Day 2: Piedmont Carolina

The Carolina morning is sweet, cool and clear, a frisky breeze ruffling the new leaves.

We’ve left the coast, and with it the bowl of still and humid air that is the mid Atlantic, even in the freshest seasons.

We’re further south but higher, resulting in the same stage of spring: radiant dogwoods, new leaves, early bloomers still bright, with the irises in bud.  Yesterday we climbed and climbed. Route 360 through Virginia unfurled in wave after wave of low hills, each one cresting just a bit higher than the last. Now the land is labyrinthine hollows and piney woods, with no roads that follow any cardinal line.

I can feel the mountains even though they’re at least a hundred miles away.

This lovely house is a haven for birds, butterflies, blossoms. Mama cardinal nests outside the door. The beams and planks of the old part of the house are fragrant with age: a bit smoky with a frisson of ancient dust. I’m sleeping in a slant ceiling room with white beaded ceiling, in a nest of pillows and comfort. I found a tiny vase of lily of the valley beside my bed, something my grandmother Bea would have done.

We’ve had a beautiful day of coffee, garden, kitchen, luncheon with friends under maple leaves so new they were nearly yellow, vivid against the blue. It’s been lovely to BE here, taking in the beauty of the place, knowing that the next few days we will be dashing through many places worthy of lingering.

BTW, if you want to follow us on Twitter, use hashtag #coast2coast. I’m @patriseart.

Here’s a few pics; if you want more, they are on Flickr, at right.

North Carolina farmhouse

Happy Holidays: Night of the Radishes

Giant red tubers grown for Noches de las Rabanos

A friend who emigrated to Oaxaca, Mexico some years ago recently sent out her Christmas newsletter and shared a number of the colorful local Yuletide traditions. But as a gardener and an artist this one astonished and delighted me: “La Noche de los Rábanos.”

Virgin de las Juquila Flickr Photo by Yaya Dada

Each December 23rd in Oaxaca City’s main plaza (the zocalo) thousands of people come for an exhibition of sculptures made from a large red radish. By large they mean up to 6.6 pounds and/or 20 inches in length! These root veggies are the familiar red skinned, white fleshed radish we often snack on, but grow in unusual shapes and to grand proportions.

The carving of radishes creates an interplay of red and white that is used to portray Christmas scenes and everything else you can imagine. Particularly amazing are the representations of lace and other costuming, as well as the portrayal of the beloved local Virgins of Guadalupe, Juquila and Soledad.

Surfer Dudes on Radish Waves Flickr photo by shadowplay

But just google images for ”La Noche de los Rábanos” and you will see elaborate tableaus, hilarious interpretations (surfing on radishes) and depictions of everyday life. The architecture is particularly amazing and amusing.

Soon I am off to the garden where I will harvest beets, carrots and daikon radish, my final crops of the year. My daikons grew huge, the discovery of a new crop that is happy in our wierd clay soils, so I will certainly plant them again. But alas, they have no festive red rinds to carve.

May your Holidays be Merry and Bright, and may all your radishes be (red and ) white!

Life without Gadgets

About three weeks ago I spent the morning in the garden, which can result in a good sweat. Wearing my cheap khaki shorts, the ones with no pockets, I shoved my cell phone in the handiest place: my bra.

I apparently steamed my phone to death, because it began to behave strangely and finally croaked. Long chats with customer service led me to try ordering a replacement battery. When it arrived, no go. Not the battery, then. I shipped it off to Texas for repairs. The thing is 3 months new.

Over a week goes by. During which we have a power outage for over three days. No lights, no fridge, no A/C, no pool (the pumps, you know), no computer, no TV. And no phone.

Today my LG Optimus V arrived in it’s little box and I gleefully tore it open. I am met with a form,  headline UNREPAIRABLE, followed by a checkbox: “moisture damage and corrosion.”  Of course, this is not covered by warranty.

Seriously. an hour in my cleavage and it drowned???

I’m disgusted. And damp. At least the lights are back on.

In the Garden: Too Much Chard?

Today in the garden I pulled up the last of the spinach, broccoli and arugula, and planted carrots, climbing beans and mustard seed under the tomato plants.

