Eating My Garden: January 2010

January 26, 2010

STOP! THIEF!

It's so hard for me to wrap my head around this, but we were most definitely burglarized today. A person (or persons) unknown entered our yard, unauthorized, and stripped one of our tangerine trees -- the satsuma -- of 95 percent of its crop. Sadly, we are the victims of Grand Theft, Tangerine.

Here are the few facts we have. Sometime this afternoon, my husband, whose office is close enough to our house to allow him to pop in now and then for a mid-day meal, returned home for lunch. He went to the yard to pick a few tangerines to eat, and was surprised to find the tree was almost without fruit. When we last took notice, probably sometime yesterday, this tree was laden with delightful satsumas. By my estimate, 60 to 75 tangerines have been pilfered. It was a tidy job, too. No dropped fruit. No torn branches. This crime was planned by someone who brought in a carry-bag and a clippers. Notably, the Meyer lemons and Mexican limes were untouched and still hang from their branches. Likewise, the lettuces, kale and other greens also appear to be fine.

So who took the satsumas? And for what purpose? Was it tangerine lust? Greed? Resale value? A desperate need for Vitamin C? None of this makes any sense.

The dog -- our ever vigilant corgi -- was in the house today, probably napping during the crime. She refuses to provide any useful information, claiming that she heard nothing, smelled nothing, saw nothing. I keep quizzing her, but she answers with the same "I don't know what you're talking about" stare. Tomorrow I'll talk to the neighbors to see if they noticed anyone in our yard.

Our kids both have solid alibis; both boys are away at college at the moment. Being late January, their friends are also mostly away at school. Honestly, I can't picture any of their crowd taking the trouble to steal tangerines, even as a practical joke. It's just not funny.

Do we have any enemies, you ask? No, no one we can finger. In fact, we go out of our way to build good neighbor relations by giving our oversupply of fruits and vegetables away. Our neighbors know that if they want some fruit, just ask for it.

This tangerine loss comes on the heals of our grape debacle this past September, when the local Station Fire created so much ash, our concord crop was dusted with it and made inedible. Now, it's a tangerine thief. We feel so violated.

So no leads -- only trepidation. Will the thief (or thieves) return for the rest of citrus? Will the salad greens go next? Should I make a police report? Who suggested that this gardening thing was a peaceful and relaxing hobby? It's full of heartache and disappointment -- and sometimes, a really good piece of fruit.

January 1, 2010

Seeds of Winter

This winter, I set about staging a small experiment. I planted seeds from the same packet in two different locations in the yard to see which group would thrive better. Watering levels would be the same, but one spot would receive full sun, while the other would get filtered light.

You're smirking. You know that I'm not the science experiment type and you're finding the idea that I voluntarily conducted an

experiment hard to believe. You're right. This was not a botany experiment, but rather a greed-driven back-up plan. I was simply hedging my gardening bets. Given my spotty track record at growing things, I reasoned that if one patch of seedlings failed, I still had a second group in the dirt -- just in case.

Results of this trial: I proved to myself that in the gardening realm, a distance of 15 feet might as well be two different galaxies. The lettuce seeds that I planted in the raised bed under full sun are thriving. (See photo.) The seeds from the same packet planted in dappled sunlight in a ground-level patch of dirt have produced only a few anemic little lettuce leaves. Last night, New Year's Eve, I harvested some of the young, tender leaves grown in the raised bed for our first home-grown salad of the winter season. Sprinkled with good quality olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a few twists of salt, what could be simpler or fresher or tastier. A great way to end the year and welcome the new one.

Happy New Year!

Preface

Following a diagnosis of breast cancer in October 2007, I launched a blog that chronicled the ups and downs of illness and treatment. The readers of that blog (http://merelyadetour.blogspot.com/) accompanied me as I conducted medical research, dealt with hair loss, talked to doctors, and generally slogged through the day-to-day experience of being a breast cancer patient. Hopefully, the readers of the first blog found it to be informative, occasionally smile-inducing, and worthy of their attention. Once my medical sidetrip wound down and I regained my strength, I imagined I might have a new perspective, but did I? Still unsure where my detour had left me, I returned to the familiar, like my job as a legal investigator, but I also tried some new approaches, like supplementing my interest in cooking with growing as much organic produce in our yard as possible. Admittedly, this blog has sputtered at times, but it still inches forward, just like the tiny green worms who are eating my garden, one basil leaf at a time.

Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. of tomatillos, husked and washed
2 jalapeno chilies, stemmed and seeded
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 medium onion
handful of cilantro
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:
Roughly chop the tomatillos and the jalapenos and place in a blender or food processor with the water. Pulse a few times until the mixture is chunky. Add the onion, cilantro and the salt and puree until no more large chunks remain.

This salsa stands up on its own to chips or tacos, or you can add some avocado and lime juice to this mix to achieve a smoother, tangy salsa. The base recipe is from Mesa Mexicana by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.

Eating My Garden