Garden Greetings ~ Fountain love #gardenfountain #gardendream #gardenchat

From the Kitchen 

to the Garden

Thanksgiving was a day for the kitchen, today was a day for the garden. How do you like my priorities? Kitchen-Garden.

Today we unpacked (or I should say, the guys from the Garden Center unpacked...) our long awaited for 3-tier fountain! It was worth the wait. What a nice surprise for it to arrive Black Friday weekend.

I'm not crazy about the fake crack design on both sides of the base. Of course, in the Massarelli's catalog the crack was not shown; but even so, I'm still in love. A 300+ pound concrete fountain is something a garden girl can get excited over! Mom even got up to take a peak at this fabulous water feature being installed.

Hopefully the temperature here in South Jersey will be above freezing for this coming week, but I know that pretty soon we'll have to drain the water and patiently wait until springtime to  hear the waterfall sounds again.

And, as for the caryopteris shrub that was in that spot? Well, after we dug it up it easily pulled apart into several clumps; three were added to the butterfly garden and another got planted nearby our rain barrel.

Garden Greetings!

Photos and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Today in Our Fall Garden #GardenCuizine #HappyThanksgiving

Today in Our Fall Garden
South Jersey 
USDA zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

Yesterday felt like the last warm Fall day here in South Jersey. With the exception of red, orange and yellow, the blue, pink and pale colored Summer blooms are starting to look out of place - yet they'll continue to bloom until the first hard frost:

• Salvias (Pineapple sage, Lady-in-Red, Coral Nymph, Black and Blue, Guaranitica), Cosmos, Firecracker plant (shown), trailing Abutilon (shown) and Nicotiana.  

Even Mom had a chance to sit and read the paper on the front porch while enjoying some fresh air and sunshine. 

And, what a difference a day makes; today became windy and 20 degrees cooler! 

Our gardens linger on and have not completely succumbed. Prolific red currant tomatoes and long hot peppers appear to glow against brown dying vines.

Once we get a killing frost we'll dig and store canna and dahlia tubers in peat moss to over winter as always.

Haven't the leaves been especially vibrant and beautiful this fall? Fall leaves make great compost when chopped up. A simple run over with a lawn mower will allow the leaves to return valuable nutrients to your grounds.

We wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving!

Photos and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Today in Our Fall Garden #GardenCuizine

Today in Our Garden

Today in our garden you'll find: Rosemary, Parsley, Fennel seeds, Tarahumara Popping Sorghum, red Okra, heirloom Tomatoes, Turkish eggplants, sweet and several types of hot Peppers, Arugula and plenty of potatoes! 

Potatoes are easy to grow and you can dig then up as you need them. Harry just dug up another batch. I took a video and will post it soon.

Our large white moon flowers just finished showing off their blooms. Red cannas and Show n Tell (red with yellow tips) dahlias bordering the veggie garden are still going strong and look beautiful. Dahlias make great cut flowers right up until frost, so yes, we've been taking in cuttings to enjoy them while we can.

Everywhere you look in our garden you'll see chia in bloom. Most of the plants self-seeded from last year. Bees love the tiny blue salvia flowers; they bloom just a bit too late for the hummingbirds to enjoy. Although, I did see a hummer yesterday! But, most have begun their migration South.

Bright yellow daisies on tall stems of Jerusalem artichokes are blooming now too, along with the slender white trumpets of Nicotiana sylvestris. The Nicotiana self-seeded from last year, which was a pleasant surprise.

In the kitchen, we're still using up and cooking with heirloom tomatoes. Tonight, we made Chili with some of our tomatoes and a side of homemade cornbread with chia. Harry added a few chopped and sauteed Turkish eggplants to the chili - you would never know - and no bitter taste either. Little by little we are finding uses for the strange, tiny eggplants. 

Happy Fall!
Photo collage and blogpost Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Extra Garden Hot Peppers? Make Hot Pepper Jelly︱Adds gourmet touch to muffins and entrees #GardenCuizine

Homemade Jalapeño
 Hot Pepper Jelly

Growing peppers will always provide you a bountiful harvest. Insects seem to stay away from pepper plants and peppers will keep on coming right up until a killing frost. The photo above shows yet another batch of organically grown peppers (and heirloom tomatoes) fresh picked during October in our backyard garden. And, here it is November already, and peppers are still growing!

