I bought a small fennel plant from the local Home Improvement Warehouse about 3 months ago. I finally got around to harvesting the bulbs -- whoa! Pictured here are the four fennel bulbs and their attached stalks and fronds. I ended up trimming off the stalks and roasting the bulbs, used a third of the roasted fennel in a pasta dish, and froze the rest.

Not bad for a $3 plant! Plus, we'll see whether the roots survive and start growing more.

When tending the garden today, I found four Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars, large and in charge, dining on what is left of my parsley plant, almost ready to pupate. I also found a few ladybugs, and a bunch of tiny Basil seedlings. All of these good signs for permaculture gardener. I swear I saw a Monarch butterfly the other morning...I've now put out our large Milkweed plant, in hopes that I find a few hungry caterpillars in the next few weeks.

I took today off from work, mainly because I've been working too darn hard and have accrued my maximum amount of vacation days. I also intended to catch up on some gardening, but I only got through some of it.

I did finally kill my arugula plant - it went to flower about two months ago, and stopped producing leaves. DEAR LORD... a single arugula plant produces a ton of seed pods! Check it out:



That's about two cups of pods! After they dry, I'm gonna be able to plant a metric ton of arugula.

My cilantro also went to flower about two months back, and I've left it alone to do its thing. ALL ITS BRANCHES ARE NOW COVERED IN CORIANDER. This is spectacular... I can't wait to dry the pods and use them in the kitchen. All from a $3 plant I bought & planted three months ago.


[See all those little balls? Those are coriander!]

After three months, the chamomile has finally gone to flower - I think it needed more warmth than it had back in February. I'm not sure the plant will yield much more, since it demands a bit of water and the rain has been in rather short supply. Still, I managed to dry some flowers and leaves, enough for a few cups of tea soon.



The mint is still kicking butt, and the feverfew is quite prolific. I'm going to dry some feverfew and mint to make into a tea...they'll be a good amount of that, given the amount each plant has produced.


I think I'm getting back to a happier place - the last few weeks have been rough. A little gardening and cooking will cheer me up, though.

I acquired one of these today! For free!



And the flowers are edible! Alas, mine is only 4 feet tall at this point. It will be a welcome addition to the back yard.

In other agricultural news, I planted milkweed and violet seeds today.

Oh, and the love bugs are back.

A second night of herb cookery from the garden!

Today I met my local fishmonger - specifically, Lighthouse Seafood in Lake Mary. Their inventory was a majority of Florida seafood, with a handful of far-flung imports (like the dreaded Chilean seabass, which is neither, contains heightened mercury levels, and is caught using unsustainable and mostly illegal techniques). They stocked 4 or 5 sizes of shrimp, including crazy awesome super jumbos. They said they had oysters, but I didn't ask where they were from. If I ever want to do oysters at home, I'll call Lee and Rick's Oyster Bar, who caters oyster parties by the bushel, shuckers included.

I picked up two farmed Rainbow trout, which had been split and boned. When I got them home, they smelled like nothing...a very very good sign.

After drying the fish very well, I opened them up (skin side down) and added kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to each opposing fillet. I stuffed each fish with:

- thinly sliced orange from the backyard (lemon or lime would work perfectly, also)
- arugula
- thai basil
- sweet basil
- parsley

I carefully folded each fish closed. I also applied kosher salt to the skin...the salt helps draw moisture from the skin, leaving only the fatty oil in the skin.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.

When you're ready to rock, stick the broiler pan in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. This heats up both the oven and the broiler pan...let it preheat beyond the normal amount of time to make sure the oven and pan are nice and hot. Melt some butter and get out your trusty silicone brush; remove the fish from the chill chest. Carefully extract the broiler pan and close the oven. Brush the top of the broiler pan with butter. Paint one side of the trout; put it butter-side down on the pan and brush the other side of the trout. Return the pan to the oven. Roast for 10-12 minutes. When time's up, turn on the broiler and broil for 2 minutes to crisp the skin. Serve promptly, skin-on. Garnish with a little parsley and a lemon wedge.

I can't get over how darn good this tasted...completely restaurant-grade flavor and texture, especially the skin. I wish I had a bottle of white wine chilled, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it compared with the fish. I'm worried that Allie will lose her taste for tilapia in favor of glorious trout!


At the Sanford Farmer's Market, I got to meet the apiarist for Frederickson Apiaries of Geneva, Florida... had a great conversation with him and some of his customers. Bought a small container of winter wildflower honey, which he harvested recently...deep amber color and rich mineral flavor. He practices sustainable techniques, never taking too much honey as to impoverish the hive. He sometimes sells raw honeycomb and can never keep it in stock, but again does not harvest too much. (Apparently there is a growing culinary demand for raw honeycomb, especially from small-scale producers.) He also sells fresh bee pollen for SUPER CHEAP... $3 for a small zip-top bagful! I also learned that African blue basil is an attractor for bees... this might be a good idea for when fruit tree and herbs start flowering.

