Garden, Plant, Cook!

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

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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Friday, April 06, 2018

Have You Started your Free Videos Yet? Around the Garden.

Dear Folks,

The free videos on Grow Your Own Food Workshop started running April 3rd.  You can still get your free access to these and catch up watching as 2 videos are released each day.  [This is a still from my video.]

Grow Your Own Food Workshop.

We have feathered friends in the garden and I got a couple of photos of them just hanging around.

And I tried to get a nice shot of my Lemon Thyme and its beautiful flower.  Hard to get the lovely lilac color, but it is pretty and fragrant. The other leaves showing is one of my Greek Oregano patches.

One of the 4 dove varieties we have visit us in our Saturn Peach tree.  New flower buds coming out.  This variety puts out flowers before leaves and is later than our Florida Prince, which may give us about 6 peaches this year as Deane had to prune it back severely due to age.

Love the zoom on our camera.  We can get some pretty amazing shots like this one of a Woodpecker on a neighbor's palm tree, way far away.  He was just "hanging out" grooming himself - side wards!

And finally the sweet little Inca Dove is now on the nest again for a second time.  The first babies fledged and took off a couple of weeks ago and mom is back on the nest.  She chose a nice safe spot for this, and we have to stand way back to get a zoomed in close up of her so as not to disturb her.  My understanding is they can have 4-6 nestings a year and given how many of their nests are so fragile I guess they need that ratio for survival.

We do enjoy all the feather activity in the gardens.

Have a best day in garden!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Tuesday, April 03, 2018

Another "Grand" Garden Experiment

Dear Folks,

I can never resist trying something in my desert garden.  I have frequent success, so that always encourages me to "push the envelope" as they say and try something that should not work here.

This "grand" experiment is really grand, as in potentially huge.  Can you guess what is in the picture?  I will explain below.

Meanwhile, I am really excited.  My Dwarf Mulberry Nigra's have fruit!  Yay!.  It was a bit of challenge getting a picture because of the light color and lighting.

The trees are tall now probably 7+ feet.

Ready to go in the ground August 2, 2015
I purchased two 4 inch plants from Baker Creek in the Spring of 2015 and put the small trees in the ground around August 2, 2015 and watched them grow lanky then fuller and fuller.  I had hoped for fruit last year, but apparently they needed another year and the trees leafed out and are lush this spring, with FRUIT!

Every winter we have a TON of nasturtiums, which I completely encourage.  They fill every nook and cranny in and among the trees adding color and pest deterrent qualities.

I thought I would do a little collage of color for you.  I love the variegated leaves and encourage these types as much as possible.

Okay so now for the big reveal on the opening picture. If you guessed California Redwood you would be correct!

Here is the story.  My sister and I took a trip early last fall to California and included a visit to one of the redwood forests and I could not resist purchasing a baby redwood tree.  They sell them in a "tube" to keep them moist.  I got it home and potted it up and it was doing okay and then the top started to brown.  My guy said several weeks ago "It's dead".  And I said, nope the trunk is still green.  Then took a good look last week and saw the new buds.

What I was counting on is the Redwood is a colony plant, growing not just from seeds but from clonal spread of roots underground.   This fascinating aspect produces identical offspring. While the buds shown on the picture above are not part of the colony aspect, I had hoped that plant survival mechanism would help the tree adjust.

The poor thing looks awful I know, but it is still alive and producing buds on the side of the trunk.

It remains to be seen if it can make it through the summer.  I plan on moving the tree, still in the pot, to a location where it will get morning sun and afternoon shade from other trees.

Reminder:

The Grow Your Own Food Workshop has begun.

Get in on the free videos and discount opportunity to purchase the complete program.

Have a great day in the garden!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Monday, April 02, 2018

Grow Your Own Food Workshop - ready, set, start watching.

Dear Folks,

Once you sign up, if you have not already, the Free content starts tomorrow, April 3rd and runs through April 10th.

Grow Your Own Food Workshop
 

The workshop is FREE but if you purchase it you’ll get all the Free Content, PLUS over 30 more videos.

I wanted to let you know if you’re considering purchasing the Grow Your Own Food Workshop, NOW is the time to do it. The pre-sale ends April 3rd at midnight, so hurry.

Purchasing gives you access to all of the content.

Here is what you get:

Over 15 Expert Gardeners

--Watch step-by-step tutorials.
--Download pdfs that take you through everything in the video and include a complete supply list.
--Includes bonus videos


Click here to get your ticket to the free content
 


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Saturday, March 31, 2018

Grow Your Own Food Workshop - Schedule - Starts April 3rd

Dear Folks,

The Grow Your Own Food Workshop is starting in a few days. 


If you not yet signed up for your free ticket, here is more information on the program.

