Since we are just going out of winter there may not be as strong of a harvest as other months.  However, if you dig deep there is no telling what you might find! First of all our orange tree is going nuts.  Every morning I walk out to get an orange for my lunch.  I figure a jolt of vitamin C never hurt anyone! Usually there is just one orange that has fallen off the tree and is sitting on the ground like it there just for me.  
    When I went till the garden last weekend I realized that there were carrots that had continued to grow over the winter.  Most of them just had a little tuft of green, so make sure to take a look below the soil! 
    If you have chard or other leafy green that thrive in the winter, it is ripe and ready right now.  I have been slicing up our chard and adding it to pasta , or soups.  It is also good to sauté with some garlic and lemon. Did you know chard has 13 different  polyphenol antioxidants? Amazing.   
My herb garden has been pretty stagnant over the winter.  But right now the oregano is taking off and the rosemerry and sage have held strong during the winter.  

     Last season we transplanted our artichoke plant.  I was a little nervous about this because artichokes generally don't produce a harvest until there second summer and I had grown it from seed.  Unfortunately I didn't realize how big they get and it was blocking the light on a lot of the planter.  The whole plant was maybe two feet tall.  When I dug it up we found it had one main root that was about twice the height of the plant! Anyways, after I transplanted it died.  We didn't get anything but a few tiny inedible artichokes before it croaked.  The great new is, it has come back in full force and I am hoping for some beautiful artichokes this summer!

     Under the hay I also discovered two potato plants pushing their way through! I am still chitting some potatoes tonight to put a few more in, but they will have a head start.  I guess there must have been a few potatoes I never discovered last season.  
    Of course there are always the eggs! Barbecue laid this mini one today.  She does that sometimes. 

      Remember back in January I planted those seeds in the basement? Well they grew, and now they are ready to go in the ground.  So I took my bran new soft soil and transfered the little seedlings in to the ground.  The first year I planted a veggie garden I loved just throwing plants here and there.  Much to my orderly husband's dislike I ended up with a very jungley garden.  It was pretty, but it was very hard to navigate in order to weed and harvest.
   Enjoy the sunny weekend we are having and throw some seeds in the ground! You will be happy you did when you can walk outside in your own yard and come back in with most of a meal! 
 

In February you can plant:
onions
garlic 
shallots
lettuces
potatoes
chard
radishes
broccoli
cauliflower 
bock chow

     I transfered the lettuce, arugula, and tomato seedlings and planted them in rows. I know they look a droopy, but they will get stronger as their roots grow in.  I planted them pretty close, because by the time the tomatoes get big and cast a shadow, the lettuce will be pretty much done for the season.  It is a little early for the tomotoes to thrive, but they were getting too tall for the plastic green house, so in the ground they go!

     I also planted a row of radish seeds so I will have ingredients for a garden salad! Radishes are fairly hardy, so they are okay to go directly into the soil.  Just make sure they get good and wet after you plant them so the moisture penetrates the inner seed.  You can also soak the seeds in water for about 24 hours before planting.  This will shorten the germination time by a few days.  
        I then broke up a head of garlic that I had in the kitchen.  Garlic is the easiest! Just pop each individual clove into the ground about two inches under the soil.  Put them the same direction a clove sits.  They need a bit of cold first to activate and trick the seed into thinking it is winter.  So if you have had the garlic in the house, put it in the fridge for a few days and then plant it.  While the garlic is growing it does not need very much water. Keep this in mind while you are planting.  It just needs enough to keep the leaves rigid.  It will grow thin green stalks.  When they are ready to harvest the stocks will turn brown and completely fall to the grown.  Under the soil will be a plump new globe of garlic! If you get anxious and pick it early (I have done this many times) then you will have a skinny little garlic that isn't very good.  
    Over the next few weeks I plan to till the other garden beds, and plant some of the vegetables listed above. One more tip to keep in mind.  Onions and carrots are great to plant next to each other.  The pests that like carrots don't like the smell of onions and vice versa.  Carrots are not good to transplant because the root is too sensitive.  So wherever you plant your onions, leave a space for a row of carrots as well.  I will write about how to do potatoes because it is an interesting process! Soon I will write about what to harvest this time of year! Have fun in the mean time!

