'R Garden Blogs

Kermit Eggplant with Shrimp & Coconut milk.

2011-07-17T01:39:00.000-04:00

By customer: Adrienne Hardison
1lb Shrimp
½ lb Kermit Eggplant Quartered
1 onion sliced
1 green pepper
1T Red Curry Paste
1cn coconut milk

Stir fry vegetables until cooked. Stir in paste (with the curry you can add more or less as you like it) & milk. Simmer 5 min. Add shrimp last so you do not over cook, when shrimp is pink it is done. Serve over cooked jasmine rice. For a lower carb meal don't use rice or substitute "Dream Fields Pasta".

Low Carb Recipes

2011-06-05T21:05:00.002-04:00

We are working on recipes that are low carb options. My daughter is diabetic so we are always looking for ways to make recipes that we love with less carbs. I will add the Label "low carb recipes" so you can find these easier. Something I have found out...Not all root vegetables are bad, I have a list of root veggies that are "non starchy" that we grow at 'R Garden.

Non-Starchy Vegetables

2011-06-05T21:02:00.000-04:00

We grow all these vegetables at 'R Garden.

Beans (green, wax, Italian, purple)

Beet root & greens
Broccoli (broccoli raab)
Cabbage (napa, bok choy)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Daikon
Eggplant
Greens (collard, kale, mustard)
Kohlrabi
Okra
Onions
Pea pods
Peppers
Radishes
Rutabaga
Salad greens (endive, lettuce, romaine, spinach, arugula, radicchio , tatsoi)
Squash (summer, crookneck, zucchini, patty pan, round)
Swiss chard
Tomato
Turnip roots & Greens
Yard-long beans

Kale Potato Chips

2011-04-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

This is a recipe from The Wards. One of 'R Garden CSA members. Here is the e-mail they sent. Soon I hope to try this one and add pictures. Thank you for sending in a recipe!

My family found a recipe we really like for kale. It’s kale chips- basically like potato chips, but using Kale instead of potatoes. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive-oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Sea salt to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

2. Cut away inner ribs from each kale leaf and discard; tear the leaves into pieces of kind of uniform size. (Mine were the size of potato chips, as given the nature of this recipe it just seemed appropriate). If your kale was still wet from being washed when you started, either spin dry in a salad spinner or dry with paper towels until they’re very dry.

3. Put the kale pieces into a large resealable bag. Add the olive oil and vinegar; seal and squeeze the bag so the oil and vinegar get distributed evenly on the kale pieces. Once that is done, spread the leaves evenly onto a baking sheet (make sure it’s metal, as I found that doing a recipe such as this on a clay baking sheet doesn’t get the bottom leaves crisp enough).

4. Roast in the preheated oven until mostly crisp, about 30-35 minutes. Season with salt and serve immediately.

Tatsoi Salad

2011-04-16T19:04:00.001-04:00

This years first CSA recipe. This is from Ann Hayes.

This salad is a mix of 'R radish, 'R onion, red bell pepper, cauliflower, and 'R tatsoi with a miso dressing. I will try to get specific info on the miso dressing. Guess what she even sent a picture!!! So I just could not wait to get it on the blog.

What a beautiful picture!!!

The other big hit was a mix of apple, walnut and 'R tatsoi with a cider vinaigrette. This one sounds great too.

Russian Red Kale

2011-04-08T21:12:00.000-04:00

Getting ready for market.

Bags of Tatsoi, Russian Red Kale, Arugula & baby lettuce.

Ok ready for the Russian Red Kale recipe that we fixed for supper tonight. We had beef in the crock pot cooking all day in BBQ sauce.

Start out by sauteeing 1 large sweet onion..your choice of oil we used (butter, bacon grease EVBG, olive oil. Cook til the color you want.

Washed Kale (be sure to wash well...it's grown in the dirt) Medium size collonders worth.

Rough chop and add to pan over onions

Slowly stir til wilted.

Add a little more butter and 1/4 cup of cheese. Low heat melt cheese & butter.

Add 1/8 cup of heavy cream and stir

til a little bubbly.

Can you believe it a picture of the final product.

This was so tasty. No bitterness at all. Quick and easy to prepare.

Broccoli Raab sausage dog

2011-04-06T22:13:00.000-04:00

This is a totally thrown together meal. I picked the first broccoli raab. You have to top them to get the spears to start growing. Before Terry got home he stopped and got some brats.(sausages) Mmmm, what to do?
Cook and brown brats.
3 cups chopped broccoli raab
1 med. onion chopped
1 container mushrooms chopped
Now for the next ingredient I had to make a undercover trip to the garden to get a few almost ready spring onions.

Choose your own oil, I used a combination of EVBG (extra virgen bacon greese), a coupla pats of butter & a little olive oil.

Satuee onions&mushrooms 2min add broccoli raab satuee a few more min, add salt & pepper.

Add 2 1/2 cups of water simmer till ALL liquid is gone add 1/4 cup of cheese. I used extra sharp cheddar. Over low heat melt, then add 1/3 cup heavy cream, thicken. Cut off heat.

Now build your Broccoli Raab sausage dog. Hot dog bun open, a little broccoli mixture. Next cut sausage in 1/2 the long way, add half over mixture in bun, then top with more mix.

Fannn-tastic!!!

Brats browned.

Mixture finished.

MMMmmmmmmMMMGoodness!

Radishes Sauteed

2011-04-04T20:30:00.000-04:00

Sauteed Radishes

These are French Breakfast Radishes

A couple of pats of butter (we added a tbls of bacon grease) throw in the radishes first 2min then add in the chopped radish greens, sautee until radish roots are transluscent.

MMM looks good so far.

Of course I didn't get a last picture because......we ate it all.

By sauteeing the radishes do not have the bite you taste when raw. The reason I wanted to try cooking radishes... our Ehdoorah (she is Karin) eats them this way.

Hope you try them!

Where our eggs come from.

2011-04-04T16:43:00.000-04:00

Any one who has gotten eggs from 'R Garden.....well here are the girls.

In the Red Farm

2011-04-03T18:10:00.000-04:00

I hate to say that In the Red Farm is closing and we will not be having goat cheese at the farm or New Bern Farmers Market. Their cheese was the best and we enjoyed it so much. We are in the process of looking for a new farm to get goat cheese from. Wish us luck.

Now to get the water tested.

2011-03-28T21:23:00.000-04:00

Ok, now that the system has been checked for leaks, it's time to have the water sample sent off. CropKing (this is where we got the hydro system from) will test our sample and mix our recipe for the nutrients we need for growing lettuce.

It has really taken shape.

2011-03-27T14:00:00.000-04:00

The Tank is buried and pipes are getting connected.

The nutrients fall in to this tank to be aerated and used again.

Running water to check for leaks in the system.

nutrient comes in here and flows down the tray over the plant roots

Nutrient flows to the end to be recirculated to use again.

Wow, soon we will be growing lettuce!!

New Bern Farmers Market mention in the SunJournal

2011-03-23T08:16:00.000-04:00

Lovely Event

I want to thank Julia McKeon and others who are responsible for this year's "Book Lovers' Affair" at New Bern Farmers Market. It was a great success. As on of the authors who was present to sign and promote my books, I consider it the best yet of these annual events. Maybe it was the gorgeous weather, maybe it was the fact New Bernians are fortunate to have this facility downtown within walking distance of Tryon Palace and other attractions, but people came out. They came to meet us authors, they came to browse and enjoy the wares for sale. It was great fun.

Flora Ann Scearce
Trent Woods

Marinated Flank Steak & Baby Salad Mix

2011-03-21T21:18:00.000-04:00

Marinated Flank Steak or any leftover steak

'R Garden mixed baby lettuces.
Your choice dressing.

Baby lettuce mix, baby beet greens & tatsoi.

Still more to be done.

2011-03-20T13:35:00.000-04:00

The Brains and blue nutrient tanks are inside ready for hook up.

The brain.

Blue tanks.

Digging the hole for the big tank.

Plants & Signs of Spring

2011-03-19T22:26:00.000-04:00

The greenhouses are looking fresh with all the baby plants. Hanging baskets are growing for Mother's Day. Herbs are growing getting ready for all the wonderful dishes to be made with all the fresh vegetables that will come off this year. This Saturday we will be taking plants to the market along with a few fresh baby lettuces in bags.

This is where everyone starts out. Flowers and accent plants in the fore ground. Waiting to go in pots.

In the back ground are tomato plants.

This side has peppers, tomatoes & herbs.

Flats to be seeded.

Herbs ready to go to market.

I always love the maple helicopter.

The bees are buzzing all around the red bud tree.

Radishes are starting to pop threw the ground.

I can't wait for the fresh vegetables. I'm ready to start making my B & B pickled squash, pepper relish and chipotle jelly. I sure hope this year has a good growing year!!

It has started!!

