Hello my gardening friends! It has been quite a few months since my last post. It's not that I had too little to show you, even though it was deep winter here in upstate New York, USA, but rather that I have been unable to find the time to post! An explanation of what I have been up to is at the end of this post.
Last fall I planted 100 tulip bulbs in my tiny yard, and this spring I got quite the pay off!
The rest of this post will be largely about what I have learned regarding what I, Owasco, should be planting so that I can feed Owasco all year.
One important lesson I have learned about growing my own food is that I must grow stuff I will actually eat! Figuring out what to plant that will actually sustain me during the winter, in addition to providing me with fresh veggies during the growing season, is critical. For instance, tomatoes are big in nearly all food gardens, but in my diet, they are a minor ingredient. I eat them raw only in the summer and now and then as highlights in winter dishes - no big tomato sauce dishes for me! Just one or two plants is enough, one to eat fresh from the garden in high summer, and another to dehydrate for quick tomato additions to pasta dishes. Another example is that two years ago I managed to pickle 21 quarts of cucumbers, only to discover that I don't eat very many cucumber pickles - I have 12 quarts left two years later, and I gave quite a few away. After several years of devoting far too much of my tiny garden to tomatoes and cukes, I will save a lot of space for other foods, such as green veggies and sweet potatoes, which I had to buy this past winter, that are far more important to me.
Last year was the first year I tried to store root veggies for winter use. I did quite well! Just last night I mashed the last of my potatoes, I still have some mushy garlic, one large shallot, and a few nice hard onions. I've finished off the last of my frozen non-fruit vegetables, but still have loads of frozen raspberries - I'll be giving a lot more of those away this year, and I hope to freeze more veggies for quick meals during the winter.
Here's a really easy recipe for you, while I try to channel @riverflows and her fabulous cooking skills.
An innovation on an American classic,
Macaroni Salad
I almost never follow recipes in the kitchen, except for when I am canning or making baked goods. Most of my dishes are made with whatever I have in the kitchen. This salad is composed of my very first harvest of the year, a handful of chervil. I also used white beans that were grown and dried by one of my daughters, the last of my home-grown shallots, garlic, and carrots, and one surprise ingredient - raw Harukai turnips! The dish was surprisingly good.
In brief: soak the beans overnight, then cook them in salted water until tender but not falling apart, about one hour for great northern beans. Cook the macaroni and cool. Chop chervil, garlic and shallots. Dice the carrots and turnips very small.
Put all cooled and cut ingredients into a bowl. Drizzle with a fair amount of a very good white vinegar (I used white balsamic), a little excellent olive oil, enough salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
Now for the mixing. I had overcooked the beans just a tiny bit, and was worried they might become mushy had I stirred this all together, so I whipped out an old trick. When faced with the possibilty that your ingredients will lose their shapes in a dish, do not stir! (think avocados, cooked potatoes, cut tomatoes etc) Rather, toss the whole shebang back and forth between two bowls of nearly the same size until well mixed. Your ingredients will retain their shape and defined margins, and you will have one fewer utensils to wash. (Of course, there will be that extra bowl...)
Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary, and serve. I like macaroni salad best when served soon after preparation, but this did taste just fine the next day, after refrigeration.
Why have I been so absent? It's all good! I have been studying to become a bonafide homeopath with Joette Calabrese, and my studies are sucking up a great deal of my time. Time I used to spend here on Hive, I now spend learning how to treat any ailment you can think of, from splinters to heart attacks. You can do this for yourselves, your friends, and your families, too. Go to her blog and search for anything you would like help with. Chances are very good you will find some free information on exactly what to do to remove some suffering from your world.
This is my entry to Hive Garden Community's monthly garden challenge for May 2025.