Chickpea Bowl with Tahini-Horseradish Dressing

Yes, the pretty salad trend continues.  Bowls are a bit of work to put together because you have to keep all the components separate.  I do prefer adding everything to a single bowl and tossing, just to have less to clean later.  But, you can't deny that this style of presentation is very attractive.

I plugged "beets" into the store app for a price check, and a surprising number of non-beet items came up, like rutabaga.  Huh?  Also on the list was a can of "shoestring beets".  That was so going into the cart.  Saved me running them through the V-slicer and permanently staining it.  Cheaper than fresh beets, too.

Other than the can of beets, this salad turned into a pantry clean-out.  Last half cup of brown rice, rest of the bundle of spinach from last week, a jar each of asparagus and chickpeas, some almost-gone cilantro, the rest of the gorgonzola, and some of the never-ending horseradish in the dressing.  I did not realize how far that root would go.  The rice and spinach actually only made two bowls, so I cooked up some barley and chard for the other two days of toppings.  The bowl was big enough to open a jar of olives, but I didn't want to start a new round of leftovers.  I found what I made to be very filling and didn't mind skipping one traditional Mediterranean ingredient.

*1 C brown rice
*1 lb fresh spinach
1 Tb olive oil
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
*1 can asparagus spears, drained
1 can sliced or shoestring beets, drained
*1/2 C chopped cilantro
*1/2 C crumbled feta, gorgonzola, or goat cheese
*2 Tb tahini
*2 tsp white wine vinegar
*1-2 tsp prepared horseradish (to taste)
salt to taste
paprika (optional)
hot water as needed to thin

1.  Brown rice takes at least 30 minutes to cook, so start that while prepping everything else.  Cook according to package directions.

2.  Heat oil in a saucepan over medium.  Warm the garlic, then add the spinach and cook until wilted.  Set aside.

3.  For the dressing, whisk together the tahini, vinegar, horseradish, salt, and paprika, if using.  Taste, and adjust seasonings.  Add hot water, whisking after every tablespoon, until desired consistency.

4.  To assemble the bowls, first stir the spinach into the rice.  Either make one big serving bowl or four individual bowls.  Make a bed of the rice mixture.

5.  Start adding the other components in distinct sections.  Arrange them neatly so that the colors are disbursed.

6.  Drizzle the bowls with the dressing.  Any extra can be on the side, but I tried to make it about two tablespoons per serving, depending on how thin you made it.

Difficulty rating  :)

Cucumber and Melon Salad

Second salad in a week.  I'm really trying here.  I even got down Salad Freak and flipped through half of it before finding a version of this recipe.  I knew it was in there somewhere.  I'm making this recipe less fussy, aside from using the V-slicer on the produce.  Because, seriously, it's just sliced cucumber and cantaloupe with lime juice.  Any herbs or seasonings are just to make it more interesting, and can be altered to suit one's taste.

Once it was on the plate, I added "breakfast" as a label.  A scoop of yogurt and a pastry would turn this salad into brunch.  That's pretty much what I did with the other half of the melon.  You could even serve this salad as a diabetes-friendly dessert.

1 large cucumber or one package of Persians
1/2 of a cantaloupe 
*2 Tb lime juice
Handful of fresh or dried herbs such as mint, basil, or tarragon
Lemon or lime zest, optional
Sprinkle of sumac for a floral hint, or chili powder for bite
Salt to taste

1.  If using a regular cucumber, peel first and seed if desired.  Slice cucumber thinly.

2.  Cut melon in half and remove the seeds from one piece.  Reserve the other half for another use.  Cut off the end and remove the peel with a knife, leaving just the fruit.  Cut in quarters or smaller wedges, then slice each wedge thinly.  I used the thinnest setting of the V-slicer for the cucumber, then flipped over the plate to get slightly thicker melon slices.

3.  Plate the cucumber and melon slices however you like.  I tried different designs each night.  Drizzle with lime juice, then garnish with herbs, spices, and salt.  Add a bit of citrus zest if desired.  Serve chilled.

Serves 4-6, depending on produce size

Difficulty rating  π

Ful Medames

This is one of the most famous dishes out of Egypt.  It's the reason I was looking for fava beans.  Making it with limas here.  Cannellini and butter beans would also work.  Really, any bean is fine to use, but it's designed for one of the larger legumes.  It's also a very quick dish to make, perfect for those short on time to cook dinner.

