Neo V- Cuisine!

It is no secret that I love to cook. I love growing our food and preparing a meal to be eaten at home. I am also interested in sustainable living. One tenent of sustainable living is eating vegetarian or vegan two to three times a week. While I do like lean meats and fish and think they are a good part of a balanced diet, minimizing their consumption is better for your health and better for the environment.

The downside is that unfortunately, the one creative cuisine I have not mastered is vegetarian or vegan cooking. I am pretty good with salads, casseroles, etc. But the neo V cusine is far more creative and is taking the use of vegetables to a whole new level. It is my goal to learn more about the cooking methods and the possibilities so I can incorporate more creative vegan and vegetarian dishes in my repitoire. Until then, I rely on creative chefs to provide vegan delights. So when I had the opportunity to eat at Dragonfly here in Columbus, I was very excited. They are a vegan restaurant that grows their own produce in a little potager in the back of the restaurant!

Dragonfly and its quick stop lunch spot On the Fly are located in Columbus’ Victorian Village and have won numerous distinctions, such as being on Columbus Monthly’s top 10 list and being mentioned in US Today and Veg News. Their menus are seasonal, ecclectic and amazingly delicious!

I also got a chance to tour the garden with the owner Magdiale Wolmark. He showed a friend and I his specially designed raised bed garden. Designed by Wolmark and Jennifer Bartley (Author of Designing the New Kitchen Garden), the garden is an elegant and efficient use of space. With espaliered fruit trees, and 24 inches of rich soil in a modified U shape that makes it compact, productive and very urban.

Wolmark is a subscriber to the Biodynamic method of gardening. Biodynamics is a science of life-forces, a recognition of the basic principles at work in nature, and an approach to agriculture which takes these principles into account to bring about balance and healing. Magdiale uses the Stella Natura planting planner and calendar to successfully manage the potager along the principles of Biodynamics (http://www.stellanatura.com/ ).

One of the new amazing things in the Dragonfly garden is the mushroom area. Magdiale has inoculated white oak logs to grow Shitake mushrooms in a cool nook between the kitchen and the restaurant. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with to use those delicious mushrooms!
Check out their website at http://www.dragonflyneov.com/ but better yet, stop in and experience it yourself!

Happy Gardening…and Eating!!

Be Fruitful and Multiply!

Oh dear, I think my inner Jewish roots are showing…but I want to emphasize that I am planning on including fruit (specifically apple) trees in the potager. A well balanced potager includes vegetables, flowers and fruit to supply the home with these treasures. Even in a small plot like ours, fruit can be nurtured and grown successfully!

The plan is to include two types of apple trees designed to pollinate together, I chose;

· Lodi (Malus x domestica): This treeproduces an early harvest of juicy, yellow apples. Harvested during July to August. As with most fruit trees, this requires a minimum of 6-8 hours of sunlight daily. This variety of apple is not drought tolerant so it will require water. This type of tree is hardy in zones 3-8 (http://www.arborday.org/treeinfo/zonelookup.cfm ).

· Stayman Winesap (Malus x domestica): This tree produces a large red apple that is the most popular winter keeper with a tart, rich, wine like flavor. The tree is hardy in zones 5 – 8. Luckily, we live in a nice belt (zone 6) that is great for growing apples, pears, cherries and other fruit.

Purchasing trees is very easy, but I will clue you in on a tip to save money and help a great cause. Many people purchase their trees at local nurseries, which is totally fine. However, the cost of bucketed trees, depending on the size can range anywhere from $30 to $130 for a single tree. But, you can save money and support a great foundation by ordering your trees from the Arbor Day Foundation.

The Arbor Day Foundation is the world's oldest and largest tree-planting organization. Its million members plant millions of trees every year. New members receive 10 free trees. The foundation began September 3, 1971 with a mission "to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees". The Foundation is supported by donations, selling trees and merchandise, and by corporate sponsors. They also operate the Rain Forest Rescue charity. For every $10 contributed by public donations, 2,500 square feet area of rain forest is saved in the name of the donator. Rain Forest Rescue has preserved nearly two billion square feet of land this way.
I ordered two trees (one of each variety) for fall delivery to my area (November). With my membership and some free forsythia bushes thrown in, my total order was $30. Members can order trees for as low as $7 each!

