Cage, Stake or Sprawl?

It's been one year since I've had my little garden growing in the backyard! Remember when I told you how Micah and his parents got me a raised bed as my 30th Birthday gift? It's a milestone because I've actually kept up with the gardening and have grown some decent stuff over the past 12 months. 

Obviously last summer's okra was a big hit and they lasted well into early fall -- I am growing okra again this year (obvious). In the fall, I removed the summer plants and put in broccoli, kale, cabbage, spinach and green onions. The broccoli seeds never took, but the kale, spinach and green onions did really well. The cabbage heads grew, but they were itty bitty -- probably the size of a medium-sized grapefruit (definitely not like the ginormous ones you see in the regular grocery stores). 

Back in March, I went to a garden sale hosted by Sunshine Community Gardens. They had a slew of tomato plants so I picked up a couple of Cherokee tomatoes, a hybrid one, a cherry tomato plant, and an heirloom one. I planted them in early March and sure enough, there was a slight freeze in early April! Amazingly enough, my plants all made it through the freeze with no issues! I didn't even put a tarp over them. 

I bought so many tomatoes thinking "surely one or two will die, especially with my luck." But fast-forward two months later and the tomatoes are creeping all over the garden! I placed cages on 2-3 of the tomato plants but I didn't cage the cherry tomato one and now it's taking over the whole garden! 

I tried to put some new cages in last week but this plant isn't playing by my rules. Some of the limbs will stay in the cage, the rest is just chilling on the grass.

But how cute are these little tomatoes?!?! I can't wait to eat them!

  

My Cherokee tomato plant is doing really well. 

 

The tomatoes are forming and these two are the biggest ones of the bunch. I hope they're not going bad with those marks on them! I can't wait to see them turn purple!

Here's hoping my tomatoes do well this season! I think I'm off to a better start than I was last season, for sure!

I also decided to pick up a couple of pepper plants at the garden sale and I currently have these babies forming: 

Jalapeno peppers

Thai Chili! I'm sure I'll be giving most of these peppers to my mom. 

I'm also trying yellow squash again. Last year, I had tons of blossoms and a couple of actual formations, but then everything died. 

They seem to be growing well right now. Fingers crossed!

 

I have the following herbs growing:

Basil

Cilantro (although it already decided to flower and try to go to seed) and flat-leaf parsley.

My green onions are still going strong. They're so big that they start sprawling too! I just trim what I need and I've given several whole bunches away to my neighbor but they're still taking up room!

 

Here's hoping this season will be a fruitful one! What are you growing your garden??

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes with Shrimp (with an Asian twist)

Back in May, I showed you guys my new garden box! I thought the plants were doing well, especially the tomato plants since they were growing so quickly! Fast forward a few months and those tomato plants are dunzo. I'm not sure if it's because we planted the tomato plants late (early May) or because of the extreme Texas heat but the plants didn't survive. Sad face. P.S. I ripped the tomato plants out this past weekend and planted tomatillo plants instead -- I hope they make it!

But you know what did survive? OKRA. My saving grace. The okra pods started popping up like crazy by early July. Okra loves the heat and the sun! By early August, my okra plants were doing gangbusters business and I had to give some away to co-workers and neighbors -- gotta share the love, right? 

I literally have to pick the okra every single day or else they would get too big and become fiberous. I swear, they grow like weeds.

The plants are currently taller than me and still producing! I'm definitely planting okra again next summer.

{ginormous okra}

Thankfully, Micah and I love okra. While we both love fried okra, you can't eat that all the time... or maybe you can... but you probably shouldn't. 

My other favorite dish to make with okra is stewed okra and tomatoes. It's easy, fresh, and fairly healthy. I started eating stewed okra and tomatoes in middle school! At Beaumont ISD, the school cafeteria food was actually decent and stewed okra and tomatoes with rice was always on the menu! Bye bye chicken rings! (I kid, I liked those too)

Micah and I like stewed okra and tomatoes so much that I've made it at least 4 times this summer! If Micah isn't bored with it, then I'll keep making it.

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes with Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 pounds okra (usually one container at the grocery store will do)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 small bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1 pound of shrimp (small to medium sized)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. of creole seasoning (you can use whatever brand you like, I make and use this mix)
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• cooked rice to serve with the stewed okra and tomatoes

Instructions

1. Prep the veggies (cut the okra, onions, bell pepper, and garlic)

 

{This is how much okra I used}

 

{Cut the tops and ends off and slice into circles. }

 

{I had a tomato sitting around so I added that + the canned tomatoes}

2. Heat the olive oil in dutch oven pan on medium heat. Add the diced onions, garlic and bell pepper. Saute until tender.

 

3. If you have some white wine sitting around, you can deglaze the pan before adding the okra -- if you don't, no worries. Add the okra and turn up the heat to medium high and saute for 5 minutes.You want to cook out some of the slimy goo in the okra.

{Can you see the slimy stuff?}

4. Season with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp. of salt at this point). Add the can of diced tomatoes, bay leaf and the creole seasoning. Bring the heat down to a simmer, put a lid on the pot and let it marry for 15 minutes or even 30 minutes. I feel like the longer you let it simmer, the better the dish is.

 

{Since my garden didn't produce any tomatoes, I use the canned stuff.}

{All the players are happy in the pot.}

5. While the okra mixture is simmering, prep the shrimp. HEB had gulf shrimp on sale, so it only made sense that I use these little babies. Peel and devein the shrimp. If you like more shrimp, use more! 

