Redlands, 30th November, Sunny & Warm

Musings? Just a fancy word for contemplations, meditations, thoughts. And because time is short, days are full, thought we would bring our musings to you a little differently this month. Happy Holidays!

In Our Edible Garden:

• Removed all tomato plants [too cold for them now, fruit not setting or ripening [so sad!]
• Added heirloom sugar snap peas,Di Cicco broccoli, lettuce, spinach & kale
• Added a layer of  compost to  raised beds full of leafy greens
• Sprayed fruit trees [the ones that have lost their leaves] with mixture of horticulture soap and copper [to prevent disease, discourage pest and hopefully encourage greater yield next year]
• Collected fallen leaves to add to compost bin

What We’ve Been Harvesting:

• Heirloom leafy greens! We can not tell you how awesome it is to be dining on fresh greens again. Lettuce, chard, kale, mustards, arugula, cress, mizuna, micro-greens…..
• LOVING -  a salad of heirloom arugula, fennel and orange slices. Second favorite – a mixed green salad of baby yellow chard, butter leaf lettuce, red mustard & sorrel.
• Want to try the BEST mixed green salad ever? Move over bagged salad mix, our raised beds are pushing our more heirloom leafy greens than we can use. Send is an email and we will mix you a bag of the freshest salad blend – and put it on our self-serve home produce stand.  4 oz bag $4.00.  8 0z bag $7

What’s fresh this month from our Nursery:

• Perfect for gift-giving,  Containers planted FULL of heirloom edibles. They are so beautiful you may forget they are not strictly ornamental. Purple mizina, giant red mustard, mache, fennel, fava beans, chard and more bring seasonal jewel tone colors to any table [in doors or out] and welcome the season with taste, color, texture and fragrance!  

 LOCAL! EDIBLE! SUSTAINABLE! What more can we say? Oh, that we have three sizes available and that containers  start at about $15.

Cut Herb Bouquets. Speaking of LOCAL & EDIBLE, our cut herb bouquets are FRESH for the season and a great hit @ market. Each bouquet is complete with herbs perfect for roasting seasonal veggies and meats[ Rosemary, Sage & Thyme + some Winter Savory] beautifully held  in a woven tea bag.  The tea bag makes it easy to add flavor to just about any soup or stew. Simply put the herbs inside the bag, tie closed, add to soup or stew and simmer. Remove entire herb pouch and voila! [ Herb bouquets are available only @ farmers market]

Our seasonal, gourmet Herbs & Sel de Mer are here! Packed with our locally & naturally grown herbs [with a bit of local citrus], many of you are already enjoying this gourmet herb sea salt on all kinds of delicious home cooked meals! May we suggest some new ways to use it? Sprinkled on baked sweet potato fries or kale chips. Added to pumpkin or cream of potato soup. Scalloped potatoes.

Did we mention we are now offering our Herbs & Sel de  Mer in a larger size? Yep, we replaced the glass bottle packaging with a simple lined craft bag so that we could offer you more of the delicious gourmet sea salt you all love [8 oz vs 4]. Enjoy!

Our edible garden containers and gourmet herb salts can be found 7 days a week @ Olive Ave Market in Redlands.

Fresh at Farmers Market:

• Heirloom Di Cicco Broccoli. Loving broccoli ourselves, we were looking for a broccoli not only rich in flavor but also one that did not take up the whole garden for little yield. Italian Di Cicco is perfect! This variety of nutrient rich broccoli produces numerous side shoots – perfect to eat raw, steam or stir-fry.
• Heirloom Flat Leaf Parsley. Great added to home-made veggie juice, or in a salad of raw broccoli florets & red onion , parsley is one of the greatest plant sources of vitamin K, super rich in antioxidants & is a powerful digestive aid!
• Okay, not an heirloom plant but almost as good! Be sure to take advantage of a 20% discount on all gift certificates sold through the 17th [last farmers market of the year for us]. Use the gift certificate yourself, save until spring or give as a gift – you choose. Anyway you look at it, it’s a great way to shop small, support local and save money all at the same time.

