Jenmenke

Road Warrior

Garden

How much of a good thing is too much?

Garden Tomatoes.

Can you ever have too many?

Yes and no, is what I say. Yes, if you are buried under mounds of work and untended-to yard and garden chores. No, if you have all the time in the world. Like my kids seem to have…

nevermind.

I am told it is a bad year for tomatoes in these parts. In my little corner of the world, it isn’t so bad. Better than last year for sure, but not as good a a few years ago.

I think all the rain — records smashed here in Minnesota– has made them get the blight sooner for most people, though not for me. I struggle with that particular problem every year, no matter where I plant them, what they are mulched with, or how much rain we get. Blight just seems to be my lot in life.

I accept that.

Right now though, I’ve got tomatoes coming out my ears. I picked a full bowl yesterday.

And left at least that many more on the vine. Making salsa is out of the question. I have no time. Hopefully I will soon, but even if I did have the time, there is something about preserving garden surplus that just doesn’t sit well with me in August.

Why is that? The most I seem to be able to do is chop and freeze. Or, on a really good day, roast, puree and freeze.

One thing I meant to write about earlier in the season was the strange way the plants were sold by the nursery this year. I bought them from a different place than usual since I was so behind schedule and had to pick them up when I could find them. Sadly, I had no time for a special trip to my local grower. I found my main-stay Brandywine in a fairly large sized pot while shopping for flowers and bought two pots. Oddly, this nursery had allowed several seedlings in the same pot to grow. So instead of having one sturdy seedling, there were about six. My understanding has always been that this is a huge no-no, so I asked one of the people at the nursery and they said not to pinch any back, but to let them all grow. I’m still not sure if they knew what they were talking about, but at the very least, because I also planted a pot with a only single seedling, it would prove to be a fun experiment.

With pretty much no conclusion.

At this stage in the game, when compared to my single-seedling plants there isn’t much difference. I can’t even say for sure if the multi-seedling plants were more susceptible to the blight or not. That was my hunch, but I would guess, from looking at them planted all together, that blight damage is more a factor of proximity to another blight-damaged plant than to multiple seedlings in a single planting.

This is a very boring post, isn’t it.

Anyway, getting back to the title, “how much is too much”, it really didn’t refer to the harvest. It pointed back to the eating. How much is too much?

Is this too much?

Because that was my lunch yesterday. I decided to eat the split tomatoes before the fruit flies (curiously absent so far this year) found the leaking fruits. But there were three (!) split tomatoes.

So I ate them all.

Is that too much?

Is that gluttony?

I tempered it with some fresh moz. I love fresh mozzarella. Sometimes I think the tomatoes are just an excuse.

I also heaped the rest of my quinoa salad on the side. Which I thought I had already posted here, but I apparently did not. Or did I? I can’t find it. Can anyone help me resolve this burning question?

Anyway, this salad is SO GOOD! Make some today or as soon as the temperature starts to melt you. It keeps in the fridge for about 3 weeks.

I’m kidding. Not three weeks. More like 1 or 2. Just smell it for gawd sake. Everyone is so flipping freaked about about things going bad! Just SMELL IT! If there isn’t anything funky growing on it and smells the same, eat it and stop being so paranoid. I’m still alive. That should give you some confidence.

Or not.

Quinoa Salad with Fresh Anything

  • 2 cups quinoa, rinsed (skip the rinse if you are lazy like me)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (more or less to taste)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • various fresh veggies diced: onion, cucumber, tomato, sugar snap peas, asparagus, sweet peppers, fresh raw corn, etc.
  • 2T chopped fresh herbs: any combo or single addition of basil, mint, cilantro.
In a medium saucepan, add a film of olive oil and toast quinoa over medium heat for about 5 minutes it starts to smell good. Again, if you are über lazy, you may skip this step. It just adds a dimension to the flavor. Add 3 cups of water and 2t salt to pan and bring to a boil, then turn to low, cover and simmer about 12-15 minutes. Fluff and cool.
In a large bowl, whisk lemon juice and olive oil together. Add add quinoa and diced veggies. Stir in chopped herbs. Salt and pepper to taste. A stunning additions is — of course — diced, fresh mozzarella. Another thing I tried was left-over strips of warm flank steak. It was yum!

Stop the Insanity!

(Insanity as in asparagus.)

As I was working in the garden this weekend —  planting almost the remainder of the seeds — it occurred to me that the date was June 5th. Or 6th. I’m still not sure of the date because Charlie was using my watch this weekend to referee a soccer game and the strap broke. Note that in the picture above, I do have my watch on, which is confusing to say the least. I can neither remember the order of events, nor explain them to you. Just know that I speak the truth.)

