Christina's delicious dessert

The one and only Christina Ramsey made this dessert for an RLC function years ago and I begged her for the recipe but this weekend was the first time I've ever tried it. It was delicious and super easy to make :-)

6 cups frozen mixed berries - about two bags

1/2 cup sugar

1 TBSP corn starch

Double batch of Bisquick

3/4 cup sugar for top of dessert

Make the double batch of Bisquick according to directions, but add 3 more TBSP milk. Put berries and 1/2 cup sugar in pot on stove on medium heat. Add 1 TBSP cornstarch and bring to a boil, then move back down to medium for 6-8 minutes. Place the berries in a 10X12 or 9X13 pan. Drop Bisquick mixture onto berries by the spoonful. Sprinkle 3/4 cup sugar over topping. Bake according to Bisquick instructions (I had to back about 20 minutes on 450 degrees). I served it warm with ice cream on the side. So scrumptious! The only thing I would do different next time...I might try to roll the dough out so it lays over the berries better resembling a crust. But dropping them on worked just fine!

Garden Lesson #3 - water BEFORE you try to pull the weeds/grass!

The garden is coming along. I just refuse to give up, even though it's more work than I ever could have imagined. I'm about zucchini-ed out, having eaten them roasted, fried, sauted, baked in bread, etc. so I'm excited that the garden is about to start producing some other stuff - watermelon, a butternut squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and I just planted some hot salsa peppers and bush beans...we'll see if they take!

Anyway, onto the next gardening lesson...and this one is a real gem - if you have a lot of weeds to deal with, your efforts to pull those suckers out will NOT be in vain if you water the area first and then come back to it later that evening or the next day. Case in point - my garden, which is covered in grass anywhere plants aren't growing (it's NOT Johnson grass, by the way...but still an annoying grass that needs to be dug out to be properly removed). Yesterday I went to dig and lay straw and as I was working my way around the perimeter one of the garden volunteers came up and said "you didn't water; water now and pull tomorrow." (He's a really nice guy, originally from Ghana, so he can sound brief and rude but is actually very nice and helpful!) so I did that and then returned this morning and was able to get LOTS of the grass out with much less effort. I still had to dig, beat the top soil off and throw into a growing pile, but it was most definitely worth it to water first. Also, since the grass isn't Johnson grass, I can let it dry and then use it for mulch. Another plus. I can't stress it enough, by the way, that mulching will safe you MANY hours of weeding. DO IT! Just let the grass dry first.

Here's proof that the garden is still growing! The picture below is of my two new pepper plants.

There is a watermelon hiding in those leaves!

Here's a picture of the east side of my garden, with my new straw in a place and a yellow squash plant that is trying to crawl away :-)

Here's my harvest for the day...three yellow squash and a cucumber.

Here's a full shot of my garden, from the north side. By bush beans are planted in the far right corner...right now it just looks like dirt, haha.

Gardening Lesson #2: Weeds

That mound in front of my lettuce is a huge pile of weeds.

Weed

-noun
1. a valueless plant growing wild, espeically one that growns on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.
2. any undesirable or troublesome plant, especially one that growns profusely where it is not wanted: The Crowe garden was COVERED in weeds.

Johnson grass
-noun
1. a sorghum, Sorghum halepense, that spreads by creeping rhizomes, grown for fodder.
2. Ashleigh's personal nemesis.

Important sublesson #1 - weeds do not operate on my schedule.

The first time I went to the garden after a good rain and after we had gotten everything planted, it looked like a front lawn with a few vegetable plants. It was COVERED in grass. So I began pulling the grass/weeds out and soon had a substantial pile, was exhausted, and called it a day. The next morning, our Master Gardener emailed the group, introducing me to my personal nemesis, Johnson Grass. To get rid of JG you have to dig it up, because every time you break a root, a new plant starts growing. So, imagine digging up your front lawn, one clump of grass at a time. That was in May and I'm STILL digging out JG. It has totally taken over the areas of my garden where I didn't plant anything and I spend the majority of my weeding time removing JG from around the plants. In fact, the JG has gotten so big and strong on the border of my garden that I'm going to buy clippers and just clip it down and dig it out slowly each time I visit the garden. It's just too much to do in one or two visits. The roots are so strong you have to put ALL of your might into pulling the big ones out. And if you don't get the roots, your effort is in vain because it just comes back stronger than ever.

