How To Grow Potatoes In 5 Simple Steps

Can we grow new potatoes from old potatoes?

grow potatoes

Yes!

So… those potatoes left in the pantry or the bottom of the refrigerator decided to sprout. Instead of throwing them into the trash or the compost bin, try growing them! You can grow potatoes in the home garden or in large pots, following a few simple guidelines.

Too withered for consumption, but fine for the garden.

We don’t recommend planting potatoes recently purchased from the grocery store because they’ve likely been treated with a sprout inhibitor. After the effect wears off, you’ll see the eyes begin growing. That, though, could take months.

Organic potatoes, if treated with sprout suppressors approved by the National Organic Program, sprout earlier than non-organic potatoes. Inhibitors, such as spearmint, peppermint, and clove oils, must be applied more frequently than chemicals used on traditionally treated potatoes.

Spouting potatoes (like the ‘Yukon Gold’ in photo, top) are still edible, after removing the eyes. Discard moldy and rotting potatoes. But save for the garden the ones with well-developed sprouts and those that have withered beyond the point of palatability.

Carbohydrates stored in the tuber provide energy for the developing shoots. When green leaves begin growing, photosynthesis will sustain the plant.

When can we grow potatoes outside?

Potatoes can tolerate cool soil, but not cold, wet soil or freezing temperatures. I live in USDA plant hardiness zone 7, where we plant early maturing varieties 4-6 weeks before the last spring frost. Gardeners plant mid-season and late varieties after that.

Wait for the soil to warm up to at least 45°F before planting tubers. Long-range weather forecasts might indicate whether it’s safe to plant or prudent to delay.

A garden exposed to full direct sunlight warms up earlier in spring than one in partial sun. Grow potatoes in full sun, but avoid exposing them to searing summer heat. Gardeners living in higher elevations or in cooler summer regions can grow potatoes through the season.

If the weather forecast predicts temperatures below freezing, I’ll mulch the soil with several inches of oak leaves, never in short supply around here. A thick, airy mulch insulates the ground from a sudden drop in temperature. Plants benefit from mulch kept in place all season. Not only does it moderate temperature, suppress weeds, and keep moisture in the ground, but it also prevents disease spores from splashing onto the potato’s leaves. This is easier to do in small garden plots than in larger farming operations.

Emerging foliage can tolerate light frost. It could take a few weeks for growth to show above ground.

Seed Potatoes

For a wider selection of varieties offered to farmers and home gardeners, look for “seed potatoes”. Some garden centers and many seed suppliers stock seed potatoes. They’re not actually seeds, but certified young potatoes almost ready for planting. Although they’re certified disease-free when purchased, plants are susceptible to a few pathogens as they grow.

Favorable conditions and good management practices decrease the likelihood of problems. If you’ve had diseases in your potato crops, don’t save potatoes year to year, but purchase certified potatoes instead. Don’t grow potatoes where they’ve been planted any time in the past 4 years.

Botanically speaking, potatoes are classified as Solanum tuberosum. They belong to the Solanaceae family and call tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants their cousins. Tobacco, petunias, and deadly nightshade, a poisonous weed, also belong to the nightshade family.

Potatoes are native to the cool mountainous regions of South America. In the 1530’s, European explorers gathered them and introduced potatoes to their homeland. Irish immigrants brought them to North America in the early 1700’s. Approximately 4,000 varieties of potatoes have been bred. True seeds, as opposed to seed potatoes, are poisonous when eaten and are used only for breeding purposes.

You can find potatoes with white, yellow, tan, red, blue, and purple skins and flesh. Thin-skinned potatoes, such as ‘Yukon Gold’, ‘Kennebec’, and ‘Red Pontiac’, grow well in the eastern parts of the U.S. The western states suit the thicker-skinned ‘Russet’ and other baking potatoes.

Crop Rotation

One of those good management practices involves rotating our crops. Related plants tend to be susceptible to the same pathogens and insect pests. When growing one crop in the same plot of land year after year, disease spores and insects can build up in that location. That’s why it’s recommended to move all members of a particular plant family to different plots over the next several growing seasons.

For example, if you grew potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, or eggplants in Plot A in any of the last 4 years, move your potatoes and other members of the Solanaceae family to Plot B this year, Plot C next year, and then Plot D the year after that.

Rotate among the various plant families, such as:

brassicas—arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, etc., in the Brassicaceae family
cucurbits—cucumber, squash, zucchini, melons, in the Cucurbitaceae family
legumes—peas, beans, in the Fabaceae family
lettuces, in the Asteraceae family
onions, leeks, garlic, in the Amaryllidaceae family
Swiss chard, spinach, beets, in the Amaranthaceae family

Several varieties of potatoes.

How To Grow Potatoes In the Garden

Step 1: The First Cut

Before planting potatoes in the ground, cut them into pieces about 1½” long. Each piece should have 2-3 eyes. Let them sit in the open air for 1-2 days to seal the cut surface. This helps prevent rot in moist soil.

Small potatoes can be planted whole.

Step 2: Prepare the Soil If You Want To Grow Potatoes

Thorough soil preparation serves the immediate purpose as well as plantings in years to come. After improving the soil with generous amounts of drainage materials, you’ll need to add nutrient-rich amendments a few times each year after that.

Not repeatedly disturbing the soil profile retains healthy populations of beneficial microbes. Farmers are increasingly using no-till methods and cover crops to preserve soil structure and prevent erosion of valuable topsoil. Frequent tilling also introduces high levels of oxygen between the particles of soil, so organic matter is broken down too quickly.

Vegetable plants need good drainage, and potatoes are no exception. Loosen the soil at least 12″ deep, breaking up the clods. Potatoes struggle in compacted clay and stony soils; tubers that do form are often misshapen. Potatoes grow very well in raised beds.

Incorporate a few inches of pine fines, soil conditioner, peat moss, and/or coarse sand to improve the tilth (or workability) of the soil. Avoid layering materials in the soil profile. Layers of coarse and fine materials, with differing air pore spaces from one material to another, obstruct water percolating through the soil. This could cause soggy layers that can rot roots. For that reason, I never place a layer of gravel under plantings.

In the top 5″ of loosened soil, mix in compost, leaf mold, or planting mixes. These materials contain a variety of nutrients required by vegetables, and they encourage rapid rooting.

Aged manure and mushroom compost are not recommended for root vegetables.

Soil PH

Potatoes love heavily composted soil. They also require acidic soil, with a pH between 5.0 and 6.0. (Various websites recommend a pH anywhere between 4.8 and 7.0.)

Low pH helps prevent scab, a disfiguring disease of potato skins. Soil pH outside the preferred range for potatoes limits nutrient absorption and might cause nutrient toxicities.

Contact your local agricultural extension agents for information on taking a soil test. They can recommend preferred fertilizers, methods to lower soil pH, and varieties appropriate for your area.

Step 3: Place the Seed Potatoes

In rich, organic soil, simply lay the potato pieces on top of moist, loosened soil or nestle them into the surface. The eyes should face upward. Then mulch over the seed potatoes.

They’ll also grow when planted 2″ deep. Space potatoes 6-12″ apart, depending on variety. Because potato plants grow 2-3′ tall and might sprawl a bit, allow 30-36″ between rows.

Mulch the bed with a few inches of leaf litter, shredded leaves, and pine needles to cover the planted potatoes. It’s important to adequately shade the surface of the ground from sunlight to protect growing tubers from greening…

“Greening”?

Potatoes with green skin needed deeper mulch.

Greening is caused by exposure to light, which, in itself, is not harmful. But the green pigment (chlorophyll) in potatoes is associated with the formation of a toxic glycoalkaloid called solanine.

Never eat green potatoes; if only the skin is green, cut off and discard that part before cooking. Never eat leaves, stems, or the berries that develop on potato plants.

Solanine in potatoes is more concentrated when growing potatoes in high nitrogen soils and in soil that’s compacted or very sandy. Bruised potatoes, those held a long time in storage, and potatoes with large eyes are higher in this toxin. The greener the potato, the higher the level of solanine. This bitter substance is a natural repellent to insects and browsing animals.

Solanine can’t be boiled or cooked away. The level is somewhat lower in foods fried at very high temperatures, but that brings its own problems, described later in this article. I’m not intent on discouraging you from growing or eating potatoes, but moderate consumption of this popular vegetable and proper preparation make it a healthier indulgence.

Symptoms of solanine toxicity include vomiting, diarrhea, slow pulse or breathing, low blood pressure, and abdominal pain. It can cause coma and death in rare instances, so be very careful with green potatoes. If any of the flesh is green after removing the skin, I would discard the potato.

Step 4: Maintenance

Water

Water the garden thoroughly after planting and mulching. If rain is unreliable, water the garden every week, never letting the soil become dry. Provide 1-1½” of water each week if it doesn’t rain.

Avoid wetting the foliage, and water in the morning so the foliage is dry going into the night. This helps cut down on the incidence of disease. Some varieties are resistant to blight, scab, Rhizoctonia, and Verticillium wilt. Those that have not been bred with disease resistance often produce great yields when using good gardening practices.

Hollow Heart and Brown Center

Some large varieties, particularly ‘Atlantic’ (for potato chips) and ‘Yukon Gold’ (a personal favorite), might show hollow heart and/or brown center. These are physiological disorders characterized by a star-shaped cavity and a central area with dead brown tissue, respectively, in the center of the potato or near the ends.

These stress-related conditions often result from inconsistent soil moisture—for example, wet soil after a period of dry soil. In addition, a period of prolonged cold weather during tuber formation can cause brown center. Spacing seed potatoes too far apart and using small seed potatoes (with too few eyes) can be the cause. Low potassium and other nutrient deficiencies can initiate the disorders.

The potato’s skin shows no indication of a problem. Affected potatoes aren’t perfect but are still edible.

Hilling Up

As the plants grow, hill up soil against the stems of the plants. Take soil from another part of the garden, adding a few inches up the stem and about 12″ out from it. This is an option—not necessary—but it should increase the yield.

Like tomatoes, potatoes root along buried stems. As they root, they’ll develop another layer of young potatoes at the ends of the stolons. Hill up around the stems 2 or 3 times during the growing season to maximize the harvest.

An alternative is to start potatoes in a moderately deep trench, reserving excavated soil on the side of the bed. Periodically fill in the trench with amended soil, a few inches at a time.

Fertilizer

Every few weeks, apply a complete fertilizer. The 3 numbers on the package representing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K) should be in a ratio of 1:1:1 or 1:2:2. Avoid fertilizers high in nitrogen. An analysis close to 10-10-10 or 5-10-10 is adequate.

Although you could use chemical fertilizers, they tend to damage populations of beneficial microbes. But, until the soil warms up, microbes aren’t sufficiently active to break down the organic components into molecules the plants can absorb. That’s when I use chemical fertilizers, and then switch to organic products when the soil warms.

To help prevent disorders in developing potatoes, it’s recommended to apply smaller concentrations of fertilizer more frequently.

Insect Pests

Colorado potato beetles can be especially bothersome as they consume significant amounts of foliage. Inspect the undersides of the leaves for yellow-orange egg masses and remove them. The beetles have 10 black stripes on their tan wings. Immature larvae are orangish-red with 2 rows of black dots down each side. Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis, a biological insecticide, kills this beetle.

Aphids might congregate in large numbers on the plants. A brisk spray of cool water from the hose takes care of most of them. Encourage ladybugs, braconid wasps, and green lacewings to populate your garden. For severe infestations, prepare a solution of horticultural oil and spray early in the morning. Apply the solution to the bottoms of the leaves as well. Read the label.

Cutworms feed on sprouts emerging from the ground. Since these C-shaped larvae become moths, treating the potatoes with Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki effectively kills them. Keep in mind that they’ll have to eat some of the foliage in order to ingest the Bt.

Slugs and Deer

A slug.

Slugs reproduce rapidly in moist conditions and where they can hide in crevices during the daytime.

Lay a board on moist ground, and slugs and snails will gather there after feeding through the night. You might notice those silvery slime trails on tender foliage. Early in the morning, take an old knife to the garden and… dispatch them forthwith! Or use organic Sluggo or similar product, which does not contain toxic chemicals. Except to slugs and snails. Read the label.

Although potato foliage is not the favorite choice of warm-blooded animals, deer and others will feed on it when not much else is available.

Other members of the nightshade family also host these pests. Row cover secured over the planting excludes most insects and browsing animals.

Potatoes that sprouted in storage are now growing new plants in 6″ pots. They’ll need protection from hard frost if planted, but I didn’t want to delay planting the deteriorating tubers.

Headings

Page 1: Can we grow new potatoes from old potatoes? (When can we grow potatoes outside?, Seed Potatoes, Crop Rotation), How To Grow Potatoes In the Garden, Step 1: The First Cut, Step 2: Prepare the Soil If You Want To Grow Potatoes (Soil PH), Step 3: Place the Seed Potatoes (“Greening”?), Step 4: Maintenance (Water, Hollow Heart and Brown Center, Hilling Up, Fertilizer, Insect Pests, Slugs and Deer)

Page 2: Step 5: Harvesting!, How To Grow Potatoes In Containers, Grow Potatoes For Their Nutrients (The Power Of the Purples, Potato Skins, Resistant Starch), The Problem With High Heat

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Homemade Chicken Soup and Biscuits

Jan17

Homemade Chicken Soup

Please Pass Some Comfort Food

To say that the year 2020 was a tumultuous one is a grand understatement. From politics to pandemics, I don’t think I’ve seen a time with greater divisions among the population and even between family members. But let’s leave all of that behind for a while, and enjoy some homemade chicken soup.

Here’s a recipe for winter’s ultimate comfort food: Chicken Soup. While some cooks make soup with more broth or egg noodles, I like to add lots of vegetables and some cooked pasta. This is a must for anyone feeling hammered by a cold or the flu. Feel free to adjust the proportions of ingredients to suit your family. I make about a gallon at a time, and freeze portions for later use.

Ingredients for Chicken Soup

1 package of 3 or 4 chicken breast halves, with skin and bones, rinsed (excess fat or skin removed)
salt and pepper
all-purpose unbleached flour
butter and olive oil or vegetable oil
2 to 4 stalks celery, cut into slices
1 or 2 yellow onions, sliced or chopped
3 to 5 carrots, sliced
2 large cloves fresh garlic, crushed or minced
several white button mushrooms
2 bay leaves
3 or 4 15-ounce cans of low sodium, no MSG chicken broth, plus 2 or 3 cans of water
herbs: a handful of fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley (chopped), 2 to 3 tsp. Italian oregano (and some sweet marjoram if you like), and 1 tsp. French thyme. Measurements can vary, depending on your preference. If using dried herbs, use half as much as the amounts specified for fresh. Start with small amounts, and add more if desired. Parsley is always much better used fresh, and is widely available.
2-4 cups fresh greens, such as spinach, dinosaur kale, Swiss chard, arugula; chopped
leftovers: vegetables and/or cooked rice or barley (optional)
enriched pasta (mini farfalle, elbows, penne, broken spaghetti…), pre-cooked or cooked separately while the soup is simmering, drained
grated Romano cheese

: Vegetables to saute.

: Italian (flat-leaf) parsley.

The Process: Making Chicken Soup

Prepare the Chicken

Place about 1 cup of the flour in a bowl.
Add 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Mix well.
Rinse the chicken well and pat dry with a paper towel.
Add chicken to the bowl, coating each piece, pressing flour onto all surfaces.

Next…

Place a large stockpot, with a heavy bottom, on the stove.
Add a few T. oil and butter. Heat it up, at medium or medium high heat.
Add each piece of chicken, after flouring it, to the hot pot. Sometimes I spoon more of the flour mixture onto the chicken, and cook it some more. This helps thicken the broth just a bit. (Don’t save the leftover flour. Discard it to prevent contamination.)
Sear the outside of the chicken, both sides, until it’s golden brown, but not burned. Adjust the heat if necessary. It will not be done inside, but will cook more when added to the broth. Move the chicken around to prevent sticking or turn down the heat. The brown residue will add flavor to the soup.
Once the chicken has browned, remove it to a dish, and turn down the heat.
Now, add the chopped or sliced fresh vegetables (celery, onion, carrot, garlic, mushroom), but not the greens, stirring often. The residue will loosen up, or use a wooden spoon to help it along. Sauté until the vegetables are lightly softened, but not browned.

