My garden is exploding with Lambs quarter or as some call it:  a weed, or poor man's spinach.  Whatever you like to call it is okay by me - I love this healthy green. Late May and June are the best months in my region to harvest young fresh Lambs Quarter Greens.  Although having said that, we are at least 5-6 weeks behind this year in the garden, so I suspect there will still be more Lambs Quarter to harvest for at least another 3 weeks. (this is just one small section of the fast growing Lambs Quarter).

If you do not have Lambs quarter, spinach or kale would work nicely in this recipe.  Also, free range ground Turkey or Chicken would be heavenly in this dish (wish I had some!)
If you would like to learn more about Lambs quarter, here is a good site with information on this healthy naturally growing green.
The best way I can describe the flavor of this lovely green is: rich, meaty, ever so slightly salty.  You know how a mushroom takes on a meaty beefy flavor when sauted?  Lambs Quarter has a similar richness.  For me, Lambs Quarter is right up there with fresh local Asparagus.  It makes me a very happy girl! 🙂
I used 5 cups of Lambs quarter in this recipe which was fairly packed down:

1 lb. lean hormone/antibiotic ground beef
3/4 cup white Basmati rice (rinse and drain well)
1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes (squeeze out the juice from the tomatoes slice into chunks and put into a bowl, reserving the liquid)
1 onion diced
5 minced garlic cloves
5 crimini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup beef stock
2 1/4 cups reserved tomato juice
2 rounded Tblsp. fresh Basil - minced
3 tsp. Sweet Basil Chili Paste (or Red Thai Curry Paste) I used this one
2 tsp. dried Oregano
salt and pepper
4-5 cups Lambs quarter or spinach or kale
grated aged cheddar cheese
(at the end of the cooking time for the rice - my mixture looked a bit thick - so I added 1 Tblsp. Tomato paste mixed in 1/2 a cup of water - then I mixed that into the ingredients.)
Heat up a frying pan or dutch oven on low/medium heat.  Add in the ground beef breaking it up, and sauteing until browned.  I did drain off about half of the renderings.
To the pan add in the mushrooms, onions and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper, sauteing to sweat out the onions - 5-7 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes, minced fresh basil, chili paste stirring to combine.Pour in the beef stock and reserved tomato juice again stirring to combine.
Then add in the rice, stirring to combine.  Add in the Lambs quarter or spinach stirring well, then cover with a lid.  It will look like too much, but it will cook down.

This is about 5-7 minutes after simmering - the Lambs quarter cooked down quite a bit:
Keep a lid on, and a light simmer for about 20-25 minutes stirring twice during the cooking time.  Mine did look a bit thick so this is where I added 1 Tblsp. of tomato paste mixed with half a cup of water.  Pour over the beef and rice stirring well to combine.  Transfer to a casserole dish.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Add a generous layer of aged Cheddar Cheese over top of the casserole, then cover with aluminum foil.  Bake 30-40 minutes to heat through and melt the cheese.

Well - this year it will certainly be a different year in the garden.  May and June so far have proven to be not the best we have ever seen, that is for sure.  Looking at the garden I would say we are 5-6 weeks behind.
This lovely big bowl of salad greens is this years first pickings.  And, my very first ever grown strawberry!  There are a few strawberry plants in the garden that are coming along, but it looks like next years crop should be better.
In this raised bed we planted beets, lettuce, cabbage and green beans.  As you can see there is also Calendula and Rhudebecia growing.  Each year this raised bed get less light due to the ever growing fir trees in our neighborhood - so I think we will just leave the flowers be.

Here is a second raised bed:

We planted zucchini, strawberries, collar greens and swiss chard.  Hope the heat arrives soon for our poor zucchini's.
Here in the third raised bed there is cauliflower, lambs quarter, and a few carrots - not sure how they will do.  These last three years have not been too successful in the garden.  I no longer plant any of the winter squashes - our summers are not warm enough lately.  We also cut back on tomato plants - we just did five this year.
The flowers continue to do well at least:
These Oriental Poppies seem to thrive - and they self seed which I do not mind at all. (behind these poppies lies homegrown mint....help!  It is turning into a jungle!)
Pink Poppies always give a good show:
This African Daisy overwintered in our little green house:
This plant is called Soap-wort - I wonder if you can actually make soap from it?  It does give a nice ground cover:
As well as this small Geranium species - which self seeds as well:
Soon the Lavender will be in full bloom, as well as the Rhudebekia, Echchinaca, Black Eyed Susans.  We can't wait for summer to arrive!

