Strawberries At Your Fingertips

 One of the joys of having a garden is planting anything you want. Strawberries are a popular and much loved crop.Not only are they a high yield harvest, they are also a versatile one. They can be made into anything , from preserves to salad dressings.

Before you even buy the plants start staking out your garden. Strawberries thrive in bright sunny areas in soil that has a pH factor anywhere from 5.5. to 6.8. You can easily buy a pH indicator at any of your Home Depots' Lowes or Wal-mart.If the pH is too high or too low then mix in nutrients to help balance the dirt.Aged compost also helps in produce lush ruby berries with verdant leaves. THe plant is a perennial so it will die off in winter  but will return in the Spring. Many types of the Berry produce what is known as runners with baby pants at the tips. These runners often root themselves nearby yet remain attached to the mother plant. These types of strawberries produce more fruit if you clip off most of the runners, each plant should have no more than three daughter plants each summer. Because of all this extra growth try to plant the strawberry plants about eighteen inches apart.Let the roots be covered with soil while the stem or crown has adequate light and air.If not this will rot causing a blight.It usually takes three weeks to a month to see any fruit.

Once grown, there is a wealth. of recipes to try. Some home chefs may be brave and try to make jam or preserves.it;'s basically mashing fresh strawberries with sugar , lemon and water and  cooking in a saucepan. You could even add a pat of butter for Canadian style jam. It's then pouring this in sterilized jam jars.It makes for a nice memory when you're spreading it on warmed croissants in the fall and winter. Strawberry pie is another treat to make .It makes for a great dessert after a barbecue. A tart made with the fruit topping a creme filling inside a buttery tart crust is always a sophisticated treat. A different spin is strawberry bread which is a sweet tea bread rich with the fruit. A strawberry glaze covers it. Fresh strawberries can also be used to make delicious homemade ice cream along with a tasty butter cream frosting for chocolate or vanilla cake. Keep in mind that they can also be used in a tangy dressing. This is blending s a puree with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Honey is added for sweetness. This is a great salad over a spinach and chicken salad. You could also add the fruit along with almonds for a really special lunch.

What a treat to have fresh strawberries. Grow them for a lovely  harvest. You 'll love the taste of these ruby red gems.

The Birthplace Of Olive OIl

 Many think that the best and the birthplace of olive oil is Greece. Yet the Palestinian town of Rameh,Israel has also pressed olives for the last 5,000 years. The end result is a smooth sweet oil  that can go in either savory or sweet dishes.

Reem Kassis, a Palestinian food and culture writer wrote about this famed oil in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. she visited this  Northern Israeli town, located halfway between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee. It is high up in the hills where the olive tress abound and have been long before Jesus Christ. It has long held the reputation of being the area's best olive oil. Its' color is a bright liquid gold with an aroma reminiscent of wild grasses and dandelion leaves that grow around the trees.Users describe it as rich and smooth  with a mouth feel of ghee or clarified butter. This area has long produced this oil, being the main producer of the ancient world.Now Spain and Southern Italy are the now the main producer's of the world's olive oils. Rameh still has an amazing two thousand acres of trees surrounding this hill town. Th eolifes and trees have long been praised in newspapers articles, books and even poetry. The village declares itself as the "queen of Palestinian oil".

Why is Rameh's oil so delicious? It has to do with harvesting.The trees are harvested later in the season than  the other olive trees in the region.This is due partly to the olive fruit fry that comes in from the coast. It works inland which means the more western regions have to harvest unripe olives. This happens much later in Rameh where it takes a while for the infestation to hit along with being much higher up. The olives are allowed to ripen to their full maturity which directly affects the color and flavor of the oil. According to local MAzen Ali, this makes for a "pleasant bitterness but is still delicious and fruit." There's also the favorable climate along with being grown in a nutrient rich soil.It's tilled by livestock and not treated with commercial fertilizers. There's also meticulous  care and pruning. which produces green olives with purple spots.Unfortunately the groves were restricted and untended during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.Also closing the borders of Lebanon and Syria during this time helped too. Ms. Kassis also included  recipes for homemade pita and olive oil soaked za'atar and bugar majadura.a mix of lemtils and fried onions.

