GTTC: baby portabella and Swiss chard in red wine sauce over polenta

Welcome to the second GTTC post of the year! Which spring harvesters can join me this early in the season?

Though there are new spring things going on - spinach, cauliflower, green strawberries rhubarb, asparagus, nothing amounts to a decent harvest quite yet. This week, I decided to do something with last year's chard, which has been just growing and growing all through the winter and early spring. There's just one plant, but the leaves are beautiful and gigantic. They remind me of something pre-historic. This delicious dinner was based on a recipe that Holly posted way back. I did make it her way last year after she posted - as a sauce over steak - and that was QUITE fantastic. For this simple dinner, I scaled down a bit and served the sauce over polenta. Check out Holly's original post here...

Last week, I launched the first GTTC giveaway of the season. For four consecutive weeks, I will be sending a "starter pack" of Chinese vegetable seeds to a random participant. The winner from last week's post is Johanna. Be sure to visit her blog Tend-Her Garden. Please send me an email with your address and I'll put your seeds in the mail.

Want to join the weekly GTTC? Read the very simple guidelines here. Post below anytime before next Monday. See you soon!

The Garden to Table Challenge 2012 begins!

The Garden to Table Challenge 2012 is about to begin on APRIL 9th, and you're cordially invited!

• WHO: Anyone with a passion for growing food, cooking, and sharing ideas with others.
• WHAT: Simply post on your blog or on Facebook about how you've used your own harvests. See any of my GTTC posts for an example. Share a recipe if you can. Be kind by mentioning Greenish Thumb in your post so others can find us.
• WHERE: Link your post to the GTTC of the week using Mr. Linky.
• WHEN: I will add each week's GTTC post on Monday. Simply find the most current GTTC post and add your link. Posts will begin on Monday, April 9th.
• WHY: Because it's fun. Because you're growing and cooking amazing stuff anyway and you should let others know about it. Because you can see what other people are doing with their harvests each season. Because knowing you plan to participate will inspire you to be your culinary best. And finally, because I will be doing giveaways periodically throughout the summer and each time you 1) do a GTTC post that includes a link back to Greenish Thumb and then 2) link using Mr. Linky, your name goes in a pot to win random prizes. Your name never comes out, so the more you participate, the more chances you have to win. How fun is that?!
• Not reaping huge harvests yet, but still want to participate? Please do! Choose fresh, seasonal vegetables and show us how you're using them!

GTTC: pizza and giveaway winner announced!

I don't know why we don't make pizzas more often - they're cheap, quick, fun, and incredibly tasty - especially when topped with summer goodies from the garden! The version on the left is topped with arugula pesto, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and prosciutto. The version on the right is just brushed with olive oil and topped with garlic and herb goat cheese, tomatoes, and purple basil ribbons.



The variation below was made by the little one who enjoyed making it much more than eating it.

This week, I chose a name from all the GTTC entries made during this season. Holly from Tasty Travels is the winner of the Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basic's cookbook. Holly cooks up some incredible meals using the bounty from her plentiful garden. I'm not sure how much she needs a "back to basics" cookbook, but hopefully she'll find some inspiration!

Want to join the Garden to Table Challenge? Simply post about how you're using your garden harvests (or fresh market purchases), link back to the weekly GTTC post and link below.

GTTC: fresh raspberry gratin and next giveaway announced!!

I spent some time purging the bookcases today - boy is this a difficult task. I added many books to the donation pile that were hard to give up - not because they were particularly good reads, but simply because I've held on to them so long. But I'm happy to not have too much of a hoarder mentality. I found a never-opened Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook by Ina Garten on the bottom shelf. It's a lovely book - don't know why it's not sitting with my other cookbooks. As I flipped through, I found a decadent sounding recipe involving raspberries - conveniently what I returned from the farmer's market with!