The herb spiral is growing nicely after only a week! Two nights ago I spiced up a salad with about 10 leaves of arugula. Today I harvested mint, chives, and cilantro. First thought was to make mojitos!

Mojito

20 mint leaves
juice of 1 lime
1/8 lime rind
1 tsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp confectioners sugar
2.5 oz light rum
2 oz soda water

In a Boston shaker, combine mint leaves, lime rind, and granulated sugar. Muddle until broken up and fragrant. Add powdered sugar and lime juice; stir to combine. Add rum and shake over ice. Pour contents of shaker (including ice, leaves, and lime rind) into a tall glass. Top with soda water; stir with a straw and serve.



For dinner, I made tostadas. This is gonna sound complicated, but it came together quickly by using simple ingredients; despite the simplicity, it turned out better than almost any restaurant. You can reuse trick for smoked paprika-garlic powder-grated cheese-melted over corn tortillas on nachos... I swear, smoked paprika is such an awesome spice. Be sure to prep ingredients in mise en place bowls and everything will come together very fast.

Deluxe Tostadas

1 cup grated cheese (whatever you have on hand)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
6 corn tostadas
4 cups shredded lettuce (whatever kind you like - I used green leaf)
vinaigrette salad dressing to taste
1 tomato, diced
1 cup pinto beans
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 lime
sriracha sauce
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Stir cheese with paprika and garlic powder. (Cheese can be prepped in advance.) Lay tostadas on a sheet pan and turn on the broiler. Top each tostada evenly with cheese mix. (If you have any cheese left over, save it for the salad.) Broil for 2-3 minutes until bubbly and toasty. Remove from heat and reserve.

Toss the lettuce with the vinaigrette (and the cheese if you have some leftover). Reserve.

Start assembling the tostadas on two serving plates. Add a tostada to the plate; add some beans, salad, tomatoes, a light squeeze of lime, and a pinch of the herbs. Top with another tostada; repeat the process. Top with a final tostada. Top with spoonfuls of yogurt, sriracha to taste, more tomatoes, and a generous amount of herbs. Serves two.

You could top with a pan grilled piece of fish if you'd like, but it was very filling on its own!


I also harvested the final oranges from the tree in the backyard... those will be enjoyed this weekend. Altogether, the tree only produced about 30-40 oranges, enough for about 1/2 gallon of glorious beautiful orange juice. This season I intend to feed it yummy fertilizer and such. We're also going to be raising butterflies in the backyard, which will hopefully help pollenate the orange blossoms. We'll see if that pays off next February!

Had to try and work off the physical and mental hangover. And it was 75 with high humidity, so gardening it was! Sweating out the toxins...

Before:


After:


Yes, it's supposed to freeze in 3-4 nights, but I'm not really worried...marigolds have a good hardiness and can tolerate a light freeze. And it will be up to 45-ish the following evening.

Allie ordered a certificate for a milkweed plant yesterday. I'm thinking I'm going to wait until February-ish to cash in the certificate for an actual plant - it's supposed to be very sensitive to any kind of freeze. I'm a little confused on what I'm going to do with it in the herb spiral, since all parts of the plant are harmful if ingested. But it will attract butterflies, not only for food but for breeding...yay life cycle!

Dad and I built an herb spiral! Oh, and knightguy04 helped with the material procurement & delivery.

Bill of materials:
1 yd^3 composted grass clippings, veg. peelings, coffee grounds, etc. (free)
5 ft^3 topsoil, ~280 lbs ($8.33)
5 ft^3 composted manure, ~280 lbs ($8.33)
5 ft^3 garden soil, ~280 lbs ($13.93)
150 brick pavers, about 27 ft^2 ($82.5)
cardboard or bamboo or other liner material (free)

About $120 after taxes.

Tomorrow I'm going to buy the herbs:
oregano
rosemary
marjoram
basil
thai basil
chamomile
lemon balm
chive
cilantro
mint

And I'm going to surround the spiral with a prophylactic ring of marigolds. Herbs plus flowers = ~$50. So the whole deal is done for $170! That's ~60 of those little baggies of pseudo-fresh herbs at the supermarket, with the obvious benefits of being fresh from the backyard in whatever quantity I like. And when I'm overcome by herbs, I can harvest, dry, and store them away so they can become gifts (bath tea, poultry seasoning, etc.).

Oh, and I've got the top of the spiral reserved for the pineapple plant isol8d gave me earlier this week!