I sowed some early spring seeds about 3 weeks ago in one of my raised beds. Here’s what it looked like on Day 1…
Now…3 weeks later, germination has begun, albeit slowly. But you can see the happy little green seedlings popping up. On the left: peas. On the right: radishes, Asian greens, spinach, kale, arugula and others.
Another photo in a few weeks!
I’ve bested the old adage: “Plant your peas by St. Patrick’s Day” by a week! Today’s unusually warm weather got me out in the yard, and although this 32-foot square raised bed doesn’t look like much right now, underneath that soil lurks Sugar Snap peas, Arugula, Easter Egg radishes, Spinach, and a variety of Asian greens.
That fencing material on the ground will surround the bed to keep nosy bunnies from devouring the first tasty shoots that pop up out of the soil.
I’ll take pictures every few weeks so we can see the progress.
Tomorrow night I’ll be at the Providence Art Club for their annual Founder’s Day celebration, raising a glass in their honor.
A few years ago, I was asked by the Providence Art Club to come up with a cocktail for their first Founders Day celebration. One hundred glasses were raised to honor the founding fathers of the second oldest art club in the United States. (Founded in 1880.) The oldest art club is the Salmagundi Club in NYC, founded in 1871. However, the Providence Art Club holds the distinction of being the oldest art club in the United States that was founded by both men and women. (The Salmagundi Club started as an all-male club.)
In a cocktail shaker with ice, stir the ingredients and then strain into a rocks glass with one large ice cube.
Garnish with an orange twist.
Cheers!
November 5 is National Men Make Dinner Day. At my house, that’s every day. But soup is a great recipe for men to learn, because you can’t burn it!
When I first posted my recipe of Portuguese kale soup, I was told by many Portuguese friends that my soup wasn’t authentic so I couldn’t call it that. Fair enough. Well, my Portuguese pal, Paula, has a great soup recipe that has been passed down from her Mom. Her Mom even adds chicken feet to the stock, which Paula chooses to leave out. Like most Portuguese soup recipes I’ve seen, there’s a ton of carbs: often potatoes with pasta with a lot of beans. But damn, it’s good!
Paula’s Portuguese Soup
Drain and puree 3 cans of garbanzo beans in a food processor. Put the puree in a large pot with about a gallon of water. Chop the chourico, and add it to the puree along with the ribs. Boil for 20 minutes. Chop the fennel bulb and cabbage into 2 inch squares. Add the fennel and cabbage to soup and boil for 30 minutes. Add the chopped kale, and boil for 30 minutes. Add the cubed potatoes and before the potatoes are done, add the remaining drained cans of beans. Add macaroni and cook for a short time at the end.
My version of the classic Portuguese kale soup.
Here’s my version: carb-friendly, but still packs a lot of flavor.
Add the stock and water to a large pot. Heat until boiling. Add the lentils.
In a saucepan with a little olive oil, saute the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic for a few minutes. Add the chopped chourico and saute a few minutes more. Add the contents of the saute pan in the pot.
Wash and de-stem the kale, tearing the leaves into smaller pieces. Add the leaves to the pot and stir. The stems go in your compost pile. (You can also use them in a juicer.)
Cook the soup until the lentils are al dente. Taste and season for salt and pepper before serving.
The key to great tuna tartare is super fresh tuna. And although I get it practically off-the-boat fresh here in RI from the folks at The Local Catch, a group that sells only fresh, local and sustainable seafood, I still freeze my tuna before using it. It’s easier to cut tuna cleanly into cubes when it’s still a bit frozen.
Chop the tuna into 1/4″ cubes or smaller. Place in a large bowl and keep in the fridge.
In another bowl, combine the olive oil, lime zest and juice, wasabi powder, soy sauce, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper, and scallions. Pour this over the tuna and mix gently.
Add the chopped avocado to the bowl and mix gently.
Let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour for the flavors to combine. Before serving, take the bowl out of the fridge and let it warm just slightly. Taste for seasoning. Top with sesame seeds.
Serve on crackers or over fresh greens.
The corn is out on farm stands in my neighborhood, and it’s really hard to resist, despite the fact that corn is at the top of the loaded-with-pesticides list of veggies. Organic farmers struggle with corn because it demands a lot and produces little in return, so I’m growing my own patch this year, a small 5-by-5 foot square that will yield a couple dozen organic ears, if I do it right.
By now, I’m sure you’ve seen those videos where the person takes corn still in the husk, pops it in the microwave, and then slips out a perfect ear of corn without any silk minutes later. If you haven’t, here’s one of them…
There are 2 problems with this method: 1) It takes forever to do a dozen ears…and 2) It ruins the damn corn!
Why would anyone who’s passionate about fresh corn, stick it in a microwave and nuke the living hell out of it? Fresh corn needs a minimalist approach. It should be eaten practically raw…not bombarded with gamma rays and dehydrated in to shriveled kernels.
