Growing your Greens…and Blues, Oranges, and Reds!

Today is a good day. The blog is back, AND we have a new contributor, Melissa. Melissa is great at everything. She knows her stuff, is willing to take risks, and always has the best attitude. Melissa is my go-to person for all things gardening. She is a master gardener with a flourishing organic backyard. Melissa is going to share her tricks for starting your own garden by planting seeds in the spring and watching them grow into hearty plants you can enjoy all summer and into the fall. We are glad to have you at Hammer Sparkle Chalk Melissa!

Cheers, Olivia

Growing your Greens…and Blues, Oranges, and Reds!

This is my first blog post…ever! I’m so excited to be sharing it with all of you and on one of my favorite topics, gardening. For me, there’s nothing better than getting my hands dirty and reaping the fruits of my labor with a bowl of fresh veggies at the end of the season. There’s something special about being able to grow the very thing we need to survive and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love food?

Every year I plant my own garden from starter seeds. Today, I am going to teach you how to start your flourishing garden from seeds!

To start things off, you need to know what Grow Zone you are located in and learn about your frost date. It would be a shame to start your plants too soon and have them get murdered by cold temps.

Next you’ll want to decide what you’d like to plant and when to start it. Use the Grow Zone chart to get a better idea of timing. Some plants grow better in different areas of the country, don’t be afraid to research or peek over your neighbor’s fence to see what grows well in your climate. I’m in zone 5b so plants that produce fruit quickly such as tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, and beans grow well in my backyard. Knowledge never hurt anyone, educate yo self.

To get started with your seedlings, you’ll want to be sure you have all the supplies. Here’s a quick list:

• Potting/seed starting soil: Seed-starting soil is lighter than soils you use in your backyard. This allows moisture to be distributed nicely around the seed.
• Container: Compostable containers work nicely (I use these old Honest Tea sample cups) so you can plant them directly into the ground or in a pot once you’re in the clear from frost. Other containers people use are plastic trays, egg cartons, TP rolls; really, the options are endless.
• Water: Essential for germination and plant growth
• Seeds: I prefer heirloom, organic seeds, but it’s completely up to you and what you’re into.
• Marker or something to label your containers
• Spray bottle
• Optional: gloves, shovel, grow light

Step One: Figure out quantity of each seed you’re planting and label your containers! I wrote on the side of mine, but in the past, I’ve made little flags using toothpicks and sticky labels.

Step Two: You’ll want to start off by moistening the soil. Pour water into the soil container and mix it until it’s moist, but not wet, no mud pies happening here. No special tools needed to mix, I used a stick and my favorite tool, my hands. When it starts to clump together, you’re ready to fill your containers.

Make sure the containers have adequate drainage by poking holes in the bottom if they are not already present. Scoop some soil into your containers and tap it on a solid surface to distribute the soil and move it down. Do not compact the soil! This makes it hard for the new roots to establish. NOTE: Make sure your cups are full of soil so there’s plenty of room for the roots to grow.

Step Three: Next up you’ll need to create a little seed divot by sticking the tip of your finger in the top layer of soil in each container. There are several methods, but I’ve found a hole three times the size of the seed depth works nicely. If it’s a little more or less, don’t worry! No need to break out the ruler, just get it as close as you can. Place the seed in the hole you created, making sure to place the seed in the correctly labeled cup. Lightly bury each seed with the soil.

Step Four: Water. Water is SO important during the germination process. What’s germination? It’s the step where the plants bust out of the seed, establish roots and turn into a plant. This cannot happen without water, it’s how the seed breaks down and knows it’s time to get growing.

With your spray bottle filled with water, spray the entire top of each container. Don’t just spray in the area where you planted the seed, you want to evenly distribute the water so the surrounding soil is moist as well. Again, we’re not making mud pie,

Step Five: Place your seedlings in a warm, sunny spot, water them daily and watch them sprout!

Happy Growing,
Melissa Cerda-Richards

Citrus Pork Loin

This week we had a delicious dinner. I was trying to use up ingredients in my fridge and landed on a pork loin. I also had some grapefruit and clementine and thought, “these could be good together.” I was in the mood for a hearty and tasty dinner so I decided to create a marinade for the pork loin. In true Olivia fashion I added a little bit of this and a little bit of that and ended up with this delightful dinner.

This recipe is a great one you can prepare in the morning before you go to work and ready to throw in the oven when you get home. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 grapefruit
• 2 clementines
• ¼ cup soy sauce (I used gluten free)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 T dried onion (or you could use minced onion, but I didn’t have any)
• 1 tsp rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 T olive oil plus more for frying
• Pork Loin
• 1 cup chicken broth

Step One: Prepare your bag. You will combine all the ingredients of the marinade in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. TIP: Fold over the top edge of the bag to make it easy to add ingredients without the bag falling over or closing-up on you.

Peel, juice, and chop the grapefruit and clementines into the Ziploc bag. Add the soy sauce, onion, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper, and olive oil to the bag. Seal and combine the ingredients. TIP: Feel free to taste your marinade before you add the meat. This way you can ensure your flavors are all added in the correct amounts. If the flavor doesn’t seem quite right, add a little more of the ingredient you feel is lacking.

Step Two: Add the pork loin to the bag. Seal the bag. Place on a plate in the fridge for 1 – 24 hours. Rotate the bag occasionally to ensure all the meat is getting face-time with the marinade.

NOTE: If you don’t prefer pork, this recipe would be tasty on chicken as well. You will just need to adjust the time you cook the chicken based on they type of chicken you use.