2011-03-09T17:15:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? I just blogged about how we were waiting for the guys to come and start putting together the hydroponic lettuec house. There here!!

And these guys are no joke!

And they use the lay-out (directions). It's a small notebook of how this all goes together. Can you imagine us putting all these bits and pieces together.

This is just one box of stuff.

The nutrients flow through these pipes. The lettuce plants sit in each of the holes and grows here til maturity.

Small holes to start the lettuce plants in.

Underground tank.

More later. I just couldn't wait to tell everyone the putting together has started!!

Haven't you got that hydroponic lettuce growing YET?

2011-03-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

No we haven't. But it is going to happen. Over the winter when the materials were delivered they were damaged during shipment. Getting this corrected took 3 months. Now to put it together. We have some one who is coming to do that when he finishes the job he is on. Believe me we are just as impatient as you are.

Recipe: Chicken w/ green or red curry (Kermit eggplant)

2010-09-05T18:04:00.000-04:00

I was given this recipe by one of our New Bern Farmers Market customers. It uses the little green round eggplant (Kermit) that we grow. They were nice enough to copy the recipe and give me two ingredients that are hard to find. We have the nicest customers. This recipe comes from the "Thai Home-Cooking" book, 1985, by William Crawford & Kamolmal Pootaraksa, page 197-199, 74, 75.
Chicken w/ green curry (kermit eggplant)
In Thailand, this dish is make with tiny green Thai eggplant which contrubute color and crunchy bite of bitter flavor. {I didn't think it had any bitter flavor when we cooked this dish.} However, these are rarely available in the United States except where there is a large Thai community. {Thanks to our growing Burmese refugee immigrants we have started to grow this wonderful vegetable. Ehdoorah, our adopted, in our hearts daughter/sister helped us select our vegetable seeds to include vegetables close to what they grow in their culture.} To obtain a similar effect in color and texture, but not taste, substitute fresh green peas. {But try real hard to find some little round green eggplant.}

Serves 6 to 8
5 Kaffir lime leaves {Look for dried in Asain Markets}
1/4 c warm water
20 oz can bamboo shoots {This seems like a lot but its not.}
4 Serrano chilis
1-2 lb white or dark chicken pieces {cut bite size}
4 c thin coconut milk {use 1 can coconut milk & 1 can water}
1c coconut milk
1 recipe Green Curry {recipe to follow this one}
1/4 cup + 1 tbs fish sauce {Asian Market}
1/4 cup mint or basil leaves {we used basil, it was growing beautiful)}

1.Soak the Kaffir lime leaves in the warm water while preparing rest of the ingrients. Drain liquid from bamboo shoots, rinse and sliced in thin julienne strips, drain. Julienne serranos, it says to not cut our the seeds. {Use your judgement, I took the seeds out, but next time I will cut one up with the seeds.} Set aside.
2. Boil chicken and eggplant in the thin coconut milk about 10 min. Set aside when done. {I cut my eggplant in quarters.}
3. Heat wok or large satue pan, add 1/2 cup coconut milk. Stir constantly until the milk thickens, forms large bubbles and begins to turn a pale tan color. (Med to low heat)
4. Add green curry mixture and stir until mixture is almost dry.
5. Add remaining 1/2 cup coconut milk, stirring constantly until it it slightly thick, but not dry. Add bamboo shoots and fish sauce. {Okay, we were very hesitant to add the fish sauce. The smell is not prticularly refreshing. We added IT, do not skip, go find some fish sauce!} Stir quickly to mix all the ingredients throughly. Add the Kaffir lime leaves, chilis, and basil.
5. Add curry mixture from step 5 to chicken and thin coconut milk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat serve with rice. {Put your rice on first to be cooking while you make this meal.}

Green Curry {Chop everything for both recipes, while the chicken is boiling make the curry}
Makes 1/4 cup (1/2 if ground with water) {I used my food processor or you could use a blender}
2 pieces of Kah {This was one of the ingredients from my customers/ check Asian Market for this ingredient, soak kah in warm water 15 min}
2 pieces of Kaffir lime rind
1/4 c warm water
7 Serrano chilies
1 stalk lemon grass, bottom 6 inches only
1/4 c fine chopped coriander root {This I couldn't find so we omitted it}
1/4 c fine chopped onion {we used Mattamuskeet Sweet Onions)
2 Tbs. finely chopped garlic
1 tsp shrimp paste
1. Soak kah & Kaffir lime rind in warm water (15min). Drain before using, discard soaking water.
2.Remove stems and or seeds (depending on how hot your want it) from chilis and cho finely. Chop kah, Kaffir lime rind and lemon grass finely. Add remaining ingredients and pound or grind to an almost smooth paste in a mortar or blender. If using a blender you may need to add a little water to aid in grinding. {we used a food processor}
Hope you enjoy this we sure did. Now some pictures.

Kermit Eggplant, coconut milk, fish sauce, bamboo shoots, serrano peppers, basil, Kaffir lime leaves

minced garlic, lime rind, lemon grass, shrimp paste, onion

Yum, Yum ready to eat!!

Recipe: Tomato & Goat Cheese Toast

2010-07-25T17:18:00.001-04:00

Tomato & Goat Cheese Toast

Sliced bread
peeled and sliced tomato
Goat Cheese

Sliced bread is from Alex & Brett at the New Bern Farmers Market (garlic & chedder bread)
I used a Cherokee Purple picked from my side yard.
Goat Cheese is from In the Red Farm & Dairy at the NB Farmers Market (crushed red pepper log)

Place slice of bread, slice of tomato & crumble goat cheese in toaster. Let toast and melt. Don't forget salt & pepper on the tomato.

I know, I know I keep forgetting to get that last picture before I eat it all up.

Photos

2010-07-19T09:06:00.000-04:00

Just a few photos.

Mother Nature at work.

Peppers are looking good!

Terry at the Onslow Farmers Market on Saturdays.

Harvest Bear dressed for 4th of July at the NB Farmers Market.

Recipe: Stuffed Tomato

2010-07-04T17:55:00.000-04:00

This is another recipe from my friends & No. 1 CSA folks.
Don & Kathy Sargent

This is a great breakfast/brunch meal or nice for anytime.

Stuffed Tomato
Makes 4 servings

4 large ripe tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium eggs
4 tablespoons feta cheese
1 pound spinach

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut off tomato tops and set aside (may be used later as garnish). Run a paring knife around the inside edge of the tomato and scoop out insides, creating a tomato shell. Sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper and turn the tomatoes upside down on a towel to dry and drain out any excess liquids.

In the meantime, steam or sautee the spinach. To steam, fill a pan with a thin layer of water and bring to a boil. Turn off the burner, add the spinach and cover the pan until the spinach wilts. Drain out excess water once the spinach is cooked. Stand the tomatoes right side up in a pan, and place approximately 1/4 cup spinach into the bottom of each, pressing down to make room for other ingredients. Break an egg inside each tomato shell. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and feta cheese. I have also made this with grated sharp cheddar and with grated Swiss. Place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Do not let the yolks become too firm. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Eggplant Stir-fry

2010-06-30T10:00:00.002-04:00

Eggplant Stir-fry

2 med eggplant (long slim) cut in bite size pieces
2 any color bell pepper chopped
1 med onion
1 clove garlic chopped
S&P
EVOO

Heat EVOO in pan. Brown onions & peppers. Add garlic & eggplant cook till eggplant is tender. Serve over rice or noodles
You can also fix this without rice or noodles. Cook sausage and just add cheese to melt over top.

These are Ichaban eggplant, peppers & Mattamuskeet Sweet Onions

We have also used this combo. with the green slim eggplant.

We used Kiebasa Sausage here.

We browned this much more than the pict. showes.

Add browned sausage back to pan then shredd cheese over the top and let the steam from the pan melt it. Yum! Yum! Good!

Recipe: Grilled Eggplant

2010-06-30T09:59:00.000-04:00

Grilled Eggplant

Several long slim eggplant

Italian Dressing
S&P
Grill
Slice eggplant the long way leaving it attached at stem end each slice about ½” thick. Leave skin on. Place eggplant in zip bag & add Italian dressing. Let marinate about 5 min (remember eggplant is a sponge). Place eggplant on grill & cook till tender. Use the stem end to flip eggplant on each side.

This is just one of the long slim varities you can use.

Recipe: Kermit Eggplant & Chicken

2010-06-30T09:56:00.001-04:00

Kermit Eggplant & Chicken

By customer: Adrienne Hardison
1lb chicken breast cut in bite size pieces
½ lb Kermit Eggplant Quartered
1 onion sliced
1T Red Curry Paste
1cn coconut milk

Stir fry chicken & vegetables until cooked. Stir in paste (with the curry you can add more or less as you like it) & milk. Simmer 5 min. Serve over cooked jasmine rice.

Everybody here at 'R just loved this one! I now add more red curry paste, sliced mushrooms (browned) & even used left-over pork chops cut in bite size pieces. Yum!

