The Strength in a Seed

We have had several pounding rains since I planted my lettuce and arugula seeds outside. Because these seeds were so tiny, I was afraid that the rain would wash them away. While looking for any damage from last night's storm, I found that my arugula has sprouted! Amazing.

I also noticed a couple of pea plants starting to sprout and an onion beginning to come up through the dirt. My tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings are thriving indoors. And the raspberry canes I planted a few weeks ago are growing, too. Maybe it's a bit nerdy of me, but I get excited watching the life and strength in these plants.

The Morels are Back!

After four trips out to the woods, scouring the ground for a sign, I found the first morel mushrooms of the season. Ten little guys, about an inch high, greeted me on my walk to the mushroom patch last night. Not exactly enough for a meal, but they bring the hope of more morels in the next few weeks. It's mushroom season!! :)

April...Finally!!

It was with a great sigh of relief that I turned the calendar to the month of April. It has been a long, long winter. April promises warmer temperatures and the beginning of the gardening season.

Last week, I planted my tomato and pepper seeds indoors. My tomato seeds are already sprouting! I chose heirloom varieties this year. Pink Brandywine, Gold Medal and Beefsteak tomatoes. Anaheim peppers. California Wonder green bell peppers and an Italian red bell pepper variety called Quadrato d'Asti Rosso. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds also sent me some free eggplant seeds - an unusual variety from Thailand. I'm curious to see how they do!

I'm building a second square foot garden box, so I can grow twice as many veggies this year. In a few weeks, I can sow my cool weather veggies - lettuce, arugula, onions and sugar snap peas. I'm also growing carrots and cucumbers this season. Gurney's sent me a seed and plant catalog with a $25 coupon. I used it to buy 4 Heritage Red Raspberry plants. They just arrived and I need to get them in the ground. If things go well, I'll have quite a selection of homegrown foods. Wish me luck!!

Seeds

Only 13 days until the first day of spring! This morning, the air is chilly, but the sun is shining bright. I uncovered my little square foot garden to see how it fared during the winter. It will need some soil added, but otherwise, it is in great shape. I ordered some seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. It may still be a while before I can plant them, but I'm already planning that garden!

Before science intervened in food production, there was a time when people could collect seeds from the foods that they ate. It was common to harvest seeds and save them for the next planting season. Hybrids and GMOs have made that very difficult today. As well as irradiation and vacuum-drying of shipped foods. I just read an interesting online article about an experiment to plant seeds from the kitchen. The author had some successes and some failures, and provides some facts about the foods we buy. The link to the article is below:
NY Times article - Seeds Straight From Your Fridge

Heirloom Seed Catalog

I've found a fantastic source for heirloom seeds. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is dedicated to preserving heirloom vegetables and flowers. They have a beautiful catalog, with full-color photos and descriptions of their many varieties of vegetables and flowers.

To view their website, use this link:
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

They are out of the print version of their catalog, but you can download the catalog for free. It requires Adobe Acrobat to view:
Baker Creek Catalog - .pdf version

The Chocoholic's Cake

The flourless chocolate souffle' cake is the chocolate lover's dream. Unlike the "death by chocolate" cake, this dessert isn't sickenly sweet, and the emphasis is on intense dark chocolate flavor. I've seen several different versions of the flourless chocolate cake, but the recipe that follows is my favorite. It was given to me by my niece, Ashley, who is a pastry chef, and shares my love of dark, dark chocolate. This is a perfect dessert for Valentine's Day!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, sliced
2 tbsp. vanilla
6 large eggs, divided
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Glaze:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. honey

1. In a double boiler, melt 8 oz. chocolate. Add butter and stir until completely melted. Cool. Stir in vanilla.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar.

3. In a third bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 2 tbsp. of sugar, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

4. Add chocolate mixture to egg yolk mixture. Stir well.

5. Fold in egg whites to chocolate and egg yolk mixture, 1/3 at a time. Be careful not to overmix or deflate egg whites.

6. Pour batter into a greased springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Cool in pan for about 30 minutes before removing it.

7. To make the glaze, heat the heavy cream in a large saucepan until bubbles form around the edges. Add honey. Remove from heat. Add 4 oz. of chocolate and stir until completely melted. Pour over cooled cake.

Interesting article

This year's cold snap has definitely left me with the winter blues. My only ray of hope came in the form of a seed catalog! I love looking through it, dreaming of warm summer days in my garden.

The following link is to an op/ed article from The New York Times. The author has some interesting proposals. I agree with a lot of what he suggests, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with his proposal to give the FDA even more power over our food. The recent passage of the new food safety bill may actually prove more harmful to small farmers than many realize. While the large corporations, who tend to be the source of most food-borne illnesses,  find ways to get around safety laws, the small and less powerful farmers get the squeeze. Anyway, the article is definitely worth taking the time to read.

A Food Manifesto for the Future