And Then…

Add the broth and water, and stir. Turn up the heat to a boil, then lower the heat to a low simmer.
Add the bay leaves. Other herbs will be added later.
Add the chicken and its drippings back to the pot. Keep it on a very low simmer, not a vigorous boil, for 40 (smaller chicken pieces) to 60 minutes. Very low heat keeps the chicken more tender.
10 minutes before it’s done, add the thyme.
Remove bay leaves.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Broth is often quite high in sodium, so don’t over-salt.
5 minutes before it’s done, add oregano, marjoram, and parsley.
Remove chicken to a clean dish. You might want to use a large spoon to hold the pieces together; the meat could fall off the bones. Check the soup for tiny bones that might have fallen to the bottom of the pot.
Discard the chicken skin. Cut the meat and add back to the soup. I usually reserve some of the chicken for a stir-fry or freeze it separately for later use.
Add fresh greens and low simmer a few minutes to wilt.
Stir in cooked pasta.
Add leftover vegetables (such as cooked peas, corn, green beans), if desired.
Reheat and stir the soup, then serve. Top with grated Romano cheese and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

: Seared chicken.

: Vegetables added to flavorful drippings.

: Mixed vegetables cooking.

: Chicken soup and biscuits.

You also might enjoy homemade collards soup. It’s more comfort food for winter or for those not feeling so well. Most of the herbs and greens I use in cooking are started from seeds. At any time of the year, there’s something to pick for soups, salads, veggie omelets, and stir-fries.

Easy Buttery Biscuits

I just started making these last month. They are so good! But, in an effort to not overindulge in carbohydrates, I won’t make them often.

Very simple:

Preheat oven to 425º F.
Melt 3 T. butter in a small pot.
Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Place 1 1/4 cups of self-rising flour into a bowl. This makes a dozen biscuits.
Add a dash of salt (optional).
Add about 3/4 cup heavy cream to the flour. Mix well with a fork. Add more flour if it’s too sticky.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for a minute.
Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to about 1/3″ thick or slightly thicker.
Use a cookie cutter or a juice glass to shape biscuits and move them to the cookie sheet.
The last bit of dough can be shaped by hand so none is wasted. It might come out lumpy, and that’s perfectly fine. Call it “rustic”.
Spoon melted butter over the tops, dripping down the sides. The dough will absorb the butter.
Bake until the tops turn golden, about 15 minutes. Turn the sheet halfway through if your oven has a hot spot.
Serve with more butter (optional, but…). Next time I might add some shredded cheddar cheese to the dough. (***Update***: Yesterday, I made a batch of biscuits, half with cheese and half without. In the cheesy part, add thin pieces of cheddar to half the dough. Then fold the dough, roll it, and proceed with recipe. I haven’t decided which option I like better; hmm…this calls for a taste test. January 27, 2021)

: Cheesy biscuits.

Enjoy, and be well!

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Microgreens: Healthy and So Easy To Grow!

Oct28

2020, updated 2/5/2024

Mmm…Microgreens!

A mixture of microgreens, primarily brassicas, and a few beets.

Here’s an easy way to grow nutrient-dense plants in a tiny space without lifting a trowel. Have you ever tried growing microgreens? This is such a simple method of incorporating the most concentrated sources of antioxidants and other nutrients into your diet.

Maybe you’re not sure about all those supplements in the health food store, and you want to go the more natural route. Besides, the experts tell us, vitamins and minerals are best obtained from a wide variety of foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables.

Eating from several of the plant families ensures that we get a diverse assortment of nutrients. Greens provide a hefty helping of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, but missing from the plant world is Vitamin B-12. This is of particular concern among vegetarians.

Vitamin B-12 is found in seafood, meats, dairy, and fortified cereals. Because I don’t eat red meat at all, and other animal proteins only a few times per week, I take Vitamin B complex, among a few other supplements.

If you have any questions, ask your health care professional.

Why Are Microgreens So Good For Us?

Certain nutrients have gained prominence over the past decades, as research suggests their efficacy in maintaining good health. Although not among the basic food categories needed for survival (carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals), these substances help us fight or prevent many serious illnesses, including cancer. Phytonutrients, polyphenols, prebiotics, and antioxidants—oh, my! Sure, it can be confusing.

Research indicates that microgreens have between 4 and 40 times more nutrients than a similar amount of the full grown crops. That’s all it took to convince me!

Seed suppliers sell individual varieties as well as mixtures. Accordingly, they’ll vary in color and flavor. The mixtures I use are primarily composed of the brassicas, and here’s why…

**The Brassicaceae Family**

Arugula ‘Astro’ seedlings.

Let’s start with the First Family of Plant Nutrition, the cabbage and broccoli relatives. Plant taxonomists changed the name of this family from Cruciferae to Brassicaceae (“brass·i·kay’·see·ee”), but the terms cruciferous vegetable, brassica, and cole crops refer to the same group of plants. These brassicas have uniquely beneficial properties that set them apart from other plant families.

I’ve written many times in The Farm In My Yard about the health benefits of these plants. If you do just one thing to improve your diet, start with the brassicas. It helps that these microgreens are really easy to grow.

This family comprises many types of super-healthy plants. I include at least one in my diet every day: arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, mizuna, mustard greens, pac choi, tatsoi, turnip greens, and others.

I’ll prepare the broccoli, for example, steamed, in a stir-fry, or lightly cooked with garlic, olive oil, and mushrooms. Brassicas make healthful additions to pasta dishes, homemade or store-bought soups, pizza, omelets, smoothies, and salads.

You can harvest brassicas grown as microgreens within 3-4 weeks of sowing. Give them at least 6 hours of direct sunlight for optimal growth. With less than ideal conditions, you’ll still be able to harvest greens, but they’ll take longer to grow and they might lack some color. For the full complement of phytonutrients, though, give them sun.

Health Benefits of the Brassicas

Adopting a healthy lifestyle presupposes dropping some bad habits, and incorporating those that contribute to greater longevity. Adding half a cup of microgreens might not negate the harm done by smoking or your daily dose of mac and cheese, but it’s a start. Consuming foods from the brassica group helps:

reduce inflammation
slow the aging process (skin, eyes, joints, brain, vascular system)
reduce the chances of getting age-related macular degeneration and cataracts
reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia

These greens and vegetables contain varying amounts of Vitamins A, B complex, C, E, and K. They contain calcium, fats (Omega-3), fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, protein, zinc, and more. Some of these nutrients are among the dozens of types of antioxidants, which neutralize potentially harmful free radicals.

What Are Free Radicals?

Remember learning about atoms, electrons, and protons? Well, here’s a summary:

The atom contains protons and neutrons in the positively-charged nucleus. The nucleus accounts for more than 99.9% of the atom’s mass. Surrounding the nucleus are the orbits, or shells, which hold the negatively-charged electrons. Up to two electrons fill the inner shell (“1 shell”), up to eight electrons fill the next shell (“2 shell”) and other shells contain up to 2 times the square of the shell number.

The number of protons (equal to the atomic number in the periodic table) distinguishes oxygen from carbon or sulfur or any other element. A stable atom, one that is inert, has an equal number of protons and electrons. Atoms of different elements bond together to form molecules, such as sugar, proteins, and water.

In order to become stable, atoms must complete their outer shells. They do that by stealing one or more electrons from, or giving them to, another atom. The outer shell is where chemical reactions with other atoms take place. Chemical bonds hold the atoms together. When weak bonds split between atoms or molecules, free radicals are formed.

These unstable free radicals seek to steal electrons from nearby molecules. This sets up a chain reaction of instability—one molecule stealing from another molecule—causing oxidative stress. This cascade of interactions is what can damage our cells. Cancer and other inflammatory diseases can begin if the disruption occurs near cell nuclei or membranes.

Those free radicals form in response to stresses in our bodies, including pollutants and toxins in our cells and bloodstream, and enzymes present in the normal process of digestion. We are healthier if there are more antioxidants than free radicals in our systems.

What Are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are substances that prevent oxidative stress and reduce inflammation. They can be vitamins, minerals, or any of the many thousands of phytonutrients. Deep green, red, orange, and other colorful plant pigments are loaded with antioxidants.

Vitamin E is the most abundant fat-soluble antioxidant, and might protect us from heart disease by limiting LDL (low-density lipoprotein) oxidation and plaque formation.

Vitamin C is the most abundant water-soluble antioxidant. It, too, donates electrons to free radicals, ending the damaging cascade of instability. Vitamin C shows promise in the fight against cancer, especially types that affect the mouth, larynx, and esophagus. (Discuss diagnoses and treatments with your doctor.)

In recent studies, researchers used isotopes to track the uptake of these nutrients. They associate antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene, with possible avenues of cancer treatment.

Glucosinolates

Phytonutrients are a major category of nutrients found in the brassicas. Of particular interest among this group are the glucosinolates, which include sulforaphanes. These substances are not found in significant amounts—or at all—in any other family of plants. These compounds, numbering more than 100 kinds, are key players in lowering the risk of cancer and inflammatory diseases. Different phytonutrients are found in brassicas eaten raw and in those which are cooked.

That’s why this is my go-to vegetable family. Every day. While preparing these greens for cooking, I also eat a few raw pieces. When possible, I’ll cut or chop the broccoli or kale (or any brassica) and let it “rest” on the kitchen counter for 30-60 minutes, so the enzyme, myrosinase, can start transforming precursors of sulforaphanes into the sulforaphanes themselves in the damaged plant cells. Heat destroys this essential enzyme, so we would miss out on those powerful sulforaphanes if we cooked the greens right away. Eating raw brassicas also delivers the benefit of sulforaphanes. Broccoli sprouts contain the highest amounts of these beneficial nutrients.

Before you think you’re protected because of the three little broccoli florets you just had with your steak dinner, think again. Consider making brassicas and other vegetables the main attraction, and using chicken, beef, or pork as condiments. If this is too big a leap, try adding more vegetables and decreasing the amount of meat consumed over time. Baby steps are better than not moving at all.

Cabbage Red Cabbage Blue Cabbage - manfredrichter / Pixabay

Mature red cabbage, one of the brassicas.

Other Plant Families for Microgreens, Sprouts, or Shoots

**The Amaranthaceae Family**

Amaranth, beets, quinoa, spinach, and Swiss chard are members of this family. Because of the higher oxalate content in this group, check with your doctor if you’re prone to kidney stones. Lots of pigments are found in amaranth, beet greens, and ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard, adding color to your clippings.

**The Amaryllidaceae Family**

This is the onion group, which also includes garlic, green onion, leeks, and shallots. Seedlings are very finely textured and take longer to grow.

**The Apiaceae Family**

Many useful herbs and vegetables belong to this family: carrot, chervil, cilantro, cutting celery, dill, fennel, parsley. All can be grown as microgreens.

**The Asteraceae Family**

This group includes endive, the lettuces, single marigold, radicchio, and sunflowers. Look for varieties that have red pigments, which have more anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants.

**The Cucurbitaceae Family**

Cucumber, melons, and squash plants have large seed leaves, so the seeds are sown father apart.

Grains and Legumes

Alfalfa, barley, oats, rice, winter wheat; chickpeas, lentils, mung beans, pea and pea tendrils.

Microgreens on caprese salad.

Headings

Page 1: Mmm…Microgreens!, Why Are Microgreens So Good For Us? (The Brassicaceae Family, Health Benefits of the Brassicas, What Are Free Radicals?, What Are Antioxidants?, Glucosinolates), and Other Plant Families For Microgreens, Sprouts, or Shoots

Page 2: What Are Microgreens?, What Are Shoots?, What Are Sprouts?, and How To Grow Microgreens, (How To Use Microgreens, The Container, The Soil, The Seeds, Maintenance, Yellow Leaves?)

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Pages: 1 2

How To Get Healthy? Start With More Greens!

Jun14

2020

Tomatoes, A Tribute to My Mother, Takotsubo, and A Tactic Called “Just One Leaf”

Open any food or garden section in print or online sites, and you’ll see articles on the benefits of eating healthy greens and colorful foods. Today, I’ll show how you can start adding leafy greens to your diet without being terribly inconvenienced. And I’ll mention how it might have saved my life.

How exciting—the first two ripe tomatoes of the season came off the vine this morning. And there’s some beautiful ‘Genovese’ basil begging to be picked. So, you can guess what’s for dinner tonight:

Tomato-Basil Salad!

It’s so easy to prepare:

ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks, including the juice
freshly picked sweet basil
cucumber, cubed or sliced
thinly sliced onion
mozzarella cheese
Italian oregano
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Mix it all together, and enjoy with some good bread for dunking (optional). This salad hits the spot when it’s hot, for one person or for a crowd.

But First, A Tribute To My Mother

My mother and I have lived together for the past 7 1/2 years. Many of the ripe tomatoes from the garden ended up in tomato-basil salad, a summertime staple for this family of Italian descent. How we loved our eggplant parmigiana, vegetarian lasagna, manicotti, and stuffed artichokes! How we loved to eat! In so many of our memories growing up and growing older—the holidays with family, sitting around the table for hours—good food always featured prominently.

Early last month, I had notified my family that there wasn’t much time left for Mother. So, my siblings prepared for a visit, and my sister sent an early Mother’s Day bouquet of white roses, purple statice, and baby’s breath—very much appreciated.

One brother came from out of town and spent the day with us, recalling some of the funnier family moments. We had ravioli and Easy Broccoli One for dinner. I’m a firm believer in the health-giving powers of broccoli, so I prepared it one way or another quite often. I’ve joked before about broccoli being Mother’s “favorite”, and she did too. “Oh, what a surprise—broccoli … … thank you…” She ate well that evening, better than any day in recent months.

But, the next morning, her time had come. She passed quickly and peacefully while I spoke to her and with 9-1-1. A friend said that the sense of hearing is the last to go, which gives some consolation, knowing she might have heard me.

“Don’t Forget To Watch Bob Ross”

My mother lived for 95 years, leaving behind a brood of 4 children, 11 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. Photographs of family reunions, grandkids, and the great-grandchildren sat in a neat pile within reach of her favorite chair. Mother often lamented the fact that the family had scattered all over the country and couldn’t get together more often for the holidays.

She enjoyed driving her little Toyota, running errands nearby, right up until early last year. Have Rollator, will travel! When speaking with friends on the phone, her humorous references to the “joys” of growing old brought a smile to my face. Humor is the best medicine.

She was an artist, as a few relatives are and were, and I’m inclined to pick up the brush myself and give it a whirl (photo, above—a detail from one of her paintings). I don’t have to wonder very long where this stubborn streak of independence or rebelliousness came from…or my love of animals and of all nature. So, maybe some of her talents run through my veins as well. I hope so. Sure, we had occasional disagreements, but the foundation of our commitment to family was unshaken.

Stress, Nevertheless

People often speak of “a good death”, and, in all honesty, we could not have asked for a more peaceful departure. The next few days, though, taught me that the body reacts to experiences differently than the brain does. While my brain thought I was handling this major event quite calmly, my body had a different opinion.

Soon after Mother had died, the four of us siblings got together, telling stories while dividing those belongings she had gathered—and loved—for nearly a century. Whether it was the distress of a misplaced ring or the stress of her passing, I ended up in the hospital three days later.

With Covid concerns at the time, I drove myself to the emergency room, with moderate chest pain. My mother had had serious heart disease for a few decades but was able to function fairly normally with assistance from her medications and her cardiologist. But I had to wonder: is it my turn? My blood pressure had soared to a dangerous level, so I was admitted.

After several tests over the next two days, the doctors did not find any “separation of the layers” or blockages in my coronary arteries, and the valves were working as they should. But my blood pressure stayed very high. Blood tests also showed the presence of those markers when the heart has been impaired.

One consequence of blood pressure this high could be stroke, and my release from the hospital was contingent upon healthier numbers. A few medications attempted to normalize the readings, and one in particular did an astonishingly good job of lowering those numbers to 79/51. Won’t be taking that one again! (It was hydralazine.)

Takotsubo Two!

Almost 4 years previously, I woke at 4:00 in the morning with a stabbing pain in the center of my chest. Considering our family history, I thought it could have been a heart attack. The ambulance came, the EMT recorded my blood pressure at 275/135, and off to the hospital I went.

The usual tests were performed, and a cardiologist administered a catheterization to trace the blood flow in and around my heart. The score: although I was lightly sedated, his words indicating that I had “the arteries of a 20-year-old” were music to my ears. After decades of being more than careful with diet, I wondered if I had needlessly missed out on all those BLT’s, pasta, and toffee cookies.

On the day of discharge from the hospital, another cardiologist explained what happened. He said one of the lower chambers of the heart (the left ventricle) had ballooned out, giving it an odd outline. Good news—I would fully recover but would experience fatigue for a few months. He and a dietician recommended continuing with a diet heavy in healthy leafy greens and losing some weight.

