Baked foods are our preferred way to start the day. If there is something that comes from the oven for breakfast it will get eaten before anything else. We can’t keep cookies around or they will get gobbled up.

That lead me to go searching for something slightly sweet that could be put together quickly the night before, or first thing in the morning. I started with the thought of sweetening a biscuit recipe, which lead me to scones. They can be mixed up in the time it takes to preheat the oven and served hot 10 minutes later.

Scones:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 7-10 minutes
Makes: About a dozen

1 3/4c Plain Flour
2oz (1/2 stick) Butter, well chilled.
1/2t Baking Soda
1t Cream of Tartar
1t Sugar
Pinch of Salt
2T-1/4c of Milk

Additions, up to a half cup total:

Dried Fruit. Classic choices are raisins, currants, or cranberries.
Nuts
Chocolate Chips
Cheese

- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Using a wooden spoon, rub the butter into the flour. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look smooth.
- Mix in the rest of the ingredients.
- Slowly add enough milk to make a soft dough. This can vary a good bit. It may take a few times to get it right, don’t worry and keep trying.
- Roll out the dough to a 1/2″ thickness.
- Using a biscuit cutter, cut the dough into small rounds.
- Ball the dough back up and roll out again and keep cutting until you have used all the dough.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and baked for 7-10 minutes.
- Serve warm with butter and jam.

Though best served hot from the oven, they do keep well sealed in a zip top bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Pop in the microwave or oven to reheat.

Here are some pictures from the scones I made for the Girl Scouts Thinking Day. The first batch are plain. The second are with a 1/2 cup of Zante Currants.

Plain Mini Scones

Zante Currant Half Scones

I went down to the rack today to and saw that the Kitchen Sink Mix has germinated and begun pushing itself up, up, up! Though I have been doing this for a few years, I am always surprised by how much can change in 24 hours.

The onions are also showing hints that they will be showing their tops soon. Two or three more days I imagine.

Kitchen Sink Mix has Arrived

Today marks my first planting day and I will begin by starting my onions from seed. This year we are growing Walla Walla and Sweet Spanish onions, both of which we got from Pinetree. I am trying some of the Kitchen Sink mix as well so we have some fresh winter greens. The lettuce we have been getting lately looks great but is nearly flavorless.

This is my potting station for the year:

The Potting Station

It is in an unfinished section of our basement that is, thankfully, heated. I was starting seeds in the garage last year and it was a bit chilly most days. I much prefer doing it in shorts and a t-shirt rather than a coat and hat.

This setup is little more than a 6′ folding table and my planting supplies. It is high enough that I can keep my soil, peat moss, and sprayer underneath while also providing a comfortable working height. The white bucket holds my working soil and will hold enough to fill a flat, which is about all I like to work with at a time. In the center of the picture you can just make out the three seed packets I will be working with.

I only set out the seeds I will be working with at that moment in time. When I am done with them, they are put away and I will remove the next set of seeds that I need. This lessens the chance of grabbing the wrong packet and limits spills. I don’t mind picking up peas if they get away from me, but spilling onion or carrot seeds will see me ordering another packet.

This arrangement isn’t elegant by any means but works well for moving everything inside. I can work comfortably at it for hours and the plastic table top and concrete floor make cleaning up at the end of the day a breeze.

Here is my finished flat of Onions. The Walla Walla are on the left, the Kitchen Sink Mix in the middle, and the Sweet Spanish on the right.

My First Finished Flat

My finished flats are then moved to our seedling rack where they will be tended until being hardened off and transplanted outside.

Our Seedling Starter System

This rack has an automatic timer to turn the lights on for 12 hours a day. The entire system sits next to a window, but the amount of light that filters through is never very strong. It is on the north side of the house and the back yard is heavily shaded by trees. Our first year with it was very successful and I am happy with the results of having built our own.

This is an editorial opinion piece Shawn passed on to me. A quick read certainly, but good to pass along to your non-gardening friends.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/opinion/15sun4.html

There is an Italian chain restaurant that offers unlimited soup or salad, plus breadsticks, with your meal. This is our take on that soup. It is rich, hearty, and filling. Regardless of how much we make or who all is at home, we are lucky if it lasts more than a day. It does not freeze well and should be eaten in 2-3 days of making it.

I recommend Better than Bouillon for the soup base. I became aware of it while reading one of the Cook’s magazines from America’s Test Kitchen and consider it a staple in the kitchen.

You can also use milk (skim, 2% or whole) or cream (light or heavy) in place of the half and half. Choose as your waist-line allows. We’ve used all three and just like half and half the best.

Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes.
Cooking Time: 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
16oz. Smoked Sausage, in 1/4″ slices or crumbled.
4 Medium Potatoes, cut into 1/4″ thick slices.
1 medium onion, diced.
6 slices of bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c kale. Washed, dried, and chopped.
2 T chicken soup base
4 c water
1/3 c half and half.

Directions:

1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until done.
2. While the sausage is cooking, heat the onions and bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until the onions are just clear. Remove the bacon and set aside.
3. Add the garlic to the saucepan and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken soup base, water, and potatoes. Simmer 15 minutes.
4. Crumble and add the bacon, sausage, kale, and cream. Simmer an additional 4-5 minutes.
5. Serve.

With our major seed order here, my seed starting setup re-assembled, and Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, it was time to sit down and figure out when to start planting.  This year I put a bit of technology to my advantage and used a spreadsheet.

Each of my plants are listed, divided into Three Categories: Seedlings/Transplants, Direct Sow, and Indoor/Other.  Seedlings are set with dates when they should be started indoors as well as when they can be transplanted outside.  Direct Sow dates are based on how many weeks before or after the final frost they can go into the soil.  Indoor/Other is my generic catch all.  Indoor I can plant whenever (and want to start my Kitchen Mix and some Lettuce tomorrow) and the Other are to be planted on their own time.  Particularly fall harvest plants that should be carefully timed so they are touched by frost before becoming too big for harvest.

My first planting date will be on February 20th with the onions:  Walla Walla and Spanish Yellow from seed.  I am going to start them in a flat and then thin as needed.  My next big run will be 2 weeks later on March 6th with petunias and chives.

I have posted the spreadsheet below.  It is currently setup with a Last Frost Date of May 15th, or Zone 6.  Change cell H6 to your local frost day to match your conditions.  If you have any questions about your frost dates, contact your local Extension Office.

Garden Planning Spreadsheet

Our Pinetree Seed Order

Shawn commented the other night that our order from Pinetree Garden Seeds had not arrived. Of course, what do I find in the mail the next day? Our seed order! Stuffed inside of a USPS priority mailer were the 31 seed packets pictured above.

In this order we picked up the following, along with Pinetree’s catalog number:

Henderson Bush Lima Beans (#17) - These are mostly for my friend Max. He requested them.
Speckled Calico Lima Beans (#18)
Jacobs Cattle Bean (#27) - I’ll be honest, we have no idea how these taste but liked the look of them.
Cylindra Beet (#30)
Lutz Winter Keep Beet (#38)
Falstaff Brussels Sprouts (#53) - I love roasting these with potatoes and bacon but they have been expensive around here the last few years. Going to try to grow my own and see how they taste with a touch of frost.
Rainbow Carrot (#76) - Carrots in 6 colors, each with their own flavor. What’s not to love?
Boothby’s Blond Cucumber (#131)
Miniature White Cucumber (#132)
National Pickling Cucumber (#136) - Most of our cucumbers will wind up being pickles of some variety, even if just a quick pickle cucumber salad. These will not be grown in the ground but in pots on our back deck.
Dwarf Blue Curled Kale (#191) - For our restaraunt inspired Sausage, Kale, and Potato Soup.
Pinetree Lettuce Mix (#203) - We picked up two packs so we can grow it year round inside and out.
Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion (#244)
Walla Walla Onion (#246) - Normally our onions have been grown from sets but this year we are feeling daring.
Harris Model Parsnip (#250) - I’ve eaten enough parsnips this year to sprout my own top, but they have all been obtained through the Farmer’s Market and Good Apples.
Green Arrow Pea (#256)
Sugar Lace II Snap Pea (#261)
Zsa Zsa Pepper (#27801) - These are for my friend Michelle.
Easter Egg Radish (#305) - I love radishes and think the color will add flair to salads.
Pinetree Radish Mix (#30801)
Spinach Mix (#33303) - This is a 1oz package and is to complement the lettuce mix.
White Soul Strawberry (#389) - This is an alpine variety. We have had great success growing these in pots and overwintering under a heavy mulch of straw.
Brandywine Tomato (#424)
Tall Climbing Mix Nasturtium (#66202)
Gleam Mix Nasturtium (#66204) - Nasturtiums (of the Tropeolum genus, not the Nasturtium genus) are one of my favorite edible ornamentals. They have a spicy flavor reminiscent of watercress, to which it is not related to. The flowers, the leaves, all of it are edible.
Giant Gray Stripe Sunflower (#67704) - I wanted a sunflower variety for seed harvest, not just color. This seemed like a good choice with blooms a foot in diameter or more.
Earthwalker Sunflower (#67709) - I picked these because of the beautiful range of orange and brown tones.
Raspberry Sundae Pansy (#76011)
Pinetree Kitchen Sink Mix (#82905) - According to Pinetree’s description this is a blend of 16 greens, lettuces, chards, onions, and herbs designed to be the perfect salad mix. If all does well in a few weeks I will be able to let you know.
Cactus Mix (#883) - I’ve always liked the mini Cacti (or Cactuses, both are correct) sold at the nurseries and for the price ($1.55) figured I would try my hand at it.