The little green guys are the Kermit.

Cute as well as good!

Two important ingredients. Tip look in the Mexican foods section for the coconut milk. Asian section for Red Curry Paste.

Brown Chicken

Brown onions, green peppers & eggplant.

Add eggplant, onions, peppers & chicken in pan, then add milk & curry paste to simmer then ladle over rice. These are all the picts. we were impatient to eat!!

Recipe: Tomato Pie

2010-06-18T13:03:00.000-04:00

Tomato Pie

By customer Robin Duncombe

1 9" deep dish pie shell
2lb Tomatoes
8 ounces of grated Italian blend cheese
3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1/2 c mayonnaise (not light, not low fat, not salad dressing - MAYO)
1/2 cup (or more) fresh chopped basil
freshly ground pepper

Take pie shell, prick w/ fork & pre-bake at 375 for approx. 15 min until very lightly browned. Tomatoes, wash & sliced VERY thin (1/8"). Lay the slices out in a single layer on paper towels & sprinkle w/ sea salt & fresh ground black pepper. I usually let mine drain for about 1/2 hour - really wet tomatoes make a too soggy pie. Divide cheese blend in ½ set 1 ½ aside. Turn the oven down to 350. Start layering the pie - single layer of tomato slices, sprinkling of fresh basil, little bit of pepper, sprinkling of cheese. You should be able to repeat 4 times in a deep dish pie shell. Mix the remaining cup of cheese, mayo, & garlic in a small bowl & spread evenly over the top of the pie. (This is not a really "spreadable" mixture, so I usually drop small spoonfuls all over the top & then gently press them together w/ the back of the spoon.) Bake at least 30 minutes until top is lightly browned & pie is thoroughly hot. I've actually turned my oven down again to 325 to make sure that I get the pie good & hot w/o burning the topping &/or the crust. Let the pie sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing. It makes a great side dish, or served w/ a nice salad as a light & reasonably healthy supper. ANOTHER HINT: If my tomatoes are nice large ones, I cut the slices in half or quarters to make sure I get a nice layer w/o overlapping the slices. This can also be made using a flat rolling of pie dough on a cookie sheet (pierced & pre-baked, of course) & one layer of tomatoes/basil etc. Then cut into squares as an appetizer. I've added Vidalia onion, sliced paper thin, spinach, etc. Make it your own according to your tastes - just as long as you don't mess w/ the mayo!!!! HA!

Recipe: Tomato & Eggs

2010-06-18T13:01:00.000-04:00

Tomato & Eggs
Orig. recipe Edna Cook (Terry's grandmother)

2 lbs mild or hot country sausage (White's Meat Market go to links page)
6 farm fresh eggs beaten (we like our eggs)
1 pint canned tomatoes
1/2 sleeve of saltines
1 small onion chopped
1 small sweet pepper chopped
1 dash of Ground Chipotla pepper

Fry sausage till done set aside. Lightly sauté, onions & peppers add tomatoes & Chipolata, salt & pepper to taste simmer till most juice is cooked off. Add eggs stir till done. Crush up a few of the saltines to soak up the rest of the juice.

Ok, now some hints - And yes this does make a difference, after frying up the sausage, keep a few table spoons of grease to sauté & simmer the tomatoes in. Just do it, don't think about it! This was the first meal I had (minus the onions & peppers) at my husbands grandparents. He raved about tomato & eggs all the time. Now I have to admit this is not the best looking meal, and at the time I was thinking, "How am I going to eat this!?" Well guess what, all it took was one bite & I was hooked. My husband usually fries up the sausage & we take turns with the rest. It's a quick, meal easy to make even when you are tired. For us this is a meal for two so add accordingly for more,

Recipe: Yellow Squash Casserole

2010-06-18T12:56:00.002-04:00

Yellow Squash Casserole

4 cups sliced yellow squash
1/2 cup chopped onion
35 buttery round crackers, crushed
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 t salt /ground black pepper to taste
2 T butter
Preheat oven to 400°. Place squash & onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in a small amount of water. Cover, & cook until squash is tender, abt. 5 min. Drain well, & place in large bowl. In med bowl, mix cracker crumbs & cheese. Stir half cracker mixture in cooked squash & onions. Small bowl, mix eggs & milk, add to squash mixture. Stir in melted butter & season w/ S&P. Spread 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cracker mixture, & dot with 2 T butter. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned

Recipe: Dot's Squash Casserole

2010-06-18T12:55:00.002-04:00

Dot’s Squash Casserole

friend of the garden
8 sm yellow squash. sliced
1 lg. onion sliced
1 c mushroom soup
1 c sharp cedar cheese grated
1 c brown bread crumbs or package of herbed bread crumbs, melted in 1tsp butter
Salt & Pepper to taste

Boil squash and onions until tender, drain. Layer squash and onions in casserole. Add mushroom soup. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with bread crumbs. Bake 30 minutes @ 350°
This is a great recipe to put in those square tins. Just double the recipe, make one to eat & one to put in the freezer. Wrap it up good with tinfoil & then a layer of plastic wrap. Yum!!

Recipe: Cool Cucumbers

2010-06-18T12:54:00.002-04:00

'R Cool Cucumbers

8 cucumbers quartered & chopped
½ onion small dice
2 sprig of thyme
4 basil leaves shredded
2 Cloves garlic peeled
S&P to taste
6T herbal vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1c sour cream
1c mayonnaise
1 ¼ t dill weed or 1t fresh dill

In a bowl put cucumbers & onions. Using a knife or mortar & pestle mash up thyme, basil, garlic, S&P, vinegar & add to bowl. Mix well check for enough S&P, cover in put in fridge 30 min. Go back & mix ingredients up a few times. Drain off liquid then add sour cream, mayo & dill, mix well & put in fridge 10 more min. If that is to long go ahead & eat!
If you don't have all these ingredients don't worry. You can leave out the thyme, basil & garlic & still have a nice cool summer dish.

Recipe: Sour Cream & Cucumbers

2010-06-18T12:53:00.000-04:00

Sour Cream & Cucumbers

Recipe by Marjorie Williams NBFM Member
16 oz. sour cream
1 big Spoonful Mayo
1/2 c Sugar
4-6 Sliced Cucumbers
1 Medium Onion
1/2 c Vinegar
Mix above ingredients together. Add season salt, pepper & dill weed to taste. Refrigerate over night.

Recipe: Shrimp & Grits With Green Pepper Gravy

2010-06-18T12:51:00.002-04:00

Shrimp & Grits With Green Pepper Gravy

Carolina Grits (from NBFM ‘R Garden)
Cup of shredded cheese (use what is in the fridge)
2 onions
2 green peppers
Fresh peeled shrimp (pat dry and add Salt & pepper)

Cook grits according to package instructions. Slow and low is the key. Caramelize onions and peppers in olive oil, salt & pepper but keep separate. Set pan aside. Add ½ onions and cheese to cooked grits stir in well. Add rest of onions back to heated pan. Add 2tbs spoons of flour to pan and stir to coat onions & peppers with flour, add salt & pepper to taste. Add cup of milk to pan, thin with water if you need to (you don’t want it to thick you still need to cook the shrimp in this liquid) add shrimp cover pan to let shrimp cook till pink. To serve spoon grits on plate or bowl and let sit for a few minutes to firm up. Spoon pepper gravy & shrimp over grits. Now enjoy!

Recipe: Roasting Peppers

2010-06-18T12:48:00.003-04:00

How to Roast Peppers.

Roasting peppers adds incredible flavor. It must be done quickly. Do not cook till soft. Place peppers under a very hot broiler, a very hot grill or the flame of a gas stove. Turn peppers till all sides are blistered & blackened. Peppers can also be blistered by dropping in hot vegetable oil. Remove from heat & place in a paper or plastic bag. Secure opening to let peppers sweat & cool (aprox. 15 min or until you can handle them). This is a job that you can really get “hands on”. Leaving the stem attached, peel the outside skin from the pepper. Some like the Anaheim & Pimento have a very thick plastic-like skin. Others like the Poblano have a very thin skin & some people prefer not to remove it. After peeling use your finger to slit the side of the pepper from the stem down. Curl your finger around the bottom on the stem inside pepper & kind of pinch off the seeds! It takes a little practice but once you get the hang of it, it’s easy! Now that you have all these nice roasted peppers, what you don't eat right away, you can freeze these in freezer bags. Put enough in a bag for a recipe get as much air out as possible & pop in the freezer. Now your ready for a taste of summer in January.
Happy Roasting, Kitty

Recipe: Roasted Pepper Pie

2010-06-18T12:47:00.002-04:00

'R Roasted Pepper Pie

Roasted Peppers
Any cooked sausage, hamburger or chicken.
Sautéed onion & garlic
Grated cheese
Pie pan

When peeling & seeding peppers, also remove stem. Coat pan w/ a little EVOO & layer peppers on bottom, next layer meat, onion & garlic, now cheese. Bake in 325o oven to melt cheese. Serve in wedges topped w/ salsa.

