What To Do With Carrots

The garden just keeps giving and giving. I'm picking the last of the cabbage, summer squash, green beans, flowers, and carrots! So many carrots at one time. This is the best bunch of carrots I've ever grown, but there are too many to eat fresh which is the absolute best way. So what to do with these carrots?? hmmm....
If you have any fun misshapen ones you could make a veggie thingy...Like this snazzy little carrot girl Seleste made from fabric scraps, jelly beans, pins, and Betty Spaghetti parts. She looks sorta like Marilyn Monroe.

Or you could decide to finally tackle your fear of the pressure canner you bought almost two years ago and haven't used yet....
After reading and re-reading the manual and the Ball Jar cookbook and a little help from my Mother-in-law, it wasn't that hard! ....and nothing blew up. Perfect jars of carrots!

I raw packed them. Hopefully they'll be crunchier that way.

Around The House And Gardens

My computer has been broken....sooo...that's why you haven't heard from me in a while.

After fretting over it for a while and hauling it to Best Buy...which is who we bought it from...and after being told...hmmm...they really don't know what's wrong with it....and it will cost $69.00 to diagnose and from their experience an additional $250.00 to fix, and a charge for putting my broken computer on their counter top...nah not really the last one, but any way....they implied that buying a new one might be a more cost effective measure.

So I traipsed around Best Buy with my Sony Vaio computer clasped tightly to my chest and began viewing all the latest and greatest. A sales lady offered to help me and asked me what did I have in my arms. When I leaned the computer forward so she could peek, she exclaimed, "oh, yeah...we sold those.....a long time ago." Ummm.....I bought this three years ago and um....yes...it shouldn't be $1,600.00 worth of broken stuff...and I really like this computer...it looks great in my living room. I really like the clear glass frame around the monitor....and it does look a lot classier than these huge white monstrous apples that everyone is peering at. Sooo...I clutched my computer tighter, put my nose in the air and marched out.....When I got home. My husband fixed it. Ummm Byron...how did you fix this.....Byron, "...I read something on the Internet and...." I tuned him out after that. Thanks Byron.

Artichoke with Leaf Hoppers (I picked a total of 56). I think they're done now.

Oh yes, summer squash. Yummmm...I've picked green zucchini, white patti pan, and yellow crookneck.
Cactus Flowered Zinnias...with fig trees and loquats ready to plant.

Peach cactus flowered zinnia

Zinnias and marigolds

Zinnias

Gladiolus

Zinnia Bud

Long Garden Beds

View from the Mississippi River Levee

A little closer

Artichokes

Louisiana Shrimp...get them while you can.

39 and Holding For Now...

I'm talking about artichokes. I've picked 39 artichokes already this year, and there are more growing! Surprised does not describe what I think about this. Shocked maybe.

When I planted the seeds two years ago four plants made it and I planted them in one of the square beds in the potager. The bed was filled with dark moist organic garden soil and top dressed with compost. The bed gets shade in the evening when the sun is at it's hottest. Whatever the combination it worked. The bed has (except for one small corner) been completely taken over by massive artichoke plants. They grow very large and need a lot of space.

There are a bunch of baby plants sprouting from the sides. I plan to carefully cut them away (including some roots) and pot them up. Hopefully in this way I'll have artichokes every year. If planted from seed artichokes take two years to produce.

So what am I doing with all those artichokes? What every New Orleanian would do...stuffing them, and grilling them as well.

Stuffed artichokes ready to be popped in the oven.

Prepared hearts ready for the grill.

Stuffed Artichokes:

(I can't give specific measurements because I just "eye it up")

Four Artichokes

About 4 cups of Italian Bread crumbs

About 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

About 1 cup grated Romano cheese

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

salt to taste

Olive oil

To prepare artichokes: Wash artichoke and cut pointy tip off of each "leaf". Bring a pot of water to boil and then boil artichokes for about five minutes. Remove and set to side to cool while preparing stuffing mixture. Mix bread crumbs, cheeses, garlic, pepper and salt. Add enough olive oil to make mixture moist yet still crumbly.