The recipe I chose to follow is mild.  I didn't omit the chiles or any other spice.  If you do want heat, sink a couple of hot peppers into the mix.  The short cooking time really doesn't lend itself to absorbing the flavor, but leftovers will be spicy.  A sliced jalapeño or cayenne powder will do more for an immediate kick.

The original recipe classifies this as an appetizer, so I added that label to the list.  It's eaten at any time of day for any course except dessert.  I'm using it as a vegan main.  Garnishes can go from basic (olive oil, more chopped cilantro) to elaborate (tomatoes, fresh vegetables, chopped cooked meat, cheese).

For the average American diner, I'm calling this a four-serving recipe, about a generous half cup per person.  If you can handle more fiber, it's really 2-3.

1 15 oz can fava beans or any similar large bean; or 3/4 C dry
2 Tb olive oil, plus more for garnish
*2 tsp minced garlic
*2 green onions, sliced
1/2 C water, or as desired
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp dried parsley
2 Tb fresh chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish if desired
*Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 Tb)

1.  If making the beans from dry, soak for 8 hours, then drain.  With fresh water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook 1-1/2 to 2 hours, until very tender.  You need to be able to mash them a bit.  Drain.  For canned, drain and rinse.

2.  In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium.  Cook the green onions and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the cumin, paprika, salt, and dried parsley and cook another minute, until fragrant.

3.  Add the water and beans.  Bring to a low boil and cook 5 minutes to allow flavors to meld.  Mash some of the beans so they thicken the sauce.  Stir in the 2 Tb fresh cilantro and lemon juice and allow everything to come to temperature.  Serve hot, with garnishes as desired.

Difficulty rating  π

Tomato and Spinach Salad with Gorgonzola

I eat too fast.  When I was very little, I picked at my food and often got in trouble for not finishing it.  That's what happens when your parents were children during the Depression and WWII.  I'm very lucky I didn't end up with an eating disorder.  As an adult, I started scarfing down food during too-short meal breaks at work, and it turned into eating quickly at every meal.  That's why I only put as much food on my plate as I intend to eat.  If it's in front of me, I will finish it.

This salad was an attempt to slow things down by serving multiple courses at dinner, separated by at least fifteen minutes.  With warmer weather, I'm trying to make my meals pretty instead of a chore.  I'm using the fancy dishes on more days than just Friday when I'm not microwaving leftovers.  This is the time of year that fresh foods are at their peak, and I want to take advantage of that.

The biggest drama in this salad is washing the spinach.  Well, not burning the walnuts while you're washing the spinach.  I'm not even whisking up a proper dressing.  Drizzle of oil and vinegar, shake of salt and pepper, done.  The goal is to enhance the natural flavors, rather than drown them out.

1 lb fresh spinach
1 lb Roma tomatoes (2-4, depending on size)
*1/2 C walnuts
4 oz gorgonzola or other bleu cheese
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Wash the spinach well, shake dry, and cut into strips.  The last part isn't necessary if you're using small baby spinach.  I happened to buy leaves large enough to count as landscaping.  I also liked the way they piled up on the plate, in contrast to the tomato slices.

2.  Thinly slice the tomatoes crosswise.  I got out the V-slicer, and they were beautiful.  Leaving the slicer out for future salads.

3.  While that's going on, lightly toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat.  I happened to have chopped walnuts, so that's what I used, but halves would be more attractive.  Stir or shake often.  It takes about 2 minutes.  Pull them as soon as you see color or smell them as roasted.

4.  To assemble the salad, pile the greens loosely on each plate.  Arrange the tomato slices in a pretty pattern.  Sprinkle with walnuts and crumbled gorgonzola.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and even more lightly with the balsamic vinegar.  Dust with freshly cracked pepper and large-grain or flaky salt.

Difficulty rating  π

Slow-Cooker Stuffing Casserole

So, more leftovers plus half a box of stuffing mix.  This time, I had a recipe on the box to follow.  I cut back on the butter drastically, which meant I had to triple the amount of broth.  Not sure how that works, but it was super dry and sticking to the crock when I stirred it after the first hour.

If I'd had green beans in the freezer, this would have ended up an entire Thanksgiving dinner in a casserole.  I cooked up some broccoli and their greens as a side instead.  It was wonderful comfort food.  I'll go back on my diet next week.

