All complaining aside, today is gorgeous. A bit chilly yet with the breeze but I’ll settle for just about any temperature above freezing as long as the sun is out!

Wanting to take full advantage of the day we’ve been blessed with, I headed out to the garden for a bit to dig some holes for several bulbs and perennials that were practically begging me to be planted. You know the type I mean: the ones that just can no longer be contained in their packages, reaching up through any open space to put forth their new growth. At this time of the year, it is not uncommon for bulb suppliers (such as Holland Bulb Farms) to experience some growth from certain types of bulbs and plants, even though they remain above ground. I have visited the Holland Bulb Farms warehouse and believe me, they have coolers larger than the entire first floor of my house to keep these naturally prone “anxious growers” in as much of a dormant state as possible. But sometimes, it’s just not possible! While this fresh growth is most definitely a sign of a healthy bulb or root system, it can cause a bit of anxiety (all-be-it unnecessary) during the planting process. So I thought I’d share with you a few tips to help ease your mind if you happen to have a bulb filled with vigor begging you as well…

If the sprouts of the bulb or perennial root tend to be a bit distorted due to the confines of the packaging, give it a little bit of time (30 minutes or so) to relax a bit prior to trying to plant it.  If it is still a bit crooked or twisted, don’t worry. You’ll be amazed at what getting it in the ground will do!

One of the most common questions I receive in regards to planting bulbs which are already beginning to grow is in reference to the planting depth. If the bulb you are planting has already begun to sprout it is important that you plant the bulb at its recommended depth. For instance, one of the bulbs which has a strong tendency to sprout early is that of the oriental or asiatic lily. Lily bulbs should be planted at a depth of 4-6″. This means that if the bulb you are putting in the ground already has 3″ of growth on it, you may just barely — if at all — see the tip of the new growth poking out of the soil when you are finished. The same goes for any bulb which may have already begun to sprout. Gladiolus often will begin to put up little points of growth after they have been harvested. Simply dig your hole as you would for any gladiolus bulb (3-4″ deep) and place the bulb in the bottom of the hole with point of growth facing up.

When placing the bulb in the hole you have prepared, gently attempt to straight the stem as much as possible. Backfill with dirt firmly enough that the stem is supported and directed upright. Be careful not to snap the stem if at all possible. If this does happen, all is not lost! The bulb may or may not produce a second shoot this season. If it fails to do so, it will in the following year so you’ll just have to be patient

When planting perennial root starts, a little bit of visible growth is definitely a good thing! The rules of thumb are the same as far as depth goes: look at the plant to see where it changes from root to plant growth and try to keep this point at the soil line as much as possible. Planting too deep will cause the plant to rot and planting to high out of the ground will cause the root system to dry out.

Wow, did it feel good to get in the dirt again! Do you have plans to do the same this weekend? Tell me about it below in the comments!

With hands in the dirt and head in the clouds,

Third Place in the Fruits Category: “Healthy Fish Tacos” by Paula Quillen

Paula resides in sunny Florida, where I’m sure fish is not hard to come by! We found this recipe to be fantastically unique and oh-so delicious!

Third Place in the Vegetable Category: “Marinated Cheese” by Rachael Muniz

This recipe was so great, I actually had already featured it in one of my weekly posts! I guess the folks at Holland Bulb Farms agreed with me. Rachael resides in Doyline, Louisiana where I bet she serves this dish as an appetizer at lots of get-togethers!

So there you have it! Congratulations to Paula and Rachael, as well as all of the winners of the 2013 Homegrown Recipe Contest. Hope you have a great time deciding how to spend your Holland Bulb Farms gift cards.

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a recipe (or more) — we really appreciate it and wish we could have rewarded each one of you! Be sure and stay tuned next February when we will no doubt kick off the 4th annual contest. We’d love to see and taste what you have to share!

With hands in the dirt and head in the clouds,

Second Place in the Fruits Category: “Strawberry Trifle” by Mariana DiVita

Mariana makes her home in Woodstock, Georgia, where I bet she can grow some amazing strawberries! We found this dessert to be delightfully light and refreshing — perfect for a summer day.

