Harvesting basil seeds

As the chilly weather consumes Toronto, our balcony garden is coming to an end. The green tomatoes seem to have given up their quest to reach redness. The little cucumbers and zucchinis have settled as miniatures. But oh, the basil plants are now perfect for harvesting seeds.

We stopped pinching off the basil flowers back in August. The flowers eventually grew to be spiky stalks with pods of seeds.





It's so satisfying to be able to harvest your own seeds! And now that it's getting chilly out, we're hoping to have some indoor basil plants.





It's really amazing how many seeds you get from one tiny pod. And then how many pods are on a stalk. And then how many stalks sprout from one basil plant. We're going to have enough basil seeds for eternity. Or, we share!

If you'd like some basil seeds to plant indoors this season (or to hang onto for spring) leave me a comment sharing how you like to use basil! I'll mail out 3 pouches of basil seeds! Happy Thanksgiving!

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Basic beets

It's really quite amazing to remember my struggling beet days. When Dustin and I first signed up for the CSA box a couple years ago, we were thrust into a world of root vegetables: oftentimes, beets.

I am now a full blown beet fan. It's a regular favourite of mine to order at a restaurant. (The salted baked beets at Bannock are fantastic.)

This year, two beet plants survived in our garden. The seeds are cute little clusters. Somehow I thought each cluster would yield a few beets... No, one seed cluster equals one beet. Hence, two beets from our garden this year.


At home, I keep it simple: boiled and seasoned. It always turns out great and leaves so many options for adding extra flavours.

I start by boiling the washed, unpeeled beets. Depending on the size, it takes 30 or 40 minutes. When fork tender, drain and peel when they are cool enough to handle. Dice/chop to desired size.




While the beets are still warm, add a generous splash of seasoned rice vinegar (also known as sushi rice vinegar). I like to use Marukan brand.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.



That's it! This basic recipe is how I usually eat my beets at home. I've added tarragon, thyme, cashews, and even sour cream.  I bet some horseradish would be delicious.

For all those beet skeptics, I really think this is the way to eat beets.  The tang in the vinegar really balances the earthy beet flavour.  If you don't have seasoned rice vinegar, use apple cider vinegar. It's equally tasty and would pair well with some diced apples!

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Garden kohlrabi risotto

It seems like forever ago when Dustin was planting kohlrabi seeds.  The kohlrabi is a german turnip, but I had always thought it was an asian vegetable. My mom has cooked the peculiar-looking bulb in stews and stir fries. Apparently it can be quite tasty in a salad or a coleslaw. or "Kohl"slaw. haha.

Whenever Dustin is skeptical about a vegetable (which was often the case when we got our mystery produce in our CSA box) he suggests a risotto. "Cut it up in really tiny pieces and make a risotto."  We've done this with squash, kale, even beets. Always with success. It's a really great way to ease the flavour of any vegetable into a creamy, starchy rice.


Our garden is also overflowing with vibrant red cherry and roma tomatoes, so I decided to do a tomato risotto with basil, and substitute the celery for a double dose of finely diced kohlrabi.


To prep the kohlrabi, I peeled off the outer layer, much like you would a brocolli stem, and then finely sliced to matchsticks before making an even finer dice.


I cooked the kohlrabi, onions, and garlic a little longer at the beginning, ensuring the kohlrabi was nice and tender. Then I continued with a usual risotto recipe adding the tomatoes in the middle, and the basil and parmesan at the very end.

In a recent episode of Top Chef, Tom Clicchio said that risotto should "fall" rather than keep its shape after being scooped onto a plate. My risotto tends to stay in a mound, so this time I made it a little soupier.  I don't think the consistency changed the experience; it eventually thickened anyway, so I may not bother next time.


The kohlrabi flavour was deliciously subtle. Similar to when you add a couple parsnips to a stew. There's an added depth to the dish that you can't get from herbs and seasoning. The kohlrabi holds its shape and texture quite well; there's still a bite to it that pairs really well with the al dente rice.

I guess my husband was right (again) and a kohrabi risotto is a wonderful way to eat yet another strange vegetable.

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Welcome, Seedlings

It's that time of year again. We're thinking ahead to our balcony garden and growing some seedlings indoors.

We still don't really know what we're doing, but we've got some help from Jamie Oliver (Jamie at Home) and Gayla Trail (Grow Great Grub).  Jamie's book has some great pictures, descriptions, and recipe ideas, but sometimes you have to wonder whether it's going to work in Canadian climate.  Gayla's book is great because she's from right here in Toronto, Ontario.

Last year we joined Gayla with a community greenhouse. Hopefully we've learned a thing or two and can get some stuff growing at home.



So far, we've started some seedlings of apple cucumbers (AC), cucumbers (C), zucchini (Z), beets (B), kohlrabi (K), chilli peppers (mini chilli pepper), cherry tomatoes (CT), and roma tomatoes (T). We've already had to repot some of the mini jiffy pots, so things are looking good!





If only the weather would start behaving itself and stop this snow-madness!

(As usual, the beets have to be the prettiest...)

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All decked out

I have sad news. Dustin is leaving for 3 months. Yes, I have to learn to take out the garbage. Luckily, Dustin had taken advantage of some good weather in May and refinished the deck. One less thing I have to learn to do this summer. It is now clean and recharged with a sleek waterproof layer!

From garden

From garden

This picture was taken last month, just after we brought back our veggies from the greenhouse. It's amazing how much they've grown since then.

We planted the zucchini, cucumber, and tomatoes in the long planter giving them lots of room to grow.

From garden

And did they ever grow!

From garden

From garden

The basil has tripled in size. We've been enjoying lots of basil-tomato pasta and Margarita pizza.

