Who knew carrots could taste so good?

E

evan

Well-known member
I was dining and wining this easter and had the best carrots ever at a restaurant.

I usually don't care much for carrots, but these were good.

Of course, I got the "recipe" (read: instructions) from the chef, and here it is:

Chop carrots with a riffle edged knife.

Put some olive oil in a pan and saute the carrots some (I think a minute will do).

Add a little water, and let the carrots steam for a couple of minutes. After a couple of minutes the water should be gone.

Then add finely chopped garlic. Saute some more and then add salt, pepper and finely chopped parsley leaves.

The serve.

I loved it!!!!

 
NFRC: Eva - it's nice to hear from you again! I'm so curious...how is your...

...tomato growing project coming along? Is your snow all gone by now? Ours is finally gone, but I awoke Easter Sunday to fresh, fluffy snow!?! The recommended time for transplanting tomato seedlings here is more than a month away, so there's still a bit of a wait...but I'm already itching to get started!

 
LOL - my tomatoes has taken over my dining room >>>

I planted all the seeds I had.
I now have tomato plants on every horizontal surface in my dining room - the floor included smileys/smile.gif

THEN I discovered some gorgeous yellow cherry tomatoes and some black russian tomatoes that I wanted to try so I got seeds from the tomatoes (now I pray they are not hybrids) and planted these too.

Since I have a soft heart I couldn't bring myself to throw away any of the tomato plants that have started growing - so I have a total og 120-something tomato plants. Can you imagine!!!

I just pray that some of them will die (but they seem to grow just fine for now). Thank goodness I just bought a small farm. I have plenty of land to grow tomatos smileys/smile.gif

We still have some snow here but spring is FINALLY here and I hope the snow will be gone by May.
I can safely plant the tomatoes outside by June, and then I'll just cross my fingers and I'll have a couple of months to dig up some really good tomato recipes because if I'm not mistaken I'll have some 300 pounds of tomatoes by August! smileys/bigsmile.gif

 
While we're on the subject of planting, any advice about strawberries? More...

I bought some plants (Tristar) about 5 years ago, but they only lasted about 6 years. Now I tried again last year, and they all died and never grew.

Any particular kind that grows good in the northeast? I think you plant them in the spring, but don't expect any fruit until next spring, right? Are everbearing better than just the 3-week kind? I know what I read, but do any of you have eExperiences with both/either?

I also would like to find out how to keep the weeds from overtaking the patch... any good ideas out there? Thanks.

 
I don't know what strawberries would be good

as I have discovered that we have different kinds here than in the US.

As for weeds taking over, you can use plastick (black) between the rows. My dad uses plastic and plant the strawberry plants in holes in the plastic. He hardly ever has weeds.

I have no idea why your strawberries from last year died. Could the winter have killed them? Are you sure they were hardy enough for your zone?

What kind of soil do you have, btw???
Strawberries usually don't fancy soil that has too much clay.

 
ROFL! I am envisioning your dining room! That's SO funny!...

I can identify with your situation. My problem is I always want to try out too many varieties. If I every do try starting tomato plants with seeds, I could potentially end up with more plants than you ;o)

I'm glad they are doing well for you and that you have the space to plant them all. I had 18 plants 1 year and gave away so many I think even my neighbours and friends had their fill of them. One year I started weighing my non-cherry varieties and yielded 125 pounds from 12 plants. If you have a good year...who knows...you may need to open a tomato stand and start selling ;o)

Because our season is relatively short here, a lot of the tomatoes have to be picked before the first frost and need to be ripened indoors. That can be another logistical problem...think of oodles of tomatoes laid out in newsprint-lined boxes, and well...any other suitable receptacle that can be put into service.

And you're right - have your recipes ready to go...there's that time when they all seem to want to ripen at once - LOL!

Well, good luck and I hope you have a lot of fun growing your tomatoes!

 
OMG! I haven't thought of the short growing season!!! >>

I will probably have to ripen the last fruits indoors too as we have frost here early too.

OR we'll have fried green tomatos for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a few weeks LOL!!! smileys/smile.gif

 
I'm north of the Montana border...

