Violetto Artichokes

Violetto Artichoke Bloom

Beautiful vegetables are essential to appeasing your neighbors when you grow your edibles in the front yard.  Sure, your neighbors’ lawn might be brown in the summer heat and littered with white plastic resin furniture and toys.  And their front patio is punctuated with hanging resin pots holding the desiccated remains of forgotten plants.  But, growing vegetables in your front yard is pushing their boundaries and idea of the functions of a front garden.  You need to dazzle them with a Violetto Artichoke. 

This spring, when I purchased some artichoke starts at Bi-Mart for a Master Gardener workshop, I also bought the last Violetto artichoke start for my garden.  I tucked it into my victory garden with an added sprinkle of organic vegetable fertilizer and mulched it with an inch of leaf compost.  The tag warned me that my Violetto artichoke wouldn’t bloom for the first season or two.  Then, I promptly forgot about it.

Until it pushed up a single stock adorned with two purple blooms. 

I was smitten.  This artichoke is by far the loveliest plant I’ve ever grown in my victory garden.  It is a short-lived perennial: only five years or so.  Fall and spring are perfect times to plant artichoke starts.  They are thistles and require excellent drainage and are heavy feeders.  I give my artichoke a monthly drink of fish emulsion.  When it’s done blooming, I’ll chop the plant back to about six inches high.  It will regrow beautiful new foliage and then I’ll mulch it with leaves late this fall to help insulate it.    I plan on adding a couple more to my garden.

Violetto Artichoke Bloom 

Violetto artichokes are known to be especially delicious artichokes.  I let mine bloom and buy artichokes at the farmers market for my dinner plate.  With a sharp vegetable peeler or a paring knife, I peel the skin off of the stem and base of the artichoke.  Then, I cut off the top 3/4 of the bloom off.  I spoon out the choke flower. And cut the whole flower in half from the stem up through the choke.  I coat it in a seasoned egg bath, roll it in panko breadcrumbs and place it in a pan of hot glossy oil.  I scoop it out of the oil when it turns golden brown.  My Pirate loves to dip his fried artichokes in homemade ranch dressing, but homemade aioli works too.  These make a lovely appetizer beside an ice cold glass of Rose.     

Kale and Scrambled Eggs

Our Wednesday morning class series with students from the Boys and Girls Club at the Hazel Dell School and Community Garden is my very favorite part of being a Master Gardener.  For the first hour of the class we do basic garden chores like harvesting potatoes, picking berries, weeding, and spreading mulch.  Then, we move on to a lesson followed by a snack.  I learn something new ever week.

For instance, did you know that everything that is poured into a Clark County storm drain goes straight into the river?  I didn’t.  I learned that and more from Tracy Sand, a Master Gardener and a former volunteer with the disbanded Water Shed Stewards.  She led us through three hands on projects that included building a watershed with sand and glass stones in a small cookie sheet then spraying it down with water.  And by the end of the class, when the students asked to wash their hands, the small voice of a first grade girl called out, “Put your hands outside in the rain to rinse off. Don’t waste water.”

This week it is my turn to present and I’m teaming up with an art teacher to present beneficial insects in the garden.   Then we’re going to give the same workshop for kids ages 4 through 9 on Saturday, August 9th at 9:30 am at Pacific Park in the Natural Demonstration Area. We going to collect beneficial insects, look at them through a magnifying lens, and learn how to draw them.  The workshop is followed by a brief work-party to help maintain the garden. I’d love to see you there.

To power up for a morning at the school garden, I pick several leaves of kale out of my victory garden and make a kale and egg scramble.  If I’m in a hurry, I throw the scrambled eggs between two slices of whole grain bread and enjoy a scrambled egg sandwich on the go.  Scrambled eggs with kale make you feel like a superhero.  Now, do be careful and check your smile in the mirror before you go out because the kale can stick in your teeth.  You want the world to laugh with you, not at you.

Scrambled Eggs with Kale

Serves 1

• 3 eggs
• 1 to 2 small leaves of kale
• splash of milk
• salt, pepper, and red cayenne powder
• olive oil

Remove the center rib in the kale leaf.  Chop the kale into one to two inch chunks.  Place in miniature food processor, add a splash of milk, and process until the kale is pulverized. 

Crack three eggs into a bowl and whisk together.  Add a pinch of salt, red cayenne powder and a few grinds of black pepper.  Add the kale mixture.  Whisk together.

Pour a glug of olive oil into a small nonstick skillet and heat over medium high heat.  When you can smell the warm olive oil pour in the green egg mixture. Stir the egg mixture until the eggs are done.   I push down a slice of toast in my toaster and when it pops up, the eggs are done.  Enjoy. 

Hiding in Plain Sight

Hmm…there appears to be an extra thorn on my Violetto artichoke bloom.  What could it be?

Oh Barnaby!

Life with Barnaby is never dull, but he is starting to slow down into a gentle giant. 

Barnaby's French Connection   My friend Ben, The Mad Chemist, took this picture.

I see glimmers of hope.  LIke when he gently plays with a small puppy.

Or allows a young child to pet him and even sit on him!

I can actually tire him out now.  He even naps!

Poor Jamie!  She squatted down and Barnaby tried to sit on her lap.  My friend, Ben, took this picture.

But, he's still mentally a 20 pound puppy in a 150 pound body!  If you squat down in the dog park to pet a puppy or small dog, he will try to sit on your lap.  And down you'll both go.

So, we still visit the dog park daily, so he can play with his favorite Great Dane friends, Tyrion and Ezri.  Some days they are the Three Musketeers, but normally they play more like the Three Stooges.

Barnaby is a giant goofball that makes me laugh.  Life with Barnaby is an adventure.

Roasted Baby Carrots

On warm evenings, you can find me out front watering my Victory Garden while chomping on a fresh Nantes carrot pulled out of the soup themed garden.  I’ve been happily ‘thinning’ my carrots this way for the past month.  Have you ever eaten a carrot fresh out of the garden?  They are crunchy and sweet with a vibrant carrot flavor that store bought carrots lack.  You simply need to try one. 

Carrots can be tricky to grow.  I used to feel defeated when my carrot seed failed until OSU Master Gardener Jan McNeilan told me that she had to replant her carrots four times that season.  Perseverance is the key to growing carrots.  I’ve found that topping my carrot seeds with potting soil and regular slug hunts helps improve their odds.  This year, I only needed to plant my seeds once.

A couple of weeks ago, I proudly walked a bouquet (bunch) of fresh carrots over to the Crony Brothers only to discover that one of them had recently lost his front tooth.  Aghast at my poor timing, I recommended that they oven roast the carrots.  Then, I went home and took my own advice.  My Pirate arrived home just as I was pulling the spicy roasted carrots out of the oven.  The carrots never made it to the dinner table.        

Roasted Baby Carrots

• Large bunch of baby carrots that are roughly the same size
• 1 tsp. of ground coriander
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• Large pinch of red cayenne powder
• Pinch of kosher salt
• Couple of grinds of black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine the spices with the olive oil in a bowl.  With your clean hands, stir the fresh baby carrots in the olive mixture until they are coated.  Spread out on an oiled cookie sheet.  Roast for 20 minutes until they are tender and browned. Serve.