Even with just a few plants, extra hot peppers can pile up quickly. Hot peppers can only be utilized in recipes so fast. Ways of preserving the harvest are good to know, such as hot sauce, salsas or drying and grinding hot peppers for Homemade Ground Pepper Spices. This year we've already made a few batches of hot pepper jelly. 

Unlike what you may think, pepper jelly is not just for hot pepper lovers, even mom - who coughs at the thought of eating spicy foods - says, "this tastes pretty good." Especially when served as a condiment or glaze with pork, chicken, tofu or fish. Try a dab of pepper jelly over your favorite creamy cheese on whole grain crackers, or as a spread on fresh baked cornbread or muffins. Creative culinary ideas are endless - the flavor is memorable. 

Watch for the recipe 

to be published tomorrow, November 2, 2013

on Dave's Garden

Jalapeño Nutrition

• Good source Vitamin C

GardenCuizine Nutrition data: 1 Hot Jalapeño pepper (14g): 4 calories; dietary Fiber (2% DV); 112 IU Vitamin A (2% DV); 6 mg Vitamin C (10% DV)

Related Links: USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning
Capsaicin - used medically
More about Capsicum - American Cancer Society
Blog post and photos Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Another collander full of Heirloom Goodness #GardenCuizine

Fresh picked heirloom tomatoes. 

Pick them green. 

Tomatoes don't care for even a light frost.

Today may be one of our last days picking Jersey tomatoes and peppers. Parsley, arugula, lettuce and kohlrabi can better tolerate frost. 

Related Link

Frost Tolerance of Vegetables

Hot Jalapeno Pepper Jelly in test kitchen︱ Colorful fall harvest today #GardenCuizine

Today in Our 

South Jersey Garden
October 12, 2013

Still picking organic heirloom tomatoes and jalapenos. Harry made a test kitchen batch of hot jalapeno pepper jelly today using a new recipe. We'll post the recipe soon if it gels.

Happy and Healthy Gardening!
Photo Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Today in Our Garden feels and looks more like Summer than Fall #GardenCuizine

Today in Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

October 6, 2013

Figs are finito. Lettuce, arugula, peppers and tomatoes will continue until frost. Dahlias seem to be slow to bloom for us this season. Pineapple sage is late to bloom too. Rosemary and Jersalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus) are blooming now along with so many other blooms including re-blooms on our roses. Rain is headed our way with cooler air to end this dry spell and unseasonal burst of warm weather.

Shown above (clockwise from left to right):

• Japanese Anemone, Phlox, Goldenrod
• Chiltepin hot peppers
• rose (no ID)
• ornamental 'Black Pearl' peppers
• Lady in Red salvia
• Spanish Flag vine (Ipomoea lobata)
• Nicotiana Sylvestris 

Now is a good time to collect heirloom seeds to share and plant in your garden next season. What's blooming in your garden?
Photo collage Copyright (C)2013 Wind. All rights reserved.

Today in Our Garden | Harvested Garlic Chive and Chia seeds! #GardenCuizine

Today in Our Fall Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

October 7, 2012

Garden Clean Up! 
With the arrival of freezing temperatures here on the East coast, we need to finish getting the garden cleaned up. I wasn't at all surprised to see our Swiss Chard "still" growing!! That is one care-free veggie to grow. We never did get to plant more greens, so there really was not much else to see today in the garden besides oregano, garlic, strawberry leaves and a few stray peppers amidst dead plants and seeds everywhere.  

Overwintering Cannas and Dahlia tubers
As usual, we cut down our dying canna and dahlia stalks. We even put out a heated water bowl for backyard wildlife. Some cannas planted near the house foundation will come back next year. The majority, out in the garden, are too exposed and usually rot if they don't get dug up. Soon we will dig them up and overwinter the clumps, plus dahlia tubers, in Peat Moss in plastic bags stored in the basement. We have found through trial and error that this method works best for us. 

Harvest Seeds Now

If you like to grow plants, it's not too late to look around for annual seeds that you would like to plant in the spring. Annuals can be started inside under grow lights beginning around March. We don't start CHIA inside because it is so hardy and self sows prolifically throughout the garden! We plan on using the nutritious seeds harvested today in recipes.  

