Nectar Flow 2012

The days are getting longer and spring is getting closer.  The bees have been multiplying like crazy.  There is plenty for them to forage on.  All the lavender is in bloom, the citrus trees are beginning to blossom and the scent of orange blossoms fills the air.  The timing is perfect...the bee's, the bloom the nectar flow and the pollination. It's like watching a flawless choreographed dance.

Garden Update November 30th, 2011

Melissa and I were in Santa Barbara at a nursery and we found these little starts call Cheddar Cauliflower.  We planted them and sure enough, a couple of months later, cheddar orange cauliflowers emerged.

Not much is happening this fall and winter at least compared to the spring and summer but the Green Cabbages are really beatiful and very tastey right out of the garden.  No sprays or chemical.  Kept a lot of pests away just by using netting over the tops of the plants.

Apples and Honey - Sweet New Year

Summer Into Fall - Breathing In and Breathing Out!!



Brown Turkey Fig




Seedless Kadota Fig


























The figs have been a pleasant surprise.  We now have six fig trees, different varieties and all have their own unique taste, texture and colors.  All beautiful.  Along with our thin skinned Osborn Prolific fig, we have a fig called a "Bordeaux". A small fuit with an exraordinary sweet and slightly tart flavor.  A couple peeked out earlier in the season just long enough to give us a taste of things to come. Very promising!

Melissa lightly baked some figs in a little butter and our first honey of the season and used it as a topping on a hot milk sponge cake. Delicious beyond words!!

The Bounty 8/8/2011...Beets, Carrots, Tomatoes and Sunflowers

We harvested our first carrots this week.  Now I understand the phrase "Having the patience to sit and watch a carrot grow".  They really do take a long time!!  Made up a roasted beet, carrot and tomato salad with arugala and a salty french feta.  Crazy good...dressed with a fruity olive oil.

I like photographing Sunflowers.  They are yellow, happy, bright and positive.

The Bounty - Heirloom Tomatoes 8/3/2011

The hot weather hit and all fifteen or so varieties of heirloom tomatoes have come into their full ripeness.  The colors in the photo are very true too what’s on the vines.  There are red, green and yellow pears.  Red, yellow and yellow cluster cherries, large slicing tomatoes, a variety of blacks, and Italians including  San Marzano’s.  I think there are as many recipes for tomatoes as there are for preparing chicken.  We have canned a batch of sauce with more to come.  Made fresh salsas, gazpachos, roasted, sliced, eaten them with artisanal cheeses on the greatest breads and sun dried a batch for future recipes.  Nothing tastes quite like the fresh off the vine tomatoes.  They really define the summer victory garden.  It’s not over and I am already missing them!!

Garden Update 7/18/2011

Here's a garden update. The first two 4" X 8" boxes have about 15 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.  There has been an abundance of fruit all with that "umami" tomato goodness.  We have small  yellow "Sun Golds" that are out of this world, red pear, Italian plum a variety of blacks that are really deep purple and a range of large slicing tomatoes.  We've been making some interesting salads with most ingredients from the garden.  Here's one that has been particularly good so it made the table a couple nights in a row.
Tomato Medley Salad:
All varieties from the garden, sliced or whole (small tomatoes) arranged on a serving platter.   Dress with a fruity extra virgin olive oil kosher salt and fresh cracked peeper.
Top with arugula salad dressed with same as above but with a dash of balsamic, fig or pomegranate vinegar. 
From the herb garden do a rough chop of Italian Parsley, Basil leaves and young bunching onions.  Drizzle with EVOO.  Adjust salt and pepper.  Finish with bits or slices of your favorite chèvre or blue cheese...and enjoy!

Road Trip - Jackson, WY to Pt. Reyes, CA

Just back from our road trip to Jackson, WY.  What a great break.  We hiked, road bikes, kayaked, golfed, ate, drank and lounged around...you know, the things you're supposed to do on vacation.  We had at least three cameras going at all times so between everyone, there are a zillion images of the magnificent Grand Tetons in every lighting situation at all times of day, with clouds, without clouds...all beautiful and aw inspiring!!

See what I mean!!  Aahh!

The trip across Northern California was great.  Over the Sierras, east across the state, through Napa and after hooking up with friends over to Pt. Reyes.  It was a beautiful 78degree day, slight breeze and just naturally intoxicating. We visited a couple of creameries, Cow Girl and Nicasio Valley Cheese Co.  Here is a link to an article that says it all about the cheeses from this area. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_15725747?source=email   Pt. Reyes is also known for its aquaculture.  Some of the best muscles and oysters are farmed in Tomales Bay.  So put together the food, landscape weather and location and you have a little slice of heaven on earth!!  Worth the visit.

The Garden Update 06/20/2011

Simple update.  You can see the progression if you've been following the blog.  You can look back to the older posts to see holes in the ground ready to be filled with soil.  I see this as the first phase.  More to come!!

The Bounty Part 1 – Apple Juice and Apple Sauce

We have three mature apple trees on the property that we planted well over ten year ago.  We have an Anna, Dorsett Golden and a late producing Fuji.  The first two trees, the Anna and Dorsett Golden produced heavily this year.  The challenge is figuring out what to do with a load of apples that come in all at once.  So “necessity being the mother of invention” you learn how to can, juice, dry, preserve, cook, eat and give away as many apples as you can as fast as you can.  What we did first was to press the juice and put up some apple sauce.  Whatever we have beyond the first gallon will go in the freezer and we will use it through the year for as long as it lasts.  The juice is probably the most perishable next to the actual fruit.

I'm a bee-liever

No self respecting hip and modern, self aware urban garden loving household could exist without bees. So, my family got on that train and put two hives in our backyard.

