Delishytown

Cooking is fun. Eating is funner. I cook, photograph and write these recipes.
Everything I post on this blog I make from scratch using fresh wholesome ingredients.. I've been cooking since I was a little kid.

My recipes are based on trial and error, along with studying cookbooks, family recipes, blogs and cooking shows.

Some of the veggies and herbs I use are grown in my garden. Yay sustainability!
I'm working on making my yard into an edible landscape. It's really fun to go out in the garden and pick your veggies for dinner!

Search

Find me on...

Posts I like

More liked posts

Tag Results

43 posts tagged Urban Farm

Link
 View high resolution
Terriers Repel Rodents and 9 other Organic Gardening Tips and Tricks Here are a few organic solutions to control pests in your garden. I have used all of these methods with great success. 1) Leave saucers of water near plants. Since I started doing this, the squirrels no longer bite into my tomatoes on a hot day. A lot of people think the squirrels are being total assholes for biting into their tomatoes and leaving the rest of it on the vine to rot. They’re just thirsty and they want the juice. OK, they are sorta being total assholes, but it’s not personal. If you leave water in clay saucers in several spots in your yard, they won’t mess with your crops as much, unless they are really hungry. The dishes of water will also give the lizards and snakes a drink, and these guys help control pests. Birds need water too and eat a lot of bugs. If you add dishes of water on the ground, and get a birdbath and keep it filled, you will see a vast improvement in pest control. 2) We used to have a rodent problem, but now we have Terriers. Terriers like to chase critters. It’s their favorite hobby. Get a lovely Terrier from the Animal Rescue, and encourage him or her to chase away rodents.  I have several solutions for killing bugs on plants.  3) Soapy water in a spray bottle. Squirt about 1 tsp dish soap into a spray bottle, fill the rest of the way with water, shake it up and spray it on the undersides of the leaves where the bugs like to congregate. This kills whiteflies, aphids and bugs like that.  4) Another way to get rid of bugs is to sprinkle worm castings on the soil. They sell it in bags at the Nursery. This is a repellant and not a bug killer. It also helps to fertilize the plants, so I like to use this as much as possible. Good for repelling whitefly. 5) If it’s a slug / snail problem, you can make beer traps to kill them. Bury a small container like a yogurt cup up to soil level in any area of the garden where you see plant damage from Slugs and Snails, usually indicated by massive holes chewed in your Chard or greens. Pour some beer into the cup. They will go in and drown. They like beer more than they like to eat plants. So does everybody. You will find a lot of dead slugs and snails in the cup the next day. Dump it out and repeat until you get rid of those bastards.  Warning: A container full of dead slugs and snails is completely disgusting. Not for the squeamish. 6) Another way to get rid of the slugs and snails is with Beneficial Snails, called decollate snails, sold in the refrigerator case at the nursery or home improvement store. The good snails eat the baby destructive snails, but don’t eat your crops, because they would rather eat the meaty other slug and snails. This way is good because you pit creature against creature and let them duke it out amongst themselves, thereby eliminating the feeling that you are a bug murderer.  7) Praying Mantis’ and Ladybugs eat bad bugs too, and won’t damage your garden. They sell these guys at the nursery too, in the refrigerator case. Release them at night after a thorough watering of the area where you will release them. They are more likely to stick around if they have a cool drink of water once they get released from their container. I like this method a lot because it’s fun to see the Ladybugs and to be surprised by the occasional freaky-as-hell-looking Praying mantis. Don’t spray any soapy water on your beneficial bugs.  8) Another solution for slugs and snails is Iron Phosphate, which is organic, (it’s just Iron & Phosphorous), they sell it in canisters, usually called Sluggo. But this product will also kill your Decollate snails, so don’t use it if you’re trying to establish beneficials in your garden. 9) Garlic repels most bugs, but doesn’t really kill them unless it’s a strong enough solution. But a very strong garlic solution will also burn your plants. 10) Marigolds repel bugs. Plant them with tomatoes, peppers, squash.   Happy Gardening!

Terriers Repel Rodents and 9 other Organic Gardening Tips and Tricks

Here are a few organic solutions to control pests in your garden. I have used all of these methods with great success.

