What's Growing?

I'm starting a new segment: What's Growing?

As temperatures soar in the Central Valley, the benefit is the abundance of fruits and veggies. This is also true in my own little garden!

Ta-dah! My garden!
LtoR: climbing rose bush, zucchini, tomatoes,  and cilantro.

The Garden Plot: 

I planted my garden in April, I think, from seeds. I learned a lot: about irrigation, timing, watering, sunshining, etc. I planted everything from seeds. The squashes did well. The tomatoes, not. The cilantro sprouted and grew, but not the parsley. (I think area flooded the seeds out.) In May, my mom and I put in some tomato plants. Katie taught me that if you trim off the lower branches when planting, and stick them in the ground, they trimmed branch will sprout roots and grow. And it's true! I bought only two plants and currently have about five or six tomato plants due to this method. 

Zucchs!

 The Fruits: Plums, Nectarines and Pomegranates - Oh, My!

Plums Galore! Slider has to be monitored when he is outside now. The pits of plums are bad for dogs. Dave and I don't like plums but our friends are benefitting.  

Nectarines! DELICIOUS. A great addition to breakfast!

Pomegranates are starting to form. I spied a humming bird at the tree last evening. These will be ripe in September/October/November. Remember the pomegranate jelly I with Katie made last year? 

 The Flowers:

Succulent pot with some Aloe Vera growing! 

These lilies were transplanted from a friend's garden last spring. They started out very meager, but have exploded. I will probably have to thin them out this fall and spread them some more around the yard.

A Sunflower's Tale:

In April, I planted about 15 sunflower seeds in two varieties. One variety sprouted better than the other but it didn't matter in the end: The caterpillars - originiating from the fruit trees I expect - mowed them all down. ALL OF THEM. Save one. This lonely sunflower! I planted new seeds again in May - this time in a raised pot. I had about 10 sprouts. One morning I went to check on them and I was down to TWO. The Caterpillar Bandits struck again! And then one morning a few days later, one of my two was just wilting and not doing well. Hm. And then there was one. I nurtured it and transplanted it last week to be near the lonely sunflower. 

So I gave up on planting any more sunflowers of my own this year. I didn't want to buy another package only to have it ravished by caterpillars and snails. On to Plan B: Transplants. There are a multitude of wild sunflowers in the vacant fields around my house. I enlisted Dave's help. We grabbed gloves, shovels and plastic bags, and took a walk, filled our bags and returned home. So these guys will have a different look than the traditional one-headed sunflowers. 

The transplants. 

The only survivor of the original seedings. 

The lone survivor of the Sunflower Experiment: Round 2. I planted this guy next to his brother, right behind the air conditioning unit. 

 TLC Projects: 

This past weekend was the first time in a long time that Dave and I spent some time on the house. We did some furniture chess and purchased this gem: An antique-wood table! I'm currently using it as a gardening/potting station. The cat - who has been enjoying yard-time - believed it was a gift for him. You should have seen him. He'd hop up and then peer inside at us and meow, as if to say, "wow, that was nice of you to get me this cool perch!" 

Old Wood potting station

Future garden project: irrigation for the pots. 

The Squash Garden: Future location of garden expansion. 

Last week, after visiting Katie's plot at the Community Garden, I was inspired and planted pumpkin and butternut squash seeds. I have this vision of making Diane's Pumpkin Soup from a pumpkin I grew in my backyard. I planted the seeds in pots and plastic cartons to intimidate caterpillars and snails. And just today I've got a sprout! With my success with squash I am hopeful that I will have a pumpkin in September or October. Just in time for soup! (It was easy to find jack-o-lantern pumpkin seeds but harder to find "sweet" pumpkin seeds. Hopefully I found the right kind. 

 The Pots: 

Look closely! There's a sprout!

The potted plants. LtoR: Zucchini, with basil under some of the leaves, tomatoes.

 Feels Like Home:

The Guard Dog. Doesn't guard against snails and caterpillars. 

Decorations: A Christmas gift for the Wrigley's is up in use! 

What's for Dinner

Fish Tacos with Cabbage and Chili Slaw

My first experience with fish tacos was a success! I'm slowly getting back in to the groove of cooking regularly again. When Dave's gone, there's a lot of Lean Cuisine in the freezer. I was worried Dave wouldn't like this - because of the lack of red meat (and we know I tend to eat vegetarian when Dave's away). Dave gave it a double thumbs up and suggested we add it to the rotation! Woot! AND - wait for it - there is an onion in the recipe. And he still ate it! And liked it! Granted, I did substitute the red onion for the shallot. But success none the less!

photo from bhg.com

ingredients

• Tacos:
• 1-1/2
  lb. fresh or frozen cod or halibut fillets, thawed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2
  fresh tomatillos, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
• 2
  tsp. olive oil
• 1
  clove garlic, minced
• 1/2
  tsp. finely shredded orange peel
• 1/2
  tsp. finely shredded lime peel
• 12
  6-inch corn tortillas
• Slaw:
• 5
  oz. green cabbage, thinly shredded (1-1/4 cups)
• 1/2
  cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1
  poblano or pasilla pepper, halved crosswise, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1
  carrot, peeled and shredded
• 1/4
  cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3
  Tbsp. olive oil
• 2
  Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1
  Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice

directions

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In bowl toss together fish, tomatillos, oil, garlic, orange peel and lime peel. Season with salt and black pepper; set aside.

2.Cut six 12-inch-square sheets of foil. Place one-sixth (about 2/3 cup) fish mixture in center of each square. Fold diagonally in half in a triangle. Fold edges two or three times to make a packet. Place packets in single layer on a large baking sheet.

3.Bake fish 10 to 12 minutes, until packets puff slightly (carefully open a packet to check fish doneness; fish should flake easily with a fork). Meanwhile, in dry skillet warm tortillas over medium-high heat until soft, about 15 seconds per side.

4.To serve, divide fish mixture between two tortillas. Top with Cabbage and Chile Pepper Slaw. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Cabbage and Chile Pepper Slaw In a medium bowl combine cabbage, red onion, poblano pepper, carrot, and cilantro. For dressing, in small bowl combine olive oil, lime juice, and orange juice. Season with salt. Toss with slaw.

nutrition facts

• Calories341
 
• Total Fat (g)13
 
• Saturated Fat (g)2, 
• Monounsaturated Fat (g)7,
• Polyunsaturated Fat (g)3, 
• Cholesterol (mg)36, 
• Sodium (mg)293, 
• Carbohydrate (g)30, 
• Total Sugar (g)3, 
• Fiber (g)5, 
• Protein (g)28, 
• Vitamin C (DV%)1.11, 
• Calcium (DV%)12, 
• Iron (DV%)14, 
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet