Seed starting for Summer harvest #GardenCuizine #NNM #NationalNutritionMonth #CSOWM

Veggie and Flower

Seed Starting 

for Summer Blooms 

and Harvest

National Nutrition Month, every March, is a great time to start growing veggies, herbs and flowers. Yesterday, we got some seeds started indoors, under grow lights, for our summer garden here in NJ USDA zone 7a. I'll post the germination time next to each plant as they germinate. It is not too late to start veggie, flower and herb seeds indoors for your garden too.

Typically I start seeds on St. Patty's Day, but this year I was side-tracked from the late season ice storm 'Stella' and studying for an exam to become a Certified Specialist in Obesity and Weight Management (CSOWM). 

I am proud to be among the first healthcare professionals in the US to qualify to test for the new Academy of Nutrition interdisciplinary credential. I took the 3-hour exam Friday and won't know the results for 6 to 8 long weeks. 

In the meantime, I'm happy to fit in some gardening and much needed yard clean up. Last weekend, we hauled a lot of tree limbs to the curb. Harry had a chance to use a newly purchased chain saw. We still have a fallen pine to deal with. Planting seeds was good therapy in dealing with the sadness of so much storm damage.

Around Mother's Day, after danger of frost, we will plant seedlings that were started inside, outside. Some of our seedlings will be added to our veggie garden; some will go in flower beds, some will be traded with garden friends and some will go into pots on our porch. Here is what we have started indoors under grow lights:

1. Black Krim heirloom tomatoes - germinated ?
2. Goldberg's heirloom tomatoes - germinated 4/3
3. large yellow heirloom tomatoes (not sure of ID) - germinated 4/3
4. Leslie's French Petit Moineau heirloom tomatoes - germinated 4/3
5. Zebra heirloom tomatoes - germinated 4/2
6. large red cherry - germinated 4/2
7. Pomodoro San Marzano (seeds from Italy) - germinated 4/2
8. Chianti Rose heirloom tomatoes- germinated 4/4
9. Chocolate Cherry heirloom tomatoes (love these!) - ? plant again
10. large red heirloom tomatoes (not sure of ID) - germinated 4/3
11. Jamaican Hot Chocolate peppers
12. Chiltepin peppers (they are super HOT, 100,000 Scoville, pea-shaped) 
13. Coronado hyssop (love the smell; hummingbird favorite!) - germinated 4/4
14. Salvia viridis 'Marble Arch Rose' - germinated 4/1
15. 'Fragrant Cloud' Nicotiana
16.  Hollyhock single pink
17. Cardinal flower vine - germinated 4/7
18. Capers (another try from seeds from a special visit to Cape Cod in 2013)
19. Salvia fariosasa 'blue salvia'
20. 'Lady in Red' salvia (must have for hummers!)- poor germination, try again!
21. Coral Nymph salvia - germinated 4/1
22. large white salvia
23. Nepeta tall pink (seeds from a Dave's Garden swap in 2010)
24. Amsterdam Seasoning Celery
25. Italian basil - poor germination 4/6
26. Black poppy 2012 - germinated 4/2

Seeds started indoors 4/1/17

1.  Korean Hyssop - germinated 4/14
2. Mina Lobata Spanish Flag - germinated 4/18

Seeds started indoors 4/9/17 

1. Chocolate Cherry heirloom - germinated ?

 More started indoors 4/14/17

1. Leslie's French Currant Tomatoes Petit Moineau- germinated 4/20
2. Lavendar Breadseed Poppies
3. Purple Majesty Millet
4. Mexican Sunflower - germinated 4/19

... replanted 4/16

1. Lady in Red - germinated 4/20

Seeds direct sown in veggie garden 4/9/17

1. Arugula! Rucola seeds from Italy 

Happy Gardening! Stop back for updates!
Blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. National Nutrition Month® is a federally registered service mark of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.Used on GardenCuizine with permission.

#NationalNutritionMonth St. Patty's Cooking Class @InspiraHN enjoyed GREEN foods! #NNM #SaladinaJar

National Nutrition Month®

Cooking Class

Thanks to all who attended Inspira Health Network's National Nutrition Month® Cooking Class in Vineland, New Jersey today. The class focused on vegetarian green foods. 

It warmed my heart to chat with a woman who remembers my health food store and restaurant that was my pride and joy for over a decade! I really enjoy meeting people who remember The Garden - Garden of Eden.

Inspira's cooking class featured GREEN foods in celebration of National Nutrition Month® and St. Patrick's Day. Our menu included a Shamrock Salad featuring blanched asparagus, snap peas, snow peas, shelled edamame, chopped celery, fresh arugula and baby spinach. The Shamrock Salad Dressing was a blend of: garlic, olive oil, rice wine vinegar, lemon juice and whole seed mustard.

Participants learned about nutrition and healthy cooking methods, such as blanching and steaming. Each person made their own Salad-in-a-Jar and tasted a variety of nutritious, green foods that included: steamed whole edamame pods with a green dressing made from avocado, spinach, olive oil, Greek yogurt, garlic, onion powder, lemon juice and salt and pepper. 

Diana Alvarado, RDN, CDE demonstrated how-to-make a green Salad-in-a-Jar. The technique is to start with the dressing on the bottom so the greens at the top remain fresh and crisp.

The dietitian also showed the class how to prepare healthy Shamrock Shakes using coconut milk, avocado, spinach, vanilla extract, fresh mint leaves, banana and ice.

It was interesting to learn more about Mason Jars and the history that began in Vineland NJ thanks to John Landis Mason in 1858!

