In the begining...

I hope the worm has turned for the weather. It is soggy, and green. Perfect spring weather here in the Mid-South. All the trees and shrubberies are a bloom or budding. The cold season grass is getting lush and full, and the frogs and bugs are waking up from their naps.

Nice enough, but all this is just a pleasant backdrop to the garden. So far the following has been planted:
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, turnips, dwarf bok choy, lettuce, carrots, onions(which are doing very poorly) and potatoes. The taters haven't sprouted up yet, but they shouldn't for a couple weeks yet. The rest is rolling along nicely, the cole crops are especially hardy. As you can see by both these photos, I spilled bok choy seeds in my letture, and lettuce seeds in my yard. Let it grow baby. Still it will be weeks before any real harvest is acquired. The tomatoes are still inside near a South facing window. I should be able to put them out this next week during the day to continue growing. I will post pictures once they've been potted up.

I should have everything to make a stir fry dish like this one grown in my own garden by this time next month. That feels pretty good. I hope it tastes the same. Ok, the bean sprouts were purchased at the local Asian market. The owner's mother grows them fresh, so I'll leave them to her.

There is a season

They are calling for snow. That means two things. #1, I have nothing much going on in the garden, a wee bit more planning and day dreaming maybe. #2, Every gallon of milk and pack of double A batteries in five states are sold out. Southerners tend to get a little dramatic when the weather man calls for more than a 'chance of flurries'. I typically ignore the forecast since they are wrong more times than they are right and tonight is no exception. It's going to freeze and be miserable, but I doubt the snow will do much more than look pretty in the streetlights.

So, what better to talk about than hot food? I am talking about quesadillas. These are not the run of the mill kind you get at the Tex-Mexican joint. I used corn tortillas instead of flour. That's a whole nother animal. If you cooked these in similar fashion to the flour ones, which take much less time, you would end up with burnt, chewy and cheesy, not crunchy, cheesy and delicious. I sound like a commercial.

These lads take to slow cooking. There is lots of moisture in the tortillas that has to slowly be drawn out, unless you deep fry them of course. Corn tortillas are floppy, and even when wet-heat is applied they soften but stay rather chewy. They might be more authentic that way, but I don't much care for it. I also have to take in consideration, diet. So instead of frying these bad boys, causing them to achieve maximum potential, I use just a few drops of olive oil to prevent sticking and encourage browning.

Ingredients:

Corn Tortillas

Protein: Your choice, I used lean ground beef spiced with items out of the pantry, such as cumin, a few chili powers, and other typical flavors.

White shredded cheese

Olive oil

Salt

Iron Skillet (Accept no substitutes)

Place the iron skillet on medium heat, sprinkle a pinch of salt and a few drops of oil in. Slap a tortilla in and spin it a few times to distribute salt and oil. Add some cheese, a little meat, not too much, the cheese is the key player here. Now comes in any additions for taste. My wife would say to leave out the meat and just have a plain cheese, I add pickled jalapeno pepper slices. Another layer of cheese, and the other tortilla. One brush stroke of oil and a sprinkle of salt on this side and that is all. There is a rhythm to fall into in assembly, but the key here is patience.

These corn tortillas can take more heat longer than the flour ones, and to achieve proper texture, they need a nice slow roll in the skillet. Let the cheese melt so that when you flip it things don't fly apart, and then let each side go for at least 5 minutes or until crunchy. Serve with a wedge of lime and some sour cream sprinkled with various chili powders and cilantro. Oh and a cold beer.

It always warms my toes.

The last breath before the plunge

I know. I know. I have been absent and my posts overdue. My apologies are given graciously. I am still quite busy and haven't had time to spend in the garden, much less blog about it. However, the season draws nigh and my time thinking and planning has nearly come to an end. I still have not filled all my beds with dirt! Tomorrow I will begin the process, turning the sod over and mixing amendments with the existing soil. It has a large clay content, which will be good during the drier times of the summer. It does however mean that I need to add in some organic matter, like the three or four hundred pounds of ten year old horse manure compost waiting outside. This will improver drainage in the spring and add natural nutrients.

What I have been doing and unfortunately not keeping up with properly, is cooking. I brag on my cooking, mainly to my wife, who I think either humors me because she loves me, or her range of fine cuisine is limited to what I provide her so she doesn't know any better, or because it is really good. I am ever critical of it though, as I suspect anyone who is passionate about something should be. Still, it is a basic part of life, so perhaps I can just claim instinct. I have to eat to live, and if I have to eat, I might as well strive to make it good!

Taste is one thing that requires two things; technique, which I will strive eternally to perfect, and quality ingredients. Whether it is a nice slice of country ham that my dad put up the winter before, perfectly rounding out a breakfast full of healthy items such as pomegranate spiked orange juice, segmented blood oranges, organic scrambled eggs, and a piece of whole wheat toast slathered with organic blackberry preserves. I doubt I burned all those calories off thinking about the garden. That is not to say that the only unhealthy thing on that plate was made without any other preservatives other than salt and time, so it balances out, right?

Another option could be a heaping pile of BBQ pork supplied by friends who cook the stuff professionally. Add a piece of cheese, or not, I see mine never melted, and a side of homemade coleslaw and you have another yard-work inspiring meal. Check out my friends' BBQing battle results and learn all about the best flavored pig parts in this neck of the woods here at Ulika BBQ. Unfortunately my unmelted cheese has covered the meat in the photo. Is is a top notch product.

These particular ingredients are things that I cannot grow in my garden, but what I do grow adds to such quality food to complete the meals. More importantly I think is to know what I am eating and what food I am giving my family as well. It all goes back to that instinct. For thousands of years, man has grown his own food. So why not? Again I must eat, so I want to do it well. That does not mean, consuming mass quantities. It means work a little harder, and you get the freshest, chemical free, best tasting vegetable matter to add to your meals or center said meals around.

Damn I want a tomato and it's going to snow next week... Oh well, maybe the onions will pop up tomorrow.