Do you ever come home tired, hungry, and grumpy, and decide that you can’t possibly cook dinner? As you stare into your empty refrigerator, do you start thinking—somewhat hysterically—that you will starve to death in the time it takes to cook a meal and get it on the table? So you order pizza or get teriyaki and end up $25 poorer and not particularly satisfied.

This happens to me, too. More often than I’d like to admit. So I’ve decided to take a cue from our friends Matt and Lisa, who keep a list of quick and easy meals posted on their fridge for inspiration.

At the top of my must-have-in-the-freezer-in-case-of-hunger-emergency list are frozen pot stickers. These tasty little dumplings come stuffed with veggies and cook up in under 10 minutes. I like to serve them in a bowl with a bit of broth and a heap of greens sautéed with garlic and peppers. The whole meal takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, and it tastes way better than take-out.

Crispy Pot Stickers with Garlicky Greens
Pot stickers get their name for a reason—they stick terribly if you try to cook them in a regular frying pan. Adding in lots of oil helps, but the dumplings turn out greasy. I’ve found that cooking them over medium heat and using a well-seasoned cast iron skillet coated with a few teaspoons of oil dramatically reduces sticking—and results in crispy, well browned dumplings.

You’ll need:
1 large bunch of Swiss chard, spinach, or kale
2 large cloves of garlic minced
1/3 cup finely chopped, mildly spicy red pepper (such as Anaheim)
2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1 package of frozen pot stickers (I like Ohana House Organic Vegetarian Gyoza)
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 teaspoons vegetable oil

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, chop the greens into 1 inch pieces and rinse well in a colander. When the oil shimmers add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the peppers and cook until they begin to soften. Stir in the greens (with water still clinging to its leaves) and cook until it wilts and turns bright green, about 3 minutes. Divide the greens between two deep soup bowls.

Pour the broth into a small sauce pan and bring it to a simmer. Wipe out the skillet, then heat the vegetable oil over medium. Place the pot stickers into the skillet, flat side down and cook, turning occasionally until they are evenly browned, about 8 minutes total. Divide the dumplings between the bowls and pour one cup of broth into each bowl. Serve immediately.

Gardening note:
Chard is one of the easiest greens to grow in cool weather. Every spring I sow a four foot long row of Swiss chard. The chard grows and produces leaves throughout the summer, fall, and winter. We eat the greens at least a couple of times a week because they are easy to prepare and very healthy—just one cup of cooked Swiss chard contains over 50% of your daily Vitamin C requirements and 10% of your calcium needs. With those kind of stats, who needs orange juice?

Drinking and gardening go well together, don’t you think? In the summer Jon and I like to pop open a few beers and drink them while we’re harvesting. And I often start my day by grabbing a mug of tea and wandering through my beds. So I was pretty excited when I found out that Seattle Tilth’s fall fundraiser Taste! Toast! Twirl! is a drink tasting extravaganza.

What is Seattle Tilth, you ask?

Seattle Tilth is pretty much the coolest organization ever. Tilth’s staff can teach you how to garden organically, grow your own food, raise chickens in the city, compost, start a worm farm, prune fruit trees, grow greens in containers, and press your own apple cider. They teach kids the concept of peace through gardening, plus all about bugs, soil, and good food. And they have the best Edible Plant Sale on the planet (really!).

Tilth Teaches Kids Peace Through Gardening

How can I support such an awesome non-profit?

You can donate online. Or, if you live in the Seattle-area you can join me at the fundraiser on November 12. It’s being held at Herban Feast SODO—an awesome event space with soaring ceilings, huge exposed beams, vintage lighting and hundreds of square feet of windows. There will be tons of local food to nibble on, tastings of local and organic beer, wine, cider, and soda, live music by The Tallboys and Trio A Propos, and lots of gardeners to mingle with.  What’s not to like?

Click here to buy tickets!

Beautiful Artichokes in the Tilth Demo Garden

As you may have guessed from DigginFood’s design, I am a total sucker for root vegetables, especially carrots and beets. So when I ran across Brooklyn-based designer Jen Harris’ Black Sheep Heap shop on Etsy yesterday I actually squealed out loud…and immediately ordered a Beet the System shirt (which I hope arrives before election day).

