Swiss Chard & Radish Greens

Some of the very first bounty from my little parking lot garden were radish and swiss chard greens.

Radish sprouts just beginning to get their first true leaves

I'd never had swiss chard before I volunteered at Community Services Unlimited in 2008. Neelam introduced me to the greens and I fell in love with their earthy flavor and texture. Aaaaand they're wonderfully easy to grow. So you should go buy a packet of seeds, find some dirt, and plant them. Now.

Baby Swiss chard

These are the Ruby Red variety. I have some yellow, pink, and white ones starting as well. 

Both the radish and chard are so easy to grow and grow quite fast.

Becoming The (Grow Your Own!) Grocery Fiend

I started this blog five years ago while I was in college, on a budget, and loved walking every single aisle of the grocery story. Now I'm out of college, still on a budget, still love walking the aisles of grocery stores, and in love with the magic of gardening. So I'm going to document my own growing here, not just my parents' awesome garden. I didn't think to share in this space before because my little experiments often turned out fruitless (literally, har har) and I rarely actually got to eat or use the things I grew.

Because they died.

And while I am sort of guilty about killing probably a dozen different plants over the years, from herbs to tomatoes to squash to lettuce, the magic of watching things grow is just irresistible.

When You Can't Have Coffee In The Morning // Spice Appreciation

A couple of months ago, I went to see a homeopath and he prescribed a remedy for me during which, to my horror, I had to avoid coffee.

My first thoughts: This is wrong. Terrible. Inhumane. Many synonyms for those words. But not really. But kinda.

I love coffee. Nothing excessive (anymore). My morning cuppa. Setting the water to boil, grinding the beans, choosing one of my handful of "favorite" mugs, stirring together the grounds and hot water with a chopstick, wrapping up the french press with a tea towel to hold in heat, the waiting, the gentle pushing down of the screen, then stirring in a spoonful of condensed milk or half and half and brown sugar... the body of the Trader Joe's Sumatra roast I use, the grittiness of the coffee (since I like to grind it a bit finer than is usual for a French press), the steamy aroma of it.

I haven't made my morning cuppa since that first visit back in March. How did I cope?

More Snapshots of Where the Grub Comes From

It's been a while since the last time I showed what my parents' backyard looks like. I love strolling through it during my visits and marveling at how they can get everything to grow so damn well. I have my own little 3' x 6' plot going in my apartment building's parking lot, and I would be eversojoyous if  my haphazard gardening technique yields... anything. Okay, to be fair, I've been able to snag a few arugula leaves, my swiss chard is coming along nicely, and a couple of my tomato plants are budding, so I guess I'm doing alright.

But it's nothing compared to my parents' yard:

Papaya!

Mustard greens, I think

I'm Growing an Apple Tree

About a month ago, I ate a baby Gala apple and was surprised to find that the seeds within had germinated. (Due, perhaps, to refrigeration during transport?)

Like my aunt, I couldn't resist planting it. In a tiny, tiny pot.