Thursday, April 09, 2009

Spring Anticipation


Karen has gotten to the point she is rolling her eyes at me every time I mention asparagus. With the sun returning to the State of Indiana I have become enthralled with the idea of local vegetables growing again. Asparagus sticking their flavorful tips out of the ground, morel mushrooms poking around leaves, garlic send up shoots. We are heading into a magical time of year. And, yes, I may talk a little bit to much about how I excited to have fresh asparagus and morels sauteed together with a little "pet" butter.

This is also the time of year that we all need to start thinking about what to grow in our own gardens. Karen and I grew 5 plants last year. It is amazing how much one plant will produce. We were able to get 20 pounds of tomatoes from one plant. So, no excuses here, plant at least one vegetable, even if it is in a planter on the porch.

I started a few sprouts for peppers, tomatoes, onions, herbs, and a few native plants. Once these plants start developing leaves I will place them outside during the day and bring them in at night. Then, in the first week of May, I will plant them outside. Slow Food Indy is selling seeds at the Indy Winter Market as well as the Broadripple market. The seeds they are selling are heirloom. Goose the market is also selling these seeds.

If you don't have the patience to start from seed, you can always buy starts from your local greenhouse. It is best to wait until the first week of May to get stuff in the ground.

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Indy Star Articles


I have had the opportunity to be involved with several articles in the Indy Star in the past few weeks. It all started when I was asked what I thought were the top ten food wonders of Indianapolis. They included one of my favorites in the article (butterscotch pie from Gray Brothers). They also decided to take 5 of the other ones and make it into a My Favorite Things article.
Today I was also involved with the Taste Section feature. The articles include information about preparing lamb for your Easter meal as well as recipes from the students for side dishes. I am really happy with the articles and especially the food pictures. The students did a wonderful job creating these recipes.