Beets

Loris and I have just about finished our beets for the spring. I didn't plant enough, and I didn't take care of them well, so I'm impressed we had as many as we did. I planted a non-standard variety, in a variety of beautiful colors, which have a sort of target, spiral pattern when you slice them.



I haven't learned much about growing beets yet, although I just planted my second batch. For the first batch, I tried to plant two small rows close to each other. I failed to weed or to thin, which was a big mistake. Surprisingly, as I said, they turned out ok, although we didn't get very many. Apparently, each beet "seed" is more like a fruit that contains several seeds, so after they germinate, you're supposed to take some scissors and thin them out (rather than pulling them, because their roots will be all tangled together). I've never done this, but I've just planted a small bed of beets and I'll probably give it a try. Considering we're already having 100 degree weather, I'm not sure the beets will survive long enough to see if it works.

For this planting, I prepared a bed that is probably only 18 inches by 18 inches, and scattered the seed evenly. I'll thin it and let it grow in, without bothering to try to form rows. It's a sort of experiment.

We had roasted beets for dinner tonight, and yesterday night as well. Last night, we made two types of bruschetta; one had beets and gorgonzola cheese, and the other had leeks sauteed in butter with stracchino cheese. Both were delicious.




Tonight, we made a small appetizer salad with roasted beets, sliced onion, and gorgonzola. The flavors and textures were perfect together. This was a variation of another salad we typically do in the summer with sweet heirloom tomatoes, onions, and gorgonzola.

A fantastic dinner

Loris and I made ourselves a wonderful dinner last night. Homemade tajarin (sp?) with ragu, peas from the garden, and red wine from Lava Cap.

First, the pasta. I made enough pasta for a large family, I think, because we had so much meat to make a sauce with, and Loris figured we could freeze some for lunches at work. Not a bad idea. This is pasta made with 8 eggs.



Loris made the sauce. The meat is local, organic, grass-fed ground beef from Bledsoe Pork at the Davis Farmer's Market. We've had lamb and pork from them before, and the meat is always excellent. In this case, he gave me the ground beef for free because I was inquiring about purchasing a share of a whole cow for the ever-finicky group of people for whom I've been investigating creating a sort of grass-fed meat buying club. But I digress. The base of the sauce is my home-grown, home-made, home-canned tomato sauce. This stuff is delicious, and I can't wait to produce more of it, even though we still have plenty left from last year.



Loris also made a vegetable dish, although I have to take credit for my beautiful peas from the garden.



He cooked these up with onions and potatoes, and it was delicious. I can't help thinking almost constantly that we are spoiled beyond belief.

Lettuce

Growing lettuce in the Sacramento valley is a bit different than growing it in other places. This is because lettuce does not like heat. The average American salad consists of lettuce and tomatoes - but surprise! these vegetables do not happily co-exist in our desert/Mediterranean climate (or perhaps anywhere), so once my salads go from spring to summer, they stop containing lettuce and start containing tomatoes. Rule of thumb - tomatoes like it hot; lettuce doesn't.

Lettuce is easy to grow, even from seed. Either buy little seedlings, start seeds in small pots or seedling containers, or direct sow in the garden. I usually do just those first two - I haven't had luck direct-seeding in the garden. If you plant a leafy variety, you can keep harvesting the outer leaves and let the inner ones replace them. At some point, if you have a lot of lettuce, you'll have more than you can eat, and if the weather warms up, or you can't harvest them in a timely manner, you get what my husband calls "lettuce trees". The taste of these trees isn't as nice, and the texture is a bit tougher, but I eat them anyway.

This year, I've grown both red and green lettuce from seedlings, and I have some green lettuce seeds starting right now, even though it's already getting warm. I specifically chose a heat-resistant variety, but I don't know if that will save them. That's a good idea in hot-summer climates, though - choose your varieties to try to withstand the heat. Lettuce does grow fairly quickly, too, so even if you think it might be too close to summer to plant it, you never really know!

Some notes on garlic (and shallots)

This is my second year growing garlic. Last year I planted them in one long row, this year I did a small block of 32 bulbs - 4 rows of 8. So far, I think I like the block idea better, but I can't really say why.



Garlic is easy to grow, in general. Get a bulb from a farmer's market or buy organic from a grocery store, divide the bulb into cloves, and plant them, pointy side up, about 4-6 inches deep. (Don't buy conventional garlic - it may be treated with chemicals that prevent it from sprouting.) Last year I spaced the cloves about 8 inches apart, this year more like 6, and next year I might even drop it to 4. I can't imagine a bulb being much bigger than 4 inches, but I don't know. The larger the clove, the bigger the bulb you get next year. Think about that when you plant - plant the larger cloves and use the smaller ones for cooking to ensure you get nice big bulbs next year.

This year, I apparently accidentally planted a bunch of cloves that were in the process of splitting, so they put up two sets of leaves. I'm not sure what will happen when I pull them up, but I'll write about it.

Plant them right around Thanksgiving, at least if you live in a climate similar to mine in the Sacramento valley. Water them until spring, when the leaves start to turn brown. Stop watering them at that point, and let them dry and fall over. Then you can dig them up, very carefully so you don't damage them, and cure them for storage. To cure them, hang them or store them in a dark, cool, ventilated place for several weeks (see these sites for more info) before storing them. You can start eating them at any time, though.

