Seed ordering & cooking

I’ve been busy getting our paperwork ready for the accountants. It’s tax season, my least favorite. This is a yearly task that I dread, and so I procrastinate. However, I think it’s a necessary evil in order to have public services that benefit us all. And so I do it (also so we can avoid hefty fines and/or prison. No one wants to suffer either option.)

Seed catalogs: I’ve started to glance at them - if only to winnow out the duplicates. Just today I tossed the third issue from Burpee, and the second from both Gurney’s and Seeds ‘N Such. They still offer the same seeds, they just change the cover photo. I’ve decided the main reason I avoid looking at them too early is so I don’t order more work than I want to do in the coming summer. All their professional photos of the abundant, unblemished crops and colorful, perfect flowers amount to “gardening porn”. They induce lust and envy.

The other catalogs I’ve received are Shumway’s (way oversized), Jung Seeds & Plants, Totally Tomatoes, and Vermont Bean Seed Company. If anyone reading this has dealt with these companies, I’d be interested in hearing your experiences with and opinions of them. You could message me via Facebook, or go through the Northern Montana Gardening Zones 3/4 with your thoughts on them.

I’m going to make starters of my vining plants soon to use as fillers in the flowerpots I plan to set out this summer. Our two daughters who live out of state will get starters of my Hoya vine. The succulents are also being looked at for providing new starts for a succulent planter. But since my actual gardening experiences this winter remains watering my plants, let’s get to cooking.

This week I made red beans and rice. I deliberately cooked an excessive amount of long-grain brown rice so I could use the following recipe. And since I’m still doing the Whole Life Challenge, this is the recipe I used:

Healthy Fried Rice

• 1 Tbl avocado oil, divided

• 3 large eggs

• 5-6 scallions, chopped

• 1 large carrot, shredded

• 1/2 C frozen peas

• 2 C cooked & cooled brown rice

• 3 Tbl tamari OR soy sauce

• 1 tsp rice vinegar

• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 1/2 tsp ginger, grated

• Pinch sea salt

• Freshly grated black pepper

Heat 1/2 Tbl avocado oil over medium heat in a large skillet or wok. Whisk eggs in a bowl, then scramble in the oil. Remove from pan. Add the rest of that oil and sauté the scallions and carrot 3-4 minutes. Add the peas (they’ll thaw quickly), then rice, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. Stir well, then stir in the eggs, stirring again. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Cook an additional 5 minutes, or until heated through.

Can add bean sprouts, water chestnuts, edamame, other shredded veggies, shredded chicken, cubed pork…

I used liquid aminos in place of the tamari since I didn’t find any in the one grocery store I checked. Regular sesame oil was used as that’s what I have. You could use a different healthy oil in place of avocado oil (it can be pricey). I added a can of tiny shrimp, drained and rinsed, as well as a can of sliced water chestnuts for added crunch. I think you could add sesame seeds or peanuts as well.

To go with the rice, I served fried chicken breasts that were marinaded a few hours using this recipe. (Since I only used two small pieces of meat, I saved half the marinade in a small jar in the fridge for future use.)

Lemon Chicken Marinade

• 1/4 C EVOO

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 Tbl lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp ground mustard

• 1 Tbl fresh dill OR 1 1/2 tsp dried

• 1/2 Tbl white rice vinegar

• 2 tsp honey OR maple syrup

• 1/4 tsp salt

Whisk all together. Pour over chicken pieces in a Ziploc. Marinade at least 2 hours.