Got Going With Gardening - Finally

While I've had the garden space tilled for quite a while, I hadn't actually planted anything until May 31. After tilling, I procrastinated setting up the drip system for far too long, but finally got that done. Then I procrastinated some more. In fact, I did that procrastinating so well, I have to hand-weed each row before putting any seed into the ground. I find procrastination often leads to more work.

May 31 dawned fair, with little wind (a minor miracle), so I hustled out there to put carrot, leaf lettuce, parsley, kale, and radish seeds into the ground. In the near future, I intend to get my pea fence erected, as well as the electric fence. Then I'll plant peas, green beans, corn, beets, and potatoes. I have eight tomato plants to put in place before they outgrow their beginner pots.

This year I'm planning to plant my herbs in clay pots, sunk into the soil of the garden. I think they'll be easier to dig up and bring inside next fall. That should keep the roots from being disturbed too much. I already have basil, lemon thyme, orange thyme, and marjoram. I want to add rosemary and oregano, so at least one more trip to the greenhouses is in order. There are also cukes, squash, peppers, and possibly broccoli plants to get. Not to mention more flowers for my planters...

On the windy days (far too many of those), I started trimming the dead canes from my raspberry patch. They were out of control. That chore is only about three-fourths done. It would have been much easier before there was so much new growth at ground level. (See above re procrastination.) If you see me sleeveless, don't think I've been wrestling with our feral cat(s): it's wrestling with thorny raspberry plants that has me marked up.

I've been using lots of rhubarb. A rhubarb bar went with me to couples' golf. The rhubarb fig jam is delicious and disappearing too fast. I have a simple rhubarb syrup to use with mixed drinks (rhubarb margarita anyone?). I made a variation on the Polish Honey/Rhubarb drink. Instead of simply soaking the 6 cups of diced rhubarb in 4 cups of really hot water, I simmered the mass until the rhubarb was really soft. A half-cup of honey was dissolved into 3 cups of boiling water. The cooked rhubarb was puréed, then added to the honey mix. The texture is very much like a smoothie and is great over ice. You can add crushed mint leaves and/or orange slices for a refreshing drink.

Now for this week's recipe:

Baked Italian Chicken Thighs

1/2 C lo-fat ricotta

1/4 C grated Parmesan

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/8 tsp salt

1# chicken thighs

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbl EVOO

1 1/2 C marinara sauce

3/4 C shredded mozzarella

2 Tbl freshly chopped parsley

Oven at 375°. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle thighs with the garlic powder. Heat oil in an oven proof skillet. Cook thighs 3-4 minutes, then flip & remove pan from heat. Top each with equal amounts of the ricotta mix. Spoon marinara over & around the meat. Bake for 25 minutes. Top with mozzarella and bake 2-3 minutes. Garnish with parsley.

Finally, an apology for not submitting a column last week. I heard about my lapse from my friend Helen, who thinks my scribbles are the highlight of the paper (I do love her). There have been times I was omitted by the Courier in favor of revenue-producing ads, or extra sports, but this one was absolutely on me. I just didn't write anything. I gave myself permission to take a short vacation. Sometimes we need self-care.

Editor's Note: Mary did submit this column for last week's (June 5, 2024) issue. She was omitted because of the above reasons.