Today's seed harvest included:

• Garlic Chives, Allium tuberosum (shown in photo)
• Lady in Red Salvia
• Yvonne's Salvia
• Tarahumara CHIA, Salvia tiliifolia

Happy and Healthy Gardening!
Related Links
Check Out Chia - Super Seed Nutrition by Diana Wind, RD 
The Story of Yvonne's Salvia

Calm and beauty before the predicted storm... Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Click on the photo for best view

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

October 26, 2012

As we near the end of October, our fall backyard garden continues to produce bright and cheery dahlias, red cannas, tiny blue chia, pink basil, red salvia and even more yellow tomato blooms. Too bad all the hummingbirds have migrated, they love many of these blooms. We're still harvesting potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, rosemary, oregano and nutritious greens like Swiss chard and arugula.

A whole new batch of potato plants have emerged in a raised bed that we "thought" we harvested all the potatoes out of! Gardening is always full of wonderful surprises.

Now, we're preparing for Hurricane Sandy's wrath of heavy rain and winds. We'll see what happens... stay dry and be safe.

Photos Copyright (C) 2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Today in Our Fall Garden #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

October 7, 2012

Fall is in the air! No killing frost yet here in South Jersey. So many colorful blooms continue, including: Cosmos, Mums, Buddleia, Shiso, Salvias, Cannas and Dahlias. At this time of year, look for praying mantis near your porch lights. We found one of these cool creatures sunning on a plant by our front door yesterday. No wonder our Japanese beetle population seemed more in control this year. Mantids are an organic gardeners best friend. Females lay their eggs in the fall.

Our old dog Holly enjoys the cooler air as she waits for Dad to check out the garden. We still have several pounds of "King Harry" potatoes buried beneath the earth waiting to be dug up.

Black Russian Tomatoes Solanum lycopersicum
This year our favorite tomatoes were what I thought were Black Krim heirloom, but it turns out they were Black Russian; both look similar to Cherokee Purple. Black Russian had great flavor! We ate them on sandwiches and used them in cooking and in salsa. The dark green top half color was deceiving, because they were ripe and juicy inside. 

Bay Laurel Laurus nobilis
We harvested bay leaves and noticed that when bay leaves dry, they curl. Store-bought bay leaves must be pressed dry to keep them flat. 

Chiltepin Pepper
Our Chiltepin pepper shrub is producing small, round hot red peppers daily since we took the plant indoors to protect it from cool temperatures. Every morning we harvest another half dozen or so.

Happy and Healthy Cooking and Gardening!
Related Links
Bay Laurel - Grow Your Own in a Container
Photo collage Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Homemade Jersey Tomato fresh Garden Salsa #canning #recipe #GardenCuizine

Homemade Jersey Tomato Salsa

Who had time to blog recipes and photos during peak tomato season? Not I, so save this recipe for next fall harvest season when you have boku tomatoes ripening so fast that you can't possibly eat them all. Salsa also makes good use of affordable, fresh locally grown tomatoes from your farmers market. 

No such thing as too many tomatoes!

1. Share tomatoes your local food bank
2. Give away tomatoes to family and friends 
3. Preserve tomatoes by making pasta sauce, hot sauce, ketchup or salsa.

We decided to make several batches of salsa this year since we were still stocked with several jars of "Harry's Hot Sauce." We've been making homemade salsa for years now. It's always such a treat to have, especially during the Winter and even early Spring, before tomatoes are ready to harvest. Salsa can be enjoyed so many ways - think beyond chips. We like it as a condiment over scrambled eggs, fish, tacos or bruschetta.

This salsa recipe was inspired from a Cooks Illustrated version that uses Lime Juice and Cilantro. Those flavorful ingredients work for us, feel free to change it up to your liking; just remember not to skimp on added acid for food safety reasons.

