Ratatouille

Like a million other people who watched Julie & Julia, I began trying recipes from Julia Child. Last summer I decided to make ratatouille the right way. My husband and I cooked it for our anniversary and now I can see why Anton Ego in Ratatouille has that profound change of heart when he tastes this summer perfection. Yesterday my friend and I got acquainted with Julia and French cooking. What a scrumpdiddlyumptuous delight. My final presentation isn't fabulous. The best part, though, is that I bought only salt, pepper and olive oil. The rest I grew, worked or traded for.

A Hat for All Seasons

Winnie the Pooh turned over an umbrella and rescued Piglet in a flood and called it the Brain of Pooh. Well, this is the Brain of Christina. If necessity is the mother of invention, then laziness is the mother of resourcefulness. Too lazy to go looking for a bag, I used my hat and its holder to carry my Garden booty.

The girls had a wheelbarrow ride and I filled a shelf of my fridge and gave veggies to 3 neighbors. I'm making Saturday "Bring a Friend to Garden" day. See you at 8ish.

Pass the Potato Chips

Check out our summer dinner: spare ribs (homemade barbecue sauce), creamy cucumber salad (from our garden and our neighbor), pattypan (community garden), green beans (my garden, cg and crop swap), swiss chard (cs), homemade bread, sumptuous mystery tomato (cg), corn (cg-I took the witch-toothed one) and watermelon (Smiths:). We fed 6 adults and 5 children for $15. Then we made a gallon of ice cream ($5-which would cost less if we had a friend with a cow). We ate well, felt great, and passed on the potato chips. PS-can you name this mystery tomato?

The Little Red Hen

A copy of Richard Scarry's rendition of the Little Red Hen sits on my shelf. The exciting conclusion is missing because it endured my early childhood. I always agreed with the Hen's course of action--she invited the others to help, but they didn't, so when the time came to enjoy the bread, she ate it herself. No guilt. Scott told me a few weeks ago that he calls this the "Little Red Hen Garden." I thought he was referring to the handful of people who do most of the work, since the majority of help shows up for the "big-ticket" harvest. But tonight he explained that everyone can be the little red hen each week--we work a little and enjoy the benefits as well. My daughter is pictured with two of the 6 "shares" (minus the turnips and green beans) that were available to the six workers this evening. I suspect that a family could have all the vegetables it needed by helping twice each week at the Garden. Someday I'll put that to the test. But for now I'll work in my garden and take care of my little red, black and gold hens.

Spicy Summer Soup

Another picture? Ethan rolled his eyes at my camera and this is what we captured.

At least a dozen varieties of delectable vegetable miracles await you! Tonight we took home yellow crookneck and spaghetti squash. My mom created "Wicked Hot Chicken Soup" more than a decade ago to use up surplus zucchini and it was a hit! A friend from New England coined the name when he tasted it and said, "Wow, this is wicked hot!" Really, it's just medium. Between the Community Garden and our own garden (and one of our hens), we will only have to use a couple store bought items (out of 15 or so ingredients). Summer surplus? I say, "Soup's on!"

Just Beat It!

After weeding and picking string beans, I asked Ralph what to do about my peppers that keep growing taller but aren't putting on fruit. He paused, then said, "Shock it. Cut it back. Make it think it's gotta put out fruit or it won't live." My natural inclination is to speak words of encouragement to my plants. But perhaps "nip it in the bud" comes from this school of thought and children are a bit like plants, I thought. Then Ralph said he had an apple tree that hadn't put on fruit after many years. So a friend of him told him to take a hammer to it and beat the base of the trunk in the Fall. He said it worked. Then another regular Saturday gardener said, "I use a baseball bat." I thought he was kidding, but he insisted this method worked with his fruit trees. So maybe kids and plants don't both fit this philosophy, but I did cut back half my peppers. Still, my apple tree deserves a little investigation on my part before I just beat it.

Rose Park's First "Crop Swap"

The Rose Park Revival hosted the first Crop Swap of the season (and first ever). We enjoyed music, treats, recipes, gardening tips, meeting neighbors, and best of all, home grown produce. And by "produce," I don't mean a department at the grocery store. Honey (yes you may have hives here*), fresh eggs (yes, you may have hens*), rabbits* (the kids thought it was a petting zoo, but no--more like "stew"), grapes, peppers, chard, beets, herbs, squash, tomatoes, eggplants, flowers, carrots and onions greeted our 60+ visitors tonight. Now if I could just figure out how to link our sites...
*I will get links for the current permit/licensing requirements for Salt Lake City.

Speed Weeding

Do you find satisfaction in weeding? When I weed, my mind can ponder and roam while my hands feel connected to the dust of the earth. Yesterday, my friend and her three girls, and three of my kids all weeded the onions, corn, and potatoes. Most people when they hear "weeding" think of back-breaking, strenuous labor. "By the sweat of thy brow" and Laura Ingalls might come to mind. But not in well-tended soil like the Community Garden! The earth is so rich and loose that the weeds come out readily. And in some areas there are giant weeds--removing them is immensely satisfying! In less than an hour, we removed 2 or 3 wheelbarrows full, which the kids enthusiastically deposited in the compost pile.

I discovered that they're growing a lovely lettuce mix. I've been thinking lately how ridiculous it is to buy lettuce this time of year when I should be able to grow it. I grew some in the Spring, but I didn't know I could plant it in July. So keep it moist for germination! And set out snail traps (yeast and sugar with water in a milk jug) or beer if you want. We took home cucumbers, squash, kohlrabi and carrots. The corn is looking great! Two nights ago I made a parsnip and turnip "puff." Not a winner with the kids, but fun to try. My two year old daughter now begs for us to "go bike ride comminnee garren an go play park?" The sweet satisfaction of raising the next generation of weeders!

The Weeds and the Bees

The pattypan squash from last week was such a hit with the family that I brought home two more. They have a richer flavor than zucchini and are fun to look at. Today I picked some weeds, took some pictures, and noticed the humming of bees at work. I took green beans as well, and tonight we enjoyed green beans, squash, and chard with our barbecue chicken and rice. Okay, my husband, brother, and I enjoyed, while my kids picked and complained. But they'll come along. My 6-year old asked with a smile, "Mom, when are we going to the community garden again?" It turns out he wanted to bring his uncle, who will be leaving before our next visit to the Garden.