated with green sand (natural) or if you can't find it ironite (issues with source of this treatment).  Apply before next watering and the trees should green up in about 2-3 weeks.

. . .

Recipes, I love recipes and cookbooks and of course I'm always experimenting - right now I'm reading Mark Grant's "Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens" - one of the real original "Mediterranean Diets" :-)

But I am fascinated by a book I have not bought but will purchase shortly.  My kind of cook and writer.

"Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes" by Andrea Reusing.  This Southern gal treats your garden as one of the sources of seasonal produce.  I think this is going to be one of the great cookbooks "of the moment."

 

And if you need help with when to plant here in the desert don't forget my beginners guide "Edible Landscaping in The Desert Southwest: Wheelbarrow to Plate"  Also available as an ebook or a special pdf for ereaders like Kindle.

 

Have a great week!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Greening -- Weighing In On "Choose My Plate" - Don't "Negotiate" The System

Dear Folks,

Try to put politics aside while you consider my thoughts on the new food recommendations from the USDA.

First, anytime, anyone tries to help you make better food decisions, that is a good thing, as long as they do not require you to join, commit, or be penalized if you don't do "x" etc.  That means you do not have agree with everything the USDA and First Lady suggest for better health -- to take advantage of the free information on the new visual help-tool called "Choose My Plate". (CMP) And I personally have a lot of problems with some decisions by the USDA and FDA, but this post is about a good tool.

I decided to weigh in on the subject because the CMP reflects my regular mantra of putting a rainbow on your dinner plate (growing your own veggies and fruits when you can, of course), and also because Jillian Michaels of "Biggest Loser" fame weighed in on her thoughts that the new visual presumed the American people were stupid.  I disagree because of our human need to 'tweak' 'game' or 'negotiate' something we think is a good idea, but we want to do it our way -- and miraculously achieve the same results!

Let me be the first to admit that I am overweight and out of shape.  I blame some of it on my back injury last summer, but the truth is I do not get enough exercise*, and my comfort food of choice is cheese and bread.  It does not matter that I can make my own cheese and bread sometimes and control the ingredients.  It matters that I do not follow the rainbow principle "most of the time" in its intended form.

So, I tweak the system, by saying to myself - I will have more salad with dinner than normal or I will make sure that I have cut up fruit and vegetables for easy access, so I have the instant ability to do the rainbow thing.  But I do not personally adhere, right now, to the rainbow principle at each meal.

So when the Choose My Plate visual came out - I said now that is something I can see people being able to use, easily, and not game it -- and, also give me personally a visual aid - I'm going to put it on my place-mate!

You know the first thing that had to be clarified on what the plate symbol was?  The size of the plate - oh my - the whole portion distortion topic of the last decade took on new meaning because the CMP plate is 9 inches - not 10, 11, 12 or the super-sized oval "platters" used as plates at many restaurants.

What is it with us that if we dine out we have to get our monies worth by getting a serving of food that is at least 50% more than a 'normal' meal or greater!

A salad / dessert plate is 6 to 7.5 inches.  Many nutritionists recommend a person trying to lose weight move down to a salad/dessert plate to help adjust portions.  Visually you do not feel like you are depriving yourself.  Conversely putting a normal portion on a huge plate makes it look like you are depriving yourself.  It is all in the mind.

Many paper plates come in 9 inch sizes, including some of the divided type.  If you want to try experimenting get some of the divided plates and instead of putting the protein in the big compartment, put it in one the small ones and you will have an idea of what the real protein portion is.  These kind of divided plates rarely have more than 3 compartments.  Put vegetables in most of the largest compartment with some fruit to fill in, and your grains in the other small compartment.  There you can visually see what a serving looks like in the CMP plate suggestion.

The Bigger Picture

I cannot express enough about the inclusion of lots of vegetables and fruits in your meal planning.  Choose seasonal when you can - not out of season - if you want something that is not in season, then choose frozen (1st choice) or canned (2nd choice).  Why?  Because the frozen and canned veggies etc. are picked when ripe and processed immediately.  Fresh out of season produce is simply not as nutrient dense.

If you and your family take a lot of supplements to get your vitamins and minerals, instead of eating the vegetables, fruits and grains which contain them in a more useable form - are you not making a poor health choice?  Think about it.

Here is the real issue - IF YOU want to make better choices you have to stop 'gaming yourself' and try to focus on what you want to achieve.

"I don't like vegetables..I don't eat grains I only like potatoes...I need more protein than it looks like I will get."  Try to get over something that has not tasted good by preparing it a different way.  Roasted or grilled vegetables have wonderful taste because the high heat brings out the sugars.  If mushy rice has turned you off of grains, try barley or quinoa which are nutty and have lots of texture (also learn how to cook rice properly!)