Ingredients 
5.5 lbs (~2,480g) Jersey tomatoes (about 6 large)
2-3 jalapeno peppers or other hot peppers of choice
1/2 cup (116ml) lime juice
1 medium (174g) red onion
1 bunch scallions 
1 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup (59ml) olive oil 
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

 Putting it all together

• Chop and let tomatoes drain in a large colander; drink the tomato liquid or use it in soup or other recipes - don't waste it! Water soluble nutrients like vitamin C leech out into the tomato liquid. In our batch the tomato liquid measured 356g; yours will vary depending on how juicy your tomatoes are.
• Chop 1 cup of cilantro leaves; set aside.
• Seed and chop the jalapenos or other hot peppers; set aside.
• Gather up the remaining ingredients. 
• Add all the remaining ingredients to the chopped, drained tomatoes. Stir to combine - serve immediately or refrigerate for later. 

To preserve by using water process canning method:

• Stir in 2 teaspoons citric acid powder
• Heat entire contents and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle hot into sterilized canning jars and process following USDA's Guide to Canning Tomato Salsa (link below).  
• Recipe yields 5, 8-ounce jars.

GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis coming soon... we know tomatoes are a good source of Lycopene and Vitamins A and C!
Related Links
Time for Tomatoes - Fresh Talk check out my interview with Cheryl Sternman Rule
Canning Salsa Safely
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning Tomato Products

Recipe, photos and blog post Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved. rev 11/1/1

Tucked away from the #FNCE frenzy in Philly; Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine

 click on the photo to get a full view 

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

October 7, 2012

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Philadelphia is now underway (October 6-9), drawing more than 10,000 Registered Dietitians - myself included. You can follow updates about the conference on Twitter. Everyone is quite eager to Tweet their updates and as a result several hash-tags have emerged: #FNCE, #FNCE2012 and  #FNCE12. 

I was in Philly before the FNCE frenzy - for a 2 1/2 day Weight Management training certification course, which no doubt benefited my nutrition counseling skills. I was sorry to miss the FNCE food photography class and the excursion to Hershey PA though. Proud to be a qualifying participant in a Hershey cocoa focus group, I look forward to going back to Philly this week.

Philadelphia is in our backyard so to speak; it's not a far drive away. But, what's really in our back yard? A fabulous garden. Backyard gardens provide food, physical activity and fun for the whole family. I highly encourage you and your family to try growing your own vegetables and herbs. And, even if you don't have a backyard - plants can be grown in a neighborhood community garden or grown in pots and put out on a balcony or porch. Here is today's spotlight of a few of our select October blooms and foliage.
 
Photo clockwise from top left to right:

• Chiltepin Peppers (Capsicum annuum var. aviculare) - one potted plant produces literally hundreds of tiny round hot peppers; also known as bird peppers. We just took our plant indoors last night. Peppers grow best in warm climates. Chiltepin peppers require a longer growing season than sweet banana peppers or more commonly grown bell peppers. From a culinary perspective, they are well worth the wait. Once red, they can be pulled off the plant and allowed to dry on plates. When dry, the hot peppers can be stored in a spice jar and used as needed in cooking.
• Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) - what more can I say about Chard? I've blogged often about Chard's healthy nutrition profile and how easy it is to grow. Chard comes in many vibrant colors and varieties. The Chard in our garden (Northern Lights Mix) has been amazing - producing greens for our family all Summer long and even now into the Fall.
• Tomatoes are running out of ripening time! Still, so many new flowers with hopes of growing more tomatoes. Knowing how tomatoes dislike cool temperatures - at this time of year, we start picking them green and allowing them to ripen inside on a sunny windowsill.
• Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) - are now black in color and will be picked and saved as seed or used as beads - a fascinating plant.
• Garden Mums are ablaze in Fall colors!
• Purple Beauty Berry (Callicarpa dichotoma) - these berries feed the birds.
• Inky Fingers Coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) - my absolute favorite Soleno. I took cuttings last night and have about a dozen plants started under grow lights indoors for new plants that will be for outdoor garden planters next year. If you find your local garden centers do not offer some of your favorite coleus, this is something you can do to propagate hard-to-find cultivars.

