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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Eating Out of Your Garden
  • Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 12:42:58 -0600

Eating Out of Your Garden
by Sue Robishaw
http://www.manytracks.com/Homesteading/EatingFromGarden.htm

(This article, with a few changes, was first published in the March/April
2002 issue of "Countryside" magazine.)

It’s a lot like "Mairzy doats and dozy doats and little lambsy dyvie". A
phrase you can recite with no thought, but it doesn’t connect with
anything. Eating out of the garden. You have a garden so of course you
eetotta dagardn. Food for the table? Oh, that comes from the store.

Why? Habit. Ease. Familiarity. Assurance. You KNOW what to do with that
food from the store--it tells you right on the box. It is the kind of food
you and the family are used to. Most likely it is what you grew up with.
What people will recognize at potlucks. That’s how you eat. But then
there is that darned little niggling voice reminding you (usually when you
are busiest and not in the mood for any voice, niggling or otherwise) of
how much time and money you spent on that garden. So you could save money
on groceries. But you aren’t eating the garden. The bugs are, the birds
are, the rabbits are, even the neighbors . . . but you aren’t. Not much
anyway, not really. Oh sure, a tomato now and then, a sprig of parsley,
some lettuce to pile on the plate to prove you are a gardener. Maybe a
handful of green beans. But to really EAT from the garden? Get most of a
meal from the garden? Who has the time? Or the energy? So the guilt sets
in. You want to, of course, but you can’t, because---and you start
listing off all the reasons.

It doesn’t have to be that way. First, don’t be so unreasonable with
yourself. Or expect so little. If you aren’t used to eating in season,
shopping from the ground on a daily basis, there’s no reason to expect
this to be a natural behavior. But it can be, and it’s not even that
hard. It just takes a little effort. I know, I’ve been there. You really
want to be self-sufficient, eat from the land, be a good homesteader like
all those people you read about. But you just don’t have time to read
cookbooks, learn new recipes, wade into the unknown.

Maybe I can help. I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite S’s
-- salads, saute’s, soups. No recipes, just a few guidelines. Ones that
are easy to learn, easy to remember, easy to do. With infinite variations.
All to be found in your garden. Or if you aren’t growing your own food,
from those nearby who are. Healthy, unadulterated, non-poisoned food that
has all its original genes. Tight fitting or loose, short or long,
doesn’t matter, whatever you or it prefer, as long as they are the genes
the crop was born with.

Give the old "whatever you can do for two weeks you can do for the rest of
your life" strategy a go. Cut your grocery purchases right now, this very
spring. Then cut more, and more, and yet more as the garden comes into full
bearing throughout the season. If you can’t or don’t grow something,
find someone who does and buy or barter from them. Make it a part of your
psyche, and your life. Eat from nature not from a corporation. (A rather
interesting thought in the "you are what you eat" philosophy). If you want
it to happen it will.

I’m not saying EVERYTHING has to come from the garden. Though that’s
not as hard as you might think, and will happen more often the more you get
into the ‘eat from the ground up’ philosophy. But start with real food
(the stuff that’s recognizable as plant material), then add store food as
garnish or sideline, not the other way around.

SALADS. Spring is salad time. It’s been a long, stored-food winter,
and those first few fresh-from-the-ground green leaves will never be so
special. So now is a good time to tackle your commitment. If you truly want
to eat meals from your garden and cut down on the amount of store bought
packaged food coming into your house, resolve to do it. Right now. And what
a great place to start -- in the salad bowl. Now I’m not talking about a
small bowl of anemic leaves smothered with over salted over sugared bottled
dressing. I’m talking about something that fills that void in your
stomach, not teases or terrorizes it. My kind of salad is not boring. It is
lively and ever changing. Good for lunch or supper. Breakfast even, if you
want.

