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Garden Activities

Pruning fruit trees - but staying inside while the white stuff comes down!

Taking a break over the holidays!

Raking up leaves around the trees - no use letting them go to waste on the grass!

Planting a few extra garlic cloves in pots. They make nice gifts!

What’s Happenin’ in the Kitchen?

Kale, kale, and more kale! Combined with garlic, of course! With chicken, cauliflower, over pasta, in stir-fries…you name it. Kale rules!

Homemade bone-broth soup with ham, beans, carrots, onions, kale - a chilly day - perfect for hot soup!

More dried apples & gingerbread w/molasses & fresh chopped ginger - yum!

Pumpkin custard with whipped raw cream…yum! Thank you Dungeness Valley Creamery!

Homegrown potato-leek soup w/shallots :P I Love soup weather!

MORE dog biscuits! "Woof!"

Drying apples

What I’m Reading

Creating a Forest Garden - $49.95
Retail Price: $59.95
(You Save: $10.00)
from: Chelsea Green Publishing
An amazing book! Click the link above to buy from Chelsea Green - or go to the Bookstore for a quick link to Amazon.

Chelsea Green Publishing

Chelsea Green Publishing - the leading publisher of sustainable living books since 1985.

Weather – What’s Going On Out There?

Snow is almost gone - the wind and rain have chased it out of here! Hold on to your hats! Surf is UP. Most definitely.

For the Love of Kale (and Garlic and Cauliflower)

What’s to salvage out of a garden hammered by winter storms? Italian Lacinato (or Tuscan) Kale stands strong! Here’s a great recipe for Chicken-Kale-Cauliflower casserole (with a fair amount of garlic, of course!)

Thanksgiving Dog Biscuits

Here’s the basic recipe: turkey, pumpkin, whole eggs, rice flour, nutritional yeast, a little oil and molasses. No wheat, no corn, no artificial anythings. Give your dog something to howl about!

Fall Abundance – and a Great Recipe for Apple Cake

So many reasons why I love this simply gorgeous time of year! But aaaghhh! So much to do! …last-minute scramble to button things up for winter, can and freeze surplus produce, get the garlic in the ground, don’t forget fall cover crops…and what to do with all those apples? Try this Skillet Apple Cake Recipe – it’s fast & easy!

Artichoke Beauty and the Art of Aioli

We have artichokes! Celebrate by making your own aioli – basically garlic, lemon juice, egg yolks, and olive oil blended together in a smooth mass – to transport yourself into some other realm. It is a night and day difference from the stuff you buy in a jar called mayonnaise. Artichokes – extraordinary thistle that they are – are the perfect partner to this excursion into a gastronomic swoon.

Quinoa Crustless Quiche with Spring Greens

NOW is the time to use those spring greens, because later on they get strong and bitter. Personally, I had easy access to lovage, sorrel, parsley, pea shoots, kale, and collards, so those are things I wanted to use. Lovage & sorrel, especially, need to be used in small quantities, but can really add that little “zing” that makes everyone wonder, “Jeez! What IS that!” Here is a recipe that is a take-off from something I found in Vegetarian Times. I’m calling it Quinoa Crustless Quiche with Spring Greens. You won’t believe how quick & easy it is to make. Low calorie. Nutritious fast food, Inca style!

Ultimate Garlic Roaster

Looking for a really good garlic roaster? Look no further. Andi and Rudy Bauer of Bauer Haus Pottery make some amazing pieces. Roasted garlic elevates a simple dinner to a holiday feast. The Bauer Haus garlic roasters will ensure your garlic roasts to perfection.

Tomato Saga and Green Tomato Mincemeat

A story of growing tomatoes, from training them up a trellis to having them take over the garden. If you are wondering what to do with all those green tomatoes left at the end of the season, here is the best mock mincemeat recipe I have found. Ingredients include tomatoes, apples, raisins, citrus, and spices. No meat, lard, or suet. Makes a great mock mincemeat pie just in time for Thanksgiving and upcoming holidays. This post also recommends a couple of good garden cookbooks and a great place to purchase seeds and get gardening information.

Harvest Abundance – and a Great Zucchini Bread Recipe!

True confession: I simply have not had time to follow up on my last post. Furthermore, I am not afraid to admit that I still have zucchini on my countertop. Yes, I continue to sneak them into spaghetti sauces and muffins, but in reality, they have been pushed to the back to make room for [...]

Garlic Scapes Return!

I have been getting a lot of questions about garlic scapes lately – and in checking my blog stats, a lot of people are searching for recipes using scapes. Scapes, those curly flower shoots from the hardneck varieties of garlic, arrive just as we are running out of our green garlic harvest. My favorite way [...]

Garlic Scape Hummus

I promised you all my favorite hummus recipe. But first, I’d like to know how a bunch of smashed chick peas mixed with a little this and that, and a name that sounds like something related to compost, has become such an exotic dish among pseudo yuppies like myself. Indeed. Ok – I have a [...]