Green Onion Spaghetti

Green Onion Spaghetti is a meal I grew up eating.  We often had it in the spring, and especially so when my parents gardened. (They gardened sporadically.)  My dad has always loved growing green onions, and now I love to grow them too.  I grow them each spring just so I can make a few meals of Green Onion Spaghetti. You need lots of green onions for this pasta, so make sure you plant a generous amount of green onions!

This is a simple, peasant-style dish. It's basically just lots and lots of green onions, olive oil and pasta. Though we call it Green Onion Spaghetti, we will make it with a variety of long pastas--spaghetti, linguine, cappellini, or as you see above, homemade fettucine.

This dish is delicious with store bought pasta (brown rice and quinoa are two healthier versions of pasta), but if you want to take it up a (big) notch, try homemade pasta. Homemade pasta is quite simple to make and tastes amazing! I've been experimenting with some whole grain, soaked and sourdough pastas, but my recipes are still a little rough. When I get them pinned down, I will definitely share.  But I will say, if you're going to make the pasta yourself, definitely go with an egg-based pasta for Green Onion Spaghetti.


Green Onion Spaghetti

1 lb spaghetti (or other long pasta: linguine, fettucine, cappellini...)
6-8 store-bought sized bunches of green onions
2 cloves garlic
2 T olive oil, plus more for tossing pasta
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese

Bring a pot of water (for cooking pasta) to a boil over high heat.  Meanwhile, heat 2 T olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Mince garlic cloves and set aside. Slice green onions into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces. Add minced garlic to the skillet and sauté for just about 1 minute, or until it becomes fragrant. Immediately add the green onions and sauté for 5-8 minutes, until tender and fragrant. While the onions are sautéing, cook the pasta.  Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl.  Pour a generous amount of olive oil over top and toss until pasta is coated with olive oil.  Add the green onions to the pasta and toss to combine.  Serve in pasta bowls, and top each bowl with salt, pepper and parmesan, to taste.

My 2013 Garden

On my blog homepage, I have tabs to various pages, one of which is my 2013 garden.  I will update this page all throughout the growing season.  I keep tabs on all the items I harvest from my little garden and calculate a cost: what would it have cost me to purchase these items at my local grocery store?  I do this for two main reasons.  The first is that it encourages me to keep at my gardening.  (Wow, look at the money I'm saving us while providing us with delicious, super fresh produce!)  The second reason is to encourage you, my readers, to garden. I want you to be able to see firsthand just how much you can grow in a garden, even a small one. 

My garden is not much to speak of.  Two small raised beds and some pots and trenches on my patio.  Yet last year I grew over $500 worth of produce. And I share that not to pat my own back; I share that to inspire you!  If I can do that, so can you!  I never had a green thumb, I couldn't keep plants alive. I had to read a book to get my garden started.  And I read a new book or re-read an old book each winter prior to starting my seeds, because I am still learning so much.  Every year I have my share of successes and failures...which you'll get to see if you follow along with me. 

As I mentioned above, I keep track of my harvest and how much those items cost.  For each item I harvest, I find the cost of the same item (or as similar an item as possible) at my local, run-of-the-mill grocery store.  I don't use the cost of the organic item, but rather just the cost for the conventionally grown item.  Even though I grow as organically as I can (no pesticides, quality soil), it just seems to make more sense to compare the cost to conventional produce as I know many of you don't buy organic produce.  I'm trying to make a helpful, informative cost comparison.  If you notice that the price seems high to you, please know I'm not trying to spike it to get higher harvest total.  I live in one of the more expensive counties in the US, so costs do tend to run a bit higher here than in many parts of the country. 

So I hope my little garden inspires you to start your own little garden (or BIG garden, if you're lucky enough to have the space).  You can grow something just about anywhere!  

A Chicken of a Deal

Last month one of my co-ops was offering a pretty darn good buy on some bulk chicken, and I had just been thinking on the fact that life is so busy right now--and somewhat unpredictable with two in diapers and all--and how I needed some freezer meals or some semi-prepped food in my freezer for those crazy or tiring days that seem to be...like every other day! 

