Despite a cold, wet spring here on the Island, things are happening in my little garden! And I am “shopping” daily in my backyard to put things on my plate.
I planted peas for the first time – snow, sugar snap and shelling peas – all of which are becoming my go-to snacks as well as being featured at meal time.
The snow peas are abundant!And the shelling peas are catching up.
I’ve been making a lot of these simple and quick rice bowl meals.
No recipe – just a variety of peas from the garden, cooked rice, a protein (smoked sausage, here) and a dollop of Sambal Badjak (Indonesian pepper paste) run through it all. One of my favourite meals…
And for dessert?
The raspberries are starting!!!Another simple meal of berries and yogurt.
Please join me and my co-host Donna (she’s back!!!) and let us know what’s on your plate this month! Feel free to leave a link in the Comments or join the Link Party:
True confession time: the last time I can recall eating stewed rhubarb was the night before I gave birth to my son. I was 2 days over my due date, it was August in Ontario, Canada (if you know, you know), and I was completely over being a whale a walking refrigerator a weeble pregnant. I thought the rhubarb might get something started, and…my son was born at 930am the next morning. So all hail the power of rhubarb! Actually, my daughter was also born exactly 2 days past my expected date too, and no rhubarb was involved. But let’s give kudos and credit to the all-knowing, all-powerful rhubarb!
Anyhoodle! Flash forward to the present day (almost 39 years later), and I finally have gotten around to stewing my own rhubarb from my own garden again. I can’t explain the long break other than to say I had somehow convinced myself that I didn’t like rhubarb and since I had no pregnancy to push (pardon the pun 😉) to conclusion, there was no need to eat any! Gentle reader, how wrong I was…
This spring I rediscovered this amazing plant (conveniently growing in my backyard) and have been on a bit of a rhubarb tear, ever since.
The first of many batches of stewed rhubarb, from my garden.Stewed rhubarb in my morning oatmeal and cottage cheese.Stewed rhubarb over custard.Stewed rhubarb stirred into Greek yogurt.
I have also discovered the wonder that is a rhubarb crisp.
Rhubarb crisp, put in the oven.Rhubarb crisp with ice cream. My family helped me empty the dish, in case you were wondering 😉.
Rhubarb is such a tough and amazing plant – you’ll know just how tough it is if you ever try to remove it from your yard, like my son-in-law is trying with his rhubarb patch It’s not that he doesn’t like rhubarb – he just wants to put something else in that prime growing location. Good luck with that, SIL!
How do you feel about the wonderful spring tonic that is rhubarb? How do you use it, if you do?
Please tell all in the Comments! This month my lovely co-host Donna has gone walkies so you just get me and no link party either, as that is her area of expertise. Sorry, eh! 🇨🇦
Getting pointed looks from an impatient Bowser, as seen through my kitchen window.
Many things in bloom this month on the trail (just as lovely as the wisteria in the garden!).
Native trailing blackberryHoneysuckleWestern StarflowerThimbleberryPacific DogwoodNootka Rose (with Bowsie coming in hot for a treat, in the background!)Alright, alright! You are on the trail and blooming too, Bowser!Lupins are just getting started on their bloom time.
No matter how the walk starts or what we see on the trail, it ends pretty much the same way:
I swear that Bowser is some kind of closet doggy gardener because whenever I am working in my yard, he won’t leave me alone. He has the full roam of the property including my landlords’ much bigger yard but decides he must be in my business whenever he sees me with tools in hand.
I ran in to get a drink of water while preparing to install 2 new garden beds (just peeking on right hand side of photo). My taskmaster is watching me through the kitchen window.The Supervisor
My son-in-law suggested I use string in order to line up the new beds with the existing, for symmetry. This is how that went.
Someone grabbed the string and ran into his yard with it. Despite not being able to use the string, I did get the beds situated and filled with soil and even planted! With peas and marigolds. No thanks to my favourite photo bomber.Being a nuisance helper is hard work. Bowser dozing in the spring sun.Old Sleepy Face was relieved to come inside with me, and rest in style. But demanded scritches until he fell asleep. He seemed to think he deserved them, being such a Good Helper and all…and I obliged.Finally, peace for both of us.
We hope you are having a productive weekend, with lots of peace too.
