Monthly Archives: June 2010

Sun Tea

Posted on by
Sun Tea is one of my favorite summertime beverages.
It is very simple to make, and can be a lot of fun.

The very first thing to do, is fill a big jar full of water and set it in a sunny spot outside.

Then take a walk around the yard, looking for herbs and edible plants, anything that suites your fancy. Or dig around in your cupboards and find your favorite herbal tea.


Today I picked Lemon Balm


and rose petals.

(Did you know that before vanilla became easily available, ladies used rose water to flavor cakes and cookies? Rose petals have a delicate, unique flavor that I just love)

Everything gets put in the jar and sits in the sun for several hours. Once the water is nice and hot, add some honey and let it cool over night in the fridge. Or serve in a glass filled with ice, for a nice iced tea.

Bok Choy

Posted on by
One vegetable that did extremely well in our cooler than normal spring was my Bok Choy. Which really isn’t much of a surprise, since that is the type of weather they like the best.

Bok Choy, also knows as Chinese Cabbage is used in a lot of oriental dishes and stir frys. However it can be used in any recipe as a substitute for cabbage. If you grow this vegetable in your own garden, harvest while the weather is still cool, Bok Choy quickly bitters in the heat of the summer. So it is best grown and eaten in the spring and fall. If you do plant and harvest in the summer time, harvest them very small and they should still be nice and sweet.

Cooking a Bok Choy is very simple. First you separate the leaves and give it a good washing in cold water.


Then you separate the stalks from the leaves,
and chop the stalks into uniform sizes.
Then chop the leaves to your desired size.
I like to cook my Bok Choy in good old fashioned butter, but olive oil works well too.

To the melted butter add the stalks and saute until they are nice and soft, this takes about 5 minutes.

Then add the leaves, cover the pan and cook until they are wilted. You don’t need to add any water or extra butter at this point, there is enough water in the leaves that they will steam themselves.
Serve with salt and pepper
and
Enjoy!

Take A Walk

Posted on by
We are off to the pool today, so I thought I would leave you today with pictures of my pitiful garden.

That big empty spot was victim to stray round-up and those nasty little beetles.

Baby Celery

While this bed looks empty, it is really full of onions…my second planting of onions….the first planting came up and promptly died. It was a combination of a few factors that caused their death….most of which were my fault.

This bed is full of seedlings, except for those two beautiful Bok Choy. We ate those on Sunday.
I have pictures.

This bed, which is doing wonderfully. Is full of Carrots, Beans, Parsnips, Turnips and Rutabaga.

Tomatoes


Beans, Carrots, Beets and Zucchini.

How is you garden doing this year?

Greens

Posted on by
Still counting my harvest on the side bar. While I wish I could boast more, it is only June after all. Today I harvested 6 ounces of greens for dinner.