Recipe: Mini-Bell Peppers Stuffed

2010-06-18T12:45:00.001-04:00

Easy 'R Sweet Mini-Bell Ideas

Cut off tops & remove seeds. A melon baller tool works great. Then stuff w/
1. Pimento Cheese, goat cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, or your favorite salsa.
2. Chicken Salad, ham, tuna, egg, or crab salad.
3. Grate or chop finely fresh cucumbers, tomato & onion mix w/ sour cream, mayo & S&P,
4. Small frozen meat balls cut in ½ if needed. Place in baking dish, cover w/ spaghetti sauce. Bake till meat balls are done. Pour over spaghetti squash or your favorite pasta.

5. Cooked sausage, chorizo, prosciutto & your favorite melting cheese. Top w/ green olive slices & broil or microwave to melt cheese.

(If you like a little heat, jalapenos are great cut in ½, seeded & stuffed as above.)

Recipe: Bell Peppers Stuffed

2010-06-18T12:43:00.000-04:00

‘R Garden Stuffed Bell Peppers

6 bell peppers topped & seeded
1 ½ lb hamburger raw
1 med. onion chopped
Fresh mushrooms sliced
1c shredded cheese medium cheddar
1 sm can tomato sauce
1 sleeve Saltine Crackers crushed
2T Worcestershire
1 can diced tomatoes

Preheat oven 350°

In a big bowl mix together hamburger, onion, mushrooms, cheese, tomato sauce, saltines & Worcestershire. Mix well. Stuff each pepper. Place stuffed peppers in a covered dish, keep them close together. Pour diced tomatoes & ½ can of water over peppers. If you don’t have a covered dish cover w/ tin foil. Cook 30 to 40 min. check for doneness. Peppers should be tender & hamburger done. Add more cheese to tops of peppers let melt, serve & eat.

Recipe: Summer Squash Cakes

2010-06-15T08:12:00.000-04:00

“Farm Fresh North Carolina” is a travel guidebook being written by Diane Daniel that will focus on all things farm-related in North Carolina. Entries will include farms, farmers’ markets, farm products, farm dining and lodging, restaurants specializing in farm-to-table dining, etc. Small-scale, sustainable farms will be emphasized, as will agritourism - farm-related activities that connect people directly with farms and farmers.
The book will be published in early 2011 by University of North Carolina Press.

These squash cakes are a summertime favorite at the home of ‘R Garden farmer Kitty Wethington in New Bern. While she doesn’t sell these, Kitty and her mother, Julie, do make and sell jams, salsas, and more at the New Bern Farmers’ Market.

Summer Squash Cakes
Makes a dozen 3-inch cakes

4 medium summer squash, yellow, green, or a combination of both (about 2 pounds)
Kosher salt
1 small yellow onion
1 small russet potato, peeled and coarsely grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme or oregano, finely chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 to ½ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
Pepper
6 tablespoons canola oil

Grate the squash, onion, and potato with a hand grater. Keep separate. Place the squash in a colander or strainer and sprinkle with salt. Allow to sit for 5 minutes (do not let it sit longer or it will get too soft), rinse under cold water, and carefully press on the squash to exude all the moisture. Place the onion in a strainer and press on it to exude all the moisture.
In a large bowl combine the squash, onion, potato, garlic, thyme, egg, flour, cheese, and pepper. Add enough flour to make a batter-like substance that is fairly thick. Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a large non-stick griddle or skillet over medium heat. Place 3 tablespoons of the batter on the hot griddle and press lightly to make a 3-inch round. Cook on one side until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter adding more oil as necessary. Keep the pancakes warm in 250-degree oven while others cook.

Recipe: Cucumbers & Goat Cheese

2010-06-14T10:08:00.000-04:00

Cucumbers & Goat Cheese

6-8 Cucumbers peeled and cut in bite size pieces (‘R Garden)
5-6 green olives minced
2 pickled whole jalapenos minced (‘R Garden Kitchen)
½ sweet onion minced
Salt and pepper to taste
3-4 inches goat cheese log any flavor (In the Red Farm)
½ cup mayo
½ cup sour cream
¼ c whipped cream cheese

Cucumbers & onions in separate bowl mix. In another bowl add cream cheese, sour cream & mayo. Mix well till creamy add goat cheese mix till creamy and add all other ingredients. Mix well then add to cucumbers & sour cream. Mix well. Eat.

This Years Goose Family

2010-05-31T20:36:00.000-04:00

Our goose family that stops and has their goslings at 'R Garden have 2 little ones. This has been the first chance I have had to get some pictures. It is very hard to sneak up on Mr. Goose as he is always on look out. The pictures are not very clear but it gives you a chance to see their little family. They like to come to the edge of the field and eat the seedlings we have planted. They like vegetables too.

First Flight

2010-05-26T22:02:00.002-04:00

Today we got to see a wren family in their first outing. Two of the 3 little ones ventured out with a little coaxing from Momma & Daddy Wren. The third little one just wasn't moving, they tried a cricket, loud chirping but this little one was not moving. Well maybe tomorrow. The other two were fluttering all about learning how to use their wings. They looked so cute with their little round bodies and fluff still sticking out here and there.

A million places to go! How did I get up here?

Now I'm stuck in this place!

Hey, me too. Where is Mom?!!

HA! I'm staying here!

Recipe: Squash Fritters

2010-05-26T21:26:00.001-04:00

4 Medium Yellow Squash

2 eggs

Flour

Salt & Pepper

Garlic Powder

Grate squash, add salt, pepper & garlic. Mix in two eggs, add flour by heaping spoonfulls till it is like pancake batter. Heat oil in frying pan, aprox. 1/4 inch in pan. Use a serving spoon to spoon batter in pan. Turn fritters when they start to brown around the edges. Cook till golden brown. EAT! (To make more 1 egg for every 2 squash)

Grated Squash

Fritters should not be very thick 1/4 to 1/2. Pat them down a little when you drop them in the oil.

Beautiful golden brown!

Squash Fritters

This recipe comes from Joyce MacMullin. She and her husband come to the New Bern Farmers Market to sell their home grown vegetables, too.

2 cups grated raw squash

1/2 cup grated onion

1/2 tsp salt

6 tbs flour

3 tbs melted margarine

Mix well. Drop spoonfuls in to hot cooking oil. Brown on both sides.

Spider - Snider. She ain't got nothing on me.

2010-05-23T15:53:00.000-04:00

Willis had one bean row ready to string. Being Terry is taller than us he is the official stringer. He said, "A spider don't have nothing on me." One row down 2 to go. I followed training some of the longer beans to the string.

This past week at the garden.

2010-05-22T19:42:00.000-04:00

Several things happened here at 'R this week. We had a visit from our bee man. He said the hives are doing good and he added another level to the hives. This level should be where we get our honey from. The other levels have bee larve in them and will be hatching bees soon. The queen bee can not get to the new level so this will be all honey.

We also had a visit from a group of painters. They came out to the farm to paint and photograph the farm. We hope they will come back again!

Unfortunately we had a chick verses dog problem. My dogs (bird dogs) got to the chicks and we now have 24 instead of 50. This was not a very happy day and I should have known better. I was depending on the barn door not to open when miss. sara jumped up on it...... So we won't be doing that again. Mom ordered some more chicks. But I still feel very bad that I let that happen.

Now......the lettuce is through for the spring and we will be planting more for our fall crop. Most of the spring vegetables are finished and we just started getting squash and zuchinni and soon beans. Here are some pict from this past week...

Our chicky biddies after there big scare and move to new digs. They are looking much better now and are getting feathers

This is how 'R recycles!

Recipe: Don's Roasted Kohlrabi

2010-05-17T20:00:00.001-04:00

This recipe is by Don & Cathy Sargent our first CSA members this year!

2 peeled kohlrabi, cut into 1/4 inch strips (julienned)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2+ tsp garlic powder
2 spring onions, cut 1/16 thick (bulb and about 2 inches stem)
fennel stems, about 6 inches cut like onions
1/2 cup broccoli stems, cut like onions
salt & pepper
Olive oil
1/3 cup Parmesen cheese, shredded
2 bratwurst, boiled, sliced 1/4 inch thick
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Put kohlrabi, fennel, onions and broccoli in large bowl and toss with
garlic, salt, pepper and oil. Spread single layer on a cookie sheet.
Bake until browning, about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from oven, sprinkle with brats and parmesan cheese.
Bake 5 minutes more.

We served this with fresh steamed broccoli crowns but I think it would
go nicely with a fresh lettuce and tomato side salad.

Rain, Rain /This-n-That

2010-05-17T14:43:00.000-04:00

Two days of glorious rain, nice and light so it soaks in, ahhhh. Just what the garden needed. The pepper and tomato plants seem to be perking up. The corn leaves had started curling (not a good sign) and we were wondering how to arrange the sprinklers.