*4 C dried, seasoned stuffing mix
*1/2 C diced onion (I pulled a green onion, but yellow is fine)
*1/2 C diced celery
2 Tb butter or margarine, melted
*1 12 oz can chicken stock, unsalted if you have it
1 egg, beaten
*1 lb cooked, shredded turkey
*1 15 oz can sweet potatoes, drained (or 1-1/2 C leftover sweet potato casserole)
*1/4 C dried cranberries, optional 
1/4 C chopped walnuts, optional

1.  Spray or line crock.  Sprinkle in diced onion and celery

2.  Whisk together stock, butter, and egg.  I did it in a separate bowl, but you can also combine them in the crock.

3.  Pour in dried stuffing mix.  Stir to coat.  Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.

4.  Break up stuffing, and add more broth or water if very dry.  Stir in turkey, potatoes, cranberries, and walnuts.  Cover and continue to cook another 30 minutes, until everything is warmed through.  Serve hot.

Serves 4-6, depending on appetite

Difficulty rating  :)

Mezze-Filled Calzones (A Tale of Leftovers)

This was going to be pizzas.  Then I realized I had extra sauce and decided to do them this way, with the red sauce as a dipper and the pesto inside.

Some people draw a blank about how to repurpose leftovers.  I hate wasting food, and only do it if it's obviously spoiled or I suspect it of having made me ill.  That's very rare.  In this house, leftovers get frozen in lunch portions or turned into something new.  That's often stir fry, soup, burritos, or pizza.  Sometimes quiche, but I'm still traumatized by the price of eggs.  I'm learning how to make casseroles. 

When the amounts in the new mezze recipes I tried ended up being far too much for the four servings I planned, they turned into the "pizza" toppings on my meal plan.  Folding them into calzones happened when it looked like there was too much for just a pizza topping, plus wanting to use the dipping sauce.  I didn't use up quite everything, so it went back into the freezer to throw into some Sloppy Joes a week later, which kind of turned into Sloppy Moussaka because of the eggplant and mozzarella.

I got a little fancy with the crust, kind of turning it into an onion bagel to use up a green onion.  Most onion bagel dough has poppy seeds in it so the bakers can tell it apart from plain dough, since finely diced yellow onions are invisible in dough.  I considered putting parmesan in it too, but there's already two kinds of cheese on the inside.

Part of keeping a frugal pantry that saves you money and doesn't waste food is finding ways to use what you already have.  The calzones were really good and exactly what I wanted at the time.  Yes, I made the dough from scratch and the whole thing took close to three hours, but I did not go grocery shopping at all to make this meal.  In fact, the only thing I ended up needing that entire week was fruit to go in my yogurt.  Look at what you have before deciding what to make all week, and you'd be surprised to see how much you can save.

Cheesecake Experiment

I haven't actually made a cheesecake in some time.  I overloaded on store-bought snacks and had to work through them.  Then the price of eggs got too stupid to "waste" them on dessert.  Then, even though this year's A1C wasn't bad for all the sugar I've been having, I really did want to cut back.

One day, as my afternoon tea was getting way too sweet from the stevia leaves I forgot to fish out, I got an idea for a sugar- and egg-free cheesecake.  I know, what's the point in that?  I also had a brick of cream cheese in the fridge that wasn't getting any younger, so out came the 6" springform.

The first step was to make a very sweet stevia water.  The plan was to use that as the water for the egg replacer and the sugar.  Now, sugar in a baking recipe isn't just for sweetness.  It's also for texture and structure.  Cheesecake is more forgiving than a gluten treat and can handle being messed with.

I put two packets of granulated stevia in the almond flour crust.  Following this recipe, minus the spices, I put together the cheese batter.  I whipped in the dry egg replacer with the other ingredients, then added the sweetened water until the desired consistency was reached.  It ended up being more like 1/2 cup instead of 1/4, and was still a thicker batter than usual.

So, did it work?  Drumroll...yes and no.  It did bake into a cheesecake.  I forgot it was going to be very white without egg yolks.  The wax paper under it got very stuck and I had to cut off the outer edges.  It was more dense than average, and not nearly sweet enough.  I had it with canned cherries (which I would have used even if it was perfect) and whipped cream to make it less bland.  It was edible, so that's good, and counted as dessert for the week.  But I'm not going to make it again.  Sugar and eggs are necessary for how I like my cheesecakes.

Whipped Feta Dip

The stuffed onions were part of the protein for my mezze dinner, but I wanted another half-protein.  I could have done hummus or tzatziki, and even bought the cucumber.  Then I found this by accident while researching mezze ideas and decided to add it to my dip repertoire.

The recipe I'm following is a blank canvas.  The simple dip tastes great on its own, but you can jazz it up to fit your menu.  Use chili flakes for spice.  Dill to put on top of fish.  The photo is sumac and rosemary.  Another serving had horseradish stirred into it.  It's all about making it your own.

