Category Archives: stems, shoots & bulbs

Rhubarb ready for cooking

Posted on 28 May 2014 by Debra

This year, the rhubarb has flowered or bolted early and has an abundance of tender stalks for cooking now. Since rhubarb stalks dry out quickly once picked, here’s two tricks to storing the stalks in the refrigerator and preserving their moisture before … Continue reading →

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Fennel

Posted on 3 November 2011 by Debra

Delicious, aromatic and beautiful crop of  fennel this year.  Fennel hails from the Mediterranean area. Story has it that an American diplomat, stationed in Italy in 1824, sent fennel seeds to Thomas Jefferson and raved about its taste. Nevertheless, it’s … Continue reading →

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Garlic pickled

Posted on 31 October 2011 by Debra

This year I’ve a lot of garlic to enjoy. Some of it I will pickle and preserve. Here’s two recipes for pickled garlic which is a real delicacy. sweet pickled garlic from an 18th century Ottoman recipe from Turquoise: a chef’s … Continue reading →

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Garlic planting season

Posted on 23 October 2011 by Debra

October is the month for planting garlic which will be harvested next July. You can plant into November — and several gardeners I know do plant late — but late planting reduces the number of days the garlic has to … Continue reading →

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Indian summer

Posted on 4 October 2011 by Debra

Indian summer is always bitter-sweet. The days warm after a cold snap but only for a short spell: winter approaches, and the growing season nears its end. Perhaps, this special window of warm, sunny fall weather is called Indian summer … Continue reading →

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Sweet onions

Posted on 9 August 2011 by Debra

What would good food be without onions? Historians agree that cultivating onions was prevalent over 5,000 years ago but cannot determine where in the world they originated. There are hundreds of varieties of onions, and onions are usually grown by … Continue reading →

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Garlic

Posted on 25 July 2011 by Debra

Last two weeks, I harvested garlic and now it cures. This is garlic planted last October. I’d planted eight varieties so there’s porcelain white, pink and purple garlic hanging in bundles from every knob in my home. It smells great. … Continue reading →

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Scapes

Posted on 21 June 2011 by Debra

Scapes are the flower stalks of hardnecked garlic. Once the garlic bulb begins to form, the plant puts up a curlicue of a flower stalk. (Remember this is garlic that was planted last October and will be harvested next month.) … Continue reading →

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Winter harvest, part two

Posted on 22 February 2011 by Debra

The final taste of summer was the basil paste I took from the freezer. Once it defrosted, I was eating big spoonfulls of dark green sunshine. It’s the fresh basil I harvested last October and Turkish olive oil made into … Continue reading →

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Winter harvest

Posted on 9 February 2011 by Debra

I’m still eating foods I grew over the summer: garlic, kobacha (Japanese winter squash) and pesto (basil). And it all tastes great and makes me keen to start the new growing season. Here’s a winter recipe for what’s left of … Continue reading →

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