For more information about the good work the National Arbor Day Foundation and how you can become a member, visit http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm

I will update the blog when the trees come in and how I am going to plant them, but for now…Happy Gardening!

Leeks: Epic Fail!

Alright, I admit it…I have failed! I planted leeks directly in the soil this year and they did absolutely NOTHING…they grew these sad little chive like stems and they have stayed exactly like that all season long. I have reviewed the watering schedule, the soil composition and depth and I just don’t have a good answer as to why these did not grow.

As I have said before, while success is awesome and yummy in the garden, failure is a good way to learn new things or be reminding of things we should have learned before. I am searching for the lessons in my leek disaster, but I have yet to figure it out.

So much for my plans of Vichyssoise this fall :-(

Sad Gardener….but happy gardening!

Entertaining "in" and "from" the Garden

I knew that having a potager would be a great addition to our home from an economical and certainly from a gourmet perspective. But I really hadn’t imagined that it would add so much to our home entertaining.

This weekend, we held a little end of summer party. We host an annual event each year, but this year the garden played heavily in the theme as well as the menu. In addition, it really became a conversation item for many guests who toured around the beds to see what was growing. The garden bench served as an impromptu conversation stop.

Good friends, good food…Good Times. We served chicken and beef brisket slider sandwiches for the main course. For the side dishes, we incorporated items from the garden in each dish. The centerpiece was the Caprese salad that included the heirloom tomatoes and the bright and tasty basil from the garden. The pasta salad included corn, zuccini, pepers and peas from the garden. The antipasta/relish tray included roasted peppers and homemade pickles from cucumbers grown in the garden.

Entertaining is always fun for us, but adding the garden took it to another level. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the year’s entertaining is enhanced by our little potager.

Happy Gardening!

When You Can't Grow It

I have limits…I know, shocking, right? But living in an urban neighborhood, the amount of space to grow food is limited. When I cannot grow the produce or flowers I need for my table or for an event, I turn to farmers markets or a public market. Here in Columbus, that means our treasured North Market.

Recently, I visited the market to attend the Farmer’s Festival. This is the open air weekend farmers market, with flowers, vegetables, fruit, meats and other delicacies all farm fresh, most organic and wonderful.

Since my corn is limited and still a couple of weeks from harvest, we picked up a dozen ears as well as some wonderful pepper jelly. In addition, I bought garlic for pasta sauce, chicken stock and a few other uses since I have not grown it yet (it goes into the garden in the fall).
We also picked up a gorgeous bouquet of sunflowers (I just couldn’t wait for our new transplants to bloom).

I think what is so marvelous about a public market is that you get closer to your food…the folks who grow it are selling it to you. Not a commercial farmer who then sells to a broker, who then sells to a distributor who then in turn sells it to a grocery chain who then distributes the food to its local stores….not yummy!

Fresh from your ground or the local farm is really the way to go! The freshness and the taste will blow you away and the lack of toxins will help your family’s health immensely!
Visit your local farmers or public market today! For more information on Columbus’ North Market, visit their website at http://www.northmarket.com/

Happy Gardening!

Fall Harvest Continues: Broccoli

I admit I am a finicky Broccoli eater. I like it three ways…steamed, blanched or in soup…that is it. Raw broccoli is gross and reminds me of those insipid vegetable trays from the grocery store (ick!). Roasted Broccoli is too bitter and boiled and smothered in cheese sauce is simply nasty.

How you prepare and enjoy Broccoli is completely your choice; as for growing it, it couldn’t be easier.

You can easily figure the perfect time to plant broccoli seeds this fall. If you want to sow seeds directly in the garden, do so about 85 to 100 days before the average first fall frost in your area, which happens in mid to late summer in most places (including here in Ohio). If you prefer to grow from transplants, figure the date for getting your plants in the ground by adding 10 days to the "days to maturity" for the variety you're growing, and then counting backwards from your expected first fall frost date.


Broccoli grows best in full sun and where the soil is slightly acidic, fertile, and well-drained, yet consistently moist and rich in organic matter.

Fall broccoli has specific spacing requirements. If you're gardening intensively in a raised bed, space your plants 15 to 18 inches apart..

Broccoli is a moderately heavy feeder, so work in 2 to 4 inches of rich compost or a thin layer of well-aged manure before planting. Rabbit manure is excellent if available, otherwise good compost will do.

