Miscellany, and... murder?

A few updates from the past weekend when I was finally able to catch up on things in the garden.  I'll be honest - the reason there are not a lot of wide-angle pictures here is because the weeds are pretty out of control.  I've kept up with the ones growing near my plants but much like a vacant lot in a neighborhood lowers the value of the surrounding homes... well, the vacant space in my garden is an eyesore.  And during my free time this weekend it was either uncomfortably hot and humid, or rainy.  Both circumstances are great for the plants, but not so great for my weeding efforts.  But I digress...

The cucumbers, once the focus of much anxiety, seem to be thriving in the hot, humid weather we've had lately.  Which is perfectly in keeping with my characterization of them as angsty teenage plants.  It would figure that they'd love the weather that I hate the most!

I put some mulch at the base of the cucumber plants to keep them from getting crabby.

I harvested and cooked the Toscano kale.  One great thing about it is that it is much easier to wash than its curlier counterpart!  No dirt in our dinner!  It cooked up nicely in a stir fry and there is still plenty more growing.

I sadly don't grow them myself, but I've come into a large amount of amazing locally grown strawberries lately.  More on that to come, but in the meantime, here are some pictures that just looked too much like a crime scene to resist.  My apologies to sensitive viewers.

And last but absolutely not least, I finally decided to do something about the fact that my third cat (and constant, fuzzy shadow) has not made an appearance on the blog.  Sadly, she was a little resistant to our photo shoot. Must've been a bad hair day.

Kale City!

The good news is that the Toscano kale that I planted is flourishing - I plan to harvest it in the next few days.

The less-than-good news is that we also got a big bunch of Red Russian kale in our CSA bag last week.  That means kind of a lot of kale for 2 people in one week.  We do use some of this in juice, but I like trying to come up with other ways to cook it (besides the ubiquitous chips). And it absolutely had to be cooked last night, as it was starting to wilt quite depressingly in the fridge.

So, kale joined a few other random kitchen inhabitants in what I have decided to call "Mexican-Inspired Hash."

That blurriness in the middle frame is actually the steam coming off of my dinner - couldn't wait long enough to get a good photo!

To make this, you will need the following:

1 medium yellow onion, chopped*
2 medium sweet potatoes (yams)
1 package of chicken sausage (I used Spicy Jalapeno, which inspired the "Mexican-Inspired")
as much kale as you need to get rid of
1 clove garlic

*You could also add peppers or mushrooms if you have them on hand - chop them in pieces the same size as the onions and add in the same step

1. Heat some oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and add the onions
2. While the onions are cooking, peel and chop the sweet potatoes
3. Add the sweet potatoes to the pan, stirring with the onions.  At this point I also added a dash of Adobo seasoning, which imparts a nice "Mexican-Inspired" flavor
4. While the potatoes and onions are cooking, slice and dice the sausage into small pieces
5. Add the sausage, stirring again.  Increase heat to medium high (I did this to add some browning/charring to the sausage and potatoes)
6. Chop the kale into small pieces and add to pan
7. Mince or finely chop one clove of garlic
8. Add garlic to pan and reduce heat to medium-low.  Toss all ingredients
9. Cook until kale is your desired tenderness

This meal borders on "hearty," so I enjoyed mine with some salsa and guacamole to kind of brighten things up.

In general, when I am not putting kale into juice or dehydrating it into chips, I cook it like this - adding it at the end of dishes that are akin to stir-fries.  It cooks up quickly and adds nice color and vitamins to whatever you are making!  I make something along these lines probably once a week, with whatever veggies we have on hand, with or without meat, sometimes with eggs, sometimes with cheese... the possibilities are really endless.  You just need a generous saute pan and a hot stove!

Salad, anyone?

A lot can happen in 2 weeks!

The salad bar, 5/8/13

The salad bar, 5/22/13

Some definitely take longer to grow than others, but everything I have planted is coming along!  I've continued to add more rows every 1-2 weeks, and once I harvest any of these greens I will plant more in their place. 

Here are my notes from the gardening class - I just reviewed these today to remind myself of the details of cutting, since I think the salad will probably get eaten in the next 2 weeks or so:

I think that based on this advice, I can really squeeze a few more rows in between... I've probably been planting them 4-5 inches apart rather than the recommended 2 inches.  The point is that if you eat these as "baby" greens, they don't need a lot of room to grow, and definitely don't need the space indicated on the seed packet. 

Also, despite the fact that many greens aren't very tolerant of heat and can become bitter-tasting, if you don't grow them to full size (as noted above, cutting when they are 4-5 inches tall), you can actually enjoy them all summer. 

Greens can also be grown easily in a container since they have hardly any root system.  I think they would do really well in a window-style box (you know, the oblong ones) and you could probably manage 2-3 rows at a time. Considering a bag of this stuff in the grocery store averages about $1.99, and a packet of seeds could be found for much less, it is worth a try!

Changing seasons

This is a great example of why you shouldn't be too lazy to go in the house and grab the camera.  I took this on my phone and while it looked okay on that small little screen, when I enlarged it, it looked like... this.  And it was the only one I took, so here it is.  All the special effects in the world couldn't save this thing...

So, fall has arrived in Ohio!  And I totally love it.  While I will miss the fruits and vegetables of summer, I am so excited for cooler weather.  Summer is not my favorite time of year, but fall absolutely is.  This year is really the first time I've undertaken a fall planting.

Last week it was "out with the zucchini" and I've decided to use this newly available space to plant greens that thrive in the cooler weather we are having.  After removing the plants, I raked the soil and added some 10-10 fertilizer. 

You can't tell in this utterly crap photo, but L to R are rows of "Bright Lights" Swiss Chard, regular old green Swiss Chard (Fordhook, if you want to get specific), Kale #1, "Red Russian" (an earlier planting is already growing at the top there... the colors are very pretty though this photo does nothing justice), Spinach, and Kale #2, "Dwarf Blue."  Elsewhere, I squeezed in a row of Ruby Red Swiss Chard.  My fingers are firmly crossed that cool weather = less insect problems, but that remains to be seen....

Greens

I've been doing some research lately on what I can plant now that will grow in the fall weather.  One crop that seems to do well in cooler weather, and that I have actually been consuming a lot of lately, is kale.

I planted these seeds a few weeks ago and they are just starting to resemble kale.  I use it primarily in juice but it's apparently really good baked into chips as well.  Kale is not expensive to buy in the store... but at $.99/pound, when I can get a whole packet of seeds for $1.29... it will save money over time.  And, it is always nice to have things you use frequently literally right outside your back door.  So far, so good with this one.  I read that it actually tastes best after a frost... which means I could perhaps safely put in some more seeds now.