Happy Vegan Eats & More…

For those of you who aren’t familiar with gooseberries, you’re missing out! I had forgotten about this yummy little berry until I was looking for plants online and remembered eating these at my great aunts when I was very young. They’re really like no other berry you’ve ever tried. Tart but unusual. So, I had to order a couple plants for my garden. And, too my delight I already have 3 berries on one plant. Hopefully the birds won’t eat them before I can.

Gooseberries have high nutritional value. They contain vitamins A and C and potassium, and are a good source of fibre.

Now, it doesn’ t look like I’ll get a big crop of berries this year, but next year look out! I’ll be making this chutney:

Gooseberry Chutney

3 lb gooseberries
1/2 lb onions
1 lb sugar
1/2 pint water
1/2 oz salt
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 pint vinegar

Top and tail the berries, and chop roughly. Chop the onions finely and cook with the berries in the water until they are well softened. Add the other ingredients, and simmer until the chutney becomes thick, stirring occasionally. Bottle while hot and cover immediately.

This chutney, yielding about 4.5 lbs becomes more mellow in flavor the longer it is kept.

 SOURCE: http://www.gingerich.com/recipes/gooseberry.html

 Got some long awaited plants in last week: Hotel Giant Blueberries, Indoor Tomato Plants and Scarlet Bee Balm. They came from Gardener’s Choice and though it took a while to get my order I am very pleased with the plants. They are taking off nicely. They do offer a free wildflower seed packet with every order and if you go to samples you can get more free seeds. Shipping was a little slow but I expect that when ordering live plants because they really do have to wait until the plants are mature enough to ship.  

I ordered the indoor tomato plants hoping to get tomatos all year but I’m not sure if it will work. Right now I have them outside in hanging baskets so they will grow bigger but with any luck this winter they will produce in my sunroom. I got another product called a fruit salad tree. It came dormant. I planted it but I’m not sure when it will get leafy. It’s supposed to produce 5 different kinds of fruits. How exciting is that? I’m sure it will be years before I see any fruit but it’ll be well worth the wait to see what happens.

Indoor Tomato Plants (got 3)

Blueberries

Scarlet Bee Balm- Butterflies and bees love this stuff and it’s so pretty!

My red rose bush. You can see the recycled rubber mulch in the background. This stuff looks so good. It’s a little more expensive than regular mulch but is earth friendly and should last for about 12 years.

When catnip goes wrong!

I had to post this picture. I grew my own catnip this year from seed and the cats are loving it. They were just rolling around having a blast and then it got ugly! 

Wow, what a great thing! Oprah has decided to do a 21 day cleanse and eliminate animals products from her diet during this time. You can read all about it here:

http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/cleanse/blog/blog_1.jhtml

Went out to find the baby robins gone. Sure hope the little guys made it!

One fo my favorite salads is made using Loma Linda Canned Tender Bits

You just cut up the tender bits, which come in a can, fry them for a few minutes with vegetable oil and some garlic salt. Then while hot, toss them into a bagged salad of your choice. I like a spring mix or veggie mix and top with italian dressing. So delicious, the blend of hot and cold!  

 

I was able to sneak in a get a couple pictures of the baby robins. I think they are just about to leave their nest. How cute are they!!

 

This robin made a nest in our tree. The pictures turned out so nice I just had to post them. There are 2 baby birds in the nest and I’m really hoping they both make it!

The raised veggie garden is finally ready and we’ve planted a few things: tomatoes, yellow bell pepper and a jalapeno. The official last day of frost here in Ohio is May 10th, so I’m gonna hold off on planting the delicate sprouts until then. I’ve been sunning the sprouts for a few hours a day to get them used to the sun. They all did pretty well but I lost a few.

This sunflower sprout is so big. ! can’t wait to see the beautiful flower it produces and eat those seeds!

Used Teese Vegan Cheese for the first time to make pizza bread and it turned out great! I didn’t have a cheese grater handy so I just sliced it but I think the teese would have melted even better if it had been grated.

Tonight I grilled asparagus which until recently I had never tried. Now I’m hooked! I take fresh asparagus put it in a skillet with melted earth balance margarine and sprinkle with garlic salt, then cover and let it cook/steam for about 10 minutes. It’s so good and good for you. Asparagus provides many beneficial nutrients like folic acid and antioxidants and is low in calories. Studies have shown that asparagus may help prevent cancer in organs lined with epithelial tissues.

I had a few stocks of asparagus left over so I’m gonna run them through the juicer tomorrow. I’m not sure if this will taste good but if not a couple apples thrown in masks any strong flavor when juicing.

If you’ve never tried grilled asparagus don’t wait any longer. Go out and get some for dinner. Your body will thank you!