The dessert was fabulous! Now back to this essentially new cookbook. No idea where it came from. It was more than likely a gift (maybe from my mom?). Sorry in advance if it was from my sister who might be reading this, because...this week, I'm going to give it away. For a chance to win, join the Garden to Table Challenge by posting about what seasonal goodies you're cooking and including a link in the post back here. Link below and earn one entry to the giveaway. I'm drawing from every entry earned during the entire 2011 season of the GTTC. Winner of this great cookbook announced next Saturday!

GTTC: blue cheese chive butter (and giveaway winner announced)

Herbs are all I'm able to grow this season after my garden failures. However, it's not too much of a challenge to find ways to use them. For this week's Garden to Table Challenge, I served a blue cheese chive butter (among other treats) for my turn to host my book group.

Last week, I touched upon the virtues of using a muddler, the specialized bar tool used to make drinks such as mojitos. It's such a must have item that I bought one to share. Each link to the GTTC posts has earned an entry to this giveaway and the winner is... Diana from the blog Kebun Malay-Kadazan Girls. Diana, please send me an e-mail with your address! :)

Want to share what you're doing with your harvests? Include a link back here in your post, then come back and link below!

GTTC - shrimp pasta with garlic cream sauce and basil oil

This week's Garden to Table Challenge post would have looked much more elegant with spaghetti, angel hair or linguine, but because of our Chinese superstition of never eating long noodles before travel (as any superstition, makes no logical sense but it's tested and true!), I had to choose elbow mac.

To make this dish, I started with my new favorite trick shared by Entangled - I made a medium-sized saucepan's worth of broth with shrimp shells first. Next, I blanched a handful of purple and Italian basil (from the garden) in hot water and then blended it with 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. In a large pan, I sauteed finely chopped onions and LOTS AND LOTS of fresh garlic till soft. To the pan, I added the strained shrimp broth and about 3/4 cup of rice wine and reduced this down to about 2 cups. I then added a cup of heavy cream and reduced the whole thing down again. To serve, I tossed the pasta with the sauce, added cooked shrimp, and drizzled the strained basil oil on top. There is so much flavor in this oil, and the garlic cream sauce is JUST decadent enough!

What are you harvesting and cooking this week? I'd really like to know! Post about it with a link back here and then add your info to Mr. Linky below. Doing so is just plain fun and can win you prizes! As I mentioned in last week's post, I will be sharing my fall garlic stock with a lucky winner. The winner is...Julie, of one of my all time favorite blogs The Little Things.

GTTC - Italian sausage summer pasta (prize announced)

June 15th is garlic harvesting day (at least on the calendar). I harvested my reasonable sized garlic - ajo rojo, inchelium, early red, and an unnamed variety I got from the Washington Youth Garden in DC while volunteering last summer. Though the garlic was pretty enough, after reading about and seeing images of Entangled's ajo rojo garlic, I started to wonder if my ajo rojo was actually ajo rojo. At each harvest, I mark the biggest bulb to replant in the fall and TRY to do a good job labeling each variety of garlic, but it's within the realm of possibility that I've gotten cloves/varieties mixed up. Either way, I've decided that this fall, I will be ordering new planting stock- and will be sharing my order with a lucky winner drawn from all the Garden to Table Challenge entries thus far. Depending on postal regulations, I may have to limit this to gardeners who live in the U.S. If you want a chance to enter, simply link below with your post that refers to the GTTC. I will draw a name from all the entries on Friday, July 8th.

This week, I didn't get too fancy, but made a simple pasta dish that the family enjoyed: spaghetti, chopped hot Italian sausage, pine nuts, spinach (I suppose I could have used basil for a more summery dish), shaved parmesan and of course LOTS AND LOTS of fresh garlic.

What's going on in your summer garden and kitchen?

*** On a personal note, the fried computer has been replaced, but now we attack the problem of the fried FIOS cable. Don't know when I'll be back online at home... In addition to these technical troubles, I have having a hell of a time commenting on my favorite blogs! Luckily I'm able to blog read, but as of now, am not able to blog comment. If you're on my list of faves (and you know you are!) know that I'm reading and enjoying but am somewhat mute right now!

GTTC - strawberries and canning competence

I was right about the bumper crop of strawberries! For this week's Garden to Table Challenge, I made a few things from the garden that I can enjoy now or months from now.

