The greenhouse!

At last, my new hobby greenhouse is up and running. I thought this day would never come. So many things went wrong, so many delays, terrible instructions, installers who didn't keep their promised dates, who had to do things twice because they misinterpreted the pictures (the only instructions).

This greenhouse is pretty much a mini version of the one I had at the farm - 6' x 8' instead of an 18' x 24' commercial greenhouse in which I grew several thousand plants each season. So I knew what I needed here. No sense putting up a greenhouse if you do not follow some basic principles that will get you lovely home-grown plants.

I looked at a $200 (sale price) hobby greenhouse at Harbor Freight. After doing a good bit of research, I decided on one a little heavier, with more features. I got it at Home Depot. The one I chose had some pretty good reviews, and some pretty horrible ones. Since I always read the bad ones first, I decided I could get around the problems many purchasers had with this model by doing a more robust installation.

I hired two men to put it together for me, me being a single 75 year old woman. In spite of lifting weights three days a week, I am pretty sure it was beyond the scope of my capabilities, even with a little help. Since I wanted much more than the "normal" greenhouse, it cost a pretty penny. There is electricity run to it (how to plug in heat mats, radios, lights and fans?), and after looking at pictures of these greenhouses lying in pieces on the ground after a strong wind, I bought the tie-down kit. The installers set the anchors into concrete instead of just screwing them into the ground. They also built a 4' x 8' frame made of 4" x 4" untreated lumber (still doing that organic thing, so no treated lumber) and set it on corner posts, also set in concrete.  In addition, I bought the automatic vent opener and a shade cloth. So many people think that you want all of the sun and heat you can get, but the sun will scald your precious plants if they get direct sunlight, and the heat will cook them.

Here are a whole bunch of pictures of the project, from start (parts all over the ground) to finish (heat mat plugged in and bringing the temp up to 80℉ to optimize tomato seed germination). I have no idea what I am going to do with 300 plants. I have room for maybe 50 of them here, including the flowers I am growing. Tomatoes? I can plant about 10 of them in pots on my deck, and I'm going to try growing a few in the greenhouse. They are organic heirloom plants, indeterminate, and I'm going to try to grow them on twine in the greenhouse, where I can control heat and light. I can dream, right?

I'm happy.

The puzzle laid out on the ground

Getting there

Electricity done

Note guy wires - the anchors are in concrete!

A place for indoor growing - I'm dreaming of fresh organic kale in January.

Shelving had to be jury-rigged to get 8' of continuous shelf. Bad design! But we made it work.

French Breakfast adishes and butter lettuce coming along

Seedling tray - finally arrived and filled with organic seedling mix

Note the split door. This means I can get a cross breeze without having to keep the door open. Too many geese in this neighborhood! I can imagine them going in and having butter lettuce and French Breakfast radishes for lunch. If not geese, then the rabbits. Or perhaps Fred will go on a digging expedition.

Hoping to get a crop before it gets too hot. Blistering yesterday! 

Erin and Tim came over, and Tim got the end shelves level. I still need to add wire cable in the corner, but I'm ready to roll!

Thermostat to control heat mat. It's working on getting temp up to 80℉

At last! Growing things!!

Vent still closed this morning, but it will open as the temperature rises.

NEW RECIPE - Susan's Low Carb Chili

With the hint of fall in the air, it seemed time to update my chili recipe. Getting the nutritional values right is very time consuming. I built a model so that I can do it my way. It allows me to play with the recipe, adding or minimizing to get a healthy number of carbs per serving in the finished product without compromising flavor.

All that being said, here is my chili recipe. A few things about it. First, those darned tomatoes! They are a fruit, you know, and so they contribute nearly half of the net carbs in the recipe.  If you want to trim 1.5 carbs per serving, cut them in half. That's the big hitter. Even the onions don't amount to much, and they add a spike of flavor. It's the tomatoes. Sigh . . .

Second, I have written about my views on black soybeans, so you might want to leave them out if you are going to make this often, but I will repeat what I said in my earlier post - a few soybeans are not as bad as a piece of pie. So make it an every now and then treat.

Last but not least, I watch Bobby Flay and Anne Burrell for inspiration frequently, which has made me cognizant of texture and flavor when I am developing a new recipe. So you will see a couple of ingredients in here that are a bit unusual - finely chopped celery for a little bite (and almost NO carbs!), and white wine vinegar, the zero carb kind, to brighten the flavor.  Thanks, Anne and Bobby.

Susan's Low Carb Chili

1 tbsp. olive oil 1/2 C. finely chopped celery 1/4 C. finely diced onions 1 tsp. toasted ground cumin 1 tbsp. chili powder 1 poblano pepper, seeded 1 lb. ground beef 15 oz. can black soy beans, well      rinsed, not turtle beans Diced tomatoes,14 oz. 1 tbsp. tomato paste 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar        (no carb kind) 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 C. roughly chopped cilantro 1-1/2 C. water

Finely chop the celery, onion and seeded pepper. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan over medium high heat, then add the vegetables. Put in your chili powder and ground cumin. It improves the flavor of the spices if they are cooked prior to adding the crumbled ground beef to the pan. Once the spices have released their wonderful aroma and the onions are soft but not brown, add the ground beef. Keep the heat on medium high and stand over the burner until the hamburger is cooked almost through. Don't burn the vegetables while you are cooking the meat! Watch over the process. This is no time to check email.

