That’s awesome. I’d love to have a garden if I didn’t hate the idea of home ownership and being outdoors, but stories like those are really awesome to read :-D
Cooking-adjacent, but remember how I mentioned burning-to-carbon a huge portion of rice in my big stainless steel stock pot during the Korean menu thing a week or so back?
6 applications of barkeeper’s friend, a ruined steel wool pad, two passes through a dishwasher, and three vinegar-boils later, there are still countless black spots left on this fucking pot. I HATE these spots. They will not ruin my fancy pot, goddammit!!!
As much as you cook, man, you have GOT to bite the bullet on this one. Look up container gardening, specifically grow boxes or similar. Start with herbs and you’ll never look back. If you’re looking for NC perennials, start with rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, and green onion. In addition to rainwater, I hit them up about every 2-3 days in spring/summer. In separate indoor/outdoor pots, plant you some basil, cilantro, parsley, and whatever small herbs missed. Those containers need to come in when the weather turns. They get more water as well, but it’s because the reservoir on those containers is smaller (in my case.)
If I can do it, you can. I KNOW you’ve had scraps or herbs you’ve bought that have gone bad at some point. Maybe you’ve even tried a whole plant herb and had it in the kitchen for a while. I don’t have much of a yard, everything I have is in containers that can be moved in/out or around based on the sun that time of year.
Do it. You’ll love what it does to your dishes and cooking.
My wife (a Houston native) craves fajitas from time to time, and she’s commented that previous recipes I’ve tried have tasted “too Asian”, which I don’t take personally, but rather as a reflection of the amount of soy sauce in many marinades (including, e.g. the otherwise well regarded Alton Brown recipe).
That supposed Ninfas recipe uses a bit of soy sauce, but is predominantly citrus and pineapple juice. It also eschews a lot of fancy spices for just black pepper and a couple of crushed chiles. I ended up being unable to find chiles de arbol at the store, but used japones, which the internet tells me is an acceptable substitute.
The result was pretty decent. It didn’t taste quite right, but my wife did appraise it as tasting “more Mexican”, so that’s a good start, I guess. I don’t think I’m getting the hard, fast sear that I want (cast iron on a gas stovetop), but I can’t tell if that’s a significant gap or not. I’ll probably try it outside on the grill next time. I’m happier with this than I’ve been with most other versions though.
@Timex that is a pretty awesome little potato that could, there. I should have done the same. I do re-sprout green onions and I’m about to replant some store bought I’ve done that to. Those look like little pepper plants in the bottom right. jalapenos?
@Misguided Man, those wings look over the top! [/guyfieri] Are they fried and grilled, just grilled or some combination? And can I ask how you did those chili garlic wings?
I only just moved into a house a few months back, but the last few years have done precisely this. I’ve grown tomato, basil (grows like crazy, and never stops, got a plant been continuous yield for a year), oregano (finnicky and low yields), lettuce, parsley, and cilantro. It’s the way to go.
For Christmas I got an aerogarden which also did great. the lettuce pods on that gave me 6 months of all the fresh lettuce I could want. Another great option to consider for apartment growers.
You’re gonna think this is the dumbest damned thing, but I genuinely dislike going out on our balcony during the summer time because it’s a favored nesting haven for some very persistent wasps (which I’m deathly afraid of to the point of outright phobia). I more or less treat our apartment like it doesn’t have an outdoor component!
The indoor grow stuff is something I’d like to consider. . . once we get the insane clutter problem we’ve developed under control. I’ve in particular wanted to grow curry leaf plants for years now, but they can get pretty sizable!
Hey, this is actually a problem that putting out a small herb container can handle. Grow some mint, hell, place it near that wasp nest. You can also put some peppermint drops into a spray container with added water and spray around the area of your balcony. They hate it, and before long you’ll be wasp free. Assuming you aren’t like me and go directly to the wasp killer spray option.
Now, granted, that’s a pricey unit that you probably would have to think long and hard about. But it does work very well, and there are other options including a new revamp of this line to hold 9 pods instead of the 7 mine holds. But look around, there are smaller/ cheaper models that could be worth taking a look.
Because, lets be clear, I have this one because of Christmas. I wouldn’t have likely dropped that cash on myself.
Awesome. Because fresh basil is one of the greatest things for chefs, and fresh cilantro and parsley are great while their dried cousins nearly worthless.
Seriously, cooking with dried parsley is almost completely pointless to me. Just… ugh. Now I never have to with fresh available all the time.
I covet one of thse AeroGardens, myself. I just need room to put it somewhere in the kitchen. I have some of these for the stuff that goes indoors and outdoors during the year. They make different sizes. The biggest pain with herbs is they need supervision with water. It’s not hard once you get into a routine with it. But anything like that AeroGarden or something with a water reservoir really helps. You have less failures that way. You can get a basil plant at Harris Teeter for like $2.99, assuming you don’t want to go to Lowe’s and get it even cheaper. Within a week of planting it, you’ll be converted. Fresh basil in anything is insanely good.
Lady Macbeth:
Out, damn’d spot! out, I say!—One; two: why, then
'tis time to do’t.—Hell is murky.—Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and
afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our
pow’r to accompt?—Yet who would have thought the old man to
have had so much blood in him?
I’ve actually got Genovese and Thai basil growing. Which, yeah. The Thai is going nuts too. I literally filled a gallon bag two weeks ago, and am ready to fill another. All from a single pod!
I do like it to add a little splash of color to finished stuff without having to worry about over-flavoring it. Shake a bit over some pasta, for instance, without having to go through the trouble of mincing actual parsley.
Strongly agreed on the fresh herbs front, though. Except thyme, which triggers my cooking OCD in the worst way (I get really obsessive about de-stemming it and take forever to produce even a modest pile of thyme. Wait. I do the same thing with parsley and cilantro, which ALSO take me forever to prep).
I literally had too much last year. There is only so much basil you can use. I had three basil plants not knowing how insane they grew, Italian basil, Thai basil and purple basil. All were great, with some pretty noticeable differences in flavor. But holy shit they grew like weeds!
I experimented with drying some, but really only did the Thai basil. I’d highly recommend it, I used the microwave technique, then I have it stored in a plastic ziploc and throw it in dishes occasionally.
I had BBT’s last year during the peak growing just to try to get rid of some: bacon, basil and tomato sandwiches.
Armando I get to the point with thyme that if it isn’t the woody stems, I just chop up steams and leaves as one. Picking the leaves off of a green stem is a measure in pain. Off the woody ones, you can zip all the leaves off really quick.
Just remember that soapy water in a cup and a little courage means dead wasps. I’ve posted it before at least twice on this forum, but it’s been pretty transformative for me re: wasps.
They do not get mad and fly around and sting you. They just die.
The issue there is the “courage” part. I had a few experiences as a kid that were kinda scarring, re: wasps/bees, and at this point, it’s full-blown phobia territory. Which I know is dumb, but it is what it is :(
Just tell a drunk neighbor that the wasps need a drink and invite them in. I’m sure you can whip up something you have on hand to compensate them for it.
