Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard

Here are some of the things we've had this week. It's so great to be able to have fresh veggies right from your own backyard.

Monday, we had the beef kabobs marinated with lots of garlic, onions, oregano, wine, balsamic, olive oil and whatever else I felt like putting in... On the side, we made grilled zucchini and peppers (no picture), plus stuffed Jalapeno peppers from the garden:

I love this tool - well, it's actually my husband's tool. You just remove the stems and seeds, stuff them with cheese and grill them. So easy and delicious! Some Jalapenos were too small for the size of the holes, so I stacked 2 pieces together and it works fine.

Last night we had some flounder with veggies from the garden. I was supposed to make rice pilaf, but made sour cream parmesan potatoes instead. I also sauteed zucchini, carrots, and beans.

I'm excited that I have been able to freeze some of these veggies for the winter! I was hoping to make 100 packets of veggies in the freezer, but I think I need to plant a little more to be able to eat everyday and preserve enough for later.


I'm linking this post to The Gardener of Eden - the host of Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard!

Harvest Monday

Things are coming!

Tomatoes - Despite the wilt problems, our tomato plants keep fighting and trying to produce. Not enough to can, but plenty for daily uses.

Peppers - Both hot and sweet peppers are doing very well! I am waiting for the bells to turn red, but no sign. The Anaheims are our favorite. We roast them over wood fire and make green chile sauce every year. Since they don't ripen at the same time, we roast them, peel them and freeze them until we have enough to make a big batch.

Zucchini - Only one plant - still standing tall and healthy. It is producing one every 3-4 days - perfect amount.

Beans - The Haricot verts have started! They are not as prolific as the yellow waxes, but they are delicious!

 

Cucumbers - We had 10 plants of mix variety, and most of them produced some and quickly wilted. I have 3 plants left - half dead, but still trying to produce a little. But this Japanese cuke might be the last one before I finally pull out the plant. My second seedlings are getting bigger fast, so maybe we'll have another crop of cucumbers before the fall.

Hard beans - I planted pinto, black coco, and canellini beans. They are ripening at different times. And because of so much rain we've been having lately, some beans are sprouting in pods!  So I have been removing semi-dry pods here and there. As soon as I removed those old pods, the near dead plants decided to flower again! We'll see if I get a second crop out these.

Water melon - First time growing melons! I think I waited long enough to pick it... it's "Sangria" and weighed about 6lb. Very exciting, but the taste was just OKAY... I have 2 more, but I think I am going to give them some more time.

I'm linking to the host of "Harvest Monday" where gardeners all over the world share their yummy harvests!

First entry

Welcome to my blog! I hope to share my gardening and cooking episodes, but mainly to document my successes and failures so I can make improvements in the future.

My love for cooking (and eating) naturally led me to gardening, so I can grow fresh produce right at my door step. Well, it's easier said than done. For the last several years, my husband and I lived in cities and have tried to grow things mainly in pots with the exception of one summer when we were able to rent a community garden plot. And this year, we finally moved to a place where we are allowed to have dig a garden! As much as we are excited to have this big space, it's still not so easy...

I have been learning how to garden by following other people's blogs, researching online, and reading books. Although it's well into the mid summer already, it's about time I start blogging and sharing my experiences.

We moved to this place last December, and we started our adventure by building a hoop house. So there is quite a bit of things to post, but I'll start with the current state of my garden and sometimes go back several weeks or moths as I remember.

Because it's my first entry, I will include a picture of today's harvest:

Soy Beans - 12oz
Yellow string beans - 5oz
Tomatoes - 1lb 3oz
A couple of damaged hot peppers and a cucumber