Homegrown Celery

Celery is a staple in my kitchen. It adds flavor to homemade chicken stock, crunch to salads, and a smooth surface to slather on my favorite sun-dried tomato hummus. But I had never considered planting the crunchy vegetable until I came upon a 6-pack of celery plants this past spring as I was shopping for the rest of my vegetables.

I planted them in my square foot garden in the spring and I am now starting to harvest it. The first few stalks that I pulled two weeks ago were a little bitter, so I think I pulled them too early.

But I pulled a stalk yesterday to check it and it had that strong celery taste. My homegrown celery is not as thick as you find in the grocery store. It also has a slightly different texture, maybe a little denser than the grocery store celery.



With 6 plants, we'll never eat that much before it goes bad. I'm going to harvest the celery, clean it, dry it, and freeze it whole (including the leaves) for my homemade chicken stock. I make quite a bit in the fall and winter, so that will be one less ingredient that I will have to buy.

Do you grow celery? What is your experience with growing it?

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This post is linked to: Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Chicken Tabbouleh Salad

This is a refreshing salad that uses a lot of summer vegetables. This recipe has been in my recipe binder for years and I only recently tried it when I had a lot of cucumbers and grape tomatoes that needed to be eaten. I used pre-cooked shredded chicken that I had in the freezer making it very easy to pull together, but the bulgur wheat does take an hour to cook.

Chicken Tabbouleh Salad
adapted from Ina Garten

• 1 ½ homemade chicken stock, or store bought
• 1 cup bulgur wheat
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup chopped red or sweet white onion
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• ½ - 1 cup chopped mint
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 2 cups halved grape tomatoes

Bring the chicken stock to a boil. Pour the boiling stock over the bulgur wheat in a heat proof bowl. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and cover. Let stand at room temperature for at least an hour.

In a large bowl, add the chicken, onion, parsley, mint, cucumber, tomatoes, pepper, salt, pepper and the bulgur. Mix together. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold.

The next time I make this salad, I am going to add a chopped red bell pepper for some added crunch. If salad is drier than you would like, mix in additional 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 Tbsp olive oil.

Enjoy!

Print recipe for Chicken Tabbouleh Salad

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This post is linked to: $5 Dinner Challenge and Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

7 Tips to Conserve Water and Save Money

After such a wet spring in the northeast, it is hard to imagine how dry things have become. Thankfully in PA, the wet spring shored up the water tables and we will get through the rest of the summer without worrying about a water shortage.

But unfortunately many parts of the country aren't so lucky. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center and CNN, nearly 12% of the United States experienced exceptional drought conditions in July and another 40% of the U.S. experienced abnormal drought conditions.

7 Tips to Conserve Water and Save Money

1. Conserve rain water. I lucked out when I bought my rain barrel from my county’s conservation district years ago for $25. There is now a 2 year wait list and the cost has increased to $55.

A few years ago, you didn’t see rain barrels much, but many stores now carry them. Store-bought rain barrels can set you back between $100-$200. It will take time until a store bought version pays for itself from the water saved. But, if you are a do-it-yourselfer, this could be a great project to try. A quick google search will help you find some ideas.

In the past, I rarely had to rely on the water hose, but the rain was scarce in July and my barrel dried up. Thankfully after a small rain, it filled up again rather quickly. There are times in the spring that I wish I had room for a second barrel.


2. Use water collected from dehumidifier to water your garden and flower pots. In the summer, our basement gets very damp and musty, so we run a dehumidifier constantly. It fills up quickly on sweltering days and I use that water for my flower pots.


3. When waiting for the hot water to heat up from the faucet, trap water in a jug or bucket and use it to water your garden and flower containers.

4. Use the water from steaming vegetables and/or corn on the cob to water your garden. I don't always remember to do this until the moment I am pouring the vegetables through a colander. I need to get better at this tip too.

5. Choose drought tolerant plants for your landscape. This is something we considered when we designed our front lawn landscape. A quick google search will help you find a list of these plants for your garden zone or ask the staff at your local garden nursery.

6. Water your garden in the early morning or evening to avoid evaporation from the mid-day sun. Also, water at the root of the plant, not from above the plant. Plants absorb water at the roots, so watering the leaves is wasting water.

7. Limit shower time. This one is hard for me since long, hot showers can be so relaxing, especially after my morning run. This Shower Water and Energy Use Calculator will give you an idea of how much water you are using based on your own personal inputs.

I'm ashamed to admit, but I am more cautious of our water use in the summer. I really should be conserving year round, especially since we pay for our water. Do you live in a part of the country that is suffering from a drought right now? What tips do you have to conserve water? Please share with us in the comments.

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This post is linked to Your Green Resource at The Greenbacks Gal.

Calling All Gardeners: What's Wrong with My Raspberries

I bought some raspberry plants at a yard sale in May 2010. They survived last summer even though they were practically overrun by some other viney plants, but they didn't produce any fruit. I wasn't alarmed, because they were transplants, but I did have big plans for them this summer.

I was hopeful early on because there were many blooms, but they have all dried up and disappeared. The canes look fairly healthy and they have been growing rapidly all summer, but the few blooms left are drying up too. It has been very dry here since June and I have been watering the plants when I water my very productive square foot garden. Perhaps I'm not watering the raspberries enough?


So, I need some help from the amazing gardeners that visit and read this blog. You are always so helpful when I ask for help solving my gardening woes.

Why are my raspberry blooms drying up or disappearing when the canes look so healthy? Is it from under-watering? Is it too early to expect fruit after transplanting the canes last summer? Did I cause this when I cut the canes down to the ground last fall?

Any advice on raspberry gardening and the answers to my questions will be helpful to me and the other readers here at Family Balance Sheet. Thanks so much!


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This post is linked to Garden Party Tuesday at An Oregon Cottage.

Chicken, Green Beans, and Squash Stir Fry

Summer vegetables are in full force. Stir fries are a great way to eat up your garden goodness.

Chicken, Green Beans, and Squash Stir Fry

• 2 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips or chunks
• 2 Tbsp Olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup green beans
• 1 small squash or zucchini, chopped
• 1 Tbsp chopped, fresh oregano
• 1 cup homemade chicken stock, or store bought
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 cup uncooked rice

Cook rice according to package directions.

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken and garlic and cook for about 4-5 minutes.

Add green beans, squash and oregano and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Mix together the stock and cornstarch. Add the mixture to the chicken and vegetables. Stir and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and stir until sauce thickens. About 2-3 minutes.

Serve over cooked rice.

Print recipe for Chicken, Green Beans & Squash Stir Fry.

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This post is linked to $5 Dinner Challenge and Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.