How Does Your Garden Grow?

Spring is creeping in here in Tennessee. We had a very cold winter with higher than average snowfall and it seemed like it was dragging on and on, when suddenly the cold snap broke and my daffodils are surfacing! Happy sigh!

This year, my husband and I are tackling something I've wanted to do for years and can finally do, thanks to the wonders of being homeowners and having a decent yard: we're going to start growing FOOD in significant quantities. The thing that really mobilized us to undertake food growing was the recent decision by the government to deregulate GMO alfalfa, which is likely to have far reaching repercussions on our food supply, including our organic food.

Apparently, we're on the same wavelength as a lot of other folks: several of my friends are starting veggie gardens, my mom signed up for a plot in a nearby community garden and Robb Wolf recently had a great post on Liberty Gardens. I've been really inspired by my pal Anthony Anderson, the Raw Model, who has dedicated his life to spreading the message of empowerment through food growing!

So, we've got the beds plotted out and we've got the seeds ordered and now we just have to figure out how to do all of it, since we're total novices! All I can say is THANK GOODNESS for the internet! I have a number of online friends who have experience growing food and I've found so many great websites and books, not the least of which is the very handy site GrowVeg.com

We checked out some books from the library, including Lasagna Gardening, since I want to build healthy, low maintenance soil. I'm going to be reading up on soil enriching methods as well as permaculture, food forests, companion planting and seed saving.

We're going to be growing a variety of foods, all from heirloom seeds purchased mostly from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, including several tomato varieties, lettuces (including Miner's Lettuce), root veggies such as the fun, yellow Jaune Obtuse du Doubs Carrot, parsnips and white salsify, belgian endive, fennel, celeriac (which I love to make soup from), swiss chard, kale, a few cucumber varieties, vegetable marrow (instead of zucchini), leeks, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.
Later we will plant winter squashes (I LOVE hubbard and butternut squash!) and fall/winter greens.
We plan on planting flowers like candytuft and marigolds, as well as fragrant herbs to help with pest control, as well as beautify our beds. My yard is a rabbit haven, so we want to protect our lettuces with "cages". I wish I could train my cat to go on rabbit patrol, heheh.

We also have several blueberry bushes that should be ready to start bearing fruit this year and a solitary plum tree, which I'm pretty sure needs a friend. We want to add some more stone fruit trees like apricots or peaches, as well as bushes with edible fruit, such as elderberries. In the wooded portion of the yard, we will plant raspberries and stinging nettles.

We have one rain barrel already and we're going to set up more so that we have a natural watering system. My hubby has his eye on one of those round compost tumblers with the hand crank. Down the road, we intend on installing a greenhouse to extend our growing seasons. I think I see chickens in our future, too... that's the beauty of having a ginormous yard. Why not take advantage of it?



I can hardly believe it's really happening. I feel intimidated but so excited! I'm excited about having fresh food that I have total quality control over and I'm excited at all the money I'll save, not having to spend 3-4 bucks on a bunch of chard or several bucks on an expensive (and heavy) heirloom tomato from the farmer's market or Whole Foods.

Wish me luck (and pass along any great garden tips you have;)
-Erin (the soon-to-be "Urbane Homesteader";)

Primal Pasta?

When people ask me about my diet and they hear that I don't eat grains, that's when the slightly horrified (or not so slightly horrified) looks register on their faces and they exclaim "I could never give up grains/bread/pasta etc."

Well, I was just as into my grains as anyone, so it's doable, people! Further into this article, I am going to show you that it's not a spartan lifestyle of white-knuckled deprivation. I love food too much to live like that (but I also love my good health enough to make some adjustments!)

Why are grains worth cutting from your diet? As humans, we haven't been eating them for all that long and the mineral-depleting antinutrients, as well as starches and gluten they contain can function as troublemakers in our bodies.

Some things are obvious: Celiac disease, Crohn's Disease, IBS, etc. Some are less obvious: GERD, skin issues like eczema and acne, inflammation in joints and other parts of the body (I discovered that my excruciating monthly symptoms of cramps and IBS just up and disappeared
after cutting the grains from my diet) and even mental/emotional symptoms like anxiety can all be rooted in grain and gluten consumption. Here's a little more info on why grains aren't so awesome for us and here's a great article on how to quit them.

Now, on to the fun stuff: Pasta!

Are Primal and pasta mutually exclusive? No! Am I going to give you recipes for spiralized zucchini and tell you to pretend it's pasta (Rose likes zucchini "pasta" but I'm not a fan)? HECK NO! I'm going to give you a decent spaghetti alternative from a land far, far away: Japan! Meet the wonderful shirataki noodle!

Shiratake noodles are made from a tuber called konjac root (also called "yam" or "elephant yam"- not to be confused with regular yams. There is also a different version made with soy called "tofu shiratke". I don't use that form.) and they have nearly zero calories and carbohydrates. They also have no taste, so they can be used in a wide variety of dishes. I simply rinse off the sea-weedy smelling water they come packed in and boil them for a bit in generously salted water or broth to infuse them with a bit of flavor.

Shiratake can be found in the Japanese section of any Asian grocer and will be refrigerated. Some brands have a softer texture than others, which I prefer (shiratake can be a bit "springy" feeling when you eat it), so experiment with different brands to find your favorite.

While I don't have specific recipes to give you, I'll tell you about the two dishes pictured. The top pic is bison marinara- I used a low sugar organic marinara sauce (since I'm too lazy to make my own!) and added lots of ground bison and grated parmigiano reggiano (one of the world's great cheeses and not to be confused with parmesan!) Since the noodles themselves have almost no calories, it's important that the toppings are more calorically dense and nutrient rich.

The dish pictured below is pasta with an asiago cream sauce, sauteed morels and ramps, asparagus and baked salmon. It would also be wonderful with other veggies (summer squash, broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, etc).

Shiratake is fantastic in Asian noodle soups (it was made for this purpose and can be found in sukiyaki in Japanese restaurants.) and in Asian noodle dishes. I also pulse it in a food processor to "rice" it and serve with Thai coconut milk-based curries. It's great like that and my husband was pretty impressed with it!

I hope this opens up a whole new world of pasta possibilities for everyone. Mangia, mangia!!

-Erin

Woodland goodies

I thought I'd drop in to say "hello" for our little blog's inauguration. And I might as well mention this evening's food finds:

I had a little fun at Whole Foods tonight and splurged on some woodland goodies, namely morel mushrooms and ramps. What are ramps, you ask? They are tiny little wild leeks. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but I'll figure something out. I'm a sucker for anything found growing in the woods. Fiddleheads, mushrooms, onions, berries, greens (I'd probably eat lichen if it were edible/palatable!)

The morels, however, I have big plans for. Plans that involve butter, a cream sauce and asparagus. And possibly ramps...

I'll keep you posted.

-Erin