Homemade popsicles!

When I was a kid, my mom used to make homemade popsicles and I thought it was the most amazing and yummy thing! I thought she was a magician (and still do).

I was at the dollar store and they had popsicle molds for sale. So after school today the girls and I made popsicles! I just used the same mix my mom used to make, but you could make these with a hundred different thing – please share your recipe here!

Mom’s Popsicle Recipe

Approx 1/2 cup yogurt (any flavor)
Approx 1/2 cup orange juice (or any other flavor)

Mix and pour into mold. Freeze for 3-4 hours. ENJOY!

Empty molds

 

Mix up yogurt and juice

 

Ready for the freezer!

Carrot Harvest

Last April I planted carrots from seed and overwintered them. I just dug out the remaining harvest to make way for a new planting and was amazed how big they had grown.

Comparison shot next to a pen

And I harvested 3.5lbs! My plan is to make carrot cake and carrot soup this month. MMMMMMMMMM.

3.5lbs of carrots!

Any good carrot recipes that you want to share?

Overwintered Kale

Last year was the first time I grew kale in my garden. We don’t eat a ton of it, but my girls and I enjoy baked kale chips every now and then. My oldest even likes to pick it directly from the plant and eat it raw.

I let the four kale plants overwinter. I had read that kale sweetens up after a frost. Well, here it is mid-April and the plants are as tall as me! And they have starting bolting or flowering. typically, when plants bolt they get bitter, but not kale. So I picked all the bolting stalks (along with the flowers) and I am going to try a kale stir fry for lunch tomorrow! I have enough to feed an army!!

Flowering kale stalks

Here is the recipe that I found from www.wellhousegarden.com.

Stir Fried Kale Flowers

INGREDIENTS

• 2 T. canola oil
• 1 T. peanut oil
• 2-10 cloves garlic, depending on how much you like garlic. I used 10.
• 4-6 C. Kale blossoms, leaves and tender stalks. Cut stalks into 2 inch pieces, leave blossom stalks 4-6 inches long.
• 1 C. leeks, chopped into 2 inch pieces
• glug of soy sauce, what, about 1-2 tablespoons
• 1-3 t. ground ginger (or more, depending..)
• pinch or so of red pepper flakes
• cornstarch slurry to thicken sauce (about 1 Tbsp. cornstarch in 2 Tbsp. cold water

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oils in hot pan.
2. Add garlic, stir around for about 2 minutes.
3. Add ginger, red pepper flakes and soy sauce. Stir and then add the kale.
4. Stir the kale until bright green and wilted
5. Add water and leeks.
6. Cover pan and let steam for 3-5 minutes, until green leek parts are tender.
7. Pour in cornstarch slurry to thicken.
8. Serve with rice.

Courtesy of www.wellhousegarden.com

If anyone local wants some stalks, let me know, they are yours! I have too many to finish! Enjoy!

A sad day in the life of a veggie gardener…

Photo courtesy of umn.edu

I am sad to report that all the veggie seeds that I planted 3 weeks ago have died. They were victims of damping-off. Damping-off is a fungal disease that can kill seedlings overnight. The fungus rots the stems at the soil surface, causing the seedlings to fall over and die.

The even more frustrating thing is that I did everything I was supposed to do. I bought new seeds, cleaned the pots, used fresh, sterilized seeding mix. I just got off the phone with a WSU Master Gardner and she said that with the tiny amount of sunny days that we got this spring, damping-off is happening to a lot of gardeners this spring.

So, now I have to go back to Sky Nursery, get a new bag of seed starting mix (the company I bought from is providing me a new bag at no charge), bleach out all my pot and start over. I was worried that my seedlings would get started too late and be too small when it is time to plant them out ion May & June, but she said the days are longer now so they should catch up quickly.

Wish me luck!

Time flies…

Wow, 366 days later (it was a leap year after all), it is official! I have had this blog for a year! Here are some fun facts about this blog:

1. I get an average of 357 views a month
2. I have visitors as far away as Russia, Brazil and the Ukraine (especially cool as I only started this to share gardening info with a few friends)
3. I have just as many posts about food and recipes as I do about gardening

So, now that it has been a year, I am reaching back out to you. What do you want to see more/less of? What can I help you with or research for you?

I am thankful to have you all and enjoy this blog so thank you for making it so much fun!

Garden "birthday" cake. Photo courtesy of cjmjcrlm (Rebecca)

Reinventing Lentil Soup with Ancient Grains

So if any of you have had the Trader Joe’s lentil soup with ancient grains, you may have wanted to recreate it at home. It is warm and wonderful and so very tasty. So I went on the web to research if anyone had figured out the recipe yet. I was able to find one attempt, but I have modified it to my liking. A big thanks to Mary at Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes blog for the recipe inspiration.

Photo courtesy of Lindaraxa

Lentil Soup with Ancient Grains

1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, diced fine
1 large carrot, diced
1 1/2 cups lentils, washed
56 oz veggie stock (can use beef or chicken stock too)
2- 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes (fire roasted if you can find them)
Olive oil (optional)
1/4 cup millet
1/4 cup amaranth
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup quinoa
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried ground marjoram
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons of good balsamic vinegar

Crock Pot Directions: Put all the ingredients, except the balsamic vinegar in the crock-pot on low and let it simmer all day. When the soup is finished add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, stir and serve.

Stove Top Directions: Heat stock pot on medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion, celery, garlic & carrot to pot, cooking until onion is soft but not brown, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients (except balsamic vinegar) to the pot and stir to combine. Turn heat to low and simmer on stove for 1 hour. When the soup is finished add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, stir and serve.

Oat Groat Risotto

I tried this recipe for the 1st time this week and will be making it again as a side dish. You can find oat groats in the “natural” or “healthy” section of most of the larger grocery stores. Bob’s Red Mill makes them too. One thing that I dislike about making traditional risotto is babysitting it for almost an hour. This dish is great because it cooks for 45 minutes or so and you just check in it 2-3 times. Much simpler. Hope you enjoy!

Oat Groat Risotto with Mushrooms
Recipe courtesy of The Clean Eating Cookbook 2

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 ½ cups oat groats
1 tsp fresh thyme
3 cups low-sodium broth (mushroom or veggie broth preferred but chicken or beef works too)
½ cup dry white wine
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground pepper

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes. Remove to a small bowl and set aside.

Return skillet to stove over medium heat and stir in 1 tsp oil. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook until soft but now brown, about 3 minutes. Add oat groats and thyme and stir into veggies, toasting oats for about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and any juices back into skillet. Add wine and allow it to be absorbed by the oats. Add broth, salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Bring to a boil, then cover skillet and reduce heat to simmer until mixture is tender but still chewy, stirring occasionally, 40-45 minutes. When risotto is done, mixture will be “loose.” If broth gets completely absorbed, add more broth to “loosen” it. Serve topped with fresh parmesan, if desired.

I didn't take a photo when it was done. Will have to update next time I make it. Just this photos of oat groats.