Our weather is unusually pleasant: dry, clear, breezy and not too hot, so I found myself enjoying the garden in the noonday sun, not besieged by biting flies. Some years I’ve felt there was no way to keep up with the weeds. this year, better bed prep and garden fabric paths has made a huge difference. Pulling the occasional crabby or cracky grass is easy.

The crop dujour is the Rainbow Lights chard: huge rippled leaves of juicy green with stems that are red, pink, yellow or white. Yesterday faced with an excess of chard and eggs I made two lovely quiche that are even better reheated for breakfast.

Swiss Chard Quiche

2  pie crusts (I love the pillsbury ones in the red box!)
1/2 large sweet onion
BIG bunch of chard, stems diced and leaved shredded
2T each butter and olive oil
1/3 c heavy cream
12 eggs (I used 6 guinea eggs and 6 hen)
1 c shredded cheese (cheddar, gruyere, mozzarella)
salt and pepper
nutmeg

1. prepare pie crusts
2. preheat oven to 400f (205c)
3. whip the eggs and cream, adding the seasonings
4. dice onion and saute diced chard  stems and onions in butter and olive oil, over high heat until beginning to brown. layer leaves over top, allow to wilt.
5. fill the bottom of the pies with onion-stem mix, layer leaves on top.
6. pour egg-cream mixture over the vegetables
7. sprinkle cheese on top and bake about 30 minutes until golden brown and firm.

This recipe will work fine with spinach or other leafy greens.

Food Revolution Day May 19!

Food Revolution Day is a chance for people who love food to come together to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues.

Jamie Oliver’s foundation has created this event to inspire us all to take action to improve our food situation.

All around the globe, people will work together to make a difference. Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers’ markets. We want to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone. read more at foodrevolutionday.org

 

Celebrate the Bounty of the Garden!

Alas, I am busy all day on the 19th, but I’ll keep celebrating in May AND June while the garden is lush and bountiful. My particular passion is to share my love of vegetables and how to enjoy them.

We all “know” in our heads that we “should” eat more vegetables and less foods of the type that cause illness and obesity. Yet how much have we really changed our behavior? What if you were excited about vegetables, and knew you could prepare them in meals that you looked forward to?

I meet people who don’t really enjoy cooking, or who haven’t developed some of the important skills you need to prepare fresh food well. I would love to share  some ideas and recipes and inspiration to help everyone make eating healthful vegetables a central part of their diet.

So, tell me what you love, and hate, about veggies! And I’ll do my best to inspire you to try something new.

 

Viva la Revolution!

Today in the Garden: Surprise Gifts

I went to the garden the other day for solitude. To my surprise, five children under 7 ran up alongside my car, squealing about the dogs and can we play with them?

Two girls and three boys were looking for something to do while their families set up for a big wedding at the community center. They chased the dogs in happy circles and were hugely comical trying to help me move the heavy wheelbarrow with a flat tire. They were so eager!

A fellow gardener had ordered a truckload of leaf mulch and my mission was to spread this wonderful black soil around my irises, radishes, spinach, broccoli, red cabbage and day lilies. I had lots of help. There was great competition for the big shovel. Then everyone wanted their own trowel, so more were found.

“Tuck those plants in, put that nice black blanket around them, like your mommy tucks you in at night.” And so they spread the leaf-gro around the young plants then helped me water.

Before they left, I showed them how to pull a carrot. One of my all time favorite things is to watch a child discover a natural miracle. It’s so rewarding to see the astonishment on their bright faces when the familiar orange food comes out of the soil, and after hosing off the bright orange root, they experience the taste of real food.

I was looking for solitude when I went to the garden. But I received a different kind of gift. I guess we don’t always know what we need, until we get it.

Recently-in-the-Garden

Lots happening in the garden this time of year! Last weekend we had a big Fence-Mending work day, replacing the rusted-out chicken wire that was no longer keeping critters out of the garden. Take that! goundhogs and bunnies!

Then yesterday, housemates A and N helped me weed strawberries, water and plant broccoli and red cabbage. Yay for garden helpers!

 

Today in the Garden: Planting Garlic

I got a call this morning, just as it started to drizzle. It was my garden mentor, and she said “Just letting you know I am planting my garlic right now, it’s now or forget it.” J is a coach. She never tells me “you should plant your garlic now.” Instead, she leads by example. I sighed, grabbed a rain hat, trowel, dogs and seed garlic, for which I’d paid a pretty penny, and went to meet her, forgoing a nice warm dry office.

