Rose Ranglers

Diane's Roses

Our first Rose Rangler, Diane, spent an afternoon lost in time dead heading.  Her take home pay?  Roses!  We had so much fun that day that we had to take some photos to commemorate.  Now it's time to get ready to do the annual pruning.  Typically we do this around Super Bowl Sunday.  If you're interested in a pruning class drop us an email -  azgardenfresh@gmail.com  Tell us if you prefer week day or Saturday.

Eat A Peach

Eat A Peach and An Apricot and...

Tre Soli Apricots and Peaches 

Well you get the picture.  Eat fruit fresh from your back yard or better yet plant a fruit tree in the front yard and invite the neighbors to pick as they stroll by.  If you want to pick these at your home one day then now is the time to get planting.  In addition to luscious fruit, deciduous fruit trees give you shade in the Summer, colorful leaves in the Fall, the warmth of the Sun in the winter, fragrant blossoms in the Spring and a lovely carpet when the blossoms fall.  What?!  You didn't know you could have these here in the desert?!  Of course you can.  Come to the annual Maricopa Master Gardeners Citrus Clinic tomorrow morning at the Greenfield Citrus Clinic 8:30-12 p.m.  In addition to sampling fruit, there will be 1/2 hour sessions taught by experts about dates, citrus & deciduous fruits and their planting, pruning, fertilizing, etc.  And what about the food vendors, books and soil probes?!   and on and on.  

For the full scoop and to purchase tickets go to:  http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/calendar/citrus.html

"Tis the season to grow apples. Fa la la la la. La, la ,la, la! "

All American "Anna Apples" 2014

become luscious cinnamon apple sauce

 Anna Dorsett Cinnamon Applesauce 2014

                                              

Yes it really is that time of year .  And, yes, Virginia you too can do it.  Just head to the Maricopa County Master Gardener Clinic at the Greenfield Citrus Nursery.  You can sample fruit and learn how to select, plant and grow citrus, figs, and deciduous fruits.  Yay fruit!  Mother Nature's candy.  

It happens this Saturday January 18.  For more info go to  http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/calendar/citrus.html

Sugar plums aka Santa Rosa plums

…"while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads."

Summer 2013 Santa Rosa Plums at Tre Soli

Have you ever eaten a fresh  plum hot off the tree in June?  If not put that on your fresh foodie bucket list.  You can grow some of these beauties in your own yard.  Now is the time to plant bare root fruit trees - deciduous and citrus.  Learn how at the annual Master Gardener Citrus Clinic this Saturday January 18th. Info at    http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/calendar/citrus.html

Citrus, Citrus, Citrus! Juicy, Sweet & Slurpy Citrus!

Lemon Chello?  Key Lime Margarita?  Vin d'Orange?  Happy hours?  

Our 3 yr old Meyer Lemon Tree 

        Sample & learn to grow your own.  Annual Master Gardener Citrus Clinic this saturday January 18.  If you don't find the perfect tree at Greenfield Citrus Nursery head to Baker Nursery, http://www.bakernurseryaz.com to pick out your new citrus trees.  Bet ya can't pick just one!

http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/calendar/citrus.html

Our 5 year old Minneola Tangelo

Citrus pay big returns in taste, shade and nutrition.  Please be sure that once your citrus is off of the tree it is kept cool and out of the sunlight.  The Vitamin C is very fragile and breaks down when exposed to heat and light.  Interested in tasting or making Vin d'Orange  and other citrus delights?  Drop me a line at azgardenfresh@gmail.com

Tribute to a Grower's Best Friends

February 8, 2011
Seen during the marathon rose pruning day... a Lady Bug in the lavender

among my favorite residents.   Usually I have to buy them at the nursery but this one just dropped in on it's own acord.  Perhaps a refuge from the neighbors?  The winged adults don't stay for long but if they have laid eggs and there is food for them, their babies stay around for a bit.   Their larvae eat the never welcome aphids.

Here Toadie, Toadie!  There's a cool dark home with an open door for you.

This bee skep replica is intended to contain a hose or encourage toads to make their home here.  When the summer monsoons come we have toads that hybernate in the soil come up and tease our dogs.  But we welcome them and their voracious appetite for non-beneficial insects.  Another reason we don't use anything that poisons insects because it may poison the toads and all on up the food chain.


