kelseydo veggie garden

Over the weekend Nick’s family and I planted vegetables from small plants and seeds in our shared vegetable garden. We are hoping to grow some kale, corn, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, cucumbers, red peppers, squash and peas. I also moved the herbs that I had been growing in trays out to the garden. It’s ridiculous that I feel like some kind of green mad scientist doing a crazy herb experiment when people do this all the time in their backyards/windowsills and it is no big deal. I’m hoping that people in the city who would never think to try growing their own herbs or vegetables will read this and think: If this chick can do this, I can definitely do this.

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So far the best part of growing my own herbs is the never-ending Mint leaves aka Mojitos!

I’ve been making Mojitos in a different way recently and they are definitely not as sweet/sour/tart as I used to make them but they are way more refreshing. Also you can drink more of them and they are just as boozy! I recommend you give this recipe a try, let me know what you think:

Mmmojitos!

Refreshing Mojitos

*Makes 2 servings

1. Fill martini shaker half way with ice cubes

2. Pour in 3 oz light rum (I use Bacardi)

3. Pick 10 fresh mint leaves and break them up into pieces before putting them in the shaker

4. Squeeze in juice of half a lime

5. Add 1 1/2 oz of simple syrup (I make this by stirring 2 teaspoons of sugar in a cup of boiling water)

6. Put the shaker together and shake it up for about 30 seconds

7. Pour the mixture in the shaker over ice in a tall glass (or a short glass for more of a liquor kick)

8. Top the glass with soda water and add a quarter of a lime on the rim of the glass

Cheers! I am now incredibly thirsty.

kelseydo herbs from seeds

We got a weekend of good weather in Vancouver last week so I decided to get out and get down in the dirt. I have never really done any gardening before but I have always thought it would be cool to grow your own food. Equally as cool is growing your own wine (grapes), which my Mom & Dad are doing in the Comox Valley.

The vineyard at Woodvine

Right now it just looks like they are growing blue tubes but that’s because it’s only the vines’ 2nd year and they’ve been cut back. Most likely there won’t be any harvestable grapes for a few more years. This is part of the reason why I need to start getting my green thumb on- so I can help out in the vineyard!

I helped weed the vegetable garden that we share with Nick’s parents’ family in Vancouver to get it ready for planting. It is a little weird that there are still green onions, swiss chard and italian parsley growing in the garden that lasted through the winter. This year we are talking about planting eggplant, kale, carrots, onions, celery, yams and lettuce when it warms up a bit more. We might plant the veggies from seeds, or there is a huge plant sale at VanDusen Botanical Garden this Sunday where we could pick up some of the vegetable plants.

Nick loves to use fresh herbs for cooking so I wanted to try growing a herb garden as well. I made an attempt to grow them from seeds indoors, which is a little sketchy. I watched a bunch of youtube videos but then ended up just doing it my own way (usually not a good idea). I found a couple old trays kicking around with good drainage and bought the seeds and seedling soil and got to it. I planted Sweet Genovese Basil, Thai Basil, Cilantro, Parsley, Thyme and Rosemary.

Herb Seeds Day 1

I don’t know why I all of a sudden thought I could grow things. I don’t have a very good track record with plants. My mom bought me an African Violet (the world’s easiest to care for plant) and I killed it. Too much water I think. About five years later she bought me a tomato plant and I killed it. Not enough water. Then two years after that she bought me an Orchid and I killed it. Too much water.I bought myself some Succulents about a year ago which are also supposed to be super easy to take care of and guess what? Killed them too.

I recently acquired a few potted plants: basil, zucchini, tomato and peppermint,  that are now awaiting their fate. If you have any tips on how to keep these things alive, let me know, I need all the help I can get.

My planting perseverance must have paid off because there is green stuff popping up in my herb trays five days after planting!

Sweet Genovese Basil Day 5

Tomato Plant with Thyme & Thai Basil Day 5