Seeds to Starts

John is on a new mission to only plant from seeds in the garden so he has been scouring heirloom seed catalogs and has purchased seeds for both pepper and tomato heirlooms.  We found out last year that the heirloom varieties seemed to be more resistant to the leaf loppers that pretty much destroyed our tomatoes last year. So we are trying something new.

We have planted 7 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.  Black Krim, Brandywine, Beef Steak, Cherokee Purple, Sweet 100 Cherry, a Japanese variety called Katana, and Red Siberian.  

A Very Pretty Cauliflower 

This year was the first year we have successfully planted everything from seed for the fall garden.  We planted several varieties of cauliflower including the very pretty green spiky cauliflower and this purple one.

One of my favorite cauliflower recipes is super easy to make and very yummy.  It is from Bon Appetit.

Roasted Cauliflower with Chick Peas and Olives

1 head of cauliflower 2-4 cups cut into small florets

1 can garbanzo or chickpeas drained

20 pitted  and stuffed green olives chopped

8 cloves of garlic rough chopped

1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

3 tblspoon of Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a baking pan.  Roast at 400 degrees  for 20-25 minutes  stirring after 10 minutes.

Austin Food and Wine Chef Inspiration Dinner with Chef David Bull.

John and I were lucky enough to attend a wonderful dinner at the 55th floor of the new Austonian Building.  It was a fundraiser for the Austin Food and Wine Alliance.  For this series of events the Chefs are asked to prepare a menu of what inspires them.  In this Case the Chef David Bull drew on his family for his inspiration.  He prepared dishes based on childhood memories at his Grandparents restaurant in New York which was a family run enterprise.  Needless to say it was fabulous from the Negroni cocktails and Pepperoni soup to the Veal tenderloin and Godfather cocktails which ended the evening.  All with the spectacular backdrop of the Austin Skyline.  A night to remember.

A few garden pictures.  As you can see we still have quite a bit despite all the days below freezing.  So far we have been lucky this year and not had any days below 20.

This is our parsnip patch and I am very excited about these.  We haven't harvested any yet but we should be able to soon.  I can't wait.

These are our Tuscan kale plants.  As you can see by the bare stems we have been able to harvest quite a bit.  This is one of those great bang for the buck crops.  This is only 5 plants but they just keep growing so you harvest the bottom leaves and new ones grow.  So there is a VERY long growing season for these which is good since we really like kale.  It is so versatile.  It can be eaten cooked or raw.  Kale chips are one of my favorites.

These two trays are our 2013 tomato starts.  We are only growing heirlooms this year.  8 different kinds.  Right now they are out side enjoying the sunshine.  We will bring them in this afternoon so they don't get too cold tonight.

John planted a bunch of Radicchio this year and it is ready to be picked. I need to use it up as he wants to use the space to plant something else.   I have a few recipes that I use with Radicchio but I went on the prowl for some new ones.  Here is one I tried last night.

Grilled Radicchio Salad

2 small heads of Radicchio quartered.
Shaved parmisan cheese
Balsamic Dressing

Douse the radicchio with some olive oil salt and pepper.

Grill until wilted and browned but not burned.
Chop, add dressing and coat.  Top with shaved  asiago.

Balsamic Dressing

1/4 cup Balsamic (I used a Mandarin Flavored Balsamic from Texas Olive Ranch)
1/4 cup good quallity olive oil
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
pinch of salt

Add all ingredients to a jar, cover and shake.  Store leftovers in frig.

Happy 2013 -  I am going to try and make a concentrated effort to blog more frequently this year.  There are a couple of things I have been experimenting with from the garden.  First, as usual for January, I find a surplus of daikon radish.  I really like the Japanese style pickles so I thought I would try to pickle some daikon's and carrots.  Since I had some leftover pickling juice I also cut up some beets and pickled them too.  They look so pretty in the jars and they taste wonderful.  It is also a pretty guilt free snack after all the excesses from the holidays.  Adding the coriander and mustard seeds was a tip from my fellow Green Corn Borad member Carla.

Easy Pickled Daikon and Carrot

1 cup water
1/2 cup Japanese rice vinegar or 
1 tsp five spice powder
2½ tsp sea salt
5 tbsp sugar
½ tsp peppercorns
1 bay leaf

3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds


Carrots - cut into 2-3 inch large julieanne sticks -  use the french fry sliced if you have a mandoline
Daikon Rafish -  cut same size as carrots
1 fresh chilli sliced

Heat the first set of ingredients until the salt and sugar is disolved.

Add the peppers, carrots and daikon into a large jar and cover with the pickling liquid..  If you have a large mason jar with a lid this works.  I reuse jars so I just grab some .  Depending on how many jars and carrots and daikon you have you can adjust how much liquid you will need to pickle.    The amounts here are enough for one large jar.  I just store the jar in the refrigerator and it should be good for 2 weeks.  Pickles are ready after 2 days.

Picture is what is left of our daikon crop in this years garden

I recently went to a potluck and wanted to bring a side that would be good for vegetarians so I went out to the garden to see what i could find. Its the winter garden so we have carrots, broccoli and daikon radishes. I also happened to have some white miso paste so I came up with this recipe.

Miso Vegetable and Farro Salad

1/2 cup farro rinsed

3/4 cup of vegetable or chicken stock (water will also work)

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup grated daikon

1 small broccoli head

1/3 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup White miso paste

2 tbs mirin

2 tbs  rice wine vinegar

2 tsp grated orange peel

Juice of 1 orange

1 tbsp sesame oil

salt to taste

Combine Farro and stock and bring to a boil.  Once boiling cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.  Let cool.

Blanche the broccoli in boiling salted water for about 2 minutes. Chop into small pieces.

Combine farro and the vegetable in large dish.

Combine the Miso paste thru salt in a jar and shake until combined. Add to farro and Vegetables and mix to coat.  Season as necessary.