by Judy | Oct 20, 2014 | CobraHead, Gardening, Recipes
I made this pea shoot salad last night which included all garden pickings – pea shoots plus baby carrots, baby beets, cilantro, red onion and several varieties of cherry tomatoes. The first time I knowingly ate pea shoots was this past summer. We were on a road trip to the GWA (Garden Writers Association) conference and stopped for lunch in South Bend, IN. We found a great little Chinese restaurant (J.W. Chens) just off the freeway right next to Notre Dame...
by Judy | Oct 1, 2014 | CobraHead, Gardening, Recipes
It’s raspberry heaven around here. Our ever bearing raspberries have stepped up to the plate, so to speak. They have been enjoying the fantastically wonderful fall weather almost as much as we have. Our warm days here in Wisconsin are quickly coming to a close but until the first frost there will be more raspberries to pick! We have been appreciating raspberry banana fruit smoothies with a taste of aronia berries and cocoa as our afternoon pick me up. We...
by Noel | Sep 24, 2014 | CobraHead
Early in July I posted about a heavy duty tomato trellis I constructed with T Posts and bamboo stakes: T Post and Bamboo Tomato Trellis. I’m happy to report the trellis performed exceptionally well. I’m going to build one again, next year and I already know some minor changes I’m going to make. Lacing the tomato stems to the bamboo forces the plants to maintain excellent vertical growth. A lot of the plants are growing well over the 8 foot height of the bamboo...
by Judy | Sep 22, 2014 | CobraHead, Gardening, Recipes
This has been a good year for tomatillos (Physalis ixocarpa). Our three plants have produced way more than we need for our few batches of salsa. Tomatillos are also not that easy to give away because a lot of people don’t know what they are, much less what to do with them. They grow like a tomato but the fruit has a loose, papery husk called a calyx that forms first. The fruit swells inside the husk and is ready to harvest about the time it breaks through the...
by Judy | Aug 24, 2014 | CobraHead, Recipes
We’re having an excellent harvest this year. Of course, this is due to Noel’s diligence in the garden. With the abundance of tomatoes, zucchini, onions and garlic I’m trying something new – at least for us. I filled a roasting pan with chunks of washed and cored, unpeeled tomatoes – the more variety the better. Then I added about 6 small chopped zucchini – yes a few were harvested at optimal size – 2 large chopped onions (1 yellow and 1 red) and a whole bulb of...
by Noel | Aug 17, 2014 | CobraHead, Environmental Issues, Gardening, Recipes
Judy made this season’s first salsa yesterday. It’s about as local as you can get. Everything in it is from the garden except the lime. Here’s the recipe: 2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes – red, yellow, orange – most any tomato will work, but the cherry tomatoes, especially the orange Sungolds, give it a particular zing. ¼ c. chopped red onion 3 cloves garlic – chopped finely 1 T. hot pepper (or to taste) – chopped finely ½ c. cilantro – chopped 1 lime –...
