Fifty Shades of Winter Green

In the midst of winter, one can feel detached from outdoor spaces, and all the growth potential of a green garden. Cold, foggy, sometimes rainy (or snowy) weather, can also create a lack of interest in buying and cooking with bright, organic produce. After all, winter is usually associated with comfort foods like hearty soups and stews, and rich dishes, while fresh green salads are more often enjoyed during spring and summer months.  What most people don't know, however, is that even in the dreariness of winter, you can grow something green!  Don't have any outdoor space?  Not a problem.   Even a sunny windowsill can  inspire the amateur green thumb to grow small pots of herbs, even fresh lettuce.  There are variations on techniques, but in general, you need 4 basic things to grow well: Good seeds, excellent compost based (organic material) soil, sun, and water.

Below, I harvested my first small set of leafy greens.  I pulled out one bunch of loose leaf lettuce, some Italian arugula that are relatively still young, and also swiss chard.

Experiment growing in a large pot

After removing the dirt and rinsing thoroughly, I cut up the greens lightly, so as not to distort their beautiful leafiness.

Roasted sweet potatoes and raw pumpkin seeds added some texture, as well as delicious, high-potent nutrients to the green salad.  Finally, I drizzled some pistachio balsamic vinegar, and cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, and added a small dash of pink Himalayan salt.

Nothing beats the earthy, crispy taste of home-grown greens!

"Beat the winter blues with your winter greens".

Harvesting Bit by Bit

When cooking from the garden one tends to feel like they have to have "just the right amount" of ingredients, in order to create a good dish.  For certain recipes, this holds true, and for baking, it is of most utmost importance.  However, in everyday casual cooking,  it is incredibly simple to improvise,  and not get hung up on 'measurements'  and quantity.

Today's example is a simple grain salad, made of a quinoa, couscous, and orzo blend that I found in the cupboard (bought at Trader Joe's).  I cooked this with chicken stock (flavor), and then added garbanzo beans that I had already sprouted (from dry), and cooked in the slow cooker overnight.

Then, out in the garden....

I was lucky to find some fresh thyme, oregano, parsley, a bit of basil, and some baby leaves of swiss chard.  So I took whatever I could find, and chopped them up to add to the salad.  Added some cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, a bit of salt, and there you have it. 

There really are no measurements here.  Just a hungry girl looking for some semi-healthy options ;) 

And always remember to give thanks!

A Fine Fragrant Start

Walla Walla onions are sweet onions that were originally imported from the island of Corsica, off the coast of Italy, by a French soldier, into the walla walla valley in Washington.  These are the preferred onions used for making onion rings!

Here, I have some great seedlings coming along.  Just out of curiosity, I pulled one out, and discovered that the very root actually has a distinct onion fragrance, even at this very young stage :)

Below, what the mature onions should look like upon harvest.

Lettuce Give Thanks To the Rain

We received an unprecedented amount of rain in Southern California towards the end of December, after feeling the deep impact of a severe drought throughout 2014.  This was an obvious blessing and gave a nice push to winter greens like loose leaf lettuce.

Next up in the seedling world: Swiss chard, beets, carrots, and walla walla onions 😄