Onions in the Garden

Tom's vegetable garden is doing well. We are really hoping to get some good-sized onions this year. So far, the plants look great:

We're crossing our fingers for tennis ball-sized onions this summer. (If all else fails, I suppose we can pop by the Farmer's Market.) There is nothing better than home-grown vegetables, don't you think?

Vegetable Garden

Victoria recently sent in photos of her first vegetable garden. She built raised beds and filled it with rich soil. Many plants were started indoors from seed.

Photo courtesy of Victoria.

I can't wait to see how the garden progresses! If you would like me to feature your lawn and garden projects, send the details to tarapatty at ryanlawn dot com.

Veggie Tales

My husband started his vegetable garden indoors this year. It has been fun to watch tiny seeds planted a few weeks ago sprout and grow.

I can't wait to enjoy the fruits of his labor this summer. Fresh vegetables are something I can easily get behind.

Leeks, Yes Please

Photo from Flickr

I admit, sometimes I read through recipes and I am not familiar with some of the ingredients. I had heard of leeks before, of course, but had no idea how they tasted. What to do but pick some up at the supermarket and give them a try?

I picked up a few and brought them home. Luckily the recipe I was using gave a good description of how to prepare them. Cut the leafy top off, cut the remaining stock in half lengthwise, and then slice in 1/2 inch pieces. Easy enough. They smell similar to an onion, and when sliced they kind of fall apart. (The "stalk" is really tightly wound leaves, when sliced, these leaves separate.)

Leeks are big in Britain, and are a fairly hardy vegetable to grow as they have little to no pest or disease issues. However, they are cool-season crop and will take a lot of water and TLC to grow through one of our hot summers. For more information on growing leeks, click here.

My first attempt was a leek and bacon creamy risotto. It was a lot of work. And probably would have been very enjoyable, had I not substituted pork bacon for the much-less-flavorful turkey bacon.

Last night, I made a gnocchi casserole. I sauteed three leeks prepared as above, boiled the gnocchi and made a cheese sauce with milk, flour, a little butter and fontina and asiago cheese. The final step is to mix all the ingredients in a casserole dish and broil for 3-4 minutes. Then top with prosciutto. This was much better.

I will be cooking with leeks much more in the future. What new ingredients are you using in your kitchen?

Pumpkin Patch

Halloween is coming up in a few weeks - the weather sure feels about right. Over the weekend I ventured over to a pumpkin patch to pick out my pumpkins for the big day.




One of my pumpkins was warty, like the one pictured above. The variety is called "Knucklehead" according the helpful patch personnel. I think it has character. You do have to be careful not knock the warts off, however.

In honor of pumpkins, I decided to make some pumpkin dip this weekend. I mixed about a cup of canned pumpkin with a block of cream cheese and a half a cup of brown sugar. Then, I added 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, some cinnamon, nutmeg and a little vanilla. My friend Lauren recommended it to use as a dip for apples. I thought it was quite tasty with graham crackers as well. FALL IS HERE!

Flower Market and Organic Farmer's Market in Leawood

Photo courtesy of Ian Britton.

A new mixed use development in Leawood, features a Flower Market on Thursdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. In addition to the flower market, the event includes story time and gardening classes for little ones.

Because the flower market is outdoors, September 24 will be the last date in 2009. If you make it out in the next two weeks, let me know. I am anxious to visit, but I'm not sure if I will make it this year with my work schedule.

If you enjoy farmer's markets, you should check out Park Place on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. They have a KC Organics Farmer's market featuring organic vegetables, baked goods, bread, honey, fair trade coffee, etc. This event just started August 5 and will run through October 14. I will sneak down there for a preview and let you know what I find.

Visit www.kcorganics.com for more information about the organization.

P.S. Be sure to visit the Paciugo Gelato when you are finished browsing. I was there last weekend and it was delicious!

Summer Squash

Today we picked the last yellow squash out of our garden. To celebrate, I made a squash quiche using a recipe from Southern Living. It was delicious!

If we decide to make this dish again next summer, I am thinking about sealing the crust with cream cheese instead of mustard. Tom thinks adding sausage would be good as well.

If you have yellow squash or zucchini, give this dish a try!

Italian Squash Pie:

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 pounds yellow squash (about 4 cups), thinly sliced*
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
• Garnishes: fresh oregano sprigs, sliced yellow squash

Preparation

Unroll crescent rolls; press dough on bottom and up sides of a 10-inch tart pan, pressing to seal perforations.

Bake at 375° for 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Gently press crust down with a wooden spoon. Spread crust with mustard, and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add squash, onion, and garlic; sauté 7 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and next 5 ingredients.

Whisk together eggs and milk in a large bowl; stir in cheese and vegetable mixture. Pour over crust.

Bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Garnish, if desired.

*1 1/2 pounds zucchini may be substituted for yellow squash.

Southern Living, AUGUST 2002

Another Harvest

A red pepper in the vegetable garden.

We recently picked all of the onions out of the garden. None of them are very big. I think it is because we are picking them too early. Do any of you have any thoughts???

We also had a few red peppers ready and a yellow one that is thisclose to being ready. We've had a lot of fun with the garden this year.

I have also been experimenting with different recipes to use up all the yellow squash that my husband loves. One of the best was called "Yellow Squash Ribbons with Red Onion." I used a vegetable peeler to make the squash "ribbons" stopping when I got to the seeds/core. Then, I sliced red onion very thin. Next, I sauteed the onions and squash in olive oil with a little bit of garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Once the squash and onions were tender, I topped with grated Parmesan cheese. Delicious! (And I don't particularly care for squash.)

Bountiful Feast

The vegetable garden is doing great this year. We have tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, squash and cucumbers that we have thoroughly enjoyed. It is fun for Tom to finally yield some food for his efforts.

Planting Sweet Corn

Photo from Flickr

Nothing reminds me of summer more than corn on the cob. Maybe this is because sweet corn is a special treat this time of year. Nothing beats home grown corn (except maybe home grown tomatoes...)

If you enjoy sweet corn, I encourage you to try and grow your own (if you have the space). If you stagger sweet corn planting, you can enjoy this tasty treat for a longer time period. Planting sweet corn all at once means you can harvest for a few days before you are out of corn. Instead, plant one row of corn, wait until that row is an inch high, then plant your next row.

Sweet corn grows best in short rows, as opposed to one long row.

If you work fast, you may be able to get a row in the ground for harvest this year.

Learn more about growing sweet corn here.

What are your favorite summer foods?

Vegetable Garden?

It is okay to plant onions in the Midwest at this time.

Plant them close together if you want more green onions as pictured above.

I talked to my parents on Sunday to find out that after several years of non-gardening, they are once again planting a vegetable garden. (It sounded like they already had planted a few veggies--Mom, you must have missed my post about the possibility of a late cold snap!)

Today, I came home and my husband had tilled up his garden plot as well. He is still trying to figure out what to plant this year--we have a squirrel/rabbit problem that has affected our yield the last three years.

I am actually looking forward to the whole growing food thing this year. I *may* even help with the planting and watering. (I definitely draw the line at weeding!)

If you live in the Midwest, and want to get your own vegetable garden started, now is the time to plant onions. Plant them close together if you want to harvest the stalks (green onions) and further apart if you want to eat the bulb. It is also okay to plant cabbage and broccoli, if you are so inclined.

Happy planting (and eating)!