I've got a few photos that had been taken earlier in the year. This first one is the greenhouse my grandfather built that we use to start plants in. When you walked in there was just enough room for you to turn around to place plants. Wow we sure have come a long way!

Have you ever seen a cricket shedding its exoskeleton? Me either, but I've got a picture.

Earlier in the year I was driving past the field and saw these lovely rosetts of cabbage. In the spring a flower sprouts from the center to form seeds, but in the winter it just keeps growing up forming the rosette.

Back in October my brother Brandon got married. For their wedding gift I gave them a cheese box filled with canned pickles and jellies I had made. While looking at his photos on facebook I spotted some of my jelly in the background.

The Canning Has Started!

2010-05-12T21:03:00.000-04:00

Sunday we boiled and slipped the skins off beets. I always liked this part, you just gently squeeze the beets and the skins slip right off. We also washed and took the tops off strawberries, then ran them through the food mill. The mill removes a lot of the small seeds, not all but most. The beets we put in the fridge and the strawberry juice was frozen in gallon bags. Tuesday I cut beets and pickled them. You can get beet juice in places you didn't know you had in the kitchen. Managed to get one good batch of beets done. Then on to my first try at making strawberry jam. Looked good, smelled good, tasted good but all I got was syrup. Back to the internet and my books to see where I went wrong. Hopefully I can work it out!!

Beautiful beets waiting to boil and go in jars.

Not the best picture, i'll try again next batch.

It was off to a great start but just got syrup.

More About Oscar

2010-05-09T16:00:00.000-04:00

He is a "New Leash on Life" graduate from the Craven County Shelter and was trained by inmates at the Craven Correctional Insitute. Oscar, is a little bit head strong and seems to be known by all in his circles, has finally found a home to fit him at our farm. Mom is still working with him on his training and is coming along great. We have had several people ask about him at the Farmers Market and folks who come out to the farm always want to know how his is doing.

New Additions to 'R Garden

2010-05-06T18:49:00.000-04:00

We have had some new additions to 'R Garden. A few weeks ago Granny (Julie) got a new dog. This past fall her Ralph passed away. She decided she was ready for a new companion so now we have Oscar or Roscar. Mom got him from Pals for Paws. He is still getting use to farm life but I think he likes it here.
This past Sunday we got two bee hives. Our honey man who we get the local honey from brought two hives out to help pollinate the crops. So when it is time to harvest honey we will have honey from 'R Garden. And last but not least today we got some new chicks or chicky biddies as we call them. They are aprox. 3 days old.

Isn't he a handsome fellow!

The two new hives.

Already hard at work!

The new Chicky Biddies

Recipe: Goat Cheese Dip

2010-05-02T18:34:00.000-04:00

1/2 tub of In the Red Farm Goat Cheese (tomato - basil)
8oz. Cream cheese spread
Hand full of spring onion chopped fine
Spoonful of Mayo
Spoonful of sour cream
2 dashes pepper
2 dashes 'R Garden Chipotle Powder
Mix all together well. Cover and refridgerate 30 min.

In the Red Farm Goat Cheese Tomato - Basil

Added cream cheese, goat cheese, mayo, sour cream & spring onion

Added pepper & chipotle powder

Ta - Da!!

Recipe: Spinach & Green Onions w/ Potatoes

2010-05-02T13:23:00.000-04:00

6 med potatoes (new potatoes if you can get them)
1 1/2 lb spinach
6 spring onions
1tbs minced garlic
1 pkg brats or other sausage
salt & pepper

Brown brats. Cut up and boil potatoes, add salt & pepper to water till just done.Wash spinach & spring onions well, chop and saute in olive oil, salt & pepper add garlic. Cut up brats in bite size pieces & add drained potatoes to spinach & onions. Toss well, taste for seasoning. Done, I really like one pot deals.

What a Ladybug Might See.

2010-04-27T21:09:00.000-04:00

Under a canopy of squash and zuchinni leaves there is almost another world. The big leaves shield the flowers and squash from the hot sun. Even in the heat of the day when you reach down to pick it's not as hot under the leaves of the plants. So this is the view a ladybug might have taking a break from the hot sun.

It's nice and cool down here.

See the little zucchini in the right hand corner?

Wonder what it would sound like if it were raining?

Ahhh, time to take a little nap down here.

Ladybugs in the peas.

Ut O excuse us.

Getting the Troops Ready for Market

2010-04-26T19:23:00.000-04:00

During the week Mom and I are getting plants ready to go to markets. Yes, we talk to them. "You there perk up you need to be ready by Fri." "Why arn't you flowering yet?" To the mint.."You can't be creeping into your neighbors pot." "OK basil, stand up straight or you will get a snip and have to wait till next week to go." Then on Friday afternoons when we get ready to load trailers... "Alright who wants to go to the market, look pretty because that's who goes." "Does everyone have enough water, you need a good soaking before you go in the trailer..Raise your limbs it you need water." It's always hard to choose because some plant always gets left behind only to hope to be chosen next week. Don't worry we also talk to the vegetables as we are picking and washing. It's a tough place at the garden, who goes, who stays. With the vegetables I guess it is a little easier, who ever dosn't make the cut gets eaten......by us!

"Who's feeling perky..it's Friday guys and gals."

"You definately get to go!"

"You're looking good..Keep it up and you get to go in the trailer!"

"You guys are looking good."

Recipe: Broccoli Raab with Goat Cheese & Noodles

2010-04-21T20:48:00.000-04:00

Ingredients:
bunch broccoli raab
goat cheese (In The Red Farm Chevre Log goat cheese rolled in chives)
1/4 cup cream
cooked noodles (I used spaghetti noodles broken in 2" pieces)
Salt & Pepper
chopped garlic

Clean, chop & saute broccoli raab & add garlic, add a little water if you need to cook til tender. Use about 1" of goat cheese log, break up and put in pan with raab. Add cream stir well. Add cooked noodles and you have it ready.

In the Hoophouse

2010-04-21T15:43:00.000-04:00

These are picts. of the plants that Willis planted in March. Reviving the Herb Beds post has the starting pictures. These plants were a germination test for the later plantings. Instead of throwing them out Willis put them in the hoophouse.

little zucchini

and little squash

are slowly

budding out!

Mexican Hat Stand-Off

2010-04-21T15:27:00.000-04:00

This morning while waiting for the much needed rain Deuce decided it was time to play. I don't think you need any more explanition the pictures say it all....

Too slow!

Missed again!

And again!

Ha! Got ya!

Gimme that hat!!

I want that hat!

Now!

I love you Dad! But...

please...

Gimme that hat!!

Recipe: Goat Cheese stuffed Hamburgers

2010-04-19T20:58:00.000-04:00

This recipe uses In The Red Farm Chevre Log goat cheese rolled in chives.
Ingredients
hamburger
goat cheese
salt & pepper

Pat out two thin hamburgers one smaller than the other. Place goat cheese in the middle of larger patty, place smaller patty on top and fold over edges and seal. Put pattys in medium to low heat frying pan. This takes a little while, you want the heat low to cook the hamburger through and brown outside slowly. Turn and cook til juice runs clear.

In The Red Chevre Log (Chive)

Larger patty with goat cheese

Be sure to pinch the edges closed and shape.

Yum! Yum! Yum! What more can I say!

Recipe: Spinach Noodle Mix

2010-04-17T18:20:00.000-04:00

Originally I was going to call this "Hamburger Helper Kiss My "Bleep", but in the end settled for spinach noodle mix.
Ingredients
1lb spinach washed well and chopped
1/2 bag wide noodles cooked
1 onion chopped
1 container mushrooms chopped
beef bite size pieces (we used london broil, it was on sale)
spoonful of chopped garlic
olive oil
2tbls spoons flour
8oz sour cream
Salt & Pepper
4 dashes of hot sauce
3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

This is basically a 1 pot, 1 saute pan, 1 bowl meal. Brown onions & mushrooms, put in bowl. Brown meat, then add garlic, browned onions & mushrooms, flour (mix well) add hot sauce, worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup water, cook 2-3 min. Put in bowl. Saute spinach, it should make its own water to steam in, cook til extra moisture is gone. Add meat mixture back to pan, toss well, cut off heat and add sour cream, mix well again then add cooked noodles, mix well. Yum!!

Chopped Spinach

Mushrooms & onions

Brown Meat

Cook spinach

Everything back in pan. Sorry no more picts. of this meal we couldn't wait to eat. Here you add sour cream & noodles.

What Birds?

2010-04-17T17:41:00.000-04:00

Friday morning Terry very carefully put out some bread for the birds.

Solman decided he need it!!

To Weed or Not to Weed, That is the Question.

