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Garden planning

Went out and measured the lot behind my apartment today. It’s roughly 100′ x 40′. I’m willing to sacrifice the front 20′ x 40′ to random maintenance vehicles parking.

When I was mostly through measuring, the neighbor guy across the way, who was also interested in gardening there, came out to help with the measurements and to talk about planning.

Monday morning, we’re going to have trashbags and start cleaning things out. Including the copious dogshit. He’ll try to talk to the block captain to see if more people want to help (or are exciting in the gardening process).

I totally claimed dibs on the sunniest area for tomatoes. In exchange, I allowed that there could maybe be a couple trees on the lot casting shade on my tomatoes.

The side without a fence will have a berm of hostas and lilies such as we can acquire for free. And I will try to figure out how to create a raised bed to discourage vehicles and people with dogs from getting into the gardening.

Next time I’m at Ikea, I shall purchase a holder for plastic grocery bags so that people can pick up after their dogs. He’ll call the local city people and see about getting a trashcan than people who are not us shall empty.

planning a garden

So I have permission to garden in the lot behind my apartment’s backyard next year. And I think I want to start making a plan. That way, I can show it to the woman who owns the lot and have her specifically say yes and not be surprised. Also, I can show it to the guy in the apartment on the other side of lot who has also been eyeing the green space and he can pretend he gets to participate (and maybe help with the work). I can build in [insert pretty stuff here] spots for him because it sounded like he was more interested in flowers than vegetables.

I also want to mark on there which areas get the most sun (it’s a weird V-shaped pattern. And see if I can get the woman who owns it to have the junk mulberry tree cut down before spring because the other neighbor guy is attached to it, but it’s not a useful fruit tree and is listed in the Philadelphia greenlots guide as a weed tree that should be removed vigilantly – also, it’d be shading my tomatoes.

I want to suggest a small wall so that people don’t drive in and park on our seedlings and so that people are discouraged from walking their dogs there.

So I need suggestions of good edible things to plant in the full and partial shade areas.

And I’d love it if someone would volunteer to help me measure the lot – this means wearing very sturdy shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty.

Planning a garden

So I have permission to garden in the lot behind my apartment’s backyard next year. And I think I want to start making a plan. That way, I can show it to the woman who owns the lot and have her specifically say yes and not be surprised. Also, I can show it to the guy in the apartment on the other side of lot who has also been eyeing the green space and he can pretend he gets to participate (and maybe help with the work). I can build in [insert pretty stuff here] spots for him because it sounded like he was more interested in flowers than vegetables.

I also want to mark on there which areas get the most sun (it’s a weird V-shaped pattern. And see if I can get the woman who owns it to have the junk mulberry tree cut down before spring because the other neighbor guy is attached to it, but it’s not a useful fruit tree and is listed in the Philadelphia greenlots guide as a weed tree that should be removed vigilantly – also, it’d be shading my tomatoes.

I want to suggest a small wall so that people don’t drive in and park on our seedlings and so that people are discouraged from walking their dogs there.

So I need suggestions of good edible things to plant in the full and partial shade areas.

And I’d love it if someone would volunteer to help me measure the lot – this means wearing very sturdy shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty.

Thanksgiving – sweet potato casserole, turkey gravy

This was only my second time making Thanksgiving, so the food is still shiny, new, and exciting to me.

So I went with a very simple recipe for the turkey because my parents went wild and paid for a turkey, instead of earning a free one through buying groceries. And they splurged for a free range, sexy turkey. So I just chucked some onion, garlic, and herbs inside and rubbed the outside with an herbed garlic butter. After the first half of cooking, I basted with a mixture of the turkey’s juices, orange juice, and soy sauce. Easy, simple, and it turned out juicy and reliable. There was a surprising amount of white meat for a free range bird, but apparently it was an especially breasty breed of bird – but the white meat wasn’t anymore flavourful for the wandering around. But I do think you could tell a difference with the dark meat – with a richer and more complex taste. And a cruelty free holiday!

And my mother scandalized me by not letting me come up with a recipe for dressing – but, instead, she bought Stove Top’s cornbread dressing. And to doctor it, she stirred in sliced scallions right at the end. Yeah. But I have to admit, even if it was sleazy, it was still very tasty and we finished all of it.

