Winter gardens...not for the tender

So I decided to get off the over-hyped flu issue I addressed in earlier posts and go to something productive. My winter garden. This is my first winter garden and I'm looking forward to doing it well...hopefully. This is a great way to lessen the burden on your pocketbook, while at the same time making sure there aren't harmful chemicals in your food.

I used an area that had been used previously as a garden (we just moved here, so it wasn't ours) noted by the fact that we found a squash tag while hoe-ing it up. And found about 4 earthworms which is a good sign for the quality of soil we have to work with. I DID go out and purchase a bag of organic fertilizer that I can use every 2 months or so, just to make sure my plants are receiving all the nutrients they need. Also if you live in very cold climes (I live in the Puget Sound area so my winters-barring last- tend to be milder) you are going to want a cold frame, and most likely a mulch of some sort (hay or straw works really well!) A cold frame is something easily done on your own, but you can buy them as well. The easiest (and cheapest) way to build a cold frame is with some plastic sheeting (painter's plastic) and scrap lumber and build a short square frame over your plantings and staple your plastic sheeting around it as airtight as possible-then build a "lid" a square flat frame with painters plastic wrapped--you could even get fancy and put it on hinges, or you could do it like this blogger suggested.

I have started my seedlings inside (I started them last week, but it isn't too late) in some peat pots and will transplant them outside once they are about 5 weeks. Except for garlic-- you can actually buy a garlic bulb, separate the cloves, peel, and direct sow right into the soil. I found a fantastic hardneck variety at my Co-op that I am planting for spring harvest called "Korean Purple" 1 Bulb can yield about 10-12 bulbs in spring...yummy.

The plants I have decided to do besides the Korean Purple garlic are: Carrots, Broccoli, Salad Leaf Beets ( a two for one!), and Shallots

Other plants good for a Winter garden are Peppers, Cabbage, Chard, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens, Onions, and Leeks.

When you plant and grow in winter time, the plants go into a type of "survival mode" and store more sugar than in summer plantings, so you get much richer, sweeter flavors, than their summer counterparts.

After your seedlings are well established, you can plant them outdoors--make sure they get into the ground before it gets too hard, and put your mulch over them and then your cold frame atop that (or if you have already built your cold frame over your intended area, plant within and put the mulch atop your plantings and pop the lid closed)

Your plants will still need to be watered, which in VERY cold places can be tricky (for some areas a cold frame may not be enough-greenhouses may be a better bet.) but make sure you aren't putting too warm of water on your plants--too extreme differences in temperature can shock your plants. Most of these plants are pretty hardy, especially to be able to survive winters, and don't need too much looking after, about every other day should be good to test for soil dampness. You can use organic compost or organic fertilizer about every two months to ensure a healthier harvest, and then Viola! come January or February you have the makings for a hearty French Onion Soup...mmm yummy.

A new twist on an old classic...just in time for flu season

It's that time of year again. Only a couple of weeks since school started and my oldest son already brought the "icks" home. It didn't take long for my daughter to catch it, characterized by sniffles, sneezing, fever, and congestion. SO when this happens in our home, I do my best to fortify their immune reserve by amping up immune-boosting foods in our daily meals. At the trip to our local market I was inspired by the bright wonderful colors of the fall vegetable line-up and dreamed up, what I like to call: Ratatouille ala Pacific Northwest. Not your average ratatouille, this peasant dish has all the makings of a healing food: color, bioactivity, and most of all-TASTE! While the colors gave me the initial inspiration, I crafted this dish on the basic premise of the healing powers of good ole' chicken soup. Classic Ratatouille is a vegetarian dish with layers of vegetables cooked into a stew of sorts with eggplant as the star of the show however, as I was looking for a chicken soup interpretation for the increased Zinc content and the texture issues my children have, I swapped the two. My second "must have" in this recipe was garlic. Garlic is not only great for stinky breath and pores, but it is also a potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal and has been shown in studies to combat the cold and flu bugs . It has cardiovascular restorative powers and is thought to have blood sugar regulating effects and cancer fighting properties as well. No kitchen pantry should be without fresh garlic. With all this in mind I began preparing my dish with relish.

Ingredients:

Zucchini -I used Yellow zucchini-a rich bright yellow-gold zucchini with rich flavor-but regular green, or even yellow squash will do. For a family of 4 or less, one large squash stick-for more, grab another. Slice into thin rounds.

Tomato-I used two larger very ripe Roma tomatoes as they seem to have a richer flavor than beefsteak or standard varieties do. Slice these into thin rounds as well.

Shiitake Mushrooms- Is the variety of mushroom I sliced up for it's immune enhancing properties. Some other great mushrooms are: Maitake, Cordyceps, and Reishi. (look for more mushroom info later!)

Orange Bell Pepper- Any 1 bell pepper would do, but food should look good as well as taste great, so for my fall color theme, this worked great- sliced thin.

1 Medium to Large Sweet Onion sliced into thin rings

2 Free Range Chicken Breasts- sliced and diced.

2 Large cloves Garlic-pressed or minced

Herbs de Province (I used a dried pre-mix of my own with Thyme, Basil, Parsley, a small bit o' Rosemary and Crushed Lavender) about 2 teaspoons or to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Astragalus root-1 shaved stalk**

-Oh. And 1 casserole dish, preferably round (I used my handy Pyrex round casserole-looked GORGEOUS through the glass.

Saute the chicken breasts for about 2 minutes, then add the Herbs de Province and garlic. Saute until chicken is before or JUST done-then remove chicken and set aside leaving the oil/broth mixture in your saute pan. Add the Onions to the oil/broth and saute until translucent. Grab your round casserole pan and layer the squash in concentric circles until covered (if adding an Astragalus Root to simmer, place under the squash) and add a little salt and pepper, layer the mushrooms similarly, then the tomatoes, bell peppers, and finally add the oil/broth mixture containing the Onions to the top layer-pouring evenly throughout, and for your top layer add your Chicken. Fresh Parmesan Cheese is great with this recipe, but as dairy products can be mucous forming, a tasty alternative is a ground up mixture of Almonds and a pinch of salt.

Bake in the Oven for about 30-45 minutes or until vegetables are tender. I use a spatula to try and preserve the layers and then ladle the broth at the bottom over the top. Garnish at will with Parsley, orange, or even a broccoli "tree".

This was a hit in my house, even with my vegetable averse children.

**optional for the sicker than sick: 1 dried shaved Astragalus root stalk to be placed at the bottom of your casserole dish to steep with the broth. Astragalus is a wonderful immune boosting herb that is great in teas or broths to enhance the body's own immune system in fighting off illness :)