Sow Tired!
+ a revitalizing cucumber lemonade recipe
This week I spent five days in a row in my best garden pants— the pair that everyone thinks are Carhartts, but are actually retired Everlanes. I’ve sowed my vegetable garden, tended to my perennial seeds, laid compost, fertilizer, and mulch in all the garden beds, and finally finished setting up my DIY drip irrigation system, which took three days— not one, like the internet told me it would. OOF! Like Lydecker in the 1944 film Laura, (pictured above), I’m writing to you from my bathtub, where I’m pruning, and hoping the Epsom salts will work some sorcery to reverse the pain in my knees and toes from the hours of crouching. But tired as I am, I’m thrilled that the seeds, literal and metaphorical, have been sown. I’m taking some peaceful sighs knowing that I’ve laid the groundwork for what I hope will be my most successful gardening season yet!
Yesterday I spotted a few green specks poking their way out of the soil in my perennial seed trays— a discovery that went a long way towards assuaging my fatigue. These perennial seeds have walked a long and winding path up to this point! First, I collected faded seed heads at the end of last summer and stored them in paper bags. Then, one autumn afternoon I spent hours pulling the seeds away from their stems and placing them in smaller paper bags. In February, I put the seeds in moist paper towels to cold stratify them in the fridge. In March, I planted them in these seed trays. Then, this week, I covered the trays with cling wrap to help keep them moist and warm, and like magic— life begins again! As a first timer, this experience has been like one big “here goes nothing!” shrug. I’m so excited to see evidence that, like Dr. Malcom said, life does find a way.
Last Saturday, the week began with even more seed sowing, with a party to celebrate the coming of Spring! (That was day one of the gardening pants.) My coven and I sowed a variety of seeds in compostable seed trays, and enjoyed the glorious weather with cake and cucumber lemonade. It was delightful! I also got to use my laminated seed spreadsheet and revel in my nerdery.
Here’s the aforementioned cucumber lemonade recipe, it’s incredibly refreshing! Add some sparkling wine or sparkling water, gin, or vodka to make it a cocktail. It lasts up to 4 days in the fridge, so it can be made ahead. (Or maybe 5 days? The lemons and sugar should keep it perky)
Cucumber Lemonade
1 cup white granulated sugar
7 cups water, divided
2 large English cucumbers
6-8 lemons (for a total of 1.5 cups lemon juice)
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 1 cup of the water. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until chilled.
Meanwhile, peel the cucumbers and slice lengthwise. Use a spoon to remove the seeds and pulp. Cut into pieces, transfer to a food processor, and puree. Pour over a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, using a spoon to press out all of the liquid possible. Discard pulp, and refrigerate cucumber juice.
Juice the lemons and strain out the seeds. Combine the lemon juice, sugar syrup, cucumber juice, remaining 6 cups of water in a pitcher, and serve over ice.
In more seed news, the egg shells I sowed with seed starting mix and alfalfa sprouts are in full swing! I’ve placed them on the wooden bead holders I made, but they’re look cute in an egg carton too. I think I’ll make something for Easter Garden celebration day that I can top with the micro-greens. I like the romantic idea of putting these at our place settings, so we can clip our sprouts right before we eat them.
Speaking of Easter, here’s a couple of my favorite posts from my blog for the season:
Cascarones (Confetti Eggs)
Here’s the best things I cooked this week:
Green Beans with Grain Mustard, Mint, Leeks, Parmesan, and Anchovies
There’s other things on this plate, but the green beans were the standout. I will definitely be making these again! They’d be great for Easter too, I think.
Veggie Melt Quesadilla
I love veggie melts! I usually make them on bread, but more recently I’ve been making them on tortillas. They only need a little bit of cheese, and something a little vinegar-y. Sometimes I use peperoncinis, but on this particular day I used hot sauce. Any veggies and melty cheese will do— these have red cabbage, kale, carrots, and cheddar. For sandwiches I don’t precook the veg, but for quesadillas I give them a little seasoning and wilting in a pan to beforehand to help the whole thing hold together.
That’s all for this Fryday, see you next time!
Kiya