I love my corn right off the cob…and I still stick to the tried-and-true method of putting it in a pot of water and boiling it for a very short time. Do I get a few strands of silk? Sure. That’s part of the deal. Real corn has silk…just like real fish has bones. Get over it.
My wife and daughter like their corn off the cob. In that case, I shuck the corn, stand the ear up in a bowl while it’s still raw, and slice down with a knife to remove the kernels. I then lightly saute the corn in a pan with unsalted organic butter and a pinch of Fleur de Sel. Those pieces that have several rows of kernels stuck together, across and down, are the favorites.
One other way I’ve cooked corn is the “cooler corn” method, which is great when you have a large crowd to feed. Get your favorite cooler and make sure it’s clean inside. Shuck your corn and place the ears in the cooler. Boil a large pot of water on the stove and then pour the hot water over the corn. Close the cooler lid tightly and let it sit for about 30 minutes. You will have perfect corn every time.
We were recently invited to a very cool retro summer party: cocktails and appetizers from the 60’s, and everyone contributed to the music by bringing in their favorite songs on vinyl. (I brought in a copy of the First Edition’s “Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Was In)” featuring a very young Kenny Rogers. Very trippy.
We were also asked to contribute to the apps, so I brought waffle chips with clam dip.
Combine all the ingredients, except the clam liquid, in a bowl and mix well with a fork.
Add 1 tablespoon of the clam liquid and mix well. Keep adding the clam liquid until the dip reaches a consistency you like.
Serve with potato chips.
Nothing says summer here in New England like a lobster roll. But I don’t go to a clam shack to get one. The prices are ridiculous, the meat can be overcooked, and they often add ingredients I don’t want.
I start with fresh lobster. I get it from my lobster man buddy, Gary, just down the street at his dock in Tiverton, RI.
A view of the Sakonnet River from the back of Gary’s lobster boat, the Edna Mae
The next step is to cook it right. I use sea salt in a large pot of boiling water. I make sure the water is at a rolling boil before the lobsters go in. And I cook them for no more than about 8 minutes.
After the lobsters have been removed from the pot and have cooled for a few minutes, I get to work: cracking the claws and tail and removing every bit of beautiful meat I can find. Lobster lovers will tell you that the legs have some meat in them and that the tomalley (the green liver and pancreas) and roe (eggs) are delicacies not to be missed. For the purpose of making lobster salad, I don’t use these parts. But I do save the tomalley and roe for a separate treat…and I save all the legs and cleaned empty shells for lobster stock.
Everyone has their own opinion about lobster rolls: what goes in ‘em…and perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t. I am no exception. For me, no veggies whatsoever: no chopped celery, no lettuce, no pickle. No paprika or Old Bay seasoning. A pinch of celery salt? Sure. Mayonnaise? Only Hellman’s. White pepper, not black, and just a touch. Salt? A pinch of Fleur de sel. And the secret weapon to bring out all the flavors: the tiniest squeeze of fresh lemon juice…not enough to give it a lemon flavor…just to brighten the taste.
I prefer those long Martin’s potato rolls: straight out of the bag or lightly grilled with a little melted butter brushed on.
When asparagus is in season, it’s time to gorge. I’ve got it growing in my yard, and the patch gets bigger and happier every year with minimal maintenance…definitely one of those veggies every lazy gardener should grow.
I love it raw, chopped into salads, pickled, oven-roasted, and in pasta dishes. This is a great side dish with any main course slab of meat.
The easy way to trim asparagus spears is to grab the thicker end between two fingers and bend it. It will snap at the point where the tough part ends and the softer, edible part begins. Toss the bottoms into your compost pile.
Heat the butter and oil in a pan and then add the asparagus spears. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until al dente. You don’t want them mushy.
While the asparagus is still in the pan, sprinkle the Parmigiano Reggiano on top, letting it melt a bit. Season with salt and pepper.
I ate this batch right out of the pan!
If you’re looking for a fast-growing vine to cover an arbor or other structure, nothing grows faster than hops…that’s right, like the hops in your beer! Hops farms in Germany grow the vines vertically, extending lines up to 30 feet in the air.
Once you’ve bought a few hops plants, they will reward you with interesting healthy vines that will spread quickly. And soon, you’ll also be able to split large plants and transplant them to other areas of your yard.
Early in the season, and the vines are already 2 feet up!
The vines are strong, the leaves are beautiful, and the hops flowers smell great and are different from anything else you may have in your garden. And if you brew your own beer, how cool is it to have one of your ingredients growing in your yard?
A bed of hostas below, the hops grow up this “umbrella” every year.
Hops are hardy perennials that will come back bigger and stronger every year. In the fall, the leaves die off and leave a wooden skeleton behind that looks great in the winter and also supplies birds with nesting material the following spring.
You can find hops plants on Amazon.
Live the Live ™ 