Welcome to my Blog

Hi, my name is Suanne and I am writing this blog to share some of the tips and recipes I have learned or created with our backyard garden. The garden itself is actually my husband John's but we have had a garden for over 25 years so I have picked up some garden knowledge along the way. We live in Austin, Texas so we are blessed with a year long growing season. We always have something to eat from the garden and this pretty much dictates what we eat. All of our meals are planned around what happens to be growing at the time. One of the biggest challenges is what I like to call crop maintenance. What to do with all of the vegetables? Beyond sharing with the neighbors and friends I am always trying creative approaches to preparing the bounty. So the blog seemed like a good way to both keep track of and share my recipes.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Fall 2011 Garden Pictures



The Fall Aster is in full bloom. Broccoli, zucchini and cucumbers are all growing nicely.

Sauteed Radishes

We learned a new recipe for cooking radishes. this is especially good for the really hot radishes as they tend to lose their heat with cooking.

Sauteed Radishes

1 1/2 cups sliced radishes
1-2 tablespoons butter
Chopped Chives

Heat butter in saute pan over med heat. Add radishes and saute just until soft about 5 minutes. Add chopped chives and salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds


One of our favorite fall treats are roasted pumpkins seeds. They are super easy to make so don't throw away those seeds when you carve the pumpkins for Halloween.

Roasted Pumpkins Seeds.

Remove seeds from pumpkin including as much of the pulp as you can. You can wash them but I usually don't as the like the flavor that the pumpkin juice adds to the seeds. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. (This is for about 4 cups of seeds so adjust accordingly. Add popcorn salt to taste. We have tried many types of seasoning over the years and this is our favorite. Spread evenly on a roasting pan.

Roast in a 325 degree oven for about 12 minutes. Using a spatula toss the seeds in the pan and return to the oven for another 12-15 minutes until the seeds are golden brown and crispy.