Unfortunately my carrot and brussel sprouts are showing no signs of life, but the rest of this area is doing quite well, especially the radish. I've never been a huge fan of radish but I have read about a radish soup which I am ready to research and try.
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.
This week's feature in my food garden is this large container. There are a few purple viola on either side in the front and some yellow and purple snapdragons on either side in the rear, the cost of these flowers were less than a $1 since I purchased them in 6 packs at Lowe's. There is also cilantro, Ancho Pepper and radish which, when paired with tomatoes and onions that I'm growing elsewhere in my garden, will make up a very nice salsa.
These little sprouts are the radish making their way up. They're so cute when they're young. The grass clippings are here to hopefully keep the moisture in. Spring has just begun, but here in California, when the sun is out, it gets hot pretty quick.
These three characters are taking a trip down the lazy river in their make-shift leaf boats. I wonder if they're training for anything? I know last Summer they had a race - I wonder if they're up for it again this year?
The idea for this project was found on YouTube and I decided that I wanted to try for myself. I began with a bag of potting mix and used the bag itself as a container.
To begin, I punctured drainage into the bottom side of the bag and then flipped it over to cut a flap in the top (leaving a few inches of plastic on either side) to create a contained garden.
I decided to plant these radish seeds I received from a Seed Bank Box delivery and these interesting looking carrot that caught my eye during a visit to a local nursery.
Once planted, the soil is covered in grass clippings as this has been working well for me in the rest of my garden. Hoping to have an update soon.