If you like, you can try to braid them - I might give it a shot this year.

Shallots are grown in the same way - I planted them in the fall for the first time, and I'm excited to see what happens when they are ready this year!

Fava beans

OK, so I didn't grow fava beans in my garden this year, and in fact I've never grown them. I considered it this year, but I couldn't find seeds, and I didn't really have a lot of space. Maybe I'll try it next year.

Nonetheless, I like fava beans. They're absolutely delicious, meaty and buttery and just oh so good. The real problem with fava beans is that they are a pain in the @$$ to prepare. You have to shell the beans from the pods, and then peel them. That's right, it's actually a two-step process. I finally learned a good way of doing it last year, only to forget exactly how it worked this year. So after my experience last night, I'm going to chronicle it for future generations (or at least future versions of myself).

I seemed to remember that last year I steamed the entire pod, rather than shelling the beans first, like all my resources said to do. I did manage to find one website that referred to someone steaming the pods for 5 minutes before shelling, but it was downplayed as a stupid thing to do. But I did it anyway. I thought I had done it for longer than 5 minutes last year, but who was I to argue. After 5 minutes, I pulled out a pod, split it open, and cut the tip of the bean, splitting the skin and popping it out. Seemed ok.

Actually, in retrospect, I think that 5 minutes isn't long enough. The problem is that if you overcook the beans, they get mushy, and they're really hard to peel. If you undercook the beans, the skins don't really separate, and they're really hard to peel. If you steam them just the right amount, then after you pop the beans out of the pods, you can use your fingernail to peel back a bit of the skin and squeeze them gently, and they pop right out. It probably helps to move the beans around a bit while they're steaming, so they steam more evenly. But I think I learned my lesson: Don't ever buy fresh fava beans again. Just kidding! Seriously, though, I think steaming them for closer to 10 minutes is the way to go.

Anyway, I wish I had taken a picture of the dinner I made last night, but I didn't. I made a fava bean risotto that was honestly quite good, but maybe not worth all the bean frustrations. But here's the recipe, anyway.


Fava Bean Risotto

1 onion, chopped finely
3 cups arborio rice
Olive oil
Some wine
Vegetable broth (about 7-8 cups)
Fresh fava beans, shelled and peeled using the above method
Chopped basil
Some butter and/or cream
Salt
Parmesan

Bring the broth to a boil, then let simmer on the stove. If the fava beans aren't quite cooked from their steaming, go ahead and boil them a few minutes in the broth, then remove and reserve for later.

Saute the onion in the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, for about 5 or 10 minutes, depending on how much you want to caramelize them ( to taste). Add the rice, and stir to coat with oil (add more oil if necessary). Saute for a few minutes. Then add the wine - about 1/2 cup to 1 cup. Stir while the rice absorbs the wine. Start adding broth one ladle-full at a time, stirring gently while the wine absorbs the liquid. Continue until the rice is almost cooked, about 25-35 minutes. Start to taste for doneness. Stir in the fava beans, basil, butter, and cream. Taste for doneness, and add salt if necessary.

Serve hot, and pass the parmesan at the table.

Peas!

I picked the first peas of the season yesterday. How exciting is that!

I planted the peas right before i left for Italy in February, I think - the first week in February. I wish I had recorded it somewhere. I first soaked them in water overnight. I read a lot of conflicting information about whether to do this at all, and if you do it, how long to do it. I decided to do it, but to be conservative about it, so I only soaked them for 24 hours or so. I planted two short rows in one bed, parallel to each other, and one row between my last, struggling broccoli plants.

They did really well, germinated and grew nicely. They are a bush variety, not a vine, so I didn't plan to provide support, but they started trying to attach themselves to my other plants (and weeds), so I put a tomato cage on its side between the parallel rows, and used a little vine trellis for the single row, and a bit of twine to tie up the plants that were falling over.



Yesterday I picked enough pods to get a couple handfuls of peas. I shelled them, and Loris cooked up a delicious pasta sauce. The recipe is a bit vague - I think he said something about throwing a bit of anything into it. My best guess is that it is garlic, carrots, and peas sauteed in olive oil with bay leaves. I know he also added a lot of sweet wine, and parmesan cheese and a bit of heavy cream at the end. We ate it with rigatoni. Suffice it to say that it was delicious.

Update: Loris adds that there was also black pepper.

The beginning of canning season

Yesterday we bought a flat of strawberries at the farmer's market. I didn't really realize how much a flat is. I made 8 jars of jam this morning and barely made a dent. I think we're going to have to get creative to use these all up before they go bad. I'm considering making a few pies, and trying to freeze them, and Loris wants to make milkshakes (don't get too excited now, his version doesn't contain ice cream).

Making the jam was interesting, since I haven't done any canning since last summer and I really wasn't ready. First, I forgot how much sugar those jams need! It's really incredible, I can't believe that much sugar will dissolve into that small amount of fruit and juice! Turns out that I had barely enough, so I went ahead. Then I had to go and find my jelly jars, which are all mixed in with my regular jars - I guess I'll need to get a better system for that.

It wasn't until after I got started that I realized that maybe I should check to see if I have new lids. Whew, thank goodness, I did. But where are all my canning supplies? After a frantic search, I found everything, remembered the process, and managed to pull it all together. I can hear the lids popping now as they're cooling on the counter. The jam is beautiful, a translucent deep red color. I can't wait to try it.