Time to plant!

Digging in the dirt!

There is nothing quite like organic produce directly from the garden to the plate!

We've been getting the garden ready for planting.  It's been dug, turned, and naturally fertilized.  Inside the house, we have several pots just started with seeds.  This year, I'm trying something different - certainly not new, almost as old as time itself: planting by moon phases!  I came across the idea in a book on Wisconsin lore - as much as I am into nature and natural remedies, I'm surprised I'd never heard of it before.  Thankfully there is a lot of free information online - this is one of the sites I used: Moon Planting.  The idea is that the gravitational effects of the moon affect the moisture levels in the soil and how the plant stores moisture depending on the moon's phase and what specific constellation it is in.

According to the really thorough information online, last Sunday I planted my cucumbers, zucchini, summer & winter squashes.  Tuesday would have been perfect for planting my root crops, but alas, we just don't have the room in those pots!  Yesterday I planted most of my leaf crops.  The rest will wait until the danger of frost is over and will be planted directly outside when the moon phase is right. 

This year's garden will have:  cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, marrow, beets, salsify, hamburg parsley (parsnip rooted), radishes, carrots (no carrots for Kaiden, sorry kid!), spinach, lettuces, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage, parsley, and rosemary.  The rhubarb is already starting to come up, the black raspberries are beginning to leaf out, and the wild onions are already growing like mad.  I'm hoping the grapevine will have a little bigger harvest this year.  We'll be putting in an asparagus bed this year - summer crop, since I know where I can wild-harvest the spring crop!  We're also putting in a strawberry bed and some blueberry bushes.  This in addition to last year's planting of an apple tree, cherry tree, and two plum trees.  We've been talking about putting raised beds in the front yard, too.

Are you planting a garden this year?  Feel free to comment! :)

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Simple. Easy. Quick. Delicious!

Cooking paleo doesn't have to take a lot of time - it can be very quick, simple, and easy!  Last night's supper was simply grilled pork chops, seasoned only with sea salt and pepper, oven roasted Italian cauliflower, and fresh fruit. 

 

I'd done some oven roasted cauliflower recipes in the past that were a lot more involved - cook, drain, make sure it's dry, coat it with oil and crushed spices in a skillet, THEN roast it . . . granted it's good that way, but it's equally as good this way and a heck of a lot easier! 

Ingredients:
cauliflower, cut into chunks
chicken stock
homemade Italian dressing
oregano
thyme
garlic granules
sea salt

 

Just preheat the oven to 425F, place a cookie sheet on top the oven with the cauliflower, about 1/8c of saved chicken stock from a roasted chicken (the heat from the pre-heating oven helps melt down the congealed chicken stock and fat), drizzle on some (homemade) Italian dressing and the seasonings - toss to coat - and pop it in the oven for 10 minutes.  I think it actually takes longer  to preheat the oven than to roast the cauliflower!

 

Simple. Easy. Quick. Delicious!

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