Not only does she design totally hip shirts and totes featuring vegetables, Jen also donates part of her profits from the Avant-Gardener series to community gardens in her neighborhood.

Plus, most of the designs are printed on recycled or organic cotton, all of her packaging is made from recycled paper grocery bags, and she ships out orders in envelopes that were either discarded or donated from other businesses.

How cool is that?

I currently have over forty ripe tomatoes sitting on the floor in my office. So when I found out that Andrea over at Heavy Petal had issued a Tomato Recipe Challenge, I had to send a recipe in.

I didn’t end up winning the challenge (dang!), but I thought I’d share this very worthy sandwich with you anyways. It is the meaty cousin of a vegetarian sandwich my friend Emily invented this summer. Her version contains all the of the goodies in this recipe (with the exception of the bacon), plus yellow bell pepper and purslane. Yum!

As much as I liked Em’s sandwich, I couldn’t help thinking that bacon would make an excellent addition. It does. Big time.

Tomato Bacon Sandwich
I don’t eat much bacon, but when I do, I buy Wooly Pig’s bacon at my local farmer’s market. It is the best bacon on the planet. And Thomas Keller agrees with me. He ships this bacon to California and serves it at the French Laundry. If you can’t have Wooly Pig bacon, settle for thick cut slices that are free of nitrates, fillers, and other junk.

You’ll need:
2 slices good sourdough bread
Olive oil
½ of an avocado
2 tablespoons crème fraiche (or sour cream)
4 slices bacon
1 large beefsteak tomato
1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced into four pieces
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tinfoil and lay out each slice of bacon on the sheet. Bake until crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and drain the bacon on a double layer of paper towels.  I always cook bacon this way. No splattering. No flipping. No fuss.

Lightly toast two slices of sourdough bread. Drizzle each slice with your best extra virgin olive oil.

In a small bowl, mash the avocado with the crème fraiche and a bit of kosher salt until smooth. Spread the avocado liberally on one slice of the bread. Layer the bacon slices over the avocado. Cut the tomato into ½ inch thick slices and place three or four of them on the bacon. Top the tomato with the mozzarella. Sprinkle on a good dose of salt and ground pepper.

Place the second slice of bread—olive oil side down—over the cheese. Slice the sandwich in half. Devour immediately.

Earlier this summer my friend Marguerite started a small community garden in front of her house on the patch of land between the sidewalk and the street. She divided the garden into a few plots and invited friends and neighbors to come on over and grow their own food. In just a few short months the garden was filled with greens, herbs, and squash, and Marguerite and the other gardeners were feeding their families fresh food. The garden is a really amazing, beautiful addition to the street and a testimony to how a few motivated people and some seeds can transform wasted space into a productive garden.

Marguerite emailed me last week to say that a plot had opened up in the garden and asked for my help getting the word out. If it were just a tad closer to my house, I’d snap up the spot, but it’s not. So I thought that I’d let all of you know that I think that this garden (and Marguerite) are totally cool, and whoever gets the open plot will be very lucky.

Here’s the kind of gardener that Marguerite is looking for in her own words:

I’d like to get a person (or persons) who really want to put a bit of heart in it and produce some food.  I’m still harvesting several times a week and have not purchased veggies much at all in the past 2.5 months. One of my gardeners has been harvesting and freezing stuff like crazy!

So, if you live in West Seattle, or can commit to commuting to the garden several times a week, give me a shout in the comments section and I will pass your info onto Marguerite. As for the rest of you, I hope this garden inspires you to grow some food in your front yard and to share what you know about gardening with anyone who will listen.

Yesterday the air was brisk and smelled like falling leaves and it put me in the mood to make a big pot of soup. I poked around in the fridge to see what I had on hand and settled on potato leek because it is so simple—just potatoes, leeks, butter, and water—and so very good.

I learned to make this soup when I first moved to Seattle and worked part time at an adorable corner market called the Icebox Grocery. The chef, Carol, made a big pot of soup each morning. Her potato leek was super popular with customers because it came topped with an unexpected garnish: olives. Carol combined chopped olives, garlic, parsley and a little olive oil and swirled a generous spoonful of this “caviar” into each serving of potato leek soup.

