Egyptian Walking Onions
A few years ago, after reading Gaia’s Garden, a book about permaculture, I started adding more perennial vegetables to my edible garden. There are the usual suspects like rhubarb and asparagus, but many people don’t realize you can buy perennial onions and leeks as well.
I planted these Egyptian Walking Onions 2 years ago along with some perennial potato onions (which aren’t technically perennial because you have to dig them up and replant them). They did well last year, I didn’t harvest any because I wanted to let them get established. Last fall I had a few with the little bulblets on the tops of the stalks. This spring they’re looking great. I haven’t harvested any yet, but they’re large enough I could any day (I’m thinking an omelet might be the reason). These photos were taken 2 weeks ago, and the onions are much larger now.
I even noticed that one of them had “walked” into another area of my raised bed. I’ll be moving these little guys soon to another area of the garden. I’m hoping to have a good patch of these in a few years because they make a nice early onion. A perfect way to supplement the few remaining storage onions in the pantry. They certainly are interesting plants to grow.
Do you have any perennial vegetables in your garden?
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Quote of the Day: Cherokee Prayer
O Great Spirit, help me always…to remember the peace that may be found in silence.
Cherokee Prayer
The Wabi-Sabi House: The Japanese Art of Imperfect Beauty
Many people hate weeding. I actually enjoy the chore of weeding. I appreciate doing it because it lets my mind wander and most of all I appreciate the silence. I love silence, I never listen to music in the car, in the house. I hate having the TV on because of the noise it makes, I don’t like having the oven fan on because of the noise. I simply love silence, that’s probably why I love to garden.
Weeding is my time to meditate, my time to think, my time to solve problems. There’s something very therapudic for me about weeding.
Do you enjoy weeding? Where do you find silence?
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As Real as it Gets
You know I’m a huge advocate of Real food, especially local Real food. I eat homegrown when I can, local when I can’t grow or make it myself, and small farm/business when I can’t find it locally. My goal isn’t to eat 100% locally, I like to incorporate things like lemons and coconut oil into my diet and will never completely rule them out. It’s rare when 100% of my meal come from within a few miles of my house, it seems like there’s always one ingredient that isn’t local. The other day it happened, as I was eating I realized I had made a meal that was 100% local.
We enjoyed sandwiches made with: local raw milk gruyere cheese, homegrown sundried tomatoes, freshly harvested arugula, on homemade sourdough bread made with local wheat. I grilled it in my vintage Griswold cast iron skillet in some homemade raw milk butter. We enjoyed it with a bowl of homemade tomato soup on the side made with all homegrown ingredients and some homemade chicken stock. It was truly a nourishing meal!
How much of your food comes from your garden or your local area?
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Friday Favorite: Chutneys, Sauces and Toppings
I have a friend that always jokes that my table looks like a French table because I put out so many jars of sauces, chutneys, mustards and other toppings for meals. I must admit, I’m a lover of a good topping. With a variety of toppings you can take a burger from “everyday” to “extraordinary”. Not to mention you can make the same thing taste completely differently depending on which topping you add. I have a collection of mustards in my pantry, I buy them when I spot an interesting one while traveling.
This past fall I got a delicious jar of Ipswich Ale Mustard at Plum Cove Grind a small coffee shop in Gloucester, MA. I also have small pots of mustard from around the world purchased from specialty grocery stores.
The chutneys and sauces we use are made in my kitchen. I try just about every chutney recipe I stumble upon. Making chutney is a really great way to use up small quantities of fruit. My most favorite variety is Roasted Pear Chutney, although I have a peach chutney that comes in a close second.
ROASTED PEAR CHUTNEY
adapted from Epicurious
2 ripe pears, peeled and cut in half
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon organic sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 small red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons currants
3 tablespoons golden raisins
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Toss the pears with the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the cinnamon, and cloves. Coat a sheet pan with half the vegetable oil. Set the pears cut side down on the pan. Brush the pears with the remaining oil. Roast until caramelized and tender, 40 to 50 minutes, depending on the degree of ripeness. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3. While the pears are roasting, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil in a nonreactive saucepan. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
4. Using a small spoon or a melon baller, scoop out the cores of the cooked pears. Cut the pears into 1/2-inch slices.
5. Combine the pears and the onion mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 day before serving.
I make a big batch of this and can it. I fill sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace, add rings & lids, process in waterbath canner for 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts.
The sauce, chutney, topping section of my pantry is starting to look a little sparse. I typically make my chutneys every two years. This year I’ll definitely be restocking my collection as I’d hate to run out. My burgers would be very boring without them!
Do you make any sauces, chutneys or toppings? What’s your favorite way to eat chutney?
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Cheating Your Zone
It’s always sad when you find a plant you want to grow but it’s not hardy to your Northern climate (I’m sure it’s equally frustrating for you Southern gardeners who can’t grow plants that need chill hours). There are ways that you can cheat an extra zone or two with a few techniques like planting on a south facing slope, covering with mulch and protecting plants with styrofoam cones, or burlap. Another great way is to surround plants with rocks. The rocks will absorb heat from the sun and then radiate that heat to keep the plant warmer. It creates a microclimate that helps plants survive in a climate a little out of their zone.
I have this beautiful Mediterranean Pink Heather growing on my front hillside. It’s technically not hardy in my zone 5 as it’s a zone 6-7. I have a few that hrive on my front hillside which faces south and that are surrounded by very large rocks. I never really thought about this until I planted a few in the back garden which are struggling. Then I realized that they aren’t on a south facing slope and they’re not surrounded by large rocks, I’ll have to move a few that survived. One year I had a black eyed Susan vine survive in my front flowerbed, most likely because of the heavy layer of mulch and it was under a rock because these are a zone 10-11.
Do you ever cheat the seasons with rocks, south facing slopes, mulch, or other forms of protection?
