Collecting from the garden…
So fresh, so anticipated.
Time to harvest…
Brussels sprouts, and…
Broccoli.
Our garden, tended and loved by me ever so much, is gifting its winter eats in baskets full.
Only take as much as you can eat at one time…
Tender and fresh.
With the brussels sprout plants creating their own giant rose, right at the tippy top…
And in the center, the highly anticipated, cabbage like baby.
A tale I had read and read of.
Edible too, and so we will.
But next, the brussels sprouts themselves get munched (as we have already enjoyed leaves while waiting for sprouts), with many more sprouts to harvest this week.
A little butter and olive oil, tossed with garlic salt.
So delicious beyond words.
Sweet and tender, mild and succulent!
Such wonderful winter eats we have enjoyed from the garden.
After the greens, a little spice beckoned us.
I brought home a bunch of Hatch chilies last month, and so, I felt it was time to start cooking some up…
Cut them off the bundle, 15-20 or so.
Shake out the seeds. (or save for planting)
Pop into a pot of water and boil until super tender.
(open windows, as they can be strong whilst cooking)
Cool for a few minutes, then pop into the blender with a bit of the water they cooked in.
Then, strain into a bowl, pressing down on your strainer with a spoon, little by little.
You are left with glorious chili sauce (chile), to spice up and use as you wish.
I carmelized some sweet onions, garlic, red bell peppers then browned a little ground meat (you can use turkey, or beef, or no meat at all). Flavored with garlic salt to taste. Poured in two cans of kidney beans, using all the contents in the cans, liquid too. And last, poured in the chili, and let that all come to a soft boil. (you can add more of the water you cooked the chilies in to create the thickness you wish)
We like to put corn chips in our bowl first, then pour in the soup.
Top with sour cream and avocado, yumm!
Voila, you have homemade chili.
Using your own chilies really makes a difference.
Perfect eats for a brisk winter evening.
And, when your beau announces that he has brought home more fresh blueberries (with an impish grin on his face), well…
You know what that means.
Pie please 🙂
And so, I happily oblige…
Again.
All the while, baby tomato plants are being born.
Sweet little things.
Growing in the warmth of the studio, and my room, and back and forth.
So hard to believe that spring is just around the corner.
Time slips by incredibly fast for me.
I blink, and there goes time. Hours pass like minutes.
The garden makes time go by so much faster than I could have imagined.
Especially keeping a vegetable garden year round.
This has been amazing, everyday something new is going on, and every day there is more to do. Prep for the next season of growing things. Seeds, and harvesting, and weeding, and thinning, and caring for.
Before you know it, summer and fall are but a faint memory, and winter gives you a couple last hugs before saying, see you in a year. (in Southern Az at least)
As you look towards the horizon, you can see spring riding towards you, making clouds of dust in the distance. Showing you, it is almost here…….
A month away, minus a day.
Tuesday March 20th, they say.
Love, V
ps: Yesterday Miles and I went out to see my parents who were in town (normally Matty gets to go, so this time is was Miles' turn for one on one time with me), and we saw poppies lining the sides of the highway. So beautiful, those poppies. And then, we noticed 3 wee poppies in our own garden, along with wild desert evening primrose early in the morning, and gobs of chamomile.
I am seeing lots of the poppy seeds I sprinkled in autumn growing into big and strong plants. I check them almost every morning, giving them water as needed. I always dreamed of a garden full of poppies. Mostly because year after year, I drive by this one house, and the entire garden is a field of poppies.
So so pretty.
We'll see what happens with our poppies this year. I just can't wait!
I love your garden! thankyou for sharing, although you make it all look sooooo effortless, I see why your harvest is plentiful
🖤Debi
Oh Debi, you are welcome via virtual escapes into the garden with
me any ole time 😉 I suppose it does look awfully effortless.
Especially since I dont share the sore muddy knees and back, from hours and
hours of being crouched down, weeding, and seeding ~ And all the other nonsense
that goes into harvest goodness ;))) Its like effortless magic, what gets
shared via pictures;) 🖤
Hello Vanessa,
It all looks sooo good! I love poppies but they don’t grow here. Maybe I can find a variety that would like the heat and humidity of north Georgia. Must look into that. Anyhow in the fourth picture down, the shot of the raised beds, what kind of lumber did you use?
You’re as busy as a bee Miss V! Your garden goodies look sooo green and beautiful in your basket! How do U serve the broccoli?
I’m extremely impressed with your homemade chili. Yum!Yum! I am in awe of your Hatch chilies knowledge! I just thought they were for decoration! Silly me!
Mr Lovee is a smart man because your pie looks divine once again.
I am getting the spring twinges too, in anticipation for all blooming things!
Such a lovely garden you grow. Everything looks wonderful and that pie….yummy !
Poppies are my fav. and hopfully mine will grow…not warm enough here in Michigan yet.
Thank you so much for sharing it all.
