A year in a cookbook...really?

I don't know. I saw the Julie & Julia movie and liked the idea. And I have to make out a new menu each week for my assisted living house. I have reached the point that my creativity has pooped out and I'm repeating my same old standbys every week. Now that I've noticed it, I've begun to search the cookbooks for fresh ideas and dishes. There are 2 books that I seem to always come back to: Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy. So, maybe I won't be cooking one recipe from one of these cookbooks every day, but I will be using both these books, and probably some more, on a regular basis. The problem is that I can't assume that the guys will like the taste of what I cook, even if I successfully execute the recipe. They are the ultimate "man and a can" dudes, preferring the taste of instant mashed potatoes and mushy canned veggies to fresh produce. I discovered right after I started working at the ranch that they didn't enjoy fresh garden vegetables or fresh meats. Seriously. Given the choice between ramen noodles over instant mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables and stuffed pork chops, they will go for the ramen and instant every time. I wonder if it's all a matter of educating the palate and getting them used to fresh, clean flavors and vegetables that haven't been cooking into flavorless mush and non-plastic cheese. So here I go on my cooking odyssey - starting with a shepherd's pie. Pork, carrots, green beans, garlic, and onions in their own juices and topped with REAL mashed potatoes. Wish me luck. They're a tough bunch.

Summer's End, Winter's Plans

August is drawing to a close, thank goodness. I'm pretty done with the heat, grasshoppers, and other bugs, and am looking forward to the first frost! I have plans for the fall and the winter.

The greenhouse experiment continues...

This past spring was my first experience using a greenhouse to start plants in, and it wasn't a complete success, but wasn't a total failure, either. I learned a lot about light and greenouse planting, and learned a lot about the people I work with, too. One thing I learned was that plants need a LOT of light in order to germinate, and they will sprout even when it's very cold out, if they have 10 or more hours of light per day. So in order to have plants throughout the winter, I intend to plant a seed bed inside the greenhouse in mid-September to mid-october, and also to dig up and transplant some of our not-so-mature cold weather plants, like brussels sprouts and cabbage that were planted quite late, and then neglected for some reason. All I have to do is water them and keep the grasshoppers from demolishing them in the meantime.

In the seedbed, I plan to sow a few types of lettuce, kale, and chard. I think some carrots and turnips might even do okay, if I get them in soon enough!

I think I might be to keep my plans to myself. In the spring, I had planted lettuce in the greenhouse and told my co-workers...big mistake. One of them was positive it was a ridiculous plan and that since her dad was a master gardener, she must also be. So she gave the seeds 2 weeks and then ripped up the seed bed. She did it in the garden, too, later in the spring. To her chagrin, my little plants came up in spite of her, but not where I was looking for them, making it initially a little hard for them to get water.

I also plan to experiment with outdoor cold frames. We have an abundance of those poor brussels sprouts and late cabbage, so I hope to include these in my cold-frame experiment.

Into the Garden

(Not my photo...mine were smaller, but no bug bites at least!)

Whew! It's almost summer, and I've been in the garden. This year, the garden at work seems to have fallen somewhat to me, so I've been out there planting and, just today, harvesting. Our baby bok choy is already matured...isn't THAT an oxymoron...mature babies. Hmmm...

So, anyway, I harvested the bok choy babes and cooked them up with some frozen stir-fry veggies for my lunch. All the residents in the house decided to go eat at the local restaurant and left me to whip up something for myself. I have to tell you - the fresh boy choy was far superior to the frozen veggies in both texture and taste. There's nothing better than fresh, I think. After a bite of fresh bok choy, I got a mouthful of frozen broccoli and green beans, and even though they were no longer frozen, steamy hot and seasoned well, there was the residual taste of FREEZER. Hmm...not so great. So now I'm spoiled. I doubt the guys in the house will have anything to say about the fresher taste...they prefer instant mashed potatoes over real ones...but they might enjoy the idea that their veggies are coming from their own garden.

Anyhoooo...I have my own garden plot at the ranch, which is a benefit for employees. I took over the failed strawberry patch and planted green beans, peas, two varieties of eggplant, and some lettuce varieties. Some other things, too, but I can't remember right off what they were. I planted some things that I love and can't wait to eat, and some other things that I also love, but have never grown for one reason or another. And some herbs...basil being my favorite, I planted an entire row of bush basil. I have some mizuna and mesclun to plant, and I started some cress that I can hardly wait to have in my summer salads. There is also a large pot into which I plan to transplant lettuce and cress and herbs for salad additions for the house I work in. I'm not sure if the taste will be too different for the residents...they tend to want the same things all the time. Change is hard for them. New flavors and colors in the food aren't met with the greatest of enthusiasm.

(also not my photo...mine is much smaller and just starting to come up in it's little cups!)

But there is it... my own gardening enthusiasm is overtaking me and sweeping me out into the garden every evening! I'm out there watering, weeding, and peeping into the little garden boxes, hoping to see little green cultivar tops popping through the soil.

I am not, however, putting aside my fiber. I will have pictures to show you after my spinning of aqua-colored mohair is a little more advanced on the spindle.