Don’t think too much about it. Just decide, yep, salad for dinner. Time
to go pick some greens. Grab a basket and go into your garden or greenhouse
or cold frame or yard or field. Wherever you might find edible leaves. Pick
randomly here and there. Early in the spring you probably won’t be able
to get enough material from just a few plants, so you’ll have to browse
farther. If you can’t find enough for a decent meal, pick what you can,
then resolve to plant more and earlier next year, and overwinter more
plants next fall (in the garden, cold frame, greenhouse, or sun-room).

Growing season hasn’t even started yet for you? That’s OK. Get out
those seed catalogues. Order up some packets. Plant seeds with rash
abandon, inside and out. If, come summer, you have way too much green stuff
growing, consider it fodder for the compost pile. Then plant a little less
next year.

For my early spring salads, the perennial Garden Sorrel is the first to
offer edible leaves in the garden. And the Swiss Chard that was dug up and
replanted last fall into the greenhouse is busy growing new leaves along
with its seed stalk. All sorts of greens can be started early inside. In
March I may have flats of Bronze Arrow or Marvel of Four Seasons lettuce,
Pac Choy or Lettucy Chinese cabbage, parsley or spinach. I transplant them
outside to cold frames if weather permits, or leave them to grow inside for
early eating. Experiment for yourself. Some of the other greens, such as
Kyona Mizuna, will give you a much longer harvest life. Choose the ones you
find easiest to grow and harvest. Don’t make an easy salad difficult. If
you plant enough for spring, you’ll have an overabundance in early
summer. Plant a variety of greens and you’ll have leaves to eat all the
growing season.

But back to today’s meal. Add to your basket whatever else you can find
in the garden. I know this sounds a little loose, but this salad is like
that. What’s edible? What’s mature? Asparagus (fresh or lightly
steamed), overwintered parsnips or carrots (shredded), radishes. Later in
the season there will be an abundance of choices -- peas (snow, edible pod,
or regular), snap beans, cucumbers, broccoli, potatoes, etc. Either raw or
steamed. Our salads change as the season does.

Inside, briefly rinse the greens if necessary (mulched plants make this job
incidental) and spread them out between dish towels to dry. Wash, shred,
chop the other vegetables. Steam them briefly in a little water if
necessary.

Now round up any leftovers you may have. These give some bulk to a meal
that might be a little sparse in the "from the garden" section in early
spring. Don’t limit yourself here. Assume the leftovers will taste fine
in the salad. Require them to make a good case against it if they don’t
want to go. Not the other way around. Potatoes, pasta dishes, meat, beans,
rice, fruit, vegetables, cooked cereals -- there is a lot of leeway here.
It is also a good reason to cook extra the previous meal. Add whatever you
have to the bowl.

If your salad is still a little on the lean side, then boil up some pasta.
Whole wheat preferably -- might as well get as much nutrition as you can
from the food you eat. Besides it cooks faster. In fact, the key to
successful whole wheat pasta is to NOT overcook it. We mostly use ww elbow
macs because they are quick, easy, and versatile. Bring some water to boil.
Just enough to generously cover the amount of pasta you want to cook.
Forget the common gallons-of-water requirement which just wastes time,
energy, and water, and isn’t necessary. (Where did that come from
anyway??). Add ww pasta and boil gently until just past the paste stage --
past chewy but not done. Turn off heat and leave covered to finish cooking.
Which doesn’t take very long. Drain water when pasta is the texture you
like. Wait too long and it will become mushy. You’ll want a nice firm
pasta for salads. Broken up spaghetti also makes a fast pasta.

You can, of course, also use canned or reconstituted dried vegetables. I
particularly like cooked dried beans, for texture and food value. Or green
peas or snap beans. Drain and add.

Tear up your greens and let them join the party.

Garnishes and additions -- there is a wide range of possibilities here --
cheese, fruit, nuts, sunflower seeds, homemade croutons, chopped parsley,
cooked eggs, pickles. A few edible flowers make an interesting garnish,
particularly for potlucks (violets or Johnny Jump Ups are what I usually
use). Adds some interest.

