In My San Diego Garden and Kitchen

Mar 15

Mar 15 In My San Diego Garden and Kitchen

How things have changed in one week. Gov. Gavin Newsom asked Californians over the age of 65 on Sunday to isolate themselves from others. I’m thankful for a productive garden and freezer stores. Ziza Urban Farm owners point out that “Growing food for self sufficiency and resilience is especially relevant in times like these when the systems that we rely on for sustenance are under stress.”

I am planting my summer crops a little earlier this year. My bush beans are up and I transplanted 18 lettuce plants this week. April is usually sunny and warm so I’ll likely plant my tomatoes in about two weeks, which is earlier than usual. I’ll not wait for side shoots on my second crop of broccoli.

On the upside, the first of the patio blueberries topped my cereal this weekend. The bush is laden with fruit and aptly named ‘Bountiful Blue.’

I harvested the last of the large heads of ‘Premium Crop’ broccoli. This variety never disappoints in my garden. Stalks are especially tender, heads are extra large and it produces abundant side shoots.

The baby leaf chard growing in a container is perfect for omelets.

The ‘Catalina’ spinach is especially lush this winter. I sautéed it in some chili-infused olive oil I made earlier in the week.

I invited my little neighbor friend to pull a carrot. She found a nice fat one and ate almost half of it before heading home.

Broccoli, carrots and celery from the garden made sumptuous fried rice.

Garden salads almost every day.

This is some of what didn’t get photographed. My son decided to hunker down in the home he’s remodeling in Joshua Tree instead of returning to Downtown LA. He hopes to be working remotely during the Covid-19 crisis. My husband headed to Joshua Tree for the weekend so I gathered kale, celery, lettuce and citrus by headlamp for him to deliver. I also sent some frozen soups I’d made and other staples.