Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Seeds; New Beginnings and Old Friends



I've started my seeds! I know, I know for those of you who live in warm climates and have an endless growing season, I'm sure you're scratching your head and saying "Huh." Well here in Minnesota the growing season is short and we try to pack 12 months of flowers, fruit and vegetables into a little more than 3 months – we're efficient that way.

We've got 4 – 4 by 8 foot raised beds that we've been planting a variety of herbs and veggies in for the past 5 years.  We've had great success on the herb front and mixed success on the vegetables.  My favorite vegetables are swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, lettuce, turnips, carrots and green beans.  Each year I try a few "experiments," this year I'm giving acorn squash, wax beans and arugula a shot.

We've been working to empty out the freezer in anticipation for the coming season. I had some zucchini in the fridge that was begging to be eaten and I remembered that we still had some tomato sauce that I made and froze last fall; can you say spaghetti!

I set my chopping assistant (Dan) on a mission, onions, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, basil, sage, chili flakes, salt and pepper; I'd like to give you precise measurements but he works on the dump and taste method. He estimates; 1 onion, 1 cup chopped peppers, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 tsp. oregano, 2 tsp. basil, 1 tsp. sage, 1 tsp. salt and a couple of shakes of chili peppers – modify to taste.

To the onion/spice mixture add approx. 2 cups of tomato sauce, 2 Tbsp. tomato paste and 1 ½ medium sized zucchini – spiralized into noodles. Reduce heat, cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes – or until zucchini is crisp tender.

We served with a spinach and strawberry salad dressed with a balsamic dressing, some multi grain bread and a glass of wine.  

I enjoy reading your comments and posts. If you have vegetarian recipes you'd like to share please let me know.  I've not met many vegetables I don't get along with and I'm always looking to experiment.

Have a good week!

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