My Garden: Wild and Weedy

With all the rain we've had this summer, my rambunctious garden is like a child only a mother could love - no matter how unruly, it's still the object of my affection.

Can this garden be saved?
My mistake here was mulching with hay. Apparently there's a big difference between hay and straw: Hay contains weed seeds and straw does not...oops.

Tomatillos and potatoes threatening to take over the strawberries.

I'm hoping the watermelon will crawl over and crowd out the weeds.
Wishful thinking?

The asparagus rises above all obstacles.

Cucumbers finally getting the long awaited summer heat.

It's time to harvest all the lettuce before they bolt.
When I have a lot of lettuce and fresh herbs, I serve Spring Roll Lettuce Wrap, and that's what I did at our monthly supper club. Six of us chowed down almost half this row, six heads of lettuce, a light meal with lots of moans and groans.

Thai basil, another good candidate for Spring Roll Lettuce Wrap.

Garlic and weeds

My favorite, Patty Pan, has the best texture and flavor of all summer squashes.

Swiss chard, onions and black turtle beans.
The brick mulch keeps Ben, our garden tiger, from claiming the garden as his own.

What to do with Bolting Onions

I planted 80 onion sets in late April and now some of them have started to bolt. Bolting means that the onion has stopped growing and will not bulb. It will put all its energy into making seeds and get tough and old. It should be harvested which is not a good thing if you are looking to grow onions for winter use. But, for now, we have an over abundance of green onions, a challenge I look forward to each growing season.

We love grilled garden vegetables so that is what I did with the first batch of green onions. I cleaned and cut them to about 6" to include just the white bulb and the light green part, saving the darker green leaves for the Mongolian beef below. I tossed the pieces in olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled them, over high heat, along with some asparagus that I'm still picking. I cooked them until just tender, then transfered them to a serving bowl and finished them with another splash of olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. This was a delight: smoky and gently sweet with a slight crunch.

Grilled green onions and asparagus

The second dish I made goes back almost thirty years. My family will tell you it is one of their favorites. It combines tender slices of beef and green onions with a ginger sauce. The recipe came from an out of print Chinese Menu cookbook published in 1976. Through the years I have remained mostly faithful to the original recipe, only changing the amount of green onions. I've doubled and, last week, even tripled the original amount. They all just wilt down anyway, so use as much as you like.

Mongolian Beef with Jasmine Rice

1 lb flank steak

Marinade:
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 TBS cornstarch
1 TBS canola oil

Seasonings:
1 whole green onion, bulb and leaves
1 tsp fresh ginger
1 clove garlic

Sauce:
2 TBS soy sauce
3 TBS dry sherry or good white wine
1 TBS hoisin sauce
3 TBS water

12+ green onions, bulbs and leaves

4 TBS canola oil

1 tsp sesame oil

First I pour myself a glass of wine, then I start the rice in the rice cooker, which is as simple as putting rice and water in the rice cooker and pushing "cook". The rice cooks and stays warm until you're ready to eat.

Cut flank steak in half lengthwise, then thinly slice across the grain. In a large bowl combine the marinade ingredients and add sliced beef. Set aside.

Cut green onions into 2" pieces. Set aside.

Finely mince seasoning ingredients, put in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Now you're ready to stir fry. It's important to have all your ingredients ready before heating up the wok, high heat is key to successful stir frying and food is cooked in a flash.

• Heat wok over high heat.
• Add 2 tablespoon canola oil.
• When oil is hot, add meat and its marinade. The oil is hot if it sizzles when you stick a wooden chopstick or wooden spoon into it.
• Stir fry until meat is just pink, about 2 minutes.
• Remove from wok to a bowl.
• Add 2 tablespoon canola oil to the same wok.
• When oil is hot add seasonings.
• Stir a few times until slightly fragrant, then add the sauce mixture.
• Stir and add green onion pieces.
• Stir for a minute until onion is slightly wilted, then return beef to the wok.
• Stir until beef is heated through .
• Stir in sesame oil.

Remove from wok and serve with jasmine rice.

Serves 2 generously and the recipe doubles easily.

I'm still trying to figure out why onions bolt but for now I'm wallowing in green onions.

Beef with Asparagus

They're here! The asparagus have finally arrived. Having an asparagus bed in the garden is like money in the bank, the dividends come each spring like clock work.

Asparagus is a perennial, and that means it is planted once and will produce for 15 years or more. If you have a garden and don't have an asparagus bed, spring is a good time to do it. Growing asparagus is easy but only for the patient. Plant the roots this spring but no harvesting until next year and even then only very lightly. On the third year and every year thereafter they're yours for the pickin', forgive the pun. Here's more info on how to plant an asparagus bed.

We love asparagus in every which way--roasted, grilled, steamed, in stir fry and pasta dishes. An old family favorite is Stir-Fried Beef with Vegetables--asparagus, green beans, broccoli, whatever is in season and available, but for us this week asparagus has center stage.

Beef with Asparagus
1/2 lb flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
oil for frying
4 scallions, cut in 1 1/2-inch lengths
Salt
1 lb asparagus cut diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths
2 TBS oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 TBS water

Marinate meat with cornstarch, soy sauce, salt, sugar, and garlic for 10 minutes.
Heat wok or large frying pan, add 2 tablespoons oil and heat. Toss in scallions and cook 30 seconds. Add meat and stir-fry over high hear for a minute until browned on the outside and pink in the middle. Remove from pan. Heat 2 more tablespoons oil in the same pan, add asparagus, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and stir-fry over high heat for a minute or two until asparagus is tender but still al dente. Add a bit of water if the pan is too dry. Return meat and scallions to pan, add oyster sauce and soy sauce. Add cornstarch-water mixture and give a quick stir until thickened. Serve over jasmine rice or short grain brown rice. This is a seasonal delight that will wean you from Chinese take-out forever. Serves 4.

Links to easy asparagus recipes:
Grilled Asparagus
Roastd Asparagus
Wok-Seared Chicken with Asparagus & Pistachios

Do you have a favorite asparagus recipes? Do share them below in the comment section.

What's Growing in the Garden

We're starting to get some serious heat and the garden is exploding...

The front garden

Pink Magnolia

A welcome weed--these violas grow wild in the paths and in the beds

First asparagus

Young rhubarb

Sugar Snap Peas planted April 2nd.

Garlic shares a bed with spring greens--radish, lettuce and arugula