How does your garden grow? Square Foot Gardening, Take 2...

This is the second year we're trying out the Square Foot Gardening method. Last year the veggies grew like gangbusters. We had so much fun with it.

Until the plague hit.

See that cute little green guy up there? I always thought they were good bugs. Turns out they're just buggers. They annihilated my garden last year. And I let them. Because I had no idea what they were capable of.

This year I'm armed. With knowledge. And a shoe. If those grasshoppers come back, I'm gonna whack 'em. You've been warned, grasshoppa.

I learned some other things from last year's garden. And I've made changes accordingly. I'm not following the Square Foot Gardening method as strictly this year because it got overcrowded. So here's what I learned...

• plant less plants
• plant only 1 tomato plant to each square
• plant all of the tomato plants next to each other at one end of the garden. They spread too much if you intersperse them and interfere with the neighboring veggie's sunlight and happiness.
• plant the other tall growing vines like green beans and cukes next to the tomatoes at one end of the garden also. Same reasoning as above.
• zucchini is an ENORMOUS plant. Make sure you plant it at the end of the garden where it will have room to wander.
• you need major supports for tomato plants. Those little cages they sell at the garden store are NOT big enough. BSD made super wide, super tall chicken wire cages this year. We'll see how those work.
• bean stalks will grow into the clouds just like they did for Jack. Be prepared. I'm not prepared yet.
• strawberry plants will stay in the garden all winter here and grow new strawberries in the spring. Great for the gardening ego.
• I cannot seem to grow lettuce. Spinach and Swiss chard, yes. But lettuce ain't happening. I need lettuce. What's up?!?

So...we planted this year's garden over Spring Break. The tomatoes and cilantro were little starter plants from the nursery. The rest we planted seeds. Here's how it looked a week later...

 I don't know why there's a border around this picture.

Those large plants in the foreground are the strawberries leftover from last summer. They are thriving and spreading. If the veggies don't pan out, in a few years, we'll just have a U-Pick strawberry farm.

I love the way this picture looks kind of Mayberry RFD-ish.

I'll keep you posted on how the garden grows this year. If anyone has any experience with grasshoppers, I'd love to hear how you got rid of them. Or any advice on why I can't grow lettuce?

From the Garden to the Table: Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

One of my favorite, EASY, summertime recipes calls for one pint of cherry tomatoes. I've been waiting for a big enough batch of them to ripen in the garden. And tonight we finally had enough. 

 The tomatoes in this bowl are a combination of regular red cherry tomatoes and my favorite Sungold yellow "cherry" tomatoes. The Sungolds turn a yellow-orange color when ripe, and they are unbelievably sweet.

Not only is this easy and yummy, but it's also vegetarian. AND....it's a recipe that the Big Ballerina will eat as is. No bowl of pasta with butter and cheese for her. That means she's eating spinach! Whoohooo! LB still wants hers plain, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

Are you ready? By the time you finish reading this post you could have already made it. It's that quick and simple. Here goes...

Fusilli with Spinach and Asiago Cheese

adapted from a Giada de Laurentis recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound fusilli pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 (9-ounce) bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped
• 16 ounces (1 pint) cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup (about 3 1/2-ounces) grated Asiago
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Meanwhile, warm olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Press the garlic cloves into the pan and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. 

3. Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to soften and release their juices, about 2 minutes if they're nice and ripe.

4. Add the spinach and cook until it just begins to wilt, about 1 minute.

It should look like this...

5. Add the cooked pasta and toss. Add the cheeses, pepper, and if necessary, some of the pasta cooking liquid. (Since I use very ripe tomatoes and cook them until their juices release, I usually don't need any extra water.) Stir to combine.

 6. Transfer to bowls. If you're cheese lovers like we are, grate a bit of extra Pecorino Romano on top. Serve.

See? I told you it was EASY. Now go make it!

Pennette with Swiss Chard Ragu

Tonight was the big night. It was the first night I actually harvested something more than an herb from the garden. I've been waiting to try this recipe from Mario Batali's new cookbook Molto Gusto that calls for one pound of Swiss chard.