...in roughly central Alberta. Snow in April is uncommon here, although not unheard of, hence the late planting season for bedding plants. In mid-March, this year, we received 10" of snow within a 24 hour period, on top of approximately 8" from the previous weekend. (And how does 10" of reported snowfall manage to come above my knees?! I know there's a scientific reason for that but it puzzles me.) But we can't complain...we had more snow in March that the entire rest of the season ;o) And a little bit of snow and cold isn't so bad at all, compared to the severe weather so many others have had to endure!

Switching topics, I too found RuthSF's excellent information on the herbs, particularily the Stevia, interesting and helpful. The one time I grew Stevia I thought it had an artificial sweetner taste to it. It will be interesting to see if your plant matures past that - to the point were it tastes like real sugar!

 
LOL!!! You ARE too funny!...

...All I can say is start looking for green tomato recipes too...LARGE quantity recipes ;o)

 
I planted 120 Tristars early last spring. The instructions that came with the plants said to only

expect the patch to last 3-4 years. After that, you should remove the plants and relocate the patch to prevent disease. Plant something else there (not berries) for a few years.

I'm in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and the Tristars seem really happy here. (Of course, I've been pampering them.) They were developed in Maryland and are supposed to be suited to all kinds of environments.

I like the day-neutral variety (production from June to fall) because we have so many other fruits ripe in June.

We were able to harvest a lot of berries last year, even though I'd just planted them. I cut off the flowers for the first couple of months to let the plants develop roots.

 
It's all different here in CA, but my gardening book from New England says:

Strawberry plants have to be planted with the crowns at exactly the same level they grew. They're also sensitive to alkali soils, and don't do well where lime was recently applied.

Pick the flowers off the first spring to get the plants established. Everbearers can be allowed to set their second, summer crop the first year.

Some gardeners let the runners fill in to form a matted bed, others insist on cutting them off or transplanting them so all energy stays in the mother plant. Try it both ways.

After four years, root and transplant enough runners to start a new bed. When that one is up and running, dig the first one under.

From "Grow It, Cook It" by Jaqueline Heriteau

(Here they plant new plants every year. They don't winter over because we don't have much of a winter)

 
Hi Dawn! I bought some established plants from the Amish and they immediately

bore fruit all summer. Unfortunately, after watching the gazillionth chipmunk strolling through the patch and taking a nibble out of each berry, I got royally ticked off and ripped out each and every plant.

 
LOL! That darned wildlife!...I have a similar problem with porcupines...

...once they discover my stash of healthy goodies, they mow down my Swiss chard, spinach, beet tops, pea shoots...well, everything but the tomatoes and the pepper plants. I got a real smart one last year...wouldn't fall for the normal treat-in-a-trap trick lol! And then she had the nerve to bring her teenager and baby to the buffet too!!! (All that hand-watering - groan!)

Between the porcupines, ground hogs and deer it's a constant struggle...Who knew deer ate tomatoes!?! And how does that porcupine get into my fenced-in front yard and managed to eat the roses off even my tallest prickly bushes! (Then again, what's a prickle to a porcupine?! lol!)

And berries...well...between the squirrels, birds, and since last year, chipmunks too, I cede control on that front - lol!

And the 2 year vole population explosion we just went through...I could literally stand in front of my perennial bed and watch them drag off lily stalks and iris leaves - bold as all get-out! Those were the worst!

A love gardening - it's such a nice relaxing thing to do...back to nature and all ;o)

 
Don't you love it, Ruth?! My DH figures after adding in expenses, time and stress,,,,

each tomato I pick has cost me about $5.00!!

 
LOL! Oh those number crunching types...what do they know anyway?! This is real live food...

...we're creating...kinda like art. It's transcends logic and rational thought processes ;o) Besides, I've always been told that anything of true value is worth struggling/fighting for...and I'm holding onto that philosophy...well, at least until the voles come back in force again - lol!

 
I tasted a piece of the tiny little plant in the pot and it tasted like sugar to me, already...

Too much aspartame in my diet maybe! ;o)

I'll let you know, as it matures.

 
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