Last year I started a garden for Earth Day, thanks to a CNN.com iReport assignment I decided to partake in. Here's a a bit from my iReport:
"CNN PRODUCER NOTE Kalani Kaikaka of San Jose, California, says his grandparents passion for gardening inspired him to start growing his own vegetables. "My garden is fairly small, but it has all the same veggies that I used to help my gramma and grandpa plant and care for." Kalani Kaikaka is growing tomatoes, bell peppers and jalapeños, all of which he plans to use to replicate his grandparents' homemade salsa.
- stein0726, CNN iReport producer"
Not my greatest writing but hey, it was a start! I documented, via pictures, the growth of my garden and the foods I made with the fruits of my labor. Here are a few pics from when I started out and the progress I made in the coming months:
As you can see, it literally went from almost nothing and blossomed to a growing beast. I actually had to completely remove one of the zucchini plants because it branched out into 3 large plants and started to block out sunlight to some of the tomatoes. It was an awesome experience since it was my first garden and from what you can see, successful! The problem began when I began picking more veggies than I could eat. In fact, more veggies than I, my 2 roommates, and all my friends and neighbors could eat! I got pretty creative though, making several different dishes with the same ingredients.
The first dish I made was a type of rice and chicken porridge. I didn't really follow any recipe for it because I was craving porridge and I needed to use up some of the veggies. I basically just boiled the rice and chicken in water until it was a thick constancy, then added the veggies and boiled it just until the veggies were tender. Salt and pepper were my only seasonings...
Next I made a simple beef and veggie stir-fry. It consisted of just beef, zucchini, onions, celery and bell peppers. I used oyster sauce, a dash of soy sauce and pepper to season. Threw it on a bed of rice and that was that. Super fast, super yummy, super easy!
While at the supermarket one day I came across Thai red curry paste and decided to give it a try. I bought chicken and a can of coconut milk then did a quick stir-fry of a sort with jalapenos, zucchini, bell peppers, basil, onions and celery. I then added the curry paste, water and coconut milk (all to taste). I love spicy food and this dish was SPICY! My roommates didn't eat much due to the heat... hahaha, more for me!
Finally I made an Indian style chicken curry and my first ever homemade naan bread. To make the curry, I used a generic pre-made Indian curry mix that I bought at a local Indian market, but added the exact same ingredients as the Thai curry. The naan bread was my first attempt to make it at home and although I didn't have the high heat tandoor oven that's typically used to make naan, it came out pretty close to the real deal! From a picture, you can barely tell that it came from my oven!
At this point both my roommates and I were veggie'd out! Aside from my red and yellow cherry tomatoes, which were ridiculously yummy and we ate them like candy, we didn't want to see another vegetable in front of us for a long time...
It was a great experience though. I had other veggies I attempted to grow but none were as successful as the ones in my grow bed. I started another garden again this year and I encourage everyone to grow at least one plant a year. Start small though. It can be time consuming (and somewhat addicting).
Peace & Poi,
Dis Hungry Hawaiian
The first dish I made was a type of rice and chicken porridge. I didn't really follow any recipe for it because I was craving porridge and I needed to use up some of the veggies. I basically just boiled the rice and chicken in water until it was a thick constancy, then added the veggies and boiled it just until the veggies were tender. Salt and pepper were my only seasonings...
Next I made a simple beef and veggie stir-fry. It consisted of just beef, zucchini, onions, celery and bell peppers. I used oyster sauce, a dash of soy sauce and pepper to season. Threw it on a bed of rice and that was that. Super fast, super yummy, super easy!
While at the supermarket one day I came across Thai red curry paste and decided to give it a try. I bought chicken and a can of coconut milk then did a quick stir-fry of a sort with jalapenos, zucchini, bell peppers, basil, onions and celery. I then added the curry paste, water and coconut milk (all to taste). I love spicy food and this dish was SPICY! My roommates didn't eat much due to the heat... hahaha, more for me!
Finally I made an Indian style chicken curry and my first ever homemade naan bread. To make the curry, I used a generic pre-made Indian curry mix that I bought at a local Indian market, but added the exact same ingredients as the Thai curry. The naan bread was my first attempt to make it at home and although I didn't have the high heat tandoor oven that's typically used to make naan, it came out pretty close to the real deal! From a picture, you can barely tell that it came from my oven!
At this point both my roommates and I were veggie'd out! Aside from my red and yellow cherry tomatoes, which were ridiculously yummy and we ate them like candy, we didn't want to see another vegetable in front of us for a long time...
It was a great experience though. I had other veggies I attempted to grow but none were as successful as the ones in my grow bed. I started another garden again this year and I encourage everyone to grow at least one plant a year. Start small though. It can be time consuming (and somewhat addicting).
Peace & Poi,
Dis Hungry Hawaiian
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