        This Presidents Day weekend we spent an amazingly fun three days in Tahoe with our friends.  We rented a cabin and hung out, ate good food, made sledding ramps, skied, and enjoyed the mountains.  The lack of snow, and fresh mountain air jolted me into spring mode and inspired me to come home and work in the garden. I also realized that is was about time for the February gardening post since February is half way over! 
     I decided I would categorize this into three posts so they are not too long.  So today I will write about preparing the soil.  Then the next two days I will tell you what I have been planting and harvesting.   Who knew there could be so much to dirt!

How to Prepare the Soil:
    I looked out in my garden today and saw a field of weeds that I was not excited to pick all winter.  Obviously this is not a good environment for new seedlings to thrive, so out with the old, in with the new.  We have this extremely hardy awful grass that likes to grow in our yard, so I had to get out the big guns! My RotoTiller. 
     It is my woman power tool.  It chops weeds, loosens the soil, and mixes in the compost all in one.  I know I sound like an infomercial for it, but it does good work. You can rent them at Home Depot if you don't have one, or if you are feeling like you need a particularly good workout you can do it by hand with a hoe. 

Step One:
   Get rid of anything that will get jammed in the rototiller blade, old markers from last years planting, rocks, big sticks, and any other random things that may have found their way into the garden.  I had about three major jams that really slowed me down! This year I will not be using little wire signs to label the garden. 

Step Two: 
   Till everything once.  I only do one planter box at a time.  So it only takes about five minutes.  This will cut up any major weeds and loosen the soil around the roots.  I have a very small tiller so that I can go in between sprinkler lines and existing rows of plants. Then pull remaining weeds.

Step Three:
   Turn the compost so it continues to rot.  See the compost blog if you are curious about this process. Spread any compost material that is ready on top of the soil.  If you don't compost you can use plant vitamins from the hardware store. 

Step Four:
    Till the soil again to further cut up any remaining weeds, mix in compost and loosen the soil.  I recommend starting at one end and pulling the rototiller towards you so you don't walk on the fresh soil.  When you are done it will be light and fluffy and ideal for fresh little roots.  You can plant now, or leave that for another day.  As you can see I still have some weeds in there to tackle, but small victories work well for me! Until tomorrow...

  Yes, there is snow! And this means it's time to ski.  I love heading up the mountain before the world is awake and seeing fresh glistening snow against the green trees.  It is a solid day of good outside exercising with the bonus of cuddling on the chairlift.  But let's be honest.  There has to be some food incentive if I am going to work that hard.  So, with ski season comes chunky oatmeal cookies!!
   

      They are the perfect pocket liner to give you a little burst of energy and sugar throughout the day.  The recipe is not very original, but it is moist and hearty.  I use the Quaker Oats recipe and add some chunk.  We are heading to Tahoe tomorrow with a bunch of friends to spend the weekend in the snow. So that means it's baking time.   By the way, I realize that this is totally against Feel Good February, but who really thought I would make it the whole month without baking.  This is my cheat for the week. 

Ingredients: Makes about 4 dozen(depending on how much dough you eat)
1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons soft butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 white sugar
2 eggs (thank you chickens)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups Quaker oats

The chunk:
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (I left this out this time due to allergies)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat the softened butter and both sugars on medium speed until it is creamy. You might as well take a taste now because it is already amazing.
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Make sure to scrape the sides.
3. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix well. 
4. Mix in the oats.  Then add raising, nuts, and chocolate chips. It will be a stiff for dough, but that's okay.
5. Drop a tablespoon on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. 
6.  Let them sit for a minute or two them carefully move to a wire rack to cook completely. They are melt in your mouth delicious, and they are hearty on a hungry stomach!
Time to hit the slopes!