From garden

Even the peas are nice and fat as they tangle their way up the trellis.

From garden

From garden

When we first planted the chinese veggies (菜心 -- choi sum) they looked so cute all bunched together in the hanging planter. Big mistake. They had no room to grow and before long, they were skinny and tough.

From garden

We tried one more time; spaced them out and offered them lots of fertilizer. Now it resembles something I can enjoy with a drizzle of oyster sauce. Mmmm.

From garden

It's really too bad Dustin won't be around to enjoy all the garden veggies. He'll be in North Carolina eatin' grits and fried chicken, saying "y'all" all the time. Anyone up for a roadtrip? We can bring dustin his 菜心!

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Peas, sir. I want some more.

Last year, we planted peas in our balcony garden. We followed the instructions on the back of the packet of seeds. "Sow 10cm apart." My coworker was appalled. He never follows that. Apparently we should have sown the whole darn packet and packed the peas in as much as we could.

This year, we used the rest of the packet of seeds from last year and we also planted a whole other packets. 4 times the seeds as last year!

We'll see how it goes. I feel like there was some method to their madness when they provided a guideline of sowing distances, but I guess there's only one way to tell.

From garden

They started sprouting after the intense rainfall that we received just over a week ago and are about three inches tall now. There doesn't appear to be as many little sprouts as there were seeds, but I'm hoping for lots more in the next few days!

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My very own Green Gables

Okay, so I don't have a Green Gables.

I have a greenhouse.

From garden

But "gables" rhymes with "stables" which is essentially a "house" for animals. So I've come as close as I can to having my own Green Gables where in my imagination, I am Diana Barry (since I have black hair) and I'm spending time at Green Gables with my bosom friend, Anne.

I apologize for the misleading blog title.

I must also apologize for implying that I have my own green house; it is, in fact, not "my very own". Quite the opposite, actually. It's a community-shared green house.

A month ago, I ordered a copy of "Grow Great Grub" by Gayla Trail, author of super-awesome-blog: You Grow Girl. On her blog, I learned of an opportunity to share some space in the community greenhouse in downtown Toronto.

From garden

Dustin and I are in charge of going to the greenhouse every Monday to water the seedlings. We all take turns. Isn't it all so harmoniously charming?

Although we have limited space in our balcony garden, we went nuts and got seeds for anything that we would enjoy having an abundance of. We would worry about the space later.

We planted some zucchini (this one's still got the seed stuck to it):

From garden

some cucumbers:

From garden

and to make my mom proud, some Chinese Veggies (菜心):

From garden

We also planted some garlic, basil, dill, and cherry tomatoes. All in the greenhouse. It's incredible how quickly everything grows there. Gayla was smart and got us a shelf in the sunny corner.

From garden

In a couple months, all our little babies will be big enough to leave the warmth and shelter of the greenhouse and enter into the real world. Some will not make it out the door; others may perish in the harsh (and unpredictable) conditions of an Ontario Spring/Summer, but the strong will prevail and fulfill their destiny to be cooked into something unfathomably delicious!

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Confused Christmas Cactus

From garden

My Christmas cactus is flowering! For many years, the plant was confused and thought it was an Easter cactus flowering mostly in March or April. Then, trying hard to make us proud, it would flower again in the summer. Poor little confused Christmas cactus.

It is early February, and this is the closest Buddy (yes, I named him Buddy) has gotten to flowering at Christmas! I'm so proud of him!

From garden

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Late Garden Harvest

A quick update on my garden. Yes, it is October, and my garden should be dead, but it is far from it.

First, the carnations. They are often viewed as the poor-man's roses. The bouquet an uneducated young high school boy would mistakenly purchase for his mother on mother's day. The "filler flower" that flower shops use to make a bouquet look more full. But in my garden, they are the center of attention.

From garden

My tomatoes are still coming. Although we only got two large tomatoes, the red and yellow cherry/tiny tims/grape tomatoes were abundant. Just this weekend we enjoyed a delicious mixed salad where each bite with a tomato from the garden sent a sweet explosion in the mouth.

From garden

We also put our small jasmine plant outside for the month of September. It quickly started to flower.

From garden

Finally, our strawberries. My coworker told me they were "ever bearing," meaning they will produce fruit all year round. Only recently did the plant start to produce fruit again -- in full force!

From garden

From garden

From garden

From garden

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Kelly and the Giant Zucchini

From Food

If James can have a Giant Peach, then I can have a Giant Zucchini.

Like most who grow their own zucchini, my garden-wizard coworker has a large abundance that he is graciously willing to part with. Through a communication mixup, I was not at the office last Friday to receive the normal size zucchini he had designated for my culinary adventures. The zucchini continued to grow until Monday.

It was the size of my thigh. The right thigh. (My left thigh is smaller due to unnamed hockey accident.)

Fortunately, my designer bag of choice that day was the Matt and Nat Trainspotting -- the perfect shape for said giant zucchini.

From Food

From Food

James used the Giant Peach to escape his horrid aunts. I have no horrid aunts. (Only horrid ants.) So I pulled out a couple zucchini bread recipes and went straight to work.

Oh Cuisinart food processor (with grater attachment.) How I love thee.

From Food

From only half of the zucchini, I grated approximately 10 (generous) cups of zucchini.

From Food

I tried a low fat version from Janet and Greta's Crazy Plates cookbook, and a recipe from Nigella Lawson's website.

The bread (is it really bread?) will accompany me to the office tomorrow where my coworkers will have to help me decide which recipe to squash. (heehee. squash.)

Left: Crazy Plates, Right: Nigella Lawson; From Food

Now to figure out what to do with the other half of the zucchini... Suggestions?

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