Now add the rinsed soy beans (if using), tomatoes, tomato paste, cilantro, vinegar and salt. Stir to combine well. Add a cup and a half of water. Taste for seasoning. Now is the time to add salt if necessary. Bring to a low simmer, cover the pan and cook for a half hour to an hour, stirring occasionally. NOW you can check your email!

In the picture, there are a couple of garlic croutons on the edge of the bowl. They are very low carb, but that recipe is for later. You can top the chili with butter (which smooths out the tartness of the tomatoes) and sour cream or shredded cheese. Just remember to add in the carbs for the additions. All three are very low carb, but they need to be accounted for.

Revision to original nutritional data! (I'm still working on my model, found major error this morning!)

Nutritional info (with soy beans):

	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Calories
TOTALS	3.32	10.29	1.70	112.00
% of total calories	11.8%	82.2%	6.0%	100.0%
Calories from:	13.3	92.6	6.8	112.6

Bon Appetit!

Susan Siemers
From Devonshire House Low Carb Delights

Susan's Low Carb Chili

Greeting fall with mixed emotions

Fall is undeniably here.  The mosquitoes have already calmed down a bit, and soon they will be gone. This year was really miserable for those of us who don't like heat mixed with high, high humidity. I am one of them, and feeling cooler air today is welcome, even with the humidity. However . . .

There hasn't been a frost yet, nothing even close, but the plants are looking pretty sad. No amount of water or tender loving care will make up for the fact that summer annuals have a genetic life span, and it is nearing the end for many of them.

I love the zinnias at the front of my house. So cheerful! They are multi-colored, some tall, some medium, some short. They shaded the delicate shade-loving impatiens well enough that they are still looking quite nice. However, the zinnias, not so much.

Sad zinnias

Sadder zinnias

As for my tomato garden on the deck, they are done. I am just letting the last crop of tomatoes hang on the sad, brown plants in the hope that they will ripen before they rot. They are almost all Moldovan Green, my favorite tomato, so even though they look very un-ripe, they are not. I brought in two last night, one for supper with my wild salmon, the other one sitting on the counter for today's lunch with some cottage cheese and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Sad tomatoes

Sadder tomatoes

A few of my mums made it through the winter, and I notice one is just full of buds. One of these days I will have to tell the ragged looking zinnias that they have served their purpose. I will blow them a kiss and then pull them out to make room for the mums to show off.

Mum budded out - it's having its day.

I planted several lavender plants against the foundation, bought from the booth that sells everything lavender at the market. The owners, Mike and Doreen King of Lakeside Lavender & Herbs, tell me that I need to trim them back this fall. They will be healthier next year if I do so. The smaller ones on the right are best for culinary uses, so they will get extra tender loving care.

Lavender against wall

Culinary lavender, smaller

Even the basil is sad - but this was a GOOD GOOD YEAR FOR BASIL.

There are several perennial herbs hidden among the zinnias that will be useful well into the winter - tarragon, oregano and thyme.

Oh, and I planted potatoes last spring. It's time to go on my potato search. Two organic potatoes yielded eight potato plants. Now if I can just find where to start digging!

Isn't it wonderful what one can do with foundation plantings?

My unusual foundation plantings

I don't get much full sun anywhere on this lot - except for the front of the house once the sun goes around the dogwood tree in my yard, and before it is blocked by my neighbors' hard maple next door. So it is my herb garden, and whatever else I find room for that needs a good bit of sun.

Like rhubarb. Yes, I have rhubarb next to my front door. It provided enough for one rhubarb strawberry pie, which I served at my Dinner on the Deck event a few weeks ago. I also planted tarragon (which died), English thyme, lemon thyme and oregano last year. All but the tarragon flourished.

This year I added a rosemary tree, which one of the contractors stepped on but I think will survive, and six lavender plants. (Contractors got two of those, hoping they will make it as well.) Now that the contractors are done working on the front of the house, I put in the rest of the plants that have been waiting for them to get out of here, starting with zinnias and the summer savory. Last year's dead tarragon plant got replaced with two new ones -- can't have too much tarragon. Or summer savory either. It tastes like oregano with elegance. And it behaves better, too. I edged the whole thing with my favorite easy care flower, bright red impatiens. A friend gave me a HUGE petunia plant, which I have sitting in the middle of the bed because it gets automatically watered every morning, so I don't have to worry about killing it. I plan to have her over for lunch frequently so she can take care of dead-heading it. Maureen, I'll be calling you! Are you ready for another lunch on the deck?

Oh, and I planted some organic potatoes. They make pretty plants and aren't too bad on the table either. Since I rarely eat potatoes (they are loaded with carbs), this 18" row of potatoes will provide a year's supply for me.