In this climate zone the garlic should go in around 1st November. It’s December 6.

I arrived to light rain, and found J smoothing the luscious black dirt in her designated garlic bed. It looked perfect: weed-free, dark and almost fluffy. I tried not to think about the lumpy clay soil complete with rampant weeds just down the garden in my own plot. Together we split and soaked the cloves, poked holes with a bulb planter, sprinkled bone meal and pushed the cloves deep, covering them.

I went down to prep my garlic bed. It had been mellowing under straw since I pulled the beans in late September. The quack grass had moved in from one end, but otherwise the weeds weren’t too bad. It was raining steadily now. I started forking the bed vigorously, hoping J would not arrive until I was through. Though some stubborn clay remains, believe me, this bed is much improved from the weedy cement I first encountered. As I worked I realized I was too hot, so I shed my sweater, preferring the fashion statement of rain-slicker-over-bra. Off with the glasses, too, as they are all fogged. Water dripped from my hat and my nose.

I dumped some chopped leaves and sand in the bed and forked it in, then raked it somewhat level. J arrived with the bulb planter, cloves and bleach solution. We soaked the cloves, made the holes, added the sprinkle of bone meal. The dogs found it very interesting! By now, they are soaked, but it’s warm enough at 60, and they run and bark, perfectly happy with the weather.

Shoving the fat cloves in their little holes, smoothing them over, was a wonderful feeling, very satisfying. I imagined the strong stalks, curly scapes and tangy bulbs of next June, and it’s thrilling. I never grew garlic before!

Before leaving the garden I plucked a carrot, grabbed lettuces and arugula and dill for lunch. It was a very tasty salad!

Today in the Garden – Surprising Rewards

Every time I visit the garden, I am rewarded, even when I dread what I might find.

I’ve been neglecting my garden. There, I’ve said it, and can heave a sigh of relief. The end of summer was terribly disappointing, as my tomato crop failed due to an aggressive wilt. Then we had a month of deluging rains. I confess I fall into a despondent state, don’t even want to look at my failure as a farmer. And it’s easy to avoid since it’s at the community garden, not at home.

Well, imagine my surprise when I came home with a heavy bag of food from yesterday’s visit! And not only that; this striking creature, the Argiope or common garden spider, who I had noticed in August, is still on duty, only she’s grown enormously. I’ve scaled the photo to about the accurate size — I’ve never seen one so big!

You may know that I have life-long arachnophobia, and I have worked diligently to educate myself about these useful and amazing creatures. I’m proud that in recent years I see them and feel admiration more than terror. I can really enjoy this wild thing who’s home is in my garden. She’s spun her web from a jalapeno plant to the stalk of a deceased tomato, and there she will stay until her work is done.

I recently learned that the signature zig-zag in her web is made by the much smaller male. I wondered… it’s an interesting and artful addition to the weaver’s art.

So last night I feasted on a salad rich with red leaf lettuce, arugula, yellow beans, radishes, the last red tomato and scallions. The stir fry was purple potatoes with sweet and hot peppers, onions and mushrooms. Only the mushrooms came from the store.

After harvesting, I cleared the old bean vines from half of one bed in preparation for garlic planting next month. All in all, a very satisfying visit.

Today in the Garden

I finished preparing 2/3 of the middle bed and put in seeds of fall crops.

the soil was lumpy, the local clay makes hard clumps, and although I’d dug in sand, manure, and compost, that old clay stick together in hard clumps. So, I raked it as smooth as possible, drew in 6 rows, and them hand-crumbled the clumps where I could. it felt wonderful to smooth and shape the earth with my hands.

the six rows, from north to south are:

• sweet walla onions
• arugala and oak leaf lettuce
• carrots
• spinach
• beets
• kale

I shall need to put more lettuces and asian greens somewhere else.

I harvest quite a few beans from my old climbers, tired but still kicking out food, and from the young filet beans – slender and sweet. Something has been eating on them so they were sprayed with pyrethin & soap.

there were a few tomatoes to pick, as well as jalapenos. lots of bell peppers coming.