|
| |
|
|
Biting History one
meal at a time |
Bite This!
Brace yourself,
Summer is here! |
READ ABOUT MY UPCOMING
COOKING CLASSES HERE! |
 |
|
Eat Your Landscaping! |
|
|
Here it is, mid June.
Gardening in Tucson is soon to become
a sort of hell. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't
mean it isn't
worth it. This simply means, with our heat, you
fight with the devil
himself for your plants! Right now, our gardens are
really vigorous.
Fruit is ripening everywhere. Just a
few minutes ago I picked some
cherry tomatoes, a huge Japanese Eggplant and a
beautiful yellow
Banana Pepper. I simply ate the one strawberry I
found without
bothering to take it into the house. Our plants are
just beginning
to mature and the rewards are just around the corner!
Chiles! We have about eight or ten
different varieties from the
"World's Hottest" to some nice tasty but mild ones.
I can't wait for the fresh salsa. I am sure we will
can or freeze
a lot of our harvest for later use.
Tomatoes! Wow, we planted probably a
dozen varieties of them.
Lots of the usual kinds, just to make sure we have
plenty of wonderful,
tasty, REAL, tomatoes. I picked a few of our
first Celebrity tomatoes
from our vines the other day. They absolutely
blasted us with flavor!
The Early Girl vines are loaded with nice
big green, orbs that
are tantalizingly close becoming ingredients in our
cooking class
recipes. Our Roma tomatoes will be mostly
used for paste and are
coming along little later than the others. We also
planted a number
of endangered heirloom tomato plants. These are
mostly indigenous
to the desert southwest and Mexico. I even was able
to acquire
and plant some heirloom tomatoes from France given
by a friend
who "discovered some seeds had somehow become
stowaways
and made the trip home with him." Several of the
heirloom plants
are a little happier than others but we have some
great looking fruit
on some of those too. I am really excited to taste
these and see
which we like best. Of course, those will be chosen
as candidates
for next year's gardens.
There are many other choices while
browsing among our plants; onions,
(I've been grilling them and they are fantastic!)
baby carrots, fennel, and
so many different herbs, it's hard to mention them
all. There are squash
and cucumbers and artichokes and Leeks. I let some
of the onions go
to seed so their beautiful puffball flowers stand
sentry over the other plants. About that title....
Here is the bottom line; we live in the desert and
it is very tempting
to grow some grass, plant some wonderful looking,
water guzzling,
leafy landscape plants and have a beautiful yard.
Just like back home.
You will work your butt off to admire something
that just
does not belong here.
One other alternative is Xeriscape. A sort of water
miser,
barren, cactus studded.......area. UGH! Don't take
this the wrong way.
I know, I know, our water is
precious and in
short supply...and expensive.
I just think there is a wonderful compromise. In
fact I think
this is better than a compromise for a number of
reasons.
So, if you want to have beautiful landscaping (and
eat it too)...
Here is what you do. Plant a garden!
Go to your favorite nursery or Home Depot, Lowes,
hell.. even
Wal-Mart and buy some plants you would like to eat.
Prepare your area. ( it doesn't have to be very
big)
You are not starting a farm, you're only planting
some stuff you like.
Three feet by eight feet of space will grow a lot
of veggies. I have
about five different spaces this size arranged
around our yard.
This is a manageable size and you will be able to
reach in to
the middle to harvest. You can plant directly in the ground or
create raised beds. I have both.
Dig down about six to ten inches and turn the soil.
Take your time and enjoy, you don't even have to do
this all at once.
Use some of the soil to build little berms around
your garden space.
This will help keep your watering where it belongs.
Add some dry composted horse or cow manure (usually
free on
Craig's list, I got six cubic yards delivered for
free!) and some garden compost to your existing
soil mixture and turn it to mix evenly.
I use about one third of each. Now, among your
veggies, plant a few
colorful flowers. Petunias and marigolds are great.
They look pretty
and chase off pests. You can add stock or daisies
for a little height.
It's a win, win. Your garden will
naturally use
more water than the arid type landscapes we see
here so often.
But, you are now growing edibles and not just grass
and decorative
plants. Hey, someone somewhere is growing, and
watering the
veggies you eat anyway. And, God only knows what
chemicals
they are putting on their crops, (your food) but
you will know exactly
what went on yours, won't you? No longer will you
be paying
a fortune for "hothouse grown" "vine ripened"
tasteless tomatoes.
Yours will be bursting with flavor and healthy
vitamins and all that
other good stuff. Walk out the door and pull a few
onions for tonight's spaghetti sauce from your own
garden. Snip some homegrown
oregano and a little thyme. Wow! You are going to
feast!
Many of the herbs will grow year round here and
most of the other
things will need to be replaced with your next
crop. With a little planning,
and not a lot of work, (honest) you will
have a beautiful, edible,
landscape. This time of year you may have to water
everyday or
even twice if it's windy. But. You won't need to
worry about e-coli or
any of those other pesky critters that can make
people sick,
or can even kill us. The water you use will have
been used
somewhere on your food anyway but now you will reap
the rewards
of wonderful, tasty and wholesome vegetables and
herbs.
Go ahead.......eat your landscape!
|
To get you in the mood,
try this wonderful recipe for
Fettucine with Tomatoes and Fresh Herbs! |
|
bon appetit!
|
Chow!
Bob (and
Mardi)
|
 |
* For more
information about
(and to get your own)
Heirloom Tomatoes, visit:
www.Aravaipa.com |
|
Our Culinary Festival continues in
June, July and August with,
Beginning Monday,
June 7, &
Mondays
through the Summer
Kid's Summer Cooking Camps
> week-long day "trips" to States and
Countries around the world.
Thursdays,
NEW!
Basics of Gourmet Cooking
ALL JULY CLASSES ON SALE!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
P.S. THE THRILL OF THE GRILL
continues on SharpKnives.com!
SUMMER SALES HAPPENING
HERE!!
Remember we sell most of the tools and small
appliances
and those wonderful Messermeister knives we
use in class on our sister site;
www.Sharpknives.com
Great Grilling Tools
on Sale now! |
Mardi
Burden
shares
ownership of
Cuisine Classique School
of Good
Cooking
with her husband Bob.
Mardi loves to cook
and she brings her
professional expertise
from restaurant kitchens
and large catering events
to the lessons she
teaches
in her classes.
Mardi's
love of cooking,
and
her
knowledge of food
and
cooking is truly
exceptional and
she is always eager to
"share the love"!
Some links will take you
to other parts of our website.
Please use your browser's
"back" button to return to
our newsletter.
|
|
|
|
powered by
copyright 2010 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