It’s a delicious addition—and absolutely easy to make.

Potato Leek Soup with Olive Caviar
This soup comes together quickly and makes a nice meal for weeknights, especially if you serve it with a simple green salad and a hunk of bread. Over the years I’ve added sundried tomatoes, capers, and red pepper flakes to the olive caviar, but it’s up to you if you want to add them in.

For the olive caviar:
¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
2 sundried tomatoes, finely minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Small pinch of hot pepper flakes

For the soup:
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, well scrubbed and thinly sliced
2 large leeks, thinly sliced, white parts only
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
8 cups of water
1 tsp salt
Pepper

Instructions:

Mix the olives, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, capers, parsley and pepper flakes together in a small bowl. Drizzle the oil over the olive mixture and set it aside.

Melt the butter over medium high heat in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the potatoes, leeks, and thyme and toss to coat. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the water and the salt and crank the heat up. Once the soup boils, lower the heat back down and let it simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes begin to fall apart, about 30 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your preferred consistency (or puree it in batches in a blender). Ladle the soup into shallow, warmed bowls and place a generous spoonful of the olive caviar in the middle of each bowl. Serve immediately.

Nope, it’s not a sea creature. Or a tutu.

It’s a cauliflower mushroom.

My neighbors have been foraging for edible mushrooms in the foothills of the Cascade mountains east of Seattle and they found this fungi growing on a log. It was so big they couldn’t eat it all, so they shared it with us.

I have to admit I’m a little gun shy when it comes to eating foraged mushrooms. Which is absolutely silly, because I love mushrooms and I live in the Pacific Northwest, which is pretty much the Mecca of wild mushrooms. So I decided to give this mushroom a try. My neighbor assured me that the cauliflower mushroom is hard to mistake and it is not even remotely poisonous. So I tried a little nibble, and it tasted good, so I ate some more. And I didn’t die!

In fact, I liked it so much, I might just invite myself along on their next foraging trip to see if I can find a cauliflower mushroom of my own.

My favorite time of year for cooking is early fall. Most of my garden’s summer vegetables and herbs are still hanging on—tomatoes, peppers, basil—and all the fall goodies are finally ready to harvest. I made up this stew to celebrate fall and to use up a bunch of the veggies that are crowding our kitchen counter and the crisper drawers in the fridge.

I relied on herbs—rather than broth—to deepen the stew’s flavor. Winter savory, thyme, sage, and basil are called for in the recipe, but most any combination of herbs would complement the squash, tomatoes, onions, and beans that make up the heart of the stew.

Fall Vegetable Stew
The secret ingredient in this stew is a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano rind. I use a lot of this cheese and rather than tossing the hard rinds, I wrap them tightly in plastic and store them in the freezer. The rind softens up when added to soups and stews and lends them a subtle, savory, cheesy taste. Just remember to fish the rind out of the soup before serving.

What you’ll need:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh winter savory, minced
2 tsp fresh thyme, minced
2 tsp sage, minced
2 cups roughly chopped Roma tomatoes
2 ½ cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
2 cups water
1 15-ounce can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch greens (chard, kale, spinach, or beet greens), cut into ½ inch wide ribbons
1 4-inch chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
¼ cup fresh basil, slivered
½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and cook until very soft and just beginning to brown on the edges, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and herbs and cook until the garlic softens.

Add the tomatoes, squash, Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, and water. Bring to a soft boil and cook until the squash is just tender and smaller chunks of tomato begin to fall apart, about 8 minutes. Add in the beans and return the soup to a simmer. Then, stir in the greens and cook until they turn bright green and just begin to wilt. Remove the cheese rind, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately. Garnish each bowl with the basil, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Ever wondered how many peppers it takes to make a peck of peppers? I have. And after harvesting loads of peppers on Sunday, I decided to find out exactly what a peck is. Turns out it is a unit of dry volume equal to 8 quarts.

