Square Foot Gardening

I've wanted a garden for years. When I was a kid, I tried to grow pumpkins and watermelons just by sticking some seeds in a bare patch of dirt in the corner of our back yard in Las Vegas. The seeds actually sprouted and I think a baseball ball-sized watermelon even grew on a pathetic little vine, but under my negligent care it split open and a bunch of ants ate it hollow. I've since learned that there can be an endless number of factors that predict the success of a garden, so for a long time I've been too intimidated to try.

But recently I've learned from several gardeners, ranging in expertise from beginner to seasoned professional, about the square foot gardening method and I thought it warranted further exploration. I checked the book out from the library and have been nothing but amazed and impressed by this method. It's the most intuitive, effective, and economical system imaginable. You don't have to rototill, fertilize, or correct the pH of your soil. You don't have to spend hours thinning crops or pulling weeds and you don't have to buy expensive tools. In fact, after the first year, you don't have to buy anything except new seeds! And you don't overplant, so you don't have to leave anonymous bags of squash on your neighbors' porches to get rid of your over-abundant harvest.

If you're into gardening or want to get into gardening and could possibly trust a recommendation from a person who has no garden, check it out! The book is called All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Now is the time to get started. I'm going to try it and I think I might actually be able to do it. Here's hoping!

The Essential Food Storage Cookbook

I recently obtained a copy of The Essential Food Storage Cookbook by Tami Girsberger and Carol Peterson. Unlike Pantry Cooking, many of the recipes do call for fresh ingredients; the authors consider it a good source for helping you to rotate your food storage, not necessarily to live solely on it. Still, there are a decent amount of recipes that only use ingredients with a long shelf life and others that could easily be converted by using things like powdered eggs or milk. I have tried several of the recipes and I love it! I would want it in my collection just for its regular, everyday meal ideas. It also has a lot of great food storage tips and information. The recipes are good and easy, the kind where you already have most of the ingredients you need on hand. I am easily intimidated by recipes where I don't even know what all of the ingredients are. Here are a couple of recipes that my family really likes that can be made entirely from stored items:


Crazy Whole Wheat Muffins

[Whole wheat muffins didn't really sound good to me at all, but I tried these and was amazed. They're so soft, sweet, and moist you would think you were eating a cupcake.]

Ingredients:

-1/2 c. oil
-1 c. brown sugar
-1 c. applesauce
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1-1/2 c. whole what flour
-1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix ingredients together and pour into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes (8 minutes for mini muffins).


Herb Bread

-1/2 c. milk [fine with powdered milk]
-2 tbsp. sugar
-1 tsp. salt
-1 tbsp. butter
-1 tbsp. dried minced onion
-2-1/2 tsp. yeast
-1/2 c. warm water
-2-1/4 c. whole wheat flour (or 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white flour)
-1/2 tsp. thyme
-1/2 tsp. dill [I left it out; not a dill fan]
-1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed

In a small saucepan, heat milk over medium heat until simmering. Add sugar, salt, and butter and stir until dissolved. Add dried minced onion; remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water (about 5 minutes). Add cooled milk mixture, flour, and herbs. Stir well (dough will be very wet) until smooth.

Cover and let rise until triple in bulk (about 45 minutes). Stir down and beat for a few minutes. Turn into a greased 9x5-inch bread pan and let rest for 10 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 1 hour. Serve warm.

Pantry Cooking

I found this cookbook at the library. Aside from containing some good general information on emergency food prep, it has a bunch of recipes, all of which can be prepared using only long-term food storage items. Some of them look a little... questionable. But I've tried some that were actually pretty good. Here's one of them, slightly altered to accommodate my personal tastes:

Penne Pasta with Artichokes

Ingredients:
-2 tsp. dried garlic
-3 tbsp. olive oil
-2 (14-ounce) cans artichoke hearts, with liquid [or you can use the marinated ones in the jar as the recipe suggests, but I thought they tasted too briny for this recipe]
-1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
-2 tbsp. pepper jardiniere [I left this out because I wasn't really sure what it is]
-1 tbsp. dried parsley
-1 tsp. spicy spaghetti or Italian seasoning
-2 tbsp. Italian bread crumbs
-salt & pepper
-10 c. water
-1 lb. mini penne pasta
-1 c. grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, saute garlic in oil for 1 minute. Add artichokes, tomatoes, jardiniere, parsley, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5 minutes.

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook al dente (until almost tender); drain. Toss pasta with sauce and top with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4-6 servings.