What’s Takotsubo?

That’s when I first heard the term “Takotsubo”. This Japanese word means “octopus pot”, a reference to the interior shape of the affected ventricle. The syndrome was first described in Japan in 1990. More than 90% of the cases involve women, aged 58 to 75 (check, and check).

So, it happened again. This time, though, stress was very much the precipitating cause. Often called “broken heart syndrome” or “stress-induced cardiomyopathy”, a sudden life-changing event, such as the loss of a loved one, winning a lottery, being assaulted, or a car accident, can trigger Takotsubo syndrome. Most cases are due to a stressor, but around one-fourth occur for no discernible reason.

The ring, by the way, was found after my return from the hospital.

Add Just a Little More Green

Greens from the garden: green onion, mustard greens, dinosaur kale, arugula, ‘Red Russian’ kale.

I’m not a nutritionist. All I know is what I’ve read or heard over the years and observed from family members. The purpose for writing this article is simply to credit how changing my diet many years ago might have prevented a stroke or a heart attack, possibly saving my life during these two bouts with Takotsubo. (Even though the death rate from this condition is fairly low, other contributing factors and our family history concerned me.) You, too, might decide to make some improvements in your own family’s habits.

Take from it what you want—and take heart—this doesn’t have to happen overnight. I encourage you not to wait, however, until after you’ve gotten your first stent to make some changes. We did eat pretty well growing up. But, in retrospect, we consumed more carbohydrates than is currently considered healthy, and certainly fewer healthy greens.

Simply adding fresh leafy greens to soup, a smoothie, sauces, salads, a stir-fry, store-bought pizza, or rice and pasta dishes is a great step toward a healthier future. Grocery stores offer a much wider variety of greens than they did decades ago.

Growing your own plants from seed opens up so many more options. And you can’t beat the convenience of walking a few feet out the kitchen door to pick fresh healthy greens for today’s omelet or soup. Many of them can be grown in pots on the deck or the balcony if you don’t have garden space.

At the end of this article is a list of links to posts I’ve written about growing and using greens. You’ll notice the frequency with which I refer to “the brassicas” (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, etc.), the source of the most beneficial and densely packed nutrients.

Try this: a simple egg salad sandwich, on rye, made with one hard-boiled egg, mayonnaise, green olives, chopped dinosaur kale (a brassica, and super healthy), and topped with lettuce. Add chopped onion, if you like. No salt needed. I usually serve it on a bed of lettuce or mixed greens, without the bread. You can do the same with tuna or chicken salad. Adding “Just One Leaf” of kale significantly elevated the nutritional value.

Greens In Small Steps

Easing into dietary improvements by making small changes might meet with less resistance from your family. Perhaps starting a garden and letting the kids participate will get them engaged.

Children who help care for a garden are more likely to eat what they harvest. Start with easy crops, such as dinosaur or ‘Red Russian’ kale, collards, lettuce, a cherry tomato, Swiss chard, and radishes. Mustard greens are colorful and fast-growing—‘Florida Broadleaf’ has mild mustard flavor (and it self-seeds), while ‘Scarlet Frills’ offers a spark of heat and spice. These are easily grown from seed.

nasturtium 'Alaska', edible flowers and greens

Nasturtium ‘Alaska’, easy from seed, needs darkness for germination.

If your garden has good, rock-free soil, sow a pack of carrot seeds, and thin them properly. You’ll find traditional orange carrots and also nearly white, yellow, red, and purple varieties. ‘Rainbow’ is a blend of colors. Watch how excited your children will be when they harvest their buried treasure! Try growing ‘Adelaide’, a miniature carrot, in 6″ pots. Delicious, and so cute.

A customer at the farmers’ market in Rockville MD added chopped ‘Alaska’ nasturtium flowers and leaves to his grilled hamburgers. Each bite revealed a different combination of colors. Every year, he came to the market for his “burger-fetti” nasturtiums. Look for ways to introduce greens and colors at mealtime to make it fun.

Just One Leaf

As the first bits of greens have been accepted, keep adding more leafy greens (Just One Leaf or two at a time) and cutting down on some of the carbohydrates and animal proteins. Get creative in the kitchen. Soon, you’ll notice a boost in energy and might reach for a handful of nuts and a cup of green tea for a mid-afternoon snack, packed with vitamins and minerals, fiber, phytonutrients, and protein, instead of a chocolate doughnut.

Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I never peel fruits and vegetables. The skins have more antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins than the flesh. So, I don’t peel apples, peaches, carrots, cucumbers (some are less bitter, such as ‘Diva’), eggplants, sweet/white/pigmented potatoes, tomatoes, or zucchini.

But I Miss My…

Once in a while, it’s perfectly okay to indulge in an ice cream sundae or Christmas cookies. But you might find that the desire for such decadent treats decreases as your interest in healthy foods increases. Sugar is addictive!

Over time, adding healthy greens to the spaghetti sauce, a stir-fry, or the morning smoothie will become second nature. Not doing so might make you feel as though you’re missing out.

Eat Your Colors

red and yellow peppers, with healthy pigments

Ripe sweet bell peppers.

You’ll discover a new appreciation for incorporating colorful greens and vegetables into your salads. Deep green, purple, red, orange, and yellow pigments are filled with healthy antioxidants and other nutrients.

These plant pigments help prevent many major illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, age-related macular degeneration, inflammation, premature aging, and other disorders. Understand that they will help prevent illness. Do your best to eliminate other risk factors, too, and you know what they are.

Ask your doctor if you have any dietary concerns. While it is true that spinach, Swiss Chard, and beet greens (in the Amaranthaceae family) are high in oxalates, we need to examine the relationship between oxalate content and kidney stones. Some nutritionists believe that including more meat in the diet lowers the blood pH level, while a primarily plant-based diet raises the pH and lowers the incidence of kidney stones. Kale, incidentally, has extremely low levels of oxalates.

Another issue is how eating large amounts of certain raw brassicas can affect the thyroid gland, so, again, ask your doctor.

Add these to your salad and you’ll soon say good-bye to pale iceberg wedges:

deep green and red lettuces
purplish ‘Red Russian’ or blue-gray dinosaur kale (brassica)
baby beet greens (more nutrients than the roots)
turnip greens (brassica)
arugula (brassica)
spinach
Swiss chard
radish (brassica)
shredded red cabbage (brassica)
Asian greens, such as tatsoi, mustard, mizuna, napa cabbage, ‘Tokyo Bekana’ (brassicas)
broccoli leaves, or stems and small heads of ‘Happy Rich’ (brassica)
purple and orange carrots (heated carrots have more available antioxidants)
ripe lunchbox sweet pepper (red, orange, yellow; orange bell peppers are extremely high in zeaxanthin, an antioxidant that’s good for the eyes)
tomato, cucumber, green onion, celery, cooked button mushrooms, lightly roasted pecans, feta or bleu cheese, fresh basil, avocado, a hard-boiled egg, kalamata olives
and a simple homemade dressing: extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, water, fresh minced garlic, some herbs (small amounts of Italian oregano, and maybe thyme and sweet marjoram) and lemon if you like, some Dijon mustard, and salt and pepper

Colorful lettuces.

Headings

Page 1: Tomato-Basil Salad, But First, A Tribute To My Mother (Stress, Nevertheless, Takotsubo Two!), Add Just a Little More Green (Greens In Small Steps, Just One Leaf, But I Miss My…), Eat Your Colors, and Add these to your salad…

Page 2: The Veggie Omelet With Greens (Juice?, Or Cereal?), How It All Began (Close To Home, The Food Pyramid), But How Safe Are the Complex Carbs? (The Insulin Response, Too Many Carbs), In Conclusion, and Links

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Pages: 1 2

A Trip To The Old Mill Of Guilford

Oct15

The Old Mill of Guilford, in Oak Ridge, North Carolina

A couple of weeks ago, I took a pleasant drive to a part of North Carolina that I don’t normally visit. The Old Mill of Guilford, in Oak Ridge, is a working mill an hour and a half northeast of Charlotte. It has the distinction of being one of the oldest operating gristmills in America. The mill is located at 1340 Hwy 68 North, a few miles northwest of Greensboro.

History

Before We Were The United States

Let that sink in. Before we were The United States!

After moving from Hopewell, Virginia, in 1753, Daniel Dillon settled in this area, then part of Rowan County. In 1755, a tract of 552 acres of land was surveyed for Dillon, and, in 1759, was granted to him by the Earl of Granville. On January 10, 1764, according to Rowan County records, Dillon obtained a license to build a public gristmill, to grind grain for area farmers, near the mouth of Beaver Creek.

In 1771, this area became part of Guilford County.

The American Revolution

British Successes

George Washington.

During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), it is believed that the mill was seized by British General Charles Cornwallis, in February of 1781. Cornwallis saw earlier successes against General George Washington’s Continental Army in New Jersey, in 1776.

But, by June, 1778, the French had entered the war, in support of the Americans. So Cornwallis shifted his campaigns to the South, hoping to enlist American colonists still loyal to Great Britain and the Crown. He thought that taking the South first would make it easier to win in the North.

Cornwallis’ forces defeated American troops in several battles in the South, including the ports of Savannah, Georgia (December, 1778), and Charleston, South Carolina (May, 1780). He also fought Major General Horatio Gates at the Battle of Camden, South Carolina (August, 1780), strengthening the British hold on the South.

After Gates lost Camden, Washington replaced him with Major General Nathanael Greene to lead the Continental Army in the South.

The Tide Turns

Cornwallis’ exhausted army soon met with stronger opposition as they marched toward North Carolina. A turnaround began on October 7, 1780, when the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalists at King’s Mountain, near the border between North Carolina and South Carolina. Patriot troops surrounded and surprised British Major Patrick Ferguson’s 1200 men. Ferguson was killed after an hour’s fighting, and the Patriots claimed victory. Among the 900 Patriots was Davy Crockett’s father, John Crockett.

Greene divided his troops to force Cornwallis to battle on multiple fronts. Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeated British forces led by Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Cowpens, South Carolina, on January 17, 1781. Cornwallis pushed into North Carolina and engaged in heavy recruiting to expand his forces. Greene was in Virginia doing likewise, before returning to North Carolina.

On March 14, 1781, Greene and his troops camped near Guilford Court House. This location is near present-day Greensboro, which later was named for General Greene. The next day, the Battle of the Guilford Court House lasted less than two hours, pitting Cornwallis’ 1900 soldiers against Greene’s 4400 troops and militia. Both sides suffered losses before Greene’s forces retreated. Cornwallis lost one fourth of his troops in that short period of time.

After decisive losses at King’s Mountain and Cowpens, and this Pyrrhic victory at Guilford Court House, Cornwallis abandoned the British campaign for the South. He and his army proceeded to Wilmington, North Carolina, to rebuild his forces. Greene moved into South Carolina, achieving a dissolution of the British hold on the South, later in 1781.

Surrounded

Cornwallis led his troops to the Virginia coast, hoping to receive backing from British General Henry Clinton’s large army in New York City, and ended up in Yorktown, in southeastern Virginia. He raided every farm he came across, stealing horses and freeing thousands of slaves, winning allegiance from many of them. General Cornwallis fortified the town, and waited for help.

In the meantime, Washington asked the Marquis de Lafayette to block Cornwallis’ escape. George Washington’s troops and the French, under Comte de Rochambeau in New York and Comte de Grasse’s fleet offshore, surrounded Cornwallis’ army. After a three-week siege, this battle effectively signaled the end of the American Revolution.

And Surrendered

After 5 years of General Cornwallis’ participation in the war, he surrendered his 8,000 British soldiers and seamen to the French and American forces at Yorktown, on October 19, 1781. He did not attend the surrender ceremony, perhaps due to illness, but sent his second-in-command, General Charles O’Hara. O’Hara presented Cornwallis’ sword to the American and French commanders.

Peace negotiations commenced in 1782, and the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783. The United States of America now was formally recognized by Great Britain as a free and independent nation.

The Mill

Daniel Dillon’s estate, through Nathan Dillon, executor, sold the tub mill, a house, and 175 acres on Beaver Creek to Joel Sanders (also seen as Saunders) in 1808 for $900. Records indicate that Sanders owned two other mills on Deep River, in Guilford County. Sanders moved the mill 500′ downstream; the original mill now sits in the mill pond.

Through the early 1800’s, the mill changed hands from the Dillon family to the Sanders family. In 1869, R.A. Blalock, for $2250, purchased a half interest in the mill and 197.25 acres. James A. Sanders and his wife, Ella, sold the other half of the mill and 197.25 acres, in 1872, to John M. Brittain for $2500. In 1875, Brittain bought Blalock’s interest for $2350.

Ownership of the mill continued under the R.M. Stafford family, and then the Johnsons, then the Baynes and Lowry (Lowery) families, the Cudes and the Beesons.

In 1912, British buttons and musket parts reportedly were found on the site when the dam washed away. The next year, in 1913, K.L. Hendrix (Hendricks) bought the mill. Undocumented information indicates that the mill was converted to a roller mill, replacing the less durable wooden water wheels.

Around 1928, a metal pipe was installed under the road, replacing the canal from the dam. The mill changed ownership a few times over the next quarter century, from the Hendrix family to the Staffords, and back again.

In 1954, Clarence E. Bailes and McLeod Leather Belting Co. purchased the roller mill, a power plant, and 122 acres. They replaced the roller mill machinery and the turbine with a 24′ x 4′ Fitz overshot water wheel.

Bailes made other improvements to the operation to comply with agricultural regulations, added the sales office, and built the feed mill next to the original mill. Lloyd Lucas became miller and operated the mill until his death in 1975, when the mill closed.

In Modern Times

Charles Parnell purchased the mill in 1977, renovated it, and restored its 200-year-old tradition as a water powered gristmill. He and his wife, Heidi, developed many new products, which gained national recognition for quality.

Annie Laura Perdue spent years training as a miller under Mr. Parnell. When both of the Parnells died in 2007, she took over as miller.

The mill currently is powered by electricity, as the metal pipe that carries water from the mill pond needs to be replaced. Although the mill has experienced many changes over the centuries, some original parts, including structural timbers, still remain in the building.

In 2008, Amy and Darrell Klug bought The Old Mill of Guilford. Annie Laura continues to this day as miller, with help from community volunteers. The Old Mill of Guilford brochure, compiled by Jack L. Perdue, concludes with this succinct missive: “The Klugs continue to introduce new products, maintain the historical integrity of the mill, and enhance the mill’s reputation for high quality, natural stone ground products.”

Products

The Old Mill of Guilford’s website lists many locations in North Carolina where their products are sold. (Yes, they can ship them to you!) And, of course, you’re welcome to purchase directly from the mill store. It’s open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can find outlets carrying the mill’s flours and mixes in other states, as well, including Virginia, California, South Dakota, and Texas.

This is a privately owned operation, so your patronage is kindly appreciated.

Think: Gifts! Stocking stuffers! Must warm up the oven once in a while!

: The Mill Store.

: Locally made jams, jellies, and other items.

: Wheat and one of the old timbers.

: A grindstone and the feed mill.

The Mill Store has grits and flours of all kinds (including rye), steel cut oats, gingerbread mix, lemon poppyseed and sweet potato biscuit mixes. Buttermilk and apple cinnamon pancake mixes, corn meal, cookie and scone mixes. But there’s so much more! The store, conveniently located right next to the gristmill, offers 50 or so all natural ground products, with no preservatives. You’ll also find local jams and honey, bean soup mixes, locally made crafts, and even a jigsaw puzzle featuring The Old Mill of Guilford.

Annie Laura and volunteer Carola were there to answer all my questions, as they packaged and labeled the mill’s products.

Carola and Annie Laura at the Old Mill of Guilford

Carola, left, and Annie Laura at work.

The Old Mill of Guilford is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It would be a great day trip with the kids, a camera, or an easel and canvas. Since semi-retiring, I love finding places like this.

Today, it’s so easy to put bread on the table, but imagine how complicated it was 200 years ago. And who doesn’t miss the smell of freshly baked bread or muffins? With cold weather about to make its debut in the coming days, this is a great time to bake something. Mmmm…gingerbread!

Phone: (336) 643-4783, Amy and Darrell Klug.

Email: info@oldmillofguilford.com.

Website: www.oldmillofguilford.com.

Address: 1340 Hwy 68 N, Oak Ridge, NC 27310.

An article about another gristmill can be found here: Mabry Mill On The Blue Ridge Parkway, in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. It’s part of the National Park Service.

The Old Mill of Guilford.

