Friday, April 9, 2010

year of snow, crops will grow?


let's hope so!


the winter snow is a distant memory as we enjoyed a week of summer weather here, with temperatures in the 80's!


taking full advantage of the nice weather, i spent every day outdoors, and got lots done in our garden. as you can see we've added another box - this one 6 feet by 6 feet. our parsley and strawberry plants survived the winter, and the woodland strawberry plant is producing sweet little flowers.


always the procrastinator, i ordered my seeds much later than originally planned. thank goodness for Baker's Creek Heirloom Seeds, as my package arrived in 3 just days! i comprised a list of the plants i plan to grow from seed this year. (seeds are from Baker's Creek unless otherwise noted).


Veggies:
Blue Curled Scotch Kale 
Detroit Dark Red Beet
Danvers 126 Half Long Carrot
Tall Telephone Garden Pea
Cherokee Trail of Tears Pole Bean
Royalty Purple Pod Bush Bean
Richmond Green Apple Cucumber
Sunset Lettuce
Break O' Day Tomato
Zucchini Black Beauty Squash

Botanical Interest Seeds:
Tango Leaf Lettuce
Red Velvet Lettuce
Little Gem Romaine
Chard
Arugula

Herbs:
Basil - Genovese
Basil - Lemon
Dill Bouquet
Cilantro

Flowers:
Arikara Sunflower
German Chamomile
Echinacea Purpurea
Zinnias
Dahlias (tubers from Home Depot)


some seeds went straight in the garden, others were started indoors in containers of vermiculite. most of my planting was done on april 1st and 2nd, and there are already lots of little sprouts.


this is just my second year, so i've been using my beloved All New Square Foot Gardening book and the Farmer's Almanac Gardening by the Moon Calender as a guide for planting. for any other questions, i search or post on gardenweb.com.

~*~

the garden and the other little sprouts in my life really tired me out this week, so i took it easy in the kitchie.

here's bubbie, one of the adorable children i babysit. we like to go on "inbestigations" outside when the weather is nice.=)


this is my niece alaina, growing up so quick! she's playing at Spread Your Wings, the perfect indoor play place for little ones with lots of energy!


john and i were exhausted after a fun-filled overnight visit from alaina, so we treated ourselves to dinner at a local cuban restaurant where we enjoyed a relaxing dinner outside on their patio.

yucca fries with a side of spicy guacamole... mmm!

~*~

my prize arrived in the mail from a 2 pound bag of chia seeds giveaway hosted by the lovely candice at chiaseedme. ♪ ch-ch-ch-chia! ♪


candice has inspired me to sprinkle these super-seeds on top of my salads and soups.

 
i've got a nice system going for my dressings and soups with the new vitamix: after blending my dressings, i find there's a lot of the good stuff left in the bottom around the blades. what i like to do is make a raw soup in the container right after without washing. the dressing gives the soup a little kick of flavor, and since the soup is thinner than the dressing, there's less waste clinging to the bottom of the vita!


~*~

last but not least, i leave you with my first raw pie (and tastiest raw vegan dessert yet!): heavenly mudslide pie from Sweet Gratitude.


the title is fitting as this recipe must have been created by angels! seriously. so creamy and delicious, with all natural, plant-based ingredients, like cashews, coconut milk, almond milk, almond butter, cacao butter, cacao powder, and dates. (are you drooling yet?=)

swirling the fillings was so much fun! it reminded me of the days when i would do nail polish swirls on my nails. i watched bitt's video again for some guidance. my pie was "over-swirled" just a bit, but i'm very happy with the way it turned out.

which desserts do you enjoy making?

23 comments:

  1. over-swirled? you're crazy girlie!!! it looks absolutely perfect! can i have a slice? haha!!!!

    i love your garden...i am in awe of how much you have planted...amazing!!! i hope to pick your brain in a year or so when i start gardening, i am totally excited about it...

    you know, i've never tried yucca...but it looks so delicious!

    =)

    have a beautiful day...

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  2. your pie is gorgeous! it's hard to stop once you start, huh? it's so fun! but i still think it looks great. and probably tasted great too. it's one of my faves.

    thanks for the ideas on chia seeds gooping up the last of dressings.

    i'm super impressed with your garden! can't wait to see progress pics.

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  3. forgot to answer your question. i was on a pie thing for awhile, then cookies, now cupcakes. some chocolate in there for good measure. :-)

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  4. Oh, how I wish I had room for a garden! Guess I'll just keep raiding Daddy':)
    That mudslide pie looks quite drool-worthy. I'm not much of a pie maker, but I am the cookie queen. I just came up with a vegan snickerdoodle recipe that I need to blog about soon. Good luck with the garden!

