TomatObession

In the manner of all obsessions, I didn't realize it was happening until it was too late. A little spaghetti here, a bowl of chili there. A BLT for lunch, a zippy pico de gallo as a snack. Before I knew it, french fries, burgers, and dogs all were naked without ketchup; friday night was and is eternally Pizza Night; and every salad is incomplete without fresh sliced tomatoes.

Needless to say, when I prepped my first garden plot last year, tomatoes were at the top of my plant list. little did i know....

tomatoes are very sensitive. Factor in my severe wet and dry seasons and newbie gardener skills, bam: the perfect recipe for disaster.
In my desperation, I have gone so far as to grow tomatoes upside-down, hanging in a bucket. The latest of such experiments ended up with late blight, a yucky fungus that will ultimately destroy your plant and spread to others.

However, the reason i write today is not to whine, oh no. On the contrary, a pledge to persevere. Rest assured: this is not a passing fancy, a forgettable whim. Deliciously homegrown tomatoes remain my fixation and despite discouraging setbacks, I will not be deterred.

Selecting from an impressive assortment of tomato seeds that kind visitors smuggled in for me over the past year, i picked out disease-resistant varieties.
My latest crop has been fortified with preventative measures of every sort:

• To reduce contact with soil, i.e. soil-born fungi, i have mulched with newspaper and cardboard.
• Note that the plants are raised on mounds, allowing the heavy and frequent rains to run off rather than collect in moldy puddles.
• The tomato bed is surrounded by beneficial plants: anti-fungal garlic, nematode-resisting marigolds, & pollinator-attracting borage
• Branches are appropriately staked on string, & low hanging limbs and leaves are removed immediately to prevent mud saturation
  

My efforts are already paying off:

happily fruiting tomatoes!

To the early blight and late blight, blossom end rot, tomato hornworm, leafminers, and creepy red spider bugs: Gracias for humility & first hand experience; the tomato quest prevails!

out of the garden, into the frying pan

The past few months of gardening I've been testing different seeds, various varieties of my favorite vegetables, most of which i purchased in the U.S. For this reason i've planted sparingly, noting which plants are adaptable to the hot tropical climate, which are pest-resistant, which are tasty, etc. Later i will know which varieties i want to plant in great quantities.
i came home the other day with my latest harvest, eager to cook up a farm-fresh meal!
except,
this was my bountiful cornucopia:

Succotash?

Luckily, i have access to an excellent local market where other farmers regularly bring in diverse harvests! So with a little help from my friends,

and this friend,

dinner began to take shape.

My corn and zucchini, plus broccoli, peppers, onion, carrots, and cabbage quickly fried in olive oil, tossed with a garlic, ginger, and soy sauce combo, toasted cashews on top, all served over brown rice:
One day i hope to grow such a gorgeous array myself!
I tried garlic earlier this year; somehow it all disappeared. rabbits? And ginger grows here as well, though i haven't been able to get its watering needs right. keep on keeping on, eh?

I am bringing in a larger percentage of this delicious Italian favorite:

BASIL ALMOND PESTO

1 large bunch of basil
1 head garlic
1/4 cup almonds
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

1) Separate basil leaves from stems and rinse well; peel garlic
2) Toast almonds (if raw) in an ungreased skillet over high heat, stirring CONSTANTLY, until golden brown

3) Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor (sorry i have no photos of this, but i'm sure you can picture it), adding salt and pepper to taste
4) Spread pesto onto homemade carrot bread

and find a taste-tester

Success!

I used almonds because pine nuts are unknown in these parts, as is fresh parmesan. i've also heard of using walnuts, but you don't see those around here either.

yerbas & spices

Through a process i like to call taste and error, i have come to learn and identify many old favorite flavors amongst a sea of new and unusual looking plants. This process is an integral part of my cultural immersion as plants have become something of a medium in my communication. i love cooking, i love el mercado, i love gardens, and i love plant nurseries. For these loves, i frequently plunge myself into awkward partially-intelligible conversations in which i'm sure i come across as a gringa loca; HOWEVER, i usually emerge with new and valuable knowledge of the aforementioned heart throbs.
Case in point numero uno: my quest for CILANTRO
A favorite of mine, i came into Nicaragua confident that cilantro was as spanishy as a word can get, an herb requisite in mexican cuisine, certainly an EASY FIND throughout all Latin America! Imagine my dismay when i scoured the market, inquiring constantly cilantro? Hay cilantro? Busco cilantro? and the ladies kept showing me this plant:
obviously NOT cilantro, to which i shook my head and kept searching, oblivious to the identical cilantro scent of Eryngium foetidum, commonly known as culantro (with a hard c, like a k) or Puerto Rican coriander. the above plant grows abundantly in our backyard and has become essential in all my soups, sauces, and salads.

Happily, I made the connection between mentha and mint on my own. despite the lack of any apparent physical similarity, the nose knows While i'm content using mentha in my mojitos, we all know this woody plant with rounded leaves is not a member of the authentic square-stem Mint Family. so what is it?

They handed me this one on a plate: Oregano

Plectranthus amboinicus

Also known as Cuban Oregano, Mexican Mint, and Spanish Thyme. Call it what you will, these guys propagate beautifully from cuttings and do wonders for a spaghetti sauce.

My garden boasts two basil varieties--again, smelling is believing.
The purplish leaves are tiny but pungent, and somehow i got the idea that this one is of Thai basil descent, but i haven't made an official identification yet. It does provide a fantastic flavor in combination with coconut milk, garlic, hot chiles, and one final herbal wonder in mi jardin:

Zacate Limón

Andropogon citratum

Nothing beats the zing of lemongrass in a Thai coconut soup! Not to mention its presence as a grassy bed end plant. Stalks are always available and will propagate readily.

¡FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!

January, finally back to my garden! After 5 weeks away, both to my delight and dismay, my tiny cultivated piece of paradise was overGROWN. Some of the plants thrived (check my latino oregano, big leafy guy, probably wouldn't know it's oregano unless you smelled it--it is); sunflowers BLOOMING! squash full-on hijacked the rest of the garden, which was slightly tramatic for me. By hijacked i mean Squash Jungle vining and groping and suffocating other innocent plant babies (all six canteloupes: dead upon arrival); here is a pic of the squash climbing a coffee plant (see the curly tendril?)!! arrrrgh.
I'm currently drying my first batch of oregano and basil, yum.
Right-side up tomates have li'l green fruits! Upside-down tomates, not so much. bummer. they are starting to flower, so maybe they'll just be late bloomers?
So that's that in the garden. Soon I will really and truly share a recipe. think: Pesto and Hummus, but neither...