Garden: 1015 Onions

1015Y Onions

January 29, 2012 February 10, 2012 March 23, 2012 April 7, 2012 (with drip irrigation installed) April 26, 2012 May 2, 2012 (tops starting to fall over indicating almost ready to harvest) May 4 2012 May 9, 2012 Pulled them out of the ground and left them out to dry a bit in the sun Set them on a plant stand on the back porch to let them cure for longer storage Fully cured onions (what's left that we had not used) Lessons learned: When the trees filled out around my house I realized the side the onions were planted on only received about 4.5 hours of full sun during the day. Next year I will plant them on the other side of the garden and maybe they will get bigger. They are still delicious!

Building a Garden

Many thanks to my parents for helping me in so many ways!
1. Roped off area (10x20') and used The Dirt Doctor's Organic Herbicide (smells like salad dressing) to kill off the weeds/grass in the area. 2. Tilled and tried to scrape up as much of the Bermuda grass and weeds as possible 3. Placed blocks around the perimeter and then amended the soil mixing in compost (shown below), Vermiculite, and black kow 4. Tilled it all together 5. Made rows - ready to be planted

Garden Fresh Eggplant Pizza

I took the picture with my tablet, so not great color or resolution.

My first harvest from the garden was two banana peppers. They went into a Greek-style salad, and it was delicious.

This pizza is the first thing I've made with multiple items from the garden: eggplant, bell pepper, and another banana pepper.
I added store-bought mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, pesto, onion, red pepper and goat cheese.
I started by making the dough. Then I grilled the onions, eggplant and peppers. I let them cool, chopped them, mixed them with a little balsamic, olive oil, crushed red pepper, and sundried tomatoes. I rolled the dough, smeared it with pesto, topped with mozzarella, spread the veggie mix, top with goat cheese. Bake on 450 until brown and bubbly. Allow to cool and top with fresh oregano (from the garden). Gardening success!

Potato Salad

One year for a family holiday gathering, I was asked to make the potato salad. I had never made a potato salad before, my grandmother always did. I sent an email out to my mother and my aunts about my grandmother's recipe. All three responded, but they all gave me a different answer! 2 said to use Miracle Whip one said Hellman's only, one said no mustard, others said a tiny squirt. They potato to egg ratios were all different. They only agreed on 2 things:
1. Grandma didn't have a recipe.
2. She used pickle juice instead of vinegar.

So basically for 2 people, I take two large Idaho baking potato, 2 eggs, add about 1/3 cup of mayo (Hellman's please), a Tablespoon or so glob of relish or finely chopped pickles, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped onion (depending on how spicy the onion, or how oniony you want it), a couple teaspoons pickle juice, a squirt of mustard (spicy brown), salt and pepper. Mix, Mix, Mix. Chill for an hour or so until cold.

Oh, and if you like a relative's recipe for something, ask for it. You never know when they won't be there to ask.

salad with sugar and spice pecans and bourbon vinaigrette

Dinner tonight was awesome! Field green salad with strawberries, blackberries, onion, blue cheese, sugar and spice pecans, and bourbon vinaigrette.

Pecans
Vinaigrette

Corn Chowder and Black Bean Soup

I stole the idea for this soup from Blue Mesa. Basically you just take some cans and carefully pour them together so it looks fancy.

Green Chile Corn Chowder

1 can cream corn
1 small can diced mild green chiles
2 Tbsps half and half

Combine all ingredients and heat until hot.

Black Bean Soup

Choose your favorite canned soup and heat (I like Amy's and Aldi's)



To serve, pour corn chowder into bowl. Pour black bean soup into one side.
Top with green bell pepper, avocado, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream to cover up where the two soups come together.

Hot Black-eyed Pea Dip

Brian isn't a big fan of Black-eyed peas. The musical group or the food. Brian didn't grow up in Texas or the South, so he never heard about the superstition to eat them on New Years for good luck. My grandfather (from the northern Midwest) didn't like them either and my grandmother used to sneak them into his food so he'd get his good luck.

I tried Texas Caviar one year for New Year's, he ate it but later said "eh."

I saw this recipe from the Pioneer Woman. Anything with melted cheese has to be good, and Brian love dip.  I altered it slightly, and he said he liked it. I thought it was good, but because I was worried about the heat, I omitted the hot sauce, used fresh jalepeno, mild salsa. It could have used a little more heat. Just a bit.

Here's the version I made:

Hot Black-eyed Pea Dip

1 can (14-ounce) Can Black-eyed Peas
1/4 cup Onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Sour Cream
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh Jalapeno (or more to taste)
1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup Grated Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
3 Tablespoons Salsa
Salt, chili powder, and Black Pepper To Taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain black-eyed peas and partially mash, leaving some whole.
Add all other ingredients, stirring to combine.

Spread into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.
Serve with tortilla chips

Brian grilled salmon on top of a spinach salad to go along with it. It was too nice of weather yesterday to not fire up the grill.

Happy New Year!