Dinner Break -- Pickle Put Up

Our CSA friends, the Fowlers, have a glut of radishes and since we are doing a Jayber Crow kind of arrangement, they give us veggies and I have returned the favor with:

1. Some seedlings that died.
2. Some seedlings that I hope are surviving.
3. Pickled radishes of three kinds. (Asian-inspired, Mexican-inspired, and peppery)

There are so many radishes that the Fowlers passed a long a recipe from the Vasquez' who braised there. Whodathunk that braised radishes could be so yummy? Since Hannah V's recipe called for chicken broth, and we don't eat meat, I tried some alternate recipes. Here's my recipe and below that is Hannah's. It was lovely to enjoy the delicious dish with a drink I love. That has it's own little vignette, so read below for a favorite way to sip vino.

Vegetarian Braised Radishes
1 T Olive oil, preferably as extra-virgin and unfiltered as possible.
1 T real butter, not that agnostic "I can't believe..." stuff
2 C radishes, sliced or julienned
3 shallots, sliced thinly
1/2 t caraway seed, preferably ground.
1/4 Veggie bouillon
2T dry red wine
1T agave or honey
1 C water
Smoked salt or sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Saute shallots and radishes in olive oil and butter, until softened.Toss in caraway seed, wine, honey, then add water and bouillon. Cook for about 10 minutes and put on salt and pepper to taste. I happen to have Cherrywood smoked sea salt and smoked black peppercorns.

Hannah's recipes is
2T Butter
2 bunches of radishes, sliced
1-2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 1/2 C chicken broth
2T Sugar
salt and pepper to taste.

Combine all and bring to boil under cover. Uncover and reduce heat to medium for 10 minutes.

A few years ago, I started making a red wine cocktail and couldn't find a name or recipe for it. Then, watching 30 Rock a few seasons ago, Jack D walks in on an insecure colleague and asks him what he is drinking? He couldn't remember the name either but thought it was called "An Old-Fashioned." I've googled this and can't find it. Maybe it's like a pink rabbit.

2 ounces dry red wine
4 ounces diet tonic water
1 T kalamata olive brine with 2-3 olives.

Mix and drink.

Sometimes I grind smoked pepper or splash with Bitters. So, yeah. Now I'm part of the joke Tina Fey.

Together I had a lovely meal. There is nothing better than the variety a real garden brings. Now I have to clean the kitchen. Some of those asian radishes should wrapped in the fusion sushi we'll roll Sunday. I love to roll watermelon, cantelope, Thai Basil, Cilantro, mushrooms, mangos, cukes, asparagus, and I hope to incorporate smoky fried tofu with some of those, along with my famous spicy sweet potato-mayo.

Putting Money in your Pocket

Read this. I want her other book, The Essential Urban Farmer

Coffee Hour at church today was full of gardening chatter, even though we are supposed to get 6-10 inches of snow tonight. My early squash, melon, and heirloom tomatoes are up. Tomatillos, Nicotania, leeks, and other early starts will begin by the end of this week, once my indoor "greenhouse" is fixed up from last year's wind battering.

I'm not starting all of my own plants this year, because I'm in graduate school. I will buy my broccoli, cabbage, many more tomatoes and others. But I still love seed starting, even thought I'm a hack at it.  A few electric hand warming mits, some home recipe seed starting dirt- mushroom compost, peat, and organic mix, and press and seal to cover my well-worn planters. I've killed the lids. Press and seal works just fine for keeping in the humidity until it's time to open up the starts and let the light on them. (Don't let light be a worry until the seedling are up with two leaves.

We talked rain and potato barrels, recent research on attracting wild bees, back-yard beekeeping, and this excellent TED Talk, wherein Ron Finley says that "growing your own vegetables is like printing your own money."  It's true. He is doing what Novella Carpenter wrote about in Farm City: The Education of an Urban Gardener. 

I promised, as we signed off, to call and craigslist more food grade barrels, for water and potatoes. I will link "how-to's" here. 

My husband's spring to do's include stapling chicken wire to a huge window frame, to create a pea trellis. I will plant summer lettuce under it, to prevent bolt.

Then, to make these trellises between our beds, to link two more rain barrels up, to have Liam paint them black, and to make two potato barrels. I love sweet potatoes but we didn't rake in enough last year, and the water was inefficient..

Nothing like a long "Honey-Do" List, with a problem with a late Pascha (Cinco de Pascha!) 2013, right?

Here are some hints, if you are like me-- Read old issues of Urban Farming Magazine and share. Dianne shares with me. She's a saint. 

Look up verticle gardening. I'm not as worried right now about aesthetic. I should be, but I'm even more a hack at outdoor "style." I'm working on this idea for the year though-- I want it between my raised boxes.