make a wish upon a clove...

Garlic is a staple for me, I put it in almost everything. It is also one of those plants that you can really taste the difference between the chinese supermarket variety and the farmers market variety.
I've wanted to grow it for years, but, like tulips, and daffodils, you plant it in the fall, instead of the spring, and I'd never gotten myself organized before. Before this year, that is...

On Oct 10 (10/10/10) I planted them into a bed I had just amended with loads of homemade compost, lets all hope they grow into fat, beautiful bulbs by July!

Apple Fest at UBC

Every Fall the UBC botanical Gardens hosts the Apple Fest, a celebration of the hundreds of different varieties of apples, the people who grow them, and the people who eat them.

There were many different trees on hand for sale, but the botanical garden also had some beautiful specimens planted around the paths, this one is part of an espaliered "wall" around the vegetable garden.

There were also many apple experts around to answer questions, with lectures and demonstrations on many subjects. I attended this speech on grafting, which is when you fuse a branch of a desired type of tree onto the trunk of an existing tree. I learned that if you grow apples from seed, you have only a 1 in 20000 chance of the apples from your new tree being nice and edible. So almost all apple trees are branches from proven edible varieties grafted onto compatible, existing root stock (like local crabapples trees, or perhaps a dwarf apple tree, if you lack a lot of space.) 

The most incredible thing about the apple fest was the tasting tent, where they had dozens of different types of apples to try...

...along with the histories of those apples and friendly volunteers to slice them up so we could taste them. Just look at some of these varieties.

And the absolute winner, in my eyes, for being the most distinct and lasting with its impression...

If you ever get a chance, GO! to this festival, but get there early, or you may miss out on the tasting. 

UBC AppleFest

Compost

While Spring is the time that gardeners plan for and anticipate all winter long, Fall is the time composters anticipate all year long. After being baked in the hot summer sun most compost bins are ready to be harvested in the fall. And with all the gardens winding down and the trees losing their leaves, composts get a huge boost of nutrients, and carbon, the city composts most scarce ingredient.

Successful compost requires a 50/50 ration of carbon (brown, dry organic matter) and nitrogen ("green", wet organic matter), it  also requires heat, which can be achieved either with a large pile of matter, or by putting the matter into a dark container.  In the city, where space is at a premium, the container makes the most sense. This year we got 4 full wheelbarrows full of compost, which gets spread over the beds to feed the plants. In Vancouver you can pick up a compost bin from the city for only $25, check them out here http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/solidwaste/grownatural/composters.htm

NYC Urban Forage

Two years ago I had the pleasure of being caught between the moon and New York City. Made familiar to us through so many books, movies, and television shows, New York is one of North America's largest  urban experiments. I was thrilled to get a chance to explore it, and even more thrilled to learn about Steve Brill, www.wildmanstevebrill.com

Steve Brill is an expert food forager, he conduct tours throughout parks in the north east of the USA. I had the opportunity to catch him for a tour of Central Park, Manhattan.

At over 800 acres, Central Park was one of the first, and is still one of the largest landscaped city parks in the world. Surrounded by skyscrapers and the bustle of Manhatten, it is a welcome island of peace and nature, enjoyed both by tourists and locals. Check out www.centralpark.com/pages/history.html to find a good article on its creation. 

As I arrived in the middle of November, I was expecting the foraging tour to be short and sparse. I was wrong and Wild Man Brill had us hiking for almost two hours, finding new things to eat around every corner. Here are a few of the plants we saw...

Burdock root, roasted it makes a nice hearty tea, but it is also a recurring ingredient in many tasty Japanese dishes.

Wild onion, it is even got bulbs, easy to identify, both in the wild and on the plate

The Norths version of Persimmon, tasty, too bad the photo is so bad

Crab apples, don't even ripen in Central Park until November

Lambs Quarter's a nice mild tasting green that is tasty in winter salads.

This tour was a wonderful way to appreciate New York City, to learn about the plants of the north east and to learn more about foraging in general, as well. I highly recommend it for anyone travelling to the Big Apple!

Pumpkin Pie

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Fall and using whats in your fridge, I give to you:

THE Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Pastry for a 9" pie (I prefer whole wheat)

3 cup Fresh Pumpkin Puree

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp or more, freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp or more grated cinnamon

1tsp grated fresh ginger

3 lrg eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup heavy cream

• Pre heat your oven to 425 degrees F
• Line pie dish with pastry
• Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl, blend well. Pour mixture into prepared shell and place in the oven
• Bake for 15 minute. reduce heat to 350 degrees, Bake for 30 to 40 mins longer, or until filling is set. 
• Serve, if desired, with sweetened and or rum flavoured whipped cream. 

Yields 6-8 servings

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rosemary

Rosemary, like many of our favourite culinary herbs, comes from the Mediterranean region. However it is quite hardy and is grown successfully (to giant, bush like sizes) here in Vancouver. Many people here in Van grow it in their yards as an ornamental feature, or perhaps they choose it for its aromatic properties...
Anyhow, it is very easy to forage around here, but I don't see many people doing that. Probably that is because most people are shy to forage for food in urban areas. However, in the off chance that someone is not optimizing on an opportunity to forage for a delicious ingredient because they don't know what to do with it, I will give you an idea...

combine it with GARLIC!

I season roast potatoes, roasted pumpkin seeds, pastas and breads with this, and that is just the beginning of what can be done. Don't let this free culinary experience pass you by.

Zucchini!, or is it Courgette?

3 Zucchinis and a Cucumber

Zucchini, or Courgette if you're a brit, is the most simple and abundant vegetable a gardener can grow, I absolutely recommend it if you are just starting on this veg growing path and don't want to be completely heart broken year after year.  2010 was not a great year to grow Zucchini, too cold and wet and short, and from 2 plants we still got 7.85Kg of fruit, thats a lot. In fact my grandma, who moved from the city to a farm in the country, once told me that in the summer in the country, if you don't lock your car doors you'll wake up in the morning with a car filled with Zucchini. Haha, doesn't sound that bad, this veg is versatile. I do have a recipe to share, but first a bit of the back story...

I planted the seeds on April 17th, the variety was named Ambassador, and I bought the packet from www.westcoastseeds.com they sprouted within a week under the lights.

On May 15th they were ready to be transplanted out. I put them in a bed that had been heavily amended with sea soil, manure and coconut coir. 

And then the flowers started forming, the bees did their thing and Voila! July 23rd we got the first one. This was the first vegetable that was ready to eat out of my garden, and I made a special and simple pasta for my partner and me, made all the more special by it being the first time I had enjoyed a glass of wine since I got pregnant. Here it is...

Zucchini Garlic Parmesan Pasta

Sautee in a light oil:

Cubed Zucchini

Diced fresh Garlic 

until lightly browned, no more than 10 minutes

Toss over Pasta with all the oil,

Garnish with Parmesan and fresh chopped Parsley if you have it

Enjoy