Birdie, hello there 😉 I just asked Mister Lovee which kind of wood
for the beds, and he said it is just called landscaping timber – which you can
get at any gardening center. Then he cut them down to size. And here
I thought poppies grew in humid places? I didnt know? I
just found a link for ya, for poppies in Georgia – right here 😉 http://agr.georgia.gov/corn-poppy-the-poppy-of-memorial-day.aspx
Miss Kelly – oh yes, the chilies are usable and lovely. They are
actually called ristras and you can even make them yourself from fresh
chilies. Tip here: http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/Circ533.html
I can not take the credit for all the knowledge about cooking them, my
mammie taught me.
As for broccoli – in fact we just had broccoli, asparagus and brussels
sprouts plus buttered toast right over the pan in the kitchen for lunch 😉
I cooked them all separately – but Iprepare them all the same.
A hot pan – then a hearty drizzle of olive oil and about a tablespoon of real
butter. Toss in the greens, toss them up a bit on medium heat and cover
for a couple of minutes, checking and turning – then I douse them in a little
garlic salt. Close them up again and keep checking and tasting until they
taste ready. We like our veggies al dente. Then we eat, and
sometimes we sprinkle a little fresh lemon over – asparagus especially.
🙂
Miss Linda, Michigan must be so cooooooold!! 😉 We are sleeveless
here today in my neck of the woods. Sun is shining bright. 😉 Send
down the snow!!! Please Thank you 🙂
What an exciting garden adventure you must be having this winter season! I know what you mean–time really does fly! I love reading about your garden escapades and visiting you in your little vegetable patch 🙂 Thanks for the lovely post, Miss V!
xoxo Jess
Vanessa! Seriously, you have like ten old ladies inside your brain who have recipes for EVERYTHING. Don’t be offended by that statement, it’s a good thing I promise hahahah. Your pies are always the most perfect pies… but as a hearty food lover, that chili is KILLING me. With the cheese.. and tortillas.. and sour cream. TO DIE FOR! I just ate dinner and now I am hungry again… And you will get poppies. Because I (and you) will it so. It will be like the Wizard of Oz, only you (and your little dogs too) won’t fall asleep from it. I am not making any sense… but you catch my drift I’m sure.
Oh Vanessa, you are KILLING me with the gorgeous brussels sprouts… my favorite. We love them al dente as well, but with a slight “char” on the edges. YUM!
What a fantastic garden. Kudos to you and the Mister!
xoxo Debbie
You know, I really enjoy brussels sprouts, too. I never thought that I would – but I love how dense they are. I agree – olive oil, salt and pepper on them…just yum. I have been trying, as of late, to incorporate a lot more veggies into the diet. I actually used KALE in a soup recipe (and rather liked it!). I’ll be using it in a curry soon, too. Oh boy! We gathered up a few seeds to start planting, too. We got a 2 for 1 deal on last season’s San Marzano tomato seeds. My hubby makes killer sauce! I swear he has Italian in him. 🙂 And I’ve not heard of those types of chilis before – thanks for sharing how you made that sauce. Looks amazing! Ah…There is nothing like fresh treats from the garden. 🙂
As you look towards the horizon, you can see spring riding towards you, making clouds of dust in the distance. Showing you, it is almost here…….
I LOVE this! In my cold clime, I eagerly anticipate the onset of spring. A month ago I found narcissus peeking through the mulch, but now all is covered again with glorious snow.
Your directions for making chili sauce are much appreciated. I never knew how to do that even though I grow lots of chiles to chop up for soup.
Please let us know when the elves arrive in your shop! Hopefully soon.
I swear, Vanessa, you must live in Wonderland!
By golly! Everything you touch seems to turn…well…seems to turn into such wondrous vegetables or flowers. You’ve got to be very healthy with all of the organic goodness that comes from your garden. Your chili sauce looks divine…I can almost smell it! And your brussel sprouts must be delicious too and extra tender. All of these scrumptious photos make my mouth water. Yuuuuummmm!
I don’t believe you do all those things, gardening & cooking delicious stuff, & baking Better Homes & Gardens style pies not to mention your own home made chili paste. Oh, wait….I saw you do all those things. Then you planted rows of sweet onions & carrots, cleaned the porch, ran errands and planted some shrubs. I’ll bet you checked in at your shop, packaged & sent things and checked your email when I wasn’t looking. What else did you do? Wash the dogs? Work on a painting?
The very best part is that I get to sit around and eat all those wonderful things. Then your blog readers give me credit for helping (when I really didn’t). I’m all tuckered out now. Boy, do I have the life, or what???
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Hey V, Thanks for the link. I hadn’t seen that one before. What I have tried to grow here are the oriental poppies which I could grow so beautifully when I lived in Michigan. Here it seems I need to look for corn poppies, which I will do today when I go out. Wish me luck finding that seed! Your landscape lumber has a red color to it or is that just the picture? Landscape lumber here just has that yellow/green color of treated wood. Yours is much nicer:)
I love brussels sprouts! I just roasted some last night, but they were nearly as nice as the ones you grew!