First, I made triple berry jam (on the left) and strawberry lemonade concentrate (on the right). Later in the week, I made another 14 pints of lemonade concentrate, this time also adding raspberries and blackberries to my own strawberries. Here are the recipe and directions I used (loosely based on the Ball canning book - I adjusted somewhat because the recipe was waaaaay too sweet):

• To make about 6 pints of strawberry lemonade: measure 9 cups of berries (then puree), 7 cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 10 pounds of lemons to end up with 7 cups of juice. You really need a citrus juicer for this job!), and 8 cups of sugar. Heat ingredients in large pot till sugar is completely dissolved and liquid is hot but not boiling. Fill hot pint-sized jars. Process for 15 minutes.

Below, the start of tonight's project - strawberry lemon marmalade. This marmalade is so flavorful. There's something so fragrant about the peel of citrus fruits - but I think it's definitely an acquired taste. I thought marmalade was soooo disgusting as a kid. Do you like marmalade? Did you as a kid?

This week's canning went so smoothly. It's funny to compare the mad canning skillz I have now compared to my first experience. Here's what has REALLY helped:

• I have all the necessary supplies and have learned which ones I really need (large canner with a proper rack, tongs, a wet washcloth, a stockpile of jars, lids, and rings) and which ones I really don't (magnetic stick to pick lids out of hot water, jar lifter).
• I have the concept down. I don't need to constantly read and re-read directions in the canning book as I go along.
• I've got a system down. I can quickly and carefully remove a hot jar with simple tongs and a washcloth.
• Per my former farmer friend, I keep my clean jars hot in the oven turned on low rather than in separate boiling pots of water. This trick has made all the difference.
• I'm not freaking out about trying to keep a completely sterile environment like the book warns about. It will all be just fine.
• I have full trust in the "pop!" and don't feel the need to hover to watch and listen for it.

And because canning is just really freaking fun and awesome (well, if you're the kind of nerd I am, you understand), I've decided the first GTTC prize will be the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I've also decided that I'm not going to wait till the end of the season to offer prizes. In fact, all season long, if I think of a fun prize, I will simply: 1) announce it on a particular Saturday, 2) draw a name from all the entries thus far, and 3) award the prize the following Saturday from all entries up to Friday night. All entries then go back in the pot. In other words, the more you play, the more of an opportunity you have to win.

Note to new GTTC participants - I'll be posting each week's GTTC on Saturday. Feel free to blog about what you're harvesting/cooking up, link to this blog, and then link below. Doing this gives you one entry to the occasional random prize drawings as described above.

So...next Saturday, I will draw from all the entries in the GTTC so far. Winner will get a new copy of the Ball book, which has a gazillion recipes and explains all the basics of canning step by step. The photo above is just so ridiculous I had to post it. I was moving photos from my camera and found my husband took these. On a glorious day this week, my six year old and I were outside in the front yard. I was reading the canning book (you can see it behind me), then we decided that we were going to pretend to take a nap. All I remember was that my little one said she was going inside to get juice. I woke up an hour later alone, dazed, and confused. The six year old got juice and decided to check out what was on TV. She never came back. And I'm sleeping in the front yard by myself cuddling stuffed animals...

And speaking of cuddling animals, my father's little guys were born last week. Can't wait to see how big they've gotten in one week. This post from a few years ago shows photos of a duckling being hatched (or whatever the verb for that process is). Hope you've had a good week!

Got a match?

...neither do I. But I do have these cute little matchbooks containing seeds. I wish I could say I came up with this ridiculously creative gem myself, but I followed the guru herself (or at least her team of gurus), Martha. Here are directions if you'd like to make these adorable seed packets, originally intended to be wedding favors.

Readers who responded to my giveaway last week (now closed) will receive their packages in the mail soon!

1st blogiversary giveaway!

Chinese wax gourd seeds. The melons develop a waxy coating when fully mature, hence the name. These are also called winter melons, are not sweet, and are typically used in soups.