(Yes, I yelled at him. And, yes, he denied any wrong-doing. So, yessss, I yelled some more and told him to bear some responsibility for the the things that just seem to “happen” to him all the time. “Be accountable,” I yelled!)

Anyway, that’s the only way I know what the date is, to look on my watch. Even that, as a source, is failing me mightily since the numbers are about two millimeters high and I can barely even see them anymore.

But I digress.

As I was working in the garden, it occurred to me that it was early June. The fact that I was in the middle of my insane asparagus bounty and still planting seeds shocked me. As I contemplated what I would say in this post, I realized that I would be writing for a small audience –only Minnesotans — for who else in this world considers June to be Spring?

Who cares, really? If you have fresh, tender asparagus, I’ve got a tip for you: keep it raw and put it in a salad. I won’t go so far as to tell you to eat spear after spear raw, like my dad does — because I think it tastes like grass — but in an effort to plow through a ridiculously large pile of the stuff after being gone for the weekend, I decided to try it in some salads. I made refrigerator pickles (good, but what isn’t good when soaking in sugar and vinegar?) and an asparagus quinoa salad (amazing!)

I highly recommend you try it. I’ve made the salad twice now, once with quinoa and once with bulgar wheat. Both were good and had their benefits. The quinoa was more fun to eat since the tiny grains burst and pop in your mouth like the little fish eggs on sushi (that sounds so gross, but it’s true). The bulgar had more eye-appeal since it had — at least the way I cooked it — less moisture and more contrast.

The salad would also be good with barley or orzo pasta.

I tried various implements to slice the asparagus razor thin and defaulted to a knife. The mandolin was a pain (and dangerous) because the asparagus tends to have a lengthwise fiber to it which interferes with the mandolin. Most of my stalks had this split toward the bottom:

 

…which is maybe a factor of them being so tall when I picked them. But made the slices less pretty. A vegetable peeler is great if you want long strips, but I found long strips to be too cumbersome to eat. So I just used a knife and cut them on the diagonal. Then I used the mandolin on a super thin setting and sliced up two radishes.

I also added garbanzos, toasted pine nuts, shaved pecorino (as always, my cheap and beloved substitute for ridiculously priced parmesan).

The quinoa was super salty (I like it like that) and a little “wet” (I don’t like it like that.)

I’m not a quinoa expert. I’m not even a novice. Is this the right texture??

Anyway, I dressed it with lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper. Who knew something that stupidly simple could taste so good? (Seriously. I did not know that.)

Asparagus Salad with Grains

  • 3/4 cup quinoa (or bulger or other grain) cooked according to package directions, but be sure to season with salt!
  • approx 8 thinly sliced raw asparagus spears
  • big handful pine nuts, toasted
  • 1 can of garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
  • 2 radishes, very thinly sliced
  • shaved pecorino or parmesan to taste
  • 1/4 – 1/2 fresh lemon, squeezed (amount to taste. start with 1/4 and add more if necessary)
  • 1/8 – 1/4 c olive oil (same as above. add more as necessary. I added 1/8 c with the wetter quinoa and 1/4 c with the drier bulgar wheat

Toss together all ingredients. It lasts for days in the refrigerator!

Here is a picture of what it looks like with bulgar wheat:

This is a spoiler alert, but I also added preserved lemon to my second batch. That’s fodder for another post, as you’ll see why later in the week, but it was good.

And as a point of reference in my ongoing battle of the asparagus bulge, here is a before and after of the pile:

Before making salads:

After:
Either I’m a bad photographer, or that pile didn’t change much.

How I Spent My Birthday


(the most important day of the year.)

We, in Minnesota, are in the midst of about the worst Spring ever. Rain, snow, frost, wind and more rain. It hasn’t been the best environment to garden in.

It. Has. Been. Dismal.

But on the most important day of the year, the sun shone. All day.

And I planted almost the whole garden. On May 25th, all I had in the garden was rhubarb (perennial), asparagus (perennial), garlic and shallots (planted last year), and onions (planted in early April).

And by the end of the day on May 26th, I had added tomatoes, perppers, beans, peas, edamame, cucumbers, corn, zucchini, all my potted herbs, zinnias.

I was tired, sunburned and princess for a day.

I love my birthday!

First I planted my herbs that wintered in the barn all winter.

The sage is so pretty!

The rosemary is a little worse for the wear, but will rebound fine, I’m sure.

