Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The healing power of gardening

If you haven't noticed, gardens are popping up in some unconventional places – from prison yards to retirement and veteran homes to programs for troubled youth.  Read more here.

Flowers


Thursday, February 23, 2012

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Cilantro

Preserving cilantro for future use in soups and stews is simple.
Freeze it in water in ice cube trays. Anne has done this many times and is happy.



Monday, February 20, 2012

Spiced Balti Cabbage

Spiced Balti Cabbage from "Indian, a collection of over 100 essential recipes" 

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 tbsp vegetable oil or peanut oil
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 lb 5 oz/600 g savoy cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
2/3 cup balti sauce (see below)
1/4 tsp garam masala
salt
chopped fresh cilantro to garnish


Balti sauce

2 tbsp ghee, vegetable oil, or peanut oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
14 oz/400 g canned chopped tomatoes
1 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cardomom
1 ay leaf
salt and pepper

Method

1 Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the cumin seeds and stir for about 80 seconds, until they start to brown.

2 immediately stir in the garlic and onion and saute, stirring frequently, for about 5-6 minutes, until golden.

3 add the cabbage to the pan and stir for 2 minutes, or until it starts to wilt.  Stir in the balti sauce and bring to a boil, stirring.  Reduce the heat a little and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.

4 Stir in the garam masala and add salt to taste.  Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve.


Friday, February 17, 2012

Picnic Table

The self sufficiency of the group is amazing.  This is teh making of a picnic table.











Thursday, February 16, 2012

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Green Houses

Built by Aprende NJHS students, these green houses help the gardeners start seedlings for Food Bank plots and more.





Saturday, February 11, 2012

Eat local in the Southwest

Changing Hands Bookstore recently hosted 2 foodies, authors Carolyn Niethammer and Marilyn Noble who prepared Southwestern foods and shared their newest cookbooks..




Nopalitos
.

 

Mesquite flour



Read more about them here and here.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Repeat visit from Aprende NJHS

What a treat it is to have Aprende NJHS students immerse themselves in garden activities.
They unloaded compost, built 2 green houses, planted seeds, sprayed weeds, and harvested.
Thank you!