Life, Gluten Free

Our Organic Garden 2012, Part 3

Gardening is in our blood! We didn't even realize just how much we'd love it. This is our second year, and we're ready to expand for next year.

Loading our back hatch with tons of veggies? Priceless.

We've also learned a quick cure for flea beetles, which are small beetles that like to dine on just about everything in your garden.. especially when your plants are at their most vulnerable seedling stage. They are called flea beetles because they jump. We thought we'd might lose most of our green bean seedlings, but fortunately we found a "cure."

I mixed up essential oils of neem, peppermint and oregano into a spray bottle with water. I only had to re-apply a few times before the flea beetles were gone. Our green bean plants are now hardy and producing a bounty for us.

I planted two varieties of green beans, one called Blue Lake. It's one of our favorites. The beans inside are grayish purple, and the taste - from the pod to the bean - is buttery and rich. (Once steamed, we eat them with sea salt and coconut oil).

Our tomato plants are lacking a bit this year. They are taking longer to ripen, which I've heard could be contributed to the hotter temperatures this summer.

But when they ripen, they are very tasty. Especially these sun gold cherry tomatoes.

We love that our meals are consisting of mostly vegetables we're growing in our garden!

Do you garden, what have you grown this year?

Other Posts in our Garden series:

Our Organic Garden 2012, Part 1

Our Organic Garden 2012, Part 2

What Our Garden Grows (2011)

Plantain and Onion Fritters

Plantains are a staple in our house. 

One of the local natural food markets in our area, Alfalfa's, stocks organic plantains. I told the produce manager to please keep them in! We purchase a huge stack basically every week. And every single time, someone notices them in our cart and asks us how we cook them. I've had conversations with strangers, just about plantains, how to cook them, how to know when their ripe and what to season them with.

That's normal.

Maybe I should keep index cards of this recipe and hand it out.

Perhaps we've already inspired some of our fellow shoppers to cook plantains. That is, if there's any left after we raid the produce section. 

Plantain Fritters

makes about 25

no: eggs, dairy, gluten, grains, soy, tree nuts, sesame

Ingredients:

3-4 Plantains (ripe ripe ripe)

1 Yellow onion, diced

Coconut oil

Sea salt

Directions:

You want to use pretty ripe plantains, that are starting to become soft.

But not yucky mushy.

If they are firm, they work well for fried plantains. 

Use a potato masher or fork to mash the plantains. 

Once mashed, add diced yellow onion, a dash of salt and mix well.

Start with measuring 3 tablespoons of coconut oil and add it to a stainless steel skillet on medium heat.

Once the oil is warmed, take a spoonful of the plantain batter and form into a pattie shape.

I was able to fit about 5 patties in my skillet at one time.

Every stove is different, adjust the temperature if you need to but cooking on medium heat works on my stove.

Flip using a metal spatula when the fritter is browned on one side (about 5 minutes).

When each side is browned, transfer to a plate and keep cooking until the batter is gone.

Be sure to keep an eye on the oil, as you will need to add more. 

If the oil gets low in the pan, the fritters will begin to stick.

Lightly salt the fritters, and serve with a sauce (we like them with guacamole).

 

Cake Bars with Plum Icing

Some foods look nearly too good to eat.

Enter these Cake Bars with Plum Icing.

So pink and pretty that you just want to keep taking pictures.

Or maybe that's just me.

Sophie on the other hand, was more than willing to eat them *right away*

Yep. They are that good.

Cake Bars with Plum Icing

makes about 14 bars

no: gluten, grains, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, sesame

Ingredients:

2 cups finely shredded coconut

3 tablespoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons coconut cream (directly from jar, not melted)

Icing Ingredients:

2 black plums (the ones with deep red inside, and black skin)

2 tablespoons coconut cream (directly from jar, not melted)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

Directions:

Gather all the ingredients for the cake bars and add to a food processor.

Process until well mixed.

Using a spatula, transfer the batter into a rectangular stoneware or glass pan (not greased).

Pat the batter down with the spatula, distributing it evenly in the pan.

Allow to chill in the refridgerator (uncovered) while you make the icing.

To make the icing, slice the plums to remove the pits and add all the ingredients to the food processor.

Blend until everything is well mixed - including the coconut cream (there may be a few specks, no worries, it hardens and looks pretty and speckled).

Use a spatula to spread a nice layer of the icing onto your cake bars.

Cover and refridgerate for several hours until chilled and firm (it took about 3 hours for me).

Slice into bars (if too firm, leave out for a few minutes before cutting).

Serve and enjoy!

FAQ: We buy our coconut products from Tropical Traditions and highly recommend their coconut cream concentrate, shredded coconut and coconut oil :)