Now for the dressing. Add oil a spoonful at a time until it just touches
all the ingredients without over coating. You want to barely notice the
oil, not slip around in it. A high quality olive oil is nice for this, but
any vegetable oil will do.

Herbed vinegar is next. Make your own. If you some have good homemade
vinegar, this is where it can show off. If not, any good tasting vinegar
will do. Add an array of dried, crushed herbs to it. I use whatever I have,
which is usually basil, oregano, sage, thyme. Maybe a little salt and
ground peppers. A dash of maple syrup. A little wine if you like. Whatever
suits your fancy to give a bit of flavor. Shake well.

Instead of vinegar I often use the pickle juice from my home-made
Sweet-Sour Spiced Pickles (when the pickles are gone).

Add vinegar dressing to the salad a spoonful at a time, mixing well and
tasting before adding more. It’s easy to drown the salad in vinegar if
you just dump it on. A salad heavy on potatoes or rice will take more;
heavy on greens will take less.

You can also add your oil to the herbed vinegar bottle, shaking well before
dispensing it all together onto the salad. Mine seems to always come out
oil first, no matter how long and vigorously I shake it first which is why
I do it in two steps. Any number of salad dressings can be purchased or
made to suit your fancy. I just find this one to be easy and versatile.

Slice some bread or cornbread for the side, and your meal is ready. You can
have this salad every day all year and never have the same meal twice. In
mid-winter, when things are hanging out in greenhouse but not growing, the
greens are spread pretty thin here, often being only chopped parsley (which
manages to be perky and edible even during the coldest winters when the
greenhouse goes and stays well below freezing). But we sure do appreciate
whatever we can harvest.

On to the SAUTE’s. For me this meal always starts the same. I don’t
have to think about it. Off to the garden with the venerable harvest
basket. (Get one you like from a local basket-maker, you’ll be using it a
lot and it will feel better.) What’s big enough to harvest? What catches
your eye? What sounds good? Remember, this is re-training time. Don’t
worry if what comes to mind is something from a box, from the shelf, from
the freezer. Something whose flavor comes from those mega-syllabled
"ingredients", or the unnamed additives. Go ahead. Acknowledge that, yep,
that would taste real good, but you want something fresh from the ground.
You really do. So, what do you have? Asparagus? Broccoli? Early squash? One
vegetable is fine. So is several. Don’t forget to pull some onions and
garlic if there are some in the garden. Both usually overwinter well.
Parsley, too.

Back inside, wash the vegetables, and cut to edible size. Heat some oil,
just hot enough to gently sizzle when the vegetables are added but not so
hot they jump and yell. Sprinkle in one or another dried herb, whatever
comes to hand. Or you can keep a small bottle of oil laced with dried herbs
and use that. This mixture really lets loose some heady aromas when heated,
especially if it has a lot of rosemary or sage in it. Add garlic then
onions and stir around a bit. Instant chefdom. Just writing about it makes
my nose twitch and my mouth water.

Now add the firmer chopped vegetables, then the softer. Don’t get too
worried about what goes in when and for how long, you’ll get the idea
from experience and what you like. Generally, I put carrots or snap beans
in soon after the onions and garlic, most everything else a few minutes
later.

Liquid goes in next, usually water. But most any broth will likely do. Use
just enough to cover the pan bottom but not the vegetables. You want to
steam the meal, not boil it. In fact, you can just steam everything and not
bother with the earlier sauteing part. Cover and simmer until just right.
What’s right? Well, that depends. (This is why I’ll never be a cookbook
author). Taste often and stop cooking when you like the texture and taste
of the vegetables you’re cooking. I like them just past raw but not even
close to mushy. Suit your fancy.

You can add gravy stuff if you want, of course, but don’t be afraid to
just let this dish stand on its own. Add a little salt maybe, a little
pepper. If the main ingredient is potatoes, I like to add chopped pickles.
Cheese is popular, but don’t overdo it. It’s insulting to the
vegetables, and you do want your vegetables to be happy. If you want cheese
with the meal, consider having it on the side instead of on top.