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Starting Seeds for Cool Season Greens

Feb24

Starting Seeds for Cool Season Greens

The coldest part of winter has passed for most of us, and it’s time to start seeds for cool season greens. Late winter transitioning to spring is my favorite time of the year. That’s when I start seeds for early harvests. This article covers details for growing some of the early greens, particularly spinach and the brassicas. On Page 3 is a recipe for a veggie omelet, an easy way to get more greens into the diet.

If the garden were bare, I would have started seeds a few weeks ago. But the greens in the vegetable garden continue to offer harvests. Unfortunately, the “list of wants” from the seed catalog is far more extensive than the garden’s square footage can accommodate! It’s time for the last harvest of collards for soup; that’ll open up some space.

While we’re harvesting established cool season greens, I’ll start several new crops indoors. These plants will be plugged into the garden as space opens up. But the seedlings will not be kept in their little pots very long; this stresses the plants and causes them to bolt, or to flower prematurely. (Photo, above: dinosaur kale germinated at night; it will green up in the sunlight.)

The First of the Cool Season Greens: Spinach

Young spinach ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’.

I would have sown spinach directly into the garden by now, but we’ve had a long run of chilly rain. The soil is so wet that it’s doubtful any seedlings would even be tempted to germinate. At this time of the year, pay close attention to the weather forecasts. Conditions could deviate considerably from the averages.

It’s not good to dig in soil this wet anyway. That would drive out air spaces and ruin the tilth of the soil by compacting it.

As temperatures begin to moderate, slugs come out in force and will decimate any seedlings that dare to grow in this weather. Rain: good for slugs. Sluggo: bad for slugs! Organic Sluggo pellets attract and kill slugs and snails. This version of the product contains materials (iron phosphate) that add nutrients to the soil. Check the label, though; Sluggo has other products with added ingredients. The organic option is safe to use around the edibles.

Spinach From Seed Is Easy!

Spinach germinates readily, from 50°F up to the mid 70’s (soil temperature), as soon as the ground can be worked in late winter or early spring. For better chances of success, choose varieties that are disease resistant and slow-bolting. In well-prepared soil, spinach is one of the easiest crops to seed directly into the garden.

Prepare the bed by incorporating 2″ to 3″ of compost and/or aged manure into the top 5″ of soil. Spinach prefers soil pH near neutral, from 6.5 to 7.3. A soil test will indicate how much lime, if any, should be added to raise the pH.

For baby leaf harvest, sow the seeds thickly in a patch, about 1″ apart. For full-size leaves, space the seeds a few inches apart, with rows 8-10″ apart. Crowding the seeds too closely or poor soil will result in a disappointing crop.

‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’

There’s a wonderful variety called ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’ (photos, above and below), a French heirloom dating to 1866. It grows very large for spinach, up to 20″ tall with 10″ leaves, and should be spaced several inches apart.

Viroflay, or Monster, as it is often called, is lower in oxalic acid, or oxalates, than other spinach varieties. It might be acceptable for people with health concerns that prohibit spinach consumption. Check with your doctor.

Keep the soil moist and add organic fertilizers, such as fish emulsion, Sea-Plus, or earthworm castings, every 2 weeks. In cold soil, however, liquid synthetic fertilizers high in nitrogen work better than the organics. Microbes in the soil break down organic material and make those nutrients available to plant roots. But microbes are dormant in cold soil, so they can’t perform this vital service. They’ll become more active as the soil warms up in late winter or early spring.

‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’ spinach seedlings.

Spinach Bowl

Another option is to sow seeds directly into a 14″ wide, 6″ deep bowl filled with fresh potting soil (photo, above). The pot has drainage holes. Portability allows me to bring the pot indoors on especially cold nights while the cool season greens are beginning to germinate. And moisture levels can be carefully monitored.

Since the sappy crooked pine tree that shaded the deck from afternoon sun has been cut down, conditions on the fenced-in deck are more favorable to growing vegetables in containers.

Fill the pot with potting soil to within an inch of the rim. Simply scatter seeds on the surface, a couple of inches apart for smaller varieties and a few inches apart for Viroflay. Cover with another 1/3″ to 1/2″ of soil. Water…and wait… Spinach’s two seed leaves, the cotyledons, are easily differentiated from other seedlings by their long narrow shape. Thin as necessary; you can eat the culls.

Don’t neglect fertilizing potted greens. Rain and irrigation quickly wash nitrogen out of the soil.

Harvesting Spinach

Spinach.

Harvesting the crowns begins within 4 or 5 weeks, depending on weather and soil fertility. Pick individual leaves at any age, allowing the central growing tip to continue producing new leaves. Or cut the entire plant at the soil line before flower buds begin to grow.

By sowing new crops of spinach every week or two, you’ll have continuous harvests of spinach, as long as the weather favors growth.

Spinach quickly bolts, or goes to flower, at temperatures above 75°. Dry or nutrient-poor soil stresses the plants. And spinach will flower prematurely if the plants are stressed by growing too close together.

Harvest the entire plant if you notice flower buds forming. Cutting off the flowers will not stimulate spinach to grow a new bunch of leaves. Instead, start more seeds.

Use spinach steamed as a side dish, or in sauces, soups, smoothies, salads, pasta dishes, or an omelet.

And Then the Brassicas

These microgreens are mostly brassicas.

The Brassicaceae family is a huge group of edibles. It includes arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, komatsuna, mizuna, mustard greens, pac choi, radish, tatsoi, turnip, and others.

All members have similarly notched seed leaves, or cotyledons. Those are the first two heart-shaped leaves to emerge from the seeds (photo, above). Because the seed leaves are already formed inside the seed, the little plant can begin photosynthesizing—and feeding itself—immediately upon germination. True leaves, which develop after the seed leaves, are also similar for most of the cruciferous vegetables. That’s why it’s important to label your pots so you can distinguish “this” seedling from “this other similar looking” seedling.

Include On the Label:

the name of the crop (dinosaur kale)
the name of the cultivar (‘Black Magic’)
the date of sowing (brassicas germinate in less than a week if sown indoors)

Store leftover seeds in their original packets, and make sure the cultivar name is included on the label. Store in a cool, dry place, such as the refrigerator. Most seeds of cool season greens are viable for 2 years or so. If not already indicated, mark the year of purchase on the packet.

It’s helpful to keep a record of the varieties you’ve tried and liked or disliked. Include how you started the seeds (in 4″ pots or cell-packs, under lights, directly in the garden), the dates you seeded and transplanted, and the weather conditions. Include notes on what was successful and what wasn’t, and possible explanations. Did the seeds germinate and then keel over and die (damping-off disease)? Did critters eat your cool season greens as soon as they started growing? Should the seeds have been started earlier? Or later?

There are successes and failures in every gardener’s life. Being able to pinpoint the reasons for a disappointing crop will enable you to be more watchful or to try a different approach next time. Check with your local cooperative extension office, through state land-grant colleges and universities, for advice. Failure is a learning experience, not a reason to stop trying!

Damping-Off

Damping-off disease can appear soon after germination. Sometimes, diseased seedlings don’t even appear above the soil, looking as though the seeds didn’t sprout at all. The small seedling develops a narrowed brown spot on the stem. Then the top of the plant falls over, and the seedling dies. This is caused by several species of fungus, whose spores are in the air, in the soil, in the water, or on the seeds themselves.

Damping-off often accompanies:

poor air circulation
high humidity
crowding
low light
low temperatures
reusing old soil
and overwatering

Space the seeds farther apart, run a small fan nearby, water in the morning, and increase the temperature and light levels if they’re low.

The first time I used the organic biological fungicide called Actinovate, life became a bit sweeter. It is costly, but a much safer option than chemical fungicides. And, with the number of seedlings I grow each year, a wise investment. Make up a small amount of the solution when needed and apply from a spray bottle or a small watering can when sowing the seeds and as soon as the seeds germinate. Always exercise caution when using sprays, and read the labels.

Caterpillars on Cool Season Greens

When the weather warms up in mid- or late spring, you’ll notice butterflies and moths flying around your cool season greens. How nice, you might think. But those lovely insects are on a mission, and that mission is to find suitable plants on which to lay their eggs.

: Cross-striped cabbageworm, becoming more common here, on mustard greens. Expect several generations per season. Look for clusters of white woolly eggs.

: Broccoli leaves eaten by caterpillars.

Most of the brassicas are targeted by the female:

Cabbage Moth (or Diamondback Moth)
Cabbage Looper
the velvety green Imported Cabbageworm (also called the Small White Butterfly or Cabbage White Butterfly—white with black markings). Look for them lined up on the leaf’s midrib.
Cross-striped Cabbageworm (fine black stripes across the back, yellow stripe on the sides).
A few other species target particular brassicas or are limited geographically.

Here in my North Carolina garden, the 1¼” long Imported Cabbageworm has been the most commonly seen caterpillar on the brassicas. It is well-camouflaged in the green foliage. But for the past couple of years, populations of the Cross-striped Cabbageworm have been increasing. They’re especially pesky when lodged among the broccoli florets. Sometimes I don’t see them until I begin cutting the broccoli (just remove them). Inspecting the produce and spraying Bt regularly takes care of that.

Eggs hatch in a few days to a week, and immediately get to work chewing little holes and then bigger holes in your broccoli, kale, and other brassicas.

Harlequin bugs on cabbage

Another insect feeding on brassicas is the black and orange harlequin bug (photo, above). I squish them when I see them, although they’ll see you approaching them and will try to hide. They cause whitish blotches and distortions in the foliage.

Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt)

As soon as you notice the white moths and butterflies flitting near the brassicas, it’s time to get the sprayer bottle ready. The imported cabbageworm is the larval stage of a butterfly and the one you’ll see in the daytime. The other caterpillars are moth larvae and are active at dusk or at night.

Mix up a solution of Bt, Bacillus thuringiensis, available from the garden center. Dipel and Thuricide are brand names for Bt. It doesn’t take long for these voracious little caterpillars to inflict considerable damage to your plants, so don’t delay.

Spray both the upper and lower surfaces of the foliage, occasionally agitating the solution. Begin spraying a few days after first seeing the moths, or certainly when you see holes appearing. Set the sprayer nozzle to a very fine spray; larger drops of water will bead off the waxy foliage. One or two drops of dish soap in the sprayer will help the solution stick to the foliage if you can’t get a fine spray.

It washes off in the rain, but any Bt clinging on the reverse (bottom leaf surface) might be enough for the current batch of caterpillars. Spray the brassicas every 5 to 10 days, as long as the insects are active.

How Does Bt Work?

Bt is a naturally occurring bacterium that disrupts the caterpillar’s digestive system when ingested. The insects stop feeding immediately and die within a day or two. Spray as soon as you notice them because young caterpillars are more susceptible to Bt than older caterpillars.

Bt effectively rids the garden of moth and butterfly larvae, including swallowtails that eat parsley. Although they won’t bother your broccoli, black swallowtail larvae feed on parsley and its relatives in the Apiaceae family, including dill, cilantro, and bronze fennel.

The tradeoff? Fewer moths and butterflies, but more undamaged produce. I enjoy watching the black swallowtail butterflies, though, so I plant the large perennial bronze fennel for the caterpillars picked off the parsley and dill. Bt targets larvae of moths and butterflies, and nothing else.

After picking the crops, I sometimes let the caterpillars feast on the remains. Those caterpillars might feed another brood of baby birds or green anoles at that time of year. Once cold autumn weather has settled into the area, these caterpillars will no longer be around to bother the fall crop. Autumn is another delightful time to garden.

Bt is perfectly safe to use on edibles. Use up the diluted solution within a few days. Store Bt in a cool location out of the sun. Buy a small fresh bottle every couple of years, as this is a live organism, not a chemical.

Headings

Page 1: Starting Seeds for Cool Season Greens, The First of the Cool Season Greens: Spinach (Spinach from Seed Is Easy!, ‘Monstrueux de Viroflay’, Spinach Bowl, Harvesting Spinach), And Then the Brassicas (Include On the Label, Damping-Off, Caterpillars on Cool Season Greens, Bacillus Thuringiensis [Bt], How Does Bt Work?)

Page 2: Broccoli (Improve the Soil for Cool Season Greens, Harvesting and Side Shoots, When the Brassicas Bloom), Mini Broccoli (Early Sprouting Broccoli and ‘Spring Raab’, Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’, Who’s My Favorite?, Gai Lan and ‘De Cicco’, Sowing Seeds, Late Sprouting Broccoli)

Page 3: Dinosaur Kale, Hardening Off Cool Season Greens (Gradual Changes), Growing Plants Under Lights (More Tips Using Artificial Light), Getting More Cool Season Greens Into Your Diet, A Veggie Omelet Recipe Using Cool Season Greens

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Pages: 1 2 3

Collards Soup: Comfort Food for Winter

Dec27

Collards Soup

Here’s a hearty, healthy soup that will chase away that winter chill. Collards Soup, with greens and herbs freshly picked from the vegetable garden, offers balance to the delectables that we enjoyed over the holidays. Served with a chunk of warmed bread and melting butter…perfect!

Remember Paul Simon’s lyrics in “Sounds of Silence”? “I turned my collards to the cold and damp…” No? He didn’t say that?

A few leaves of collards from the garden.

Ingredients

A few strips of bacon, cooked. Save 1 or 2 tablespoons of the fat (optional).
A large bunch of fresh collard greens, washed, with largest part of rib removed. Cut into bite-size pieces and set aside.
A handful of ‘Lacinato’ (dinosaur) kale or ‘Red Russian’ kale leaves, washed, with large rib removed. Cut into ribbons and add to the collards.
2 tablespoons butter, and more for the bread
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
2 or 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
A few white button mushrooms, sliced
3 or 4 15-ounce cans of low salt chicken broth, plus 2 or 3 cans of water
1 or 2 bay leaves
2 or 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 15-ounce cans of beans (cannellini, pinto, or others), drained and lightly rinsed
1 15-ounce can diced or stewed tomatoes
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or a bit more if using fresh
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram, or 2 teaspoons fresh. Substitute Italian oregano if preferred, or use a combination. Add more herbs if desired.
3 tablespoons or a small handful fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, coarsely chopped
2 to 3 cups cooked (al dente) enriched Barilla pasta (extra protein, Omega-3’s, fiber), such as elbows or mini farfalle
Salt and pepper
Grated Romano cheese

Bright green collards, ready for the broth.

The Process

Cook the bacon, reserving some of the fat. Set aside.
In a large stockpot, heat butter and olive oil.
Add onion and celery. Cook at medium heat, stirring, until almost tender.
Add garlic. Cook for a few minutes, stirring. (Never brown the garlic.)
Add collards, kale, mushrooms, and some bacon fat, if desired. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, until they turn bright green.
Add chicken broth, water, vinegar, bay leaf, and crumbled bacon. Raise heat to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add beans and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and thyme, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
Add marjoram and parsley, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Add cooked pasta, heat, and stir.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Done! Now, serve with grated Romano cheese and your favorite bread. This will make about 8 servings. Add more chicken stock and water if needed.

You Can Grow Them!

Collards in the garden, late December.

Collards and kale are among the easiest crops to grow in the vegetable garden. As members of the family Brassicaceae, these plants are among the most concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in the plant kingdom! Just one or two leaves added to omelets, pizza, store-bought soup, and rice or pasta dishes will add significantly to the meal’s nutrient content.

A few collards and several kale plants (dinosaur and ‘Red Russian’), among other crops grown through the winter, supply us with enough greens to pick almost every day. They’re super cold-hardy, and get covered with clear plastic when the temperature plummets to the low 20’s F.

On the Subject of Bacon

Since there are few occasions in this blog when the subject of bacon comes up, let me add that December 30 is National Bacon Day. We have Hernando de Soto (c. 1500-1542, Spanish explorer, looking for gold and a passage to China), to credit, or to blame, for introducing pigs to the Americas. In 1539, he brought 13 pigs to the southeastern U.S., which multiplied to a herd of 700 within 3 years. De Soto died of fever, and his body was laid to rest in the Mississippi River, which he and his crew were the first Europeans to discover.

A few morsels: About 10,000 years ago, wild pigs were domesticated in Central Asia…just under 10% of the pig is processed into bacon…just over half of American households have bacon in the refrigerator.

An occasional indulgence in foods that are generally perceived to be not so healthy is more than compensated by increasing the proportions of greens and vegetables in our diets. So, I will enjoy that bacon and a piece of good bread, guilt-free, every now and then, or these buttery biscuits that are so easy to make from scratch. Hope you enjoy this one! Happy New Year!

Collards soup is ready. Enjoy!

