My Garden

So I decided to build an above ground garden box and grow my own garden this year for the first time. Turns out that gardening is much harder than I had thought. I guess the biggest frustration are the bugs! As you can see by the tomatoes below, the bugs seem to enjoy eating them long before they are to turn red. I need to research how to keep them off organically. Another problem is my tomatoes were splitting. I learned that is because I was giving them too much water, causing them to grow too fast.

But I have gotten some good produce from my garden. Some have been Cilantro, used on our carne asada's, lettuce, and a bell pepper used in homemade salsa.

Another is Basil. I have a lot of basil!
I also had some pine nuts in my fridge that needed to be used up. So I toasted them in the oven and
then put the nuts, basil, olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese into a food processor and made Pesto! The kids and I enjoyed it spread on hoagie rolls, topped with feta and broiled. I also grilled some chicken and spread it on top and then added some to linguine. Such yummy meals!

Another thing that did grow well were carrots. We ate them raw and with a roast.

Then after we had had our fill, I peeled and cut up the rest and boiled them till soft. I really need to invest in a steamer. Then put them into the food processor with a few tablespoons of the water they cooked in.

and pulsed away until they were pureed.

Next I added them to an ice cube tray to freeze. Once frozen, I popped them out and put them into a freezer bag. Whenever I make ground beef, macaroni-n-cheese or tomato sauce, I can add a few squares of carrots for an extra (hidden) veggie.