2010-04-14T20:15:00.000-04:00

Well I spent most of the day weeding the carrots. Last year they were taken over by weeds, so I wanted to be sure that doesn't happen this year. Weeding is something that always needs to be done but hardly ever is. Because we do not use pesticides or herbicides there are a lot of weeds and bugs. Some bugs are good and some are bad, but when you use pesticides, of course all (good & bad) bugs are killed. Not to mention all those chemicals get on the vegetables and in the soil. So...we just put up with the weeds and bugs. Here are a few picts. from the farm.

The carrot row?

See the little carrot tops in the middle?

Ahhh, now we can see the light and grow!

Recipe: Quick Choy Sum

2010-04-11T10:50:00.000-04:00

1 bunch choy sum
garlic powder
salt pepper
Uncle Ben's Microwave Basimiti Rice
Soy Sauce

Steam choy sum with salt, pepper, garlic. Fix microwave rice. Cut up choy sum when done. Mix together rice and choy sum add soy sauce. Your done! This is a quick dinner my Mom fixes after a long day on the farm. Quick and easy!!

Choy Sum Info.

2010-04-11T10:48:00.000-04:00

Choy sum is a new vegetable for us this year. It is an Asian vegetable that we love. It has tender crunchy stems & flavorful flowers. All parts of this plant are edile. Usually used in stir frys & soups. It is a little tricky to clean , be sure to pull all the leaves a part and rinse each piece. There are many little spots for dirt and sand to hide in. The cleaning is worth the effort. You can add it to any stir fry or soup you are cooking. Be sure to try this great vegetable. Check the labels: recipes.

Farmers Market SpringFest.

2010-04-11T10:45:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was NBFM SpringFest. Wow what a great crowd we had. We were all very tired by 4:00 but it was a great time. I sure hope it impressed people to want to come to the FM every weekend. Now is the season, more and more vegetable farmers will be coming out to the market. We had a few of our lettuces, so next week there will be more. One of our new vegetables is Choy Sum a baby type of Bok Choy that you can eat the flowers, stems & leaves. When I cook it Terry says it taste like I added butter, but I didn't. Radishes and spring onions are starting to be ready also.

Terry started at the Onslow Farmers Market yesterday also. It was a great turn out there too! So if you are in the Jacksonville NC area on Saturdays 8:30-1 drop by and see 'R Garden and say "Hi" to Terry!

Chard, Broccoli Raab (white flowers), Choy Sum (yellow flowers)

Several varities of radishes

Swiss Chard

Diakon Radish

Our Booth at the NBFM from the outside.

Yes that's me!

Herb Talk

2010-04-09T21:53:00.000-04:00

Thursday morning I went to Trinity Methodist Church and talked to the wonderful ladies there about 'R Garden's herb plants. We discussed planting and how to use herbs in cooking. I had a great time! Thank you for having me as your guest speaker.

What 'R Garden will have at the Markets!

2010-04-09T08:40:00.000-04:00

We will have at the Onslow (Jacksonville) Farmers Market, Oriental FM and New Bern FM....... some salad greens mix - arugula, tatsoi, baby lettuce, young beet greens. Choy Sum, lettuce, spinach, spring onions, plus Yard chicken EGGS. Now is the time to put plants in your garden we will have vegetable plants....broccoli, cabbage collards, early round cabbage, early Jersey cabbage (pointed head), zucchini, watermelon, cauliflower, pickling cucumbers, slicing cucumbers, straight & crooked neck squash, burpless cucumbers, Tomatoes- sweet 100's, better boy, beefsteak, early girl, homestead, Lettuce- red butter & green buter, romaine, simpson, red sails Peppers- green, yellow, red, chocolate, sweet banana. Herb plants are ready, garloc chives, cilantro, onion chives, savory, oregano, curly & italian parsley, bergarten sage, cuban oregano, marjaram, burnet, bronze fennel. Hanging baskets and some flowers. Lettuce bowls are ready for your porch. . Canned Items available from 'R Garden Kitchen .
Onslow is having it Opening Day for the season!
NBFM is having SpringFest with lots of activities and things to see and do!

What happend to Spring this week?

2010-04-06T19:14:00.000-04:00

Wow, can you believe this weather. These hot days are not good for those spring veggies they want to send out flower shoots. Nooooooo! I want lettuce!! Any way I 've got a picture of the garden from today, it's really growing fast. We are working hard to have all our plants, herbs & as many vegetables as we can ready for SpringFest at the New Bern Farmers Market this weekend. The Onslow Farmers Market has its opening day Sat. also. My husband Terry will be there with all 'R Garden plants and vegetables. So if you are out that way go see him! Willis will be at the Oriental Farmers Market Sat. with more 'R Garden Stuff. This is a full week getting ready for all these markets.

It's really growing now.

Herbs gathered for the farmers markets.

My name is Kitty and I like a summer tan.

2010-04-05T19:12:00.000-04:00

OK!, I know in this day of skin cancers it is wrong. But, I am a child of the 70's & 80's. I like to have a summer tan. That said, being outside in the all day everyday is brutal to the skin. So I use sunblock SPF 30 Coppertone Oil free fragrance free hypoallergenic, pure and simple. I like this product because it isn't greasy on the skin and I apply often. Being out here on the farm it's hot so I put my block in the fridge. It's nice and cool everytime I use it and it helps keep it fresh. Remember to buy new each year! Each year I still get a great tan. Now my tan lines are not beach bikini any more, those years are gone! So what i'm saying is sunblock is not EVIL. Besides folks we're not getting any younger. That "I'm burnt and can't go to school" line does not work anymore! Wear a cool hat and use that sunblock!

Pictures From 'R Garden

2010-04-03T17:23:00.000-04:00

I tried again and go some bee pictures.

bottom left corner

Got ya!

How cool is this?

Recipe: Choy Sum & Noodles

2010-04-02T21:51:00.002-04:00

1 bunch Choi Sum
1/2-1/4 bag of wide noodles
1/4 cup green olives
1/4 cup sour cream
garlic chives

Chop up Choi Sum. Be sure to wash Choi well, break off leaves under running water. Heat up olive oil add choi, chopped chives and chopped olives, salt and pepper to taste. Cook choi till tender. Cut off heat add sour cream stir well. Add cooked noodles toss well.
Sorry no pictures. Next time I cook this (there will be a next time) I'll add photos. Hope you like this as much as we did!

Choy Sum & garlic chives

All chopped up & ready to put in a hot pan.

New Bern & Oriental Farmers Market Tomorrow

2010-04-02T19:05:00.000-04:00

In New Bern we will have....... some salad greens mix - arugula, tatsoi, baby lettuce, young beet greens. Bunches of kale, and bok choi. Yard chicken EGGS. Bedding plants are ready cabbages, collards, broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, squash, etc. Lettuce bowls are ready for your porch. Herbs are ready also dill, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, chives, garlic chives, oregano, parsley & sage. It's time to start planting those early spring crops. Canned Items available from 'R Garden Kitchen Fresh canned Pepper Relish Mild, Medium & Hot, Pickled Okra, Dilly beans, whole jalapeno peppers pickled , pickled beets & more. Canned items are quickly disappearing & we are anxiously waiting for the new season of vegetables to get here. Dried cayenne peppers ground. Pepper Vinegars. too
In Oriental we will have...bunches of kale and bok choi. Spring bedding plants cabbages, collards, broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, squash, etc. Herbs are ready also dill, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, chives, garlic chives, oregano, parsley & sage. It's time to start planting those early spring crops.

Beautiful Day Today!

2010-04-01T18:49:00.000-04:00

Lots of things got done at 'R this week. We got a visit from Locavore Market Angela and her husband came out to see the farm. They are working on bring fresh vegetables to the Greenville area. If you are interested in fresh look them up on facebook or http://www.locavoremarket.com/. We hope to be adding to their week day offerings of fresh homegrown produce! Gallon tomatoes are being tied up for market and they are looking good! Today I was painting a vetetable display for my husband Terry to take to the Onslow Market wile I was working I kept hearing this humming sound. I looked all around could not figure what it was. Finely I looking up and in the red bud tree hundreds of bees were hard at work. Sometimes I'm so dense, of course it was bees! It took me all day to paint the dang thing but I had a symphony playing in the background. Took some photos and only got one bee (barely) but lots of other cool shots.

This is the one with the bee. Can you find her/him?

Liked this one with all the branches.

Just liked this one.

Peek a-boo shot.

The garden sure has grown a lot.

Mom trussing up tomatoes.

I'm a Lucky Lady!

2010-03-30T21:40:00.000-04:00

I just had a dinner date with the most handsome, smartest & one of my favorite guys....did I say smart and good looking...! My son Kipper. What more can I say, it was really great!!

SpringFest at the New Bern Farmers Market.

2010-03-28T20:07:00.000-04:00

April 10th will be SpringFest at the NBFM, there will be lots of activities for children. Coloring pages of "Harvest Bear", plant your own plant, Childrens Tea Party and much more. Feativities will start at 8am and end at 4pm. Bring the family and have a great time. See you there!

