Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Standing tall.

Videos of the Week

As we enter into planting season, I thought you'd all appreciate this series of "how-to" videos from the National Gardening Association.

How-To Videos

Salad Bar

We all know that we're supposed to be eating more plants:  preferably fresh (or fresh frozen) fruits and vegetables and whole grains.  Looking at the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, we see that we should be focusing on a whole foods, plant-based diet and limiting fats (even healthy ones) and animal proteins.  However, sometimes it seems easier said than done.  Our food culture is built around meat and cheese.  Nowhere is this more evident than the American restaurant (even many of the ethnic ones).  When was the last time you saw a menu where most, if not all, of the meals were heavy on the meat and cheese and light on the plants (if there are any at all - french fries don't count).  Then, think about how the plants were prepared.  Were they fried?  Mixed with butter, cream, and/or sugar?  My husband calls sweet potatoes dessert since they are usually covered with butter and brown sugar.  We find it difficult to find a restaurant that prepares meals consistent with the way we eat at home.  So, we usually stay home.  It's healthier and easier on the budget.  Also, with a little bit of prep work, dinner can be quick and easy.

One way our household has increased its intake of plants is to start our meals with salad.  With the end of summer, it's harvest time for zucchini, summer squash (okay these have been with us for a while), cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers.  The cooler temps bring the return of lettuces and spinach.  When I go shopping, I stock up on many wonderful salad foods.  At home, I prep the vegetables for salad use.  I put each vegetable in a storage container and place them in the refrigerator (except the tomatoes).  I even cleaned out and organized my fridge so that the salad ingredients have their own shelf - no searching the fridge or food getting lost.

Now, before we dig into the main course, we set out the containers and create our own salad bar.  This way we start our meal with a serving or two (or 3!) of fresh plants.

I have also prepped some vegetable slices for those inevitable snack attacks or for anyone who has not learned to appreciate a good salad.  A mentor of mine once shared that after school she would put out a vegetable tray for her kids to snack on.  They could snack all they wanted.  It didn't matter if they "spoiled their dinners" because they were eating healthy.

If any of your vegetables are around for a couple of days, before they get too old, transfer them (if necessary) to a freezer-safe container and put them in the freezer.  With winter coming, you'll appreciate having prepped vegetables ready for soup, which can replace the fresh salad as your meal-starter.

I hope this helps you on the path to a more whole foods, plant-based diet.  Enjoy!


Shopping Tip:  Be sure to check out your local farmer's market to see what's available fresh in your area.  Usually fresh produce at the farmer's market is picked that morning (instead of days or more ago, artificially ripened, then shipped).  You can't get any fresher unless you pick it out of your own backyard (another great idea).  Also, it's good to get to know and support your local farmers.  You will know who grew your food, how it was grown (feel free to ask), and you'll be supporting your local economy.

In The News

Gardener feeds family with $100 a month

I love seeing stories like this.  I don't know if my garden will ever be as big as hers is, but I want to feed us as much as possible from the land that we have.  We just moved, but we managed to get a 4'x4' garden started with 3 basil plants, 2 Better Boy tomato plants and 10 Roma tomato plants.  I spent about $15 on the plants and the aged horse manure (which they absolutely love) was free.  I'm hoping to add several more 4'x4' squares next year, as well as raspberries and (maybe) blueberries.  Yum!

In The News

3 Pillars of a Food Revolution

New Gardening Links

I have added the following gardening links to my side menu under "Nature". I hope they help you in your gardening endeavors.

National Gardening Association

kidsgardening.org

Roses

  Stainless Steel bud
  Olympiad blossom
I love flowers:  tulips, grape hyacinths, carnations, starburst lilies, roses...  They add such color and beauty to the world.  Each one also reminds me of various times in my life as they were notebly present during those times.  Tulips and grape hyacinths welcomed us to our new home when we moved during my elementary school years.  Carnations, the state flower of Ohio, always seemed present during my childhood and were wonderful for placing (white ones) in colored water for showing how xylem worked.  Stargazer lilies were carried by my bridesmaids.
Roses have also been constant.  Each color has a different meaning.  For Valentine's Day at my school, student organizations would sell roses for fundraisers.  Individuals would buy a rose to be sent to someone special and that person's significance was indicated by the color of the rose.  As an adult, the colors stir other feelings.  Yellow reminds me of our grandmothers because yellow was their favorite rose color.  Bright red reminds me of love, but also of home.  I am a Buckeye, and BCS or not, nothing is like a good ol' fashioned Rose Bowl at the end of the season.  Over the course of a few years, I was gifted with a rose garden.  It started as four rose bushes (two Oklahomas and two Olympiads).  Next we added three Stainless Steels.  Finally, the border was added.  I now have a beautiful scarlet and grey rose garden!  It's a touch of home built with a lot of love.
Many people tell me that they don't have roses because they have heard about how much work they entail.  Please, don't let this stop you!  They are really not that labor intensive and the reward is well worth the effort!  I spray my rose garden weekly and fertilize it monthly.  If it hasn't rained within the past week, I water it.  I honestly think the most labor comes from the harvesting, and that is labor well rewarded.  The other day I counted 50+ buds on my seven rose bushes.  50!  When harvested correctly (and it's not that difficult), each bush will produce dozens of roses each year.  We decorate the house, take them to work, give them to friends and new neighbors, etc.
There is also a certain zen in caring for a garden, be it rose, vegetable, or other.  It's a time of hands-on caring when you can reflect on life or just focus on being a caregiver to a silent, yet responsive, recipient.  It's almost like going for a long, contemplative walk in the woods.  It's very theraputic and well worth the effort.

Spring Garden

“For a while every season, I do try to keep the whole thing under some semblance of control, pulling the weeds, clipping back the squash so that the chard might breathe, untangling the bean vines before they choke their frailer neighbors. But by the end of August I usually give it up, let the garden go its own way while I simply try to keep up with the abundance of the late-summer harvest. By this point what’s going on in the garden is no longer my doing, even if it was I who got the whole thing rolling back in May. As much as I love the firm grasp and cerebral order of spring, there’s a ripe, almost sensual pleasure in its August abandonment, too.”
Excerpt from The Botany of Desire, by Michael Pollan
I love this passage for many reasons, but mainly because it amazingly describes my garden. It’s nice to know that my garden isn’t alone in its spring order and autumn chaos. We finally had the opportunity to work on our garden this spring. My wonderful husband tilled, while I worked ahead to pull some of the bigger weeds and then behind to even out the soil. I love working with the freshly tilled soil. Our land is mostly (if not all) clay, so every time we decide to add a section of garden, plant or tree, we basically have to mix our own soil: sand, top soil, peat, compost, etc. I also appreciate my husband’s willingness and sense of urgency in getting it done in time to have a productive garden. Of course, he also loves to quote the book of Genesis ("cursed is the ground for thy sake") while he recovers from the hard work involved.

Since the garden was ready and the weather cooperative, I made a trek to a local farmer’s market to purchase seedlings and I spent the afternoon planting. I look forward to tending to our garden, watching it grow, and (at least partially) living off the summer and fall harvests: cherry tomato snack bowls (we have 3 varieties), fresh salsa, green beans, cucumbers, peppers (4 varieties)… I’m also anticipating the annual challenge of finding something new to do with the ever abundant zucchini and squash. I look forward to sharing any recipes I find with those of you who are facing the same challenge.

For now I’ll admire the order and simplicity of our garden while I can for this, like all things, will soon pass.