1) Leave saucers of water near plants. Since I started doing this, the squirrels no longer bite into my tomatoes on a hot day. A lot of people think the squirrels are being total assholes for biting into their tomatoes and leaving the rest of it on the vine to rot. They’re just thirsty and they want the juice. OK, they are sorta being total assholes, but it’s not personal. If you leave water in clay saucers in several spots in your yard, they won’t mess with your crops as much, unless they are really hungry. The dishes of water will also give the lizards and snakes a drink, and these guys help control pests. Birds need water too and eat a lot of bugs. If you add dishes of water on the ground, and get a birdbath and keep it filled, you will see a vast improvement in pest control.

2) We used to have a rodent problem, but now we have Terriers. Terriers like to chase critters. It’s their favorite hobby. Get a lovely Terrier from the Animal Rescue, and encourage him or her to chase away rodents. 

I have several solutions for killing bugs on plants. 

3) Soapy water in a spray bottle. Squirt about 1 tsp dish soap into a spray bottle, fill the rest of the way with water, shake it up and spray it on the undersides of the leaves where the bugs like to congregate. This kills whiteflies, aphids and bugs like that. 
4) Another way to get rid of bugs is to sprinkle worm castings on the soil. They sell it in bags at the Nursery. This is a repellant and not a bug killer. It also helps to fertilize the plants, so I like to use this as much as possible. Good for repelling whitefly.
5) If it’s a slug / snail problem, you can make beer traps to kill them. Bury a small container like a yogurt cup up to soil level in any area of the garden where you see plant damage from Slugs and Snails, usually indicated by massive holes chewed in your Chard or greens. Pour some beer into the cup. They will go in and drown. They like beer more than they like to eat plants. So does everybody. You will find a lot of dead slugs and snails in the cup the next day. Dump it out and repeat until you get rid of those bastards.  Warning: A container full of dead slugs and snails is completely disgusting. Not for the squeamish.
6) Another way to get rid of the slugs and snails is with Beneficial Snails, called decollate snails, sold in the refrigerator case at the nursery or home improvement store. The good snails eat the baby destructive snails, but don’t eat your crops, because they would rather eat the meaty other slug and snails. This way is good because you pit creature against creature and let them duke it out amongst themselves, thereby eliminating the feeling that you are a bug murderer. 
7) Praying Mantis’ and Ladybugs eat bad bugs too, and won’t damage your garden. They sell these guys at the nursery too, in the refrigerator case. Release them at night after a thorough watering of the area where you will release them. They are more likely to stick around if they have a cool drink of water once they get released from their container. I like this method a lot because it’s fun to see the Ladybugs and to be surprised by the occasional freaky-as-hell-looking Praying mantis. Don’t spray any soapy water on your beneficial bugs. 
8) Another solution for slugs and snails is Iron Phosphate, which is organic, (it’s just Iron & Phosphorous), they sell it in canisters, usually called Sluggo. But this product will also kill your Decollate snails, so don’t use it if you’re trying to establish beneficials in your garden.
9) Garlic repels most bugs, but doesn’t really kill them unless it’s a strong enough solution. But a very strong garlic solution will also burn your plants.
10) Marigolds repel bugs. Plant them with tomatoes, peppers, squash.
 
Happy Gardening!
Link
 View high resolution
Baby Artichokes from our garden. We cooked these last night for dinner and they were delicious!

Baby Artichokes from our garden. We cooked these last night for dinner and they were delicious!

Seed saving is very important, especially since the Big Ag / Big Food creeps are trying to own patents on all the seeds in the world by genetically modifying them. Diabolical! 

These are seeds I saved from a Broccoli Raab plant that bolted in my garden last month. Bolting means sending up a flower stalk. For cold loving plants like Broccoli Raab, warmer temps signal them to bolt and set seeds for the next generation. It’s a Darwinian thing.

It’s easy to save seeds. You simply let your plants complete their life cycle when they’re done producing food. Instead of yanking the spent plants out of your garden, let a few of your favorite ones set flowers, and then set seed pods. These small flowers will attract beneficial insects to your garden, which is a bonus of this process. Allow the seed pods to dry on the plant and then crunch them open. Inside are the seeds for next years crop. I put mine through a mesh strainer to strain away the bigger parts of the chaff. 

Package them up, save some for your next years garden and share the rest. We win!!

