Saturday, January 7, 2012

Radishes ( How To Grow )

              Good day to you all and welcome back here today with us, this is Ken and Marilou on Garden The Easy Way.    

              Today w would like to talk about Radishes, they are many different varieties of radishes, lots of different colors and different shapes and sizes. Radishes are excellent source of Vitamin C.      

               Radishes are one of the fastest growing vegetables in the garden. Radishes do not like hot weather, the ideal weather is around 70 to 75 degrees.    

               Radishes do best if planted in early spring they will thrive in the cooler weather, from 55 to 75 degrees.  They are a very fast growing vegetable, and will grow in just about any kind of soil.

               How To Plant:

1. Radishes like 6 to 8 hours of sun.  

2. Never plant in a low spot, if you get a lot of rain your garden will be under water,  you will have to replant.

3. Work your soil up very well, down to 6 inches using your garden tiller or your garden shovel and rake.

4. If your soil does not look dark and rich in color, you can add about 2-3 inches of compost, work up your soil well, make sure it is mixed up well.

5. Take your garden rake and level the soil. You can plant radishes in rows in the garden or plant them in a bed by it self. After leveling your soil, use your garden hoe to make the rows.

6. The seeds are small, and they should not be planted no deeper than 1/2 inch. use your hands and gently cover the seeds, making sure all the soil  clods are broken up and no rocks are on your seed.

7. After your seed come up in about 5 to 10 days, thin to  spacing 2 to 3 inches.

8. Radishes are ready to harvest in about 20 to 40 days, depending on the one you choose to plant.

              Well that's it for today, we hope to talk here again tomorrow on Garden The Easy Way, until then this is Ken & Marilou wishing you all Happy Gardening Always.  

Friday, January 6, 2012

Squash Butternut ( Elliott's Butternut Squash Stir Fry ) Recipe

              Hello and welcome back with us today on Garden The Easy Way, this is Ken and Marilou.  

              Today we have a recipe to share with you all, Marilou and I cook a lot and we are always cooking different things, different ways, and every now and then we come up with a good recipe.

              Today Marilou and I have a very good Butternut Squash Stir Fry recipe, it is so delicious and very colorful. We named it  " Elliott's Butternut Squash Stir Fry Recipe ". If you cook this one, you and your family will like it a lot.        

                                          ( ENJOY! )  

Ingredients:

2 Butternut Squash ( cut in small pieces )
2 lbs. of pork meat ( cut in small pieces ) or ground pork meat
1 Onion ( chopped )
1 Garlic clove ( chopped )
4 Big tomatoes  ( chopped )
1 Large green bell pepper ( cut in pieces )  
2 tbsp of oil ( olive or vegetable )  
Soy sauce to taste

Preparation:  

1. In a skillet, heat the oil and fry the meat, cook until meats are brown.  

2. Add the chopped onion, garlic and tomatoes, saute them  all together.

3. Then add the Butternut Squash that peeled and cut in small pieces.

4. Add soy sauce to taste, the amount is depend on your taste.

5. Lastly, add the green bell pepper and cover it.

6. Let simmer over medium heat. Cook until the squash are tender.

7. Serve with white rice.  

Servings: 6-8 depending on serving size.  

              Well that's it for today, we hope to talk here again on Garden The Easy Way, until then this is Ken & Marilou wishing you all Happy Gardening Always.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Cabbage ( Elliott's Steamed Cabbage Special ) Recipe

               Welcome back here today on Garden The Easy Way, this is Ken and Marilou, we hope you all are having a good day.  

                Today we would like to talk about Cabbage, if you have been following our blog you already know what we were talking about how good cabbage is for our health, and how delicious it is.  

                We have a very good recipe to share with you all today, it is quick and easy to prepare and it is so very delicious, you and your family will love it. We call it ( Elliott's Steamed Cabbage Special ).  

Ingredients:  

1 large head of cabbage
6 slices of bacon
2 large carrot (grated)
2 large tomatoes
1 large green bell pepper  
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper      

Preparation:      

1. First, fry the bacon then set aside.  

2. Chop or cut the cabbage.  

3. In a frying pan put 1 tbsp. of oil and saute the chopped garlic and tomatoes.

4. Then add the chopped cabbage in the frying pan with hot bacon drippings.  

5. Add 1 cup of water, salt and pepper, cover and turn heat down to simmer.

6. Stir occasionally and do not let cook dry. When almost done add the carrots and bell peppers cook for about 5 minutes.

7. Drain well and add the crumbled bacon.  

Tips:  

* You can adjust the amounts you cook according to the number being served.

* Serve it while it's hot.

Makes: 6-8 servings depending on portion size.    

                             (  ENJOY!  )  

               Well That's it for today, we hope to see you all here tomorrow on Garden The Easy Way. Until then this is Ken & Marilou wishing you all Happy Gardening Always.    

