Edibles: To Seed or Not to Seed

Robin Haglund, of Garden Mentors, Inc., has written a handy article over at Fiskars.com about when and what to start seeding right now. Some edibles are easy to start indoors, while others can be sown directly into the ground. And others you just want to buy from starts.

Edibles with Ease: When to Get Growing from Seeds or from Starts?

Inspiration from Graham Kerr

Last Wednesday, while the rest of Seattle was celebrating during the Seahawks parade, I was inside the Convention Center attending a seminar by Graham Kerr. Yes, I'm a nerd, along with a handful of other people in the room. His talk this year was Nourish & Delight! Growing, Cooking & Sharing Edibles for the Common Good:

Graham Kerr is in his fifth year in the garden, his 66th year in the kitchen and also celebrates his 80th birthday on January 22 – and he still gardens and tackles weeds with gusto. He shares with us lessons from his personal garden patch and herb garden, two community gardens where he is involved and area Food Banks and School programs. Focusing on plants such as Red Beets 'Ace', Kale 'White Russian', Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' and Tomatoes 'Sun Gold', he will provide growing, cooking and harvesting tips. Graham wants to inspire audiences to be the new PIONEERS – Pass It On Now with Eagerness, Enthusiasm and Resilience! How's that for an acronym?

That really sums it up. His entire philosophy epitomizes why I'm studying horticulture in the first place. It's about the big picture: growing food, finding the joy of cooking nutritious meals, and building community around the whole process. I love this man. His enthusiasm is so inspirational!

So, taking advantage of the small turnout (what's wrong with you sports freaks?), I went into fan girl mode after the seminar and bought one of his books. He signed it, and I shook his hand and gushed about...well, hopefully something intelligent. :)

Eggs!

Last week, the day before Graham Kerr's seminar at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, I decided to finally try my hand at Kerr's famous Velvet Sauce, which I learned at his seminar the previous year. I couldn't believe I waited so long to cook this sauce (it's super simple), so I made sure to try it before I saw the Galloping Gourmet again. I've also been attempting to cook for someone with a restrictive diet, but who can eat eggs, so it was the perfect motivation. I experimented with a parsnip sauce and a sweet potato sauce, and I used coconut milk instead of evaporated milk. I still need to play with the herb mixture, but I was happy with the results. Simple recipe, served over scrambled eggs:




While I was on an eggs kick, I ended the evening with some deviled eggs, because why not? Extra dilly with a little bit of heat, just the way I like 'em.