8 oz feta
*3/4 C Greek yogurt
2 Tb olive oil
*2 Tb lemon juice
*1 clove garlic
herb and spice garnishes of choice

1.  Peel the garlic and put everything in the food processor.  Pulse at first, then run to desired consistency.  I went for still a little chunky.  It was kind of like small-curd cottage cheese, but less runny.

2.  If desired, stir in any herbs or spices.  Store refrigerated until ready to use.

Makes 2 cups

Difficulty rating  π

Marinated Eggplant

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product.  Here's my whole mezze meal.  The eggplant is to the left of the cucumbers.

They do sell this canned in Mediterranean sections of the market, or with the pickles and condiments in better markets.  I wanted to learn how to do it in case imported convenience versions are unavailable this summer.

My eggplant bush died.  I suspect a plant disease.  I only got a couple of eggplants off it anyway.  I need to think of something to put in the pot.  That's a big piece of garden real estate not to have something in it.  Maybe carrots.  Where I was going with this is that eggplants have gotten expensive.  I'll have to decide if it costs more to buy them or try not to kill a starter plant.

You're going to use a lot of olive oil on this one.  Eggplants soak it up.  I'm going to post a half recipe of what I made.  It was so much, I put some in the calzones I saved the onions for.

1 eggplant

1/4 C olive oil, plus a whole lot more as needed

*3 Tb lemon juice

*2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1.  Slice the eggplant into thin slices, less than half an inch thick.  Brush both sides with olive oil while you heat up a foil-lined grill or large skillet over medium-high heat.  This is really a grilling recipe, but you can absolutely do it on the stove.

2.  Arrange slices on cooking surface.  Cook until tender, turning as needed.  This does take a while, like 20+ minutes if you're doing it in batches.

3.  While the slices are cooking, whisk together the other 1/4 C oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.

4.  Toss cooked slices in the dressing.  Allow to chill at least 6 hours before serving.  Store refrigerated in a non-reactive container, preferably glass.  Plastic picks up flavors.  Serve as a condiment, sandwich topping, or tapas.

Difficulty rating  :)

Khubz Arabi (Arabic Pocket Bread)

Once I had decided to go all-out on a tapas meal, making my own flatbreads seemed like a logical extension.  This recipe out of Mideast & Mediterranean is the yeast version of pitas.  I was already making bread that week, and turned it into a baking day.  Time to restock flour.

I did make some minor alterations to the recipe.  First, I cut it in half and still got 12 flatbreads.  I also added a mere teaspoon of sugar to the dough, to help out the yeast and make things go faster.  It isn't enough for flavor or to make the breads brown.  And the problem with using a recipe from 1993 is that cooking has evolved a bit, so I subbed olive oil instead of canola.  The method of adding ingredients is more how I prefer to do it, rather than how it was written.

Being a modern version of an ancient recipe, I decided to do this one by hand.  Definitely reminded me why I make breads in the stand mixer.  Five extra minutes of kneading later, I got the dough I wanted.

1-1/4 C 100º water
1 tsp sugar
1 pkg or 2-1/4 tsp yeast
3+ C flour
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tb olive oil

1.  Add water to a medium bowl.  Sprinkle with the sugar and yeast and stir to combine.  Allow to sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2.  Add 1 C flour and stir into a batter.  Add another cup of flour and the salt to make a very soft dough.  Stir in the third cup of flour and the oil and knead into a shaggy dough.

3.  Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed.  Dough should not be dry, but it shouldn't be excessively sticky.  Grease the bowl you mixed in with a few drops of oil.  Form the dough into a ball, turn over in the oil, and cover lightly.  Place in a warm area until doubled, about 1 hour.

4.  Punch down dough and divide into 12 pieces.  By weight, mine came out to a little over 2 ounces per flatbread.  Round into little balls, cover, and allow to rest 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375º and grease or line three baking sheets.  (Or 2 and reuse one)

5.  Using a dusting of flour on the board and the top of the dough, flatten each ball and roll out into a 6" round.  It's going to be very thin, and you're going to wonder how that possibly makes a hollow pocket bread.  Place four on each baking sheet.

6.  Bake 10-12 minutes, until puffed up.  What I didn't understand is that they are pretty much done at that point, and you have to pull them out or they'll stay that way like a puffed cracker.  They do not have to brown.  I was able to salvage them by spritzing with water on both sides and microwaving for ten seconds.   Once cool enough to touch, place in a plastic bag to finish cooling so they don't dry out.  If not serving immediately, refrigerate because of the humidity in the bag.  To fill, cut in half and open the pocket.

