Garden Update

After cutting off the pea tops and leaving the roots in the ground, I've had new peas growing!

This is my favourite part of curcubita plants! (cucs/squash)

Little baby peppers!

2 kinds of Cherry Tomatoes!

 Acorn Squash Sprouting for the winter!

Just some lovely mindfulness for today :)

Garlic Jelly with Hot Red Peppers

I went to Niagara-On-The-Lake with my friend Kate the other weekend and came across this epic preserve–garlic jelly with hot red peppers! I was highly sceptical but then tried it and WOW. It's a savourily blast of deliciousness!  I've been eating it on toast with cream cheese.  Lovely.  I need to figure out the recipe and make lots for myself….

First Garden Filled Hearty Salad!

My first pickins!

From left to right top row: bok choy, kale, mustard, chard, radish, arugula.

From left to right bottom row: lovage, chive flowers, arugula flowers.

I made a delicious rice pasta salad after I baked some organic chicken with dijon mustard and fresh cracked black pepper, roasted a red pepper, a yellow pepper, and 2 asian eggplant, and diced them all up. The herbs and greens I cut up nice and fine and yum! Fresh, hearty garden salad!

My Spring and Summer Garden is Planted!

The last of my garden is planted–my tomatoes and peppers!  We got a batch of late season coldness (down to 1 Celsius at night) so I was waiting to not kill my most delicate plants.  But now, my spring and summer home garden is fully planted! All I'll be planting now is potentially some successively planted kale, radishes, lettuces, basil, parsley, things like that.  And then later–my winter veg!  Although I'm also hoping to have another plot come up for those....  We'll see soon enough...

Barter Gardening

I planted a chunk of seeds and seedlings in my friend's garden that i'm planting as a barter for drum lessons.  It was a beautiful day! I'm always amazed at how time flies when I'm gardening–I tend to forget to eat...

We made a bed of beans, tomatoes, peppers and spinach, and a second bed of bok choy, beets, and arugula.  Yum!

First homegrown ingredient recipe of the year!

This recipe came out of my organic food box containing magoes, which I haven't eaten in YEARS (my ex was deathly allergic), not much in my fridge because I'm going away for the weekend, and an organic chicken breast sitting in my freezer. Also, my garden's first green onions!

Salad
1.5 cups organic quinoa ( cook 15 mins in 3 cups water–bring to boil then simmer until water is gone)

2 ripe organic mangoes, diced
1 sweet red pepper diced
5 large stalks organic green onion, diced

1 roasted chicken breast in bits (My second only chicken that I've ever cooked in my life! I now only buy hormone-free, nitrate-free, free range, organic chicken.  After being a vegetarian for 10 years, my body has begun to crave meat-based protein and I can't deny it that.  I don't eat meat often, and when I do, I make ethical choices.  One day I know I will have to kill an animal in order to justify eating it's flesh and I'm willing to do that to fully understand the meaning of my choices.  But I know that I can't deny my body what it needs. I cooked this defrosted chicken simply on 375 in my toaster oven for 40 mins with some dijon mustard, salt, and pepper put on before putting it in the oven)

Dressing
5 cloves garlic, minced
1inch piece minced fresh ginger
approx 1/2 cup organic sunflower oil
approx 1/8 cup organic apple cider vinegar
approx 1/8 cup organic white miso paste
approx 1/4 cup mango smoothie (apple, banana, mango)

YUM!!