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  5. Yay Kelly! I just planted a ton of my seeds as well. We will be moving from an apartment to a house in June where we will be setting up similar boxes to what you have. I'm so excited to grow my own food:) Can't wait to see yours grow! Ps check out you grow girl for some crazy inspriration!
    On the dessert from..that pie looks too good for words. I have to get me that recipe book. My favorite dessert would have to be homemade chocolate..you can make whatever flavor you are craving at that instant...mmm

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  6. thanks sweeties!

    nelly - you will LOVE gardening! you can start off small this year with some plants in pots. i started with basil.=)

    hey bitty boo!=) can't wait to see those cupcakes!

    mmm mckella... vegan snickerdoodles? please blog about them very soon!

    hi melissa! yay for you growing your own food and moving to a place with more garden space, and thanks for reminding me about you grow girl - i was on that site a lot last year. can't believe i forgot about it!=)

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  7. ohhhhhhhhhhh...i forgot to answer your question...i lovvvvvvvve making moonie pies...haha...it's like the funnest thing ever...especially the final result...by the end my hands were covered in chocolate...yummy chocolate...i also love making chocolate...i'd love to make a cake next...should be fun...maybe the swirly cake that you posted above!!!

    =)

    i'll definitely be planting something soon...even if it is only indoors...

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  8. nelly girl, you've got me thinking i should try those moonie pies... i was a bit intimidated at first, but since you love them so much, i'll think about it! (or maybe i'll wait until you post your mylk chocolate moonie pie recipe!=)

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  9. Great post! Love the square foot gardening and the swirls on your pie are fabulous :-)

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  10. Everything looks awesome- looking forward to seeing the fruits of your labor!

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  11. *swoon* that pie looks so amazing and gorgeous! I bet it was the best ever! Good job!

    Congrats on chia seed win! :) It's always nice to win prizes.

    I love that, "inbestigations" ha ha! That boy and your niece are so adorable!!!

    Nice work on your garden - don't you just love gardening? You're going to have a wonderful year of produce. Enjoy!

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  12. I'm so excited to start my garden now! My friend Kelly McCaleb was just talking about the chi chi chi chia seeds. :) Do you think you can put them in smoothies? Your vegan pie looks scrumptuous too!

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  13. I like the looks of your raw pie! And exciting gardening projects... I had high hopes for finding a decent community garden but I think I'll be limited to patio gardening after all. Your plants look great so far.

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  14. kelli, love your garden, really awesome....and your pie is simply gorgeous!!! xoxox

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  15. thanks girls!=)

    miss, i've been putting them in my smoothies for a few months now. those, flax, or hemp seeds. they are a great source of protein and other good stuff. i'll give you some to try next time i see you. please remind me!=)

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  16. I just ordered a big bag of chia seeds and am excited about trying them. I can't believe it's taken me this long.

    That pie you made looks AMAZING! I wish I had a slice right now.

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  17. hi lovely kelli...i thought i would reply to your question here...just because i never do get notifications of replies to comments i make...and i just noticed that you replied to my second comment on this post...

    you should make the moonie pies...DO not be intimidated...if you were able to master the swirly cake, the moonie pies are such a breeze! and they are so good...you'll be in heaven! and they are really fun to make...i'd love to give you the recipe...but i don't know if i will ever be able to post the recipe...because it isn't mine, and i think heathy wants people to buy the recipe!

    also...i buy the daiya cheese at this vegan store in downtown toronto...

    look into it...if you can't find it, let me know, and i will gladly courier it to you! let me know...

    http://www.daiyafoods.com/where.html

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  18. hey kelli girl...sorry i keep coming back to this entry to answer you! i hope you don't mind.

    thanks for asking about my neck...you're an incredible lady! i'm feeling a lot better...thankfully!

    i also wanted to tell you that if you win my first giveaway i am also going to try to send you a moonie...i will actually send it and pray it doesn't melt!!!

    ;)

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  19. How fun! I would love to start planting some seeds! I've never really done it before.

    Girl, your pie looks amazing! I could just bite right into it. You def. did not overswirl;)

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  20. I've been away from your blog far too long!

    Your food looks awesome, Kelli! And so does your garden! And that is so cool that you won a bag of Chia seeds! Way to go! It's always nice when the random number generator chooses you! :D

    Talk to you again soon!

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  21. Omg that pie!!! is amazing. you may call it over swirled, i call it beautiful...work of art, kelli!! awesome job!!!!!!!

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  22. Hello Lovely ♥
    I have to catch up on lots!!
    I love your seeing your garden, beautiful! and you are talented at making pies wow! and that salad looks refreshing.
    x♥x♥

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