Roswell Adventures

When I received a red cabbage (a very LARGE red cabbage) in my Bountiful Basket last week, I started searching for recipes. Of course I found dozens and skimmed through about a half-dozen of those and landed on roasting. I used half of the cabbage - which worked well on two levels: 1) that's as much as would fit into the pan and 2) that gave me another half-cabbage for the second go-round...with my adaptations. I neglected to take pictures, and for that I apologize. To be honest, we had cleaned up prior to having friends over for dinner the other night, and I couldn't remember where I had stashed my camera. You'll be happy to note that I have found it, because it was right in plain sight where I left it. Anyway, here we go... Roasted Red Cabbage 1 small or 1/2 large red cabbage 1 large sweet onion 1 head of garlic 1 medium apple 3 slices jalapeno bacon olive oil balsamic vinegar Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dice jalapeno bacon and cook until nearly crispy. ...

Before I launch into the prepping of the bales, I wanted to share some of what is going on in other gardening and prep work...   Tomatoes, basil and sage. The sage will be planted in the ground. The basil will be planted in with the tomatoes. Basil makes the tomatoes taste better and grow better, as well.   Mint is in the pot on the left. Always plant mint in pots (even in the ground) as it is very aggressive and will take over. Also, once it is established it is a booger to get out. Every small bit of root will send up new shoots. I have had this mint plant for about 6 or 7 years. It started out in my garden (which is when I learned to never plant it in a garden) and has been in pots since. It is great in water, tea, or whatever. On the right are pole bean seedlings.   I thought that if I placed the seedlings in a pot, they would be less likely to blow over. Plus there is a mint root under there, which I am hoping will go to town with the extr...

OK, the 40 straw bales may have been a bit much, but we have had such good results the last 2 years that we decided to jump in with both feet. This is after some bales were already removed. We were fortunate that a friend had use of a trailer...plus his son was home from college. It made the "getting the bales home" process much easier. Front yard directly behind mailbox. We saved our newspapers for months and placed about 6 layers of paper under the bales. It really helps to wet them down as you go. Otherwise the slightest breeze will toy with your efforts, which can be very frustrating. These bales will be slightly repositioned before we start the "seasoning" process. These are just on the other side of the fence from the last picture. This is where we will plant our tomatoes, with basil in between the tomatoes and marigolds planted in the sides of the bales. Basil is a great companion plant to tomatoes as the tomato plants grow better and the frui...

Hi, my name is Susan Moore, and I am clueless when it comes to starting seeds. OK, not totally clueless. I know you start them inside then transplant them outside later. I understand the theory - I've just never been able to pull it off. Last year I used small peat pots...but then I kinda forgot about them. So, I figured the seeds were not going to work and I would just reuse the pots for planting seeds directly into our straw bales. Well, it worked...in fact it worked so well that all of the seeds - including the ones I figured I'd offed in my pathetic attempt to start seeds inside. But, this is a new year and I am ready to try again...so I did :)   This is my tray of seed starters :) The ones at the top of the picture are disks of soil that you soak in warm water. They soak up the water and then you plant in them. The others are in toilet paper rolls. Since we started composing, I stopped throwing away my empty toilet paper rolls, because they go great in the com...

Thanks to Bountiful Baskets, we often have a surplus of delicious fruits and vegetables, and we enjoy finding new ways to enjoy them. Recently I came across a recipe for breaded asparagus. It looked interesting, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted, so this is what I came up with...shown with a nice glass of chardonnay. So...here is where we started...   I started with Glutino gluten-free crackers. This package comes with two inner packets, and I used one of these. I put them in a zipper-top bag and crushed them with a rolling pin until they were reduced to coarse crumbs. Grate the Parmesan and mix that in - along with your choice of seasoning.   Next up - the asparagus! I snapped off the woody bottoms by digging my thumbnail in then snapping off the part below that. If you can't dig your thumbnail in, then you need to move up higher on the stalk until you can.   The flour will go in it's own pan - one large enough to hold your asparagus makes ...

I love leeks! I've only prepared them a couple of ways, but I love them none-the-less. When last Saturday's Bountiful Basket landed us with two bunches of leeks and another two of asparagus, I knew I had my work cut out for me. I looked through dozens of recipes, but most required 1) going to the grocery store (which I was trying to avoid) and adding cream (which is probably a good thing for me to avoid, as well). So then I decided, "What the heck! Just make something up!" The results - Leek Asparagus Almondine!  It's a simple recipe! Start by toasting the sliced almonds in a skillet over medium heat. Watch them closely so they don't burn, and when they look toasty, pour them into a glass bowl so they won't continue to cook.   About that asparagus...rather than guessing where to cut to get rid of woody parts, try bending them.  Eventually they will snap, showing you the line between yummy and woody.   Toss your sliced leeks into a ...