Seeds are Sprouting!

The title might be a little misleading. It really should be 'Seeds are Starting to Sprout.' I came home from work yesterday afternoon to this:

The Happy Rich mini broccoli has started sprouting. I can see little sprouts about to push their way through most of the cells. Also, the Arugula disk we planted has began to sprout. No sign from the other herbs or the leeks yet.

Dark Days Update #15: Eggs, Kielbasa, & Hash

Monday night Gail decided to revisit breakfast for dinner for our most recent Dark Days meal. Fried eggs with cheese and an absolutely awesome homemade hash! I carnivore'd mine up by adding a really great pan fried polish-style kielbasa.

The hash was awesome, so good that I told Gail it is better then a hash you would get in most restaurants, and it was incredibly simple. Diced potatoes, garlic, and onion, cayenne pepper, black pepper, kosher salt.. Gail stir-fried the mixture in about 2T of olive oil in a wok. When it was done I tossed my portion with kielbasa and black pepper.

A hearty and simple breakfast for dinner!

Local Ingredients in the Fried Eggs & Hash: Eggs (Jane's Backyard Chicken's), Cheese (West River Creamery), Potato (City Feed & Supply), Onion & Garlic (Red Fire Farm) Kielbasa (Pete & Jen's Backyard Birds & Farmyard).

As of this writing we are 1 month away from the end of the challenge. The Dark Days are almost over!! In the last 15 weeks I've written up 15 meals which focused on Sustainable, Local, Organic, and Ethical ingredients. We ate many more local meals then that though. Throughout this challenge many of my meals have included at least a few local ingredients in addition to the non-local ones. Many conventional and staple items in my diet were supplemented with great local produce, sauces, meats, and cheeses.

One more month to go!

Long Time No Blog!

What can I say, sometimes life gets in the way of planning out the garden, daydreaming, and blogging. It's been a few weeks since I've had time to blog about my delicious meals or plans for spring, but Gail and I took a stroll to our plot last weekend and it looked pretty good:

Considering that a few short weeks ago the plot was likely buried in at least a foot of snow, I'd say things aren't looking too bad. While at the Wayland Winter Farmer's Market 2 weekends ago, I picked up some supplies to start spring on the right foot! Last year we weren't assigned plot and working in the Garden until the last weekend of April, so I plan on getting in there just as soon as I can.

With this in mind and some free time on Sunday, Gail and I began our minimalist seed starting operation:

The 9 circular pots make up the bulk of our herb garden which I will be moving to the plot when the weather is right for it. For now they can sit on our windowsill and soak up some residual sunlight. In the back is a flat of mixed sized cells containing Leeks & Mini Broccoli.

I plan on starting a variety of salad greens in the near future as well.

Soon I'll be cleaning up the plot and getting it ready for a new season. With our seed starting operation it's hit me that spring is on the doorstep!

Are you planning your garden and starting seeds inside too?