Gardening Archives - Page 35 of 82

Bzzzz August 4th, 2008

It has been a veritable social whirlwind around Bumblebee Garden.

On Tuesday of last week Susan, from Garden Rant and Sustainable Gardening, made the trek from further north out here to the country for a little Bumblebee Garden tour and dinner with my fellows. Susan and I met up at the Spring Fling in Austin this past April. Of course, I was delighted to find another Maryland gardener.

Garden Rant’s Susan Harris lounges at the Bumblebee Garden gate

I don’t know many avid gardeners here in Calvert County, so it was great fun to yak and yak and yak some more while strolling the garden and making dinner. (Dinner, by the way, was a tomato tart with guyere cheese, spinach cucumber salad with fresh basil, sautéed squash and fresh peaches with whipped cream. Recipes might follow someday.)

Susan offered some great ideas and pointed out, in her kind and gentle way, some issues that I haven’t dealt with. If you ever need a garden coach, call Susan. She won’t laugh at you if she didn’t laugh at me. Susan tells me that she’s posting her own version of events sometime tomorrow on the Rant and SG.

Then on Saturday evening, Harry and I hosted a party for the volunteers in our local groups, including my Calvert Eats Local group and his Calvert County Heritage Committee and the Old Wallville School committee. What a fine and entertaining group of people. Imagine that two complete strangers attending the event found that they are both Viking reenactment buffs. Well, well.

Our menu was:

Crab cakes and dill horseradish sauce (What’s a party in Maryland without crabcakes, right?) Curried peanut chicken Homemade neufchatel cheese with garden grown herbs and homemade French bread (yep, I made both) Homegrown tomatillo salsa and chips Cucumber watermellon salsa and chips (recipe forthcoming) Blueberry lemon cream bars (recipe forthcoming) Carmel brownies Cranberry vodka punch, wine, beer and such

And guess what we offered to guests as they left? Yes! “Free Squash to a Good Home!”

All but one little crookneck squash was adopted. Good thing too, cause I’m not above sneaking it into people’s cars if they’re left unlocked.

I will be posting actual garden pictures soon, so stay tuned.

Posted In: Gardening

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Bzzzz July 31st, 2008

This week is all about cucumbers. How about this Armenian Yardlong Cucumber? Yes, it is supposed to be this light yellow, almost white color. And this one is well on its way to being a yard long.

Unfortunately, my first Armenian Yardlong Cucumber was bitter.

Here’s a great way to enjoy the flavor of your garden fresh cucumbers–Asian Cucumber Salad. My favorite!

Ingredients

3 medium cucumbers, peeled, de-seeded, sliced lengthwise and in thin slices 1 tablespoon kosher salt 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted in a skillet until golden brown

Toss the cucumbers with the kosher salt and place in a colander in the sink. Place an ice-filled bag on the cucumbers to drain for 45 minutes to an hour. Whisk all the remaining ingredients, except the sesame seeds, until blended and the sugar is dissolved. Rinse the cucumbers and dry with paper towels. Toss the cucumbers and dressing. Top with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Posted In: Food and Recipes, Gardening

Tags: cucumber salad, cucumbers, garden, recipe, Vegetables

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The Partying and Goings-On Around Here, Oh My

Got Cucumbers? Try this Asian Cucumber Salad