The world needs to know about Rameh's treasured olive oil. It would be perfect in cooking and even  baking. This is the epitome of oil, sweet, smooth and silky.

Climate Change And Our Crops

Climate change is affecting everything in our lives. Its' worst impact is on our food. Crops are being decimated. Earth is being scorched. Can there be any hope? Or help for that matter.

That was the subject of an eye opening article in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Eric Asimov wrote extensively on what's happening in Napa Valley in his The Pour column. The famed wine country is under serious assault thanks to the rampant wildfires that are basically ravaging the whole state.It's not only the flames that are threatening the vineyards. There are problems caused by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company , namely no electricity. They have intentionally shut down their power to prevent their equipment from igniting any more fires Wide sections of wine country are shut down for days at a time. Then there are the droughts and cold snaps along with heat waves that affect the plants and soil. What is even worse are some winegrowers of  lack of interest. They are more concerned with competition from nearby cannabis growers along with worry about Chinese tariffs. Add to that there are no government regulations when it comes to wineries and their carbon footprints.

That's all changing, thankfully with the help of trade associations and individuals who care about Napa's future.Unfortunately , they can't demand action: only persuade winegrowers to amend their habits. It is work. Programs have to be promoted in both English and Spanish to reduce water use,along with promoting soil life and health.There has to be habitats for beneficial wildlife and diminish the need for tractor work. One of the most important musts is preventing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from the soil.The last will be hard because the soil must be tilled and that releases the gas into the ozone.  Again some winemakers are on board. The Napa Vintners, a winemaker's association has launched the Napa Green program that promotes energy efficiency,conservation and environmental action through third party certification for vineyards and wineries. It also helps that wineries such as  Spottswoode has been farming organically for years.The winery is also adapting for a hotter future too. They may have been influenced by their president and chief executive, Beth Novak Miliken . She is the chair of the Napa Vintners and part of the Napa Green program. Another, Jackson Family Wines have made lighter bottles which enabled them to reduce their emissions by three per cent.

Climate change is affecting everything, but more importantly our crops. Hopefully Napa Valley will battle it as best it can and still produce good wines. Smart green planning and smart green actions will be able to save it.

Eating Better Thanks To Science

The name Musk is usually associated with science - the science of the electric car. Now there's another Musk, Elon's brother , Kimbal who is changing the food world. His style? Using science, of course. He wants to revolutionize the food world the way his brother revolutionized the auto world.

His was the main story in today's New York Times Food section. Food regular Kim Severson, conducted an interview with this innovator. Kimbal Musk's main idea is to promote a philosophy of  real food that will not only nourish the body but also the farmer and the planet.It's not really a new idea. Michael Pollan, a food writer, and author of Food Rules has been preaching this for years as others who have pushed and created a farmer's market and urban farms. What makes Mr. Musk's idea unique is that he wants to create a network of business, educational, and agricultural ventures  big enough to return the nation's food system back to healthy local foods, grown on pesticide free farms.It is the ideal dream and he does have have somewhat of a background in it, starting with his childhood. He cooked at his father's house for him along with for Elon and their sister, Tosca. Mr Musk does have restaurant experience too. He and his former wife, Jen Lewin, started Kitchen in 2004, in Colorado. It was a farm to table concept. A skiing accident that broke his neck and left him temporarily paralyzed got him to refocus his drive. He would devote his life to food.