     Happy Valentine's day.  I know I really haven't been writing much and I am not sure why.  I feel a  little bit guilty that I don't have some amazing Valentine's dessert for you to cook.  Believe me, the ideas are in my head, but I haven't gotten them in the baking dish this year.   I guess one reason is that we are on a February diet.  So that really cuts into my inspiration for cooking. The cupcakes and chocolate pies dancing in my head have to wait.  I am dying to make a batch of cookies, but I guess you have to take a break from the gluttony once in a while.  
     I am not a huge Valentine's person.  I just feel like it is an excuse to buy lame stuffed animals or chocolates (of which I am not allowed to eat).  Also, being a second grade teacher, the experience is a little bit different.  I spend most of the day herding sugared up children which doesn't give me that glowing romantic feeling.  They love it and that is good.  I found these awesome mini-play doughs this year for my students and that was some great sugar free fun! However, I do appreciate the reminder to stop and realize the love that is in my life.  I am incredibly blessed.  I look forward to coming home each day.  I love spending time with my family, and I have great friends surrounding me.  So thanks guys!! This is everyone's reminder to find that person that you haven't told today how much you love them, and do it! 

    

    The opossum is back! Yes, the nasty little opossum that we trapped, drove out to the river and dumped.  It is come back with an attitude like "Hey roomies, I'm back!" He is hiding in the same places, eating my garden, and bothering us every night again when we try and get in the hot tub.  
     Now the hairy mongrel has taken to perching himself in the persimmon tree above the hot tub while we are soaking.  The worst part is, he isn't scared of us at all! 

   The other night we walk out, in our swimsuits, in the middle of winter to make the trek out to the hot tub.  I hear an odd and all too familiar scramble in the compost bin and I couldn't believe it! I don't know what kind of sense of direction this opossum has, but it is unbelievable! We literally put him in a pitch black planter, drove around for over three miles, and let him go.  Apparently the urge for home sweet home is stronger than I thought. 
     So again we danced this awkward dance, with a long pole, a opossum, and our swimsuits.  The good news is, this time I ran and got my phone to document.  We kept "nudging" him with the pole to try and give him the hint that he was not welcome.  He just scrambled around, but never fell off the fence.  Not once did he bare his teeth, hiss or anything.  It's like he is confused as to why his family is hitting him with a stick.  Eventually he walked to a more slippery spot and we shoved him out of the yard.  Unfortunately I have seen or heard him nearly every night since then.  I am waiting for some brilliant plan to formulate in my head.  Really I am seeing visions of the beeby gun dancing in my head. Help! 

      My good friend Meghan cooked my chili recipe (click for recipe) and had some great ideas! She shared them with me, so I thought I would share them with you.  It is perfectly timed for super bowl weekend!

Here's from Meghan:
Ok — I am so sorry that it took me so long to write to you about this – because I made your recipe almost right away…  Ben says it is quite possibly the BEST chili he has ever had!  I made a few slight modifications — (most were accidental! - I forgot to add the corn!) but on the whole it was your recipe and it was soooo good.   

     Besides forgetting the corn  -- I served mine with a few different toppings…  Ben is not a huge fan of super spicy — so instead of jalepeno, I substituted green onions (same nice color and crunch with less heat).  I was worried that I made it too hot for his liking so I also served with a small dollop of sour cream to counter act the heat.   In terms of process — I am not sure that this makes any difference in the actual outcome — but it was fun to smell the spices cooking directly…  so I mixed my spices together in a small ramekin (although I should also admit that I am not patient enough to measure exactly — so I may have eyeballed some) and then added half  to 3/4 of the spice mixture while I was browning the meat (with the onion) so that I was sure that the meat was seasoned before I added the beans and tomato sauce.  When I added the beans I stirred in the remainder of the spices.   

It was so good that I have already bought meat to make more so that I can freeze it to have on hand for those nights when I don’t feel like cooking or haven't gone to the store! 

Next time I think I also might make corn bread to serve with it (which would have been a nice way to incorporate the corn that I forgot!!) but really it was so delicious that it didn’t even need the bread! 

Thank you Robin!!!!