       

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Cabbage ( Elliott's Stir Fry Vegetables ) Recipe

               Good day to you all, and welcome back here today on Garden The Easy Way, this is Ken and Marilou.

               Yesterday we shared how to grow Cabbage in your garden, and we told you how good it was for us all to eat a lot of cabbage and about all the health benefits of eating cabbage.  

               Today we would like to share with you all my favorite Cabbage recipe. My wife made this recipe up on her own, we call it ( Elliott's Stir Fry Vegetables ) it is my favorite thing to eat in the world, it is so delicious, I will just about eat the whole thing for dinner, I love it. If you fix it the way my wife Marilou does, I promise you all and your family will love it ( ENJOY) !    

Ingredients:  

2 tbsp of oil ( olive or vegetable )
1 Garlic clove
1 Onion ( chopped )  
4 Big tomatoes
2 lbs. ground meat (pork)
1 Cabbage
3 potatoes ( chopped in small cubes )  
1 cup of green onions ( chopped )
Soy sauce to taste  

Preparation:  

1. Heat the oil in nonstick skillet.

2. Saute chopped garlic, onion, and tomatoes.

3. Add the ground meat to the skillet, increase the heat to medium and cook until meat are brown.

4. Add potatoes, cook for about 10 minutes.

5. Add the dice cabbage and the soy sauce. Let it simmer over medium heat for 30-35 minutes.

6. Lastly, add the chopped green onions and cook for 3 minutes.

7. Serve it with white rice.  

Makes:  6-8 servings.  

            Well that's it for today, we hope you all enjoy the recipe and hope to talk here again tomorrow on Garden The Easy Way. Until then, this is Ken & Marilou wishing you all Happy Gardening Always.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Cabbage ( How to Grow and Health Benefits )

               Hello to you all, and welcome back with us today on Garden The Easy way, this is Ken and Marilou. Today we would like to talk about Cabbage it is so delicious and so very healthy for us, cabbage is at the top of the list of  the worlds most healthy of all of our vegetables.

               There are so many different kinds of cabbage you can grow in your garden which ever kind you choose to plant most all cabbage is planted the same way. We will share today with you how quick and easy cabbage is to plant in your garden, but first there is some very healthy benefits we would like to tell you about.

               Cabbage can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in cabbage do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they've been steamed. Cabbage provides you with this cholesterol-lowering benefit whether it is raw or cooked. However, a recent study has shown that the cholesterol-lowering ability of raw cabbage improves significantly when it is steamed. Cabbage is excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of vitamin A. Cabbage in general&mash; but also Savoy cabbage in particular&mash; turns out to be an especially good source of sinigrin. Sinigrin is one of the cabbage glucosinolates that has received special attention in cancer prevention research. The sinigrin in cabbage can be converted into allyl-isothiocyanate, or AITC. This isothiocyanate compound has shown unique cancer preventive properties with respect to bladder cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer.  Cabbage is not only healthy for you, it is delicious vegetables for your dinner table, and there are so many recipes that you and your family will love.  

               How To Plant Cabbage    

1. Your soil is important, make sure your soil is a dark rich looking color, you can add 2 to 3 inches of compost and 2 to 3 inches of aged manure, ( cow or horse )  mix well with your garden tiller and pick up any rocks and roots out of your garden. Take your garden rake and level the soil, use your garden hoe to make the rows.

2. Grow your cabbage in at least 50% shade or under a shade-cloth. Start them in flats. Plant your cabbage after all danger of frost and cold weather has passed.  

3. Transplant the cabbage so the first real leaves are just above the soil. This should be deep enough to keep the plants stable. Pack the soil so the root system is completely covered, water well after planting.

4. Protect the seedlings after transplant from insects and pests, by covering the cabbage rows with a lightweight cover. Aphids, cabbage worms, and cabbage maggots can spoil your harvest.  

5. Cabbage loves water,  cabbage is a fast growing vegetables so you will need to water it everyday.    

6. Days to Harvest:  It's all depend on the kind of cabbage you plant, how long it takes to form a head. When will cabbage make a head? is varied. The common green cabbage form heads more quickly than the huge Savoy cabbage. You can expect to see heads in approximately 71 days with green cabbage. Red cabbage takes slightly longer and Nappa cabbage will form small heads in only 57 days. Cabbage head formation sometimes occurs better in the most gently warming conditions of spring than in the cooling days of the fall. Consult the seed packet for days from seed to harvest and be patient. Cabbage is a cool season vegetable crop that you can grow twice in one year.

Things You Will Need:

Garden tiller
Garden hoe
Garden rake
Shade-Cloth
Lightweight Row Cover
Compost
Fertilizer Aged Manure ( cow or horse manure )

Tips :

 Get the best fertilizer money can buy for ( Free ), go see your local dairy farmer or any farmer near you and they will probably give you all you will need for ( Free ), farmers are happy to get rid of it. Our local dairy farmer will even get out his big tractor and give us 3-big scoops, and we have a big pick-up load of the best natural organic fertilizer money can buy for ( Free ), go see your local farmer, most farmers are so kind and willing to help out anyway they can. Make sure you ask for aged manure, cow or horse works great.