Redlands,  8 November, sunny & abnormally cool….

In my book, there is no better time to cook with nearly every herb in my garden than Thanksgiving.

From the main course, a turkey infused with both gray and purple sage, rosemary, French & just  a pinch of lemon thyme to the  hors d’oeuvres of deviled eggs sprinkled with finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, it is hard to find a dish on our holiday table that has not perfected by the addition of herbs.  And if you are like me, you wouldn’t have it any other way!

Today, we are going to focus on the  center piece of many holiday tables – the herb roasted turkey [Dear  vegetarian and vegan friends, the blog posts to follow will showcase some of our families favorite holiday dishes - each one featuring fresh, local produce and lots of ways to showcase herbs!]

Growing up, my experience of roasted turkey was that stuffing was cooked in the bird [gross!] and that it took nearly a day to roast the darn turkey – something about roasting it on low FOREVER. The aroma of the turkey was always a better experience than actually eating it. I vowed that when I grew up, my turkey would taste as good as it smelled and that we would not have to have someone at the holiday table certified in CPR because of  the turkey being a choking hazard.

Flash forward 30 years [or so]. Long before the turkey is purchased [may we suggest a Sheltons free range from Gerrards Market, a hertitage turkey from Flip Flop Ranch in the High Desert or a kosher turkey from Trader Joes] , I begin the basis of what makes the best roasted turkey [if I do say so myself].

About a week before the big day, I begin harvesting sprigs of  rosemary, sage  & thyme. Freely, I roam  between the golden sage, the purple sage and the grey sage, harvesting the most beautiful of the leaves from each shrub [avoid brown spotted leaves]. If the shrub has limbs that appear too heavy, too worn or woody looking, this is a great time to get some pruning and maintenance in while saving  all that you can for cooking.

As for using thyme in  I love the French variety with a hint of the lemon thyme when roasting a turkey. I cut off the greenest portions of the thyme, which is more towards the top of the low growing shrub. Harvesting thyme near the base is not really needed since there is less usable herb there and you will be left with a woody looking plant. [remember, in all cases, do not remove more than 1/3 of your plant - especially now when it is cold and plants are a bit stressed to begin with].

And rosemary? This is the herb  I use the most of for roasting a turkey.  There are two ways I harvest this one. The first is to remove branches that are not uniform with the growth on the plant as a whole [low branches hitting the ground, sidewalk]. Secondly, I love to use new growth. The branches are more pliable, the herb just a bit more sharp in flavor.

After harvesting, washing and towel drying the herbs, I strip the fresh herbs from the stems by holding onto the stem with one hand and stripping the leaves into a bowl using the other hand.  Next, transfer herbs to a cutting board and chop herbs – not too fine, just enough to release their essential oils.  I like to have one full cup of both chopped rosemary & sage – 1/2 cup of French thyme and several tablespoons of chopped lemon thyme.  Next, fill a glass mason jar [large one] with minced, chopped garlic [I use a lot - 4 whole heads ] 2-3 cubed Meyer lemons and now fill jar to the rim with cold pressed extra virgin olive oil [being sure to cover all ingredients with the oil].  Refrigerate your herbed olive oil, taking it out once a day [if you skip a day or two, don't worry] and roll the jar so that you see things getting stirred about.

If you have extra fresh  herbs on hand after preparing your herbed oil, tie them up at the base with a rubberband and hang upside down to dry. You will be using them here before long, promise!

Lets flash forward now to 2-3 days before Thanksgiving. Take the herbed oil and strain it, separating herbs from oil. I place the herbs & garlic  between the skin and flesh of the bird [on the breast], in crevices [between the wings and body] lemons inside the cavity. Place the whole turkey inside a cooking bag [they are on the isle with aluminum foil in the grocery ] – then inside a large roasting pan. To roast the turkey in the roasting bag, you will need to follow the directions on the cooking bag when the times comes [adding flour, piercing the bag, tying the bag closed, etc]. Return the herb oil to the jar and once again, refrigerate.