Step Three: After the pork has steeped in the marinade for 1 – 24 hours, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While the oven is heating, sear the pork loins on the stovetop. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil. Once the oil is hot place the pork loin, fat side down, in the hot oil. After the first side is very browned (almost black) flip the loin to sear the backside. Continue this process until all sides are browned.

While the pork loin is browning, pour the marinade still left in the bag into a small saucepan (chunks and all) and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally.

Step Four: Once the meat is browned, remove from the skillet and place, fat side up, in an oven-safe dish. While the skillet (the one you just removed the loin from) is still hot pour about 1 cup of chicken broth into it and scrape the burned bits from the bottom (this is where much of the flavor is trapped). Pour the broth and the scrapings into the bottom of the dish with the pork. Pour the hot marinade into the dish as well. Be sure some of the marinade chunks land on top of the pork loin.

Step Five: Place the pan in the hot oven. Bake for 15 – 30 minutes (depending on the size of your pork loin. I baked two so they took closer to 30 minutes) until the center of the pork reaches 145 degrees.

Baste the loins with the sauce from the base of the pan as they bake. This will add a little more moisture and juice to the pork loin.

Step Six: When the pork loin reaches 145 degrees internally, remove from the oven. Slice into round discs and serve immediately. TIP: I served mine with jasmine rice cooked in chicken broth (instead of water) and sautéed kale. To top it all off, I used the sauce from the pork pan. Yummy!

This dish was great even the next day for lunch. I saved the sauce and heated it on the cut pieces of pork. It was still juicy and full of flavor.

What is your favorite hearty meal?

Enjoy! XO – Olivia

Roasted Radishes Recipe from Brewer’s Night at The Masonry

Remember how Danielle is always in-the-know for cool things to see and do around Seattle? Well lucky you, she is sharing one of her favorites with you today! Enjoy! XO – Olivia

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Photo courtesy of http://www.stephenklise.com

Last month, I attended a Brewer’s Night event at The Masonry, one of my favorite Seattle restaurants located in Lower Queen Anne. While it is THE spot to get some of the best Neapolitan-style pizza in the city and sample an always impressive tap and bottle list, today we are highlighting The Masonry’s highly anticipated Brewer’s Nights.

Photo courtesy of http://www.stephenklise.com

What does a Brewer’s Night at the Masonry entail, exactly? Well, the restaurant hosts a brewery or distributor who provides five to seven different types of beers to be served as part of a fixed menu, along with dishes created and thoughtfully paired with each beer by Executive Chef Lucas Neve. Lucas and a representative from the brewery or distributor introduce what is being served as each course is delivered and each beer is poured. They explain why the dish is paired with each beer, a little background on the recipe, how the beer is made, and why it’s special.

The night’s menu.

The January Brewer’s Night I attended featured five beers courtesy of B-United Imports, with five perfectly paired dishes for each beer. While all of the dishes were superb (I’ve never had anything bad come out of that kitchen), the Roasted Radishes were the surprise of the night. The sharp and bitter flavor you get from a raw radish was considerably mellowed, with the texture similar to a cooked potato. The flavor of the crema that was served with it added the perfect amount of zing.

Lucas has generously shared his recipe, and offered some beer pairing tips for us amateur beer and food lovers (or for those outside of Seattle who don’t have Lucas to do the pairing for them!). Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m excited to present your new favorite way to eat your radishes!

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Roasted Radishes with Avocado & Radish-Top Crema

Photo courtesy of http://www.stephenklise.com

You will need 8-10 radishes per person, with good tops. Remove tops and save. Toss radishes in olive oil and kosher salt, and spread out on a baking sheet. Roast at 425 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until fork-tender.

For the crema you will need:

• 1 Avocado
• 1 C Sour Cream
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 Lime, juiced
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 C Radish Tops, cleaned and finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.

Spoon about 1 Tbsp of crema on a small plate and smear across. Scatter radishes over the top of the crema, and finish with additional pinch of salt and twist of fresh ground black pepper.

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Photo courtesy of http://www.stephenklise.com

HSC: Why did you choose to pair this dish with the Reissdorf Kölsch?

LN: A Kölsch is essentially a lager recipe fermented as an ale, which gives it a very distinctive flavor profile. It has the very bright, clean notes characteristic of a lager but the ale yeast allows the biscuity malts and floral and citrusy hop notes to come through a bit more clearly. 

The roasted radishes come off as a much more starchy vegetable than the raw form, which works nicely with the malt profile. The avocado and radish tops in the crema pair nicely with the earthy notes in the beer, and the tang from the lime and sour cream match the hop character. 

HSC: Sounds legit. Any other food and beer pairing advice for us? 

Photo courtesy of http://www.stephenklise.com

LN: There are a few different ways to approach pairing food with beer. The pairing of radishes with Kölsch could be called a “like-with-like” pairing, matching flavors in the glass with flavors on the plate. Sometimes we pair by contrast, matching sour beers with dark chocolate or big roasty stouts with a mold-ripened cheese like Camembert. You can also leave a gap in the flavor profile of the food and use the beer to fill it. We did a deconstructed Philly Cheese Steak, with New York strip, roasted red pepper purée and soubise, and paired it with the Almanac Sourdough Ale to fill the role of the bread. Ultimately, if it tastes good that’s all that matters. If a beer makes you think of a certain food, cook that to go with it. 

Thanks, Lucas!

For information on upcoming Brewer’s Nights at The Masonry, visit their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheMasonryPizza

Nom nom nom ::burp:: -Danielle