I’m relatively new to gardening, but I think my love for
dirt and growing things started when I was a child.
You see, my dad has a big garden in our back yard. I grew up watching and helping the process
along as much as a kid can. I rode the
tractor with Dad. There was a little
button on the steering wheel he always told me was used to “mash worms”. I pushed it a lot. And I remember fondly the way the freshly
tilled dirt smelled after a rain. I
remember how Dad would walk the garden rows checking on the plants, and how he
noted the weather and anticipated how it would affect the seedlings. At the time I was more interested in digging
up worms and grabbing unusual-looking rocks for my collection. But then, strawberries came out of the ground
from mounds of pine straw, and my small hands were used for shucking corn and
shelling peas. I can distinctly remember
the sound the peas made when they hit the side of the yellow Tupperware bowl I
held in my lap. The corn would be hand-creamed
by Mom in that same bowl. I remember the
sweet creaminess and the smell it made. And
then payoff – dinner time.
I don’t have a patch of land yet, but this year some friends
gave me some nice dirt – complete with a few patties of manure – and I loaded
it into pots. They were kind enough to
give me some spare seedlings too, and I got some herbs at the farmers
market. When I planted them I got so
much dirt under my fingernails that I couldn’t get it out for a few days. I didn’t try anything from seed this year,
just seedlings, but I lovingly planted them all the same. I watered them, fertilized them when they looked
sad (though it hurt my heart to do so … ahem … organic movement). Each morning I sit out on my porch with a cup
of coffee and notice the changes from day to day. Sometimes a droopy leaf tells me more water
is needed. Sometimes stems lean into the
sun, so I scoot the pot over to make it easier.
I guess watching them everyday you don’t notice the growth
as much. And then you leave for a
weekend, with much trepidation and fear that they will wither in the heat or a
bird will peck them, and when you return you find … a SQUASH BLOSSOM! And just around the corner from that … A
GREEN BEAN! Wow! Is this what having kids is like?
 |
| Not from my garden, but still awesome |
 |
| Check out that little bean!!! |
I’ll let you know what they taste like soon. And while I’m at it, how about a nice spring-changing-to-summer recipe?
Stuffed Zucchini
3 zucchini, split and seeded
salt, pepper and EVOO
1/2 cup wild rice
1/4 an onion
1 bunch chard, stems removed and sliced into ribbons
Parmesan cheese
Cook the rice on the stove. I added my onion just straight into the boiling stock for the rice. Meanwhile, drizzle a little EVOO over the zucchini halves and sprinkle with salt/pepper. Bake in a 350 oven for about 15 minutes, or until fork-tender.
Once the rice is done, mix it with the chard. The heat from the rice should wilt the chard a bit. Then scoop it into the little zucchini boats.
Turn the oven to broil. Sprinkle some Parmesean over the top and broil for a few minutes. Simple. Delicious. Enjoy!