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Toffee Cookies: You Must Try These!

Dec24

Time for Toffee Cookies!

The cookie from Kim’s Kitchen that is most frequently requested: Toffee Cookies! These delicious cookies were a Christmas tradition in our family.

My father worked with a photographer in Englewood, New Jersey, after returning home from serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His employer’s wife gave the recipe to my mother, sometime in the 1940’s.

A Christmas favorite: Toffee Cookies.

Ingredients For Toffee Cookies

1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 pound cold butter
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

Added After Baking the Toffee Cookies

10 (+ or -) ounces milk chocolate. I use 7 ounces Hershey’s milk chocolate plus 3 or 4 ounces Symphony milk chocolate. Use any kind of chocolate you prefer.
1 to 1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts

The Process

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer until well-mixed but not overdone.
Add egg yolk and vanilla. Mix, and scrape bowl.
Add flour in batches. Mix well, scraping bowl. Dough will be thick.
Spread on parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet that has a raised edge. I use an approximately 10″ x 15″ jelly roll pan, which is thicker than cookie sheets and has been in our family for decades. Use a butter knife and your fingers to spread the dough; this is the hardest part. The palms of your hands can flatten it somewhat; it will flatten more in the oven.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top and edges begin to show a light golden brown color. Watch it carefully. One minute too long will result in a crispy cookie, and everyone in my family, except Mother, likes it chewy. Remove from oven.

Now, the Toppings

Break up the chocolate into pieces. Before the toffee cools, place chocolate on top. It will melt on the hot toffee. If the chocolate doesn’t melt, place cookie sheet back into the warm oven, turned off, but monitor it closely. Various brands of chocolate have different melting points. Use a butter knife to smooth the chocolate over the toffee.
Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Allow the toffee to cool before cutting into squares. This could take a few hours at room temperature. If the chocolate is still soft, your toffee cookies will not cut neatly!
Cut with a long-bladed knife into 1 1/2″ squares. Place in a cookie tin or plastic container, lined—and layers separated—with wax paper.

: Toffee cookie dough, fully mixed.

: Smoothed toffee, ready for baking.

: Chocolate pieces on hot toffee, beginning to melt.

: Finished toffee cookies, before cutting.

: Finished! Delicious!

: Enjoy with some hot coffee.

More dessert recipes from Kim’s kitchen:

Almond Crescents

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Gingersnaps

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Kim’s Gingersnaps: Adding Spice To Your Life

Dec1

Kim’s Gingersnaps

Here’s another cookie recipe that’s a family tradition during the holidays, but we enjoy them at any time of the year. A tiny few in our family prefer them baked until crispy. Most of us, however, like them soft inside. Gingersnap or gingersoft—your choice. This recipe has been adjusted a bit from my mother’s original recipe.

Gingerbread tiny houses.

Ingredients For Making Gingersnaps

1½ sticks butter
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
2¼ cups all-purpose unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon—I use just a bit more of the ginger, cloves, and cinnamon for extra “warmth”. Mix these 6 dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Very fine sugar in a separate bowl, for coating formed cookie dough

One of Santa’s favorites.

The Process

Finished cookie dough.

Mix butter and white sugar in the large bowl of a stand mixer. Don’t over-mix it.
Add the molasses. Mix well, scraping with spatula.
Add egg, and mix.
Gradually add and mix in the flour-spice mixture. Scrape with spatula.
After it’s all mixed together, refrigerate the covered dough for at least a couple of hours.
Preheat oven to 375°F or a little lower.
Line 1 or 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Now that the dough is cool, spoon out enough dough to make a 1″ diameter ball. Roll it between the palms of your hands to form a sphere. Place balls, in batches, in the very fine sugar to coat. Roll them around and/or spoon the fine sugar over the dough.
Place on cookie sheets, about 3″ on center, and bake for about 8 minutes. They might need less time or a minute more, depending on your oven. In this electric oven, I put a pyrex dish of water over the “hot spot”, and bake one large and one small cookie sheet at a time. To avoid hot spots, perhaps baking one sheet at a time will work better.
Lay the gingersnaps out on the wax-paper-covered counter to cool somewhat. If they’re placed in cookie tins before they have fully cooled, they will stay a little softer. It takes almost no time to go from soft and luscious to crispy, so watch them carefully while baking and while cooling.
Wrap cooled cookies in foil and a plastic bag to freeze the excess.

*** * * * * * * * ***

When Brynn and Logan were little, I shaped some of the dough into gingerbread men, just for them. A little ginger, by the way, can settle an upset stomach and makes me feel just a bit warmer. How do you like them—crispy or soft? Either way, enjoy!

Soft gingersnaps fresh from Kim’s kitchen.

Here are links to more of Kim’s dessert recipes:

Toffee Cookies

Almond Crescents

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

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Over the Moon for Almond Crescents

Dec1

Almond Crescents

This recipe for Almond Crescents is a subtle combination of nutty, sweet, and buttery flavors. Thanks go to a family friend, Evelyn Varecka, for sharing the recipe over 50 years ago.

Ingredients For Almond Crescents

1/2 pound sweet butter (original recipe calls for unsalted butter, but either salted or unsalted can be used)
3/4 cup powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 cup almonds, grated fine in food processor
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
3 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
Very fine sugar (for rolling, after baking)

The Process

Preheat oven to 375° to 400°F.
Beat egg yolks at high speed in a medium-small bowl for 1 or 2 minutes, until lightly colored. I use an electric hand mixer. Set aside.
Cream butter for 1 minute at high speed in large bowl of a stand mixer.
Lower the mixer speed, and add powdered sugar. Beat at medium speed for another minute. Scrape bowl with spatula.
Add egg yolks, and beat for 1 minute at medium speed.
Add almonds and vanilla.
Mix in small batches of flour; mix thoroughly. Scrape bowl.
The original recipe called for forming dough into 3 or 4 logs, rolled up in wax paper, and chilling them in the refrigerator for a few hours before forming the cookies. Instead, I skip the “logs” step because the dough is easier to form into crescents before it has cooled down. Shape the dough (about 1 tablespoon per cookie) into crescents, and place them about 3/4″ apart on parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets. Refrigerate for a few hours.
Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. They’re done when the bottom edges begin to turn light brown. I prefer to bake one sheet at a time, turned halfway through, to avoid the hot spot in the oven.
Let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes, until they’re cool enough to handle.
Handling gently, coat cookies with very fine sugar in a bowl.
Place in cookie tin, and cover when fully cooled.

A cookie tin full of these cookies makes a nice gift. Or bake a batch, and share with your coworkers during the holidays. Save some for Santa! Enjoy!

Freshly baked almond crescents from Kim’s kitchen.

More of Kim’s dessert recipes:

Toffee Cookies

Gingersnaps

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

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Our Favorite: Pumpkin Pie!

Nov21

If It’s Thanksgiving, There Will Be Pumpkin Pie

Kim’s pumpkin pie.

Here’s a recipe for homemade Pumpkin Pie. Those few Thanksgiving guests who say “No thanks” might start asking for seconds once they’ve tried it. We’ve been making this pumpkin pie for generations. And, yes, it does call for home-made crust.

The Crust For Pumpkin Pie

You’ll need wax paper, a pastry cutter, a rolling pin, and counter space. This recipes makes 2 pies, and the crust and filling bake at the same time. I use clear Pyrex pie plates. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, plus a bit more for decoration on top of filling
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco all-vegetable shortening. You can substitute 1 or 2 tablespoons butter for some of the shortening, but any more than that and the crust will be less flaky. Use the very scientific “water displacement method” (remember Home Ec?) to measure the shortening. (Fill a 2-cup measuring cup with 1 1/2 cups cold water. Using a butter knife, add the shortening to the water, and submerge it until the water comes up to the 2-cup level. Drain water.)
5 tablespoons cold water

The Process

Add flour to a medium size bowl.
Stir in the salt.
Add shortening.
Add water evenly over the flour.
Use a pastry cutter to work the dough, cutting into and distributing the ingredients evenly, but do this as quickly as possible. For a really good crust, work fast, work cool, and don’t overwork the dough. Dough will stick inside the pastry cutter; use the knife to clear it several times as you cut the dough. If it feels too dry (“floury”) and you’ve been cutting the dough for a while, add a little more water or shortening. Too much water and overworking will make the crust hard; shortening makes it flaky. It’s okay if you see tiny blobs of fat mixed in the dough.
Gather a handful of dough and squeeze it. If it stays in a clump, it’s ready to be rolled. If it’s very sticky, add more flour.
Divide the dough in half.
Cut 4 pieces of wax paper. Lay 1 piece on the counter.
Move half of the dough to the wax paper. Ball it up in the center. Cover with another piece of wax paper.

Roll It Out

Use the rolling pin to flatten the dough all the way to the edge of the wax paper. Invert a pie plate over the dough to see if it’s wide enough. Dough should extend about 1 1/2″ around the pie plate.
Now, carefully remove one sheet of wax paper. The knife will help loosen an edge.
Lift the bottom paper and lay the dough into the pie plate. Remove the paper.
Press the dough into the pie plate, in the angle and up the side.
Roll down the edge of the dough to the top of the plate.
Form the zigzag top edge of the dough using the index finger and thumb of one hand, and the other index finger.
Use a fork to pierce the dough in several places on the bottom and sides.
Repeat for the second pie.

Pie crusts.

The Filling For Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
29 ounce can Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin (no spices added)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon. (For the spices—ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon—I like to add a bit more than the recommended amount.)
1 teaspoon salt
2¼ cups milk. We use 2%.

The Process

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Mix sugar and butter in the large bowl of mixer until evenly mixed; we like our Kitchen-Aid stand mixer.
Add eggs, pumpkin, spices, and salt.
Add milk last. Scrape bowl and attachment with spatula a few times while mixing.
Add filling to the 2 uncooked crusts.
Leftover dough, if there is any, can be shaped into a turkey or a pumpkin and placed on the filling.
Bake for 1 hour. Check the pies about 10 minutes before they’re done. If your oven has hot spots, turn the pies halfway through cooking so the crusts bake evenly.
Let them cool.
Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

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The Best Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe

Aug27

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Kim’s Cream Cheese Pound Cake.

I’ve written many articles about vegetables, but I must confess that I have a bit of a sweet tooth. Here’s an easy recipe for Cream Cheese Pound Cake that has been used for generations in our family. An Oradell NJ neighbor named Elsie Janus gave us the recipe.

My mother used to dust it with powdered sugar, but I don’t. You can really celebrate decadence by serving it with your favorite ice cream. It’s also great with an afternoon tea or coffee with friends.

This recipe calls for 2 loaf pans. The two that I use measure 8.5″ x 4.5″ and 9″ x 5″.

Ingredients For Cream Cheese Pound Cake

3/4 cup butter, or 1 1/2 sticks
8 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese, original or 1/3 less fat
2 cups sugar
5 large or 4 extra large eggs
3 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup milk, preferably not skim
2 tsp. real vanilla extract

The Process

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a stand mixer. Don’t overwork it.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl; set aside.
Add one egg at a time to mixer, mixing after each one.
Now add flour mixture alternately with milk, about one fourth of each at a time.
Add vanilla.
Mix well, scraping bowl and beater now and then.
Pour into two loaf pans. I prefer to line them with parchment paper.
Bake for 1 hour. Check for doneness with toothpicks or a skinny knife at about 50 to 55 minutes. This cake is especially good if not overcooked. The top will be a light golden brown color…melts in your mouth…I save that part for last…
Cool. Freezes well.

When I used to sell at farmers’ markets in Maryland and around Washington, D.C., a baker’s license permitted me to sell home-made cookies, muffins, and this cake in addition to the plants. Now, if you promise to eat your greens and vegetables, I’ll post more of our favorite dessert recipes. The cook gets to lick the bowl, although experts advise against it (uncooked flour and eggs).

Buttery, cheesy…delicious!

Delicious cream cheese pound cake from Kim’s kitchen.

More dessert recipes from Kim’s kitchen:

Brussels Sprouts Slaw: The Recipe

Aug8

Brussels Sprouts Slaw

Here’s a recipe for Brussels Sprouts Slaw—absolutely delicious and nutritious! If you like garlic and cheese and pine nuts, you’ll love this dish. And if you like this recipe, you might want to try growing your own Brussels sprouts for super-fresh flavor.

Ingredients

1 pound raw Brussels sprouts, rinsed, hard core removed, and finely shredded or sliced. Place in medium size bowl.
1/4 to 1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted in dry pan, turning often. Set aside.
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
Dressing, below

Brussels sprouts grow on the plant’s stem.

Ingredients For The Dressing

1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 small shallot, minced
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 small to medium clove garlic, minced
1 to 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash black pepper
3 to 4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Mix together all the dressing ingredients, except the olive oil, in a bowl. Now slowly whisk in the olive oil. Adjust measurements of ingredients, if desired. Some like less mustard; some like more garlic.

And Combine

Add dressing to Brussels sprouts, mix well, and refrigerate 30 minutes or more.
Then add the toasted pine nuts.
Add Romano cheese.
Adjust salt and pepper, if necessary.

Mix well and serve. This side dish can turn Brussels sprouts haters into Brussels sprouts lovers. Take it on your next picnic or try it as a light dinner. Enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts Slaw—it’s ready!

* * * * * * * * * *

Quickly Cooked Brussels Sprouts

Here’s another simple way to serve Brussels sprouts:

Rinse the sprouts and cut them in half.
Add to a pot of boiling water, or steam them in a smaller amount of water to preserve nutrients.
Let them cook on medium heat for a few minutes, then drain. Cooking longer makes them softer, but be careful not to overcook.
Either in the empty pot or in a serving bowl, add butter, a bit of salt, and chopped fresh basil to the sprouts.
Toss and serve.

Brussels sprouts is a member of the Brassicaceae (formerly Cruciferae) family, sometimes called the cruciferous vegetables. This large group of plants also includes arugula, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, mustard greens, pac choi, turnip greens, and others.

“Mmm…Sulforaphanes!”

: Miniature broccoli ‘Happy Rich’ my favorite vegetable.

: Dinosaur (‘Lacinato’ or ‘Toscano’) kale.

: Cauliflower.

: Pac choi, or bok choy.

The brassicas are famous not only for their generous vitamins, minerals, and fiber, but also, significantly, for their phytonutrients. And that’s not all—the anti-inflammatory brassicas also contain some protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Raw brassicas contain a group of nutrients called sulforaphanes, phytonutrients that help prevent many illnesses, including cancer. They also contribute to cardiovascular health and help preserve eyesight and brain function. No other group of edible plants has nearly the level of antioxidant glucosinolates that this one can boast; I’m not sure they have any!

Cutting up and immediately cooking the brassicas, however, will not produce the beneficial sulforaphanes. But there are 2 ways to get these powerful antioxidants. One is to eat them raw, as in the recipe for Brussels Sprouts Slaw.

The second way is to chop them up and let them sit on the counter for 40 minutes. There’s an enzyme in brassica tissues, called myrosinase, that is needed to produce the sulforaphanes. This enzyme, once activated by damaging the plant cells, needs time to convert sulforaphane precursors into the sulforaphane itself. But myrosinase is destroyed by heat; that’s why we need to wait before cooking them if we want those benefits.

So, if you’re preparing cooked Broccoli One or Two, Collards Soup, or simply adding any of the brassicas to store-bought pizza, steamed greens, or Eggplant Parmigiana, consider this “chop and hold” method of bringing out the best in the brassicas.

Because of the numerous health-giving attributes of the brassicas, I include at least one in my diet every day.

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Easy Broccoli One and Easy Broccoli Two: Recipes

Aug1

Fresh broccoli crowns.

The route from “farm to table” can’t be any shorter than if it starts in your own back yard. Here are two broccoli recipes that take minutes to prepare, and might convince you to grow some plants this fall. 2 or 3 servings.

Easy Broccoli One:

Use a medium size pot, with a lid. Add 2 or 3 Tbsp. water.
Broccoli: Rinse a fresh crown, about 5″ in diameter. Remove tough, thick stem. Cut head into bite-size florets; remaining tender stems should be cut smaller. Some people don’t use the stems, just under the head, but they’re perfectly edible, as are the leaves. Place florets into the pot.
Mushrooms: Wash and trim stems of a few white button mushrooms, slice, and add to pot.
Cover, heat up the pot, then lower temperature, to steam the broccoli and mushrooms. Mix once or twice. Don’t overcook; heat enough to turn broccoli to a bright dark green color, which takes only a minute or two. Overcooking this vegetable makes it soft and smelly.
Finely mince a clove of garlic, and add to a small butter pot (ours is 3″ in diameter, stainless steel) with 1 tsp. butter and 1 or 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Heat this pot over low to medium heat until garlic is a light golden color. (Burned garlic tastes terrible. If you have to start over, that’s better than using the burned garlic.) This step might take a bit longer than cooking the broccoli; I start this one first.
Drain water from the broccoli pot. Add to the broccoli the contents from the garlic pot and a dash of salt. Mix and serve.

