meansoybean

Here are a couple of Nasturtium. Aren’t they pretty? Well, they’re also edible and were one of the en vrac items this week. The other was flat parsley. Other items in the basket included roquette, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, red shallots, and snow peas. There was also a HUGE head of lettuce — so large that it took up almost the entire sink.

Now, I don’t like having leftovers from the previous basket hanging around once the new one is in. So I promptly shredded the remaining mizuna and mesclun into a Ø12″ stainless steel bowl and tossed it in some dressing. I then layered on chopped tomato and snow peas, sliced radish, and ataulfo mango pieces. The final topper was chiffoned Nasturtium leaves and flower petals and a drizzle of fig-flavoured balsamic vinegar.

… And behold, Meansoybean’s Big Salad! It was good and it was fresh. The photo doesn’t do it justice but trust me, it was like two heaping dinner plates worth of salad in a giant bowl. A really generous snack for two people.

I was searching for a kale pesto recipe and found this one, but half-way through making it I realized that I didn’t have any fresh basil. This happens to me sometimes because I usually just do a quick scan of recipes beforehand. I took an executive decision to use some mizuna instead and it worked out just fine. This is a lot better than my kale pesto recipe from last year.

Improved kale pesto for 2010

1 cup raw cashew pieces
1 large bunch of kale
3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 fistful of mizuna
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
Oil

Put everything except the oil in a food processor until fairly blended. Then, while the processor is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until as thin as desired. I estimate I used about 1/3 cup.
I recommend mixing this into warm pasta that’s still a bit wet from boiling. This’ll help to evenly distribute the pesto into the noodles. Salt and pepper to taste before eating.

Recipe notes: If using whole cashews, smash or chop coarsely. If you don’t have mizuna, use any leafy veg you have on hand. For the oil, I used a combination of olive and cold-pressed flax.

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed that the posts have been few and far between, and that I casually mentioned that I moved. No longer in what’s considered Montreal proper, I’ve moved into a more country-like setting so I can finally have my own garden on a modest piece of land. It’s quite a change, and I’m still getting used to the routine of going to and from work, but as long as I stick to my goals for this house, the future looks promising.

Speaking of goals, this means the silk screening project will have to wait a bit. The house is the priority, which needs a bit of work. Understandable, I think, given the new circumstances.

All in all, I’m so glad not to have to deal with landlords anymore. Especially ones who don’t respect tenants’ rights.

This year, we won’t be planting very much. No, this year is for observation, planning, and preparation in anticipation for next year’s growing season. A medicinal plant garden in the front, and a raised-bed vegetable in the back. That is what we’re hoping for. And, all vegan-organic to boot!

Check out this post over at vegan activist: respecting animals, respecting earth: vegan-organic links

A rainy start to the organic growing season and, as in previous years with the farm, the first basket has a lot of leafy vegetables. If you didn’t know, leafies like cool weather, which explains their abundance.

I got yummy garlic scapes, as well as radishes, young green onions, pak choy, frizzy lettuce, mesclun, mizuna and spinach. Once home, I busily worked on cleaning all the goodies in a DIY vegetable soak — good thing because there was an earwig hiding in the lettuce! (Makes me shiver even now).

The bulk item of the day was oregano and I took a HUGE bunch because I cleaned out my spices before moving. You can bet it’ll be dried and stored for future. I couldn’t understand why more people didn’t take some.

Did I mention I was a busy bee tonight? I took the organic rhubarb from 2 weeks ago (procrastinate much?) and made this syrup. I also added a bit of ginger and the end result promises tasty, light summer drinks. Yum! And sooooo much easier than making a pie.

Yeah, it’s been a LONG time since the last post, but for good reason: we’ve moved house! Like, literally, into a house. More on this later once things settle.

But little N is missing in action. He’s been freaked out of his mind all week and has been in seclusion somewhere. I’m not exactly sure where his hidey hole is, but he only comes out at night. He seems to love exploring the kitchen cabinets late while we sleep. I know because I can hear the doors slamming from bed. Darn cat. Hopefully he’ll be ok soon. This place has cool cat hang-outs all over.