If you have lots of fresh vegetables in the fridge, and some leftover cooked rice - this is a great healthy way to use up extra ingredients.  It would be even better with fresh basil - which I did not have, nonetheless it was mighty tasty.
2 cups cooked brown rice
4 Tblsp. Grape Seed Oil
1/2 of a large onion, diced
4 minced garlic cloves
2 large crimini mushrooms, diced
salt and pepper
5 cups of chopped fresh Swiss Chard
1 large carrot, grated
15 sugar snap peas, cut on the diagonal
6 fresh asparagus spears, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tsp. Thyme
2 tsp. dried Basil
1/2 cup of Vegetable Stock or Chicken stock (I used Vegetable Stock)
1 Tblsp. Tamari Sauce
grated Swiss Gruyere Cheese, and grated Asiago Cheese
This was overwintered Swiss Chard from the garden - love the color!
Heat up a saute pan on low medium heat with the Grape Seed oil.  Add in the mushrooms, onions, garlic, thyme, basil, and carrots, sauteing about 5 minutes.
Then add in the chopped Swiss Chard, continue to saute another five minutes.
Pour in the vegetable or chicken stock, tamari sauce, and add in the sugar snap peas, and asparagus, lid on and simmer for five minutes.
Then add in the rice stirring to combine.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and continue to saute the rice and vegetables for another 5 minutes.  Transfer the rice and vegetables to a lightly greased (butter) 9x13 inch casserole dish.
Evenly spread on the grated cheeses, and bake for 30 minutes.  Serve with any main dish.
I did not mention to my DH that this dish was loaded in Swiss Chard and Asparagus (not his favorites) however, with the cheese and all the other ingredients - he had three helpings!  Sometimes secret ingredients are the best way to get those healthy vegetables into your fussy eater's diet - plus cheese always helps!  🙂

Do you see these vegetables? I could not believe my eyes!  On October 31, 2011, I finally went out to the garden, as there was a wee bit of sunshine, after many days of rain.  I was surveying the garden, with the thought of putting the garden to rest for the winter.  This is what I found - the last of the vegetables - in October!  Never, not ever,  have I seen these vegetables in my garden this late in the year.  Although the carrots are small, they are sweet and tasty.  Green beans in October?  Unheard of.
We all knew that this past summer on the West Coast was six weeks late....this tells me we were eight weeks late.  It also gives me the hope, that if we ever do get back to our "normal" summers, there is a good chance that the garden will produce abundantly.
I still think we will need to "re-think" our garden plans for next year, but finding these veggie gems so late in the year was truly a big bonus.  We are only into early November.....and I am already planning next years garden...can't wait!  I go through this every year...in anticipation...in hope...what will next years garden yield?  But for now, I am a happy girl! 🙂