Bees!  Yes Bees!  They are my constant companions in the gardens.  I love having them around.  It is confirmation that my gardens are healthy.  If the bees aren't here to polinate we don't have our fruits, flowers and veggies.  Bees deserve our respect and protection.  This means planting varied bloomers, something for every season here in our low desert.  It also means taking care when eliminating pests not to use means that eliminate the bees as well.  For us we only use hoses, beneficial insects and biodegradable organics.

This little bee skep hangs near a hummingbird feeder.  Who knows, even a hummer might decide to take up housekeeping.  "It could happen."  Hummers, as they dance from bloom to bloom, collecting nectar, also pollinate for us.  We welcome hummers daily with added food for times when blooms are less common.  Your hummingbird feeders do not need added red dye.  They do need to be changed frequently in warm weather to avoid bacterial growth that could harm these sweet tiny birds.




And this skep sits next to one of our prolific kumquat trees.  If you don't have a kumquat yet I highly recommend them.  Their small size means anyone can grow them.  We keep them by the kitchen door so that every time we go in or out we pop a bite size snack in the pie hole.  Kumquats are eaten whole, skin and all!  They can be a bit tart but are sweet as well.

Simply Roasted Summer Veggie Lasagna

Summer squash, pepper and eggplant abundance in your garden got you down Bunky? Missed another squash when you were out picking and now it is no longer a "baby" veggie but a baby whale. Well here are two ways I deal.



SIMPLY ROASTED SUMMER VEGGIE LASAGNE
Serves 6-12 as side - main

Gather:

1 Golden Squash ~12"  (several small also do)

1 Zucchini Squash~12"  (several small also do)

1 Egg plant ~12"  (several small do)

1 Onion medium or large epending on your taste

1 Red Pepper

Fresh Basil leaves - a large bunch

6 shallots

Tomato ~10 or so medium to large

Garlic - 6-12 medium cloves

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Mushrooms especially portabella and crimini

Cheese - your choice I like a hard cheese like Asiago or Parmasean if the cheese is going on the top.  Otherwise some ricotta or Mozerella is nice in the layers.

Herbs of choice oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, chervil, tarragon; mix to create about a tablespoon of dried herbs

All ingredients are approximate! And no you didn't miss an ingredient.  There are no noodles in this lasagna.  The veggies are layered as a pasta would be. The point of this recipe is to use the bounty that you have in a most tasty and easy way. The roasted tomatoes, and peppers really come through without too much else to interfere. Use the herbs you like but no need to be heavy handed with them.  Basil is in season with these vegetables so I especially like to use large basil leaves ~6 on top of each of about 3-4 layers of the vegetables.

PREP
Slice squashes lengthwise about ~1/4-1/2" thick

Slice tomatoes ~1/4" thick

Slice onion and shallots thinly

Slice peppers ~1/4", don't worry about removing ribs or seeds

Mushrooms leave whole for meaty texture, slice for less meatiness

Peel garlic, no need to chop, the roasting sweeten the garlic

Pull basil leaves off of the stem

A heavy 13" x 8" casserole pan works well for this quantity of veggies.


Begin layering with olive oil drizzled on the bottom.  Marinara sauce can be substituted.  The purpose is simply to prevent the bottom from sticking.  Then the onion layer, then each vegetable one at a time into a casserole, ending with a layer of tomatoes over garlic, drizzled again with olive oil. Salt, pepper and a bit of herbs on each layer.  Don't worry if your pan is very full, you need to build it up over the top; the veggies shrink down to about 1/2 the original bulk.  The photo shows the lasagne at it's half way point ~45 minutes of baking.  Note the zucchinis are sliced lengthwise.  Even the pepper are simply cut at the rib.

Since it is summer do not preheat oven, just set it for 400-450 degrees after the prep is finished. This recipe can also be baked on the grill if you don't want to heat the house. Another alternative is to bake it at night.

When oven reaches temperature slide the veggie laden pan in for 45 minutes. At the appointed time take the pan out of the oven and press everything down with a spatula. This presses juices, not flavor, out of the water filled veggies. This will allow the juices to evaporate more quickly which allows the flavor to concentrate.

Slide the pan back into the oven for about more 45 minutes. Timing will depend on the quantity of veggies and the amount of water in them (the fresher, the more water) and the heat of your oven. After the second 45 minute round I turned my oven off; there were still some juices on the bottom of the pan. I left the pan in the oven to finish roasting the veggies as the oven cooled.

Serve these veggies hot from the oven, room temp or chilled...it's all good! If served hot and you want to up the heft add some shredded cheese, room temp ricotta, pine nuts or pistachios. If serving chilled consider a drizzle of balsamic vinegar but it is out of this world without.