Any type of grain can accompany this meal, cooked whole (rice, wheat,
hulled barley), or bread (whole wheat, cornbread, flat bread).

SOUP. Same as above only add more liquid. Usually served with some kind
of breadstuff or cracker on the side. Good rebirth for leftovers, or if you
overcooked your vegetables. Nice served on the colder spring and summer
days. It lifts the spirit when one wakes up to 17 degrees in the middle of
July. For ingredients, use whatever didn’t get wiped out by the freeze.
There’s sure to be something. Makes you appreciate the easier growing
years.

SANDWICHES. Sandwich materials seldom come straight from the garden. Though
they can. Late in the summer I relish a tomato/cucumber/onion/lettuce
sandwich. But around here, sandwich usually means peanut butter and jam. On
whole wheat bread. Not exactly your Eat-Out-of-the-Garden poster child.
But, there are times when even the rather quick meals above take too much
time (or so we convince ourselves). So when the entire family is immersed
in some homestead project that has to be done yesterday, and there’s no
one to cook a meal, sandwiches suffice. You can be more creative than just
PB&J. Anything not too soupy can go on a sandwich. Mashed leftover beans
and rice with chopped onion and mustard is good. With lettuce from the
garden, of course. Peanut butter, pickle, and lettuce also hits the spot
some days.

SNACKS. Grow a lot of carrots (if you or anyone in the family likes
carrots). Get in the habit of pulling a few whenever you’re in the
garden. Having a bowl of cut up carrots on the table helps keep the munchy
monster from making you head for something less healthy. (It also helps to
not let anything less healthy into the house. Cheaper than health
insurance.) Keep the carrots barely covered with fresh water and they’ll
taste enticingly crisp for days. The same is true for many vegetable you or
anyone in the family likes raw. Fruit is a great snack, too.

And speaking of fruit-- STRAWBERRIES. This is a crop that will need little
urging for many, if not most, people. If you don’t have time or
inclination to take care of a large plot, grow a small patch. Forget baking
and freezing and preserving. What better reward for getting into your
garden to pick dinner than a handful of ripe, fresh, juicy strawberries? If
there are any left after you are through rewarding yourself, bring a small
basket of them in for desert or between-meal snack. You don’t need a
heaping bowl-full. If you only have a few, serve a few. Such simple
elegance doesn’t need quantity. Quality will well suffice.

Or raspberries or blueberries or cherries or apples or plums. Let your
raspberry bushes spread with abandon along a fence, then let them grow and
produce without interference from you. Plant blueberries along the woods,
or simply make use of those already there. Plant fruit trees in your yard,
north of the garden, or east of the woodlot. Fruit. One of the easier
eat-from-the-garden, no-fuss-to-prepare, crops. Maybe it doesn’t start
with an ‘S’, but satisfaction does, so that will do.

And rhubarb. I almost forgot the rhubarb. Prince of Spring, Queen of the
North. One of the easier breakfasts, too. Rhubarb sauce mixed with rolled
oats, sweetening, maybe a few raisins, sunflower seeds. Sure to get you
going into your day with renewed vigor.

Eating in season out of the garden doesn’t have to take much time. It
does takes wanting, and willingness. Simply make it a habit. Once you
start, you can continue all year long. The meals may change with the
seasons, but the good food doesn’t have to.

Need another incentive? Unplug your refrigerator, give away your freezer.
No, I’m not kidding. Two unhealthy (to you and the environment) obstacles
to good eating. Refrigeration truly is not one of the essentials of life.
It doesn’t come after food, water, shelter, and clothing. There isn’t
anything in there you need. Find or make a cool room or spot for temporary
holdover of vegetables and leftovers. Then when you want something to eat,
head out to your garden (or pantry or root cellar). You’ll find
everything you need right there.

Wishing you good, guilt free eating. From your garden, from your community,
from the Earth.

* * * * * ***

Copyright 2003 by Sue Robishaw





  • [Livingontheland] Eating Out of Your Garden, Tradingpost, 07/17/2005

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