She was also going to have our only vegetable be microwaved frozen sugar snap peas (because my father can’t have Vitamin K), but I insisted on a second vegetable (mostly because I still had an abundant amount of Swiss Chard in the garden to use up before first frost). So I melted two teaspoons of bacon fat. Once that warmed up, I tossed in three cloves of garlic, thinly sliced. Once that started to brown, I tossed in the Swiss chard (washed, leaves cut off the spines, and then sliced across into 3/4″ ribbons, still damp). I had meant to add red pepper flakes after, but I ended up getting distracted getting the meal on the table, so there weren’t any – and the dish was delicious without them. Not healthy, mind you, but delicious. My friend, who is a chef, was absolutely right – swiss chard must always go with bacon.

And then there is the dish of which I am the most proud. The sweet potato casserole. Everyone makes this dish, and there are hundreds of recipes for this on the internet – but the first five pages on google didn’t come up with the recipe I was looking for. All of the called for butter. Many of the called for heavy cream. I really liked the recipe that called for orange juice and zest, and then I was amused to notice that the orange juice was never used in any of the versions claiming to be lower fat. Also, while I remember from my youth great debates over whether one would add diced apples or crushed pineapple to the casserole, not a single recipe called for any fruit. So I ended up kind of making my own way to a healthy version of this side dish for my diabetic father.

Sweet Potato Casserole – topped with marshmallows

First off, I made made it in individual ramekins, instead of a large dish, so there would be portion control. I don’t know if it’s necessary, but just for the ease, I did lightly butter the dishes.

Roast and peel 2 medium sweet potatoes.

Core, peel, and dice finely half of a smaller apple.

Stir them together in a bowl with the juice of one orange and the zest of half of the orange.

Since my parents have on hand the sugar/splenda blend, I used that. It runs twice as sweet as a comparable measure of sugar. Start with an eighth of a cup and taste, adding up to a quarter of a cup.

For spices, I added cinnamon, sweet paprika, black pepper, and a few drops of vanilla extract.

Then I stirred in 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder and 2 egg whites. Beat that thoroughly through the mixture.

Fill the ramekins, making sure to leave about 3/4″ from the top because not only do you need room for the marshmallows, but also you the casserole will rise as it bakes.

Then I popped the ramekins into the 325F oven with the turkey for 45 minutes. I pulled them out and let them cool (they did puff up like souffles, but the settled down and still had a light, fluffy texture).

Once the casserole is no longer piping hot, cover with the big marshmallows (size totally matters). And, yes, I used normal, storebought marshmallows instead of trying to find a healthy way around that part.

After the turkey comes out of the oven, throw the ramekins back in and switch it to broil. By the time everything else is on the table, the marshmallows should be perfectly browned and puffy.

Also there was gravy. Mmmm…

After the fourth basting, I sucked up about a cup of the drippings and set them aside long enough for the fat to separate out.

Toast some flour until is it as dark as you want it. My mother went with a nice almond color.

Then spoon the fat from the drippings and add it to the flour. If that is not enough to make a smooth pasty, add some butter.

Once that was smooth and ready to have liquid added, my mother poured in the drippings slowly enough that they’d boil and incorporate smoothly.

After the whole cup had been added, I warmed up another cup of vegetable broth, and she added that until she reached the consistency she wanted.

Then she added a little kitchen bouquet (I don’t know – it’s tradition. But you could also toast the flour more in the beginning). Even though there was soy sauce in the basting liquid, after tasting the gravy still needed a little more salt, too. She has a mixture of white pepper, thyme, and rosemary that she grinds herself – a pinch of that. And a teaspoon and a half of Manischewitz wine for richness.

And then after dinner, we had an apple pie I bought at my farmers’ market and the fior di latte and almond gelato I bought from Capogiro.

And now I am back home and making turkey stock from the carcass. Good times.

Herbs in my garden

I have managed to fill up all of my pot with herbs, and while I have plans to use some of all of them, I’m not going to be able to use all of all of them. So here’s a list of what I have, and if you are in the area feel free to swap or trade (or just plain ask) for some herbs, and I’d be glad to arrange a swap.

Herbs
Basil

  • genovese
  • lemon
  • purple
  • Thai
  • variegated

Chives
Cilantro
Dill (fernleaf)
Fennel (bronze, does not form a bulb)
Lovage
Mint
Parsley (flatleaf)
Rau Ram (Vietnamese Coriander)
Rosemary
Sage (variegated)
Summer Savory
Thyme

(also in garden – because I love lists)
Chicory/Radicchio
Delicata (still a wee plant)
Eggplant (Japanese)
Jalapeno
Swiss chard
Tomatoes (1 grape, 2 early girl, 1 roma)

(and I have some lettuce and some chocolate-colored cherry tomato seedlings)