We picked up all of this for $49.65, which included postage. And as always, they included a coupon for $2 off of our next order.

Pinetree's Frequent $2 Off Coupon

I wanted to share this with all of you. Shawn sent me a link aboutS-mall P-lot IN-dividualistic (SPIN) Gardening. It’s the first time I heard of this method/movement but agree with the premise: A call to good eating and farming, particularly in urban environments.

Though I concur with it as a movement, I would like more information about the gardening methods they advise without having to order the materials. Based on the pictures it looks like some variety of intensive gardening.

Does anyone have experience with this? Can you point me to any additional information? Or have a review I can post?

In our continued garden planning we took stock of our seeds tonight. It was surprising to find out how many packets we picked up at the end of the 2008 season. The sample pack from Le Jardin Du Gourmet accounts for a large part of our collection. I have listed those seeds separately.

All plants are listed by type, then variety.

Alyssum Pastel Carpet Mixed
Asparagus, Mary Washington
Aster , Crego Mixed
Baby’s Breath
Bachelor’s Button, Double Mixed Colors
Bean, Black Turtle
Beet, Chioggia
Brussels Sprout, Long Island Improved
Carrot, Danvers 126
Carrot, Napoli Hybrid F1
Grape, Concord (saved from ones bought at our local farmer’s market)
Lettuce, Pinetree Mix
Pea, Shelling Premium. ½ lb remaining.
Pansy, Pinetree Dream Formula Mix
Plum, Prune
Pumpkin, Mix
Radish, Pinetree Mix
Spelt, 1lb remaining.
Spinach, Smooth Leaf
Sunflower, Giant Greystripe
Tomatoes, Micro Tom
Turnip, Purple Top
Zinnia, California Giant Mixed

La Jardin Du Gourmet Sample collection:

Angelica
Anise
Artichoke, Green Globe
Lemon Balm
Basil, Lettuce Leaf
Basil, Dwarf Green
Basil, Opal
Borage
Caraway
Cardoon
Catnip
Chamomile, Roman
Chervil
Chicory
Chives, Fine
Chives, Garlic
Coriander (Cilantro)
Cumin
Dill
Dill, Bouquet
Fennel, Sweet
Fenugreek
Fraise Des Boise
Horehound
Hyssop
Lavender, Munstead
Lavender, Vera
Lovage
Marjoram, Sweet
Mint, Lemon
Mint, Peppermint
Mint, Spearmint
Mitsuba, Aromatic
Oregano, True
Pac Choi
Parsley, Curly
Parsley, Flat
Pennyroyal
Pepper, Tabasco
Pimpernel
Rosemary
Sage, Garden
Savory, Summer
Savory, Winter
Thyme, Creeping
Thyme, French (Summer)
Thyme, German (Winter)
Yarrow, Pink
Yarrow, White
Yarrow, Yellow

After looking at this list, and wanting to grow them all, I will have to submit myself to research and care so none of the seeds go to waste. Thankfully the sample packs are small and I should be able to dig them in a separate plot while the more invasive ones will be relegated to pots.

Shawn and I went back to the Pennsylvania Farm Show for another day on Tuesday. It was Youth Day and very busy. Seeing so many students enjoying the fruits of PA Agriculture left us with a good feeling. The Dairyman coalition also did well that day. Milkshakes were everywhere.

Next year we want to enter some of the competitions and add winner ribbons to the scrapbooks. One contest that caught our eyes was the decorative herb competition. Per the entry cards, you need to have 6 or more kitchen herbs in an artistic arrangement. We already have a design in mind.  I won’t share it with you though.  You’ll just have to wait and see.

Here are some of the herb entries. Somehow we missed third place.

Fourth Place

First Place

These are the winners for the decorative mushroom arrangements. In the first picture, they have been dipped in chocolate.

Second Place Mushroom Display

And the first place winner. It was spectacular in person. My only wish is that I could have walked around and fully admire it. Regretfully they kept it behind glass.

First Place Mushroom Display

That is it from our second trip. Rose was uncomfortable with all of the people so we left early.

See you next year at the 94th Annual Farm Show!