I hope you take advantage of the free programs and consider the full access workshop

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

THE GROW YOUR OWN FOOD WORKSHOP!
...we’re not going to just TALK about it! We’re gonna DO it!
The best part is that the tickets are FREE but only for a limited time! Sign-up NOW because you don’t want to miss it!

GYOF Workshop Presentation Schedule

April 2nd

    Intro and getting started

April 3rd-April 11th first showing (we’ll be releasing two videos a day)

April 3rd (opening day)

    Seed Saving --Taught by Melissa K. Norris
    Companion Planting --Taught by Laurie Neverman

April 4th

    Vertical Gardening --Taught by Gabe Wright
    Composting --Taught by Michelle Visser

April 5th

    Growing Herbs--Taught by Catherine Crowley
    Raised Bed Gardening --Taught by Stephanie Huston

April 6th

    Vermicomposting --Taught by Kayla Kamp
    Gardening Basics --Taught by Julie Gropp

April 7th

    Basics of Organic Gardening --Taught by Sheri Ann Richerson
    Growing 3 Medicinal Herbs --Taught by Melissa Combs

April 8th

    High Performance Gardening --Taught by Lynn Gillespie
    Growing A Year's Worth Of Food --Taught by Jodi & Julie

April 9th

    Growing Tropical Plants --Taught by Sheri Ann Richerson
    Which Gardening Method Is Best For You --Taught by Joshua Osuch

April 10th

    Getting Started With Hydroponics --Taught by Bill Osuch
    Starting Seeds Indoors --Taught by Jennifer Osuch

April 11h

    Back To Eden Gardening Method --Taught by Starry Hilder
    Surprise class


April 20th -23rd – encore
May 21-26 – second showing (three videos a day)
May 29-3 --1st encore
May 31st  – bootcamp closes

I’m so excited to about The Grow Your Own Food Workshop, because the focus of this workshop is not only to educate but also to support you.

No, no one will come to your garden and help you pick hornworms off your tomatoes, but we will help you figure out what to do about them once you have them. I’m talking about the kind of support like when you used to pick up the phone and call your mom, to ask her how to tell if something in the fridge has gone bad. Remember? She asked you how old it was, what it smelled like, and maybe what it tastes like….:) Then she just knew and told you exactly what to do. That’s the kind of support I’m talking about!

We have a special Facebook group where you can ask ANYTHING. We also have a community manager to keep it a safe, encouraging, fun place to get help with your growing.

Oh, and there are over 15 expert gardeners hosting FREE classes! Then if you get the paid option you get 30 more videos on top of that! Is that valuable? Sure, knowledge is great, having access to important information is necessary for success.

But what you DO with that knowledge is even MORE important! 



Register today for your free access.


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Thursday, March 29, 2018

Garden Photos as we Shift Seasons - Reminder - Don't forget to sign up for the Workshop

Dear Folks,

My sugar peas are going through the seasonal transition now as we head into the warmer weather.  The drying pods will be harvested to have seeds to sow next fall.

I am particularly pleased with my decision to densely plant these delicious veggies.  Once they got going flowering and producing pods, I could go out regularly and pick for fresh to cook with.  Oh joy!  And some of the vines on my wire fencing are taller than I am!


AND we can still do that.  The older vines are drying but there are newer ones (I planted in a couple of different time periods) are still producing tender pods or I can shuck some for soups etc.

So hoping for a couple more weeks of sweet and delicious sugar peas!


On other "hoping" in the garden, my oldest Mango has a lot of flowers and I'm hoping she is stable enough to give me fruit!  And that is just one side of the tree.  Lots of nasturtiums around the plants - good pests deterrent.

I am so looking forward to mangos from our tree(s) [I have one I started from seed and it is healthy but taking its time growing.]

Reminder!!


The Grow Your Own Food Workshop starts April 3rd.

If you sign up before the start date you will receive 2 bonus booklets

Over 15 Expert Gardeners teach (I am one of the presenters):

Seed Saving
Companion Planting
Vertical Gardening
Composting
Growing Herbs
Raised Bed Gardening
Vermicomposting
Gardening Basics
Basics of Organic Gardening
Growing 3 Medicinal Herbs
Growing A Year's Worth Of Food
Growing Tropical Plants
Which Gardening Method Is Best For You
Getting Started With Hydroponics
Starting Seeds Indoors…and MORE!!!

Registration is FREE! Follow the link to reserve your seat today and learn how it rolls out, and I will see you on the inside.


Free Bonus books when you sign up before the April 3rd start

Grow Your Own Food Quick Start Guide
by Self Reliant School

Gardening Planning and Planting Calculator
by Self Reliant School



Grow Your Own Food Workshop/
 



Have a great day and a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

The Grow Your Own Food Workshop! Starting SOON!

