AeroGarden - Week 2

Technically it's week 2-1/2.

So far, so good. All of the herbs have germinated and are doing well. On Monday, precisely two weeks from the initial setup, both the "water level" and "add nutrients" warning lights flashed and continued to do so until I added both and reset them. The instruction booklet states that you need to add water and nutrients about every two weeks.

This is how the plants look...


The plants are developing more leaves and growing taller. The Italian basil is starting to look like basil instead of just a little green shoot.


And the chives are definitely looking like chives...


And, if you look inside the water tank, you can see the roots beginning to grow longer and reach towards the water (so sorry for the blurry photo)...



I have to say, I'm really excited about this. It's doing much better than I expected.

• It is definitely not as noisy as I expected. The unit sits in my dining room on a metal shelving unit, which they do not recommend because it tends to be noisier. Most of the time, I cannot hear it unless I am sitting at the dining table and the house is really quiet. Even then, I can just barely hear the pump hum and the water trickle through the sponges back into the tank.


• The light doesn't bother me either. The hood directs the light onto the plants and keeps it from shining directly into the room.


• The light also keeps the plants warm enough. I keep my house rather cool in the winter...about 68 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night. The plants do not seem to have suffered at all, unless they are supposed to grow faster. But, I think they are doing fine.


• I also think the light warms the surface of the unit enough to warm the water in the tank, but the surface does not get hot to the touch, just barely warm.

We are leaving on Monday to spend the Christmas holiday with our youngest son and his family in Savannah. I will top off the water tank before I go, just to be sure the level does not drop below the desired level. After a week away, I will be anxious to see how the plants have grown in my absence.

" When the bold branches bid farewell to rainbow leaves - Welcome wool sweaters." ~ B. Cybrill

I don't particularly love winter, especially in Arkansas. We don't get a lot of snow and snow, I think, is what makes winter bearable because it makes everything look beautiful; never mind the ice, the brown slush, the chains and snow-tires, the snow shovels, wet shoes and boots. I never think of those things when I think of snow. Instead, I think of the snow-covered trees, the beautiful snow flakes, warm fires, hot tea or chocolate and everything outside white and beautiful. As you can tell, I'm much more into the fantasy than the reality. But, for me, if it's going to be really cold, then let's have some snow.

No matter if it snows or not, cold weather makes me crave comfort food ~ pots of soups and stews or big hearty casseroles. I've been seeing lots of stews and casseroles on other blogs lately and it seems one of the most popular is Beef Bourguignon. Every blog I've visited lately tempted with photos of the rich beef stew. Some recipes contain brandy, other cognac. Some cooks use shallots, other use pearl onions, still others use the standard yellow onions. But, what gives this stew it's richness is combining the beef and red wine.

Here's my really simple version:

Beef Bourguignon
by Terri Powers for Terri's Table

3 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into about 1-inch cubes
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
6 slices bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, sliced
1 large onion, diced
½ pound mushrooms, sliced about ¼ inch thick
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 cups beef broth
2-1/2 cups of a full-bodied red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat and, when hot, add the diced bacon. Reduce heat to medium and allow to cook until almost crisp. Remove the bacon pieces to a paper towel and set aside. Add olive oil to the bacon drippings in the pot.

Sprinkle the beef cubes lightly with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add the beef cubes and toss until they are coated well.



Brown the beef cubes in the pot a few at a time, removing the cubes when they are browned and adding the rest of the cubes in small batches until all the beef is browned, adding more olive oil a tablespoon at a time, if necessary.



Remove all the beef from the pan.

To any remaining drippings (if no drippings remain, add a little olive oil), add the onion and saute about 12 to 15 minutes until nicely browned and caramelized. Add the carrots and celery and sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté about another minute or two. Pour the wine into the pot, stirring constantly to deglaze the pan. Stir in the beef broth and add the beef chunks and bacon back into the pot. Add the tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf to the pot and mix well.

Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pot tightly, lower the heat to a very low simmer and allow to cook about 2½ hours, stirring occasionally. When done, the meat and vegetables should be very tender and stew should have thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I prefer to serve this over mashed potatoes, but you can serve it over pasta, polenta or even grits.

AeroGarden ~ Week 1: The Purchase and Set-up

I have already covered this topic to some degree on my personal blog (link is on sidebar), but the topic really belongs here.

I purchased an AeroGarden. I had been thinking about it for a very long time, but I figured with my herb garden outside in the spring, summer and early fall, I could purchase herbs at my local grocery store for the few short months my herb garden wasn't producing.

I changed my mind. I did my final last minute shopping for Thanksgiving the Wednesday before and I bought some basil ($4.00). It didn't look great, but it looked usable, and I was going to chiffonade the leaves to add to a cheese mixture, so I knew they would wilt. When I got up Thursday morning and pulled them out of the refrigerator, they looked liked this...



I was only able to salvage less than half of the leaves, which left over half my cheese appetizers without basil. This wasn't the first time this had happened and, frankly, I just got tired of it.

So, I purchased a silver "classic" AeroGarden from Hydroponic-Home-Garden.com. I paid $149.00 and the shipping was free. The kit included the AeroGarden, in parts ready to assemble, a gourmet seed packet (which included Italian basil, purple basil, chives, dill, thyme, parsley and mint), nutrient tablets and instructions. I received it within 3 days.



The instructions were easy to follow, assembly was extremely simple and I didn't need any tools. All the parts snap together snugly and, before adding the water, the entire unit is very lightweight because it is made of some sort of plastic.