Makes 12 pocket breads

Difficulty rating  :)

Quinoa-Stuffed Onions (Sogan Dolmasi)

I really shouldn't have planned an elaborate mezze meal on a closing day, so I made sure all the recipes could be morning prep or cooked the day before.  That turned this into a pretty awesome, cold Saturday-night dinner that I ended up dressing up for and eating out on the patio on china, which I have never done.  I really hate eating outdoors, but this made it feel like I was on vacation after a long day on my feet.  Didn't like the sun in my eyes, though.  If I do it again, it will be for breakfast or lunch.

These stuffed onions are my own version of a Turkish recipe.  I used quinoa instead of half of the rice to give a protein boost.  Basically, the part that would be ground meat if it was a meat-stuffed tapa.  I never did find pomegranate molasses, even at Sorrento, and didn't feel like a trip to the Middle Eastern market or Western Kosher, so I used a combination of date syrup and balsamic vinegar to mimic the flavor profile.

I expected this to be a lot harder than it is.  While the onions were boiling and then cooling, I made the filling.  Stuffing them was so much easier than rolling up cabbage.  The onion layers curl themselves around it into a shell-pasta shape with very little effort.  Now that I mention pasta shells, I bet you could use the onion wraps as a keto/GF way to make them.

Yes, there are a lot of ingredients in this one.  They're worth it.

For the onions

3 large onions (yellow or sweet)
1/2 C dry rice
*1/2 C dry quinoa
*1 clove garlic, minced
*1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped, or 2 T dried
*1/2 tsp dried mint
*2 Tb currants, optional
3/4 tsp Aleppo pepper or dried chili flakes, optional
1/2 tsp each allspice, oregano, and kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
*1 Tb tomato paste
*1 Tb pomegranate syrup, or 2 tsp date syrup and 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 
2 Tb olive oil

For the sauce

1 C tomato sauce
1 C hot water
1 Tb pomegranate syrup, or 2 tsp date syrup and 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 
1/2 Tb olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Cut off the root and stem ends of the onions and peel.  Carefully cut once to the center of each onion, pole to pole.

2.  Boil the onions for 10-15 minutes, until they look like they're opening up.  Drain and allow to cool until you can handle them.  Gently peel apart all the concentric layers.  The cores can be used for other purposes, such as broths.  I went ahead and baked mine with the stuffed ones to use the following week on calzones.

3.  While the onions are cooking and cooling, make the filling and sauce.  The sauce is easy.  Just stir together all ingredients and set aside for the solids to dissolve.  For the filling, rinse the rice and quinoa until no longer "soapy", usually 3 good rinses.  In a bowl, combine them with the remaining filling ingredients.  I skipped the spicy part, but added the currants.  Some versions have you par-boil the rice.  I was using brown rice instead of jasmine, and probably could have given them ten minutes on the stove first.  I just baked the dish a little longer.

4.  Preheat the oven to 375º.  Spoon a generous tablespoon of filling into each onion layer.  Loosely close the dolma, allowing the natural curve of the onion layer to wrap itself.  Place, seam-side down, in an 8x8 baking dish.  Repeat until all the filling is used, anywhere from 10-14 pieces depending on how you spoon your portions.

5.  Pour the sauce over the onions.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake 45 minutes.  Remove the foil and baste the onions.  Cook uncovered until the sauce reduces, another 30 minutes or so.  Serve warm or hot, drizzled with the sauce.

Serves 4 as a main, 8 as a side or appetizer

Difficulty rating  :)

Chicken & Greens Soup with Pasta

This isn't exactly chicken noodle soup.  This was me using up the rest of the chicken broth and shredded bits from Seder to get them out of the freezer.  Then there was more crisper and garden clearing for the vegetables.  I threw in some macaroni at the end to be the starch, after deciding I had more of that than Israeli couscous.  Soup was invented to use items on hand, so I feel fully justified with these decisions.

Yes, I do know it's the middle of May and I'm having soup for dinner.  May and June often have some of the coolest daytime temperatures in SoCal.  It was mid-60s and drizzly the day I made this.  And then hot by the weekend, followed by more cold gloom.  For anyone who thinks it's always sunny and 72º in this part of the world.

