few leaves of arugula, chard, and lettuce with 7 sugar snap peas, a pea vine, and a sprig of dill...
mixed with some veggies we had in the fridge and strawberries our generous neighbor grows in her backyard. topped with a blackberry vinaigrette johnny boy made using leftover berry sauce and balsamic vinegar. berry yummy!=)
last year we had our first garden salad a week earlier, but this year we started our lettuce from seed.
technically, our first harvest was last week when i picked some arugula. not being too familiar with the taste, i threw some in a smoothie. very interesting! let's just say i'll stick to using it in salads.=)
***
the video below i saw on sam's blog yardsnacker inspired me to make compost tea for my plants.
i rounded up the following...
5 gallon bucket
1 quart compost
aquarium air pump
and rigged up this little system. every so often i add about a half teaspoon of unsulphured molasses to feed the microbes or something and a capful of fish emulsion with each brew for good luck. i'm not really sure of what i'm doing... just going with it!=)
the plants seem to like it...
woodland strawberry
blue curled scotch kale
detroit beets
and baby biggles enjoys watching mommy go back and forth, back and forth to feed the plants their tea.=)
"why doesn't she just use the hose?!"
=)
squishy hug to biggles...she is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! nice salad by the way!!! yummers!
ReplyDeleteyah arugula has a very peppery taste to it...not something i would put in a smoothie...i would have liked to have seen your expression when you took a sip of your smoothie!!! =P
nice garden my girl. i wish i had one too!
=)
KITTY!!! So pretty!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your first harvests! So exciting! And yeah, very brave of you to add arugula to a smoothie. I like arugula mixed with other greens otherwise, not much of a fan. Sure looks pretty. And the kale and strawberries and beets = wow! Good job! Glad to hear the compost tea is working. Sam will be proud. :)
Your salad looks very tasty!
That salad is gorgeous!! Congrats on your harvest!!! I'll have to try that compost tea for my garden!
ReplyDeleteI've never tried arugula in a smoothie!
Your kitty is adorable!
Love your kitty and the name:)
ReplyDeleteI'm so jealous you have eats from your garden already..yum! And that salad..oh boy soo good!
I have to look into that compost tea..sounds very cool! Your garden looks fabulous!
That's my kind of salad. My mom has been nice enough to share some of her fresh greens from her garden with me. They are the best.
ReplyDeleteBTW, your ice cream cakes are spectacular!
Wow, beautiful lettuces & nice garden! Whatever you're doing is working!
ReplyDeleteThat video is amazing ... I'm going to try the compost tea, too ...
I'm so proud...sniff...jk! Looks great! Isn't that fun? Your garden look fantastic, those are happy plants! Says a lot about you!
ReplyDelete:D
arugala is such a pungent flavor, indeeed. not something for the faint of heart. it's one of those really bold greens that it's dainty but packs a punch!
ReplyDeleteper your question to me today, not a la natural. i dont broadcast that but ya know. :)
Congrats on 2nd place in Heathy's contest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
xoxox
I am still trying to figure out how to grow my own veggie garden here in the harsh climate of Saudi Arabia. It must be fantastic to grown your own food. That salad looks INCREDIBLE, exactly the hearty mix of flavors that I love.
ReplyDeleteHey Kel, artichokes use to scare me too! :) They aren't too bad! :) Just cut the leaves down to get rid of the pointers and chop the stem off and stuff or make them however you want. I steam them in a steamer, but you can fill a pot with like 2 inches of water and let them steam in that with the top on. Just watch that the water doesn't go down to much. Good luck! XO
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I can hardly wait until next year when I'll have some gardening space. Your strawberry plant reminds me of growing up. My mom always had strawberries planted in her flower beds :)
ReplyDeleteStrawberries are surprisingly good in salads.
ReplyDeleteall that produce looks divine. wow.
ReplyDeleteYum! Nothing beats fresh garden produce.
ReplyDeleteI agree that arugula should stay in salads where it belongs. I once mistook it for spinach and threw it in a smoothie... YUCK.
lovely luscious greens. how cool to have a homegrown salad.
ReplyDeleteOooo, that salad looks good. My mother would LOVE that salad, she loves berry salads.
ReplyDeleteWow on that video! That is crazy! I need to try that. My plants are sooo tiny XD. Thank you for sharing that!!!
OMG!!! I ate my first fresh arugala a week or two ago and it brought tears to my eyes it was SO GOOD! Glad to hear that you have brought it into your life as well. Your gardens look beautiful - it shows you really thought about the layout and everything! Smarty to use the little sitting shelf too. That will save your back this summer. Happy planting and harvest!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sort of disappointed about your using fish emulsions, but calling yourself vegan. From Wikipedia:
ReplyDelete"Fish emulsion is a fertilizer emulsion that is produced from the fluid remains of fish processed for fish oil and fish meal industrially."
If it's your fish, then... yeah, I can see that; I don't see using shed fur from your companion animals or the like as being at odds with veganism, especially since brushing your cats makes them happy, and so does changing the water from your fishes' tank. But... you know, I'm a lot closer to fish than most people are: they're cats and dogs to me, just in water instead of on land, and their personalities have the same variations and energy that any other animal does.
So, just, yeah. Not animal friendly at all.
anonymous - i admire your love for our finned-friends. would i buy fish emulsion today? no. i bought it over 2 summers ago when i was still an omnivore. it would be silly for me to throw it out at this point - plus it's good for my plants and a better choice than chemical fertilizers.
ReplyDeletei was "vegan" at the time i created this blog, though nowhere do i claim to be vegan. i am animal-friendly to the best of my ability - sometimes my conditioning gets the best of me and i eat/buy something non animal-friendly. however, i can proudly say i do my best, and i think i may get there someday!=)
for now, go easy on me please!;)