flowers | Pasta Princess and More

Are you a flower eater? A what??? Do you just look at the lovely flowers on your plate or do you eat them?

I grew Nasturtiums this year in the garden for the sole purpose of adding beauty to my food, and also because I do eat edible flowers. I have read that the entire Nasturtium is edible right down to the leaves and can be mixed in with a salad. I have an overabundance of lettuce this year and despite eating salads for dinner 3-4 times a week I cannot keep up with my lettuce. This is one of my favorite salads. Not only is it pretty to look at, but it tastes great! My favorite ginger soy dressing brings it all home. ENJOY!

Ginger-Sesame Dressing – Source: Epicurious.com (slightly adapted)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
2 tablespoons peeled and minced ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons orange juice

Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Process until smooth.

Salad Ingredients:

Mixed greens
Arugula
Avocado
Red Pepper
Grape tomatoes
Crumbled blue cheese
Mushrooms
Grilled Chicken
Nasturtium

As a society in general we spend our lives waiting, and in effect “wishing our lives away” …waiting for the weekend, waiting for vacation, waiting for our birthdays or holidays and the list goes on and on. We don’t focus enough on the present moments in life and get impatient waiting for things to happen or events to occur. I often find myself guilty of this and catch myself thinking “I can’t wait until my seeds come up, I can’t wait until my plants get bigger, I can’t wait until my tomatoes form, I can’t wait until I can pick and eat my tomatoes”. Gardening is a great teacher and cultivator of patience. It teaches us that in due time we will be rewarded by our patience when we take that first bite of a delicious sun ripened tomato or make a salad from lettuce just picked out of the garden. Instead of spending our lives waiting and becoming impatient, why not appreciate and enjoy each moment, being still and observing all that is good in that very moment.

Growing tomatoes from seeds

seedlings

… to the garden.

Growing Tomatoes From Seed For the First Time – What I learned:

I started a variety of heirloom tomatoes from seed for the first time this year. It still amazes me that I took a tiny seed, planted it and look what I have now! Nature is quite simply amazing!.

Besides cultivating patience, I have learned things that I will do differently next year. I started my tomatoes too early (March 10^th).

Our last frost date here in Ohio is May 21^st. Next year I plan to start my seeds inside the last week of March or the first week of April. They grew so fast!! I will also have a fan circulating around the tomato plants while they are growing under the lights. This will encourage the tomatoes to develop thicker, stronger stems. I will also be sure to keep the tomato plants 1-2 inches from the light. I had tomato plants this year growing in different heights, and the tomatoes that were furthest away from the light grew leggy as they had to reach higher to grow to the light. All is not lost if your tomato plants are too leggy! I had quite a few like that this season and I planted them as deep as I could go up to the first set of leaves.

Soon … my patience will be rewarded and I will be enjoying tomatoes from my garden. I am growing 20 tomato plants this season and plan to can salsa, sauce and enjoy many Caprese salads!

In addition to vegetables gardens I also enjoy several flower gardens throughout my yard: