Photo Credit: C

Last night’s dinner got a rousing, “Make this again!” from everyone around the table.

Oh. My.

PW’s Ginger Steak Salad is absolutely fantastic. The garlic and ginger will be a boost to your immune system.

But what made it even better, were the greens picked from the garden that evening by Z.

(What was not so delicious was the wasp that came in with them. Luckily nobody got stung. I have no idea how we missed him.)  

Mike planted the tiny little romaine plants back in December and we are loving the fruits of his labor. This is the first year we have planted that early, thinking we’d just give it shot and see if the leafy greens would make it through the cold nights of winter. To our culinary delight, they have. In January, he planted swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower and butter lettuce.

So far so good.

Now my friends, go check out the Ginger Steak Salad.

 Even if you're not one inclined to eat meat such as I, let me assure you this is a one-size-fits all kind of meal!

As the chicken pox are working their itchy way through the kids, Mike is keeping up on our spring planting goals. He started seeds and put them under the grow light in the mudroom.

Here’s what he planted on March 2nd:

 Herbs

Rosemary                     Parsley

Basil                             Chamomile

Cilantro                        Long-standing cilantro

Dill                               Oregano

Garlic Chives                Chives

                  Leafy Veggies            

Red Velvet Lettuce       Spinach

Butter Crunch Lettuce

Jericho Romaine           Crisp Mint Romaine

Peppers

Early Jalapeno

Anaheim College 64

Gourmet Sweet Pepper

No Star Sweet Pepper

Golden Star Sweet Pepper

Tomatoes

Brandy Wine

Old German

Delicious

 We buy our seeds from several different sources, both on the internet and from stores in town. Heirloom when we can, but otherwise it's what sounds good or what has worked in the past.

I keep track of what is planted on a month-at-a-glance calendar.

Down the side of the month, in the notes section, I write what was planted and the date.

 (I write it here because often there isn’t enough room in the dated square to fit everything we planted.)

  I then check the back of the seed packet for approximate length of time until harvest, count the days to the earliest probable harvest and write the name of the plant in the square and in parenthesis the longest probable harvest date.

My calender also has a week-at-a-glace section between the months. It is there that I again note the actual harvest date,  method used in preserving: canning or freezing notes and recipes and source notes.

This all happens is so we can avoid missing, let's say, corn harvest. Coming home to find the corn mealy and unedible kind of makes the vacation seem not so great no matter how good the fishing was.

*Next up: winter planting