This is a great, fast side dish by itself. Or use it over some enriched pasta, with a little more oil and grated Romano cheese. Photo, below—it’s dinner, with a few black olives on the side.

Easy Broccoli Two:

In a medium frying pan, add about 2 Tbsp. thinly sliced onion and 1 or 2 Tbsp. olive oil. On medium heat, cook and turn until onion is transparent to a light golden color.
Then add broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces, prepared as in Easy Broccoli One. Add 2 Tbsp. water and a dash of salt.
Mix well, and cover to steam over low heat. Stir once or twice, adding water if necessary. It’s done when it turns a bright green color or cook it to the desired tenderness. Drain excess water.
Serve with grated Romano cheese.

Wasn’t that easy? Delicious and super-healthy! Sometimes I add a few stems of ‘Happy Rich’ miniature broccoli (photo, below) if they’re ready to pick. This variety has small heads with great flavor. Several inches of the stem and the leaves are also edible. Like other brassicas, it tolerates freezing temperatures, and this one often forms heads until mid summer.

B and C vitamins are water soluble. Use as little water as possible so nutrients aren’t washed down the drain. Or, add the liquid to soup or freeze for later use.

After trying these recipes, you might decide to grow your own broccoli. Start seeds yourself or look for transplants at your local garden center or farmers’ market in mid summer to early fall and again in late winter to early spring. After you pick the main head, smaller side shoots (photo, below) will grow above the remaining leaves for many more weeks. You’d be right if you were thinking that broccoli is “the gift that keeps on giving”. Enjoy!

: Broccoli ‘Arcadia’ side shoots.

: Miniature broccoli ‘Happy Rich’ has white flowers.

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Time To Think About Fall Greens and Vegetables

Jul29

Ready To Sow Fall Greens and Vegetables?

Lettuce Red Lettuce Green Lettuce - PMAnguita / Pixabay

Several varieties of head lettuces.

It’s hard to believe it’s already time to start seeds for fall greens and vegetables. I’ve been putting it off because of the hot weather we’ve been having. But, unless I want to buy transplants, seeds will have to be started soon. You folks up north probably have sown seeds for the broccoli and cauliflower by now, and certainly the Brussels Sprouts.

Here in North Carolina, fall seems a long time away, but in order for us to harvest those fall greens, we need to start sowing seeds now. Remember to locate your fall/winter garden where it will receive adequate sunlight. And, of course, I’ll sow successive crops through the rest of summer and early fall, as space permits.

Because we have a long growing season in the Carolinas, we can squeeze in another crop of summer vegetables. Zucchini, summer squash, cucumber, and beans can be sown again. But with the encroaching canopy of the trees on the berm, south of the garden, I’ll be planting only cool-season vegetables. The ‘Diva’ cucumber is loaded with fruits. And I will wait patiently for every last fruit to ripen on the tomatoes and peppers.

(***Update***: A few days ago, a large and dangerously crooked pine tree was taken down, and now there’s more afternoon sun for the tomatoes and peppers. More sun also gives us opportunities to grow containerized vegetables and fall greens inside the fence, protected from deer.)

If They Can’t Take the Heat

Spinach.

Temperatures are still too hot to sow lettuce and spinach outdoors, so I’ll wait another week or two. It’s still in the 90’s! They can be started indoors, in air-conditioned space, if needed.

Check the temperature of the soil before sowing seeds in the garden. Direct sun beating down on the dark soil surface can raise the temperature too high and dry it out very quickly. Look for one of those “Easy Tunnels”, or fabricate something yourself, to partially shade the soil and the tender young seedlings. You can purchase knitted shade fabric, made from black polyethylene, from mail order suppliers. In the southern states, 30-50% shading should work during the late summer months. This could lower the temperature by 10° or 15°F. Keep the soil surface moist to ensure good germination and to cool it down.

The best germination occurs between 60° and 75°F for lettuce and spinach. I usually put transplants into the garden instead of sowing seeds directly because hungry slugs, snails, and cutworms find tiny seedlings very tender and delicious.

Organic Sluggo will bait the mollusks (slugs and snails) to their deaths, and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), sprayed on the seedlings, will kill cutworms. Slug baits made with iron phosphate, such as organic Sluggo, are far less harmful to pets and to people than products containing metaldehyde, so be sure to read the labels.

One way to gather up a whole lot of slugs is to place a board, maybe 1′ x 2′, over damp soil. Go out and check the underside early the next morning, old knife in hand, and cut them quickly in half or squish them any way you choose…but, don’t use salt in the garden!

Choosing Varieties of Fall Greens

Sowing seeds for fall greens and vegetables, which prefer cool weather, can be tricky in July’s heat. Look online or through seed catalogs for lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and other crops that are described as being heat tolerant varieties. Yes, all lettuce and broccoli varieties prefer cool temperatures, but some will take warmer or colder weather than others as they form heads. If you’re buying transplants, ask the grower.

Either way, plan to provide some sort of device that will lower the temperature during these last hot weeks of summer. For later harvests, I’ll sow seeds that grow cool and mature in cold weather, and they will not need the shade fabric. Plants grow better with more hours of direct sun as the temperatures cool down.

Check with your local agricultural extension office for recommendations or for a planting calendar.

Planting Young Transplants

Soil

Rich, dark soil with lighter brown clumps of clay, before incorporating.

Starting a vegetable garden with soil that has not been conditioned could result in a mediocre or poor harvest. Fall greens grow faster and larger in well-prepared soil.

Garden soil for these crops needs additional organic matter (compost, composted cow manure), drainage material (pine fines, coarse sand), and sometimes lime. A soil test will indicate the need for lime.

Our fall greens are being planted in soil that has been worked for 6 years, so it’s in very good condition. I will, however, continue to add compost, fertilizer, or manure to the garden.

When digging soil, bring some of the lower-level clay up to the surface, and turn under the richer topsoil 4″ to 6″ deep (a few inches deeper for tomatoes, in spring). Over time, the clay soil on the surface will improve as mulch decomposes or when compost is added as a top dressing. Here you can see clumps of light brown clay that were brought to the surface of the soil (photo, above) before they were broken up.

Roots

Growers use pots and market packs of various sizes, including small 9-cell packs, 4-cell packs, 2″ peat pots and 4″ plastic pots. The smaller the root ball, the more carefully you will have to monitor the care.

: Broccoli roots before…

: …and after.

An important step before planting is to rough up the outside of the root ball (photos, above). This slightly injures the inner root layer called the pericycle, stimulating the plant to quickly send out new lateral roots into the soil. Be careful not to so severely damage the root system that the plant can’t supply water to the leaves on a hot, sunny day. Do this for every plant that is about to be repotted or planted into the garden.

A root ball that’s tightly packed with roots can be shallowly scored down the sides in a few places. Use a knife, a rock, or even a twig. Or use a cultivator to pry out some of the roots.

To Bury or Not To Bury?

Broccoli ‘Arcadia’ from 4-cell-pack.

Most young vegetable transplants can be placed an inch deeper into the soil, or up to the bottom leaves. If the plant is more mature and has developed a somewhat woody or tough stem, plant it at the same level it was growing in the pot. But always, if possible, choose younger transplants.

Older plants can be stressed by being potbound or underfertilized, and might go to flower or head up prematurely, yielding undersized harvests. Young plants will require more time to grow, but they will give you the largest heads of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. If in doubt, plant the top of the root ball level with the soil surface.

Firm the soil around the roots and stem using medium pressure. Humidity in the soil between the soil particles will encourage the stem to grow fine roots without interference from tightly packed soil. Watering the plant will help the soil settle in around the root system and provide much-needed moisture.

Broccoli ‘Arcadia’ in winter.

These are same broccoli ‘Arcadia’ plants photographed in late December (photo, above). Trees on the berm cast too much shade until leaves dropped off, delaying harvest. When the garden gets more sun, heads should form in mid to late winter.

Fertilizer

Planting fall greens and vegetables into late September, I mix a handful of granular organic vegetable fertilizer into the planting area. These crops grow beautifully with adequate nitrogen, so I will soon use higher nitrogen fish emulsion. Another application of fish emulsion will be made every 2-3 weeks through November, or every 2 weeks for potted greens.

Mustard seedlings in the garden.

Microbes in the soil break down organic compounds and make nutrients available to the roots. But, as the weather cools significantly, microbial activity slows down. I’ll use synthetic soluble fertilizers a few times in winter to keep the plants growing.

Greens and vegetables will grow all winter here, with some protection during very cold weather. This is worth the effort, since I can pick beautifully fresh kale and spinach for the Sunday omelet, or a big bunch of collards for collards soup.

Mustard ‘Florida Broadleaf’ was sown in late September, and germinated a few days later. The thinned seedlings will be used in soup, salad, or an omelet. Spinach sprouted about a week later.

Arugula

: Arugula flowers.

: Arugula ‘Astro’ seedlings.

Love, love arugula! A forkful of salad greens that has a piece of arugula in it…mmm… The variety I prefer is ‘Astro’. It’s not as hot as the wild types, and it tolerates warmer temperatures. Arugula will self-sow if it likes where it’s growing. Just let it flower and set seed. The papery seed capsules release the seeds, which germinate within 2 weeks, during favorable weather, near the mother plant.

It grows well in morning sun, during warm weather, and in moist, rich soil. Those who are more adventurous than I might enjoy growing the hotter ‘Wasabi’. Arugula doesn’t look like a member of the family Brassicaceae, but it, too, is in that famous family.

You might have seen the term “cruciferous” being used when describing members of the family Brassicaceae. It refers to the flowers of these plants, which have 4 petals arranged in the shape of a crucifix. The terms brassica, cole crops, and crucifer (or cruciferous) refer to the same plants.

Broccoli

One of the most nutrient-rich foods, broccoli is a must in my garden. Nutrients include protein, Vitamins A, several B’s, C, K, minerals, fiber, and their famous phytonutrients. To say that we eat broccoli in one form or another every 2 or 3 days is not an exaggeration. Just ask Mother.

Broccoli crowns.

Heat and cold tolerance ranges from poor to excellent, depending on the cultivar. In this zone 7b area, ‘Imperial’ can be sown in July or planted as transplants from July through August; Johnny’s Selected Seeds’ catalog rates it “excellent” in heat tolerance for broccoli. Normally, broccoli grows best in cool weather, but you can extend the harvest by choosing 2 or 3 varieties that are suited to the weather at different times of the year.

The variety that will see us through the winter is cold-hardy ‘Arcadia’, which grows a large number of side shoots once the main head has been harvested. For that reason, don’t cut off too many leaves when you do harvest broccoli, because each of those leaves could be topped by another side shoot.

By the way, tender broccoli leaves are edible as well. Add them to soup, a smoothie, pasta, or a stir-fry. After the harvest is done, I keep the plants in the garden to flower. Bumble bees and other early risers are fond of this bounty, and the flowers are quite pretty!

Bumble bee visiting broccoli flowers in early spring.

Miniature Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’

Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’.

I’ve grown ‘Happy Rich’ for many years. This plant grows a small head at the end of a stem, harvested ideally before the white flowers open. Each of those little green beads is a flower bud, and even if the buds start opening when the stems are picked, they’re still going to the kitchen.

The head will never get to the same size as regular broccoli, but the flavor is superb. Once the little heads have been cut off with 5″ to 8″ of the stem, the plant will branch out and grow more little heads. The stem, the leaves, and the head are edible—steamed, stir-fried, or added to soup or a pasta dish.

Two plants have been growing in the garden since the spring, and they don’t look very happy. It’s been a hot summer, so I didn’t expect them to survive this long.

Bt

Cabbage worms on broccoli.

The white cabbage moths visit frequently—more frequently, alas, than I do with the bottle of Bt.

Bt is an abbreviation for Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally-occurring bacterium that kills caterpillars of moths and butterflies (but not sawflies). Before you groan “no chemicals”, Bt is used by organic growers and it’s been around for decades. Perfectly safe, even for pollinators, and not a chemical.

All brassica crops are targeted by a few kinds of moths, which lay eggs on the leaves. They soon hatch into voraciously hungry and well-camouflaged caterpillars. After consuming some of the Bt, they stop feeding and die shortly thereafter. Young caterpillars are more easily controlled than older caterpillars. Thuricide and Dipel are two brand-name products with Bt as the active ingredient.

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Page 1: Ready To Sow Fall Greens and Vegetables?, If They Can’t Take the Heat (Choosing Varieties of Fall Greens), Planting Young Transplants (Soil, Roots, To Bury Or Not To Bury?, Fertilizer), Arugula, Broccoli, and Miniature Broccoli ‘Happy Rich’ (Bt)

Page 2: Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, Lettuce, Nutritional Considerations of Fall Greens (Where’s the Beef?), and Only the Beginning

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Easy Herbed Salmon For A Quick Dinner

Jul20

Herbed Salmon

The Good

Most of us are familiar with the benefits of including salmon in our diets. It’s an excellent source of protein, Vitamins B12, B3, B6, D, Omega-3 fats, and the mineral selenium. Other nutrients include phosphorus, iodine, choline, pantothenic acid, and some potassium, iron, and zinc.

Research indicates that salmon helps ease the inflammatory process (through bioactive peptides—amino acids—affecting joints, brain, and heart tissues), and plays a part in preventing macular degeneration and certain kinds of cancer. The Omega-3 fats it contains are the ones that are most helpful, namely DHA and EPA.

The Bad

Every now and then, I come across someone who recommends not consuming it. The stated cause for concern is the level of pollutants found in salmon. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s), no longer produced but still circulating in the environment, and other contaminants are thought to contribute to some types of cancer.

After reading over a dozen credible websites comparing wild-caught salmon to farm-raised salmon and their positions on PCB’s, I decided to summarize and offer this: Wild salmon is many times lower in PCB’s than farm-raised salmon. And, many studies show no correlation between salmon consumption and an increase in cancer.

Consistency among the websites is as scattered as confetti in the wind! Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency don’t agree on the acceptable level of PCB’s in our food sources, last time I checked.

Farmed salmon originating in Washington State and Chile have less contamination than farmed salmon coming from Europe. Wild-caught salmon from Alaska has lower levels than any other sources. Because PCB’s accumulate in fatty tissues, it is often recommended to trim off excess fat and the skin.

As consumers, we have access to both farm-raised and wild-caught salmon. So I purchase only wild-caught salmon from Alaska. When it is available, I buy a larger fillet, rinse it, place serving-size pieces into plastic bags, and freeze it. Admittedly, the texture is much better when cooked fresh, and that’s how I serve it to others.

And the Not-So-Pretty

There’s another significant difference between salmon from farmed sources and salmon that’s wild-caught. The healthier Omega-3 polyunsaturated fat is higher in wild salmon, and the less healthy Omega-6 is higher in farmed salmon. You want to consume a higher Omega-3 level compared to Omega-6, even though we do need a smaller amount of Omega-6 fat in our diets. So, wild salmon wins again.

Even though there’s some scary, and dubious, information on a few websites I visited, the consensus remains on the “we recommend a moderate consumption of wild-caught salmon” side of the argument. One site, among my favorites for science-based nutritional information, strongly supports a plant-based diet and therefore recommends against eating any salmon.

I like this fish too much to eliminate it from my diet, and we eat other kinds of fish as well. For its heart-healthy benefits, I will continue to prepare it every week or two. Most of the websites I visited recommended consuming salmon once or twice a month. Including salmon in your diet is your choice, and the information is out there for you to decide.

How to Prepare Herbed Salmon

Ingredients

This is for 2 servings.

8 to 12 ounces fresh salmon fillet, rinsed
1 quick spritz non-stick cooking spray, optional
several leaves of ‘Siam Queen’ Thai basil, coarsely chopped, or 2 tsp. dried (more or less according to taste)
1½-2 tsp. fresh dill weed, or 1 tsp. dried (or to taste)
Salt to taste
2 to 3 Tbsp. butter

The Process

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray, if you choose.
Lay the salmon, skin side down, if you choose to keep it on, on top of a small amount of butter in the dish. If fish is thick, score the thick part with a knife to cook it faster.
Press the basil and dill onto the salmon. Fresh herbs are preferred, but these two herbs retain good flavor when dried.
Place the rest of the butter, in pieces, on top of the fish.
Bake hot 8 to 15 minutes, shorter or longer depending on thickness of the fish. Baste once or twice while cooking to distribute those delicious flavors.
It’s done when the flesh flakes. Monitor closely because fish will be dry if overcooked.
Sometimes I broil it for the last minute to “caramelize” the points.
No need to turn it unless it’s very thick.
Give it a dash of salt after removing it from the oven.
Serve with the herbed butter in the pan. I don’t use lemon, which would overpower the flavors of the herbs.