I wasn't sure how much Swiss chard made up one pound, but the square of chard was exploding so I figured I must be close.

In case you're wondering also, it takes about 20 large Swiss chard leaves to make one pound. More like 25 if some leaves are just medium sized.  (The picture below is only about 1/2 lb.)

The recipe was super easy to make. Didn't require anything unusual except for maybe the pennette (baby penne), but you can use regular penne if you can't find it. (I could only find pennette at Trader Joe's.) And despite my initial worries as I was halfway through cooking it, it had great flavor.

Great flavor + cancer-busting Swiss chard = a winner in my book! 

The only thing I would do differently is reduce the amount of butter. It called for 4 TBL of butter. That's half a stick! It was definitely rich and creamy, but I think it would have been just as good with only half that amount.

Pennette with Swiss Chard Ragu

(adapted from a Mario Batali recipe)

Serves six

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small white onion, halved, peeled, and sliced 1/4-inch thick

3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

1 pound Swiss chard, rinsed, drained, and trimmed and sliced 1/4-inch thick

Sea Salt

4 tablespoons butter, cut into four pieces (I am going to reduce this to 2 TBL next time.)

Coarsely ground black pepper

1 pound pennette (small penne) pasta or other small pasta

¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for serving

Combine 1/4 cup oil, onion, garlic and chard in a large pot, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion and chard begin to soften, about five minutes. 

 

Season well with sea salt. 

Add 1/4 cup water, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chard is tender, about 20 minutes. Add the butter, stirring until melted, then season with pepper and remove from the heat. 

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Drop in the pasta, and cook until just al dente (done, but still firm). Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta and 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water to the chard, and stir and toss over medium heat until the pasta is well coated. If necessary, add a splash or two more of the reserved cooking water to loosen the sauce. Stir in the cheese.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve with additional grated cheese on the side.

 Buon Appetito!

Off to watch the American Idol finale now. Can't wait!

Bye Bye Birdie

If you remember, I mentioned that our past gardens had been plagued by birds and squirrels. So far, I haven't seen evidence that we're having the same problem this year, but I am trying to be proactive just in case. 

My friend told me that her grandmother tied aluminum pie plates to the tops of her stakes to scare away the birds. I googled this idea, and found that it can be effective. I also read that other gardeners have been stringing up old CD's in an effort to keep birds away. It seems the birds don't like the noise, the movement, nor the shine given off by the pie plates or the CD's.

Thinking about these three factors, and because a large part of the enjoyment of gardening for me is simply spending time admiring how pretty the garden is, I came up with an idea that meets ALL of these criteria. 

Noise? Yes, a beautiful tinkling sound.

Movement? Yep.

Shine? Uh huh.

Pretty? Yeah, baby!

Living in a town full of junk souvenir shops can have its perks. It's super easy to get your hands on these capiz shell wind chimes on the cheap. So far it seems to be working. I haven't seen any birds hanging out in the garden. We'll see what happens when the itty bitty green tomatoes start ripening. *fingers crossed*

Smoked Sausage and Corn Frittata

* I have no idea WHY this post is showing up in all caps. It doesn't show up that way as I type or preview it. Aaaarrrggghh!

The other night we did not feel much like cooking. Instead of copping out completely, we turned to the Cooking Light 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook. For a few days, I've been telling BSD we need to make something with cilantro because it's growing like wildfire in the garden. 

We lucked out and found a recipe that called for 3 tablespoons of cilantro. Not enough to  make a dent in the plant, but enough to trim down the tops that could easily go to seed if we're not careful.

My expectations were low. I just wanted something we could throw together quickly and not gag on. Surprisingly, it was really tasty! It would make a great brunch dish served with fresh fruit and toast, but it also works as a light dinner in a pinch. 

