Medicinal Herb Garden

I've converted a strip of grass near the street in our front yard into a medicinal herb garden. It is lovely. I've planted

- Burdock

- Borage (Star Flower)

- St. John's Wort

- Holly Hock

- Yarrow

- Echinacea

- Hyssop

- Bergamot

- Bee Balm

- Chamomile

I can't wait to start drying and using these herbs!

Putting Basil and Tomatoes to Good Use

I never feel like I have too many tomatoes or too much basil, especially when they are home grown. 

If you're harvesting more tomatoes than you know what to do with, try sun drying some. All you have to do is wash them, cut them in half, put them on a screen of sorts and leave them in the sun for a couple of weeks. Put them skin side down, and it is a good idea to cover them loosely. You want some air flow. The cover helps to keep out boogers and also deters the squirrels. Someone told me recently squirrels are smart but lazy, so if you make it hard for them to get to something they will likely go and pillage someone else's yard.

As for your basil - make pesto. Throw bunches of basil (remove the stems), Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, garlic and some olive oil in the food processor. Boil up some Farfalle (bow tie) pasta, grate some smokey provolone cheese, cut up some kalamata olives and boil some chicken. Mix all of the above together with the pesto, add some of the pasta water in so it is not dry, season to taste - delicious!

Local is Best - Visit Full Circle Farms!

It has been some time since I've blogged, with work and play keeping me busy. I'm enjoying work at Lam and have been spending all of my free time working in the yard. Tomatoes are growing, green beans on the second harvest and cucumbers probably win for most productive so far this season. Roses are struggling, but that keeps it interesting!

If you live in the Bay Area, check out Full Circle Farms http://www.fullcirclesunnyvale.org/wp_fcf/index.php in Sunnyvale. It is a volunteer run effort to help educate people and kids about sustainable farming. Best of all they have a vegetable stand and weekly produce program that I am excited about - first delivery next week. I bought some basil and squash from the stand and they were great - affordable too. If you want to volunteer they have lots of opportunities as well as pot luck dinners. It is a retreat in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Bay Area!