On a platter spread open artichoke and stuff mixture into artichoke. Make sure to fill each "leaf". These can then be wrapped and frozen for later or baked right away. To bake I use a broiler pan. I put a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom, then put the top grid on, put the artichokes on top of that and then cover the whole thing with foil. Bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees until golden brown and tender depending on the size of the artichoke.

To eat...pull each "leaf" away and holding tip scrape stuffing and artichoke with your teeth into your mouth and discard woody part of "leaf". When you reach the heart, use a knife to cut away the feathery parts and gobble it up. My girls devour these. I serve them with a little plate to hold the discards.

Preparing Artichokes to grill or bake:

Cut the top of the artichoke off right above the heart. Use a tomato corer or a melon baller to scrape out the feathery parts. Cut the tips off of any leaves lower than this part. Rub heart with a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice to keep it from turning black. You can then marinate them or season them with whatever you prefer and grill or bake them.

You can eat all you want (grilled or baked....Stuffed? I'm not so sure) . They are said to help lower cholesterol.

Around The House and Gardens

There are promising signs in the garden. Just when the winter seems unbearable...spring breaks...and in just a few weeks the most luscious thick growth spills out....and it's just a joy to watch the dramatic changes day by day.

The pergola is partially finished. The swings are hung...and I must admit I have already "wasted" quite a bit of time enjoying the garden while sitting there until I catch myself dozing. Unbelievably relaxing...sigh.

Soon there will be a long bench across the back, a fire pit/coffee table, a candle chandelier and another row of rafters on the top. Byron also plans to put finishing trim along the top and bottom of the columns. A few bird houses and solar lighting should make up the details.

I recently planted quite a few varieties of peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant. You can see the lettuce seeding in the foreground and the beets. We are enjoying the yummiest sweetest beets.
In the back you can see the new trellises Byron made for the muscadine and the blackberries. Soon there will be a nice thick screen of them.

The garden plan includes nice views from every angle. To the left of the potager there is a quarter of an acre that has been planted with bald cypress, river birch, pears, camellias, spirea, mulberry, oaks, and bamboo. There are three mature pecan trees already there. The goal is to create a beautiful shady garden that is allowed to "grow up" with natives. A clearing will be cut every couple of months or so. Paths will be cut more often. There will be plenty of sitting areas to enjoy the wildlife and shade.

This is the view immediately to the left after stepping off of the front porch. I'm still removing some plants that died during the freeze.

Big juicy mulberries!

The chickens are quite miserable after the deluge we had last night. I'll have to get them some fresh hay. The fairy roses are covering the coop and are beginning to bloom. Soon it will be a cloud of pink.

Promising signs..... The giant bird of paradise that I thought had completely died has shown signs of growth from one of its smaller sprouts....

and to the thrill of my soul, my oldham giant bamboo is showing signs of life....Yeahhh!!!

But be careful where you step or drive.....
...the little snakes are out sunning themselves, and seem barely able to move when you approach them....

...I think this one I saw on the road (yes, and stopped to take a pic) is a blue swamp runner...

...These guys aren't poisonous, but the large cotton mouth I saw...shudder.....

Mulberry Pie

My mulberry trees are loaded with mulberries Since I just planted them last year I'm surprised at the large amount. Especially the one near the chicken coop. It's at least twice the size of all the others. MmmmHmmm chicken manure makes great fertilizer....and great mulberries! This recipe is a modified blackberry pie recipe from one of my cookbooks, and wow, it is yummy!!! Recipe is at the bottom. Let me know if you try it.

Mulberry Pie

Ingredients:

2 pie crusts (I make mine homemade in the food processor with 2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 sticks of butter, teaspoon of salt, 5 tablespoons of water, blend butter, salt and flour, add enough water to make ball stick, put in fridge until firm enough to roll)

5 cups of mulberries

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg (ground)

1/8 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup of lemon juice

1/4 cup of flour

3/4 cup of sugar

butter

Combine all ingredients. Gently stir until well mixed and coated. Put filling in pie crust. Roll out 2nd pie crust and cover top of pie. Pinch down edges. Use knife to cut 7 to 8 evenly spaced slits in top of pie. Put sliver of butter in each slit. I like to use any spare crust dough to make a little decoration in the middle. If you brush the crust with egg white it will come out shiny. You can also sprinkle the top with coarse sugar to decorate after brushing with egg white.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 to 1 hour and 15 minutes until top is golden and inside is bubbly. Let cool for 30 minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Moonglow Iris

They're blooming! I counted 25 iris blooms yesterday. The garden is getting bee-yoo-tee-ful! Pictures coming real soon.