              Well that's it for today, we hope to talk here again tomorrow on Garden The Easy Way, until then, this is Ken & Marilou wishing you all Happy Gardening Always.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Carrots ( How To Grow )

               Good day to you all and welcome back here today on Garden The Easy Way, this is Ken and Marilou.

               Today we would like to talk about Carrots, as we all know they are very good for us, they are high in Vitamin A, and high in fiber. You can prepare carrots in many different ways for the dinner table, soups, pot roast, salads, stew, carrot cake, just to name a few. The orange color makes the food look so much better, but when you taste the carrot your food will taste even better.        

               If you grow your own carrots you will even like the taste more, than store bought, home grown vegetables just also taste better. We will be happy to share with you all today, how easy it is to grow your own carrots, it is so easy but there are a few things to keep in mind.    
 
Things You Will Need:  

* Garden Tiller  
* Garden Hoe
* Garden Rake
* Compost
* Mulch          

1. Plant in full sun and well drained soil.  

2. Good soil is always important, if your soil need a little help, you can add some good dark rich top soil, or add some compost use your garden tiller mix it up well all together  down to about 11 to 12 inches, pick up all the rocks and roots out of your garden. Take your garden rake and level the soil, now you are ready to plant.  

3. Carrots grow best in temperature between 60 and 70 degrees F.  but you can grow them all summer.

4. Use your garden hoe gently to make the rows or you can use your finger, make your rows planting depth 1/4 to 1/2 in deep. Spacing rows 15 inches apart, sow 3 seeds per inch in the rows. Cover seeds firmly with soil. Water after planting gently so you will not uncover the seeds.

5. When plants are 2 inches tall, thin to 2 inches apart in the row. For fresh carrots all season, plant every 3 weeks until 75 days before  first fall frost. Add mulch it will help keep weeds out and the moisture in the soil.

6. Days To Harvest: 75 days  

               Well that's it for today, we hope to talk here again tomorrow on Garden The Easy Way, until then this is Ken & Marilou wishing you all Happy Gardening Always.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Potatoes Au Gratin Casserole ( Recipe )

               Hello and welcome back here today on Garden The Easy Way, this is Ken and Marilou, and today we would like to talk about Potatoes Au Gratin Casserole, truly one of America's favorite ways to eat potatoes. It is so delicious, and if you grow your own garden and have your very own fresh potatoes, the taste will even be better.  

              Potatoes are so easy to grow and does not take a lot of room, some people even grow potatoes in their backyard, 2 or 4 short rows will make a lot of potatoes, see our blog on how to plant potatoes.

              Today we would like to share a very good recipe with you all, on How To Make Potatoes Au Gratin Casserole.  

Things You'll Need:  

2 lbs. potatoes
Chef's knife or mandolin
Onion
Glass baking dish and cover  
Non-stick spray
1/2 cup butter
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Saucepan  
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. salt  
1 tsp. pepper
1.5 cup milk
1/2 cup cream    

Instructions:  

Preparation*  

1. Wash and peel 2 lbs. of potatoes.  

2.  Cut the potatoes into 1/8-inch thick slices using a chef's knife or mandolin.

3.  Cut one large onion into 1/4-inch thick slices. Separate the layers of the slices and set aside.  

4.  Coat the inside of a glass baking dish with non-stick spray.

5.  Layer the sliced potatoes and onions in the baking dish so that the vegetables are evenly distributed throughout the dish.

6.  Cut 1/4 cup butter into cubes. Scatter the butter over the top of the potato and onion evenly.

7.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheddar cheese on top of the potatoes.    

Sauce*

1.  Melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan.  

2.  Add 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper to the butter, and mix well.  

3.  Pour 1.5 cup milk and 1/2 cup cream into the saucepan.  

4.  Add 1.5 cup cheddar cheese to the saucepan. Stir continuously until the cheese and milk are incorporated and the sauce is smooth.

5.  Pour the sauce into the baking dish, spreading it evenly over the layered potatoes, onions, and cheese.  

Baking*

1.  Cover the baking dish, and bake at 375 F for 30 minutes.

2.  Remove the cover, and check the tenderness of the potato with a fork.  

3.  Bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the top forms a golden brown crust.          

Tips & Warning*  

   *Omit the onions from the recipe, if desired.  

   *Substitute a 1/2 cup of half-n-half for the cream to make a lighter version of the dish.  

   *Use caution when removing the baking dish from the oven.    

              Well that's it for today, we hope to talk here again tomorrow on Garden The Easy Way, until then this is Ken & Marilou wishing you all Happy Gardening Always.