Offer cold-weather protection with floating row covers, which provide an additional 4 degrees to 8 degrees F worth of warmth, shielding harvests from heavy freezes and extending the season by up to four weeks. Or cover broccoli with tunnels or a coldframe, which can boost daytime temperatures by 10 degrees to 30 degrees F.

Harvest broccoli heads while the buds are just starting to swell but before the yellow petals start to show. Keep an eye on the head, for when it begins to spread open, the individual buds start to flower. Harvest the central head by cutting the stalk at a slant, about 5 to 8 inches below the head. This encourages side-shoot production for continued harvests.

Happy Gardening!

Fall Harvest Continues: Carrots

Carrots are a more progressive planting crop, but if you have not continually planted carrots throughout the season (and I didn’t), we have an opportunity for a second sewing of the delicious root vegetables (I am still picking carrots little by little so as not to run out before the new plants emerge).

People say I am crazy for thinking that carrots are the reason that I am the only person in my family not blind as a bat…after eating all of my carrots (plus my brother’s) as a child and loving the vegetable in all forms today, I can still read the eye chart in its entirety from 25-30 feet away. Scoff if you will non believers, but it is true!

Carrots do best in raised beds filled with well-draining, fertile topsoil that contains plenty of organic matter. Remove rocks and debris from past crops to clear the path for maturing carrots and prevent misshapen roots. If you have clay soil, double-dig your carrot bed to loosen and aerate the soil, and plant Nantes, Chantenay, or ball type carrots, because their shorter roots grow well even in heavier soils. I love carrots and grow two varieties (Adelaide Baby Carrots and the French Babette).


I am not a big fan of planting then thinning so I plant in square foot patches. 16 carrot seeds per square feet is excellent spacing and you don’t waste seeds!


Watering: Carrots need consistent soil moisture from the time you plant until harvest. Seedlings stressed by low moisture grow slowly and produce lower yields. Dry soil causes carrots to develop uneven surfaces, yet too much moisture encourages small, hairy-looking roots to form. If your carrot bed happens to dry out, remoisten the soil over a period of days, because sudden saturation causes carrots to split. Use an organic mulch around your carrots to retain moisture.

My soil has a lot of organic matter in it so I should not need to fertilize much. However, since I am quite anal about things, I did use liquid fish emulsion in my hose fertilizer container that dilutes the mixture 1/10th. It seems to perk everything up…I did this twice this season and do not plant to add more fertilizer until it is time to compost in the fall

White maggots or tunnels filled with brown, crumbly material are the work of carrot rust flies. Keep these at bay with your Veggie Farm peppermint/garlic spray as much as possible. And watch out for dark, yellow-bordered spots on leaves since this signals that you might have fungal leaf blight. Stunted, light yellow leaves and woody roots with tufts of white side roots are signs of aster yellows.

Harvest carrots as soon as they're big enough to eat. Hand-pull carrots to avoid damaging their roots. Extend their storage life by cutting off all but 1 inch of the leaves and stem. Store carrots in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator, or layer them in a box with damp sand and store them in a cool room or root cellar.

Happy Gardening!

Planting Fall Crops (Part 1)

With the summer heat, it is easy to forget that there is another growing season about to begin! While you might be in garden overload at the moment with all the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers coming your way; don’t forget to get your fall crops ready to go into the ground this month!

Fall crops such as beets, carrots, lettuce, and broccoli should be planting within the next week to ensure you get a fall harvest before the frost. Over the next few days, I am going to talk about what we are doing with fall crops. Beginning with Beets

Your soil should be a light, sandy loam. This permits rapid, uninterrupted growth for tender roots. The soil should be moist, fertile and well drained so we are adding a bit of compost and sand to assist with the drainage well before planting the beets.

Space plants 2 to 4 inches apart; When plants are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin them to 4 to 6 inches apart. I ususally plant 9 beet plants per square foot.

You can harvest the beets 56 to 70 days after sowing seeds. Baby beets are ready sooner. Beet greens are ready to harvest in just 30 to 45 days.

Happy Gardening!

Gifts From The Garden (Part I)

I am writing this as a multipart entry because as the season ends and more items come for harvest, I am going to talk about this again and go into a little more detail with what to do with your harvest to transform them into gifts for family and friends. But for now, think of this as what to do with your abundance of fresh veggies!...SHARE them!