If you prefer, fish can be grilled. Avoid very high temperatures or burning the fish, as this can affect nutrients and produce free radicals, which you don’t want.

It’s that easy! A little experimentation in the kitchen can result in fabulous meals for you and your family, ones you’ll go back to regularly. When I started offering Thai basil for sale at farmers’ markets, I had to figure out a way to use it in cooking. I never was fond of the licorice flavor of Thai basil. So I tried it in a couple of dishes and salads…nothing clicked.

Then, I thought, since I like salmon with dill, let’s try Thai basil with fish. Now, that’s the only way I make salmon! Over the years, I’ve tried other varieties of Thai basil and sweet basils, but prefer the richly-flavored ‘Siam Queen’ Thai basil, an All-America Selections Winner. Even though it has a powerful fragrance fresh, it mellows beautifully during cooking. This herb loves our hot summers, and, so far this year, we have been spared that dreaded basil disease, Basil Downy Mildew.

How to Dry Basil

When the plant starts to produce flowers, I cut back the flowering stems to a few inches above the soil, discard the flowers, rinse leaves and pat dry.

Remove any leaves that lack good color; pale leaves or very old ones are off-flavor or more bitter. Basil is a fast-growing leafy herb that needs to be fertilized now and then to produce high quality foliage.

Thai basil ‘Siam Queen’.

Lay the leafy stems on a dish lined with a paper towel, and keep at room temperature, out of direct sun. Turn them occasionally. When leaves are almost dry and beginning to curl, strip or snip them from the stems and place them back in the dish to dry thoroughly. Instead, you can remove all the good leaves from the stems at the start, placing them in a single thickness on the paper towel so they don’t mat together.

Another option is to hang small clusters of stems to dry. Gather the stems together with a rubber band, which will continue to hold the stems firmly as they shrink.

Microwaving or oven-drying herbs at very low heat is faster, but nutrients are destroyed, and, to me, the herbs always taste burned. I don’t recommend this practice.

Both Thai basil and dill retain very good flavor when dried. Use more, maybe twice as much, when using fresh herbs, which is my preference.

Storing Basil

Once they are crispy dry, store the whole leaves in a glass jar. The reason you don’t chop them up is that cut surfaces cause more of the flavor to dissipate. Be sure the leaves are dry; if there’s any moisture remaining, they will go moldy in storage. With one or two plants grown in the summer, I can harvest enough leaves to get us through the winter.

What’s for dinner at your place? After writing this, I think tonight we’ll have Herbed Salmon. And Tomato-Basil Salad, since I just picked 3 beautiful ‘Big Beef’ tomatoes from the garden.

Tomato-basil salad.

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Iced Tea Pots: Cool and Refreshing!

Jun30

Iced Tea Pots

Here’s an idea for an herb pot that’s perfect for these hot, humid days of summer. Grow herbs that you can use in iced tea! These iced tea pots will flavor your drinks all summer long.

The Plants

Spearmint

Mint ‘Julep’.

First decide which mints you like. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is a popular mint for iced tea and other drinks. There are several hybrids you can choose from, including ‘Kentucky Colonel’, ‘Mojito’, and ‘Julep’. Mint ‘Julep’ (photo, above) is my favorite; a pot that I brought from Maryland when I moved here several years ago is still in the front yard. And it is still growing in the pot.

“Common mint”, “garden mint”, or “mint” refer to spearmint, M. spicata, unless a variety has been indicated. This species originated in the area from Ireland to southern China.

Mentha x gracilis is a sterile hybrid cultivated for its essential oils. This is the flavorful ingredient in spearmint chewing gum.

Most mints are winter hardy in USDA hardiness zones 4 through 9 and have wide distribution around the globe. Species and their interspecific hybrids are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America.

Peppermint

Peppermint.

Peppermint (Mentha x piperita), including chocolate peppermint and a white variegated form, is another perennial mint. Variegated peppermint is beautiful, but the white sections scorch easily in hot sun.

Use peppermint in drinks and salads, and to help calm a queasy stomach.

This mint is an interspecific hybrid between Mentha aquatica (water mint) and M. spicata (spearmint). Anyone who enjoys some cool chocolate chip mint ice cream on a hot summer day will also like chocolate peppermint.

Other Mints

Mint flowers attract all sorts of pollinators.

And there’s orange mint, apple mint, pineapple mint, and Corsican mint, and many others. Gardeners can choose from among two dozen species and hundreds of varieties! They hybridize freely, although some of the seedlings can have an unpleasant taste. It’s best not to let them seed about.

Flowers appear at the tips of the stems. After letting the pollinators enjoy them for a couple of days, cut the stems back almost to the soil surface to prevent seeding and to encourage a flush of new growth.

Caution!

Anyone familiar with the invasive nature of mint gasps at the thought of growing it in the ground. Mint is an aggressively spreading perennial, and its mission in life is to cover the earth! Given moist, rich soil, it spreads by underground stems, called rhizomes. They multiply and spread in every direction.

The runners growing above ground will root wherever they touch the soil. I hope I’ve made my point. Unless you want them to take over, restrain them by keeping them in pots.

I’ve read articles that recommend keeping mint in a pot and burying the pot most of the way in the ground. This is supposed to prevent the rhizomes from escaping the confines of the pot. But rhizomes will pop up again unless the pot is very deep. And runners that grow over the edge of the pot will root into the surrounding soil unless they are relentlessly clipped back.

Lemon Balm

Another mint relative, lemon balm.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), also in the mint family, has a cool lemon scent and flavor, and can be used in the kitchen when lemon is called for. There has been some promising research in Alzheimer’s disease using lemon balm.

A patch of lemon balm grew in the Maryland back yard. I cut it back hard to control the growth for most of the summer. Then, late in the season, I let it go to flower and to seed for the American goldfinches. They landed on the flexible stems and bobbed up and down as they extracted the seeds.

Lemon Verbena

Lemon verbena.

Now, if you like a really strong lemon flavor, and growing a lemon tree is out of the question, look for lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla). It grows somewhat on the weedy side unless it’s trimmed back once in a while. It will sprout again along the stems, as long as the roots are healthy.

Lemon verbena is native to South America and is hardy in zones 8 or 9 through 10 or 11. So, here in the piedmont of the Carolinas, this woody herb might survive a mild winter, although it will drop its leaves.

If you want to try growing it as a perennial, plant it in a warmer microclimate provided by a south-facing wall, and mulch it. Give it some time to re-leaf, as it can be a little slow.

Keep the soil moist. When watering, splash the leaves (top and bottom surfaces) to drown spider mites, which can be troublesome on this plant.

Stevia

If you like a little sweetness in your tea, add stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) to the mix. This is a summer annual throughout most of the country, but, with proper care, it can be grown in a sunny window in the winter. Stevia, or “sweet herb”, has been cultivated for a thousand years in South America.

Stevia.

This herb is many, many times sweeter than table sugar. Clip a few leaves or a small stem, mash it in your hand, and add to the tea. You can also pick healthy leaves, dry them, and pulverize them to add to your drinks and to baking. But remember the higher potential it has for sweetening.

Cut back stevia to a few inches above the soil surface when it flowers to encourage new stems to grow. It will self-seed if you let the seedpods mature.

Stevia is hardy in zones 9 through 11.

Start With A Pot and Potting Soil

Soil in plastic and ceramic pots stays moist longer than soil in terra cotta pots, but clay pots are preferred by many gardeners. Most likely, you’re going to have to water your iced tea pots every day anyway. So just use a pot you enjoy seeing.

A clay pot can be lined with a plastic bag, with a few holes punched in the bottom for drainage. This will keep moisture in the soil a little longer.

A pot at least 12″ in diameter will accommodate 3-4 4″ pots. Pots with wide openings will produce the nicest looking plantings.

Polyester fiberfill covers the drainage hole.

Put a small handful of polyester fiberfill (available at craft stores) over the drainage hole. This prevents soil from eroding through the hole while allowing excess water to drain. It also prevents insects or worms from entering it. An alternative is to use a piece of landscape fabric, cut to cover the hole or the inside bottom of the pot. If there are several small holes in the bottom of the pot, it’s not necessary to use a filter.

Now add potting soil, lightly firming it as you proceed. Fill to within 2″ or 3″ of the rim of the pot. The soil should contain peat moss, which holds water. Pine fines, perlite, lime, starter fertilizer, and a wetting agent are also included in most bagged soil products. Adding compost to the mix will enrich the medium if it isn’t already included. These foliage plants enjoy a nutrient-rich potting soil.

When I grow and sell iced tea pots, I plant one stevia, one or two mints, and something lemony. So, all the flavor groups were covered: mint, lemon, and sweet.

Add the Plants

Starting at the back of the pot, plant the lemon verbena. Remove it from its pot, score the outside of the root ball with a knife if it’s heavily rooted, scoop out a hole for the roots, and plant. Firm the soil around the roots so that the top of the root ball (the plant’s soil surface) is an inch or two below the rim of the pot. That reservoir will hold water until it seeps into the soil. Avoid placing potting soil all the way to the top of the pot.

Now plant the stevia in the same manner, also toward the back of the pot, or in the center.

Mint.

For the mint—or the mints—place them inside the front of the pot. Mint spreads and doesn’t grow as tall as the lemon verbena or the stevia, as it will be cut back periodically.

Firm the soil around all the plants. If the soil level settled too low, simply tuck in more soil under the roots. Finish off the pot by adding a layer of mulch, such as pine fines, which helps slow down evaporation. And it looks good. Water the pot to settle in all the plants.

Many customers have expressed concern about the flavors losing their identities because the roots are growing together in the pot. Not to worry; peppermint will always taste like peppermint. Keep the labels next to the plants, to identify the particular flavor you want. Sure, if a spearmint leaf rubs against a stevia leaf, you might get a faint taste of mint with the stevia. But it’ll wash off, and it’s always a good idea to rinse herbs and vegetables before consuming them.

Maintenance

Light

Your iced tea pot needs direct sunlight for at least half the day. If the weather is cool where you live, the plants can take—and prefer—full sun (6 hours or more). Once the temperatures start getting into the 80’s F or higher, place the pot where it gets morning and early afternoon sun, and light shade during the hottest hours.

If the plants are not getting enough direct sunlight, the stems will be thin and weak. They might give you some leaves or stems to clip, but will not regrow exuberantly, and could die off.

If the plants are weakened from lack of sun, cut them back, place them in more hours of direct sun, and cross your fingers. Usually the plants recover, but sometimes they don’t. When they do start to regrow, make sure they are getting enough water, as the demand for it will increase.

Water

These plants grow fast in warm weather. They will need frequent and deep watering to prevent wilt.

Once the roots grow throughout the pot, the plants will demand watering once or twice a day on warm, sunny days. Not just a cupful or two, either. It’ll be more like 3 or 4 quarts of water for a 12″ pot, and 3 gallons or more for a half whiskey barrel. Provide enough water to moisten the entire root ball, or until it starts seeping out through the drainage holes.

If water rushes out of the bottom of the pot immediately after watering, check to make sure the soil is firmed all the way around the pot. The water found the quickest exit, which is usually through an air channel in the soil, often along the inside surface of the pot.

In hot, breezy weather, it would be a good idea to keep a saucer under smaller pots. Let the excess water in the saucer get soaked up by the roots for up to an hour after watering. If it is absorbed by the roots quickly, then add more water.

Don’t, however, keep water in the saucer all the time. That could start rotting the roots, especially if the pot is kept in less than ideal sun. It might be a good idea to move the plants into a bigger pot if the plants wilt frequently. Or reduce the top growth (cut back) to slow the amount of water lost due to transpiration.

Always check the temperature of the water when it first comes out of the hose. It will be very hot if the hose has been kept in the sun. Too hot for plants!

Fertilizer

Espoma has many formulations of organic fertilizers.

Old leaves or those with poor color taste bitter or off-flavor. Fast-growing leafy herbs require fertilizer, especially nitrogen, every 2 or 3 weeks. Those include mint, basil, parsley, cilantro, and arugula.

I know; that’s contrary to what you might have heard from other gardeners. “Never fertilize your herbs; they’ll lose all their flavor.” Well, I disagree. Plants growing in pots don’t have the option of sending their roots a few feet away in search of nitrogen. They rely on you to provide it.

Since these are foliage plants, they need more nitrogen than they need other nutrients. Nitrogen (“N” on the package) is necessary for the formation of chlorophyll, the green pigment that gives leaves their characteristic color.

Both organic products and synthetics break down to the same or very similar compounds before the plant can use them. Plant-Tone and Garden-Tone are mild organic products from Espoma. High-nitrogen fish emulsion, earthworm castings, and Neptune’s Harvest are some of the organic products I use frequently.

Organic fertilizers also provide beneficial microbes, which break down organic matter in the soil and help the roots absorb nutrients and water more efficiently. Products containing microbes should be buried in the soil or covered with mulch, and watered in after application. Ultraviolet light from the sun kills microbes.

If plants are in need of a quick injection of nutrients, I have no problem using one of the soluble synthetics. Also, timed-release fertilizer products can be used if you tend to forget calendar reminders. If the product says “will fertilize 4 full months”, remember that the nutrients will be released faster in rainy or hot weather. Four months at 70 degrees would be about half that duration at 85 or 90 degrees. I often use a more expensive product that lasts “8 months”.

Pruning

The only way to keep mint looking beautiful and healthy is to cut it back regularly. When you harvest a stem, cut it almost all the way back to the soil, and use the good leaves at the tip. If you harvest stems frequently, and cut the stems hard (down to within 1/2″ to 1″ of the soil) each time, the plant will continually send up new growth from the base of the plant.

If you don’t use them often, the mints will start to look sickly, particularly in hot weather. Insects, mites, hot weather, and the occasional drought are stresses that take their toll. The plants will regrow beautiful new leaves for you. They just need a little encouragement. In fact, you can give the mints, including the lemon balm, a severe trim, cutting all of them to within 1″ of the soil if the pot is in need of rejuvenation. As long as the roots are healthy, the plants will bounce back from the underground rhizomes in a short period of time.

Lemon verbena and stevia will respond in the same way, just a little more slowly. Don’t cut them all the way down as you would cut mint. Just shape them up, or cut them back halfway, rinsing, harvesting, and drying the healthy leaves for future use.

Insects

Hot weather does bring out the beasts! You might see aphids, thrips, white flies, mealybugs, and little moth caterpillars rolled up in the leaves. As thrips scrape the cells on the leaf surface and collect the sugary sap, small scars become visible.

Most aphids can be dislodged with a strong spray from the hose. Horticultural oil will smother most insects and mites. Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, will get the caterpillars you might miss. If you want to use the clippings in your tea, rinse the foliage after spraying. These products are safe to use on edibles but remember to always read package directions.

Spider Mites

Tiny spider mites (arachnids, not insects) cause the characteristic stippling of the leaf surface as they feed on the reverse. Mites are easily drowned by occasionally spraying with water on the bottom of the foliage.

Overwintering

During cold weather, place the pot next to the south side of the house (northern hemisphere), and cover with a deep layer of leaves or pine needles. Partially planting the pot in the ground (“heeling in”) will better insulate the root system from extreme cold. The mints usually regrow a second season, but, most likely, stevia and lemon verbena will need to be replanted.

The root ball will be a solid mass of roots and rhizomes, which can be divided in the spring. Pot up some extras in case all the divisions you planted are of the same variety. Or wait until they emerge from dormancy, when you can more easily identify the varieties.

Refresh the soil, add more plants if you choose, and you’ll have another season to enjoy your iced tea pots!

When returning home from a hot day at work, I used to pick a stem from the potted mint ‘Julep’ sitting by the front door. A glass of freshly brewed iced tea, some lemon, stevia, and mint—how refreshing is that?!

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The Best Eggplant Parmigiana

Jun25

updated 1/20/2024

Eggplant Parmigiana

One of the favorite dishes from our kitchen is Eggplant Parmigiana. First, I have to admit that I never use Parmesan. Locatelli Romano is our preferred cheese for Italian dishes. Purchased as a solid wedge, and grated in batches, it’s always on hand in the refrigerator.

