my babies are up!!!

all the little seeds i planted have sprouted!!! (well, maybe not ALL of them... but LOTS!!!) just had to share!!!

Nettles are Up!

While clearing and burning the cut brush from under the cedar yesterday we discovered the beautiful Urtica dioica - nettles! - flourishing away. The tallest of the plants are about two inches high and I suspect that when I get back from easter travels they'll be ready for a first full harvest for a nice nutritional simmered side dish. Oh, how nice to have this to look forward to when I return!

Bud Walk

The time has arrived for my daily bud walks. Each day I walk around my little yard and see what is peeping out of the soil or budding on the trees. The bulbs I planted last fall are popping up in front of my deck with buds heavy and almost bursting into bloom. The star magnolia received some TLC this weekend and I was careful not to touch her heavy buds. Soon, soon white star flowers will burst along her bare branches - this is my youngest daughter's "God tree."
What's starting to bloom where you are?

speaking of leeks

last night, my Book Group ladies came over for our monthly meeting. it was a bit of a spontaneous decision to have it at my house, and i wasn't planning on making much of an elaborate meal. but it was so wet and rainy and just plain miserable, i thought the ladies who were brave enough to come down the driveway deserved something in the way of a reward.

i foraged around in my fridge, and this quick and delicious soup waiting for them:

Cream of Leek n' Spinach Soup

3 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
6 - 8 leeks, chopped thin
2 bags fresh spinach, baby preferred
2 boxes organic veggie broth
2 cups light cream

croutons for garnish... i like pumpernickel because i think they look nice against the soup.

chop the leeks into thin little rings and saute in the olive oil with the garlic until soft and transparent. add the broth and allow the mixture to come to a slow boil. reduce heat to a simmer. add spinach. when spinach is bright green, add a few tablespoons of broth to the cream. allow to mix, then add cream to soup in small batches. DO NOT ALLOW SOUP TO BOIL once you add the cream. if you wish, you can puree this soup.

only one of us read the book but everyone loved the soup!

The Wisdom of Garlic

It's a season of mixed emotions. For me anyway. Not sure how the other Listeners feel. Anyway, the leek seedlings are thriving and the celery and celeriac are sprouting nicely. That's wonderful. Even so, I'm down to my last heads of garden garlic. That's sad. I have a dozen or two left from last season. And that's good. But my point is - every March I am amused and tickled at how the garlic knows - deep in its heart - that the days are lengthening and that spring is coming. They begin to green and some start sprouting.

Every March I pick through my heads of garlic to sort those that are swelling in anticipation from those still hanging in, so that I can use them before they really begin to sprout. So today I made a batch of Mojo de Ajo and as it roasted my kitchen - heck, the whole hut - smelled of divine allium.

There be some garlic infused vinegar in my future too!

Leeks are Up!

My leeks are just poking their little heads up and I started more seeds today - fennel, peppers, onions, impatiens and wormwood.

baby lust

she did it again. i happened to be having breakfast with a Certain Someone and she mentioned the s-word.... seeds.

im going to be starting mine, she said, in an off-hand, off the cuff kind of way, that makes gardeners with only pale green thumbs like mine turn chartreuse with envy.

and then i read the previous post, and almost drooled. since our breakfast, there's been a seed tray and soil, and packets of seeds sitting on my kitchen table, awaiting inspiration.

tomorrow, when my grandson comes over for his weekly visit with nana, i think we have a Project to work on.

happy march!