Believe it or not I am still eating vegetables I grew last summer, from my little garden. Even as I am planning to start seeds for this year’s eventual harvest, I have a few delicious squash remaining in my unheated entry way. They are waiting their turn to be transformed into something yummy, as in today’s recipe: Curried Lentil Stew with Butternut, Kale and Coconut.
An old cookbook of mine, Cook Up Comfort by WW Healthy Kitchen. I’ve made this recipe so many times I barely need to refer to the book anymore.Most of the ingredients, assembled. I always substitute baby spinach for the kale because I find kale tough when used in dishes like these. And I didn’t have any vegetable bouillon on hand so I used chicken instead.Delightfully fragrant stew simmering on the stove top.Stew plated over rice, with my absolute favourite curry powder (Lalah’s) in the background. If you can find Lalah’s Madras Curry Powder in your area, I urge you to try it.
Although it doesn’t look like much on the plate, the flavour is amazing. The recipe doesn’t refer to it as such but I believe it is a dal-type dish…a delicious Indian lentil “gravy” that is indeed cooked-up comfort.
Please join my co-host Donna and myself as we both explored meatless meals. No surprise for long-term readers of Donna’s blog, but this is the 2nd month in a row for me!
As always we’d love to hear from you and learn what’s on your plate, either in the Comments or using the Link Party link:
Joanne and I returned from our fabulous trip to the west coast of the island (read about it here and here) to find this:
How do zucchini grow so fast in such a short time?!?! Rhetorical question – I know it is just their thing, to explode in size when your back is turned.
We decided to make a quick lunch, from this and other bounty from the garden. With the help of these and a can of pizza sauce:
Miracle product! Add a little pizza sauce, a little shredded mozzarella and you’ve got lunch!
I had made some quick refrigerator pickles from my pole bean bounty, before Joanne’s arrival.
And Joanne made a quick little zucchini salad using olive oil, vinegar, garlic…and oregano and chives from my garden.
Joanne’s plate – with an almost basic Margherita pizza (she added some shredded salami) – the basil came from my gardenMy plate – basically the same except I added a cremini mushroom to my pizza and decided against the salami.A quick and delicious al fresco lunch. With the clothes from our recent trip freshly laundered and drying in the background 🤭.
That’s it for me! And Donna is off hiking in Portugal with her husband, so no Link Party this month. She wrote about what was on her plate here before she abandoned me left.
Please let me know in the Comments what was on your plate this past month! As always, I look forward to them.
The star of the garden – the arch!What’s dangling inside the arch – pole beansOne day’s harvestKabocha squash blossoms, with bees hard at workClose up of pollen-coated beeResults of the pollinators’ hard workGifted to me from a neighbour – orange daylilyPurchased pink daylilyBlack cap raspberries (done now, for this season)Black currants (harvested and dried at this point)Swiss chard, cherry tomatoes, butternut squash and cucumber plantsPotted herbs and flowersClose-up of borageFigletsMonardaMarigolds peeking out from under the squashLast but not least – zucchini!
Wind chime that followed me home from the Butchart Gardens gift shop:
My tea/herb garden this year:
Hostas and lupin that emerged this spring:
Planted a foam flower in front of the bird bath. Hope it does well in its new home:
The black currant I planted this spring:
One of the two elderberries I planted this spring:
One of the 3 bare-root black raspberries, also planted this spring:
My fig tree (new to my garden) – which looked for the longest time like a bare stick planted in a pot – is now leafed out and (gasp!) growing actual figs:
I bought a patio set for the new patio and pergola. Very comfortable and doubles as an outdoor dining space (long-time readers may recognize the dick pillows):
I have not forgotten to make my garden magical at night. These are solar colour-changing dragonflies (a gift from my landlords, for Mother’s Day last year):
Solar lantern on the patio table:
Fairy lights (also solar), under the wisteria:
And my most stunning solar light, in front of the black currant. Weighted down with a cool rock I found on Bowser’s Secret Trail:
Close-up of the light in action:
Full-effect of this particular solar light. Isn’t it stunning?
Stay tuned for more updates as the season progresses. Future plans include enjoying the harvest, building 2 more raised beds, and creating a fire pit space!
…And like most births, it was accompanied by long hours of sweat, pain, cursing, and some blood loss 😉. I will let the pictures do the talking for the most part, as this is going to a very picture heavy post of the backyard transformation at my new home.