This is a picture of yesterday's harvest. A perfect cabbage, an artichoke, broccoli, Swiss chard, a few strawberries, and carrots (three types). I also picked bulls blood and Detroit red beets (they didn't make the pic).

Private New Orlean's Gardens

Firstly...(if that's a word)...Myself and my family have been through quite a lot recently. My Father had a very serious stroke and the last thing I felt like doing was blogging or attending this tour. I attended the tour mainly because that is what my Father would have told me to do if he could have. I dearly love my father and find it hard to write or vocalize what I think and feel right now. Also the pain is so sharp that I find it difficult to share with anyone but those who love him as much or almost as much as I. Maybe soon I will be able to.

I am a member of a local garden club and serve as the state historian for the Louisiana Garden Club Federation. This year they are celebrating their 75th anniversary and the convention was in New Orleans. So, many festivities this past week were planned. One being this tour. I bought my ticket to this "Private New Orleans' Gardens" tour last October without a care in the world and was just thrilled that I got one of the last four tickets....yippeee!

From the beginning when we moved to New Orleans thirty years ago, every time we went down St. Charles street my eight year old nose was pressed against the car glass gazing at the magnificent houses and gardens.....especially the "wedding cake house". If you're from New Orleans you know what the "wedding cake house" is. No, it's not a bakery....It's a glorious Victorian house that resembles one of those huge monstrous dripping with swags, roses, and columns....and generally overdone wedding cakes.....but....it's so much more wonderful on a house...especially to an eight year old.

When I heard that this historical home was on the tour....I just had to go. Finally I would get to see the gardens behind the tall wrought iron fence and gates....

Really the lot is large for a city lot, but quite small for the size of the home. The original 1800's bisecting entrance sidewalk was removed and replace with a more visually pleasing arched sidewalk that echoed the shape of the grand entrance steps with each end of the sidewalk ending at the street and exiting through two wrought iron gates.

That day the azaleas' blooms were just ending, but the Chinese fringe tree more than made up for it. The front entrance was framed with them and they were a floating cloud of white. The very small front yard had an arched garden in the front filled with pink camellias, boxwood and impatiens.

Another exciting aspect of this tour was the fact that each garden's designer was flown in to give the tour and answer questions. Sweet. Okay....I want to know this...I want to know that....blah blah blah blah blah....thankfully they were all very patient and at least one was full of himself....not John Sidney Steele of McDugad Steele Associates, he was very very nice and patient with all our questions.
They made use of urns to bring color into the garden and serve as focal points. The garden has very few color spots and are kept purposely small. The design makes use of boxwood, small trees, magnolias, bamboo, and other plants to direct vistas and form frames around lawn areas.
A close-up view of the small clipped boxwood and flowers.

This walkway runs along the side of the house leading to side entrance and pool area. A row of tall crepe myrtles separates this walk way from a lawn area that is framed with clipped boxwood and edged with a walkway bed of grey limestone.

One of the two cute statues by the small play pool that doubles as a water feature viewed from the breakfast room.

I adore this large palm. The building in the back was once a carriage house and then a garage and now, since the driveway area has been transformed into a garden, it serves as a cabana and guest house.

The front porch had this nice sitting area. I really dig the coffee tables.

I love the way carefully pruned crepe myrtle trunks look. This young one looks great nestled among the azaleas and Japanese holly fern, and it'll look even better as it gets older.

Here is one of the two lawn areas that are frames with boxwood and lime stone. It suits the house very nicely and I imagine it provides a place to congregate when giving outdoor parties.

A parting shot of the side facade and another one of those magnificent palms.