Everyone loves fresh organic vegetables; this is a great way to show you care. Think of the money you save them if you provide a little basket of goodness!

We were fortunate to be invited to a dear friend’s house for dinner the other night(Thanks David and Jay!). As most people do, I struggle with bringing the perfect host present. This summer, I am not struggling! For most or all of our social occasions that call for a host present, we are bringing a bit of the garden.

In the winter, I came across a sale on these fantastic small bushel baskets and I snatched all that the store had, I knew I could use them sometime…now is the time.

Filled with a selection of fresh vegetables from the garden and some fragrant olive oil flavored with items from the garden (this one is baby shallots), we were ready to go.

Pick what is most beautiful and abundant and you will never go wrong bringing the perfect summer host or hostess gift!
Happy Gardening!

All Together Now

Last week we talked about making pasta sauce with all of the tomatoes out of the garden. Now, you can make spaghetti or another pasta dish, but with all the talk around the blog about eggplant parmesan, I decided to take my own approach to the classic dish.

I pulled one of each kind of eggplant from the garden. Sliced them up and prepared to get cooking! I wanted to bread the eggplant, but not with traditional breadcrumbs…they tend to get too soggy very quickly so instead I chose Japanese Panko bread crumbs. These are bread flakes rather than crumbs and remain lighter when cooked.

I began with an egg wash and seasoned flour (with salt and pepper); I put them through the egg wash again and then coat them with the Panko crumbs. I fried the eggplant in 350 degree oil, and then drained on a paper towel.

To make this dish a little different, I chose Asiago cheese rather than parmegano reggiano since the parm cheese is too flaky to hold up being stacked. I used a fluted biscuit cutter to shape the cheese, then stacked it with the eggplant. I then served it with the heated sauce I made the night before. The great thing about the panko is that it kept the eggplant nice and crisp throughout the whole meal….delicious!

Happy Gardening!

Bella, Bella, Belissimo!

With an over abundance of fresh tomatoes, onions and herbs…what’s a boy to do? Make pasta sauce!
I make fresh pasta sauce a few times a year. The summer harvest of tomatoes gave me a reason to make it last night. With all the talk on the blog of eggplants, I thought I could make a good eggplant parmesan (I am creating a new recipe thanks to a few suggestions…more on that later).

Ingredients
1 dozen varied size tomatoes (medium and large). Add any little cherry or plum tomatoes as well (heirloom, yellow, red, all sorts).
3 medium sized onions in a medium dice
6 cloves garlic, roughly minced
1 bundle of fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano)
1-2 inch square of parmeggiano reggiano rind (leftover and kept in the freezer)
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Meanwhile chop onions and saute and sweat for 15-20 minutes until really soft and cooked (saute is on medium high heat to start, then turn the heat to medium low so the onions do not get browned).

When water is boiling, stem and core the tomatoes and mark the bottom of each with an ex with your pairing knife. Drop 1-2 tomatoes in the boiling water and stew until the skins become loose. Retrieve them with a chinese strainer or other draining utensil. Immediately plunge the tomatoes into a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking and retract the skin. Once cool, remove and discard the tomato skins (into the compost). With clean hands drain and crush the tomatoes.

Add the garlic to the onions for and cook for one minute stirring constantly. Add crushed tomatoes, cheese rind and cook over medium heat (stirring occasionally)for 30-45 minutes until tomatoes are very soft. Add chopped herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Plunge an emersion blender into the tomatoes and process until smooth. Cook an additional 30 minutes until the liquid is reduced and the over all sauce is reduced by 25%.

Allow to cool and store in plastic deli or other plastic quart containers (makes two) for at least a day before serving or freezing.

Now you don’t have to give away all of your tomatoes when you have a bumper crop and you have also created at least two meals! Home Economics at its best!

Happy Gardening!

Bob, would call this color Grape or Aubergine? (Part II)

Plant eggplants in a warm spot. Eggplants, with their thin and delicate skins, will not tolerate any cold at all. Even the slightest frost may kill your crop. For this reason, plant the seeds only in the warmest climates during the spring time. In other climates, it is best to start from transplants once temperatures are in the 70's.

