Lettuce Share

I’m behind on my blogging, for good reason; I’m behind on my gardening.  Remember when I went to New York for three weeks back in July?  Well John didn’t weed the side yard while I was gone, and I haven’t weeded it since.  This is what it looks like (and this photo was taken last weekend).

I never force myself to do things I love because then I won’t love them anymore, but this is getting to be a bit much.  The tomatoes are sun dried, and the squash is squashed.  I told my sister I would write this pitiful post three days ago.  So here I am, one more Saturday wasted on anything other than weeding, finally public shaming myself into cleaning up this mess.  I’ve used up every possible excuse to avoid it:

1.  I saw a snake.

2.  It’s too hot.

3.  I’m too tired.

4.  It’s raining again. 

5.  Jessica’s Organic Farm reopened for the season.

6.  My sister borrowed my wide-brimmed garden hat.

7.  Walk through that snake trap to get to my shovel?  I don’t think so.

8.  A spider’s web is blocking the pathway.

9.  Luke gets lost in weeds higher than my knee.

10. Fall seeds haven’t been stocked yet.

I’m officially out of excuses since seeds are popping up in stores across town.  Home Depot seems to be the last, but their shipment comes in this week.  Time to get to work! 

It’s June in Southwest Florida.  The average plant is starting to look like these Gerber daisies - Tired.

But not the Tomatoes, the Tomatoes are Thriving.  Between Three plants, there are grape Tomatoes growing in every size and shade.

Tomatoes aren’t my favorite garden vegetable, but this is a particularly Tasty preparation that even I like…

Saute 1 pint of grape tomatoes with 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 2 tablespoons fresh basil.  It’s a great topping for chicken, pasta or salads.        

Happy ABC Wednesday!

As I walked through the garden looking for R’s, everything Red caught my Retinas…

Red salvia Ruling the wildflower garden:

grape tomatoes Ripening:

Ripe and Ridged surinam cherries:

an epiphyte Residing in a Red lantern:

Recent growth on my blue girl Rose

and a gnome Reading in a Red hat:

Happy ABC Wednesday!

There are so many Purely Pretty P’s in my garden that I couldn’t Possibly decide on just one…First up are the edibles: Peppers, Purple Dark Opal Basil and Pineapple.

Now for the non-edibles: Purple Pentas, a Planter full of Periwinkle Plumbago and a Perennial Perfume Delight Hybrid Tea Rose.  Roses are actually edible but not around this house.   

And finally my number one Pick of all the P’s found in my garden today: Luke’s one Pink Paw Pad.

Happy ABC Wednesday!

What else, right?  Lettuce brought us here.  After planting and harvesting a full square of it, we couldn’t give it away anymore.  The garden was still new at that point, and I wanted to start a blog.  It was a perfect match, but I didn’t have a name.  So one day, surrounded by lettuce, John turned to me and said, ”Your blog should be named Lettuce Share.”  And that was it…another perfect match.

This head of Bibb is a remnant of that first square!  It popped up amongst the broccoli and Nasturtiums.  We just ate it on Sunday.  The Nasturtiums are in full bloom, so the combination made for a beautiful and festive Easter salad.

I couldn’t stop thinking about or eating broccoli last week.  It started when John pointed out these burgeoning broccoli buds in the garden… 

…and continued with this beautiful head of Romanesco broccoli from Worden’s stand at the downtown farmers market.

It’s always a good day at the market when I come home with a head of Romanesco.  All three of us love it, mostly because it’s so strange-looking…the inspiration for Sideshow Bob’s hair, perhaps?   

Beyond its oddly pointy allure, it also has nice flavor and texture.  For our tastes, it cooks better than the plain Jane broccoli.  We like our vegetables crunchy.  Although the stalks cook similarly, the flowers on the Romanesco hold up better than those of regular broccoli.  Even if it’s slightly overcooked, it doesn’t get mushy.  I used it in some vegetable quesadillas, a breakfast bread pudding, and a pasta dish from Rachel Ray’s website.  Although I don’t always find her meals to take only 30-minutes, this one was right on time and really tasty!  I undercooked the broccoli and used whole wheat pasta; other than that, I followed the recipe to a tee.  Pecorino-romano cheese makes the sauce rich, while a touch of lemon and a pinch of crushed red pepper give it a layer of zip.  Toasted walnuts add some protein and so does the broccoli. 

