Thursday, May 20, 2010

Let the planting begin! You are NOT too late! I am so excited to see that I have neighbors planting gardens for the first time this year!

I spent 6 hours in my garden the last two days prepping to plant. My husband is building raised beds in our greenhouses this year as well. YAY! Our goal is to have everything planted by Memorial Day weekend so we can head off on vacation for a week and come back to little green shoots popping up.

I have had a lot of questions on what I grow from seed and what I get seedling starts from. I really don't have the space in my house to start many seeds early so anything that I need to be ready by spring I get from starts. To make that even easier for you here are my two lists below. Next year I will be trying to start some more seeds from starts as I'm taking over a section of my garage without complaints...yet. :)

For locals my favorite local greenhouse is Perennial Gardens on South Birchwood Loop Road! Local family that know what they are talking about. Very helpful and some of the best prices I have found around! Bushes Bunches has great prices in Palmer as well.

Purchased Starts

55 Tomato Plants
30 Zucchini
40 Cucumber
40 Cabbage (savory, green and red)
12 Brussel sprouts
40 Broccoli
40 Kohlrabi
4 Pepper plants
Herbs (LOVE my fresh herbs!)
spearmint
basil
tarragon
thyme
rosemary

Plants that I start from seed directly into garden (super easy and hardy!) Do not buy these as starts. Waste of money and they really do better when they are not transplanted.

Snap peas
Green Beans (trying the pole beans this year)
Carrots (Nante variety are my fav)
Radish (french breakfast)
beats
lettuce
arugula
Herbs
cilantro
flat leaf parsley
chives (they come back every year so plant them somewhere smart)
scallions
dill

I will take pictures as I go over the next 5 days to help out new gardeners but here are a few tips.

* Buy a inexpensive soil test kit (lowes,walmart,fred meyer) and see what your soil looks like. The package should tell you what you need to do if your NP or K is low. Steer manure is $2.00 a bag at most stores and is one of the best ways to improve your nitrates. Compost is another way to enhance your soil. (you can purchase or start your own) Chemical fertilizers are okay but to be honest you will have to work harder later to get your soil where you want it.. My advice is if you add chemical fertilizers (instead of manure) is to still add compost.
* I soak my peas and beans for 24 hours before planting to give them a head start. (NO longer)
* Plant radishes and carrots in the same row. Radishes come up and are ready really early and carrots come in later. (space saver!)
* I do the block planting method for lettuces and herbs (space saver again) just mark off square foot blocks and scatter seeds per package direction!
* Flowers:I also plant sweat peas (flowering only) throughout my snap peas for gorgeous color and they smell awesome! My all time favorite seed flower for my veggie garden are cosmos. After planting all my veggies I go back and sporadically put in cosmo seeds (many other seeds work for this as well but make sure they grow by seed in Alaska and do not have to be started in doors) Nasturtiums work well too. You will love the flowers popping up throughout the summer!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles
So what I really want to be doing is gardening. This week my goal is to get all of my seedlings and yard ready for planting. Yeah right. We seem to be really good at doing things last minute. I have always had a love hate relationship with May. With my scheduled packed as full as it can be I get a little stressed out. So, what do I do.....BAKE....and EAT....and oh yeah Workout....but baking is what I do when I'm stressed and I just let everything else fall to the side while I eat the rewards and....workout :) However, because I like to bake AND eat I try and make things as healthy as possible and have found that I prefer the whole grain hearty taste better now too.

This morning I made waffles for breakfast. Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles. I made 3 batches (yep 3) and froze the majority of them to pop in the toaster throughout the next couple of months for the kiddos and for me (late night snack!) I figure if I'm already making 1 batch I might as well take the little extra time and make a few more to help me out when I don't have the time to cook or when we want breakfast/dinner on the run. (tip:put parchment paper in between the layers when you freeze them so they are easy to take apart later)

My kids will grab these off the counter and eat them plain for a snack.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles...by the way...this does not have to be exact.
1 3/4 cup whole wheat
1 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2-1 cup applesauce (I used a homemade blueberry sauce I had made last year)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs (you can use egg whites instead just use 4 instead)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp. flat seed

Tip: if you don't have buttermilk, just substitute regular milk but use 1 tbsp. baking powder and no baking soda)

Toppings:
maple syrup
peanut butter
jelly
nutella
bananas
berries

ENJOY!
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010


Strawberry Banana Smoothie! YUM! "MOM can you make a smovie?"... " Mom me too luv mooie "

I am not kidding when I say that I make this smoothie for my kids (and myself) at least 4 times a week. We don't have a problem with consuming fruit in our house but if you do this helps you get your 5 fruits. I make all sort of varieties to this recipe but they all have similar ingredients. We have them for breakfast and dessert.

I always start out with yogurt (whatever I have on hand, plain or flavored)
I always add a banana because it keeps the smoothie from separating, they are always at my house
I add frozen strawberries because I can always have them on hand and they are cheaper. I thaw them slightly before blending but I like them partially frozen for a really thick smoothie.
I always add a pro biotic and ground flax seed in my smoothies because both are REALLY good for you and you CAN'T taste them when I put them in this way.

I don't add any sugar and I have a sweet tooth so if I think it doesn't need it then trust me... don't waste your calories on adding any.


I love using the mixed berries too but they disappear quickly at my house. Really I think almost any fruit would work


Try your own combination. If you have one that is yummy please share.
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Thursday, May 6, 2010


Cinco de Mayo in ALASKA

My oldest son's 6th birthday falls on Cinco de Mayo and we always throw a party! This year we had 60 degree weather with full sunny skies the day before. Then.....on party day, it drops to the 40's and it's raining sideways. What's amazing is that this didn't stop our amazing friends and family to come and have fun (50+people)~! One of our friends (thanks Todd) ran (well drove his truck really) back to his house to get a tarp. He comes back with the largest tarp I have ever seen. Now remember, my husband and I are true hicks from Delta Jct. so I've seen a lot of tarps but this one was gigantic!!

I made Colton's shark cupcakes (idea from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes) and beach cake with his directions on where to put the guy waving for help. :) I made Seven Minute Frosting as that's our family favorite and the one my grandma always made. Only takes egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter to make so it comes in handy in a pinch too. Plus it has to be healthy because it has egg whites and no butter right? :)

Bison Tacos (very healthy for you with whole wheat tortillas)
Homemade Baked Beans (just put black, kidney,garbanzo,butter beans in with one can of baked beans and added molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, regular mustard,dried onions, pepper, and a little ketchup to taste in a crock pot)
Tons of veggies and fruit
Salad with feta, cucumber, craisins (dressing balsamic vinegar/honey/olive oil/salt/pepper)
Chips n Salsa
Espressos from Bear Mountain Espresso (perks of owning your own shop:)

It was a great day and thanks to all who could make it!

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About Me

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South Central, Alaska, United States
Love, joy, procrastination, and frustration of a Urban Alaskan Gardener Cook and most importantly Mother of three.... It might not always be pretty but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Life long Alaskan who really does not enjoy the ever so long winters. However, I live for my summers. My body decides that when the light comes (and let me tell you we get a lot), sleep no more, have time to make up for. I enjoy cooking/baking/decorating but my passion is gardening. I always set out for things to be perfect but usually settle for a lot less because frankly I don't have the time or patience (3 children under the age of 5 need I say more...oh yeah...and a husband:) So to sum me up I'm an introverted, detail oriented, procrastinator that hates to be late for anything and rarey finishes a project. I love my family and friends and throughly enjoy being able to take care of my children and watch them grow everyday!