It's fun having bees. Guests love to see the boxes, they (the bees, not the guests) pollinate our fruits and vegetables and eventually, if we're lucky, we'll be able to harvest some honey.

Oh, and we have an excuse to dress up in bee suits.

Here's what we have going on:

Grown to 2 boxes to give the bees more room.

A frame from inside a hive. There's brood cells (new bees) and drone cells and lots of busy worker bees. 

If you're thinking about getting some bees of your own... you should. The group Backwards Beekeepers has some great resources. Also check out Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association.

If you do get your own bees can make your own candles, eat some honey, barter with friends, and look as cool as us.  Let us know if you keep your own bees. Send us some pictures. We'd love to see.

Our Apricot Tree is Loaded!!

Well it’s a race to the finish.  Our apricot tree is loaded this year with some of the most beautiful spring fruit I have seen in years.  I have to attribute the quality to the large amount of rain we got over the winter and early spring.  Every year we battle with the squirrels for which will get the most fruit.  We really do not mind sharing, but they will ravage a tree and leave half bitten apricots to rot on the ground.

Here is an image of the fruit, big and orange with a red blush.  We always put up jam and make lots of crisps, cobblers and pies.  Depending on the load we have been known to “can” and “dry” for use during the fall and winter.  In another post I will give you the recipe for our families favorite “crisp” recipe.  It’s easy and as healthy as you want it to be.  Modify to make it your own as with all the recipes we post.

A Honey Bee in the Blossom...

Ok, here is the image of a typical honey bee.  These ladies are very productive especially this time of year when everything is in bloom.  They are out collecting, nectar and pollen for food and stores for the winter.  Although there have always been a lot of bees around the garden, I am interested in seeing if the introduction of our own bees will make a difference in the yields of the fruits and veggies.  May be hard to quantify but its great having them around.  You can see the collection of pollen on this bee’s body.  The tongue and proboscis that sucks up the nectar is visible.  The gossamer wings look sheer, fragile and airy.

...more from Beyond the Blossom!

This is one of those big black iridescent carpenter bees I mentioned in a previous post.  It’s amazing the way they literally dive into the middle of a squash blossom and roll around in the sticky yellow pollen that finally collects all over their bodies.  What a sight.  It appears the honey bees collect pollen in the same manner. They come out dusted as well.  I will put the images up in another post.

Beyond The Squash Blossom cont...

There are few things better than foraging for young delicacies around your vegetable garden.  There are many foods we have never had access too or been in proximity to their preparation.  Here is a recipe that turned into Sunday brunch.   Kind of a throw together from the garden.  This was a real treat and “muy delicioso”   Factoid: squash plants grow male and female flowers.  For this dish if possible, pick the blossoms that are not growing a squash.  That is another recipe for another time.

Here is the recipe for the Stuffed Squash Blossom Frittata with Chevre:

*Found in Garden

Ingredients: Serves  3

For the Eggs…

6 Eggs

¼ Cup Milk

½ tsp Chopped Chives*

½ tsp Chopped Italian Parsley*

Kosher Salt and Ground Pepper

Beat well with a fork or Wisk

Sautéed Vegetables

Tbs Olive Oil

Tbs Butter

1 Onions*

3 Cloves Garlic*

1 Sweet Bell Pepper*

1 Zucchini and/or Patty Pan Squash*

Kosher Salt and Ground Pepper

Sweat in Non-Stick Sauté Pan

6  Zucchini Blossoms*

4 oz Chevre or other favorite Goat Cheese

Remove Stamens from the inside of the blossom, cut a small piece of the Chevre , place inside the blossom and close petals around the cheese.

Assembly:

Lay the stuffed blossoms in a six portion arrangement from the middle of the pan on top of the sautéed vegetables.  Pour beaten eggs and herbs mixture over the vegetables and the stuffed blossoms in the pan.  Keep on a low flame as not to overcook the eggs.  Dot the frittata with the remaining goat cheese.

Cook gently until you see bubbles coming up through the egg mixture.  To finish, cook the top of the frittata under a broiler for a minute or until eggs are puffed and you have a desired golden color. This also helps to melt the goat cheese that has been dotted on the top of your frittata.  Let rest for a minute or so, slice, eat and enjoy!!

Beyond the Squash Blossom

Anyone who gardens knows that most vegetables are edible at many stages of development.  We are having a great time sampling baby beet greens, young arugula and tender young potatoes.

Here is an image of one of our zucchini squash blossoms.  They open up their bright yellow pedals to face the morning sun. This is the invitation to our honey bees and big black fluorescent bumble bees to collect a little nectar and contribute to the pollination of our vegetable garden.  As far as vegetables go, they don’t get much younger than the blossom…beautiful and edible!

We Love...

Developing Pomegranates

Garden in Progress

Here are three progressive images of the gardens development.  The big question in the beginning was do we plant row crops, raised beds or contained boxes?  As you can see the, the decision was to go with raised boxes.  Unfortunately we have a severe gopher problem.  They eat everything in sight and everything you can’t see.  So we needed a frame to staple double layers of chicken wire too.  This will keep any burrowing animals out.  We dug 18” - 24” below ground level, set and leveled the frames and then refilled the wire lined boxes with a mixture of 50 / 50 soil and composted manure.  Excuse the expression, but this mixture is “nuclear”. The plants are loving it!!  The rabbit wire fencing around the beds helps to keep out the cute little bunnies that enjoy snacking on the tender young starts.  So far we have dug and planted ten 4’ X 8’ beds.

What We Are Waiting For

Ripe Pom Fruit

This is what we are waiting for!!