Second Place in the Vegetable Category: “Black Bean & Corn Salsa” by Carla Correa

The second place winner in the Vegetable Category this year comes to us from a city not far from the Holland Bulb Farms’ headquarters in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Not only did this salsa recipe taste fantastic, it also made quite a good amount — perfect for your next party!

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

Serves a full party , 20 minutes preparation time

Ingredients:1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can whole yellow corn, drained
4-5 tomatoes
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
1-2 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
4 stalks green onion, chopped
3 limes
1/2 T. Out of our Gourd 7 pepper seasoning
1 T. red wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Dice tomatoes and peppers and combine with cilantro, green onion, corn, and beans in large bowl.
2. Add vinegar and pepper seasonings.
3. Squeeze juice from limes over everything and mix well.
4. Best when allowed to blend together for a few hours. Mix well before serving.

Congratulations, Mariana and Carla! We loved trying your recipes. Be watching your email inbox this week for the $50 gift card codes to use on the Holland Bulb Farms website.

On Friday, I’ll share with you the final two Third Place winners from this year’s contest. Hope you’re already thinking about what you’ll dazzle us with next spring!

With hands in the dirt and head in the clouds,

First Place in the Fruits Category: “Strawberry Panna Cotta with Rhubarb Compote” by Joseph J. Shusta III

Joseph’s entry comes from Americus, Georgia, where he works as a banquet chef whipping up all sorts of delectable dishes. We came across his food and living blog where he features all sorts of amazing-sounding recipes, including the winner of this year’s fruit category! We encourage you to head on over and check out his site. For your convenience, however, we are also including his winning recipe here:

First Place in the Vegetables Category: “Eastern Shore Tomato Pie” by Laura Davis

Laura’s entry comes to us from the “Eastern Shore” of Maryland in Pocomoke City. We also found a food blog by Laura, which we have been absolutely delighted and obsessed with ever since! Laura began her blog (Tide & Thyme) back in 2007 as a way to share her love of cooking. She shares a new food creation nearly every day, including this winner, and always includes marvelous photos! One of her other recipe entries (Raspberry Truffle Brownies) was featured in a weekly post earlier which earned her a $10 coupon to Holland Bulb Farms! This recipe was so delicious, I don’t think it lasted more than 15 minutes in the HBF kitchen:

Doesn’t just reading these recipes make your mouth start to water? Based on the final products of each, I would encourage you to run out to the grocery store and pick up these ingredients right away and get going — you won’t regret it! Did you venture out and try your hand at one (or maybe both?) of these recipes? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!

Again, both Joseph and Laura are the proud recipients of a $100 gift card to the Holland Bulb Farms website, not to mention amazing cooks!

Stay tuned, as Wednesday I’ll be featuring our second place winners!

With hands in the dirt and head in the clouds,

Each year we hold this contest, the recipes seem to get more and more irresistibly delicious. We love seeing your creativity and most importantly, the way you use ingredients which could be potentially grown in your own backyard garden! The Holland Bulb Farms office and kitchen area have been filled with various creations which were submitted, made by HBF employees as well as myself. I think we’re all going to miss the elegant snacks and lunches we’ve all been enjoying over the last several weeks!

We received such an array of recipes — including salsa, chicken tortilla soup, zucchini relish, eggplant cannelloni, pumpkin bread pudding, spinach souffle cups, watermelon margaritas, warm cantaloupe salad, and the list goes on — it was extremely difficult to choose only three from each of the two categories (fruits and vegetables). But after much deliberation (and tasting!) we have come to a conclusion! And the winners are…

Fruit Category

1st Place: “Strawberry Panna Cotta with Rhubarb Compote“ by Joseph J. Shusta III of Americus, Georgia

2nd Place: “Strawberry Trifle“ by Mariana DiVita of Woodstock, Georgia

3rd Place: “Healthy Fish Tacos“ by Paula Quillen of Eustis, Florida

Vegetable Category

1st Place: “Eastern Shore Tomato Pie“ by Laura Davis of Pocomoke City, Maryland

2nd Place: “Black Bean & Corn Salsa“ by Carla Correa of Kenosha, Wisconsin

3rd Place: “Marinated Cheese“ by Rachael Muniz of Doyline, Louisiana

Congratulations to all of the winners! The first place winner in each category will be receiving a $100 gift card to spend any way they wish on the Holland Bulb Farms website. The second and third place winners of each will be receiving a $50 gift card and $25 gift card, consecutively. How’s that for getting a jump start on your spring planting?! All winners should keep an eye on their email inboxes next week, as I will be emailing you information regarding your gift card at that time so that you can start shopping right away!