Map of my backyard as it existed in early March, with proposed patio sketched in. I’m not a fan of all the straight lines, but I’m going to work with what is already in place so much as I can…for this year at least. The vibe will be mainly kitchen garden.Garden in early March. Can you spot a certain someone in the yard? The long unbroken wall of siding is the side of my daughter and SIL’s place. View of garden from corner near patio door. Bowser in shot too, natch! Those are bricks I dug out of the ground, in front of the Pit of Doom. This backyard has provided a few surprises like that.Another Before View. I had to remove all of the irrigation tubing from where my SIL laid it last year, as my garden will have a different configuration.Taken from the cedar deck. Ever the impatient optimist, I am already bringing home shrubs and plants!Bowser is playing with a squeaky ball. One of the first things I did was power wash the siding, the little cedar deck, and the extra concrete slabs I revealed when digging. Another surprise!Modest 2023 Garden goals. Spoiler alert: CRUSHED ‘EM!I decided to start with only 2 raised beds, for growing pole beans and what-have-you (yet to be determined at this stage).My SIL enjoying his successful install of the cattle panel arch. Thank you, Kevin!!!My SIL also did a superior job of laying patio stones for me!Beginning to work my way around the perimeter of the garden, laying cardboard to kill weeds, and then topping with bark mulch. The fern is a volunteer that I don’t have the heart to get rid of.Bowser inspects the laying of the cardboard and the bark mulch. The Trench of Doom (that I am trying to fill up with compostable materials) is in the background . I have already planted my blackcurrant, black raspberries, and elderberries at this point.Wheelbarrow load by wheelbarrow load, I am covering the yard with cedar chip mulch over cardboard. It took close to 40 loads. The hosta and lupin in the far right came up this spring. The daylilies at the back were a gift from my neighbour. There are herbs planted in the pots. The birdbath followed me home from a trip to Buckerfield’s Country Store 😉. On the left in the back is rhubarb and a hydrangea. Weeds pretending to be lawn Lawn be gone!Pergola assembled and in place; many thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Retirement Reflections for the help!!!!
So that’s it for the bare bones of this garden. The next garden post will be what it looks like now!
Today is stinking hot but at least it’s not raining. Most of June consisted of rainy weekends, like this one:
Polebean Buddha stoically endures all the weathers.
Rainy weekends are good for the gardens but piss off those of us still working Monday-Friday.
2018 Polebean crop finally takes off.
After a slow start (completely the fault of the gardener), the 2018 Badass Rooftop Garden polebean crop is finally making progress.
Flowering! Can taste the beans already. Mmmmm.
Earlier in the month, I took part in the annual 4 Day-Evening walk at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. This was held during the week, so no rain, natch. I also wrote about it here.
Blowing the horn to signal the start of the walk each of the 4 evenings.
This is an event brought over from the Netherlands, by Dutch-Canadians, and a whole lot of fun.
The Bruce Trail runs through the conservation area.
A doe, just off the trail.
When the rain stopped on the weekends (usually late in the day), I was able to walk around my own stomping grounds as well.
Post-rain view across the Mill Pond
Duck family enjoying the Mill Pond
All the rain made the growth on the trail extra-lush.
And it brought out this little slug. I usually don’t see these on the trail.
First time noticing a Michigan Lily on the trail.
Below the dam. The sun did eventually come out during my weekend walks, but usually quite late in the evening.
On the concert front, I was treated to Mother Mother and Little Destroyer on June 25th, as a Mother’s Day present from Mizz J.
Little Destroyer. Yes, those are eyes on her bra top. Hey, my eyes are up….uh…never mind. I enjoyed this band.
3rd time seeing Mother Mother. Will try to see them every time they are in the area. So much talent.
One benefit of all the rain: I was indoors more than usual and was able to work on a painting (not finished as yet).
No title yet. Inspired by the number of months in a 90 year life span.I dotted all the months I have been alive (so far) with pearlescent white paint.
Another benefit of all this rain, I think: has anybody else noticed the Ontario strawberries are exceptional this year?
And also very photogenic!
Have a wonderful July and a wonderful Canada Day tomorrow (and a fabulous 4th of July to my US neighbours!).
The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge hosted by Su Leslie, of Zimmerbitch.