In celebration of a year of my gardening ramblings and of the people who humor me by actually reading about them, I'm giving away seeds. I'm really humbled and thankful for the people who visit this silly little blog. I've loved meeting fellow bloggers this past year! I could go on about all the meaningful ways in which my life has been affected since I've created this blog exactly one year ago, but then I'd be taking up the space in which I could be discussing this seed giveaway!

Daikon radish seeds. These end up looking like gigantic white carrots and taste much milder than your typical radish. If you have dim sum this weekend, you might want to try the delicious savory radish cakes.

As a small token of appreciation, I'm going to send the first 25 people who e-mail me their names and addresses to wkspray at gmail dot com a sampling of seeds in super cute seed packets I made (I'll post on this later on). Here are the terms: though I've listed the variety of what I have below, I get to choose about 8-10 little seed packets for you. If there's something you really want, I MAY be able to accommodate, based on my limited supply. Just let me know. Also, when I say little seed packet, I mean little seed packet. Don't expect enough to fill your garden next year. Think of it as a sampling of trial sized seed packets.

Chinese long bean seeds - these plants grow on vines. The beans grow by twos and reach ridiculous lengths - they're also known as yard-long beans. They should be picked young and tender though. They are tremendous stir fried!

I know some people do not need/want seeds - if this is you and you've reached this point in this post, please know how much I appreciate you! It's kept me shamelessly posting for 12 months and counting!

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All seeds are organic. Most are heirloom. Some are saved by me or my father. Some are purchased. Most are saved for this year. Some are from last year but still have good germination rates.

Chinese wax gourd

Asian sweet melon (like a small honeydew melon)

Daikon radish

Chinese long bean

Thai eggplant

Luffa gourd (angled)

Luffa gourd (smooth - can be eaten or left to dry for sponges)

Malabar spinach (Chinese vining spinach)

Flowers: Russian mammoth sunflower, cleome, salvia, gomphrena, marigold

Broccoli: early purple sprouting, green calabrese sprouting

Peppers: sweet banana, Thai burapa, sweet red,

Charentais melon (a small sweet orange melon)

Imperial star artichoke, marketmore 76 cukes, butternut squash, tomatillo verde

Selection of herbs: cilantro, giant of Italy parsley, Genovese basil, fine verde basil,

Selection of lettuces: lettuce mix, Swiss chard rainbow lights, mache

Sorry, THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Giveaway: smart stick hand blender, seeds, and recipe!

Sorry, this giveaway is now closed. I thought I'd celebrate spring, my 10,000th view and 100th post with a giveaway! I've recently started a new series of posts on Asian vegetables. So far, they've all been titled "Growing, Buying, Cooking _(vegetable)_". The mission is to demystify some of the Asian vegetables gardeners can grow and give hints on what to look for if you're not growing yet, but spot these veggies at the farmer's market. The second important goal is to share a recipe so that once you've got the veggies rinsed off in the sink, you have a starting point for enjoying them.The bok choy post shared a "family" stir-fry recipe. The bitter squash may be more of an acquired taste, but well worth trying. Napa cabbage was made into my father's infamous dumplings. Daylilies, beautiful and reliable, can be (safely!) eaten in many dishes as well!

To win a hand held stick blender (perfect for salsa, soups, smoothies, etc.), pack of heirloom cilantro seeds, pack of heirloom tomatillo verde seeds, and my special recipe for summer salsa verde, answer one (or more!) of the following questions. I'll choose a winner at random. You don't have to be a blogger, just leave your email address so I can contact you at some point if you win. You can get a double entry by leaving a second comment with how you've spread the word about this giveaway. Contest closes next Wednesday, 3/24.

ANSWER ONE (or more) OF THE ?s BELOW:

1) What is your favorite "family" dish - either something you request every time you go "home" or something your family always asks you to make.

2) What is a favorite food of yours that may require an acquired taste to enjoy?

3) What is the most adventurous (or weirdest!) food you've ever tried? Did you enjoy it?

4) What are you craving RIGHT NOW?