Beginning next week, I will feature all of the winning recipes on my blog, starting with the first place winners! Be sure and check back so that you can find out what all of the fuss was about.

Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who submitted recipes (and to the folks at Holland Bulb Farms for helping me cook all of them!). We will most definitely be continuing the tradition in the spring of 2014 when we kick off the 4th Annual Homegrown Recipe Contest! My stomach is already growling…

With hands in the dirt and head in the refrigerator clouds,

A few weeks ago, I found myself in quite the pickle as a result of this persistent part of my personality.

I had gotten a wonderful idea (and I do not mean this to sound sarcastic, as it really ended up being a great thing) to throw one of my dear friends a surprise baby shower at my house. See, it just so happens that she is also being blessed with twins and I find that to be an amazing, extraordinary coincidence.

Being the planner that I am, I took the day before the event off from work and arranged for my daughters to still be dropped off at the sitter’s that morning per the usual Friday routine. All was well and good until I got the call at 7:30am that my “plan” wasn’t going to work out so well and that the sitter had to tend to her own sick child that day.

Great, I thought. Now I’ve got all of this stuff to prepare and a house to clean amidst the presence of two active, crazy, all-be-it adorable toddlers!

Having little choice in the matter, I decided I would make the best of it, pull up my bootstraps and get down to business. After all, a few more cartoons than normal for one day couldn’t hurt that much, right?

What surprised me, however, was their keen interest in my tasks – it even seemed to win over the cartoons! It wasn’t long before both girls had taken their own paper toweling and had started “dusting” various pieces of furniture. They continued to help as I washed the windows and vacuumed the floor. Soon we found ourselves in the kitchen, each in an apron, baking up a storm. They truly found it fun to help me!

With spring fast-approaching (we hope), my thoughts are obviously turning towards my “outdoor task list”. What will need to be done once the ground thaws? And more importantly, what new things will I plant? Last fall, as I was cleaning up the yard and preparing it for winter, the girls couldn’t get enough of digging in the dirt leftover in the pots which I was emptying of wilting annuals. While yes, they definitely made a bit of a mess on the patio, I was elated that they found this type of “work” so entertaining. I can only image what this growing season will bring now that they are even older and more able to help.
So, I’m curious: do you garden with your children or maybe your grandchildren? Perhaps it’s a boy or girl that lives in your neighborhood who always seems to wander over just as you are setting down your kneeling pad. Whoever it may be, I encourage you to let him or her help. There are so many remarkable benefits — to both you and the child involved — to gardening with little ones! Here are just a few:

• Fresh air does a body good! Encourage your “potential helper” to put down the tablet, computer mouse, or video game controller and head out into the great outdoors. They may grumble and complain at first, but the fresh air will actually make them feel better and give them better sleep at night. Not only will the outdoor air make them feel better and more rested, but it has actually been shown to help reduce stress levels, resulting in more success at school and fewer ADHD symptoms. As most of us also know by now, sunlight is an incredible trigger to the skin for producing Vitamin D which is proving itself time and time again to be a potent cancer fighter (see the article on the Prevention Magazine website here).
• Teach children the importance of protecting and nurturing the environment! The more time kids spend outdoors, the greater appreciation they will have for their surroundings. Watching a plant grow bigger, better, and stronger as a result of hard work can be an incredible motivator! Perhaps the child in your life has never even really thought about where the fresh fruits or vegetables come from which appear on the dinner table each night. Think of how rewarding it would be for him or her to bite into a tomato which he or she helped to grow! By pointing out the wonders of the growing world around them, you may just help to instill in them a strong respect for the environment and a desire to help protect it.
• Working side-by-side can be an incredible “accidental” bonding experience! Are you looking for the right time to bring up that “touchy” subject with your middle school-er? Rather than sitting them down and saying you need to talk, how about suggesting an activity you can both get involved in and letting the conversation come about naturally? A shared, enjoyable task (such as planting seeds, bulbs, or plants) can be a great distraction to the issue being discussed and can actually create a more comfortable, less threatening environment for a child to share thoughts and ideas.