Before I get into this lovely recipe, I just had to post a picture of these gorgeous Calendula Flowers...in October?  I have never seen that before!  Usually, they are long gone by early September...our weather this year has been so strange.  Although, I must say, I appreciate the pretty color....
Onto the recipe.  This is my take on Rouladen.   I have never had Rouladen before, and given how much I love to stuff meat or vegetables, I just had to try this dish.  Normally Rouladen is made with dill pickles, but my DH would be horrified if he cut into beef and found a pickle.  Poor man, I cannot imagine disliking pickles of any kind.  So I decided to sneak in some Green Relish instead. Don't tell him okay?... it turns out he liked it, and none the wiser!
There are a few steps to this recipe, but it is not hard to do, in fact it was fun to make!  I made enough for two (one and a half each) so we could have leftovers tomorrow, so just adjust amount for your own needs.  Actually, now that this dinner is finished....there was not enough left over for tomorrow...DH ate 3 1/2 Rouladens, extra mashed potatoes and veggies... I would definitely say he liked it.
6 Rouladen round steaks (or you could pound out your own round steaks until quite thin)
salt and pepper
6 slices of bacon
1 onion, sliced - put half the onion aside for the sauce
Dijon Mustard
Green Sweet Relish
5 chopped crimini mushrooms
8 small carrots or 2-3 large ones, sliced in half and sliced in half again
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
14 oz. can of tomatoes
2 Tblsps. tomato paste
1 Bay Leaf
2 cups beef stock
In a dutch oven, add the bacon on medium heat, to brown until golden - but not dark and crisp.  Remove to a plate and set aside.  Add 1/2 the sliced onions, sauteing until golden - about 5-6 minutes.  While the onions are lightly browning, slice up the other onion, and chop the mushrooms, and celery.  I used 8 organic baby carrots, that were small enough they did not need chopping.
Remove the pan from the heat.  Season the beef with salt and pepper, then add a spread of Dijon Mustard, and a good tblsp. of relish, spreading throughout.
Then take a piece of bacon, and break it up a bit, place in the middle of the Rouladen with a sprinkling of  caramelized onions.
Roll up and use a couple of toothpicks to hold in place.
Heat up the dutch oven with a good drizzle of olive oil on medium heat.  Brown the meat on all sides, about 5-8 minutes in total.  Don't worry if some of the stuffing comes out - it will add more flavor to the pot.  Once browned, transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add another drizzle of olive oil to the pot, and brown the chopped mushrooms until golden.  Then add in the sliced onion, celery, and carrots, sauteing another 5-8 minutes.
Pour in the canned tomatoes and juice, scraping up any brown bits.  Add the bay leaf and one cup of Beef Stock, reserving the other one cup, then return the browned Rouladen to the pot.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cover the dutch oven with a lid and bring to a good simmer, then place in the oven and braise for 1 hr. 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and transfer the Rouladen to a platter. If your stock has considerably reduced as mine did, add in the other 1 cup of Beef stock and the tomato paste , stirring to combine.  Heat on low medium, bringing to a simmer.  Simmer about 10 minutes to thicken and reduce the sauce.  Serve over mashed potatoes, with any other side dish - we had steamed buttered cabbage to go European all the way!

As of October 9th, all of the garden vegetables have been picked.  With an abundance of mixed greens, Chard, Collards, and Red Kale, I decided to make a mixed braised greens dish, (that was a mouthful!) which we had with our Thanksgiving dinner.  This is a great way to get the healthy benefits of all of these lovely greens, and it makes for a nice side dish too.
Here are a couple of pictures, of the final garden harvest:
As well as still more Collard Greens (I have a bunch in the freezer too)
Mixed Braised Greens:
2 cups chopped Swiss Chard
2 cups chopped Russian Red Kale
4 cups chopped Collard Greens
3 leaks, trimmed, and sliced
1/2 cup fresh minced celery leaves
a good sprinkle of your favorite Season Blend - I used this one
2  1/2 - 3 cups Chicken Stock (the greens will cook down quite a bit, next time I would use 2 1/2 cups of stock)
juice of one small lemon
1 Tblsp. Tamari Sauce
1 large Bay Leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 rounded Tblsp. butter
Cornstarch and chicken stock to make a slurry
Add all of the chopped greens into a large dutch oven.
Pour in the chicken stock, lemon juice, seasonings and butter.  Bring to a simmer, and cook about 15 minutes, or until the greens are tender.
Mix cornstarch with some chicken stock, and pour slowly into the pot, stirring well, until nicely thickened.  Serve alongside any main dish.