These pics are pretty pathetic, but I have to provide you with a baseline, right? They'll only get better from here on. I'll keep you posted.

Oregano is already taking over.  What's new?

Tarragon, rosemary, culinary lavender, lemon thyme and some posies.

Rhubarb really is pretty, isn't it? English thyme at its side.

Summer savory tucked in the corner. One of my favorite herbs.

I love to cook

Bouquet garni on cookbook

Six of my friends are coming over Sunday, late afternoon, for a Harvest Moon Feast.  I have been toying with several different menu options, but as of now, this is it.  It is getting too late to change my mind again!

Bar opens at 5:00

Dinner at 6:00

French lentil salad in Boston lettuce cups

Rabbit with shallots and pickles, basted with brown stock
Sauerkraut with bacon, potatoes and white wine
Courgettes in olive oil and butter
Leek toast

Apple pie with 7-year old white Cheddar or vanilla ice cream


I am just starting the brown stock, and I went outside with a flashlight and scissors to harvest rosemary, thyme, basil and parsley.  I tied them together with some bay leaves tucked into the bundle.  The scent of the bouquet garni is about to make me faint with hunger!

Are you hungry yet?  I haven't had supper, but who wants to eat plain food when this is on the horizon?  Think I'll just have some homemade chevre on rye crisp to go with my Martini and call it a day.  .

Harvesting yarrow

I have gotten a run on yarrow cream orders, in part because of a post that Susun Weed did on her Facebook page regarding yarrow cream.  She has a link from her wonderful web page to mine, so a lot of people found me.  If you Google yarrow cream, there are 1,900,000 sites that get listed.  An entry's placement in the list depends on how many hits it gets - the more people choose a particular site, the farther up the list it goes.  Well, thanks to Susun Weed, my site got so many hits that it has moved to the number one spot!  There was an article in a health magazine about yarrow cream, and a health food store that carried the magazine got a lot of calls for it.  So the owner Googled yarrow cream and voila! there was my company's name, at the head of the list.  So this has all snowballed into a much higher than usual demand for yarrow cream.  I'm not sure how long this will last.  One jar of cream goes a long way.  However, yarrow is seasonal, and I don't make the base for the cream and the yarrow sticks too far in advance since I don't use chemical preservatives. But if demand keeps up at even half this level, there is not enough yarrow base in the workroom fridge to carry me through until next April.

Yarrow blooms heavily in the spring.  There is another pretty good bloom in the fall - usually!  We have had crummy weather this fall - very cool and a lot of cloud cover.  Yarrow likes bright sunshine in order to send up its lovely flowers.  While the leaves are effective, I definitely want to include the flowers when I make my yarrow base.  So today, I headed out with my special yarrow pan to harvest what I could.

In the spring, I go to Paddock #7 and walk in about a 10' circle for all of the yarrow I need to make several sixteen-pound batches of yarrow base.  Today I walked five paddocks and had to work hard to get enough for one.  I'm hoping the sun continues this week so that I can make another batch next weekend.  But for today, I'm glad I found enough for one, and I'm glad I had to work so hard at it!  Why is that, you might ask?  Since I had to widen the area I was walking, I got to experience a lovely day outdoors, full sun, crisp breeze.  I lit the wood stove this morning to take the chill off the house and the breeze was carrying the smoke from the chimney across the paddocks where I was walking. That is such a lovely scent!

One of the paddocks is down by Crone Creek, which is running hard.  We put in a creek crossing so that the lumber trucks could get into the woods to take out a few large trees that were interfering with proper growth.  The crossing creates a small water fall, and I love the sound of it.  I got a couple of proper rains last week, so it is quite lively right now.  I stopped by the crossing just to enjoy the sound and the sight of it.  Yarrow could wait.

I found two different spots with small firm puffball mushrooms, which I gathered to add to some soup I had simmering on the stove. Puffballs are one of two mushrooms I'll pick, because they don't have any nasty look-a-like cousins. A puffball is a puffball is a puffball.  The first year I lived here, I found one while mowing lawn and was sure that there had been some kids down here with a soccer ball without my permission. When I went to move it, I discovered it was a mushroom. That was my first experience with them. I found out that they are pretty tasteless, but if you slather them with butter, add a healthy sprinkle of garlic salt and grill them in a heavy skillet, they are pretty good.  But then, wouldn't just about anything taste good with butter and garlic? Here is a picture of that first one.  Pretty impressive, isn't it?

It is always a good thing to walk the pastures.  This is what the cows eat, this is what is making milk.  So it was interesting to see which of the paddocks I walked are holding their own, and which could use some help - top seeding, lime application, more mowing next spring.

The yarrow base is bubbling on the stove.  The soup was sipped as I wrote this.  The pumpkin pie is just about to come out of the oven.  I think I will make a pint of vanilla ice cream to top it.  I am not superwoman with all of this cooking - I just like kitchen machinery and do not hesitate to put it to work.  Gotta love that Cuisinart ice cream maker.  Well, the timer is calling me to get that pie out of the oven.  Gotta run.

All in all, it was, and remains, a lovely day.