Our only obstacle was finding a non-stick skillet. It seems our only non-stick cookware is a wok. BSD was about to use the wok when I grabbed the cast-iron skillet and shoved it at him. He was not happy, and I knew my butt was on the line if the eggs stuck like glue to the pan. I held my breath as the frittata cooked and let out a big sigh of relief when it slid right out of its cast-iron cocoon onto our waiting plate. Phew!

The best part was the thrill of using an ingredient that we had grown in our own garden. It was our first "harvest" of the season. Yes, I know it's only an herb, but, hey, it's a start.

Smoked Sausage and Corn Frittata

Ingredients

• cooking spray (we just used a little butter)
• 4  ounces smoked turkey sausage, quartered lengthwise and diced
• 1 1/2  cups frozen shoepeg white corn, thawed
• 1/4  teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)
• 1  large egg
• 4  large egg whites
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 3  tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Preparation

1. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage; sauté 4 minutes or until browned. Stir in corn and, if desired, red pepper; reduce heat to medium-low.
2. Combine egg and egg whites in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Drizzle evenly over sausage mixture. Cover and cook 8 minutes or until almost set. Remove pan from heat; sprinkle evenly with cheese and 1 1/2 tablespoons cilantro. Cover and let stand 2 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons cilantro. Cut into 4 wedges.

Square Foot Gardening: Is it the Answer to our Vegetable Garden Prayers?

We plant a vegetable garden every year. The first year we were off to a great start. We had a nice sunny location. The cucumber plants in the center of the garden grew so tall that we built a second level of trellising and watched those babies head for the stars. We thought we were going to climb those vines like Jack did. A week later a big wind storm blew through.  The cucumbers came crashing down committing suicide and killing everything underneath it.

The next year we had to relocate the garden. We built it up against the fence in the backyard. It seemed like a good spot. There was a sturdy fence for the vining plants to climb. The danger of another Cucumber Massacre was eliminated. So was the majority of the sun. The plants grew. They would flower. But the flowers would die off before any vegetables would emerge.

For two more years, we planted a garden in that spot. For two more years, we barely got past the flowering stage. When a tomato would finally make it we'd check it daily until it grew plump. "One more day!" we'd squeal.  We'd go to sleep dreaming of the Caprese salad we'd make with the juicy, red tomato and fresh basil picked from our very own garden. But we weren't the only ones watching that prize.

The next morning, as we walked the path from the deck to the garden, we'd find it. Our precious tomato lying on the ground a foot away. A carcass sucked dry. The squirrels (or birds) had beat us to it. Over and over we'd play out this same scene with tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and cucumbers.

This year we stared out at our overgrown, dilapidated garden box. Ready to hang up our gardening gloves. It seemed pointless. Unless we wanted to become rosemary farmers. Rosemary had become our only friend in the vegetable garden.

But I just couldn't do it. I couldn't quit. I love watching the garden grow. I love making my salad with my own homegrown cucumbers. There had to be a better way.

And there is! 

I read a comment on my friend, Fawn's blog, about Square Foot Gardening. I checked the book out of the library and decided to give it a try. We found a new sunny location, built a new box, hunted down the ingredients to make "Mel's Mix" special soil, and planted our first seeds and plants on April 11th. And the results have been amazing compared to past years.

The zucchini plant was only 2 tiny leaves when I added it to the garden one month ago. Here it is today. It's already a monster!

The green beans planted from seeds are already finding their way up the poles.

The super cancer-busting Swiss Chard also planted from seeds look practically ready to eat.

We've already picked three strawberries!

And everything else seems to be thriving with the exception of the lettuce. Not sure what I did wrong there.

Some of the squares appear empty because they were only just planted with seeds this week. I decided to add in some flowers for cutting. We'll see how they fare. 

We seem to have solved two out of our three problems. We haven't done anything to keep the squirrels and the birds away, but we've taken away the fence the squirrels used for easy access. If need be, I'll read up on Mel's section about enclosures.  This is going to be the year we break our losing streak.

I can't wait for the vines to grow up and shake hands with their new friend!

How about you? Is anybody else growing vegetables this year? Any tips you'd like to pass along would be greatly appreciated!