Dear Folks,

Over 15 Gardening Presentations. . .on how to grow your own organic food.


I am one of the presenters.

Have you started your garden yet?  NOW is the time to start thinking about planting seeds that will produce clean, healthy, nutrient dense food for your family.

...because...

When you go shopping for groceries, the price difference between naturally grown, organic, non-GMO foods, and the price of commercialized chemically smothered food is outrageous!

While high demand and low yields have furthered the problems we face at the grocery store, there has been a large movement of people who have taken a stand against big agro and big pharma. Not just for ourselves, but for our children, family, friends, and community.

JOIN THE REVOLUTION!

...even if you just plant one thing to harvest and eat this year you’ll be part of the solution!

ANNOUNCING THE GROW YOUR OWN FOOD WORKSHOP!

...we’re not going to just TALK about it! We’re gonna DO it!

The best part is that the tickets are FREE! But sign-up NOW because you don’t want to miss it!

Grow Your Own Food Workshop

 

Over 15 Expert Gardeners teach:

Seed Saving
Companion Planting
Vertical Gardening
Composting
Growing Herbs
Raised Bed Gardening
Vermicomposting
Gardening Basics
Basics of Organic Gardening
Growing 3 Medicinal Herbs
Growing A Year's Worth Of Food
Growing Tropical Plants
Which Gardening Method Is Best For You
Getting Started With Hydroponics
Starting Seeds Indoors…and MORE!!!

Registration is FREE! Follow this link to reserve your seat today, and I will see you on the inside.

Grow Your Own Food Workshop/

Catherine, The Herb Lady, Crowley

P.S. Plus you’ll also get a Grow Your Own Food Quick Start Guide and Planning Calculator just for signing up. Hurry, I don’t want you to miss this! It’s totally online and viewable from the comfort of your own home!
 



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Friday, March 23, 2018

Asparagus Soup! And More.

Dear Folks,

Our asparagus are coming in and I decided I NEEDED to make an asparagus cheese soup with great tasting things from the garden. 

Asparagus, I'itoi Onions, edible flowers for garnish (Stock, Johnny Jump-Ups and Rosemary) and Limequat).

This recipe (below) is a spin on the broccoli/cheese soup I made back in January 


Do you like Ratatouille?

Close up of the squash in its protection "hat".
I do and so I decided to create a Ratatouille Garden of tomato, squash, eggplant and sweet pepper.  These are young yet, so it will be a while before I can harvest but I'm looking forward to making this dish or variations of it.  I started all the seeds back in December/January in my little greenhouse and it is time to get everything in the ground.  As I usually do, each seedling is protected by a 'chicken wire hat' to keep the critters from lunching on my lunch! See my youtube videos on chicken wire hats here.

When we got a sprinkle of rain last week, I noticed this droplet on one of my Nasturtium leaves. I see this during the season when these great edible and useful (they ward off pest bugs) are growing lushly in the garden.  I am always fascinated by how the leaf holds the drop and the magnification of the center whorl of the leaf.

I ordered some new Sweet Potato ("Pumpkin Yam") slips from Baker Creek and they arrived the other day.  I have been growing the purple "Molokai" and decided I needed another color.  This new one is a very old variety dating from 1868 with a bright orange color.  Looking forward to having a purple and orange feast of delicious tubers in the fall.  "Yam" by the way, is a misnomer - sweet potatoes are not yams which are a very different vegetable.  Commercial producers way-back-when decided the name "yam" helped distinguish their sweet potato from 'others.'

In my last post I showed a picture of a pot filled with growing cilantro, dill and chervil.  I did harvest a bunch of each and set up for drying in both the refrigerator and in the sun.  All the sun dried herbs are nicely stored now in mason jars in the pantry.  This cilantro will take longer in the refrigerator, but will retain more color and flavor due to the constant moisture removal of our modern refrigerators.

 
 FACEBOOK NOTE!
Don't worry soup recipe next.

Folks, if you got to this blog post through a link from my facebook page or one of the groups I post in, consider subscribing directly to this blog (box below my name).  With the data leaking now clearly a problem with Facebook, I will be re-considering - over the next month or two - whether to continue to be active on FB.



Asparagus, Potato & Cheese Soup

I love this recipe!  It uses potato for both flavor and thickening.  Recipe makes 2 servings.

2 tablespoons of avocado oil
1 bunch of asparagus
1 potato
4 ounces white cheddar cheese
handful of I'iotoi Onion tops
2 cups of water
salt and cracked black pepper
limequat
Garnish:  Stock, Johnny Jump-Ups and Rosemary flowers for garnish


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 with aluminum foil.