Link
 View high resolution
Here’s a picture of Carrots from our garden! And a couple of peas too! My sister and I had so much fun harvesting these. Pulling carrots out of the garden is like finding gold. I might make some carrot soup, or maybe just chop them up into a big salad. Yum! Can’t wait. Carrots are so much easier to grow than I previously thought. We grew these in big pots filled with organic potting soil. If you plant in the ground, they like loose, loamy soil, so dig deep, and add organic compost. They don’t like being transplanted. Sow the seeds directly where they will grow, on top of the soil and gently pat down. Surprisingly, they do well when crowded, don’t feel like you have to thin them out meticulously. They love cool temps, so all you Northern gardeners can get your carrots started soon!  Happy gardening! :)

Here’s a picture of Carrots from our garden! And a couple of peas too! My sister and I had so much fun harvesting these. Pulling carrots out of the garden is like finding gold. I might make some carrot soup, or maybe just chop them up into a big salad. Yum! Can’t wait.

Carrots are so much easier to grow than I previously thought. We grew these in big pots filled with organic potting soil. If you plant in the ground, they like loose, loamy soil, so dig deep, and add organic compost. They don’t like being transplanted. Sow the seeds directly where they will grow, on top of the soil and gently pat down. Surprisingly, they do well when crowded, don’t feel like you have to thin them out meticulously. They love cool temps, so all you Northern gardeners can get your carrots started soon! 

Happy gardening! :)

Garden Greens in our edible landscape. Purple Kale, Rainbow Swiss Chard, Red Romaine, and Radicchio. Happy Spring!

Edible Landscape Update Feb. 14, 2013

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone! My spring garden is up and growing. I haven’t posted edible garden pics lately so here a few shots of some of the plants in our garden from this week. I live in Southern California. The days are usually in the low to mid 60’s, and the nights go down into the 40’s. We get occasional frost and it’s supposed to rain next week.

We currently have a lot of spring vegetables growing in our front and back gardens. In the front yard I plant pansies, poppies and stock with the vegetables. In the back I have a bunch of nasturtiums planted, and various other flower seeds started, but I’m mostly concentrating on vegetable growing back there. We’ve got garlic, shallots, kale, chard, various lettuces, arugula, peas, carrots, fennel, potatoes, blueberries, strawberries, lemons and artichokes growing right now. There’s also cilantro, thyme, rosemary, parsley and oregano. Some of the herbs are a bit dormant right about now, but the cilantro seems to love this weather.The grapes, apple tree, and raspberries are also dormant at this time of year, and I won’t plant basil, tomatoes and warm weather stuff until about late April or early May.

I harvested a big salad spinner of rainbow chard and kale this morning and i think I’m going to add it to bean and cheese burritos for lunch. Yum. Happy Gardening! 

Smokey Beef and Potato Tacos

  We grew the potatoes in these tacos, the limes are from our neighbors tree. The second picture is my potato harvest from yesterday. Potatoes like sunny, cool weather. It’s easy to grow them, especially in a barrel or in grow bags, that way you can just dump the whole thing out when they’re ready to harvest. Plant them low in the container, and hill the dirt up and mulch with straw as they grow to get multiple layers of harvestable potatoes.

These beef and potato tacos are delicious! Using potatoes helps stretch your food dollars. You can make these vegetarian by omitting the meat all together.

In a skillet, olive oil, chopped onion, diced potatoes, salt and papper. Cook until caramelized and cooked through. Set aside.

Brown 1/2 lb grass fed organic ground beef with 1 small chopped onion or shallot, add minced garlic, and a sprinkle of each of the following spices: coriander powder, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil and season with celery salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with a little beer, wine or water. 

Chop lettuce, slice tomatoes, & grate cheddar cheese. Heat small corn tortillas on each side. Serve the meat and potatoes inside the taco shells and garnish with shredded lettuce, tomato, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, lime wedges and salsa. Yum!

Link
 View high resolution
Thanksgiving Sides: Cider Sausage Stuffing with Fennel, Leeks, & Dried Cranberries I made two kinds of stuffing for our Thanksgiving party today and froze them until Thanksgiving. If you’re cooking for a lot of people, it’s easier to do as much as possible ahead of time and put it in the freezer until the day of the party. That way you can just pop it in the oven for the last hour that the turkey cooks. Bread freezes well, so this is a good thing to make ahead. Make sure to thaw this in the fridge before baking. This version of stuffing includes seared and caramelized Italian sausage, which was cooked and drained and added back at the end. I also added fresh chopped fennel from our front yard garden, apple cider (along with the stock or veggie broth), chopped leeks, dried cranberries and toasted almonds. You prepare this the same way as the stuffing I posted earlier, adding chopped leeks and fennel to the vegetable saute at the beginning, and 1 cup of apple cider in the broth stage.  This also has dried cranberries added at the mixing stage with toasted sliced almonds. It’s delicious! 