Important sublesson #2 - Weeds laugh at the concept of perfection. I have resolved myself to the idea that some weeds will co-exist in my garden.

As I've said before, our Master Gardener is really helpful in providing information, particularly to new gardeners. In May, she mentioned the concept of mulching. Of course, I put that email in the "Community Garden" folder and went about my business.

Important sublesson #3 - Listen to the Master Gardener.

After spending ours pulling weeds/grass I remembered the MG's email about mulching and shamelessly reached out to parents, friends, co-workers, asking for their (untreated) grass clippings. Luckily my Dad came through and supplied me with three big bags full of grass. Once I layed that down on the garden, it was like a new plot. Turns out, mulching REALLY does help choke out the weeds. Not the Johnson Grass, but the regular, run of the mill weeds. Which means I have more time and energy to fighting the bully that is JG. Seriously, people...mulching (you can use pine needles, lawn clippings, hay, etc.) has been my BIGGEST novice gardening victory to date. That and talking to the plants. I swear they grow when I give them some loving encouragement.

Gardening Lesson #1: A "small" plot is still a lot of work

It's Opening Day at the garden and they are having a little "meet and greet" and I am pumped. The Master Gardener shows me my plot (like the first day of school, I had already scoped the scene out on my own but wanted 100% confirmation before digging). I had requested the smallest size available, 10ftX10ft because Andy doesn't eat many vegetables so I was only going to be growing for about 1.5 adults. We can't get started on our plots Opening Day because it has been raining for what seems like weeks and it's freezing cold.

Two weeks go by and it's still raining. Mom and Trent come up to help me get started but the rain keeps us from planting. M&T both notice immediately that the plot is larger than 10X10 and Trent estimates it at closer to 20X8. Mom provides me with a lovely map and we wonder around a local nursery that weekend, looking for plants to include in our Crowe Garden 2011. Then, Mom and Trent leave me with their shovel and I'm on my own...

When the rain finally clears I decide to get started. I drag my shovel to the plot, slide my work gloves on and get movin'. As in breaking up all of the dirt. Our plots were all tilled at the beginning of the season but with a month of rain, the dirt is certainly compacted and not ready for planting. So I dig. And turn. And dig. And turn. And dig. And turn until my hands are full of blisters. Luckily I did get the entire space turned over before I had to throw the shovel down in disgust. The next day, I excitedly go buy some arugula, spinach, brussel sprouts, and lettuce with hopes of keeping them alive at home until it is warm enough to plant.

Then more rain.

The spinach doesn't make it. Neither does the arugula. Some lettuce dies too. The brussel sprouts hang on.

Finally, it's time to plant. Andy and I go to the garden. He is the official map reader. I am the official planter. By this time we also have zucchini and squash, cucumbers, a watermelon, and three tomato plants. We arrive. The plot has these strange things sprouting that, when pulled, look sort of like red, horizontal carrots. I did them up and plant. It's a huge accomplishment and I am excited. Andy perks up when I mention that we need to water. He becomes to official watering man.

The next time I go to the garden (usually I go on the weekends) there are a lot of...weeds. Which brings me to my next lesson: weeds.

Strawberry Summer Cake

You MUST try this recipe! It was a huge hit and very satisfying for me to make "homemade" (no box mix for this!).

Credit to www.smittenkitchen.com, by the way. I did not create this on my own.

6 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1lb strawberries, halved and hulled

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a deep pie plate or a 9 inch cake pan. I don't have a deep pie plate but the cake pan worked fine. The recipes says NOT to try it in a regular pie plate...not deep enough...will overflow...don't lose any of this precious cake!

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about three minutes. I couldn't ever get my butter to look "fluffy" but the cake came out right anyway. Mix in egg, milk, and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.

Pour into baking dish. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of b atter, as closely as possible in a single layer. Strawberries will definitely cover entire cake and you may have a few that overlap. Not a problem! Sprinkle remaining 2 TBSP sugar over berries.

Bake cake for ten minutes at 350 then reduce heat to 325 and back for 50-60 minutes. Cake will be golden brown and no batter will come out on tester. Let cool (or rip piece off immediately). We sprinkled powdered sugar on individual slices as we ate the cake. In two days. Don't judge.