February Recipe Round-up

February and March are all about focusing on using up the winter greens: Hubby and I will be clearing the vegetable beds of the Savoy cabbage, kale, Swiss Chard and radishes. First recipe is a modified white bean and ciabatta soup courtesy of Sunset Magazine. We found that the original recipe needed some modifications as it was too spicy and the anchovies were too fishy of an addition.

Here are the specific modifications:

Use 5 cloves garlic not 10

Use 1/4 teaspoon of pepper flakes instead of 1/2 teaspoon

Swap anchovies for bacon

Swap kale for Savoy cabbage (Swiss chard can be substituted as well)

Items used from the garden: sage, rosemary, Savoy cabbage

Next up is a Savoy cabbage pasta dish, again with some slightly smaller modifications:

Swap prosciutto for bacon for a richer taste

Swap 1 cup chicken broth for 1/2 cup dry white wine (the recipe was too runny with a cup of liquid and wine provided better flavor)

Items used from the garden: sage, Savoy Cabbage

Lastly, Hubby and I have been working on healthier eating. Besides all the cabbage we have been eating lately, we  have been making healthy smoothies for breakfast. Here is my basic recipe:

Mix in Blender to make 2 servings:

One ripe banana

2 cups milk - I have been using soy milk or rice milk

2 servings packaged protein powder (usually 2 scoop fulls)

1 cup fresh berries, or substitute 1/2 cup fresh juice, or 1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup rolled oats for added fiber (optional)

This batch has peanut butter instead of berries or juice - so delicious!

Items used from garden: frozen pomegranate cubes

If you are interested in our other recipe experiments, please go to my Completed Food Experiments Board on Pinterest.

On the Cusp

This past weekend, I sat in my garden drinking my coffee. It was still early, the cool morning air gently pushed by the breeze. The sun peeked through the clouds and began to warm the air and earth. The garden is truly coming alive again; spring is on the cusp! I can smell my new pink jasmine and my burgeoning sweet peas. The yellow flowered Aeonium spikes pierce the vista of the garden. And the birds: I hear the squawk and song of the mockingbirds, the chirps and tweets of the finches and sparrows, and the twittering of the hummingbirds. This is my own little piece of heaven.

The garden is coming into its own with only the smallest guidance from me. My nasturtiums and wildflower mix has filled in my two fallow beds with a blanket of orange and purple blooms. The orange and purple reminds me of California hillsides in early spring with their California poppies and purple lupine taking over the landscape. Hopefully, my poppies will bloom soon; I am still waiting for those happy flowers to show up!

I planted the last round of cool season vegetables focusing on carrot and parsnips. The savoy cabbages are large round globes awaiting harvest and the radishes are close to going to seed. I plan to harvest all of them through the month – recipes forthcoming! I also planted some more butterfly bush as a nursery for monarch caterpillars. Sadly, I did not have enough for the little ones to eat this winter and I don’t think I successfully hatched a single butterfly this year. Also in the mix: more butterfly nectar plants grown from seed planted under my Anna Apple. I hope to have sprouts in a couple of weeks!

Nasturtiums in red, orange, and yellow

Purple lupine and daisies

More Flowers!

Sweet peas!!

Savoy cabbage ready for harvest

Pink Jasmine - Love!!

Yellow Aeonium blooms next to butterfly garden

I hope my butterfly nectar flowers fill in soon.

My relaxing patio - I will be adding more pink jasmine for more fragrance!

Pinterest Obsession, Bathroom Renovation, and Cat Appreciation Month

Valentine's Tree with names of loved ones

My Pinterest obsession is partly to blame for keeping me away from writing my blog as well as being busy at times and under the weather at others. I am not really an arts and crafts type of girl, but even Pinterest has inspired me to take on an easy craft, my Valentines Heart Tree. I have also found the inspiration to regrow green onions and place a convenient yet elegant jewelry holder. It is such a wonderful medium for a day dream - and a digital one at that! I have found some great ideas for my current garden and have found some gorgeous garden fantasies. And recipes - so many delicious amazing recipes! If you are curious about Pinterest, please check it out; and if you would like an invitation, please leave your email in the comments section of this post.

Grow little onions grow!

Hubby and I are in the final push to finish our home renovation. Round 2 includes both bathrooms, some electrical work, and removing ugly, old neon light boxes from the kitchen ceiling. The master bathroom is complete and is my dream come true: a large shower, robin's egg blue walls, travertine floors, and new pedestal sink. Next up is the second bathroom on the other side of the house: it will have a new vanity/ sink, travertine floors, new blue paint, and refinished tub. Now if I could only assuage my fears of water damage/ incursion from the tub.

My large shower in my new master bath - so shiny!

Pedestal sink, oval mirror and new light fixture

Storage and blue walls

Travertine plus decorative tile

Second bathroom with demo complete - New vanity goes here

Our contractor will tile the floor, repair the walls and refinish the tub.

Last but certainly not least, February is Cat Appreciation Month! Let us honor our kitty companions for all the love and loyalty they bring us! Also, please remember that the San Diego Humane Society is currently running their "My Furry Valentine" program. Adoptions from now until February 14th are only $14.00!

The love and loyalty of a Maine Coon - he protects me and cuddles with me when I'm sick.

Mind-winter blooms for the Mid-winter Blues

Life always finds a way, even in mid-winter. I am heartened that I can see signs of growth, of season, of change in my garden. They remind me that however dark, cold, and miserable the mid-winter blues can be, the end is on the horizon - this has reason and this too shall pass. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven" - Ecclesiastes 3.1.