Return the turkey to the refrigerator until time to roast. Just before roasting, you can do a few more things. I like to  add more fresh, chopped  herbs both on  the turkey itself and inside the cavity, rub generous amounts of French sea salt on the turkey and then drizzle the herbed oil over the bird. I roast  my turkey breast down.

Not sure you have enough herbs in the garden for Thanksgiving? Look for us to have plenty of fresh cut herbs on hand at the Saturday Morning Downtown farmers market in Redlands the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. [Please email us ahead so we can be sure to have enough on hand!]  To keep herbs fresh, simply stand them in a jar of water in side the refrigerator.  Want to pick up some herbs earlier so that you can get this herb oil started? Email us and we can have your herbs waiting for you on our self serve produce stand. 

And yes, just in time for the Holidays, our Herbed Sea Salt [full of our naturally grown rosemary, sage, & thyme] is once again available. Look for this seasonal favorite at Olive Avenue Market and at the farmers market on Saturday’s during the holiday season [or until sold out]

Redlands, 2 November, morning, sun is bright.

Here we are in the first days of November, with the feel of  Autumn  beginning to take hold. Daylight hours are fading, leaves are falling, coolness is replacing summer warmth.  We do not need to look at the calender to know time is changing, life is cycling.

How brilliant Natures timing and messages are. As the cold settles in, life begins to slow down. Plants grow slower, some actually go into a deep period of rest [dormancy].  Trees, vines & shrubs are bearing the last of their fruits,  shedding their leaves, becoming bare. In just a few weeks, what once was vibrant and  full of vitality will soon appear nearly  lifeless.

Yet despite how it all looks on the outside, inside, we all know that this change is normal. We know that in the weeks ahead, Nature will continue to slip into a more quiet & peace filled rhythm. Her energy will not be as visible, much of it being stored on the inside to carry us through the coming season. On the horizon and although we can’t see it now , we know, we trust in a time of renewal, rebirth and growth.  On the calendar, we call it Spring. I call it Natures reminder of hope and the ever present cycle of life.

Last Friday evening, just after sunset, my Mother completed her life’s journey. While we  give thanks that her  pain and suffering have ended, the taste of this experience is deeply bitter-sweet. Words fail to soothe the senses, to warm the grieving heart. Moments of comfort are being felt while standing in the warmth of the sun, in the song of the blue birds, the rustle and playfulness of the baby lizards, the beauty of the deep red pomegranates, the soothing of the rose-hip tea, the fragrance of the lone Sterling rose on our rosebush.

 I take comfort that soon, on Thanksgiving day, my senses will be transported to a kinder, more loving time – a time when those that are no longer here, feel almost present.  As the fragrance of the holiday turkey roasting in the oven fills our home, I know the memories of sharing early Thanksgivings with Mom, Grandma, Aunties [all of whom have past] will be more alive. As my daughter and I recreate Mom’s cornbread stuffing [now modified to meet Corrina's vegan needs as well], I know Mom’s presence will be keenly felt. How I look forward to letting the fragrance, taste and  sights of Thanksgiving transport my weary senses.

In the hectic, commercial, synthetic world that we now live, it can be easy to fall trap to viewing occasions such as Thanksgiving as just another task on our to-do list. As I see it, Thanksgiving is a very rare moment we must not let slip away. No costumes are needed, simply arrive as yourself. No gifts are needed, Thanksgiving itself is the gift.  It is a time we have set aside to actually spend time with those whom we love. It is allowed “down-time”.  It is a time that we are encouraged to prepare a feast showcasing Natures fresh, life filled , seasonal bounty – no matter how long it may take us to prepare it.

In the blog posts to follow, I look forward to sharing recipes for Thanksgiving, each one showcasing fresh, local and seasonal foods of the season – and yes, with lots of herbs! I hope you will be inspired to cook, to share, to savor. Above all, it is my hope that through food, real food, you will find a deeper connection to the gentle , nourishing, restorative rhythms of Nature and that it will bless you always!