The heart of the home

This is how the kitchen garden has been looking since from around late February. The rain was truly a miracle worker. I intentionally packed the plants tightly together so I could get lots of herbs and veggies for the relatively small space in the backyard.

You might think that Calendula (pot marigold) is kind of out of place in a kitchen garden. Well, aside from the fact that the kitchen is considered the heart of the home, and that Calendula, being one of the first plants I grew when I got into herbalism and gardening, has a special place in my heart (I know. Can I get a group "Awww…?!"), aside from all that, its young leaves are good in mixed green salads. And, you gotta admit, it looks dang happy where it is.

As you can see, the arugula have pretty much gone past the stage of salad ingredient and are in full bloom. Truth is, it was my first time to grow it and I think I kinda went overboard. Although two or three plants would have sufficed, I got loooots, having sowed them in situ and then not having the guts to sufficiently thin out the seedlings. I still eat some of the smaller leaves from the big plants, and can't tell the difference.



The Japanese white radish ("Daikon") and the cilantro are used most in my house. My housemate's friend is from Mexico and when he comes over, he chops the cilantro up in salads, salsas and guacamole, and uses it as a condiment for tostadas, enchiladas, omelets and soups. My housemate is from Japan and he likes to marinate or pickle thinly sliced rounds of the white radish with mirin, a dash of soy sauce, cayenne pepper and some other stuff. He also uses thicker semicircles in miso soups, or julianned in cold radish and carrot salads.

I love my leek soup, so I've been growing leek religiously for several years now. I also like the whole leek braised in olive oil and red wine vinegar. It's cooked in foil with a petite sprig of thyme thrown in, until the leek is very tender. Good for barbeques. Thing about leeks, you have to gently separate the layers, without pulling the plant completely apart, to wash out grit that grows between them. This tends to happen with leek, because in order to get nice thick and white stalks (the part you eat), you need to mound the dirt up around the base as the plant grows. So, some of the dirt tends to grow inside its folds.



I've never grown beet before, and don't recall ever being much of a fan, to be honest. But when I was at a store looking for seeds that grow well during winter months, that was one that was recommended. I've since researched various recipes, and am looking forward to trying a beet soufflé today or tomorrow.

There are other areas around the house, outside of the "kitchen garden," where I grow foods. For example, the taro are grown on the east side of the house, as opposed to the kitchen garden which is located on the west side. Basil, stevia and eggplant are growing in the front yard, where there's more sunlight. These photos represent the areas where the edibles are most concentrated.

Ok, I made the beet soufflé today and it was scrumptious. I'm not crazy about beets, but I loved this combination. Here's what's left of it. I'll try to add a link to the recipe later.


Here's the link to Recipe Source's Beet Greens Soufflé. Only parts I changed was, I added one extra beet, a little extra cheddar cheese and dropped a few pieces of chopped beet on top. Also, instead of chicken broth, I used vegetable broth. Oh, and I used all 4 egg yolks. Another thing, the recipe calls for cooked beets and sauteed beet greens. To cook the beets, I just boiled them in slightly salted water until they were fairly tender; about 15 minutes. To sautee the greens, I put 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and added the coursely chopped greens. Later, I add a couple tbsp of left-over vegetable broth and sauteed a little while longer.