I did not realize the red chard was going to bolt so early.  I didn't expect it to last a whole year like the kale, but was hoping for more than three good months.  It was making up for not having any beets, which always make up for my terrible luck growing spinach.  I'm also losing last year's celery, which had always under-performed anyway.  Oh well, more room for something else.

*1 quart unsalted chicken stock
*1 C diced onion
1 Tb olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
*2 bunches mixed greens such as kale, chard, or spinach
*1 Tb soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce 
*1/4 tsp dried thyme
*1/2 lb cooked chicken: shredded, chopped up leftovers, or canned
*1 C dry macaroni or other small pasta, or egg noodles
salt and pepper to taste

1.  In a soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.  While that's going on, wash and chop the greens, de-stemming if necessary.  I chopped up the chard stems to add, but the kale's went in the broth bag.

2.  Add the carrots, broth, soy sauce, thyme, and any tough greens to the pot.  My broth was still a little frozen, so I'm not sure how long this step would take with room-temperature out of a can.

3.  While the soup is simmering, prepare pasta according to package directions.  Go for slightly under-done, as it will continue to cook when added to the pot.  As an alternative, you can add the pasta directly to the soup for a starchy consistency, but also add an extra cup of broth.

4.  Once the carrots and greens have softened, stir in any tender greens and the cooked chicken.  Taste and add salt or pepper as necessary.

5.  Drain the pasta and add to the soup.  Stir to combine and serve immediately.

Difficulty rating  :)

Spring Harvest

I got sidelined by a knee injury and ignored the garden for a week.  It's fine now as long as I don't forget and kneel on it.  I still have to wear a support for some activities, but it isn't quite bad enough to see an orthopedist.  Or I'm in denial.

Meanwhile, the artichokes hit their stride.  All but one put up its central bud.  I even made a YouTube Short on a whim, what I jokingly call my post for the year.  After eating more than usual fresh, the rest are getting steamed to freeze the hearts.

Two of the broccoli never really caught on.  I got a few little florets off them and some leaves, but it's time for them to come out and make room for tomatoes.  I didn't expect to get 13 starts out of the 12 cells I planted.  Need to find somewhere to put them all.  Leaning toward a row of pots against the wall behind the Pond, as the native soil is all sand and clay.  Also need to hit up Home Depot for trellis fencing to hold them once they start to climb.

Some of the chard is already starting to bolt, just when I was getting into the flavor.  This variety kind of tastes like less-sweet beet greens.  Time to harvest more often and freeze it so I can have a break from the kale this summer.

Parsley needs to be harvested and dried every couple of weeks if I'm not using it enough.  The stems are going in the broth bag.  Growing your own herbs is an under-appreciated bit of gardening that can save you a lot of money.  The seed packet cost about $2, which I make back regularly.  Fresh parsley is stupid expensive, while dried flakes are cheap.  I'm terrible at growing fennel bulbs, but I can get years of anise seed from a single plant.  Most herbs can be grown on a window sill.  Even if you don't have room for a garden, anyone can put a few pots of herbs in the kitchen.

My little turnips look like purple radishes.  They're adorable, and doing better since I thinned them.  I'm going to succession plant in the eggplant pot.  Eggy isn't doing well.  I cut back the dead branches to see if it rebounds, but I'm keeping my hopes realistic.  Bummer is that I can't put a tomato in there until next year if it's suffering from a nightshade disease.

I need to plant basil.  Down to my last jar of dried from two years ago.  Hope it isn't too late for it to catch on.  We still have over a month of moderate temperatures before summer kicks in, and I can put it where it only gets morning sun.

Onions are doing well.  I've been succession planting in the pot at about the rate I'm using them.  I still have onion pesto; lesson learned.  Garlic should be ready in a couple of months.  I had to put the cilantro in a tomato cage while it makes seeds, so I can have freshly ground coriander.

The new additions to my gardening routine are things I should have been doing all along.  First, I bought fish fertilizer.  It's a concentrate, and stinks up everything, but I definitely don't feed my plants enough.  Trying to remember to do it at least once a month.  Then, I picked up a bag of redwood mulch.  My idea of mulching so far has been chop'n'drop, where you just let whatever you trimmed off the plant compost in place.  I'm hoping for weed and moisture control in the Pond.  For the front patch, I'm adding the hope that it composts into the dense soil to condition it.  I've been fighting that area's tendency to compact for over 10 years.

Once I lose a few chard and the rest of the broccoli, I'll have a better idea where I can put more tomatoes.  The poor tray of starts really wants a home.  I might have to put some of them in the landscaping out front before they die, even if others make it into pots.