The First Garden

So, the Obamas are setting an example for us all at the White House.

reminder

Hi everyone,
I am reminding you about the bake sale on Friday. Bring your money. There will be plenty of sweets, including a rum cake made with rum from the Dominican Republic, and salsas, too. Come hungry.

Tomato plants

I am trying to add a picture of my huge tomato plants.

Recipe Didi posted

My husband called yesterday afternoon to see if I wanted to go to dinner at which point I informed him I was going to try a recipe with some fresh Kale, he replied, "I am not eating any health _hit, can I get something on the way home"? Of course he was kidding but was still concerned, also he had no idea what Kale was. So I went home and started cooking the meal, man it smelled good, Bacon and onions and garlic smells permeated the house, my husband, in the living room watching the news shouted, "I don't know what that is going to taste like, but boy does it smell good". I did a little cheating on the recipe, cut the sausage up and browned in a pan vs the oven method but other than that followed the recipe, I made some warm bread to go with it and a nice bottle or red wine and when we sat down and had our first bite we were thrilled, it was wonderful, great flavors, it is a fancy potato soup we decided but very very good, thanks again Didi. I can't wait to have leftovers for lunch today.

A successful trade

I would like to think our little co-op has been working. I got some cheesecakes from Cory for some eggplants from my yard, and I will get some tomatoes from Robyn for some kale.

I just really hate I lost so many tomatoes. Robyn said some animals got them, but I doubt it. We only got rabbits and squirrels in our yard, and they did not touch my tomatoes last year at all.

I remember when my brother was visiting me last summer, he would get up early in the morning, saunter into the yard and pick tomatoes to feed himself.

He again will be here next week, and I feel so bad there won't be enough tomatoes for him to pick.

What is Kale? How do I cook it?

Kale

The beautiful leaves of the kale plant provide an earthy flavor and more nutritional value for fewer calories than almost any other food around. Although it can be found in markets throughout the year, it is in season from the middle of winter through the beginning of spring when it has a sweeter taste and is more widely available.

Kale is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the Brassica family, a group of vegetables including cabbage, collards and Brussels sprouts that have gained recent widespread attention due to their health promoting, sulfur-containing phytonutrients. It is easy to grow and can grow in colder temperatures where a light frost will produce especially sweet kale leaves.

Source: www.whfoods.org

How to cook it? I love this recipe, and you can be "very generous" with Kale. It seems no matter how much we put in our soup, it's never enough for me. A similar soup is available at Olive Garden, and this recipe is from allrecipes.com with five stars from 152 reviews.

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) package smoked sausage
• 2 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 cups kale - washed, dried, and shredded
• 2 tablespoons chicken soup base
• 1 quart water
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done. Cut links in half lengthwise, then cut at an angle into 1/2-inch slices.
3. Place onions and bacon slices in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Remove bacon and crumble. Set aside.
4. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken soup base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes.
5. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

Cheesecake to trade for produce

So last Sunday I went to Braum's and bought an 8 inch Braum's New York Style cheesecake. I ate half of it, and decided it really needed a topping, so I went out and bought a box of blueberries. I used up half the box on the remaining half of the cheesecake. Yummy.

Now I've got half a box of blueberries, I need to buy another cheese cake. But I only need half the cake to go with half the box. It's probably not too wise to for me to eat two full cheese cakes in two weeks, anyway.

So I'm going to buy the cheesecake tonight at Braum's. Will anyone trade me some healthy low calorie produce for half a cheese cake? Maybe three green peppers? Or some greenbeans? Or two egg plants? A head of lettuce? Tomatos? Better yet, some strawberries?

Cory

P.S. I used to grow stuff off my back porch, but now my porch doesn't get enough light. So I'm open to about any fresh produce.