Fruits (and Vegetables) of My Labor

Sometimes, time spent and labor put in doesn't always amount to visible progress made. What I love about gardening is, well, not only is the progress visible, it's edible!

Often, a side effect of cooking as a chef in a 2 person household is dealing with waste, manipulating leftovers, and honestly, utilizing trim and vegetable scraps. I started buying organic potatoes after realizing the terrible spray that is applied to most conventional potatoes that inhibits sprouting and therefore "extends" storage life. Organic potatoes only last a few days until they get the green ring of death underneath the skin (that makes them poisonous to eat), so I inevitably end up with potatoes I'm often salvaging by removing parts of them in one form or another. With two potatoes that were sprouted beyond salvaging for consumption of any kind, I decided during these crazy times I might as well grow some potatoes of my own out in my garden. After all, a rotten tater isn't just a rotten tater, it's an invitation for a new beginning. And, well, many new taters!

Below you can see the fruits and vegetables of my labor from my humble backyard garden. The kale from the few plants I've had has been endless! I would be willing to place a wager that they will need to be harvested again in a week or so! It has been pecked by birds a little, but it still tastes delicious when sauteed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and added to almost any dish!

I've also got some butternut squash that are just starting to produce, as well as some cherry tomatoes and red basil! The two "rotten" potatoes that I planted in the garden months ago have produced easily 24 smaller potatoes or more. Now that is some math I can get behind! They have stayed fresh for over a week in a brown paper bag because they are literally as fresh as possible.

Up next on the roster in the next couple weeks is some jalapenos, beefsteak tomatoes, more cucumbers, sugar pumpkins, and peppers! I also dried some of the red basil I harvested (can't let that beautiful herbaceous goodness get wilty on me!), stored it with some humidity packs (these can help prevent mold and maintains the perfect humidity for dried fresh herbs), and can't wait to use it as a garnish on a couple fall desserts in the coming weeks! I love fall so much, the clove flavor from the red basil will be perfect!

With the potatoes that I harvested, I decided to make a classic gratin with them. We had some cave aged Gruyere in the fridge and some Parmigiano Reggiano, that was all the inspiration I needed to let my garden-fresh potatoes sing as the hero in this cheesy side dish. Then, I went ahead and made a cheesy sauce for the burgers we had with them. Because, well, Gruyere. ;) With all the fatty-cheesy-starchy-heavy-greasy-yummy-addictive-deliciousness of a meal I was creating, some quickles (quick pickles made with vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices of your choice) from the fresh cucumber I had in the fridge from the back yard just made sense here. With a food saver or vacuum sealer of any kind, quickles with some good flavor can be made in 20-30 minutes!

One last "fruit" of my labor, and that is completing the design and printing of my new branded material. With the new menu release complete and orders coming in, new packaging was in order! So, I present to you, new Flour Child Stuff packaging and door hangers. These custom printed boxes are exactly what I imagined, and the door hangers are perfect for when I make deliveries! I have to take a second here to give a big THANK YOU to Corporate Business Cards in Franklin Park, IL for doing the printing of these boxes and door hangers! They are exactly what I was looking for and I got them from right here in the Chicagoland area! Win, win, if you ask me.

www.corpbuscards.com

Through all the brainstorming, labor, watering, digging, planting, designing, cooking (and fruit eating ;) ), progress has been made. That's for sure. And lessons have been learned, both under the shade of my floppy garden hat and over the heat of the stove as I cook and test recipes. My favorite part of it so far has been this. Documenting the journey. That is just one big lesson for life, if I do say so myself! :)