Onlsow Farmers Market will have their opening day. They will have live music and 'R Garden will be there with spring bedding plants and what ever vegetables are ready from the garden.

Friday & Market Update

2010-03-28T20:00:00.000-04:00

Friday we were busy getting ready for NBFM & Oriental FM. Late that afternoon we had some nasty skys come in. Here are a few pictures.

Sky over the field

Looked pretty nasty. And it brought in some cool wind. We covered up the plants outside the greenhouses and headed for home.

The FM was good Saturday, I think the cool weather coming in kept people from coming out to buy vegetable plants. April 10th is this years average frost free day so we expect people will be more willing to plant in the garden after that.

Recipe: Broccoli Raab & Rice with Sausage

2010-03-26T19:11:00.000-04:00

Broccoli Raab & Rice with Sausage
approx. 30 min
Ingredients
1 bunch Broccoli Raab chopped
Link sausage
1/2 large onion small chop
minced garlic
cup of rice

Start rice. Cover bottom of pot with olive oil, saute 1/2 chopped onions, salt & pepper to taste, fork full of garlic, add cup of rice, stir to coat all rice with oil, add to cups of water, bring to boil, cover simmer 20 min.
Fully cook sausage in saute pan. Remove from pan. Use drippings or olive oil, saute onions till brown, salt & pepper to taste, add fork full of garlic. Over high heat add broccolic raab, quick saute till soft.

bunch of broccoli raab

rice in pot with olive oil, onion & garlic

Johnsonville Brat

Cooked Brats

browned onion with broccoli raab sauted quick

I had one egg so I beat it up and added it to the mixture.

Finnished product. Mmmm good!

Reviving the Herb Beds

2010-03-24T20:12:00.000-04:00

Today has been a long one, started out the morning in the herb bed just weeding and getting rid of winter leaves & early spring weeds. Took all day but I think they are ready for the year. Willis planted tomatos, cucumbers & our test germination for squashes. It's also time to buy new sunblock for the year. I can feel my pink cheeks. Sunblock is very important here at the garden, no matter how much SPF or reapply we still manage to get a pretty good farmers tan!

Look I even got a picture of myself. The garlic chives are ready to start bringing bunches to the market. Later in the afternoon I planted onion chives & salad burnet (taste & smells like cucumbers).

The green in the back rt hnd corner & ft lft is oregano that usually makes it through the winter. To the rt in front of the oreg. is parsley. This afternoon I planted more parsley. The bags in the fore ground were where I had basil growing, we started it in the greenhouse with the tomatos then moved here. Not going to do the bag thing this year.

Wanted to show you this picture of my bay bush. It made it through this winter (I was worried) It's 7 years on the farm transplanted here when a friend moved to Va.

Willis proud of his work!!

Willis making rows in the greenhouse & yes that is Deuce in the back of Willis just making sure those rows are straight.

Sure Signs of Spring at 'R

2010-03-23T19:02:00.001-04:00

Looking around the farm this week there are many signs of spring. Not only in the garden with all the planting.

More lettuce to be planted. (Grampy & Granny)

More rows to be made up. (Willis)

Our resident geese have stared hanging around again. We have 2 couples who have their babies here at the farm every year.

You have to be sneeky to get close.

You can always tell who the male is because he is on the look out.

These are alway the very first sign of spring!

The Redbud trees are starting to make their appearance.

Even in the new growth you can spot last years bird nest.

Old Barns & New Aprons

2010-03-21T16:57:00.001-04:00

Today Willis has been working on our old little barn. This was our first storage shed and of course it’s been years since anyone has thought of it as anything but the junk barn. Willis has been accumulating his own stuff, car parts, tools stuff like that which had ended up on the side porch. Any way Terry said it could be his if we could just store the lawn mower in it. This morning they leveled it up using a block and old landscape timber (fulcrum & lever) which we call Granddaddy (Moms Daddy) ingenuity. Ha, I was listening in Science class. Thank goodness for spell checker, because I still can’t spell. Granddaddy always said he could move anything with a rope and a pump pipe. And he did!!

Not quite a pump pipe, but it did the job. (Deuce)

And yes everybody helped. (Solman & Sara)

Most of the junk was thrown away. (Terry)

A nail gun make a quicker job (Terry & Willis)

Last week I found an old set of Spring Maid sheets (when they were still made in NC) in Mamma Jenny’s (Moms Mom, everybody called her Mamma Jenny) stuff. So I’ve started making aprons out of them for Mom & I to wear at the Market. I thought it would be a nice touch.

Not the best pict. I'll have a better one when it is done.

Harvest Bear gets egged!

2010-03-21T13:30:00.000-04:00

I haven’t known quite what to say about this. Maybe “shame on you”, which btw does not convey how I really feel about it! It is just wrong!! Also, where is Sailor Bear? Rumor is he was vandalized also. New Bern’s Bear Town Bears has generated some much need traffic towards the downtown area. These businesses have needed the extra customer base the bears have brought. Please don’t destroy or deface these wonderful additions to our New Bern area.

Where is Sailor Bear?

Great Day At The Market

2010-03-20T15:44:00.000-04:00

We had a great day at the NBFM. The weather was beautiful and people were out and ready to plant gardens. Willis went to Oriental's FM and came back with a smile on his face! Grampy (Tim) had to come out to the mkt. with some more plants for us and I had to make a run back to the farm! I think everyone is ready to get outside & play in the dirt. We have been in the dirt as well this past week we planted spinach, beets & more broccoli. When Grampy came to the mkt. he had some daikon radishes. They were not hot because of wintering over. And I have to say I'm ready for the veggies to start coming off so I can get in the kitchen and can, pickle or jelly something!! My stock is getting low and I'm having to tell people they have to wait till I get some more veggies. Uuuggg!

OK, so they look a little funny.

There is just nothing else to say!!

Social Networking Workshop

2010-03-19T09:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I went to a Social Media workshop in Pittsboro with Debbie Roos. The class learned a lot about facebook, twitter & blogging. I hope to use some of the things I learned yesterday. Just this morning I added a facebook page for 'R Garden . Hope you become a fan.

Tomorrow at the New Bern Farmers Market we will have vegetable bedding plants, a few herb plants & bags of lettuce greens. 'R Garden Kitchen still has pickled beets, Pepper relish & more. We expect a beautiful day tomorrow!! Come on out and see us!!

Rainy Day Blues?

2010-03-14T21:13:00.000-04:00

Shades of green!

Rainy Day Blues?

2010-03-14T20:41:00.000-04:00

Thursday, March 11

Well maybe not so blue, at least not in the greenhouses & out in the garden. Shades of green with spots of purple & red are the colors of our rainy days in March. Looking out the greenhouse door little spots of green in the plowed land are swaying in the rain. The little radish plants have started to pop from the soil. Grow, grow, grow little plants.

How amazing it this? In the Rainbow Chard even the little roots are rainbow colors!

How about this weather!!

2010-03-10T21:39:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy week here at 'R. We have been hard at work planting, planting & planting. Flowers are going in hanging baskets & vegetables in the garden. I've been making list of all the plants we have & adding more each day. Click on the right to find out what plants are being planted, what plants are ready to sell & a a general list of vegetables, flowers & herbs we will be having. I has been so nice out & we are getting a lot done. Here are some pictures of what has been going on.

Willis & Ehdoorah planting tomatoes in gallons to give you a head start.

We're not done yet!

Grampy (Tim) cutting potatoes.

Potatoes in the ground.

Willis working on the tractor.

Granny (Julie), Grampy (Tim), Willis & Ehdoorah

Hey I know you hardly ever see me in the pictures, I do help (Really!) but someone has to take the pictures!

"Hydro" Lettuce

2010-03-08T22:02:00.000-05:00

Grant News
We are pricing hydro systems now and waiting to finish the plumbing from our well to the greenhouse.

Planting

2010-03-08T21:34:00.000-05:00

Last week we had a delivery of flowers for our hanging baskets. And Granny & Grampy went to pick-up flowers, herbs & plants. Sooo this week we are working at transplanting all those little guys & girls to the pots we sell them in to grow. I did some lavendar, sage, French tarragon & lemon thyme.

Willis & Ehdoorah worked on potting tomatoes in gallons to grow big & strong. Grampy put florence fennel out in the garden. I added pages to the side to have list of plants ready now, what's going in the garden & lists of the flowers & herbs we will be having. There is a lot more planting to do. As plants are ready to sell we will be taking them to the Farmers Markets.

We Got Our Grant!!

