Spring Is Sneaking Up On Us

Spring is coming early this year.....or so it seems. There is still a good chance it will get cold again, but the garden doesn't understand that, and the weather is beautiful, so it's popping up everywhere!

Lemon Sorrel.....

Garlic......

 Daffodils...

Perennial flowers...

Raspberries...

And Rhubarb.

The ducks are feeling "Springy" too.  During the winter they all move together as a cohesive group....but now they are separating more. There a little fighting and they are starting to form little family groups. 

There have been a couple of eggs laid, but nothing steady yet. I fed them to the dog. I have a problem eating the first eggs of the season. I just feel like they've been sitting there in the duck's bodies all winter.....is that something I really want to eat?

Stuff is popping up in the sunroom too.  

Bunching Onions...

And Tomatoes...

Ready or not....i'ts just about time to go back to work!

A Small Step Forward

It's time to start up the garden again! First things first, clean and organize the sunroom.....

Oh dear. That's a daunting task. It's hard to believe that it looked like this just a few short months ago....

There were still a few tomatoes hanging on for dear life. I hadn't watered those plants for at least 2 months....amazing!

The winter was so mild here that the Rosemary survived.

The Basil, on the other hand, did not. No surprise there.

Okay, so I didn't clean the whole sunroom....just made enough space to get the February seeds started. Tomatoes, Celery, Leeks, Cilantro, and Green (Bunching) Onions.

Next, I bleached all the trays, lids, and pots.

Ahhhh.....nothing says, "Spring is here and full of so many possibilities", like a fresh box of popsicle stitcks!

Almost all of the Tomatoes I am starting are for Penny out at Garden Ventures. You can be looking for those to hit the shelves in May or June.

This year I'm starting something new that I read about in one of Elliot Coleman's books. I'm growing Bunching Onions....their called "Green Onions" in the grocery store.

He plants the seeds 10 to a soil block.

Looks crowded, doesn't it?

They grow in a bunch, you transplant them out in a bunch, harvest them in a bunch, rinse them in a bunch, and then sell them in a bunch!

I'll let you know if it works.

That's all for now....the rest of the seeds will get planting in March.

Somebody's Been Watching Food Network Again!

Well, we still don't have TV reception here at our house, but when we travel or visit other folks, my favorite show to watch is, "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives". Recently I got to thinking that maybe the episodes were on disc, and sure enough....they are! So I ordered Seasons 1, 2 and 3.  Hey, everyone benefits...and it's tax deductible too! I put one of the pie recipes to use today.....

I was taking lunch to my good friend Yvonne's house. She is a very busy gal, with 4 girls in 4 different schools, so I figured that the only way I was going to see her is if I brought a meal to her. It was sort of a Farm to Table kind of lunch, with Winter Kale salad.....

And Grilled Black Cod Tips with pan fried Fingerling Potatoes.

And dessert was Apple Pie. I used the Apple Pie filling that I canned last year, but removed most of the liquid first and set it aside.

Then I rolled out the pie crust extra large and put it in the pan and piled in as much Apple Pie Filling as I could, and stuck a cube of butter in the top.

The last step was to pull all the extra crust up to the top and press it tightly and firmly into place around the butter cube.

And pop it in the oven.

It fell a little bit, but it was still huge and beautiful (in a rustic sort of way).  Evonne loved it!

We heated up the extra liquid that had been removed earlier, and served over the top of the pie and icecream.

And fun was had by all!

Farm To Table

Well, I'm heavy into paperwork right now, getting all the facts and figures ready for the tax lady, but I did take a break from my desk last week to participate in a Farm To Table event. Bobbie Daniels is raising rabbits here in Sitka, and she is trying to encourage other locals to raise rabbits too, so she organized this amazing dinner at my favorite little Bistro.....Ludvigs! The entire menu with very few exceptions was grown right here in Sitka and Ketchikan.

The turnout was really good....

As usual, Colette and the crew did a bang-up job of preparing the food....

That is one tiny kitchen they have to work in!

The food was as beautiful as it was delicious!

Rabbit Turrine....

Moroccan Goat Stew.....

Grilled Rabbit with Inca Bella Potatoes and Kale (from my garden!)...

And the Russian Meringues....just like my Mom used to make!

I was given the honor of being one of the servers at this function. It was really fun to work with the Ludvig crew, and it was great to support this worthy project!