Each year has brought it's own unique learning experience in the garden. Everything we have learned about gardening has been trial and error...with lots of errors.  One of the biggest learning curves, is understanding how we are at the mercy of the weather and mother nature.  Here it is, early September, and we have been in a heat wave!  It is hotter now than it has been all summer.  The nights are colder, leaves are turning brown, and during the day we have sweltering heat.  Strange.
In seven years, we have had one year that produced really, really well.  Not a good ratio.  This year the weather was all over the map, so the garden grew, died down, got cold, got hot, then grew some more...as did the ever growing fur and cedar trees that surround our neighborhood.  As a result, we now have less sun in the gardens than in previous years.
Next year, I will give up trying to grow tomatoes.  Our weather is just too cool, damp and often foggy.  Not a good combination for tomatoes.  When you plant 12 tomato plants, and only get a couple of bowls of tomatoes - the cost and effort is just not worth it.  Our Local Organic Farmer's Market sells beautiful Heirloom Tomatoes - which is the way I will go from now on.
I am debating  whether or not to continue to plant winter squashes.  If our warmish weather holds out, till the end of October, we might get a couple of squashes.  This year, our summer started too late for the squashes to really develop.
Even the zucchini, which are normally abundant, were challenged.
Things I can grow?
Cabbage, Swiss Chard, Beets, Lettuce Greens, Lambsquarter, Collard Greens, Kale, Broccoli, sometimes carrots, Green Beans, and some Zucchini.  All herbs seem to grow well too.
Next year, I have to re-think the garden plans, and plant accordingly.
I did discover:
- To heavily "Lime" the raised beds in the fall, and add another layer in February.  With all the firs and cedars, the soil easily becomes too acidic.
- Combining our own Compost, with Composted Steer Manure really fed the raised beds well.
- How to grow beets, - plant lots, thin them out adding the pulled baby ones to salads.
- Water the soil, not the plant.  I know, probably common sense, but this was a learning curve for me.
- Plant extra green and yellow beans - in raised beds.  I learned the hard way that beans do not produce well grown in pots.
- The beans can be directly sown into the soil, however, most other veggies I will need to start in the mini green house.
- Next year, I will plant extra basil, to freeze for pesto.  Dang!  We did not plant nearly enough this year.
Although, the garden was a lot of work this year, for not the greatest yield, I still appreciate everything we can grow ourselves.  Next year.....some better planning will hopefully give better results.
Does anyone have any growing tips to offer for our ever changing weather?

I love seeing green and yellow beans, and zucchini from the garden!  As you can probably tell from my posts - they have been served every which way, in just about every meal we eat - we are loving it!
Check out this fresh pic:
I could not be more thrilled.  As I have mentioned before, this summer has had it's challenges in the garden, so anything we get I am so grateful for.
Between buying  and growing summer zucchini, beans, and basil - I keep looking for different ways to cook all of this lovely produce.  We have had my Zucchini cakes, Fish En Papilotte with fresh Basil Pesto, Vegetarian Sprouted Lentil Stew with fresh yellow beans and zucchini, a Simple Summer Pasta plus, I still have more recipes featuring these wonderful summer flavors - so more on the way.
This particular day, was a very busy work day for myself and DH.  I had taken out skinless, boneless chicken breasts from the freezer, not knowing what to make.  Then at the last minute, DH, was told he had a music gig in town, so dinner had to be early.  What to do?  I knew I wanted to use the beans and zucchini...but at that point I really had to wing it in a hurry.  This savory stew turned out delicious.  We both had 2 helpings - and there I thought we would have enough leftovers for tomorrows dinner.  Not a chance!
By the way, for some reason, I have not been able to buy chicken breasts skin on bone in, for a while now....I miss them.  This dish would be even better if you use skin on bone in...and thighs would fabulous.
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 Tblsp. Corn Starch
1 Tblsp. Sweet Rice Flour
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. Ground Fennel
salt and pepper
2 Roma Tomatoes
2 Tblsp. Balsamic vinegar
1 small onion, roughly chopped
8 crimini mushrooms sliced
4 minced garlic cloves
2 1/2 inch sprig of fresh Rosemary
1 Tblsp. minced Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
1/2 cup chicken stock
5 fingerling potatoes, scrubbed, and cut in half
a hand full of fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
7 slices of zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch thickness, then halved
Cut the chicken breasts into about 2 inch pieces.
On a plate, combine the flours, Italian Seasoning, Ground Fennel, Salt and Pepper.  Mix with a fork, then lightly dredge the chicken pieces to coat well.
Meanwhile, heat up a saute pan on medium heat with a good drizzle of olive oil.  Add the chicken pieces, cooking until golden on each side - about 4 minutes per side.  Then transfer to a plate, turn the heat down to medium low.  Add in another drizzle of olive oil, then add in the sliced mushrooms, sauteing until golden.  To the pan add in the onions, and season with salt and pepper.  Saute about 5 minutes.
Add in the minced garlic, diced Roma Tomatoes, Balsamic Vinegar, chicken stock, Rosemary sprig, and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Simmer for about five minutes.
Then add in chicken pieces, the sliced potatoes, lid on, and simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes.   After 15 minutes, give the stew a good stir and add in the green beans, and zucchini, lid on and simmer for five minutes.
After five minutes, give the stew another good stir, check for seasonings, and put the lid back on, but cracked.  Simmer another five minutes, and serve.  I will never be able to get enough of what summer brings - such a gift from the gardens.