Homegrown, Homemade: Okroshka Twist

According to Wikipedia, Okroshka is a traditional Russian cold soup that can be prepared many different ways. It mostly consists of vegetables which is why I thought it'd be a good recipe to try with fresh finds in my garden. I used radish and green onion picked that very morning from my own yard.

In addition, I purchased the rest of the ingredients at the local market. I did some searching online for recipes and picked a little from here, a little from there. My soup will not be traditional since I don't have access to the traditional ingredients, but here is what I ended up using.

Okroshka

5 radish, diced

1 cucumber, skinned and diced

2 green onions, diced

8oz cooked ham, diced

2 russet potatoes, diced

2 hard boiled eggs, diced

2 sprigs dill

2 cups sour cream

2 cups mineral water

salt to taste

I know traditionally the only thing in this soup that is cooked is the egg and meat, but I really do not like raw radish or onion, so I threw them in the frying pan with the potatoes to cook them down as I boiled the eggs. Let everything cool.

The sour cream and mineral water were then mixed and all other ingredients tossed in. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving. For the pleasure of my own taste buds, I added a dash of red pepper chili flakes.

This soup was surprisingly good considering the "broth" is mineral water and sour cream (which I honestly had very little faith in). This would be a wonderful Summer dish and I plan to make it again, this time with homegrown cucumbers and dill since they'll be ready by then.

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Food Garden Friday - Healthy Breakfast

It's Friday and time for an update of my food garden! I used some leftover greens from my garden and some from my fridge to make myself a quick, healthy breakfast.

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A Pop of Yellow

This lawn decor was purchased from 99 cent store. I bought it as a pair but did not like the black finish it came with. I decided it would look better in my garden with a coat of yellow, the same way I did my garden path a while back.

This photo shows the most recent appearance of them in the blog. They've been reused many times and remain in the garden without needing to be repainted.

They've been seen in my garden as far back as February.

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Food Garden - Fall/Winter 2018

(L-R) Dragon Tongue beans, Green Arrow peas, Blue Lake beans, Oregon Sugar Pod peas.

Blue Lake bean being planted.

Left: Dragon Tongue began to sprout a week later. I also planted Royal Burgundy beans to the right of them but they weren't showing signs of growth. I decided to pop in a few more seeds, this time I disregarded the instructions that said to soak them before planting. Whether that was the factor that caused them to grow, I do not know, but they finally showed growth a week later.

You can see a bean sprout popping up on the bottom here. These popped up in less than a week and I didn't soak these beans before planting, so I think I'm not going to worry about that step with beans in the future.

And here is the newest photo of the Burgundy bean sprout taken this morning. Quite a start.

Oregon Sugar Pod peas have done quite well. They look very similar to snow peas in the photo on the seed package so I'm hoping they taste similar because I love those.

Top row: Bibb lettuce, looseleaf lettuce blend, red and green Romain blend. Bottom row: Brussel sprouts, Black Seeded Simpson lettuce and Buttercrunch. I also purchased some garden labels to help keep track of what is where and they've proven to be very helpful.

I planted my Gold Mighty Mustard in this container which was already housing a sweet Lilac bell pepper which I purchased as a tiny plant at the Green Scene Expo back in April.

This is how the purple bell pepper looked in April. I've read on the internet that many people have had problems with bell peppers coming through this year, so at least I know I'm not alone. 

Not long after planting the mustard, I noticed tons of plants popping up. I was so surprised and confused until I thought on it a bit and realized these are not all mustard sprouts. After a little more time (and a bit of a taste), I could tell the difference between the mustard seedlings and what I've determined are radish sprouts, reviving themselves from Spring. A tiny snail managed to sneak into this photo, on the right  rim of the container.

I've also put these seeds in a container but they're slow to grow, so no progress pictures yet.

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Food Garden - Cucumbers

This month's food garden spotlight is on cucumbers. I planted 4 varieties this year, one of which was just a basic cucumber from Home Depot.

The lemon cucumber does not share the flavor of it's name-sake's fruit, but it does share the visual resemblance. This cucumber is round, the yellow skin is thin and the flavor is more mild than most cucumbers. If you find yourself eating only half a cucumber at a time, putting the remainder in the fridge (and possibly forgetting about it), this smaller fruit is a good alternative for you. Bonnie suggests on their website to hollow out this fruit for a cold soup as a Summer appetizer!

The Boston pickling cucumber is also a good option for small cucumber portions and are a great size for home pickling! My granddaughter loves pickles so this will allow her the opportunity to try her hand at it.

The Parisian cucumber is also great for pickling due to it's size and thick flesh and has fewer seeds than regular cucumbers.

Cucumbers like to grow up so providing them a cage or fence to cling on to is a good idea. These red and blue supports are aiding the growth of my cucumbers. Look at those sweet yellow flowers.

One of the first cucumbers yielded.

Long and strong, did you know some cucumbers grow with little thorns on the skin? The things you learn when growing in your own garden. The lemon cucumber also had little spikes, so always investigate your harvest to see how best to prepare it.

Here is my first harvest! Be sure to wash and skin cucumbers that have rough skin. Have you grown any cucumbers in your garden? I'd love to see your harvest!

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Unboxing - Seed Bank Box - May 2018

I'd like to introduce you to Seed Bank Box. I only recently was introduced to it and I can't tell you how it exceeded my expectations. That's not true because I WILL tell you about it in this blog. First, I did some research on seed subscription boxes. I decided I wanted only food seeds that were heirloom and something I couldn't find at Home Depot. Some other subscription boxes didn't offer these things and the ones that did only offered 3 types for the price of the Seed Bank Box.

So, my first box arrived in this cute little package. 

And here is everything that arrived inside. The color co-ordination and labeling is so simple yet so helpful. I will write the month and year on the box and keep the seeds and information cards stored there. So convenient for someone like me that seems to lose everything under the sun! 

Ok, so the verdict? I love it! I was blown away by the variety and quantity of seeds for each plant. I honestly think I will need to gift some seeds in the near future because my garden won't have room for all I'll be receiving! I love Sunflowers so that was the best part of this box. I already had plans to plant okra - how did they know!? And the Hyssop looks like it will be so beautiful and perfect for my fairy garden! Can you hear the excitement in my font!?

Above is a closer look at all the information cards via slideshow.

Below is the video of our unboxing.

And below that is a link to get your very own Seed Bank Box via yours truly. 

Click here to subscribe for your own Seed Bank Box

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My Fairy Folks: Christmas Offering

My Fairy Folks from Los Angeles are back! Here is the Christmas dinner offering to the fairies - a plate full of mashed potatoes, Brussel sprouts, dinner roll, ham, beets, roast beef and multiple desserts, as well as a cup of homemade eggnog. The cat statue looks like it wants to eat some of this feast. Not pictured is little Mina, who was too excited to get started on opening presents.

Thank you to everyone who was able to share photos from their holiday celebrations this year.

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