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Each day when I go out to our little garden square I am shocked by the changes. The green limbs, vines and leaves seem to double in size every night and it reminds me of the Incredible Hulk. The Hulk reminds me of the actor Bill Bixby, and that reminds me of The Courtship of [...]
… and neither was our garden.
The organic garden we just installed is not exactly as I had dreamed it would be when we bought our house, but its a work in progress. It has given me plenty of ideas of what would make gardening easier and ultimately more fun. I’ll have to wait a little while before I start adding major landscape elements though. For now I am happy to have just a little plot of land to dig in and put down roots.
Starting to take shape
Here’s a little recipe to get you dreaming about fresh Roma tomatoes.
Fresh Tomato Sauce
Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat (do not use a non-stick pan). Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent about 5-7 minutes. Deglaze with red wine and add the tomatoes crushing them with the back of a wooden spoon or with your hands as you add them. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the basil leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for a bout 20 – 25 minutes. Adjust the seasoning if needed.
Makes 3 cups. You can freeze this sauce for up to 6 months.
Posted in catherine's favorite things, organic garden, recipes
Tagged Austin, Catherine Kenyon, cook with a view, garden, Heirloom, organic, Organic Garden, Roma, Rome, Tomato, Tomato Sauce
My favorite season has arrived in Austin and the birds, the buds and and the bees are in full swing, and I LOVE it. I haven’t been in the kitchen for over two weeks – well that’s an exaggeration. I have been in the kitchen, just not cooking. With a recent lifestyle change I’m readjusting daily rituals, but things are starting to find their place so I hope to be back to cooking and back to the blog with more regularity.
Patrick and I bought our home in March of 2007, and from the first time I saw the front yard – in all its southernly sunshine glory – I began dreaming of putting in an organic vegetable garden. Of course that meant we had to rip up the Asiatic Jasmine in the front of the yard. The Jasmine is like a 10″ shag carpet, and well that’s what has put us off this job for 4 years. Until now! With the temperatures this week dipping back into the 70s (it’s been in the low 90s already) the iron is hot for striking.
Today we started by pulling up about a 3 foot swath of the menacing ground cover, but you can see how far we have to go. If we can just make it to this side of the Crape Myrtle I would be more than thrilled. Once we pull up the mat of Jasmine, then we’ll till the soil to loosen the remaining vines and their roots. But I’m getting ahead of myself, and this process will be documented on the blog so you can follow along with us. Feel free to send me tips, or the names of your favorite seeds as I look forward to sharing this experience with you. And the most important thing about this garden is that is will supply Patrick and I with luscious organic food to transform into recipes to share with you. So in the end the garden is a benefit for you!
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My friend Paige has a lovely organic garden, and I am blessed to receive some of its bounty. A couple nights ago Austin received it’s first frost warning of the year, and as a dutiful gardener Paige went outside to collect any remaining vegetables. What she found were loads of these gorgeous eggplants, and I [...]