Thanksgiving Sides: Cider Sausage Stuffing with Fennel, Leeks, & Dried Cranberries

I made two kinds of stuffing for our Thanksgiving party today and froze them until Thanksgiving. If you’re cooking for a lot of people, it’s easier to do as much as possible ahead of time and put it in the freezer until the day of the party. That way you can just pop it in the oven for the last hour that the turkey cooks. Bread freezes well, so this is a good thing to make ahead. Make sure to thaw this in the fridge before baking.

This version of stuffing includes seared and caramelized Italian sausage, which was cooked and drained and added back at the end. I also added fresh chopped fennel from our front yard garden, apple cider (along with the stock or veggie broth), chopped leeks, dried cranberries and toasted almonds.

You prepare this the same way as the stuffing I posted earlier, adding chopped leeks and fennel to the vegetable saute at the beginning, and 1 cup of apple cider in the broth stage.  This also has dried cranberries added at the mixing stage with toasted sliced almonds. It’s delicious! 

Link
 View high resolution
Zucchini Parmesan Bites I made these from a gigantic zucchini that was hiding under a few big leaves in my garden. I somehow overlooked it until it was of monstrous proportions, about 12 inches long and 4-5 inches in diameter.  These little bites are crispy and delicious and I highly recommend this versatile way of cooking zucchini. Once baked, you can layer these with tomato sauce and make zucchini parmesan. You could also cut them into the shape of french fries, instead of circles, in the first step, then crumb coat, bake, and serve with burgers. I like eating them as appetizers with home made ketchup! Yum! Here’s how I made these inexpensive and scrumptious treats: Heat oven to 400. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil spray.  Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch thick circles (or in the shape of french fries), dip in scrambled egg that’s been seasoned with salt and pepper. Dredge in bread crumbs that have been seasoned with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, pinch of celery salt, couple grinds of black pepper, sprinkle of onion powder, shake of garlic powder and 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. Place the zucchini rounds on the cookie sheet, spritz with a little olive oil spray, and top each one with a little fresh grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, flip each one over, return to oven for 10 more minutes until desired doneness.  Serve with homemade ketchup or marinara sauce.  Yum!

Zucchini Parmesan Bites

I made these from a gigantic zucchini that was hiding under a few big leaves in my garden. I somehow overlooked it until it was of monstrous proportions, about 12 inches long and 4-5 inches in diameter. 

These little bites are crispy and delicious and I highly recommend this versatile way of cooking zucchini. Once baked, you can layer these with tomato sauce and make zucchini parmesan. You could also cut them into the shape of french fries, instead of circles, in the first step, then crumb coat, bake, and serve with burgers. I like eating them as appetizers with home made ketchup! Yum!

Here’s how I made these inexpensive and scrumptious treats:

Heat oven to 400.

Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil spray. 

Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch thick circles (or in the shape of french fries), dip in scrambled egg that’s been seasoned with salt and pepper. Dredge in bread crumbs that have been seasoned with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, pinch of celery salt, couple grinds of black pepper, sprinkle of onion powder, shake of garlic powder and 1/2 tsp smoked paprika.

Place the zucchini rounds on the cookie sheet, spritz with a little olive oil spray, and top each one with a little fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, flip each one over, return to oven for 10 more minutes until desired doneness.  Serve with homemade ketchup or marinara sauce.  Yum!

Amaranth Eggplant Rainbow Carrots Hibiscus Amaranth and Fennel

Veggies From the Garden   July 2, 2012

Blooming Artichoke Artichokes Artichoke plant Summer Squash Beets and Basil

Back Garden Update: July 1, 2012

Artichokes are continuing to bloom beautifully. I’ll let one of these plants set seed, but the others will be cut back to the ground once they fade. These are perennials where I live, growing in cooler temps. They’ll sprout back up again in late fall. 

Summer squash have lots of blossoms and it should be about a week till we harvest our first zucchinis. Eggplants have set fruit as well, I have two kinds growing next to each other. I can’t wait for baked eggplant. Cucumbers are still sprouting.

Tomato plants are growing vigorously and all of them have flowers. I see a couple small green tomatoes here and there. Strawberries are all doing great since I transplanted them into containers to get them off the ground.

We’re still harvesting beets, carrots, lettuces, kale and chard. It’s really fun to pull the root vegetables out of the ground! 

This week I’ll be planting more squash, tomatoes, peppers, basil, tarragon, and a new crop of lettuces in a shady spot. 

Loading posts...