 

6. After the simmering period, add the shrimp. Also add my secret ingredient: fish sauce! I know it sounds weird, but that bit of fish sauce rounds out the flavor and gives it that umami-ness that you're looking for. Do it! Let the pot simmer for another 5 minutes until the shrimp is pink -- don't cook it any longer. The residual heat in the pot will cook the shrimp even further when you turn off the heat after the 5 minutes.

{happy shrimp} 

7. When you're ready to serve it, put the cooked rice onto a plate and ladle on the stewed okra and tomatoes with shrimp! It's a meal in itself or you can do like me and serve it with a side of mashed potatoes (carbo overload!). Enjoy!

{This picture does not do the dish justice, but I'm posting it anyway.}

{Southern goodness y'all!}

Catfish: More than just a bottom dweller

While I love me some fried catfish (I am from Southeast TX, y'all), there are other ways of preparing catfish that doesn't involve battering and frying those suckers. 

[Courtesy: Wikipedia]

Catfish is extremely prevalent in Vietnamese cuisine and you know damn well that we use the WHOLE FISH, yep, that includes the HEAD! Squeamish people beware. 

 I think it is safe to say that most Viet people love canh chua ca (sour fish soup). It's a soup that excites your taste buds but is also fairly healthy.

When I make this, I usually buy the whole catfish at the Asian market and ask the fish monger to chop the body into 1in. steaks. The steaks will be turned into ca kho (caramel braised catfish - recipe for another time). I keep the head and the tail for this soup. In a normal meal, you would make the braised fish dish + the soup and have a full catfish meal with rice. YUM!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of bean sprouts
• 2 tomatoes
• package of okra
• 1-2 stalks of bac ha (taro stem and elephant ear)
• 2 shallots (minced) 
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 cup canned pineapple (cut into bite-sized chunks)
• catfish head and tail + 1 catfish steak 
• Sarap tamarind soup base + fish sauce to taste

Instructions:

1. Saute the garlic and shallots in a tablespoon of vegetable oil. When it's fragrant and slightly browned add the catfish head and tail. Cook the fish for two minutes on each side. Then add the catfish steak.

{Is he looking at you?}

2. Add enough water to cover the fish but leave enough room for all the veggies (this pot is close to 6 quarts, so on average about 4-6 quarts of water will do). Add half of the tamarind soup base and one tablespoon of fish sauce. Let the broth simmer while you prep the veggies.

3. Clean the bac ha: You just take off the green tough skin. What's left is just the spongy stalk. Cut on a bias into 1/4 inch pieces.

{L: take the tough layer off the bac ha. R: cut on the bias into 1/4 inch pieces}

4. Trim the ends off the okra and slide the tomatoes into wedges.

 

{Micah asked me one time, "Viet people eat okra?!" The answer is yes.}

5. Skim off any foamy particles off the soup. Add all the hard veggies and pineapple into the pot! Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes before adding the bean sprouts, these go in at the last minute. Taste the soup to see if you need more fish sauce, I usually end up adding another tablespoon or two. If it's not sour enough, add a touch more of the tamarind base. The dominant flavor should be sour, then salty, then sweet. Adjust to your liking.

{everyone into the pot!}

Fill up a bowl with some jasmine rice, ladle on some soup and you've got Vietnamese comfort food.

Now you ask, what do I do with the head and tail? Take those babies out and ladle on the high-end fish sauce. Just pick at it with your chopsticks. That is good eating right there!

{Are you brave enough to eat the eyeball?!}

Calily, Calily, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?

Ok, so it's not quite as catchy as "Mary, Mary, quite contrary," but at least my name ends with a Y!

As a gift for my 30th Birthday (crazy!), Micah and his parents decided to gift me with my own veggie garden! It's really the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it?

I've been talking about starting a garden for quite some time now, but never committed due to time, energy, and excuses. Now, I have no excuse but to turn my brown thumb into a green thumb... or else we won't be feasting on anything this summer.

The dirt in our backyard is not the best stuff to garden with, so we decided to get this raised garden bed and fill in with nutrient-rich garden soil (from Garden-Ville in Georgetown). The bed measures: 42 x 84 x 8. It's not huge, but it fits perfectly on the side of our house. If I like it, I can always get another garden box in the future.

{Garden setup: I have a soaker hose to regulate the water. This area of the house was basically a dead zone when it came to grass, so we decided to put the garden here. The area also gets FULL sun, hence why it's been so hard for the St. Augustine grass to grow. Why is it green now? Well, because that is leftover zoysia sod from our newly sodded front yard.}

 Once we got the dirt hauled in, Micah's parents helped me with the most important part: what to grow!

1. Plant in the left foreground is yellow bellpepper. The two other plants next to it are green hatch chiles. I guess I will be making tons of green chile this summer!

 

2. Yellow Squash! I thought this plant wasn't looking that healthy in the store, but wowzers, it's blooming like crazy! Squash blossoms!

 

3. Several rows of okra! I love okra and okra loves SUN so this was a perfect fit. Fried okra, stewed okra and tomatoes, okra in soups, okra in gumbo... so many options! Micah's parents gave me the good tip to leave the okra plants in the container they came in for one week before transplanting them to the garden. This gave the little guys a chance to get a little bit stronger before I shocked them into the garden.

4. Tomatoes! The one on the left is heirloom variety, the one on the right is a zebra tomato plant. The one on the left has some yellow leaves, so I put some extra compost around it and hopefully it gets more nitrogen. I hope it survives! The one on the right is a beast! I can't wait to cut into the juicy tomatoes!

5. Honeydew! This was the last plant to go in -- almost two weeks after the other items were planted. Micah chose this one. The plant hasn't been the strongest, but I think it's stronger and definitely growing. I wonder how the melon will turn out?

Here's hoping to a good growing season! I can't wait to have a bounty of veggies to cook with this summer!