Ornamental kale's beautiful color and texture

The Purple and Green Aeoniums did not break in the last storm.

Detail of Aeonium blooms

Christmas Cyclamen continues to bloom

Snowdrops are the first harbinger of spring.

Fertilizer helps keep the Gartenmeister Bonstedt fuchsia flowering for the Anna's Hummingbirds

From flower to potential fruit - Anna Apple

Our Dwindling Food Variety

A very telling graphic about crop and seed diversity, from National Geographic:

Bare Root Season, Camellias, & Rosie Temptations

Winter months are usually slow in the Victory Garden - not so this year! My gardening New Year's resolution for 2012 is to fill in the naked spots in my garden, using gardening time table specific to Southern California. (I have discovered my time tables have been off in some cases, specifically when I pruned my roses.) Over the course of the year, I will be following Pat Welsh's Southern California Gardening: A Month by Month Guide. I adore Pat Welsh; her advice is excellent and her approach is green. Be on the look out for book reviews of both the gardening guide and memoirs!

See the tiny stick in the back? That's my new Mission Fig!

January is the start of bare root season, so now is the time to get bare root deciduous fruit trees and roses in the ground. Hubby and I went to our local Walter Anderson Nursery and picked up another Mission Fig. We placed it on the north wall of the garden in the number six vegetable bed, just to the right of the plumeria. It should receive plenty of sun in that location and extra warmth from the cinder block fence. 

Camellia japonica ready for planting

Now is also the time to plant camellias and azaleas. I chose to plant two camellias in the semi-shade of the eastern side of the garden near the garage. I choose two camellia japonica, one is a brilliant red bloom variety called Bob Hope and the other is Carter's sunburst, a variegated pink with both light and dark striations. They are very small right now, but I hope they grow and bloom profusely. Camellias bloom from fall to early spring and are a wonderful source of color and flowers in the winter months.

My roses are coming back nicely but earlier than expected after their pruning. I still am fighting orange rust thanks to my neighbor's infested roses being upwind of mine. Perhaps I can offer to prune his roses for him? I originally did not plan to plant any bare root roses this year, but I am sorely tempted to do so since I've seen some of the new offerings with gorgeous variations of color. I want to plant a Ketchup & Mustard and a Koko-Loco. (Please click here for images.) I have room for one more in my rose bed, but I may have to sacrifice space in my sweet pea bed for the second.

I have added a number of cool season annual flowers for added color and have planted some extra lettuces to augment our salads. Hubby is trying out artichokes in the empty spaces of the mini-orchard on the east side of the house. Artichokes are supposed to grow profusely and become tall, but right now they look half eaten by pests. We continue to harvest tangerines, savoy cabbage, and radishes. I am at a loss on how to serve the radishes. My recipe round-up will take a hiatus this month as I perfect a cabbage recipe and figure out what to do with radishes. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!

Colossus White with Blotch Pansy

Angel Tiger Eye Viola

Anna Apple blooms - I hope I have more fruit this year!

Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them. - AA Milne

Cultivating Sweet Peas

I first discovered the lovely and fragrant sweet pea in 2009 while visiting gardens on the Clairemont Garden Tour. At that time, it was early May and far too late to start these vining flowers from seeds or seedlings. If you would like to enjoy these blooms by spring, now is the time to get to work!

I recommend purchasing your first batch of sweet peas as seedlings from your local nursery, however, if none are available, try your hand at starting from seed. I started my first batch from seedlings in late autumn of 2009 and had beautiful blooms by February. Make sure to read your labels, some varieties are for early bloom in December, while later flowering varieties will bloom in early spring and continue blooming through June.

Firstly, plant seeds or seedlings in full sun in rich soil amended with compost and low-nitrogen fertilizer. If you are in a colder climate, plant after the last frost. (In coastal Southern California, the frosts are not severe enough to damage the sweet peas.) If planting from seed, place each seed one inch deep in the ground and space them six inches apart. Plan to water seeds and seedlings 2 – 3 times a week depending on rainfall. The vines will need strong support, so make sure to place a trellis near your seeds. I like to re-purpose, so I use old tomato cages. Other gardeners use bamboo trellises or wire screens. Sweet peas will climb ugly chain-link fences, giving a romantic feel to an unattractive barrier.

The 2011 crop begins to climb its trellis.

Multiple vines will eventually emerge from the point of origin. I like to thin out the vines and train them up their trellises using natural (non-synthetic) string. Thinning helps keep the sweet peas from becoming overgrown and allows air flow in between the vines, helping to prevent mildew growth. Pinch the tips of the vine to encourage branching; this will produce more branching vines and more blooms. Pick flowers frequently as this will encourage the plant to produce more blooms.

Keep in mind that sweet peas are unruly and prolific; they are more at home in romantic and wild gardens than in strictly regimented ones. I trim them back to keep them out of the roses, but otherwise I let them go crazy with color and fragrance. They can get up to 6 feet tall, sometimes higher. I top them off at a little over 5 feet (my own height). When the vines begin to look crispy and the blooms spent (late May to early June), I collect the seed pods, shell the seeds, and save them for the following year. I find my saved seeds to be hardier than the store-bought ones. After all, the parents survived my garden in such a beautiful fashion that their decedents deserve a chance to grow.

The 2010 crop looked like a Monet canvas!

Detail of the 2010 crop - the white, pink and purple flowers came first. These red blooms were an end of season burst!

The 2011 crop was more pinks and purples - it is a roll of the dice when collecting seeds because the blooms are gone.

The 2012 crop - I purchased these as seedlings. Notice the string securing the vines to the trellis.

2012 crop again - these were started from seed I collected in 2010.