SUMMER GARDENING || favorite garden recipes

I starting my hand at gardening the first year Matt and I were married.  I was so happy to have my own little house.  A place where I could create a home, love on people and try my hand at 'domestic' things'.  My first attempt at gardening wasn't too successful!  But, once I realized that I was over-complicating it, things seemed to grow!  You put a seed in the dirt, water it and watch it grow.  AMAZING.

For the past 10 years, I have been gardening out of raised beds.  I am learning how I need to approach things a bit differently when gardening on a large, flat plot of dirt.

 The weeds are killing me!  Definitely using ALOT more mulch next year.  But what a sense of accomplishment to enjoy the fruits of our labor!

Most Saturday mornings, Addilyn helps me in the garden while Savanna naps.  What a joy to listen to her chat, build mud pies, look for worms, pick fruits and veggies and just get dirty in the garden.  It takes 10 times longer to pull weeds and work when she is with me, but it is a special time for us.

I thought I would share a few of our favorite summer recipes, so far this summer.  I am trying to be creative with food we typically don't eat, but are growing in the garden {kale, cabbage, leeks, etc}.  We do a lot of grilling in the summer, and a lot of 'winging it' when it comes to summer meal planning.  I love having a few favorite recipes and then tweaking them a bit according to what I have on hand.

warm kale salad

kale salad with warm garlic and raisin vinaigrette 

grilled roasted corn salad

lemon basil pizza with spinach and mozzarella

pizza with summer squash and feta

Mediterranean baked chicken

Enjoy!

What I am reading now :: gardening and canning resources

Things are busy here at the Haney household as I try to wrap up last minute design projects, stock the shop and prepare for baby #2!  I thought I would just pop in to share what I am reading.  I know you would love these books, especially if you love gardening and cooking!!

FOOD IN JARS is a fabulous read/cookbook if you want to learn more about, and experiment with canning.

ORGANIC GARDENER'S COMPANION is a wonderful resource for planning, planting and tending to your organic garden.

ORGANIC GARDEN BASICS is great for the beginning gardener and the seasoned gardener!

With the temperature warming and the sun shining a bit more here in the Pacific NW, I am anxious to get outside and start working in the garden.

SPRING PLANTING :: what's happening in the garden {zone 8}

The last couple of days have been beautiful here in the Willamette Valley.  I am itching to get outside and work in the garden!!  Yesterday was beautiful, I worked some of my raised beds and got a few seeds into the ground.

Over the years I have done a lot of research for vegetable gardening.  I am by no means an expert, or a master gardener!  But, I thought I would share the few things I am doing in my garden, in hopes that it might inspire others to grow their own fruit, vegetables and herbs this year.

This beautiful little corner of Oregon is a zone 8b for gardening.  Knowing the zone definitely makes it easier to know when to plant seeds and starts!

We have raised beds so they heat up and dry out {from the rain} a bit faster than just planting straight into the ground.  After tilling the beds, I planted.....

swiss chard ::

I use swiss chard in egg dishes, soups and pasta dishes.

kale ::

I am not a huge kale fan.  I know it's so good for me, but still.  Anyways, I will add it to soups and smoothies.  I will also juice it.....

lettuce & mesclun ::

I {obviously ;-} use this in salads.  I usually plant a new row of lettuce and/or mesclun every 2-3 weeks so we always have fresh greens growing.  Once it gets too hot {June/July}, these little darlings will bolt and be of no use but to feed the chickens!

sugar snap peas ::

I love sugar snap peas!  I will eat them straight off of the vine and forget to pick any for dinner!!  We usually eat sugar snap peas in salads and Chinese food/stir fry dishes.

I sure hope that helps to inspire you to plant a few spring vegetables.  They are so easy to care for!  Really, you just plant, water and let the rain do the rest!

Happy gardening!

xoxo~Darci