What are you growing this year?

I’m not going to lie. My husband and I haven’t always liked vegetables. Shoot, there are still some that we’re scared of. But that is one of the reasons we got into gardening. I wanted to enjoy eating them more. I hated buying produce that was over priced, under ripe, tasteless and less nutritious than the vegetables our grandparents grew. So I got to thinking, why not have a garden? I loved the idea of expanding our taste buds on vegetables our family enjoyed, plus having the entire family outside digging and picking produce was a simple joy.

SO.

Have you thought about having a garden? If you already have a garden, have you started thinking about what you want to grow this year? Is there anything you are growing that you didn’t last year? We are expanding our garden this year, and putting in a few boxes in the front yard (probably should talk to our landlord first), we just didn’t have enough last year!

Here are some of the things we will be growing this year:
(If it says maybe, that’s because I’m not sure if we will have enough room.)

Cantare Beans
Detroit Dark Red Beets
Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli (maybe-fall)
Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts (maybe)
Amarillo Carrots
Berlicum Carrots
Jaune Obtuse Du Doubs Carrots (maybe)
Country Gentlemen Corn (maybe)
Muncher Cucumber
Blue De Solaise Leeks
Georgia Southern Kale
Butter King Buttercrunch
De Morges Braun Romain
Flashy Butter Oak
Lolla Bionda Lettuce (maybe)
Pear Melon (maybe)
Bianca Di Maggio Onions (maybe)
Red of Florence Onions (maybe-fall)
Corne De Belier Snow Pea’s
Ring of Fire Cayenne Peppers
Purple Jalapeno Peppers (maybe)
Amsterdam Prickly Seeded Spinach (maybe)
Blue Hubbard Squash (maybe)
German Pink Tomatoes
Missouri Pink Love Apple Tomatoes (maybe)
Amish Paste Tomatoes
Ali Baba Watermelon (maybe)
Genovese Basil
Basil Emily
Cilantro
Chives
Marshmallow (maybe)
Tarragon
Lavender
Parsley
Yarrow

If you have any suggestions on things to grow that YOU can’t live with out let me know! I love trying new varieties!

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Granola

Warm.

Soft.

Crunchy.

Chewy.

Healthy.

Versatile.

Hints of coconut.

Bites of nuts and fruit (optional)

Want to put raisins in? Go Ahead!. Want to put dried apples in? GO AHEAD! Want to put nothing but oats in? Yup, that’s right, GO AHEAD!

Granola is just so wonderful. There’s no wrong way to make it. It’s pretty much full proof! And I like recipes like that. No brainers, because sometimes, with babies running around I really don’t have any. (…Actually even without babies running around, I still sometimes don’t have any.)

Pour all those beautiful oats into a big bowl

Then add all your coconut, nuts, seeds, oat bran and wheat germ.

Get your honey, molasses, salt, brown sugar, oils, cinnamon and vanilla and stir together, bringing it to a soft boil. Is it bad to drink that stuff? It smells so good.

Pour onto the dry stuff and stir together. Wow, that just looks great.

Beautiful

Spread it on a baking sheet, and sneak a bite of two..if you’re a weirdo like me and enjoy raw oats. Then bake it for 20 min, stirring halfway through.

Pull it out of the oven, (eating a bite or two while severely burning your tongue) and let it cool to room temperature. Then enjoy!

My favorite granola recipe

8 cups of rolled oats
1 1/2 c wheat germ
1 1/2 c oat bran
1 cup of almonds
1 c pecans
1 – 1 1/2 cups of coconut
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup of molasses
3/4 cup of honey
1 cup coconut oil
1 tbl cinnamon
1 tbl vanilla
1 cup of dried fruit

1) Line baking sheet with foil

2) Combine oats, wheat germ, oat brean, seeds, and nuts into a bowl

3) Stir together salt, brown sugar, molasses, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla. Bring to a bowl.

4) Pour over oat mixture and stir to coat. (I like to drizzle more honey over the entire thing, stir, and do it once more)

5) Spread evenly on baking sheet and bake for 20 min, stirring half way through

6) Cool, then stir in dried fruit