As a kid, I would “borrow” a chunk of Romano from my Sicilian grandmother’s kitchen, and hide under the table where I could savor every little bite. Mmm….so good!

Over the years, I’ve tried many recipes for Eggplant Parmigiana, but it wasn’t until last year that I came up with this combination. An organized kitchen is helpful as this dish is being orchestrated. And having some potted herbs outside the kitchen door is very handy.

Have These Ready

one 13″x 9″ Pyrex baking dish, or other dish that can take low heat from the stovetop, and oven heat
2 non-stick frying pans, medium to large, for eggplant
separate bowls to hold zucchini and eggplant slices
pie plate for eggs and water
wide bowl for bread crumbs

Ingredients

1 or 2 small zucchini, yellow or green, unpeeled, cut into 1/4″ slices
2 medium (less seedy than large) fresh eggplants, unpeeled, cut lengthwise into 1/4″ slices (no need to “bleed” out moisture)
Your favorite meatless tomato sauce
2 cups or more seasoned bread crumbs; see below
2 eggs plus 1 Tbsp. water, stirred together in pie plate
Extra virgin olive oil
butter
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced
About 3/4 lb. Provolone cheese, thinly sliced
1 to 1 1/2 cups Romano cheese, grated
1 or 2 cups wilted greens, such as spinach, arugula, Swiss chard, and dinosaur kale. Or use 1 or 2 bags of prepared greens. Greens are optional, but recommended. You can also use fresh greens.

Bread Crumbs—Ingredients

Mix together all these ingredients in the bowl:

Flat-leaf parsley.

Several slices dry rye, whole wheat, and/or white bread, processed to medium-fine crumbs. I collect odds and ends in an open bag in the refrigerator, letting them dry.
1/2 to 2/3 cup grated Romano cheese
2 or 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh or 1-1 ½ tsp. dry Italian oregano
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper, or to taste
1/4 tsp. thyme, French preferred

The Process

Place baking dish on small burner of stove. Add a layer of sauce to coat the bottom of the pan.
Add zucchini slices close together in single layer, on top of sauce in baking dish. Turn on stove to very low heat, which will begin softening the zucchini as eggplant is being prepared. Move the pan around so no spots overheat. Turn over zucchini slices once for even heating. Make sure your dish will be safe to use like this. (If you prefer not to heat the pan, add some time when baking the eggplant.)
In frying pans, add olive oil and a little bit of butter. Not too much.
One slice at a time, dip eggplant in egg bath, then press into bread crumbs, coating both sides.
Add breaded eggplant slices to frying pans (I use 2 pans to speed up the process), and sauté over medium heat until medium brown. Don’t use high heat; this will brown the bread crumbs, leaving eggplant raw.
Place cooked eggplant slices close together, in a single layer on top of zucchini, into baking dish.
Continue sautéing eggplant slices, adding oil and butter as needed. While the next batch is cooking, add a layer of Romano, mozzarella, and Provolone cheeses, and more sauce, to the baking dish.
Add the greens in the middle layers.

Continue Layering

Continue layering eggplant, cheeses, and sauce until dish is filled. Usually there are 2 or 3 layers of eggplant. You can add leftover egg and bread crumbs, finishing with sauce.
Drizzle 1 or 2 Tbsp. olive oil over the top, plus a couple of pinches of oregano.
Bake at 350 degrees, loosely covered with foil. If the pan is filled to the top, place an old cookie sheet on the bottom rack to catch the spillover. If sauce is watery, lower heat, loosen foil, and cook a bit longer.
It’s done when sauce is gently bubbling all over, usually 40 to 50 minutes.
Serve with extra grated Romano cheese and sauce, if needed.

Wasn’t that easy? Maybe not the first time, but it is delicious! Serve with some good bread and a green salad or tomato-basil salad. Maybe some wine…good company…and…

Fresh artichoke.

…Stuffed Artichokes

Snip the points off the artichoke leaves, remove the smallest bottom leaves, trim the stem to an inch or so, rinse, and drain.

Use the bread crumb recipe above, adding more Romano cheese, salt, and garlic. Place the artichoke in the bowl of bread crumbs and spoon the mixture between the leaves. Use your fingers to firm more crumbs between the leaves.

Place in artichoke holders and add 2 to 3 cups of water in a heavy stock pot. Drizzle olive oil, 2 or 3 Tbsp. water, and a dash of salt over the tops of the artichokes.

Using a covered stock pot, 2 well-stuffed large artichokes will need 2 to 3 hours on a low simmer to steam. Add water as necessary. They’re done when you can easily remove a large leaf. When you pull the leaf through your teeth, the green part is tender and will scrape off. (Artichoke greens are good for gut health.) Some prefer to use a pressure cooker, which speeds things up considerably.

Stuffed artichokes can be made ahead of time and reheated in the oven, covered with foil.

This dinner was a big hit when relatives came to town earlier this month. Enjoy!

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Shrimp, Vegetable, and Rice Stir-Fry

May28

2018

Shrimp, Vegetable, and Rice Stir-Fry

Cauliflower just picked from the garden, planted last fall.

Here’s an easy recipe I’ve adapted from something seen last year in “Southern Living”. Mother took some shrimp out of the freezer, and I had just picked this beautiful head of cauliflower. Add a few other ingredients, and — Bingo, a Winner!

shrimp for shrimp, vegetable, and rice stir-fry

Raw shrimp.

Ingredients

Rice, cooked separately (flavored, brown…your choice)
1/2 lb. to 1 lb. shrimp, cleaned
2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
1/3 tsp. kosher salt
About 1 or 2 cups fresh green beans or haricots verts, cut into 1 1/2″ pieces (frozen will work)
1 1/2 cups small fresh cauliflower florets
One or two ‘Lunchbox’ sweet peppers for color, diced (optional)
3 green onions, green and white parts sliced separately
Leftover vegetables (optional)
1 large or 2 medium fresh garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. tsp. dried ginger
1 large egg
1 tsp. butter
2 or 3 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh basil
2/3 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 or 2 Tbsp. soy sauce

: Bunching onions.

: Lunchbox peppers.

: Green beans.

The Process

First, start cooking a pot of flavored rice, or plain rice, if you prefer, according to package instructions. I use Rice Pilaf. Don’t overcook it, or it will be sticky. Set it aside when it’s done (about 15 to 20 minutes), and start the rest of the recipe after you get the rice going.
Heat a large non-stick wok or other pan. Add half the oil, half the salt, and the shrimp. Cook hot, turning occasionally, until shrimp is no longer clear. This takes only 2 minutes or so. Remove shrimp; set aside.
Add the green beans, cauliflower, and ‘Lunchbox’ pepper to the remaining liquids in the pan, along with the garlic, ginger, the rest of the oil, and the white part of the green onions. Stir frequently for about 2 minutes, at medium-high heat. This is a good opportunity to use up leftovers, such as broccoli, dinosaur kale, peas, and carrots.
Add the rest of the salt and 2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked rice. Cook and stir until rice is just a bit dried. This takes a minute or two. Lower heat if necessary.
Push the rice mixture to one side, and add butter to the open area. Add the egg to the butter, scramble, and chop in the pan while it’s cooking. When the egg is done, mix it into the rice.
Add shrimp, soy sauce, basil, and toasted sesame oil. Stir to heat evenly.
Garnish with green parts of green onion.

This recipe for Shrimp, Vegetable, and Rice Stir-Fry takes only half an hour to prepare, and serves 2 to 4. Yummy.

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So, What Can I Do With All Those Greens?

May16

“So, what can I do with all those greens?”

When there’s a bumper crop of kale, collards, spinach, Swiss Chard, or any of the other greens (which are so good for you, by the way), this is what you can do. Whether your winter greens are looking a little tired, or you just need to remove them to make space for the warm-season vegetables, many are asking that question.

Curly kale, Swiss chard, dinosaur kale, arugula.

Cook ‘n’ Freeze Those Greens

Have a few zip-lock sandwich bags handy.
Select healthy-looking greens and wash thoroughly. Inspect carefully for slugs, caterpillars, and other insects.
Cut and remove the thickest of the midribs.
Separate the varieties, or combine them.
Cut into wide ribbons, or thin, if you prefer.
Get out the Big Wok, or any other large, heavy pot.
Add 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter, more or less, to the pan. Heat it up.
Add a clove or two of minced fresh garlic. Saute until it begins to turn a pale golden color, but not brown (browned garlic is burned and tastes awful).
Add the greens. Lots of them.
Turn the greens continuously over low-medium heat, so they’re well-coated with the oil. You’ll see that they wilt down quickly.
Season with salt and pepper (optional).
When evenly wilted, allow to cool somewhat.
Ladle half a cup or a cupful into each sandwich bag.
Squeeze out the air, seal up the bags, and set aside to cool.
Put them into a larger freezer bag or plastic container.
Freeze. Use within a few months.

In the Kitchen

***Update*** July 11, 2019: I harvested all the remaining Swiss chard and kale from last year (photos, below) and cooked them up this morning. There was a cup of leftover chicken stock, so that, too, was added to the pot while the vegetables cooked.

: Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’.

: Swiss chard.

: ‘Lacinato’ and ‘Red Russian’ kale.

: Cooked greens ready to freeze.

Next time you make soup or an omelet, bring home a pizza, or serve rotisserie chicken over seasoned rice, add a bag of these magical greens. Add these greens to a dish of lasagna or eggplant parmigiana. Simple! Put a bag in the refrigerator in the morning to thaw for that night’s dinner. Even canned soup from the grocery store is more nutritious after adding these greens. Fresh leaves added when the soup is heating up wilt almost instantly and double the vitamin content.

When you realize how simple this is—and how good it is for you—you’ll plant a whole lot more this fall. It’s easy to sneak these greens into your cooking, and your finicky eaters might not even notice!

Veggie omelet with fresh microgreens. You could also use a bag of thawed greens in the fold.

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Basil Downy Mildew: Symptoms and Solutions

May10

2018

Healthy basil.

Basil Downy Mildew In the U.S.

Basil downy mildew is a devastating disease caused by the pathogen Peronospora belbahrii. This disease has been active in the United States since 2007, and for several years before that in Europe. BDM is thought to have originated nearly 90 years ago in Africa.

This water mold targets a very specific host—basil. Just basil. There are related species that attack other members of the Lamiaceae family, such as coleus, but it’s basil I’ll concentrate on today.

I’m writing about it now because some of you might have given up growing basil. If you’ve struggled with it the last few years, I’m going to offer some tips so you can once again enjoy your home-grown basil. And then I’ll share my favorite Tomato-Basil Salad recipe, a summertime staple around here.

Symptoms Of Basil Downy Mildew

Yellowing between main veins.

Let me begin by describing the symptoms of BDM. The plants might start the season looking great, all green or purple and… oh, that fragrance!… You probably harvested several clippings, using them in salads, on pizza, in tomato sauce. What’s summer without fresh basil?!

And suddenly it went downhill from there. The leaves developed blotchy yellow or pale green sections between the main veins. The discoloration then spread over most of the leaf surface. The leaf reverse (the lower surface) was covered in a fuzzy gray film early the next morning, followed by little black dots.

Those tiny black specks are the fruiting structures (sporangia) of basil downy mildew. They puffed out microscopic spores that were carried on the breeze to infect other basils. The plants became spotty overall, and never regained their strength.

In only a few days, the affected leaves turned yellow. Some of the tips of the stems remained green, but, eventually, they, too, showed symptoms. And most of the leaves dropped off.

You fertilized, you spoke kind, encouraging words. And you commiserated with friends. Yet nothing helped. How disappointing!

: Center leaf beginning to grow pale.

: Black sporangia on reverse.

Spores and Relative Humidity

All is not lost. With some insight into how this disease works, you might be able to stop the progression of BDM and get more mileage out of your plants. Another option is to start with healthy new transplants and take precautions so it doesn’t happen again.

You might have noticed that basil downy mildew started showing up and spreading quickly during wet or humid weather. Good observation! In fact, spores require around 85% relative humidity for a few hours in order to germinate.

Even if the weather is quite dry or only slightly humid, the basil still can become infected. How? As the nighttime temperature drops, the relative humidity climbs. After a period of high humidity, the spores begin to germinate on susceptible varieties of basil.

Let’s say the daytime temperatures are in the 80’s F, with comfortably low humidity around 40%. With no rain in the forecast, you might think you’re in the clear. The problem is that the period of time just before dawn is when the relative humidity is at its highest reading of the day. It could easily reach 90%! The lower the temperature drops during the night, the higher the relative humidity rises.

So…limiting humidity around basil can keep the plant just outside the reach of the disease. If you live in an area that gets extremely hot and dry in the summer, your basil might survive unscathed. That’s happened only 2 or 3 times in my gardens since BDM started showing up in the mid-Atlantic and southern states.

Reducing Humidity

no basil downy mildew on potted plants brought indoors at night

Potted sweet basil.

How do you limit the humidity? Simple! That’s why I’m writing this now, before everyone gets their basil plants into the garden. Here are some suggestions for you:

Basil grown in the garden should be situated in an area with excellent air circulation. Don’t plant it in the middle of a bed, with neighboring plants all around, or next to a fence.

Planting basil near a paved surface, or surrounded by paved surfaces, has the benefit of having less square footage that’s able to absorb moisture. The goal is to reduce as many sources of moisture as possible. And that includes overhead watering! If you’ve read the posts about tomatoes, you’ve learned the importance of keeping foliage dry.

BDM can show up in one neighborhood while entirely missing the next one. It might not appear at all if the summer is very hot and dry and if the nights don’t cool down very much. Or it might not show up until rain returns after a long, dry summer.

Certain weather conditions, such as frequent rainstorms and persistently high humidity, foster the widespread and enduring presence of basil downy mildew. Once the spores are in the air, growing basil is a lost cause… Or is it?

The Ultimate Solution: Potted Basil

This pot will come inside at night, after releasing the toad.

Basil grows well in containers. An airy exposure up on the deck could be a good spot for it. Or sitting on a brick patio, or under the umbrella when it’s especially hot. Check your plants every day for those tell-tale light-colored blotches, and remove those leaves immediately.

If it looks like a losing battle, move the pot indoors for the night. That’s right! Get used to it if you want to—no, must—have fresh basil.

As long as you’re not living in the middle of a bog, the humidity indoors will never reach the levels required to grow BDM. And then place the basil back outside the next morning. On rainy days, keep the potted basil indoors, in a bright spot. Yes, it’s work, but worth the effort.

A few varieties of basil don’t get the disease, and plant breeders are working feverishly to bring more to market. Naturally, all of my favorites, including ‘Genovese’, ‘Yevani’, ‘Mrs. Burns’ Lemon’, ‘Tuscany’, and ‘Siam Queen’ DO get basil downy mildew. And, yes, I DO bring in the potted plants at night once the disease has reached the area or before rainy weather comes near.

Those that, in my experience, seem to be resistant are ‘Cardinal’, ‘Kapoor tulsi’ (holy basil), and ‘African Blue’ basil, but they’re not my favorites in the kitchen. ‘Eleonora’ is another that has been advertised as having “intermediate” resistance, but I have seen advanced cases of BDM on this variety.

(***Update***: New cultivars developed by Rutgers University will be worth trying. Look for ‘Rutgers Devotion DMR’, ‘Rutgers Obsession DMR’, ‘Rutgers Passion DMR’, and ‘Rutgers Thunderstruck DMR’. I grew ‘Rutgers’ Obsession DMR’ outdoors all summer, in 2021, and still have a cutting growing in the kitchen window. This variety did not develop any symptoms of BDM. Success! 1/22/2022)

Always remember: when you think about basil, think about how relative humidity can affect its health.

Tomato-basil salad.

Tomato-Basil Salad

Here’s a recipe for Tomato-Basil Salad, like Caprese salad, but with extra bits:

Ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks, juice included
Yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
Cucumber, alternately-peeled (no need to peel the thin-skinned ‘Diva’), halved and sliced
Mozzarella cheese, medium chunks
Sweet basil, usually ‘Genovese’ for us
Extra virgin olive oil
Red wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar if you prefer
Fresh Italian oregano, chopped; dried will work
Salt and pepper to taste

Measurements aren’t that important. Tomatoes are the main ingredient, and you can use all reds or mix the colors. Not too much onion. Certainly enough basil, and don’t use so much oregano that it overpowers the rest. Mother likes hers more vinegary. Oh, and get a nice loaf of bread for dunking. Enjoy!

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