Happy and Healthy Gardening!
And, have fun at FNCE if you're an RD headed to, or in, Philadelphia
Related Links
Backyard Gardening: Grow your own food, Improve your Health 
Related Articles by Diana Wind, RD
Ayurvedic Herb: Coleus forskeolii  
Homemade Ground Pepper Spices
Job's Tears - A Fascinating Plant
Chiltepin Peppers Garden Spotlight
Photo collage Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Hummingbirds and beautiful blooms Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine

 click on the photo to get a full view

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

September 28, 2012

What happened to the cool fall temperatures? Today is hot and humid here in South Jersey. Our backyard gardens continue to produce herbs and vegetables and are still blooming away. Hummingbirds and monarch butterflies are migrating now too.  

As I strolled through the garden pushing my way past the tall chia that is all over the place, I noticed we have so many green tomatoes left on the vines. Birds and butterflies soared overhead. A hummingbird let me take his picture from a distance while he took a rest in between the dahlias before visiting the Lady in Red Salvias.

Photo clockwise from top left to right:

• Lady in Red Salvia (grown from seeds)
• Rosemary R. officinalis 'Arp'
• Plumeria Frangipani (started from a NOLA cutting!)
• hummingbird in front of Jerusalem Artichoke
• Nicotiana

Planting note: it is still not too late to plant fall crop seeds like Arugula and lettuce. I attempted to sow some today, but mosquitoes chased me back into the house.

Happy and Healthy Gardening!
Related Links
Osmarini Rosmarinus officinalis features Rosemary Roasted Potato Fries recipe
Photo collage Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Whole grain Job's Tears | fascinating natural bead for jewelry #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Job's Tears

The Most Fascinating Plant 

in Our Garden

Adults and children find Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) a fascinating plant. The seeds are large and easily planted by children, making Job's Tears a good selection in a Children's Garden. Botanically and as a natural food source, Job's Tears is a member of the family Poaceae (grass family) and is considered a gluten-free, whole grain. 

We grow Job's Tears in pots on a sunny porch. To me, the tall green blades look similar to lemon grass. By the end of the summer at around this time (early September), perfectly round bead seeds emerge like magic.  

The seeds develop a hard outer shell and are much too difficult to hull the quantity needed for use as a whole grain. Hulled Job's Tears (hato mugi) grain can be found in Korean specialty markets.  

When left on the plant to mature, green seeds the size of canna seeds - about 1/4-inch in diameter - eventually turn darker in color. Homegrown seeds can then be picked, dried and saved to grow more plants the following season or used as actual beads in jewelry making.

Over 30,000 people have read my article on Dave's Gardens!

Check it out ~ Includes photos of handmade Jewelry
Job's Tears, A Fascinating Plant

Photo Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Summer's over, but not for the Garden! Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine

 click on the photo to get a full view

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

September 8, 2012

Back to School and "finally", cooler air temperatures - signals that Summer is soon coming to an end, but not for the Garden! The garden will continue to bless us with many blooms and fresh organically grown veggies right up until a killing frost.

Gardening never gets boring. No season is ever exactly the same. This year, we've been having great success with Jersey tomatoes and Swiss chard. Nutritious Swiss chard has earned a forever place in our backyard garden for producing all summer long.  

We're still picking Italian basil in patches and breaking the leaves down in a food processor, preserving it simply in olive oil (faster than pesto) for later use in cooking. And, we've learned that potatoes can safely wait beneath the ground and dug up as needed.

Shown in the photo clockwise from top left to right:

• Japanese Windflower - Anemone 'Hadspen Abundance'
• Tarahumara Chia
• Red Basil
• Garlic Chives - Allium tuberosum
• Dahlia
• Northern Lights Swiss Chard
• Plumeria Frangipani buds getting ready to bloom. Can't wait to see this beauty from NOLA!
• Dragon fly resting on the fence
• Rutgers tomatoes 

Many vegetables (especially tomatoes, basil and peppers) can be easily grown from seeds started indoors (around St. Patty's Day) and transplanted out in early Spring. Start planning a garden now for next year and experience the joy of having your own backyard produce market.

Garden Note: You don't have to wait until next year; it's still not too late to plant Fall veggies right in your own backyard or in pots on a sunny porch or deck. Try arugula, kale, radishes or lettuce - all are easy to grow Fall veggies. Having a cover to keep frost off the plants helps extend the growing season. Fall Equinox is officially here September 22, 4:44 P.M. EDT.

Happy Gardening!
Photo collage and blog post Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.