The price for the chicken deal was great, but there was a catch.  The chicken deal was for 20 lbs of frozen breast/tenders/cutlets of assorted sizes frozen all together in two 10 lb bags.  So, yeah, basically two 10 lb frozen solid blocks of chicken meat...but for an excellent price.  I bought it.

I just finally got around to prepping one of the 10 lb blocks of chicken meat, and here's what I did. I ignored the fact that they were individual chicken pieces.  I thawed the entire package and simply dumped the whole thing in my extra large dutch oven with a little water and slowly cooked all the meat on a low temperature until it was fully cooked, moist and tender.  Then I shredded some and chopped some, and I froze the cooked meat in 1.5-2 lb portions (enough for a meal for us).  It came out to 7 packages plus about 3 cups of chicken broth.  

By cooking the meat completely plain with no seasonings whatsoever, I can now use the meat however I choose.  I can add barbecue sauce to shredded chicken and serve on buns. I can defrost shredded chicken and make chicken salad. I can add chopped chicken to soup or use it in chicken and rice, with pasta or on top of a salad.  Having the pre-cooked meat has already been a help, a time saver and a SANITY saver!!  :) 

Sometimes we just need to think out of the box a bit.  While two 10 lb solid blocks of frozen chicken breast pieces of assorted sizes doesn't exactly sound ideal, with a little thought I was able to make it work for me by turning it into a time-saving, money-saving help.  It was cheap, it was quick and simple to prepare, and now I'm reaping the ease of it all with partially-prepped meals in my freezer.

Blueberry Sourdough Muffins

Blueberry Sourdough Muffins. Makes 24.

Refresh your sourdough starter the night before by feeding it. You will need 1/2 cup refreshed starter for this recipe.
1/2 cup refreshed starter
3 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup yogurt
2/3 cup olive oil
Mix together, cover and let sit for 8 hrs or so until risen and bubbly.

When ready to bake the muffins, whisk together in a small bowl...
1 cup sucanat
2 tsp bkg powder
1/2 tsp bkg soda
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 400. Pour the batter into a stand mixer, add 2 eggs and the dry whisked ingredients. Mix thoroughly on medium speed with the batter paddle. Add frozen blueberries (about 2-3 cups) and stir briefly to combine. Spoon into muffin tins, lined with papers or greased, filling nearly to the top. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.



Some of my favorite plants to grow: Herbs

And my last favorite I'm sharing--of course it's herbs! Fresh herbs can take a ho-hum dinner to magnificent levels. I pick herbs from my garden daily all summer long--for cooking and for making sun tea. Below is a pot brimming with sage (right), purslane (left), cinnamon basil (back).


If I could only grow one thing, it would be a pot of herbs! Basil, lemongrass, lavender, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives, borage...I love them all. Each year I look for a new herb to try or at least a new variety to try. One useful thing about herbs is that many deter pests, so I like to grow them interspersed throughout my garden.

 

Some of my favorite plants to grow: Liliputian Zinnias

I couldn't quite fit in all my favorites last week, so I'm finishing out with two more favorites today and tomorrow. 

Liliputian zinnias!  Since planting them 3 seasons ago, I have been unable to find seeds for them, but it's okay because they keep growing back each year. They are just gorgeous, colorful and bright! It's a joy to see their little multi-colored heads swaying in the breeze just outside my window (pinks, yellows and reds).

Zinnias attract many good pollinators to my garden, and also the little hummingbirds I so love.  If you want more pollinators for your garden, plant these gorgeous beauties nearby.

Some of my favorite plants to grow: Escarole

Another favorite of mine?  Escarole, a vegetable not many around here are familiar with. The way I would describe it is kind of a cross between lettuce and kale.

We love my grandmother's recipe for stuffed escarole. So much so, that my husband and I will split the whole head for dinner!  Breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic, olive oil...what's not to love?