The battle continues

I am actually facing two continuing battles. The first is that random trash continues to show up in my plants - I woke up Saturday morning to at least three beer cans scattered throughout the garden. I am thinking of checking into the price/permit of a taser gun (overreaction, what?). Seriously, though - is this a fun game to drunk people? My plants are not dead, it is obvious that someone is taking time and effort to work on the garden, and their response is to throw things in it? Ergh. /end rant

Who doesn't enjoy waking up to this? And yes, I even recycled the cans - they may be douchebags, but I don't need to be. The good in this picture - basil to the right! My herbs I grew from seeds are thriving!

The second battle is against the container that wouldn't drain, aka the soup container. I was thrilled to wake up the morning after my creative solutions (from my last post) to see that the soil level had dropped and pressing on the top led to a firm bounce back.

Yay! The soil was completely saturated, but solid. And we have no rain in the forecast (in fact, we are supposedly hitting record highs today and tomorrow), so it should have a good chance of drying out.

It was apparent, however, that the strawberries were not going to recover. So on Saturday I drove off to Home Depot to replace them. I already have 3 Quinault plants and one AllStar in the  other strawberry container that are thriving, so I wanted a different variety. I could only find Ozark Beauty (I had also had a fourth whose name escapes me now) in a rather large hanging pot, so I snatched it up. It already had several small white berries on it, so I thought perhaps that would give it a much-needed leg up.

I just planted the strawberries last night, and I was sad to see that the herbs were alarmingly droopy (particularly visible in the sage on the right, below). However, I am hoping that the infusion of new, healthy plants with their own drier soil will help to soak up the moisture and the herbs will begin to perk up again.

New strawberries on the left. Sad herbs on the right. C'mon guys!

Other than the herbs, yesterday was full of encouraging sights on the balcony. The first was that I harvested strawberries - FIVE of them, from three separate plants. Five whole strawberries - I'm going to have to open a stand at the farmer's market!

Yum! They may be weird shaped and wouldn't make it through any sort of inspection, but I grew these bad boys! And they taste good - obviously the most important aspect.

I seem to reveal a new cluster of cherry tomatoes on the Sweet n' Neat every time I lift a leaf, and the Patio tomato plant has at least three wonderfully firm green fruits on it - I was under the impression that this was also a cherry tomato plant, but I am obviously mistaken and hence eager to see how big the tomatoes actually get before they ripen. And to top it all off, I spotted the first blooms on my Heirloom plant! I've read more about this plant, and I should've been pruning it throughout the spring - this serves as both a way to keep it from sprawling across the entire patio (mine is in danger of doing that) and encourages it to put its plant energy into blooming and growing fruits instead of growing more greenery. It's a good thing to be aware of for next year.

Some Sweet 'n Neat.

More Sweet 'n Neat - whaaaaat. I have plans for a fresh bruschetta once these bad boys actually ripen.

Two of the fruits from the Patio. They look just like real tomatoes!

The capper - my first blooms on the Heirloom plant. I am a bit concerned about how to support this branch if they do turn into fruit - it is nowhere near anything I can tie it to.

Finally, my pea plants are completely out of control. They have started to help define "urban sprawl," and I'm not sure what to do about them. They also will not, no matter how hard I try to manipulate them, wrap around the balcony bars - I think they are too thick. My mother suggested the soil may have too much nitrogen, which can make them grow and grow but not blossom. Unfortunately at this point there isn't too much to do about it, but it is definitely something to be aware of for next year (note to self: learn how to say "nitrogen" in Swiss German. Also learn how to say "garden," "plants," and "hello").

If you look carefully, you can see the original lattice I built is bent over with the weight of the plants. And I was worried they wouldn't grow...

Lolli says "Stop writing crazy lady. I am missing my time at the dog park."

Green tomatoes and swamps

I had hoped to alternate between gardening and baking posts, but I was feeling a bit under the weather on Sunday (my usual baking day), and only managed some chocolate chip oatmeal peanut butter cookies and a lemon poppyseed bundt cake for a co-worker's birthday. Unfortunately I took no pictures of either - the processes or the final product. I will assert, however, that they were tasty.

However, Sunday was an exciting day for the garden - I found my first tomatoes on my Sweet 'n Neat plant, and today I found more on my mysterious middle ground plant (aka not Heirloom)! They look lovely and firm and I am most excited to watch them ripen!

Sunday's first glimpse!

This evening (Thursday). So many! Please don't die before you ripen, I want to eat you.

The newest tomato! On the mysterious plant. You know, I have the tag for this plant - it's just out of reach and I am too lazy to lean out the window and get it. Maybe I want to be surprised. Yes, that's it.

