Spring in the Garden and Kitchen

Things are kicking into high gear here in the Creekside Garden. Spring is making itself known throughout the garden and having those very earliest of veggies to work with in the kitchen takes me to my happy place.

Daffodils are popping up everywhere.

The viburnums are flaunting their beautiful pink nosegays that smell so sweet and fill the garden with their perfume.

The Quince tree is covered with pale pink blossoms that will become unique apple-like fruits for jams and jellies this fall.

Spring is fast paced!

There doesn’t seem to be enough time to keep up with getting plants started, staying on top of the fast growing weeds and mundane tasks like picking up branches downed by winter storms. But I still have time to enjoy the Swiss chard planted last fall. It was kept warm over the winter with plastic and is now large enough to harvest leaves.

Early started lettuce seedlings are also ready to be picked. Plants like lettuce and chard can be harvested all at once or you can cut off the outer leaves from the base and leave the plant to continue to grow. Especially early in the season, that’s what I usually prefer.

For the past several years my dill patch has self-seeded but it doesn’t appear to be thriving this spring, so dill seeds went in next to the chard and are already about 2-inches tall!

Carrot seeds and beet seeds went into these bright blue grow bags.

Hands off pesky critters!

This is my first year using grow bags but I thought I’d give them a try for plants that have edible roots.

My yard has tons of voles. These little mouse-like critters live underground and they think beet, carrot and potato roots are candy! They also take out Swiss chard, lettuce — just about anything if they’re hungry enough.

By laying out walkways of gravel and digging some gravel into my beds, I’ve cut way back on the damage they do. Grow bags are a new addition in trying to foil them.

Maximizing growing space

Another reason I am trying the grow bags is to use them in locations that get enough sun for good plant growth but have tree and/or shrub roots that make planting in the ground difficult.

In addition to the medium blue grow bags, I have four larger purple grow bags that will be planted in a week or two. Two of them are getting potato slips and two of them are getting melon seeds. Melons should grow well in our area but every year I’ve planted them in the ground, they’ve not survived. I hope isolating them in their own grow bag will give them a better chance.

Indoors, cow pots host more lettuce seeds and a dozen marigolds. (For more info on planting into pots please see Planting for Spring!!! ) Marigolds can easily be sown directly into the garden but I want to decide later exactly where I want them based on how other plants are filling in. I got them from one of my favorite seed companies, Baker Creek. http://rareseeds.com

Asparagus is also up. This is week one of cutting. I have five more weeks I can cut spears before I need to leave the rest to send up their fern like stalks. Not harvesting too much allows the remaining stalks to feed the plant. That ensures another harvest again next spring.

This post’s recipe uses some of those asparagus spears and for more ideas on how to use this wonderful veg check out — Asparagus is up and lands on the grill!

Spring Cooking

Since it’s so early in the growing season, there isn’t a large quantity of any one plant. That’s where dishes like Pasta Primavera and this rice dish come in handy.

I had just three asparagus spears, some Genovese basil I thinned from its grow pot and amazing oyster mushrooms from a local grower. To make use of a little of this and a little of that, I made a quick, easy rice dish that can be served as a main dish or a side.

Companion Salad

I paired my Spring Veggies and Rice dish with a salad of sliced tomatoes and tofu topped with basil thinnings. If you’re not dairy challenged, mozzarella would obviously be classic for this. Check out Love Those Mouthwatering Tomatoes! for more on how to bring this salad together.

Neither one really qualifies as a “recipe” but I hope they inspire you to use the earliest of the garden’s gifts.

Spring Veggies and Rice

This easy to put together rice dish is a mash up of pasta primavera and a paella.

Directions

With rice in the fridge I wanted to use up, I added this and that from the garden and local growers. It came together quickly and easily.

The vegetables (in this case some yellow bell pepper, asparagus and oyster mushrooms) are given a fairly rough chop.

I sautéed them in a little olive oil with a sprinkle of salt until they were just getting soft.

I love paella but it takes some time to get it right. So….this is NOT a paella because there is no sofrito and no slow cooking to get crusty rice but this is MUCH faster and has a flavor slightly reminiscent of that amazing dish.

Cumin and smoked paprika are the spices I used in this dish to push it towards that Spanish flavor profile. I didn’t have saffron on hand but that would have worked well in this dish. I love the taste of orange with cumin and paprika so I squeezed an orange and added the juice into the pan.

Next I added in frozen peas and the spices. Heat it up just long enough to warm up the peas.

Finally I tossed rice into the pan and tasted for seasoning. Mine needed a little more salt and I added some black pepper.

For a final touch I sprinkled this with a little Aleppo pepper. In addition to taste, it adds a nice pop of color!

It was a good quick dinner which I paired with a light Tempranillo wine. Let’s keep that Spanish theme going!

This made enough for lunch the next day, served cold over lettuce just picked from the garden!

A drizzle of creamy lemon dressing worked well.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups vegetables rough chopped (I used bell pepper, asparagus and oyster mushrooms)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sprinkle of Aleppo pepper (optional)
• Juice of 1 orange (about 3/4 cup)

Directions

• Give all the vegetables a rough chop.
• Heat the olive oil in the skillet for a minute or two. You want it hot but not smoking.
• Add the chopped vegetables to the skillet and sprinkle with a little salt. Cook until just starting to soften, about 7 minutes.
• Add in orange juice, frozen peas, cumin and smoked paprika. Cook until peas are warmed through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the in rice. Cook until rice is warmed through and orange juice is reduced. About 5 to 10 minutes.
• Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed.
• Sprinkle with Aleppo pepper (optional) and serve.

Dish is also good cold as a grain salad.