Spring Equinox Eve Garden Update

Hi friends!

Tomorrow is the "official" first day of Spring, the Spring Equinox. Spring is always wacky in Portland. Last night I drove home from my speaking gig at 9pm and it was still 60 degrees and I had the sunroof down. Last week we had night temps in the upper 20s and I was wearing long johns. Remember, our average last frost date in Portland is April 15th. Last year we still had frosts up until the end of May!!!

My indoor seed starting has progressed nicely. Here's a photo one week after I planted the seeds. Everything has germinated except the herbs: parsley, chives & savory. I especially love the 'Magenta Sunset' Chard. It is a magenta ribbed plant and you can already see the tint in this tiny one week old seedling. I love it! You can also see all the seedlings are titleto the left which is the direction of the sunny kitchen window!

My peas have finally germinated. I sowed snow and sugar snap peas directly into the garden almost exactly one month ago and they have been total slow pokes! But, here's the proof they have finally germinated. YAY! The strawberry crowns I planted the same day along with arugula and radish seeds are all lookin lovely.

Here are 2 winter veggies I'm very proud of. This is 'green wave' mustard greens and some Italian kale I planted back in late September. Both of these plants weathered the big snow storm and when the 2 feet melted off them they were alive and kicking. They are both starting to leaf out again.

This is a photo of 2 cover crops I planted in late September--fava bean and crimson clover. They had both germinated and were pretty young when the Christmas snow storm hit. Once it melted they both looked slimy and dead. Within another month they had bounced back and look how luscious they are now!

That's is all the gardening news for this week. I didn't do any new planting this week because I'm recovering from the flu. I was happy today to get into the garden for a while to take these photos, assess progress, turn the compost pile, and pull a few weeds. There's a major project in the works for this weekend clearing away the plum tree wreckage that is covering nearly half my backyard.

Well, happy Spring Equinox eve and many blessings on you and your gardens!

In Health,

Miss Jolie Ann

P.S. If the format of my postings has been looking very bad, I am having a very difficult time editing lately. The more photos I've been adding change the layout and I haven't found any easy way to adjust the way the postings look. I know the print is coming out weird on the actual blog and that's never they way it looks in my posting previews. It's not accepting my line spacing and slamming everything together and then in the next post adding it's own double spacing making the posting REALLY long with stupid spacing. So, I do apologize if it's been hard to read my blog. I'm doing the best I can. I will see what I can figure out. Sorry! Miss Jolie Ann

Spinach & Arugula Salad with Indian Spiced Chickpeas and Charred Red Onions

Spinach & Arugula Salad
with Indian Spiced Chickpeas and Charred Red Onions
Recipe from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop

Friends,

In this recipe I found a very unique tasting salad. I was pleasantly surprised how red onions from my garden came together with some of my favorites-spinach, arugula, garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and Indian spices. Wow, what a combo! This recipe really was something different from my normal repertoire. I ate it 3 days in a row for lunch. The only thing I'd adjust is I think 12 cups total greens is a little much-I'd cut the amount in half. It seems like a better proportion of salad to bean/onion mixture. Enjoy!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Spinach & Arugula Salad with

Indian Spiced Chickpeas and Charred Red Onions

2 medium red onions, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick rounds

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

8 cups packed flat-leaf spinach with tough stems removed

4 cups packed arugula leaves with tough stems removed

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Move an oven rack to the top position and heat the broiler. Place the onions on a baking sheet, brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil, and sprinkle with salt to taste. Broil the onions, turning once, until lightly charred, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly. Coarsely chop the onions and set them aside.

2. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds and stir-cook until the seeds begin to pop, about 30 seconds. Cover the pan and continue to cook until the seeds finish popping, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chickpeas and cook until just warm and coated evenly with spices, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the mint and salt to taste. Cool slightly.

3. Toss the spinach, arugula, onions, warm chickpeas, and lime juice together in a large bowl. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt to taste. Serve immediately.