Next, I went after that damn, damn “non-invasive” ginger mint.

You might remember that from last year and the year before, when I attempted to dig it out. Over and over. This year, I started with Round-Up. And after two applications, it’s still doing just fine. So I took out the big guns: Round-Up Poison Ivy and Tough Brush Killer. Somehow, I’m not optimistic. But stay tuned for an update in a few weeks.

And speaking of invasive, though on a much cuter level, we visit the ever-burgeoning Johnny Jump-Up population. Which, as predicted last April, has exponentially increased in number. But I didn’t Round-Up them. I probably should have. But I didn’t.

Instead, I dug them all out and placed them inside my round trellis. (All except one, that is.) Something tells me I’ll rue this day.

Needing refreshment, I decided to run up to the house for a drink and came upon Lola, with the door wide open. She apparently wanted a fresh drink too, and let herself in. Then decided to bask in the sun a bit.

Well, hello Lola. You bad dog!

And who is this, lurking among the garlic?

Why, it’s my psychotic rooster, Senor. He has finally figured out he is free.

And our lives may never be the same again. He is scary as Hell. And while he never attacked me all day, he did attack Dave when he got home with a delicious picnic lunch for my birthday! I have a video of it happening. It’s hilarious.

It was a great day. I was so grateful to be able to work outside. Then I had to pack it up and head off to a soccer game. Which isn’t how I’d voluntarily spend my birthday, given the choice. But that’s just the way it is sometimes, kids. And when that happens, I have to act like like a grown-up and not complain. (too much.)

We went out for a late bite at a Mexican spot the next town over. And had Boston cream pie for dessert at home! Like I said, it was a great day.

I should note that the temperature dropped steadily all night and was 34 degrees when I woke up. Looking out the window, I saw what looked an awful lot like frost on the roof of the barn.

Huh. Imagine that.

With Silver Bells and Cockle Shells

And Asparagus Stalks All Over the Messy Row.

Mary, Mary would have a hard time with this stage of the garden. Let me illustrate:

9 am:

4 pm:

And finally, at 9 pm, right before I picked it:

And, no, I didn’t touch the ruler all day. Isn’t that amazing? I marvel every year in astonishment.

And then I go running around trying to unload asparagus on everyone I know. I should note that not two hours after my last writing when I finished with…

*now would be a convenient time for all you locals to conveniently stop by to drop off some fictitious object and casually ask for a ‘garden tour.’

…my friend Michelle’s husband showed up with 6 pallets for Charlie’s soon-to-be Airsoft gun war (God help me) and left with about a pound of asparagus. So, call me what you will, but don’t call me a liar.

Here is another astonishing thing I found in the garden last week:

Lettuce seedlings!

Last September, I re-seeded lettuce with plans for a fall crop. They never germinated. I couldn’t believe that it was because the weather was still too hot, because it was September, and only weeks away from the first frost. I never figured it out.

And then they germinated. Eight months and about 1000″ of snow later. I guess it was too hot. So yeah, I’ll be enjoying some early garden lettuce.

…and not much else, since I haven’t gotten anything else planted yet.

Maybe I can eat toasted woodticks sprinkled on top of my garden lettuce. I seem to have a lot of them hanging around my office.

For some reason, I imagine they would taste a lot like pine nuts. And they’re a lot cheaper, too.

Random Acts of Spring

Well, it’s here.

Or at least we think it’s here. (Spring.)

Based on the air quality today, however, my guess would be that we pretty much are skipping Spring and heading straight to Humidity. After a long winter, I’ll try my best not to complain.

It’s just that my hair is…

It’s just that my armpits are…

It’s just that my feet really do…

Speaking of feet, I just don’t get all these people jumping up and down for joy because they get to put their socks away for the season and wear flip flops. Am I the only one who wishes she could wear socks all summer long? Am I the only one with sweaty, slippery, slimy, smelly feet? (Socks help.)

So, I finally, finally, FINALLY picked asparagus this morning!

And then I promptly made this:

Which really does not look very good in that picture, but I can assure you it was. One note: I sniped some chives to sprinkle on the top; I always seem to forget to use chives. And for how much I hate the damn plants (see here), you’d think I would at least try to get some enjoyment out of them.

And here’s what I realized today:

I have dug so many chive plants out of my garden, cursing the whole while, that I have come to associate the taste/smell (they are one in the same) to be a bad thing.

So, my aesthetic attempt to make the plate prettier almost ruined my enjoyment of the meal!

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I hate chives. I used to say “the plant and not the food.” But now I think I have to say “the plant AND the food.” The cycle is complete.