Space the plants about 2 or 3 feet apart in rows that are spaced about 2 feet apart. Soil should be loose, full of nutrients and drained well. For those that have poorly draining compact soil or a heavy ratio of clay soil, the best amendment is silica sand. Silica sand will help improve the soil's drainage properties without upsetting its Ph--a crucial factor in growing a healthy eggplant. Eggplants need full sun to reach their potential. Keep that in mind when digging the garden.
Feed new transplants every four to six weeks. The first application of fertilizer should be a good liquid 20-20-20 mix. After that, you can use 10-10-10 in dry form. Eggplants are heavy drinkers. Be sure to check the soil often to ensure it retains even moisture.

Keep weeds at bay. Watch out for white flies, aphids and flea beetles (use your garlic and peppermint oil spray). All can do serious damage to your plants if left unchecked, but these pests are pretty easy to control if you are attentive. Flea beetles, in particular, are a common problem for young plants. Once they get a bit older, the leaf damage will not hurt them. Since eggplant shrubs may grow to heights in excess of three feet and because the fruits are quite heavy, it is a good idea to stake them.

Decide what kind of eggplants you like best. Left alone, plants will produce many small fruits. If harvesting bigger specimens is your goal, you will need to pinch out some buds and terminal growth. The result should be between three and six fruits per plant. The time between planting and harvest can vary, but usually it will take about two months before the eggplants are ready to be eaten.

Pick your eggplant when it has developed color but before it has lost its shine. Use a knife or pruning shears to cut the fruit from the plant. Leave about an inch of stem.

Here is a terrific recipe for Cous Cous Stuffed Eggplant, it serves 6 and is different and tasty!

1/2 head garlic
4 small eggplant
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 yellow or red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup uncooked couscous
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (2 lemons), finely chopped
1/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
1/2 pound red and yellow cherry tomatoes, cut into eighths

Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil. Cook until cloves are soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool, and squeeze the soft garlic from the cloves; set aside.
Cut 3 eggplant in half lengthwise, and place the 6 halves cut sides up on a cutting board. Using a paring knife, cut around the perimeters, leaving a 1/3-inch-wide border and being careful not to cut through skin. Cutting down through flesh, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Using a small spoon, scoop out the strips, keeping skin intact. Cut strips into 1/4-inch dice. Set both the diced eggplant and shells aside. Cut the remaining eggplant, skin on, into 1/4-inch dice. Set aside.
In a large skillet set over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and slightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Add all diced eggplant, bell pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cover; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes. If mixture starts to become dry, add the additional tablespoon olive oil. Set aside.

Place couscous in a medium heat-proof bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over couscous. Cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let sit until slightly cooled, 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add lemon zest, ricotta, parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the reserved eggplant mixture, the roasted garlic, and cherry tomatoes. Stir to combine.

Fill each reserved eggplant shell with couscous mixture. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake until warm throughout and shell has softened, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove foil, and continue cooking until tops are toasty brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Happy Gardening!

Bob, would call this color Grape or Aubergine? (Part I)

The eggplant, aubergine, or brinjal (Solanum melongena), is a plant of the nightshade family, but don’t worry it isn’t deadly! It bears a fruit of the same name, commonly used as a vegetable in cooking. As a nightshade, it is closely related to the tomato and potato and is native to India and Sri Lanka.

The stem is often spiny. The flowers are white to purple, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. The fruit is fleshy, less than 3 cm in diameter on wild plants, but much larger in cultivated forms.

The fruit is botanically classified as a berry, and contains numerous small, soft seeds, which are edible, but are bitter because they contain (an insignificant amount of) nicotinoid alkaloids, unsurprising as it is a close relative of tobacco.

I am growing two varieties of Eggplant (Black Beauty and Ichibahn)
The Ichiban or Japanese variety of eggplant differs from the regular eggplant only in its size and shape. Regular eggplants are, after all, egg shaped. Ichiban eggplants are long and slender. At maturity, these eggplants are between 10 inches and one foot long, depending upon the variety. Eggplants, though delicate, are moderately easy to grow.

The 'Black Beauty' Eggplant plant has been a dependable producer for decades. It yields up to 15 fruits per plant. The egg-shaped fruits range from 4 to 6 inches and may weigh up to 3 lbs., but they are best harvested when smaller.

In the next post, I will give you tips on growing and preparing them!

Until then,

Happy Gardening!