Garden Experiment 2009

Organic Gardening

Having experimented somewhat successfully with organic square foot gardening and companion planting last year...for pest control used Nasturiums, marigolds and Garret's juice. (2 tbslp. minced garlic, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 4 tbsp liquid seaweed must apply every time it rains, but effective against a whole host of problems.)
Expanding garden this year. Here is a pic from last year's. My green beans, red and yellow bell peppers, romaine, kale, spinach, mustard greens,tomatoes,zuccini and cucumbers all did pretty well considering the fact that we planted in a place where due to trees, it only got 4 hours sun a day. Pumpkins, watermelons, cantaloupe... not so much. rotted before they could get ripe. Moved to new location in yard will get 8+ hours now!
Fall garden didn't really pan out as this was an extremely cold and snowy year here. Did have 1 kale, 1 swiss chard, 1 sugar snap pea, 2 cilantro (surprisingly) and about 20 garlic survive.
This year have so far planted peas, swiss chard, kale, romaine, baby bib lettuce, orange and red bell peppers, tomatoes, shallots, yellow onions, purple onions, cabbage, broccoli, curly spinach, flat leaf spinach, mustard greens, watermelons, bush and pole beans, cucumbers, dill, basil, thyme, marigolds (for pests) and nasturiums oh, and added asparagus as well, 3 year old crown.

Bread

Made Parisian Daily Baguettes again, much easier this time, made 7 loaves... family loved them, of course. One interesting TIP that he shares is that bakers do not use chlorinated tap water, apparently it changes the flavor and sometimes the texture of the bread. Hmm.

Healthy Living/Organic gardening

http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/SG/DownloadtheGuide/index.cfm
http://www.seedsofchange.com/enewsletter/issue_55/companion_planting.aspx
http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/21413

Egg allergies

Eggs are in many, many items that you would not expect. Pretty much all commercially baked goodies, pasta, cereal etc. You have to check labels for dehydrated egg additions... also in lots of sauces, ice creams... you have to double check... which is why a simple diet with lots of fresh veggies, fruit and simply prepared meats makes life much easier with someone who has this kind of allergy. We finally ditched most of the starch carbs for snacks, always eggs or peanut traces in them. The kids adjusted and eat apples, grapes, carrot sticks, broccoli to dip, bell pepper strips... etc for snacks.. it blows me away a bit I think I would have starved myself to death if my mom tried to to do this... Thank God for this grace!
A nice baked potato or rice or quinoa dish is fine... but, steer clear of boxed side dishes eggs are often in the ingredient list even if near the bottom. Have been experimenting with the no eggs pastas... can I just say Yuck! Currently working on perfecting a home recipe... still a work in progress... must say however, my first crappy try was better tasting that the store bought.

Feeding kids with allergies

Having ten kids the odds of having someone with food allergies is pretty high. Having dairy issues on both sides of the family makes it nigh on inevitable. Including me, I think there are 5 of us who suffer some sort of dairy issue, congestion, lower abdomenal distress, to mention the just the obviouis things. Also, have one who has a combined egg and peanut allergy, oh yes, he is fun to feed. When eggs and peanut butter are some of the most used quick and easy protein sources for little kids. Aargh. Having to learn a whole new way of feeding him has been challenging. Did I mention he was number 9 in our lineup, yeah so, old habits die hard, ya know.


So what have I learned?

Eggs are not needed to bake anything. Let me say that again because I was literally shocked to learn this. EGGS ARE NOT NECESSARY WHEN BAKING IF THEY ARE A MINOR ITEM IN THE RECIPE! Well, there are always exception, such as custard and quiche, but back to these later. How many times did I start a recipe realize that I didn't have any or enough eggs and stop the process to go purchase or borrow an egg? The eggs reresent a binder and some good old fat for moisture. The binder is replaceable with many things, my personal favorite is applesauce (bananas work great as well) simply because their mild flavor doesn't change the intended flavor of the item to be baked. You must also replace the fat, but, a little oil, butter, shortening, ground flax seed will all do the trick, think volume of an egg yolk.

Rosemary

During the calm before the storm, each morning, it is a habit of mine to pray while making breakfast.the house is quiet. Everyother Friday is history co-op and an accompaniment to a meatless pasta dish intended on making the Rosemary Filone into bread sticks. This morning while chopping Rosemary from my fledgling bush the scent which resembles balsam and the incense which is used for the altar kept me company during my moring offerings to the Soverign. I thought this particularly appropriate imagining the scent an incense to the Holy of Holies before my approach. Aromatic herbs are one of those rich gifts that contain so many distinct facets and purposes. I have heard the euphemism "God is in the details." Well, he certainly created a world with so many cool details.
Oh, and btw the breadsticks are delicious and I hope my girlfriends enjoy them.