WARNING:: PUT DOWN THAT SEED PACKET AND SLOWLY BACK AWAY!

WARNING: DO NOT HAVE A BIG VEGETABLE GARDEN IF YOU DO NOT LIKE TO COOK AND PROCESS VEGETABLES and herbs...not to mention fruits...!
Above is one hour's haul! For a family of 3!
Happy cooking!

Recipe: Raspberry Custard Tart

Recipe: Raspberry Custard Tart
I love creating recipes, especially when they use ingredients from my garden. We are currently in the midst of raspberry season and have an embarrassment of raspberry riches!

Here is a recipe that I whipped up and, darn, is it good.

Single crust- I made a press-in crust this way, but any good, sweet crust will work:
1 c walnuts, pulsed to finely ground in food processor. Add:
1/2 stick sliced, unsalted butter and pulse until mixed. Add:
3/4 c flour, 1/2 cup sugar. Pulse until mixed.
Press into tart pan
Blind bake, 350 for 20 minutes, let cool.

While that's baking, clean and drain 2 c. raspberries, then add sugar to taste.

Custard:
2 cups yogurt, drained in a colander fitted with a coffee filter to reduce whey (the longer this is drained, the thicker it will get, but I only did it a half hour). Set aside.
Mix 1 cup milk, 1/4 c cornstarch, 1/2 cup sugar. Cook in microwave for 1 minute at a time, stirring in between, until thick. Add 1 t vanilla and drained yogurt. Whisk together and chill. [Optional: you can step up the richness by using part cream in place of the milk and/or adding a egg, whisked into the hot custard mix before adding the cool yogurt].

Assemble tart: put custard in the crust, top with raspberries. Chill. Serve. Drool.

You can probably do this with strawberries, blueberries, and thinly sliced peaches (those are coming on in a month here at Casa Thomas).
Happy Cooking!

All Orchids Are Not Created Equal

Orchids are just too darn hard to grow! Right? Not if you grow Bletilla striata (and B. striata var. Alba) in your zone 7 and higher (farther south) garden. I purchased my first Bletilla bulb from Brent and Becky's Bulbs a few years ago, then got a few more, and they have reliably come back and reproduced in a shady garden bed. I love orchids, but have sadly killed so many indoor ones (phalaenopsis and cymbidium), so I am delighted that I can have a reliable, and lovely, outdoor orchid- and it has a slight sweet scent! Another "Judy Recommended" plant- pretty, slightly exotic and easy to grow!
Happy gardening!

Gardening Book Review

The New York Times Sunday Book Review section (tomorrow 6/6/10) has an interesting review of garden and farm books at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/books/review/Gardening-t.html?pagewanted=1&emc=eta1

Happy garden reading!

"Truck" Farm

Film makers Ian Cheney, Curt Ellis and Carla Fleisher are driving about Manhattan in a pickup truck that has been converted to a vegetable garden! They are having a contest for schools on growing food in the oddest places! Check out the photos at:

http://www.truck-farm.com/#/A%20Wicked%20Delicate%20Film%20and%20Food%20Project

Happy gardening!

It's Alive!!!!

Voodoo Anyone?
One of my voodoo lilies (Dranunculus vulgaris) is in bloom! This fly-pollinated plant, also called "Corpse plant" smells like rotting meat or manure, just the ticket to attracting flies! Don't worry, this ephemeral bloom is short-lived so the smell doesn't last that long. This is an exotic plant that I adore! See the flies in the photo? Don't plant it near a door or window that is often open!
Happy gardening!

Edible-Podded Peas

Edible Podded Peas

For my money, the only kind of peas to grow are edible-podded peas. You can eat the pod and all and they do not require shucking! They are very sweet, easy to grow and freeze well. This year I again grew Sugar Snap and Cascadia peas from Pinetree Garden seeds. I pre-soaked them to enhance germination and planted them around a trellises I built in an hour from tree trimmings and twine. These are both productive varieties, though, this being Central Virginia, they only produce for a short window, about a month- but they are one of the earliest vegetables to come in. In addition, they enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen and their bed can be used later in the season for summer or fall plantings. You know the plant is done when it turns yellow and stops producing, usually when it gets hot out.
Above are photos of the snap pea plant and, in the bowl, what I picked in a few minutes.
Happy gardening!