This led him to be interested in school gardens. His ex wife designed a modular curved plastic planters that could be arranged in any school yard to hold produce yielding plants. They were first installed in the Denver school district in 2010, with the extra bonus of teaching kids about science.Other schools in Memphis, Los Angeles ,Pittsburgh and Chicago.He's also started a chain of hyperlocal restuarants, called Next Door,These feature wild salmon and local pasture raised beef, along with big Greek salads bursting with community vegetables. Not everyone is enamored of his efforts. There has been a lot of criticism, especially from Alice Waters, the pioneer of the American Slow Food Movement. and creator of the famed restaurant , Chez Panisse. To be fair, he has criticized her , proclaiming that she doens;t know how to scale a garden to fit a school. She in turn has accused of him the same thing. His Square Roots project has met with a lot of flak too. It's an idea that has young farmers growing greens with nothing but enhanced water and LEDs in shipping containers, It's hydroponic farming that has critics sniping about the lack of nutrient rich soil.

Will Kimbal Musk change the food industry the way his brother, Elon changed the auto industry? Can he change the way we eat ? He has the drive and determination to do so - just like his brother.

Organic Gardening - Your Own Organic Stash

Now that it's March it's time to start thinking of gardening for your future spring summer and even fall dishes. By planting  foodies have free access to any kind of fruit or vegetable. Even better if they plant organically, they have all natural ingredients ready to pick. These are highly beneficial to one's diet and well being.  Plant organic. It's surprisingly easy.

First of all, decide what you're going to plant. Most veggies and fruits such as peas, turnips and onions need to planted within the next few weeks. If you're planting mid spring veggies such as cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce along with peppers and eggplants then you have time to map out plots that take advantage of sun and shade. w,  Another good idea for future organic farmers is prepping the soil. Since there still can be snow and torrential rains, it's best to feel and test the soil's texture.If the earth is wet and gooey, don't plant.If the ball of dirt is crumbly and falls apart when rubbed then do so .Again it depends on where you live. Southerners and Southern Californians are probably chomping at the bit to start gardens while Northerners still have to deal with frozen or drenched soil.

Another important aspect of organic gardening is what you put into the garden to get organic produce. Compost is a big help. Anything is good from  pet hair to grass cuttings. Of course even veggies and fruit are also excellent add ins.The biggest mistake gardeners make is not following through and using organic pesticides.  They wind up spraying deadly and toxic mixes instead of making their own. Plants in the deadly nightshade family make the best repellents. Try cutting up tomato leaves or potato skins combined with water make excellent sprays. Another is hot pepper and water or even just plain catnip (which also works as an ant repellent indoors too.). That kitchen staple garlic is another repellent Plant it and anise between rows of veggies to repel aphids and slugs.

 Organic foods start with organic gardens. Start an all natural one this spring for a season of good healthy produce.Eating healthier and eating better is worth all the work.

Field of Dreams Planning The Perfect Veggie Garden

Thanks to the economy and the push for fresh foods, gardening is going to be big this year. For some of us, it's old hat. We plant the veggies every year and tend the fruit trees hoping to get some kind of produce for the summer and fall. For the newbies it's a different story. New to the field gardeners will be at sea in an ocean of green. However planting and harvesting a garden is for everyone and there's a feeling of satisfaction when they pluck that first tomato or pepper .


The first step in creating a good garden is research. Find out what your dirt is(loamy, sandy, etc) and its' acidity. Secondly research about the veggies and herbs you want to plant in it. For example highly acidic soil can wind up producing bitter tasting tomatoes.Also see what grows in your region and when is the best time of the Spring to plant it (th e US is divided into seven planting zones which you can easily find on Google). Also another factor to consider is your family's taste. If the kids hate onions, it's kind of moot to plant them, expecting everyone to wax enthusiastic about the first bulb. Ask the little ones what they want and then get them involved. Kids who grow their own produce will be proud to eat their first veggies.

Once the yard has been evaluated and the choices made, then head down to your local nursery or order from a catalog or online for plants and seeds. You may also want to get some equipment, mulch and fertilizer as well. Planting usually starts at the end of this month or the beginning of next for early summer harvesting. You may want to turn over the dirt now to get it ready for the first batch of tomatoes or lettuce.

It may seem too early or cold to think about that first summer harvest. Yet it's not, Remember that we're halfway through April and may is only a few short weeks away. It's time to get ready!