This month I've killed two Chia Pets and a plastic orchid, so I'd better fess up on how I managed to nurture the loads of homegrown produce that I described a few weeks ago. I'm what you would classify as an "Impatient Gardener," obsessively peeking on the progress of my plants. Yes, I do quantify the quality of my parenting based on how many millimeters my kids grow each week and how many new leaves my lettuce sprouts. Any signs of bug infestation or disease — on the kids or the lettuce — would make me feel like a horrible mother.
Wanna join the Impatient Gardener club? It's easy, and February is the perfect month to start. C'mon, I'll even throw in a recipe to help you use up all those fast-growing fresh greens.
Here's your path to vegetal parental success:
Grab an Earthbox. You know those annoying ads — "Grow bushels of tomatoes in your backyard!" The patented Earthbox is a small container growing system that makes gardening low-maintenance yet more than doubles the yield of a conventional garden. The box takes all the guesswork out of a healthy garden and runs about $50 each. Plants and sunlight sold separately.
Pick your plants. As an Impatient Gardener, I love herbs and lettuce, because they can be harvested leaf by leaf as needed. If you purchase baby plants instead of seeds, you can begin plucking immediately. Here are several plant combo ideas to get you started:
For Italian foods plant parsley, sweet basil, oregano, chives and rosemary; for Salsa try cilantro, jalapeno, tomato; for salad go with arugula, curly oakleaf, baby romaine, frisee, radicchio, endive; for Asian grow cilantro, mint, Thai basil, chili peppers, garlic chives.
Buy your plants. I'd rather pay a little extra for a nursery surrogate mother and buy plantlings rather than seeds. Visit your local nursery or hop online and go to ParkSeed.com, CooksGarden.com or my favorite KitchenGardenSeeds.com, where I was able to find some unusual Asian specialties.
When you begin harvesting more greens than you can handle, it's time to stuff them into these healthy spring rolls.
Vietnamese Summer Rolls
6 oz dried rice vermicelli
24 small shrimp, marinated in (1/4 tsp soy + 1/4 tsp sugar)
16-24 round rice papers
1 head bibb lettuce
1 cup matchstick-cut carrots
1/2 cup julienned red bell peppers
1/2 mango, sliced thin
mint and cilantro
In a skillet, heat oil on high and cook shrimp until just done, about two minutes. Cut shrimp in half lengthwise. Cook vermicelli according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again.
Fill a square baking dish with cool water. Dip one rice paper round in the dish for two seconds. Lift round and let the water drip off. Place on clean, dry work surface. Blot round with paper towel. Wrapper will be a little stiff. By the time you finish piling on the ingredients, it will have softened. Lay four halves of the shrimp in a line near the bottom third of the round. Top with vegetables/herbs. Try to keep the ingredients compact and piled on top of the shrimp. Starting with the side closest to you, roll tight, tucking in ends and stopping halfway to gently tug back on the roll to tighten. Wrapper is self-sealing. Transfer to platter, and cover to prevent drying. Wipe counter dry (allows rice paper to stick and creates a little tension for a tighter roll) and repeat. If wrapper is too stiff by the time you begin to roll, dip for a few more seconds next round.
Cashew Butter Dipping Sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp cashew butter
In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. When hot, add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add hoisin, sugar, chili garlic sauce and water. Simmer 30 seconds. Cool.
Jaden Hair blogs at steamykitchen.com.