Special thanks to Inspira dietetic interns who helped us present this NNM cooking class.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 
Happy National Nutrition Month!
Related Links
Well Preserved Birth of the Mason Jar
John Landis Mason
Who Made that Mason Jar NY Times 

Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. National Nutrition Month® is a federally registered service mark of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.Used on GardenCuizine with permission.

Today in Our Garden #winterstormStella damaging ice #frozencherryblossoms #GardenCuizine @BurlcoTimes

Today in Our Garden
Ice Storm Stella

I'd much rather be enjoying the Philadelphia Flower Show right now instead of watching ice topple branches from our pines and shrubs. We prepared for winter storm Stella, a predicted mid-Atlantic nor'easter, but instead of getting 8 to 12-inches of snow, we got much worse - damaging ice. 

Stella's ice has coated everything. Cherry blossoms and pussy willow blooms are completely encapsulated in ice. 

We even had the local Fire Department stop by earlier to remove huge, fallen white pine branches that had landed onto the road. The wrath of this storm may still not be over. Flurries are still falling, ice is not melting and I can hear the wind howling as I'm typing.

The white pines dropped more branches than I can ever remember. The sound of cracking and breaking branches could be heard in our yard and echoing throughout the neighborhood. 

When I strolled around the yard with my camera to survey the damages, I noticed one pine had completely uprooted and tipped over, laying alongside the veggie garden.

lots of pine cones on this uprooted pine tree

there is not supposed to be a tree along side this garden fence!

It is hard to believe that Spring is less than one week away from this cold, wind and ice.
Related Links
Winter Storm Update 
Helping Trees and Shrubs Recover from Snow and Ice 
Photos and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Grow Turmeric #GardenCuizine #kitchengarden #garden #NationalNutritionMonth #NNM

Grow Turmeric

in your Kitchen Garden

We love cooking with mild and spicy curry seasoning. Turmeric is one of the main ingredients in curry. Turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) tubers look similar to ginger. I bought some at Wholefoods quite some time ago with the intention of planting them to see if they would grow.

I placed the finger-like rhizomes on our plant rack until I could find the time to plant them in a pot. Time went by: they were forgotten. The turmeric sat on our plant rack exposed to light and air for several months. 

waiting for the turmeric to grow...

One day, as I was watering coleus cuttings, I noticed a smooth green stem emerging from the wrinkled, old turmeric rhizomes (see above photo). It was a bud! The turmeric was alive and calling me to plant it asap.

The shriveled turmeric rhizomes got planted a few weeks ago. After a good watering and nourishment from the soil, guess what? Our turmeric is growing! A strong green stem is about a half-inch tall already and growing up towards the grow lights.
 
Ginger and Turmeric like to be shallow planted. I barely covered the rhizomes with soil - they seem to be growing just fine so far.

Ground turmeric (Indian Saffron) adds natural yellow color to foods and may provide some health benefits as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Related Links
About Curcumin
Blog post and photo Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Make Ahead Meatballs #NationalNutritionMonth #familymeals #planahead #cookathome @kidseatright

Make Ahead Meatballs

Make a batch of Italian meatballs when you have the time and freeze for use in budget-friendly family meals later in the week. Happy National Nutrition Month!

Ingredients
1 lb. lean, grass fed, ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Parsley (or Cilantro), chopped
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon Cracker Meal
1 clove garlic, minced
several twists (~8) fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
Olive oil for cooking

Putting it all together
Combine all ingredients adding water last. Roll into balls and put on plate until ready to cook. Heat oil in skillet. Add meatballs in batches. Cook turning to brown all sides. Do not overcook. Remove and drain on paper towels. When cool, portion into baggies. Label with date and freeze until ready to use.

Enjoy with homemade pasta sauce!

Blog post and recipe Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. National Nutrition Month® is a federally registered service mark of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.Used on GardenCuizine with permission.

Edamame Dill Cous Cous #wholegrain #healthysidedish #GardenCuizine #recipe #NNM

Edamame Dill Cous Cous

whole grain 

serves 6
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup Edamame
1/2 cup Whole wheat Cous Cous
1/4 cup fresh Dill* chopped
1/4 cup Onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons (Tbl sp) olive oil
1 Tbl sp Garlic, minced or freeze-dried
pinch salt and pepper

Putting it all together
In a quart pot, saute onion in olive oil. Add garlic and dill, stir. Add water and edamame and bring to boil. Stir in cous cous. Cover and turn off heat. Let sit covered until liquid is absorbed. Serve when ready. Can be easily reheated in microwave.

Great as a side dish during National Nutrition Month®! Serve with additional lean protein such as tofu, salmon, chicken or fish. And, don't forget to add non-starchy vegetables to your meal; such as, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, bok choy or salad. 

We made this last night for dinner with stir fried tofu and broccoli to keep it vegetarian.

*GardenCuizine Kitchen Tip: Rinse fresh dill and shake off excess water. Store in an airtight plastic baggie in the freezer. You will always have dill when you need it!

Blog post and photos Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. National Nutrition Month® is a federally registered service mark of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.Used on GardenCuizine with permission.

Happy National Nutrition Month! #NNM #FamilyMeals Eat More Fruits and Vegetables @Fruits_Veggies #GardenCuizine

2017 NNM display board by dietetic intern at Inspira Health Network

Happy National

Nutrition Month®!

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends one way to celebrate National Nutrition Month® is to commit to trying a new fruit or vegetable each week as a family. Don't you think that's a great idea? 

Let us know what you try. My family just tried cactus for the first time and even mom enjoyed it!

Related Links
Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
Ideas to Get Involved in National Nutrition Month®
Photo and blog post Copyright(C)Wind. All rights reserved.