Bake this with basil leaves scattered about mid levels.  If you still have fresh sweet corn strip some cobs and added those sweet kernels.

Because the point was to use up some excess garden bounty I made enough to freeze. Can't wait to pull this out in November and have it with pumpkin muffins.

A rustic bread with herbed butter, crisp salad with a light vinaigrette and chilled white wine sangria are not necessary with this meal but certainly could make it even more supreme.

Here's to the hardy folks who have a summer veggie garden in the desert! And those who make use of their bounty.  Happy summer.

O Happy Day

Whew!  The Spring rush is over.  Roses have rebloomed while I am waiting for the next flush of peaches, the plums will be ready any moment.  Of course the tomatoes, corn, and squashes are giving to us daily.  Enjoying sharing and cooking with friends.  While back in the house I am ready to blog and I have so many photos and news to share.  But first things first...A one week trip to Paris!  Yeah, I said that, err wrote that!

O Happy Day! Such a charming website!  Jordan is a party planer and letter press printer based in San Fransisco, (my favorite city) though she has moved to Paris (one of my favorite cities) for a year with her 2 children and husband.  She is looking for a reader to receive her gift of a week trip to Paris!  To get to go there you need to go here
http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris

While you are there check out her blog... PEONIES are (in May)  in bloom in Paris!  How many times have I heard that my roses look like peonies, which I love almost as much as my roses.  Just look http://ohhappyday.com/2011/05/peony-season-in-paris/   Have you ever?!  So gorge!

Winter/Spring Harvest

This

+ This

= a Delish Dish!

Our oranges and cilantro made it through the frosts.  Wish I had a lime tree old enough to produce.  Anyone want to trade oranges, clementines for limes?  The over wintered cilantro is really growing with our warm days.  I thought I'd share a favorite recipe while this fresh abundance lasts. 

CITRUS YOGURT MARINADE AND SAUCE

2 Cups plain low fat Yogurt
2 Medium Shallots, finely chopped
3+ Medium Garlic cloves, minced (garlic lovers feel free to add more)
1/4 Cup freshly squeezed  Orange Juice
             frozen pineapple orange juice concentrate may be substituted
2+ Tablespoons freshly squeezed Lime Juice
2 teaspoons Cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
1/4 teaspoon White Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Salt

After thoroughly combining the above ingredients set aside some marinade to use as sauce after the meat is grilled.  Marinate meat (chicken, fish, pork) for 1 hour to overnight before grilling, allowing meat to get to room temperature before putting on the heat source.

For garnish:  2 oranges and 2 limes, sliced plus 1 bunch cilantro


BTW if you have not grown or tasted Cilantro Delfino I highly recommend it (not pictured above).  It looks airy like dill but has a supreme cilantro flavor AND it is heat tolerant!  It not only has bigger (not bolder) flavor but is easier to work with and eat due to it's leaf size and shape.  I've only found it in seed.  If you prefer transplants and not having to start your own then start asking your nurseries to carry it.  They and the growers can respond to requests when enough of us chirp.

First Friday Flea Market and more

A fabulously busy two weeks here at Tre Soli.  All of the roses have been pruned and fed.  Two new rose beds with irrigation built and planted.  Four new veggie/ herb beds built and irrigated.  Six more fruit trees espaliered.   Daffodils blooming.  Peaches and Apples bloomed and leafing.  Plums, cherries, apricots and figs budding.  Corn, herbs and tomatoes planted.  And drum roll please...Gophers caught!  Oh boy goody!! So this is such a busy time that the blog languishes but I have posts in the works with photos so stay tuned. 

In the mean time I hope to see you Friday at the Willows for their monthly First Friday Flea Market. 
http://thewillowshomeandgarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-first-friday.html
The weather will be perfect.  I have met such wonderful artists and craft women at these affairs.  And of course Bev and the girls always have the dearest lovelies for sale in the shop.

Since the roses are just leafing out I will not have any of the girls with me at the First Friday Flea Market. They don't like to come out in public without full regalia. Instead I will be squeezing fresh tangerine/orange juice. Liquid Gold we call it at our breakfast table. Additionally I'll be cutting cilantro, dill, chard and perhaps some daffodils. If you purchase the juice and cilantro I'll give you my favorite grilling marinade recipe that uses both of those ingredients.

+=

Marinade

And isn't it the perfect time of year for us to grill outside and enjoy the evenings.  The best of both worlds, warm enough to be outside yet cool enough for a fire later in the evening!  Don't gloat too much to your friends and rellies back home.

See you Friday?!