I set the unit on a shelving unit and added the water. The seed pods come pre-seeded and ready to insert into the holes in the top of the water tank. I inserted the pods and covered them with the little plastic domes and plugged it in. The grow lights lit up and the water pump started. As instructed, I added two nutrient tabs to the water. It was as simple as that.



This morning is the end of week one and this what it looks like.

The back row, left to right ~ Mint, the dome is still in place because it is just now starting to sprout. Next to the mint is the Italian basil, dill and thyme, which have all sprouted and so the dome is then removed. The front row, left to right ~ Parsley, the dome is also in place because it has not yet sprouted, but if I look closely, the seeds are just now germinating. Next to the parsley is the purple basil, and next to that is the chives. They are all doing well.

My thoughts and more information:

• I think the unit is a little pricey, but I'm thinkin' that it's cheaper than a greenhouse, which I cannot afford right now.


• At $19.95, the seed kits are a little pricey, too, about twice what it would cost to buy your own packets of seeds with a lot more seeds to plant. However, the company does offer a "Master Gardener's Seed Kit" for $49.95 (currently on sale for $10.00 less) which gives you a growing guide, 7 bio domes, 21 seed pod labels, 21 grow sponges, 7 reusable seed pods and a years supply of small and large nutrients. You supply your own seeds.


• I would recommend that you read some reviews of the product. Andrea of Andrea's Recipes also blogs at Andrea's Reviews and has a three-part very detailed review, which I found extremely helpful.


• Another site for additional information is AeroGarden Reviews, an excellent source of information. I am sure with a single Google search you can find others.


• Before I invest in anything else (except maybe more nutrition tabs and grow light bulbs), I'll just see how these herbs progress. I will keep you posted.

Thanksgiving Is Over And We Are On The Way To Christmas...

Or...

Are you sick of turkey yet because it's almost time to roast another one!

I love turkey. Really I do. But I am sick of it. But, by the time Christmas rolls around I will be craving it again. I do this every Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Every year I say I am going to roast a turkey more often, but I don't. I don't know why. I roast chicken, why not turkey? It doesn't make sense to me, but then nothing makes much sense to me during the holidays. My head is filled with baking cookies, bars and quick breads and trying to decide what to buy whom for Christmas.

So, anyway, back to the turkey. We roasted a 22 pounder and had 8 people for dinner (plus a take-home-care-package-dinner for my niece who was in New York oogaling Daniel Radcliff ~the star of Harry Potter, if you're not up on those kinds of things~ as he came out of the theatre where he stars in Equus. Anyway, we had LOTS of leftover turkey and all the trimmings.

Leftovers, Day One: Of course, the first dish I made using the leftover turkey was the obligatory Turkey Soup, but I punched it up just a little by adding some tortellini I had in the pantry.



I bought some mushrooms and a zucchini, threw in some onion, carrot, celery and our leftover green beans. I make a large pot of turkey stock to use for making the gravy and I used what was leftover from that, plus a little chicken broth, thyme and a bay leaf. I served it with those amazing leftover Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls that I made using the recipe from Pinch My Salt and voila! Dinner is served.

Leftovers, Day Two: I was watching the Today Show Friday morning and saw a segment with the Scottos using leftover turkey and thought, Gee, I think I might have some around here somewhere! One dish that caught my eye was turkey in a marsala cream sauce over pasta. Yeah, I know. I'm a sucker for a velvety cream sauce.

Tom made it Saturday night...



Following is the recipe, cut in half, with Tom's changes:

Fettucine with Turkey, Mushrooms & Onions in a Cream Sauce
Adapted from The Today Show, from Fresco by Scotto Restaurant

1 pound linquine
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup bacon, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup onions, diced
1/2 cup mushroom, sliced
2 cups diced leftover turkey, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup leftover turkey gravy
1/2 cup Marsala wine
salt & pepper
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, combine the oil and butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the bacon and saute until crispy. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the onions are almost transparent. Add the turkey meat and toss to mix evenly.

Add the Marsala wine to the pan and cook for about 1 minute. Add the cream and the gravy, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook pasta according to package directions. When the pasta is cooked, drain, and add directly to the turkey sauce. Toss well to mix evenly. Serve immediately with grated parmesan cheese.


Leftovers, Day Three: By this time, we are wishing we had purchased a 10 pound turkey, but we marched forward. I had some puff pastry shells and a bag of peas and carrots in the freezer, so I pulled those out. I chopped up some onion and celery and made a nice gravy base with a butter and flour roux and the last of the leftover turkey gravy and a little chicken stock. I added the turkey, onions, celery, half of the bag of peas and carrots and a small can of corn I had in the pantry. I baked the puff pastry shells and we had Sort-of Turkey Pot Pie...



I had a little homemade cranberry sauce left so I made a cranberry sauce vinaigrette by adding some raspberry wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sugar, oil and salt and pepper and served it with salad greens and tomato slices. I think it kind of over powered the greens and would have been better on a chunky chopped salad, but it was good enough...



And, best of all, it used the very last of the leftovers! Can I get a Hallelujah!

A New Website and A Contest...

Okay, I know. I completely flaked out on the Thanksgiving posts. I just got too busy to take pictures, let alone post and write about them. But I am about to make it up to you.

Thanks to a heads up from Kim at My Plate, My World, I have entered a contest to win a collection of fine finishing salts: Truffle & Salt, Fiori & Salt, Fennel & Salt, Sweet & Salt, Saffron & Salt, Sea & Salt and Limited Edition Cervia Salt.

You can enter, too...



After entering the contest, I looked around the Marx Foods website and drooled over their products. They have a lot of really great products that we just can't get here. I might just have to make a purchase or two.