Broccoli contains five percent protein, although this may not be true for Romanesco.  While me and most of North America believe it’s broccoli, the French call it Romanesco cabbage.  Très difficile!  It’s broccoli here, and these are a few other tidbits I came across last week:

*Broccoli is loaded with fiber, vitamin C, beta-carotene, cancer-fighting compounds, and chromium, which is a mineral required for insulin to function normally. 

*Broccoli comes from Calabria, Italy.  It became a commercial crop in the United States during the 1920’s.

*Researchers have identified a gene that makes certain people not like broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage!  It’s a reaction to the bitter-tasting compounds.   

Sources: The Big Broccoli Book, Reader’s Digest Magic Foods for Better Blood Sugar, and The Vegetable Book

We ended our Tourist Saturday at Joan M. Durante Community Park, a park that neither John nor I knew existed.  We were driving home through Longboat Key and spotted it.  We had to turn around, and I’m so glad we did.  This is the entrance:

It’s a 32-acre park that sits right on Sarasota Bay.  Trails wind through a created wetland system, a mangrove forest and a hammock of Sea Grapes and Red Cedars.

Every once in a while the trees open up to offer some incredible views of the bay…

…and they allow dogs!  Get ready, Pirate Lukey!

I baked carrot snack cakes last night to celebrate.  To stay on theme, they’re in the likeness of ladybugs, dragonflies, bumblebees, and butterflies.  I found a backyard bug cakelet pan on sale for $20 at Williams-Sonoma after the holidays.  But the real inspiration was this giant carrot from Worden’s Farm.

Ta-da!  Happy Birthday Lettuce Share! 

The recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter’s Cookbook, making it at least half the calories of your average slice of carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  More importantly, it tastes good.  Sift powdered sugar on top and it tastes even better, but the cake alone is moist and sweet.  Unfortunately, I’m no Minchul.  To see what you can really do with this cakelet pan, go to Ohdeedoh. 

This is the recipe exactly as it appears in the book, although I made a few small changes according to what was in my kitchen.  I chose butter over margarine, substituted raw sugar for regular granulated sugar, and used two-percent organic milk instead of skim.

Carrot Snack Cake

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup finely shredded carrot
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Nonstick spray coating
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sifted powdered sugar

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl beat margarine or butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly combined.  Beat in egg.  Stir in carrot, milk, and vanilla.  In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Add to carrot mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.  Spray an 8×8x2-inch baking pan with nonstick coating.  Pour batter evenly into pan.  Bake in a 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack. (Or, remove from pan after cooling 10 minutes.  Then cool completely.)  Place a paper doily on top of the cake.  Lightly sift the powdered sugar evenly over the doily.  Carefully remove the doily.  Makes 9 servings.

Nutritional facts per serving: 152 calories, 6 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 154 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 fat

The sugar snap peas were about the only thing to survive the cold around here.  Only one out of four plants is brown and shriveled.  The rest are climbing, blooming and loving the cool weather. 

But this is the only plant producing peas.  The other two vines are bare.  The same thing happened to my summer squash…they’re just not getting pollinated.  It’s time to plant more sunflowers and call back the honey bees.  For now, I’m going to try to pollinate them by hand using a paint brush.  It may be too late, but it’s worth the effort.  They’re delicious!

Selby Gardens was in the news today.  They’re losing a renown botanist and bromeliad expert, Harry Luther.  Luther took a position at a new botanical park in Singapore.  This is Selby’s fountain display in the bromeliad garden:

We just visited last Saturday because it was free.  And because it was free, it was crowded.

We got there early enough to make it worth our while, but by 11:30 it was elbow to elbow, Q-tip to Q-tip.  Adult admission is $17; but if you’re local, it’s worth it to splurge on the $60 membership.  I’ve been hinting to John since Valentine’s Day is coming up.  The membership includes free admission for the member and a guest, plus you get discounts and freebies to over 200 reciprocal gardens and attractions.  It depends on the month; the non-Selby offers aren’t available year-round.  Still, it’s a good list - Bok Tower, The Florida Aquarium, MOSI, G-WIZ - to name a few.  

Location, location, location!  Selby is bayfront, baby, and a view like that is worth $60 alone.  The breeze off the bay and the shade from the banyans is an inviting combination, especially in the summer. 

There is an edible section of the garden featuring a variety of fruit trees and herbs.  This is their rosemary; I love the topiary effect.

I had to take one last picture as we crossed the busy parking lot toward the car…

http://www.selby.org  

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100207/ARTICLE/2071028/2416/NEWS?Title=Bromeliads-thrive-and-uncertainties-grow-at-Selby-Gardens