Speaking of chives, (isn’t that the worst lead in for a topic? I don’t think I’ve ever heard a story that starts with “speaking of…___” that I really wanted to hear. Oh well. Stop reading if you must.)

…I was spreading compost on Sunday — a full month later than last year, due to our late Spring — and came across tons of this weird matted grass stuff that hadn’t fully composted.

I could break up the bundles with my hands, as I pretty much do for all the compost, since I never turn it and it needs to be ‘fluffed’ before spreading

(sorry – over-exposure!)

And when it’s all broken up it looks more like this

And if I step back one more step, it looks like this

Which is really crazy, if you look at that top layer. You’d never think the compost underneath was ready! But anyway, I just kept coming across those very dense, matted grassy clumps. I just couldn’t figure out what they were. And then I saw this…

Chives! Living, breathing, green, flippin’ CHIVES! How did they get there, you ask? Well, here’s an excerpt from last year or the year before, when I dug out massive, overgrown clumps of chives. I can’t remember when; I’ve blocked it out:

The impromptu plan was to dig them all and toss them into the weeds. Or the compost pile. Would they adequately die in the compost pile? Or would they take root in there and cause me no end of problems come spring? Worse, if I tossed them into the deep grass outside the garden, would they root out there and take over our entire prairie? So many things to contemplate as I dug these horrific, good-for-nothing plants! So huge! So heavy!

Then, I noticed all the worms living in the mat of roots beneath the surface. Would they die if I heaved the 30 pound plant hunks into the void? Are worms active enough this time of year to move their locale? Maybe I should put them carefully into the compost pile. Poor little worms. Such hard workers in the garden…

Suffice to say, I did indeed put them into the compost pile. I knew they wouldn’t die easily and I took measures, continually turning them over to expose the roots to air, and when that didn’t work, hitting them with RoundUp. (I know. That’s cheating.) RoundUp seems to kill everything you don’t want it to kill.

Because, to what should my wondering eyes appear? …but a miniature shoot and 8 tiny chives (not so) dear.

I hate chives.

On a good note, I don’t hate Pokie.

And I almost never hate Lola.

…who always looks so stupid in photos. I assure you she is not. And that’s why I sometimes don’t like her. I would prefer a dumb dog to a brilliant one.

AND, I don’t hate my Mother’s Day flowers.

…because Morgan made them for me and of course I don’t hate her.

Even though she is a 16 year old girl. Was I ever like that?

Anyway, that’s it for now. I’m sure I’ll be telling you how much I hate asparagus* very soon. (But not yet!)

*now would be a convenient time for all you locals to conveniently stop by to drop off some fictitious object and casually ask for a ‘garden tour.’

 

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

This is Minnesota, folks.

…Despite those 70 degree October temperatures that somehow, unbelievably, made it in to early November.

We reveled in it. We wore flip-flops in November! The decadence. The sheer thrill!

It’s basically what every other state in the nation gets to do on a regular basis, except us. I bet they wear flip-flops (which I call thongs, but get harassed by the younger set for calling footwear by the now ubiquitous term for a g-string) in Kansas.

Well, no more. We got about 10″ of heavy wet snow on Saturday that is still sticking around on Monday. […and Tuesday, and now Wednesday]

So this post is an ode to Fall. I never got around to posting some of my favorite pictures of late fall. And now the snow went and wrecked it all. It smashed my beautiful Miscanthus grass and the pretty asparagus fronds. It covered up all my shovels in the garden that I was lulled into thinking I would use again. It dashed my hopes for a Christmas photo (no, I still don’t have one yet) in the golden light of a daylight savings savings sunset (at about 3 pm).

If I could embed music, I would choose something sad from The Mission.

None of these have been edited in Photoshop. They are straight out of the camera. Not a credit to me as a photographer, but to God’s majesty and the beautiful colors of fall!

I suppose that could be in focus better, but isn’t it pretty? The color?

I’m a spaz with the focus. It’s true. But this one is better.

This is the perfect picture to show the season: Peegee Hydrangeas caught between Fall and Winter.

Another lesson on how not to focus, but pretty none-the-less. This is the asparagus fronds in the dewy rain of late October.

And then I looked up from my tendency to go “macro” all the time and saw this one lone birch tree.

So pretty.

And now it’s all gone. Including — again! — my sweet meat squash that got froze-to-death and turned to mush. I’ll probably never get to taste one of them.

I do love snow. But I hate the mess. The mud before it really freezes. The cold. The heating bills. The grey skies.

Snow is the only bonus prize of winter.