I haven’t picked a peck of peppers yet, but I’m halfway there! I’ve got four quarts of roasted peppers in the freezer and am waiting to harvest my Hungarian Carrot Chiles and more ‘Jimmy Nardello’ sweet peppers.

Roasted peppers add big flavor to some of my favorite winter comfort foods—stacked enchiladas, tortilla soup, macaroni and cheese, and sweet potato tacos. You can roast peppers under a broiler until their skins blister and char, but I prefer to grill them over a charcoal fire, because they take on a nice smoky flavor. I freeze most of my peppers, and I’ve found that they tend to not stick together if I freeze them individually first, and then pack them into bags. To do this, I first arrange them in a single layer on a pizza tray and stick it in the freezer. Once the peppers are solid, I quickly load them into 2-cup or 1-quart plastic freezer bags and immediately put the bags into the freezer.

When I’m ready to use the peppers in a recipe, I pull what I need out of the freezer, let them thaw for a few minutes, and then run them under warm water. The charred skins slip right off and the pepper are ready to chop and use.

This was by far my best pepper year ever and I give all the credit to the fabulous mini greenhouse (pictured above at the beginning of the season) that Jon and I built. The Pepper Palace, as I called it, kept the plants warm and growing during our cold June and protected them from the chilly evening temperatures we had all summer. I’m going to expand the greenhouse next year so there is enough room to grow eggplants and okra underneath its cozy warm embrace.

Today I’ve got a special sneak peak of Laura Niemi and Pat LaGrego’s gorgeous Seattle garden. This is a garden defined by details–artwork hangs on the fence, vegetables mingle with flowers and plants are placed in spots that capture the afternoon light. I walked out of it inspired and encouraged, because in creating their garden, Laura and Pat completely dismissed the notion that vegetable gardens must be boring (or unattractive) and instead created a beautiful space that celebrates all things edible.

Big, bold vegetables create an architectural presence in the garden. Here ‘Lacinato’ kale (also called Dino Kale) marks the edge of a path. ‘Trombetta’ summer squash scramble up a trellis made from a panel of concrete reinforcing wire.

Pat stung thick rope between fence posts in the sidyard and then trained boysenberries to grow along the rope. It looks amazing and creates a living screen between the pathway and their neighbor’s windows.

The potting bench provides a convenient place to start plants and it serves as a gallery for an eclectic collection of toys and vintage kitchenware. Check out the stack of colanders. Pat and Laura use them to collect veggies, which are then ready to wash in their outdoor sink.

Instead of using plastic cell packs, these gardeners recycle newsprint into biodegradable seedling pots. When I visited the garden they had trays of fall peas lining the potting bench.

On summer evenings Pat and Laura like to serve home brews (made with homegrown hops) to friends on their patio. Little lanterns like this one help light up the night.

I love the idea of attaching a shelf to the fence to store tools and other garden odds and ends.  And note the basket. It’s filled with little vases so Laura always has one handy when she wants to make a bouquet. I’m on the hunt for a cool wire basket so I can use this idea in my garden next summer.

The cutest accessory in the garden just might be Slink the Cat, who spends most days sunning himself on the pathways. Lucky guy!

Next Tuesday, I’m posting a sneak peak of an inspiring Seattle kitchen garden that’s filled with found objects and heirloom vegetables. But I couldn’t resist sharing my favorite part of the garden: a broken birdbath bowl nestled into a collection of herbs. Love it. Love it. Love it.

This morning the gardening blogosphere is buzzing about Kitchen Gardener International’s latest Eat the View video. Eat the View is a grassroots campaign to convince the next president (whomever he may be) to plant a kitchen garden on the White House lawn.

The latest, and thoroughly charming installment, is a cartoon history of kitchen gardening at the White House. Quick fact I learned: the White House once had a greenhouse, but it was torn down to make way for the West Wing. Who knew?

Thanks to Elizabeth over at Garden Rant and Robin at Garden Help for spreading the word about the new video campaign. Definitely take the time (3 minutes and 20 seconds) to watch it! Afterwards you can wow your friends and family with presidential planting facts. And do your part to encourage the White House to go green by signing the Eat the View petition. I signed it earlier this summer!