2010-03-07T15:16:00.000-05:00

Wow! Things are really going to get exciting here at ‘R Garden we found out late Friday afternoon that we got our grant for hydroponic lettuce! Our grant comes from RAFI “Rural Advancement Foundation International”. The Reinvestment Fund assists farmers in developing new sources of agricultural income. This is a cost-share grant, meaning the grant only pays for a portion of the project. These grants are very competitive. One of the things they look for are projects that give opportunities for the new generation of farmers. We are very proud of the fact that Willis is interested in running the farm one day. By adding hydroponic lettuce we are hoping he will be able to make a living on the farm and not have to work “off farm”. We will also be posting our progress of building and starting to grow the “hydro” lettuce here to our blog. This will definitely be a family affair. We are very excited as well as nervous. Thank you to all our customers who have been interested in our new adventure. Once we get things up and running we want to have a family farm day to show you our hard work and introduce you to “hydro” lettuce. Oh btw if you see my husband “Terry” at the market tell him that you knew we would get the grant. Ha! Ha!

NBFM Vendor Dinner

2010-03-05T08:18:00.000-05:00

Last nights Vendor Appreciation Dinner was a hit as always. I think it is a great way to start out the season for the vendors. We get a chance to catch up with seasonal vendors and met new ones.

Everyone bring their favorite dish, and I have to say our vendors are great cooks!! I think this will be another great year for the New Bern Farmers Market!

Spring Plants are here!

2010-03-03T14:25:00.000-05:00

All ready we have a new crop of lettuce bowls just started. As the first flew out of the NBFM Saturday!

The lettuce has left the building!

We should have guessed they would go quickly but we are always suprised! I think everyone is looking for some green since this winter has been one of the coldest with so many storms.

Onslow Farmers Market

2010-03-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we (Mom & I) drove to the Onslow Coop. Ext. office for their market meeting. We were assigned a booth. Yeah! this year we will be inside. My husband, Terry and son, Kipper will be attending this market again this year. Market opens April 10th which happens to be the same day New Bern Market is having SpringFest. Straring in April , Terry & Kipper, will be having lots of spring bedding plants, for your gardens, herbs and some hanging baskets. They will also be taking 'R Garden Kitchen jellies and relishes. It's going to be another great year!!

Oriental Farmers Market

2010-02-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

Today Willis drove to Oriental to see what was going on. Next week he will start back at the OFM for this year! He is really excited about another new year. This year he will bring more from 'R Garden Kitchen! Yeah!

Ham & Chipotle Pepper Jelly Glaze

2010-02-27T15:35:00.001-05:00

Quick, cheap & easy recipe Ingredients (easiest version)
1or 2 ham slices (Smithfield, Junior Johnson are a few brand names)
1 jar Chipotle Pepper Jelly (I make & sell at NBFM)
1 or 2 boxes of no brand mac & cheese

My husband watches the grocery store meat section and when they put the ham slice on sale he buys them up and we put them in the freezer. $3.48 down to .65 now that’s a bargain. You can get a vegetable in the meal by adding broccoli to the mac & cheese.
This is the ham slice as it comes out of the plastic.

Throw it in a hot pan, flip it a few times till it has a little color and the extra water from ham has evaporated. It’s good to use a pair of tongs to flip the ham.

Add a good spoonful of Chipotle jelly. Spread it around, then flip the ham and add jelly to the other side.

You should have good color on both sides and jelly should be bubbly in the pan. You can serve the ham cut up, use the extra syrup in the pan to drizzle over top. Add some mac & cheese on the side and you have a quick meal.

This is a real quick meal. Terry & I have even made sandwiches with hamburger buns. Hope you enjoy!!

Our First Plant Order

2010-02-25T11:47:00.000-05:00

We sent out our first plant order Feb. 21st. White's Meat Market in Cove City, NC. Yeah!

Cabbage, Collards & Broccoli Oh My!

Grant Interview

2010-02-24T17:35:00.000-05:00

Hi All,
Today we went to Wilson Cooperative Ext. for our grant interview. We talked about wanting to do hydroponic lettuce, about our farm, our Farmers Markets and our customers. As I sit here typing, of course, I'm thinking about all the things we left out and should have said. I can only hope they saw how much we love our farm and want to continue it for the next generation. Wish us luck! We should find out if we get the grant the firt or second week in March.

Time to start planting vegetables!

2010-02-23T15:21:00.000-05:00

Now is the time to start planting those early crops!! Here is a list of the plants we have ready:
Early Jersey Cabbage

Round Cabbage
Red Cabbage
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage Collards
Lettuces
Broccoli Rabe
Fennel
Kohlrabi
Spinach
Swiss chard
If you are a lover of carrots, radishes and early peas you need to plant seeds. Those you need to pick up from your local store. We only sell plants, you have to have a special license to sell seeds

Plowing the fields.

Willis making up rows to plant.

Tim (Grampy) put out early peas and radishes.

Rolling over the radish seeds.

Willis has been getting a lot of help from Deuce at fixing the tables in the greenhouses.

Book Lovers Affair

2010-02-22T09:07:00.001-05:00

Saturdays Book Lovers Affair at the New Bern Farmers Market was a great event. It was scheduled for last sat. but it snowed so we rescheduled for this sat. In today’s paper The Sun Journal there was an excellent article about The Book Lovers Affair. There were many authors from New Bern and the surrounding area. Here is a list of the authors & their books.* indicates an author with books featuring New Bern

Dr. Andrea Levinson
Life Beyond the Fear of Death
Death, Taxes...and Chocolate!
Nicholas Mathews*
New Bern at Night
Ben Watford
You Can’t Fall Off the Floor
A Man and a Mule
Karen Dodd*
Spirit of Union Point
Shifting Sands, Begin Again, Quinn
Vicki Prescott
Sweet Tea Please
Eddie Ellis*
New Bern History 101
In This Small Place
Historic Images of Havelock & New Bern
Susan Walker
I Know the Quigglebush Heroes
I Am the Quigglebush Bear
Maura’s Trunk, Pennsylvania
Mary of Nazareth, 101 Borden Street
Secret of the Dance
James Preston Hardison
Golden Tooth, Andy Beecham
The Sequel to Andy Beecham
Breaking Andy Beecham’s Heart
The Devils Daughter, Which is
Miracles on the Poke-a-No Matilda
Jack Robinson*
Captin Otway Burns,Ship Snap Dragon
Petteway Family Heritage
Simbar - Freed Slave Witness to WWII
Flora Ann Scearce
A Loving Voice II, Cotton Mill Girl
Singer of an Empty Day
Mary Lois Miller
Beyond the Realms of Morning
Cynthia Viloria
Simple Thoughts Simple Pleasure
Flavius Hall*
In the Sweet By & By,
Mama, Belks, and Me
Phil Bowie
Guns, Diamondback, Killers
Sarah Baker
Lucky Stars: Janet Gaynor & Charles Farrell
Richard Grayson
Weepin' Willie
Linda Bergman
Save Them All
Susan Inez
Skin Deep

‘R Garden was there with our first cutting of arugula (peppery flavor), tasio (mild mustard flavor) & mizuna (mild mustard green flavor), these are greens to add to salads. It was so nice to be able to bring something green.

2010-02-16T16:21:00.000-05:00

To Our Faithful Farmers Market Customers,

'R Garden is hoping to expand this year with hydroponics lettuce. As you know we are not able to grow lettuce year round. With "hydro" lettuce we can produce all year. No, we are not going to stop growing our seasonal lettuce fresh from the earth. What we need to know is-
Would you be interested in buying and eating locally grown "hydro" lettuce? We have been working hard to find a way to offer lettuce year round. To do this we have applied for a grant to help purchase the equipment we will need. Hydroponics, we have learned, comes with a lot of up front expenses. In a week we will be having an interview as part of the grant process. We need to include some feed back from you.
1. Would you buy hydroponic lettuce if it is available?
2. To get hydroponic lettuce would you be willing to pay a little more per head?
3. When our hydroponic system is up and running would you like to visit us and see your lettuce growing in this environment?
Any other comments your have will be welcome!

I just sent this email out and have already gotten 5 replys. thank you so much!!

Pictures of New Bern

2010-02-16T11:29:00.001-05:00

Just some pictures of New Bern I took this weekend.

Oaks Road

Melting snow on Poor Charlies.

Someone's back yard.

Church downtown.

Willis & Snow Pictures

2010-02-13T17:58:00.001-05:00

This time of year is when we do fix-up and clean-up at the farm. Willis has been hard at work repairing the greenhouses. Just recently he made some more tables for our #2 house.

This is my Willis. What a handsome boy!

Today we will take a break from plowing.

This is my favorite for today! This is at the end of Millinder Lane at 'R Garden.

This is where we planted eggplant, peppers and okra this past season.

2010-02-13T16:48:00.001-05:00

Harvey is a little cold today!!

Meet Harvey "Harvest Bear"

2010-02-07T17:05:00.001-05:00

I wanted to introduce you to our Farmers Market Harvest Bear. I've decided to call him Harvey. He stands at the New Bern Farmers Market waiting for the next market day.

Isn't he so handsome! I fell in love the minute I saw him.