Ghetto Garden Update - wk 1 April

So this is just the weekly progress report on our Ghetto Garden (trademark - afroprepper and me Saucy Chef) - I said it before and we'll say it again: "we are new at this and this is our 2nd attempt- and we are just tickled about it." Someone told us "plant your plants deeper they will get bigger." Here's why we don't do it - we live in the desert - it's hot and windy. We plant them low so the roots go OUTWARD instead of downward which gives them more strength, then as they get taller we bury them to the neck to force MORE roots which give it more stability. It's a technique we saw and a technique we chose to employ. We appreciate your input - but the Wild Wild West gardening requires a different kind of love. Truth be told I trust people who have lived here and people who have been gardening a long time - because it's tried and tested. Our plants are also 'slower' because we water from the bottom since I have this urge to constantly water them and then that makes them lodge or drown.


This weekend we will be picking up some compost (ours is far too slow) and we will be putting the plants in their final locations (2.5 gal buckets). The cucumber is looking pretty promising...and if I just end up with 2 much then so be it.



The yellow longbeans are looking pretty good - they are flat in the morning then towards noon they reach up towards the sky.






I did lose one of the green beans - it burned off somehow :(



I put a lot of chard seeds in there and all i have is ONE to show for it. i wonder if I could put more seeds in there ? The red sweetpeppers look ok



The butternut squash is growing more leaves.



You can't see it but the tobacco is starting.



This is an old cherry tomato one I started and literally last night i noticed 2 seedlings peeping out




So i checked the cantaloupe one - and you can see 3 big leaves but there are also 7 or 8 more breaking the surface. I guess we will eat a lot of cantaloupe




And still I find time to make the brownies...
I just wanted to test this blue silicon Wilton pan i got for 70cents at the thrift store.
It worked just fine.

Those Goodies...

Goodies...Cookies...Treats...




Call them whatever you'd like to call them but everyone has 1 goodie they can't resist. Over 10 years ago I used to suffer from this God Awful insomnia and the one thing that made me want to sleep was the smell of baking - so I started baking cookies. I was dating this guy at the time and he got me a 500 page book of cookie recipes. So for weeks I would just bake certain cookies over and over. My brother is a great "guinea pig" because he tells you specifically what is good and what is bad - and I tweeked a few choco chip recipes together and came up with my own formula.

To this DAY they it's still the most requested dessert I make...

Occasionally I do mailings...




I remember back in the day I started giving out big cookies tins for Christmas coz the money was tight and it quickly became the gift of choice.

Some people like oatmeal..



Some people like my variations on a rice crispy treat...





Some are brownie junkies...



Then I randomly throw in surprises...like wedding cookies or bonbons...







Sometimes I do special requests for mr Man's office...



But then there's Goodies that aren't sweet at all...Funny the guy that would fall in love with me doesn't hardly ever like sweets...with the exception of a neopolitan cupcake I make for him



But for him Savory goodies are where it's at...

enchiladas



rice and sauteed dishes





and those diner type favourites like meatball sandwhich and fries...



I think his smile says it all...



...

I think cooking is dying in many ways. People who say they love it really can't cook for shit or concoct disgusting deconstructed food i mean really do i wanna eat some lavender lamb? Hellz no. When I was a working pastry chef I used to make family dinner for the kids at work and one night I made chicken and proscuitto florentine paninis and steak fries - coz I was pressed for time. One of the kids told me this is the best sandwhich I've ever had. I was like "shutttup, ur dad's an oncologist i'm sure you eat very well..." The poor kid said,"my mom might stay at home but she sure doesn't cook for us..." Sad.

Well it ain't dying in my house not as long as I can reach the stove and oven.