Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Menus and Seeds

Sorry for the lack of posts the past two weeks.  My husband did a lot of traveling the past two weeks which caused our scheduling and rhythm to be a little jumbled.  Then of course when he returned we needed a few days of straight family time.  So I chose to put my blog on the back burner while I focused on other things.  But I am back full force and with lots to write about!  Today it is all about seeds!   

I have been overly excited about Spring and find myself talking about it all the time.  It is driving my husband crazy since he is ALL about winter time.  His other love (besides me and his children) is snowboarding....oh and I guess photography too.  But come winter time, he is in love with that board of his.  So every time I talk about spring, he puts on his sad face.  Poor guy!  As he is tries to ignore the signs of Spring, we still will be ordering our seeds for the farm this coming week.  I am really excited and I think he is secretly excited!

We are buying our seeds through Abundant Life Seed Company because they are local and they have mostly organic seeds.  At our farm we are required to grow only organic seeds because the land we are growing on has been certified organic by the Oregon Tilth.  Anything that we can't find through Abundant Life, we will be getting at Naomi's Organic Farm Supply (which is an amazing store).  Today I just wanted to share with you all the different types of seeds we are growing this year at the farm.  

Vegetables:
Arugula
Beans- (4 different varieties)
Broccoli
Beets
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Corn
Carrots
Cucumber- (3 different varieties)
Eggplant
Kale
Lettuce- (3 different varieties)
Melon
Mustard Greens
Onion- Scallions
Peas-(2 different varieties)
Peppers- (1 sweet variety, 2 hot varieties)
Potatoes- (3 different varieties)
Pumpkins
Radish
Spinach- (2 different varieties)
Summer Squash/Zucchini- (2 different varieties)
Swiss Chard- Rainbow
Tomato- (7 different varieties)
Tomatilllos- Purple
Watermelon
Winter Squash- Acorn

Herbs-
Basil (2 different varieties)
Cilantro
Chamomile
Dill
Fennel
Oregano
Parsley
Thyme

Flowers
Bee's Friend
Marigolds
Nastutrium
Sunflowers
Zinnias

We already have garlic and strawberries in the ground and growing!  I can't wait to get my hands dirty and all the seeds planted.

What are you growing this year?

Tomato sprout from last season!
With all this seed talk, let's bring it into my menu for the week.  I am glad my husband is home this week and we can have our family dinners back.  It was really hard to plan and cook for just me and my son, basically cooking for one and a half.  So I cooked only quick easy dinners.  This week I am reconnecting with my food and the cooking process that I love.  I am still using one to two recipes a week from the cookbooks I have at home and will post a separate blog with the recipe within a week. 

MENU:

MONDAY:  Vegetable stir fry with brown rice

TUESDAY-  Whole wheat spaghetti with homemade tomato/veggie sauce and steamed broccoli

WEDNESDAY-  Egg salad sandwiches and Warm Red Quinoa Salad

THURSDAY-  Fish tacos* and homemade Spanish rice *recipes coming up next week

FRIDAY-  Spring Asparagus & Broccoli Soup and Baked Lemon-Herb Salmon

SATURDAY-  A family dinner in celebration of my son's 3rd BIRTHDAY!  Homemade pizzas and a big fresh green salad!

SUNDAY-  Baked potatoes and leftover soup (for hubby and son).
                   Work party/dinner for mama!

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

Happy growing & cooking,
Alyson

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle…a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.  And the anticipation nurtures our dream.” – Barbara Winkler

7 comments:

  1. Lovely post! I'm impressed by all the vegetables you will be planting. We are planting a similar variety this year. Purple tomatillos? I've never seen those! I think I want to try tomatillos next year.

    Are you starting some of your plants indoors? I have a tray of lettuces and greens going and nearly ready to go outdoors, and I just started some tomatoes and peppers. I'm so anxious to get out in the garden planting too!

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  2. I think I will come over for dinner on thursday. That one sounds really good! YAY For seeds!

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  3. Mrs. J- I am able to grow so much because we grow with 2 other families, so that makes the work load more tolerable. I don't think I would be able to do all this by myself...YIKES! Purple tomatillos are gorgeous and yummy! You can find them at Abundant Life Seed Company but I have also seen them in other seed catalogs. We were incredibly successful at growing tomatillos last year, they are very easy to grow and make delicious green salsa!

    In the next 4 weeks, we will be starting some of our seeds indoors and in our green house. We learned last year, that starting seeds indoors is seriously the way to go. Do you have snow where you are at? I can't wait for warmer days!!!!!

    Thank you for reading!

    Andrea...You can come over for dinner anytime! Let's definitely meet this week! XOXO

    -Alyson

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  4. Wow, your garden sounds like it's going to be amazing!! I'm going to attempt my first vegetable garden this year. I'm already excited about planning. Can't wait for the snow to melt so I can get planting!

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  5. Ok I'll admit... I am kind of excited for spring.... as long as it keeps snowing in the mountains :) I am SUPER excited to start working out at the farm again though!

    I love your blog babe! You inspire me everyday!! Love you!

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  6. i am so whole-heartedly inspired by the lists of wonderful things you're preparing to plant. we're cheering on our little stabs and starts of a garden, a modest collection of things that i'm not too certain will last once the mercury rises. but we can hope.

    loving your menus, too. :::sigh::: lungs are full of with an inspired breath. adding this lovely place to my list of blips of bloggy bliss.

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  7. Anna...Let me know if you need any tips. I love garden talk! Do you still have snow?

    Andrew...You actually are the one who inspires me. I am glad we can inspire each other. We make a great team! XOXO

    Hi Jen...Thank you SO much for stopping by and for such kind words. All of my readers are what keep me writing! I love your blog as well. In fact, I am going to hope on over there right now and see how things are!

    Thanks everyone,
    Alyson

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I love to hear your love!