Friday, April 20, 2012, was the 4th annual “Dirt Day” in our Associate Gardens. This is the day our garden teams prepped their raised beds with new soils, and some even plant cool season crops. Although a bit on the windy side, the weather was beautiful; sunny and 75. Some of the items planted; onions, potatoes, celery, cabbage, broccoli, radish, carrots, arugula, lettuces, swiss chard, beets, turnips, spinach, and peas. In just 2 hours, 100 teams completed the job, including the cleanup. All of the [...]

Fava Beans. One of my favorite Spring treats. The first time I brought some home from the market, I intended on making a fancy fava bean dip, but got distracted. The next day I decided to grill some chicken, and not wanting to create more dishes to wash, I thought I would try tossing a few of the giant bean pods on the grill. My theory was they would steam inside the pods just like very, very large edamame. To my delight, they did just [...]

The theme for our Company Christmas Party this year is “Christmas For Kids!” One of the activities to get us in the spirit is decorating the new tree in the lobby. A magnificent 13′ blue spruce has been lit with giant bulbs and bubble lights. Each associate has been asked to bring in an ornament to hang on the tree starting on Monday, December 12th. There are serious ones, sentimental ones, and of course some silly ones. We even have hand-painted and hand-carved specialty ornaments! [...]

The other night, I harvested some homegrown celery that was loaded with beautiful leaves. I could bear to let these go straight to the compost so I made a concerted effort to find multiple uses for them. 1 – Drying in my dehydrator for use as a dry spice later. Dry. Grind. Bottle. 2 – Vegetable Stock – added leaves and stalks to other homegrown vegetables to make a hearty stock. Yielded 6 cups! 3 – Wild Rice, Celery, Carrot, Turnip, Radish, Baby Green Bean [...]

So, you have some home grown celery that is loaded with beautiful, crisp, healthy leaves. You don’t want to send them straight to the compost bin do you? No, of course not. I grabbed a small handful and gently tearing added them to my trusty shaker. To this I added one small Cornichon, you know, one of those adorable, fancy baby pickles. I muddled these together, then added ice and 2 generous shots of my homemade bacon infused vodka. You could use any plain fine [...]

It’s a pleasure when a Tweet can motivate you to do something. Today’s question posted by @AlecBaldwin prompted me to take a walk. What a beautiful fall day here in central Ohio! Cloudless blue skies, temperatures in the high 70′s, and trees almost vibrating in golds and reds.

Join me, @MelissaJBond, as I guest host #GardenChat on Monday, August 22nd for a discussion about Growing and Giving; Formally AND Informally Have you ever grown too many tomatoes or zucchini and tried giving them away to friends and neighbors only to find that they just can’t take anymore? Have you ever left “care packages” on the doorsteps of said friends and neighbors, rang the bell, and ran away before they could say no? Ever take those extras into the office and set them by [...]

Turned some of my fresh basil into this Basil Cherry Bomb Martini. POW! Fragrant, slightly sweet & smooth. Muddle some fresh basil and a few very ripe cherries, add your desired amount of fine vodka and ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain through fine sieve, and garnish with a cherry.

Enjoyed my 1st cucumber from the garden in a fancy martini! Added a little extra flavor to this one. Muddled cucumber & basil shaken with homemade crabapple blossom infused vodka (Kettle One) Nope, that’s not a pickle, it’s a fresh cucumber slice.

After a frustrating evening of Twitter Fail Whale and Twitpic non-response, I finally turned to my trusted blog! This is where I should be sharing all these goodies anyway right? Tonight, for a #GardenChat Monday, it’s my Cactus Fruit Basil Martini! Shaken, not stirred of course. It is a very magenta cocktail, so pretty, so sweet, so fragrant. This is only my second cactus pear in my life, and I’m so glad I turned it into such a wonderful cocktail. Peeled & tossed into my [...]