February Garden

February Garden

I haven’t been thinking too much about my garden in February, and I definitely haven’t done anything outside. The 14 below lows and bitter cold days have kept me indoors. It did warm up this week, so I went to the garden to check things out. The garden fork hits ice between 2 to 6 inches. Our lack of snow cover this winter means the frost is quite deep and will take a little longer to thaw out. I won’t be working the soil anytime soon. Here’s my compost pile. This...
Cauliflower Coconut Curry

Cauliflower Coconut Curry

Still got some frozen cauliflower and frozen tomatoes tucked away in the freezer? If not, fresh cauliflower and canned tomatoes work very well in this delicious stew. Serve it over basmati rice or mashed or chunky cooked potatoes – a tasty and filling meal. P.S. Add one cup of cooked white beans for a protein boost. (Tip from a Rancho Gordo recipe.) Recipe: 1 T olive oil 1 large onion – finely chopped 3-4 garlic cloves – minced 1 inch knob of ginger, peeled and...
Getting Ready for Spring

Getting Ready for Spring

Here’s a picture of our main garden. There’s nothing going on. That’s okay with me, as winter provides a vacation from most gardening chores. I don’t maintain a greenhouse, so things are pretty easy in December and January. But February brings on the work for the new season. Note the total lack of snow cover. We’ve had almost no snow this winter. In the old weather normal, we could often count on a good snow cover from December through March. And though it...
Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

I’d like to say this is the year of the cauliflower because I keep finding new recipes but its popularity ebbs and flows. Apparently, per capita consumption peaked in 1946, then rose again during the hippy vegetarian era in the 70’s and 80’s before falling again until 2019. The low-carb and gluten-free trends brought back its popularity in the form of pizza crusts, pastas, tortillas, crackers and you name it. I prefer my cauliflower straight up though I do season...
November Garden

November Garden

Years ago we could expect a heavy blanket of snow to cover the garden from December until March. Snow cover is a good thing, but we can no longer count on it. Until this week, November temperatures in southern Wisconsin have been way above historic normals. It’s cooling off, but the meteorologists are predicting little snow cover for this year. Snow or not, I try to cover as much of my garden as possible with leaves. Leaves act as a weed suppressant, they insulate...
Cherry Tomato Pasta

Cherry Tomato Pasta

Tomato season is just about over here in southern Wisconsin, unless you have a greenhouse. We’ve had a couple of light freezes, and since we are on tomato overload, our plants have been pulled. This doesn’t mean we’re out – we have a 6-foot table plus of tomatoes in various stages of ripeness, including various colors of cherry tomatoes. I could juice them, but my freezer is full of tomato products, so I’ve opted to make a simple pasta sauce for dinner. Recipe: 4...

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