There has been a lull in the strawberries, with only one tasty berry last week. However, there are now several small white berries that should be ready in the next week. I am still visiting Haymarket every week for fresh fruit and vegetables, unfortunately. I think in order to use my own fruits for baking, I would need a significantly larger space. But they are a lovely addition to my breakfast!

On Tuesday, I officially gave up on my questionable container, with two strawberry plants, the pepper plant and the herbs. I walked to Trader Joe's and bought another set of herbs (the same ones - sage, rosemary, and thyme, again tempted to buy some parsley just to round out Scarborough Fair even though I rarely use it in cooking).

So sad looking. You can see the spillage in the top left corner. I'm not sure why the strawberry leaves have turned red, but I'm sure it wasn't a good reason. The rosemary that resembles a three month old Christmas tree is barely visible in the bottom right.

This evening, I got home at a reasonable hour and decided to replant. The container was in much worse shape than I realized. The soil had the consistency of a waterbed - moving the container caused waves throughout the surface. It was also RIDICULOUSLY heavy - my last five weeks of exercising had not prepared me to try to haul a dirt-filled container laden with liquid through my small window. I managed to get it in with only some splashing over the side (sorry neighbors three floors down - hope you don't actually use that little grill much. Or at least that you keep it well covered). I threw out the herbs and pepper plant immediately - they were obviously beyond saving.

The three holes where the herbs had been. When I pulled them out, it was a geyser/volcano effect. I had water bubbling up for several minutes. It was a little grotesque but also mesmerizing. I kept waiting for Ludo to explain that rocks are friends.

The whole container smelled like fresh manure (if you've been so fortunate as to experience that aroma), and I had no idea how to fix it. I want to try to save the two strawberry plants, if possible, as I have no replacements, but they desperately needed to be dried out. I tried soaking up the water with paper towels, but it quickly became apparent that I was using a bandaid on a gushing wound. It was about as effective as me trying to block LeBron James (I don't follow basketball as a rule, but there are slim pickings on network television this evening). So then I tried adding some new potting soil. I have a small bag left of unused soil - not enough to fill the container, and I had no place to throw out the water-soaked soil anyway. Also a poor solution - the new, drier soil just floated on top of the soup, and I was adding weight to the already unmanageable container. The one real puzzle in all of this is that the container is the exact same one as the one where I have my four strawberry plants, which have had no soup problems. Why is this one having such problems!? This bothers the scientist in me.

I threw in the new plants - herbs from Trader Joe's and one of my bell pepper seedlings - and started to haul it back and just hope for the best when I had a brilliant idea. Ok, more of a Hail Mary. I thought maybe the water wasn't getting out (even though, as stated previously, this is the exact same container as another one I own, from which water apparently has no issues escaping). So, how to get it out? I decided to try punching a hole in the bottom of the container. Unfortunately I have not a single nail in my entire apartment, so I ended up using a penknife to bore a hole in the bottom. Not recommended - the penknife is at least 10 years old and I'd prefer not to think about how easily a dull knife that doesn't snap into place could take off a finger or at least reach a tendon.  However, I was rewarded with lovely brown water that began dripping all over my kitchen floor. I made a second hole before hauling it back through the window (more spillage - I actually thought I lost a strawberry plant, but it hung on). This involved much cursing and a tense moment in which I realized a wet tiled floor does not provide good traction when trying to lift sixty pounds entirely with my arms. If the entire container had been filled with lead it would have been easier - at least it would have been solid and not sloshing around. Ugh. If they die this time, I'm leaving them out there. Maybe the next tenant will be a champion weightlifter.

Watching it on the balcony I didn't see any water coming out and I worried that the holes had gotten clogged. Then I realized there is no reason the holes need to be on the bottom (which was quite difficult to access anyway). So I put two holes on the side near the bottom, followed by another two and another two (I get slightly impatient - dry out already!). They are currently all dripping away, and I will check in the morning to see if I can tell a difference in the waterbed consistency. Here's hoping!

The new plants, back out on the balcony. You can make out one of the side holes I made in the bottom left. Looking at it now, I realized I planted the pepper plant WAY too close to the herbs. Of course, this will only be a problem if they all survive -the jury is still out on this, but I'm not betting on it.

PS - I've switched from the NBA to America's Test Kitchen. PBS, I love you and can I borrow your kitchen?

Sleeves and other unexpecteds

I set my garden up on an impulse, and I've already written a post about all the incorrect approaches I took. Perhaps not surprising - researching ideas before jumping headlong into them is a pretty solid approach (one that I often fail to follow - eg, my PhD). However, I thought I was heading into it fairly open-minded. Since I didn't plan anything, how could I have preconceived notions about what I would be dealing with? Turns out, I totally did.

1. Weeding. Seriously? I live on the fifth floor, and the balcony faces an alley that has zero vegetation. Where do the damn little things come from? And how can they grow in the soup that is currently my potting soil when my actual plants can't?

2. Mother Nature drowning my plants. I know, I know. One of the incorrect things I did for my garden was to set it up without a proper drainage system (other than the 2-3 little holes that are already in each of the containers). But I live in Boston - it usually doesn't have a monsoon season. I was much more concerned about me as a human either drowning or drying out my plants. Live and learn, people. Mother nature doesn't like you to have pre-conceived notions.

Mini mudslides.

3. Picking garbage off my plants. A few weeks ago, I found a Pepsi can on top of my strawberries. I was quite surprised, but I figured someone had thrown it off the roof deck - although I cynically wondered if they had been aiming for my plants, since in terms of random acts, my plants do not occupy a significant percentage of space. But then three days ago I woke up to this:

A dismembered T shirt sleeve on a tomato plant. Now, there's not something you see every day.

I...have no words. Upon closer inspection (ie, when I gingerly picked it up between my fingernails and threw it in the trash), it appears to be the cut off sleeve of a men's undershirt. Questions abound: Did someone spontaneously cut their sleeves off while on the roof with a pair of scissors they happened to have? Given the cold and wet weather, this seems unlikely. But if so, what happened to the other sleeve?  Did they only cut off one?
Also, what are the mysterious dark spots? They look suspiciously like dried blood. Am I throwing away evidence of a gruesome, as yet undiscovered murder that occurred only ten feet above my head? Seems like there would be more blood in that case.
OR - and this is my current acting theory - the former owner of the sleeve in fact suffers from extreme germophobia, so he carries a pair of scissors around in his pocket in case he has to cut off any area of possible contamination. He attended a roof party, and then the person standing next to him developed a spontaneous nosebleed and dripped on his shirt, the shirt-owner then immediately - for his own self-preservation - cut off the tainted sleeve and threw it off the roof, as far as he could. Which was about 3 feet. It has been windy, so maybe it blew back. Yep, that must be what happened.

(Also, for anybody out there who wants to hypothesize - given the wet weather, it seems most unlikely that the wind blew it up from the trash bins that are ~100 yards away and a good 40 feet below. Wet cloth is heavy, yo.)

4. Figuring out which herb leaves to cut and when. I honestly never gave this a thought. When I was a kid, I never helped my mother with her herb beds - she would just magically appear in the kitchen with fresh-cut stems. I just found this blog entry on Pinterest and realized that I had been pruning my plants almost exactly wrong. The large bottom leaves should be left as is (I snipped those bad boys off weeks ago), and I should've been cutting just below where the new leaves are unfurling.

These may end up being herb sacrifices at the garden altar within a few weeks. The jury is still out. Note how all the large leaves are gone from the sage and thyme. Oopsie.

I'm hoping my plants can still recover and then I can show them what I've learned during their almost-dead experience. If not, I'll head to the store and buy some more plants and let the first ones be remembered as a learning experience for the human. I promise to hum "Taps" before throwing them out.

Herb cheese bread recipe

As promised, here is the recipe for the cheese bread - with step-by-step pictures! I adapted the recipe from this website - my version is a bit simpler (and has dill, which makes everything yummier). When I first returned to baking a few months ago, I was quite nervous about the details and time commitment of making yeast-based breads. However, I've learned that they can be quite simple and  are definitely worth the time. Also, yeast can survive quite a range of warm water, so don't worry too much about that - just don't kill it with boiling hot water (my tip: it should feel warm, but shouldn't be painful to stick your finger in).

Unfortunately my herbs are not in useable shape right now - the rosemary, thyme, and sage all need to grow back from being used several weeks ago (and haven't had the chance due to all the rain), while the basil plants aren't large enough to cut leaves yet. I don't have any dried sage, but if I did, I would've thrown some in as well. I encourage you to experiment with different herbs (and cheeses).

Without further ado, here we go!

You will need:
1 package active yeast (not instant. if you don't have packages - I buy yeast in larger containers, 1 package = 2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 c + 1 cup warm water (I have a candy thermometer, so I always make sure that it's between 100-120F or 40-48C. If you don't have a thermometer, see above comments)
1 tsp + 1 tsp sugar (what do I mean when I write this? I mean you will be using them at different times, so they should be separated)
3 and 1/4 c flour, plus extra for the surface while kneading and rolling out
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Cooking spray (or a bit more olive oil)
Herbs - I use heaping amounts of the following (remember these are all dried. 1 teaspoon dried is approximately 1 tablespoon fresh)
1 teaspoon dill
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon thyme

All the ingredients assembled! When I bake or cook, I like to get out everything ahead of time, and then put each item away as I use it. It allows me to go from most -> least clutter (just don't forget to leave things out you use multiple times, like the flour!)

You'll also need the following materials:
1 glass (measuring cup or drinking, doesn't matter)
2 good-sized mixing bowls
plastic wrap (or a towel)
surface for kneading/rolling out
1 loaf pan

First, mix together the yeast with 1/4 c warm water and 1 tsp sugar in the glass. Let sit while measuring out the next step - it should be foamy within minutes.

Foamy and fun! I don't own any glass measuring cups, so I just use a small drinking glass instead.

Mix the flour with the remaining sugar, salt, pepper, all herbs, and cheese.

Add the foaming yeast to the flour mixture, along with the remaining cup of warm water and the olive oil. Mix as best you can, but I usually only give it a few stirs, the minimal to let it clump and come together, before turning it out to knead. (Note: if you are new to making doughs that you knead, resist the urge to add more liquid even if you feel the dough isn't coming together. It will eventually - it's not like cookie or cake batters that quickly absorb the flour).

The dough right before I turned it out for kneading. It doesn't have to be pretty, just minimally glomming together (it's a technical term). I used white cheddar, so the cheese is hard to see.

Knead the dough on a well floured surface, adding more flour if necessary, until it is soft and smooth - time on this will vary widely, depending on how quickly you knead. The original recipe says 10 minutes, but I found this to be much longer than necessary.

Gather the dough into a rather tight ball. Grease a clean bowl with cooking spray or olive oil on a paper towel (this is important, otherwise the dough will NOT come out). Place the dough in the bowl, making sure to turn it over at least once to coat the entire ball in oil/spray. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit somewhere away from cold drafts.

On the stove for its first rise in a clean, greased bowl.

I like to put the bowl on top of my gas oven, which is lovely and toasty warm with its little pilot flames under the top, perfect for the yeast. This allows the dough to double in size quite quickly - usually about 45 minutes. If it's just on the counter, you'll probably want to wait longer - an hour to hour and a half (use this time to bake more items! My favorite is to make cookies while I'm waiting on my yeast breads). Also - no plastic wrap? no problem. Just put a cloth towel over the dough to keep it from drying out while it rises.

After the first rise. Be gentle with it at this point - you don't want to lose all the air bubbles the yeast just created.

When the dough is ready, carefully turn it back out onto the floured surface. It may be sticky, so be ready with more flour. You don't want to punch it down completely or treat it harshly at this point and undo all the air bubbles the yeast has worked so hard to put in.

Roll it out into a rectangular shape, with the short side the length of your loaf pan (mine was 8 inches long, but it's an approximate thing) - I just use my hands to pat the dough out gently, as it's easier on the dough than using an actual rolling pin. Grease the loaf pan. Starting with the short side of the dough, roll it up and carefully tuck the ends in before placing it in the pan.

Patted out - you can still see lots of air bubbles throughout the dough, and it's not a perfect rectangle. That is all ok.

Rolled up and ready to be put in the pan. Be sure to put the seam side down when you move it to the pan.

Cover with the plastic wrap (loosely this time - it needs the space to rise) and return to its warm place to let rise for another 30-60 minutes.

Ready for the second rise! Back on top of the stove it goes - it will rise very fast this time, since I preheat the oven during this time, and it gets quite toasty.

During this time, preheat the oven to 400F (200C, I think). When the dough has risen enough (see picture), put the bread in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Ready to go in the oven! Don't forget to take off the plastic wrap - that would be bad.

 Enjoy the aroma. The bread will be a light brown - you can tell it's done if it sounds hollow when you tap it (be careful with your knuckles if you try this approach, as it will be quite hot!).

Done! You can now see the cheese throughout the loaf.

If the pan was well-greased, the bread should come out easily from the pan. Let it cool on a rack (if you have the patience), then enjoy! As I said in my previous post, one of the reasons I love this bread is because it has so much flavor it doesn't necessarily need any dressing up, but it has enough heartiness to make an excellent sandwich bread.

I didn't have much patience, and I also wanted to try out my brand new bread knife - the old one mutilated loaves because it was so dull, so I splurged on a new one. It was like going from Peewee football to the NFL.

If anybody out there actually tries this, PLEASE leave me a message and let me know! I'd love to hear how it turned out, and especially any changes you made to it. I can't wait to try it with fresh herbs.