Cut asparagus into 1 inch pieces (any tasty vegetable will work too)
Clean and cut potato into about 1 inch chunks - I leave peels on
Snipped onion tops
Shred or cube cheese and set aside
Optional:  Cut up sugar pea for garnish into 1/2 inch pieces, set aside
Edible flowers for garnish

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.

While the broccoli 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.  Enjoy!




You can find links to purchase my calendars and books on the sidebar here.
.
Have a great day in the garden and kitchen!


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Sunday, March 18, 2018

This and That in Garden and Kitchen.

Dear Folks,

There is so much going on in the garden right now I thought I would give you pictures to inspire you and give you some ideas.

One of my big pots is filled with, L2R, Cilantro, Dill and Chervil. I need to harvest and dry most of these,  The cilantro is starting a flower stalk, so I need to act quickly :-)

The fragrance of the orange blossoms is filling the air all around the garden.  We can pretty much enjoy them anywhere.



On the opposite aroma spectrum is my garlic beds.  The Elephant Garlic is on the left and the regular garlic is on the right.  Hoping our cold weather of a couple of weeks ago is enough to force them in head growth later in April.


Back to fragrance, my wonderful Arizona Wild Rose has a delightful scent and pale pink blossoms.

Speaking of flowers, my Common Sorrel has flower stalks on it!!  First time.  I plan on capturing seed later on for sowing.  Regional adaptation is a "thing" and very important to growing healthier, stronger plants in your garden.  Sow, grow, save seeds.  Each successive generation is stronger and more regionally adapated.


Baby peaches on our tree.  Deane had to prune back severely this year to combat the die-off of some branches and the tree responded with a ton of growth and "some" peaches.  They still need to be thinned so we a few good size.


This little guy - the picture is deceiving -he is about 3 inches or so long - was running along the tie and I was able to get a shot of him beside the dead stalk of the Stevia.

Speaking of Stevia, this wonderful plant is putting out its new growth at the base as usual in the late winter/early spring.  This great "lady" has been going strong in my garden for something like 6-8 years - I have forgotten when I planted her.

One of the more colorful herbs in my garden is Spanish Thyme, aka Cuban Oregano, Indian Borage.  Plectranthus amboinicus variegated, is a relative of the house plant Creeping Charlie.  Edible, fragrant and gorgeous, one of my favorite unique herbs I have been growing for a couple of decades. At my old house the plant was in the ground long enough it flowered - a gorgeous bloom.  I am hoping this one which has been in the ground for about 4 or years will give me blooms soon.

My Black Mulberry Trees have flowers!!! I am hoping I have ones what will give me berries, can't wait!   When you purchase very young plants on line there is no way of knowing if you have fruiting varieties until . . .

My Johnny Jump-Ups are making their annual appearance in the lawn.  Because of the weird weather this year I don't know if we will get the incredible display as in prior years, but we love having this little and edible delicate beauties facing us as we walk around the gardens.

Kitchen "Doings"

I "corn" (brine) beef with spices and herbs of my choosing for St. Patrick's Day, which avoids nitrates.  I have been doing this for about 6 years now and we love the flavor.  I have to explain to friends who have not eaten it before - it is NOT red like commercial products because there are no nitrates and they LOVE the flavor.  For my recipe click here.  Pictured herbs and spices rubbed all over, ready for the sugar/salt brine to marinate for 2 weeks. Then into the crock pot on carrots, potatoes and onions and cook for 5-8 hours depending on the cut of meat you choose.  That is the other nice thing about doing your own "corning" - you get to choose the cut of beef you want.


Finally I made banana pudding with a going to be too ripe soon banana using a recipe I put together last year to use up OUR bananas from the Blue Java / Ice Cream plant we grow.  Not from our garden but so delicious and wholesome for dessert (which Deane enjoyed and I could not as I gave up desserts for Lent :-) But you know, I needed to know the banana would not go to waste and I did not want to making bread.

My Homemade Banana Pudding

2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar (I use organic and you can use less if you like)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup coarsely chopped banana

Shake cornstarch and 1/2 cup of the milk in a capped jar to mix well (no lumps to deal with).

Mash bananas slightly with about 1/4 cup of the milk. Leave some pieces in for texture.

Bring rest of milk, sugar, and salt to high simmer on the stove, stirring constantly.  Slowly add milk/cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly.  Add milk banana mixture and increase temperature, stirring regularly until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter, stir to mix in well and pour into pan or individual cups.  Cool and chill in refrigerator.


Don't forget the discount and free mail shipping offer My Publisher is giving - it expires tomorrow night March 19th.  A good opportunity to purchase my calendar, edible landscaping book or either of my cookbooks.  Click here for the information. 

 Have a wonderful day in the garden and kitchen.


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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