Grains in combination with other protein provide more protein total than the individual components.  Non-meat exceptions are favorite bean and rice combinations - or similar.  A peanut butter and jelly sandwich on good wheat bread is a complete protein.  It may be high caloried but it is a good source of protein and fiber.

As a child I did not like most vegetables because they were canned and tasted like baby food, nor did I like onions, mushrooms, avocado or sea food other than tuna.  Most of that had to do with our limited economics and some of it had to do with a child's food experiences. A single avocado came into our house about every two years for my dad as a treat and he once gave me a taste - since it was not sweet I instantly disliked it.  I could eat a half a head of lettuce or cabbage because it was raw, but all other vegetables were not of interest to me at all -- the exception was seasonal corn on the cob - oh boy.  Fast forward to my willingness as a young adult and then on through the years to give something I did not like before another try, or two (sometimes it took a different cooked version of something to get me to like something).  Once I decided I liked something I tried different was of preparing it.  I still prefer most of my vegetables raw, but I have discovered wonderful ways to prepare many so they do not taste like baby food.  (Deane's preference for cooked-too-death -- my term -- vegetables presents some challenges and always surprises me since he grew up in farming country -- but it was what he grew up loving.  We have a running joke about "well done" when it comes to cookies too -- he makes a great chocolate chip oatmeal cookie - he has to take mine out 15-20 minutes before his because his preferred done level are hockey-pucks!)

And there are still things I don't like but I have increased my food options thousands of a percent because I was willing to try something I did not like before.  And, I completely understand the 'ick' factor for some people with some foods -- I have them too either because of associated stories or where the food might come from.

Give good-for-you vegetables, grains and fruits another try if you have not liked them in the past - your body will reward you with more energy and over-all health.

And, finally, yes I know, some meals are served in bowls.  But, you know what, a typical soup/cereal bowl holds exactly 2 cups and 2 cups fills a 9 inch plate.  A bowl of chili, beans and rice, thick stew or soup would be 2 cups and equivalent to a plate of food.  Half a bowl of salad with a protein topper would be equivalent to a plate of food.

By the way, the serving size of most cereals is 1 cup or there abouts, but check the protein and fiber content.  Using my nutrient density formula (protein and fiber grams added and divided into serving calorie) corn flakes come in at a very low nutrient density (higher the number the lower the nutrient density) before milk is added.

Corn Flakes factor Protein 2 Fiber 1 = 3 Calories 100 = Factor 34
Kashi Golean Crunch Cereal Protein 9 Fiber 8 = Calories 190 = Factor 11

Look at the amount of protein and fiber for each of those - before milk is added.

Some ads will point you to the calorie content, or the total number of vitamins and minerals in the cereal - do not let yourself be mis-directed from the point of having cereal and milk for breakfast:  1) it is supposed to give your a good nutrient basis for the day, and 2) cereals have become "THE" breakfast food as opposed to PART of breakfast, so it is even more important that you choose nutrient dense options.

Total Cereal likes to point out all the vitamins and minerals they added back in to the cereal after starting with less than whole grains to begin with, so it winds up being a vitamin / mineral pill only with little or no protein or fiber.  It is not only not economical but like eating a donut for breakfast without the taste satisfaction!  (Meaning with a donut however NOT good for you as a breakfast food you get a mouth-feel satisfaction.)

If you missed my post on using the nutrient density formula go to my November 2008 post:

Hope this is helpful to you in meal planning that makes healthy sense.



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

*This week, I just joined a gym nearby and have high hopes of both strengthening my back and loosing the weight.

Horseradish! And, A New Survey

Dear Folks,

First - a new survey, folks. Help me help you by letting me know what you want more of.   See the upper sidebar here on the blog.

. . .

The horseradish is looking good.  While having breakfast in the garden the other day, Deane spotted a great photo op.

Framed by a peach tree on the left and a grapefruit tree on the right, the plant in the background is Lemon Verbena, one of the most fragrant of the herbs.

We grow horseradish here the opposite of the four-season areas.  Planted in the fall and harvested in early summer.  The older the plant the bigger the root.  I have not gotten the massive 3 inch size roots yet (the main plants are about 3 years old), but I get enough to make my condiment up.  I save some of the roots when harvesting and replant in the fall (I store them in the crisper). The ones I leave in the ground die back in the summer only to regenerate in the fall/winter.

One of those wonderful spices that add so much to taste, it adds, not surprisingly, a good deal of beneficial nutrients too.  Potassium, magnesium., calcium and phosphorus along with a good amount of vitamin C, and because it is a member of the mustard family, antibacterial activity too.

Good to grow, good to eat and good for you too :-)

Have a great weekend!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady