Waiting for Warmer Temperaures

 It is still cold here in East Texas with temperatures in the 30's. Not the ideal situation for tender young seedlings! So we are patiently waiting for the days to warm up, so we can put them in the ground. In the meantime we have our seedlings all over the house in windows and in the greenhouse. Our kitchen window is a great area for growing seeds. It wraps around a corner so there is alot of sunlight during the day. We have been experimenting with a few other places in the house too. Our bedroom and bathroom windows have been good for growing too. We don't have all the fancy growing lights and heating pads, but have had no problem growing our seeds. Once they are seeded in soil we place them in a baggie or cover with saran wrap to keep the moisture in, and place them in a sunny spot. When they reach an inch or two tall the bags are removed, and they continue to grow. I did transplant our peppers and cucumbers into bigger growing containers this past week-end. They were bursting at the seams and needed more room! Hopefully, they will all be in the ground soon. 

Edible Broccoli Leaves, Who Knew!

I had no idea that pretty much the whole broccoli plant can be eaten until recently. We harvested several crowns of broccoli florets when the plants were at their peak. They have produced several other smaller florets since then, but are for the most part through with production for the season. Before pulling the plants out of their beds I thought I would cook up some of these leaves and see what Pap and I thought about eating them. They were delicious! There are lots of recipes online if you simply google broccoli leaves. Here is what I did with them. After cutting them off the plants, clean with water. Core or cut the inner coarse vein that runs up the middle, then roll up and cut into thin long pieces.

 I chopped up a 1/2 cup white onion and several garlic cloves along with one tiny red chile pepper. Heat skillet, and coat with olive oil. Let onion and garlic simmer on low while stirring for about 10 minutes. Then add your cut up broccoli leaves. Add one cup vegetable stock and turn heat on low. Let simmer for about an hour stirring every once in a while. Of course salt and pepper too! I won't be letting any of my broccoli go to waste from now on. It really was yummy. Next time I am going to make up some cornbread to eat with it!  

This is what our beautiful broccoli looked like at its peak.