Your pie looks fantastic. The chili looks good, too.
Vanessa – Thanx for the directions for using dry chiles!!! I have some in the basement pining away. I was in Tucson a couple of weeks ago and went to a cactus farm. nursery on Tanque Verde Road. Its owner lived in a little house in front of the farm. She said she graduated high school in the 50’s. Do you know this place and possibly do you know the name. I want to contact her and order more strings of pearls from her. I could only bring one plant back on the plane. It was my first vist to Tucson and I loved the area. Thanx for you blog and all the information in it. I have kale growing under the snow in my Denver garden.
Mr. Lovee needs a spanking!!!!
I sent you a link on how healthy brussels sprouts are (never knew they were brussels)…..homegrown ones don’t even resemble the poor things in cellophane bags at the grocery store….missing their little leave dresses – shivering bare!
LOL…love your magical garden, one minute it’s covered in snow and the next its lush, green and full!! I want a garden like that…What’s your secret???
Sylvia 🙂
Birdie, they came red at Home Depot :))) I cant take credit for
painting them or anything of that nature, tee heee 😉
Toni, I have to ask Mister Lovee if the place you are speaking of, is the
place I think it is 😉 Will get back to you on that one! So glad you
visited the Tucson area. It is such a great place. And yet, so
changeable. Where I live is so different from the Tanque Verde area.
I live at a higher elevation, and just by that, plants and everything
changes. Such a greatly odd place ;))) (I live about an
hour or more from Tanque Verde area)
Jill, I just sawMister Loveescomment!! He so needs a
spanking!!! At least he is honest 😉 about me running around and he living
the high life ;)))) You hold him down and I will spank ;)))))) OH,
we got about 200 servings this weekends and yesterday. Okay, just saw your
e-mail, off to read, so exciting, thanks bunches and bunches!!!
Sylvia, one day it snowed, and the next it was 70 – only one of the
many reasons it’s so bizarre ;)))))
Toni, the place you visited was probably B&B Cactus Farm. http://www.bandbcactus.com/
Birdie. Home Depot calls those
8 ft. Cherrytone Landscape Timber Edging
Model # 7400001030408000. They’re much less expensive & lighter than treated lumber.
M.L.
I guess I have to add brussel sprouts to the growing list of things for the garden:) My hubby loves them.
Your posts make me wish it were warm enough to start planting. We have had a very mild winter so flowers are blooming.
Haha Vanessa that is so funny! I would love it if you shared another Mad Tea Party type post 🙂 Can’t get enough Wonderland! And you seriously got a sunburn? Wowzer! It’s spring here too. The tree in our front yard has already bloomed! Apparently the trees didn’t get the memo that spring isn’t for another few weeks 🙂
xoxo Jess
Hey there Mister Lovee,
My husband thinks the reason that I can’t find that lumber here is because it is possibly red cedar, which he says is easy to find on the west coast but is a specially lumber here because of the shipping cost. Here the lumber is pine. I do thank you for taking the time to comment! Good evening,
Birdie
Made a mistake he said redwood. Wish I could get that stuff here!
I am loving the comment interactiveness!! SO fun!! 🙂
So many lovely growing things! We have officially moved in to our new place, although I am still unpacking. It is so funny the very first day after we had moved all of our big stuff Mister B had his room all set up and everything put away, and there I was still moving loads of my stuff for the next week! I have so much more stuff than him, but I love it all so it is okay. Anyway, now that we are moved in I can’t wait to start planting things. I am very busy this semester as it is my last one of graduate school, but I am hoping I will still have time to garden a bit. I especially want tomatoes, and basil, and pretty flowers…okay so I want it all! You are, as ever, an inspiration.
OK, I can’t help envisioning Vanessa chasing Mr L (running with pie, of course), for his spanking, while Matty and Miles get in on the game chasing you both. Forgive me, but I had to go there! ; )
Oh Kelly, that is hilarious!!!! ;)))
Vanessa
Valencia {A Fanciful Twist}
Website: http://www.VanessaValencia.Com
Blog: http://www.aFancifulTwist.Com
In a message dated 2/23/2012 3:07:23 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
I know you spend tons of time outside and yes, your knees get muddy & sore but oh my, the photos are wonderful and I can only imagine how incredible the veggies are. You do make it look so effortless. How in the world did you make that lattice pie crust so perfect? Now, that would have taken a very long time for me to do. LOVE Hatch chilies!! Thanks for sharing your recipes here ~ they’re all delish I know.
xo
Pat
Hi Van, Everything looks delish and coming up green in your neck of the mountains. I am hopeing to take a mini jaunt from NY vacation up your way. Are you near Tuscan? Maybe we could meet for coffee.
Thanks a bunch!