Inch by Inch, Row by Row

It's gardening season! Last evening M put the majority of our garden in. As she did so, she kept thinking of this song;  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FkaN0HQgs. While we haven't figured out how to get our flowers and veggies to sing yet, we do find the garden to be a very rewarding pursuit. In a matter of weeks our grocery bill will significantly decrease as fresh veggies begin to make up the bulk of our diet. There's also various pickles, salsas, and freezer treats to look forward to as well.

 Below is a list of our garden contents so far and some of the ways we look forward to eating it.

Potatoes: we love these mashed, baked, fried, scalloped-if you can think of a way to cook potatoes, chances are we've tried and loved it! 

Green beans: delectible cooked el dante and served with butter melted over them. Their also pretty tasty dilled and canned. We also love to freeze them and pull them out mid winter to dress up a tired pot of soup, or as a treat all on their own. 

Peas: we'd love to freeze these for a fresh treat in the winter, but truthfully, very few of them make it past the door. M eats nearly all of them on sight in the garden!

Beets: we love to pickle the root and the greens are fantastic in salad.

Onions: if it were up to M, they'd be added to everything. We mainly use them in soups and salads.

Swiss Chard: this delicious, often overlooked green is choke full of vitamin D and is great in salads, wilted with butter and garlic, frozen for use in lasagnes and soups. If you've never tried it, you really should. It's delicious, but make sure you buy it while it's small.

Cherry, Roma and Yellow Tomatoes: cherry tomatoes are great for eating and salads. As for the Roma, nothing makes better home made salsa, bruschetta in a jar, or harissa sauce than Roma tomatoes. Our mouths are watering just thinking about it. Yellow tomatoes are a tasty way to dress up a platter salad or to add unique flavour to a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich. 

Sweet Peppers: these are great raw or sliced and frozen for easy addition to future stir fries, lasagnes, couscous casseroles and soups. 

Hot Peppers: R likes things spicy, so we dry these and he adds them throughout the year to practically everything he eats. He reminds M of his Dad!

Lettuce, Radicchio and Mesculin: there is simply nothing in the world as satisfying as a fresh salad made with brand new, perky lettuce from your own garden. So fresh and full of flavour. Don't believe us? Our local rabbit population agrees too :)

Left to plant are: carrots, radishes, cucumbers and spinach. Did all this talk about fresh food and veggies make you hungry? We hope so. We also hope it inspired you to plant some seeds of your own. Remember, whether it is a small pot of peppers on a verandah, a plot in your backyard or a full scale garden, growing your own veggies is a nutritious and delicious way to save money and improve your overall health. Now, go eat something green and leafy :)