One tip: when choosing which plants to grow with your young gardener(s), be sure and pick something fairly easy, without a lot of fuss. This will help the child see big results in a relatively short amount of time and keep him or her excited about the project. Some simple yet fun suggestions would include: tomatoes, beans, watermelon, strawberries, pumpkins, and cucumbers. Check out some of these premade kids collections by Chef Jeff here and here! Also, if they have a favorite fruit or vegetable, consider planting that in your garden this year — growing brussel sprouts might not be that exciting if the child abhors the taste.

I really am looking forward to getting out in the yard this spring and summer with my girls. Yes, it will mean more dirty laundry and probably a decent amount of scrubbing under the fingernails. But with all of these fantastic benefits, who could argue against it? I can only hope that the increased amount of time spent outdoors will result in an indoors that stays cleaner just a bit longer than usual…

With hands in the dirt and head in the clouds,

Today, as the final day for the contest, I wanted to feature a recipe which pairs one of my fave combinations EVER: raspberries and chocolate! This recipe comes to use from Laura of Pocomoke City, Maryland. We were happy to also discover Laura’s incredible recipe/cooking blog, Tide & Thyme! You can view her own post featuring this recipe here!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful entry with us, Laura, and be watching your email for your $10.00 coupon towards any of the products on the Holland Bulb Farms website! As for the rest of you, be sure and get your recipe(s) submitted no later than midnight tonight for your chance at the grand prize in any of the two categories (fruits or veggies) of a $100 Holland Bulb Farms gift card!

The folks at Holland Bulb Farms and I have lots of cooking and baking ahead of us in the next two weeks — the three winners in each category will be announced on Friday, March 15th! Good luck to all of you!

With hands in the dirt and head in the clouds,

With only one week left in the 2013 Homegrown Recipe Contest, the entries are really starting to roll in! Today we’re featuring a recipe that would be absolutely wonderful on a cold day like today here in the Upper Midwest. This mouth-watering french onion soup recipe comes to us from Bee in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Bee was actually the grand prize winner in the Fruit Category of the 2012 Homegrown Recipe Contest and we’re so glad she has graced with another of her fantastic recipes! (Curious what won her the $100 shopping spree to Holland Bulb Farms? Check out her recipe here!)

Makes me hungry just writing about it! Thanks again, Bee for your wonderful entry — Keep on eye on your email inbox for your $10.00 coupon to Holland Bulb Farms! As for the rest of you, thanks so much for the entries so far…looking forward to those that will be coming in within the next week!

With hands in the dirt and head in the clouds,

As you know, I’ve been spending the last few Fridays featuring some of the entries we’ve been receiving in our 2013  Homegrown Recipe Contest. This Friday is no exception! Today I’m featuring an amazingly tasty, but more importantly, easy to execute recipe from Evans in Green Cove Springs, Florida. The total preparation time is 10 minutes and the frying of them goes really quick! I know the title “corn muffins” can sound a bit boring or bland, but don’t be fooled — this recipe is anything but!

Corn Muffins

Ingredients:

1 c. corn
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 t. baking powder
1 T. melted butter
1 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and/or garlic powder to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all of the wet ingredients (butter, milk, and eggs) together and then add onion, baking powder, flour, salt, sugar and seasonings. Mix until well blended.
2. Add onion and corn. Mix.
3. Fry by rounded tablespoonfuls until brown. Drain on a towel.
Optional: Dust with powdered sugar if desired or add chopped jalapenos for an extra kick.

So completely easy, yet so sinfully delicious! Thanks for submitting, Evans, and be watching your email for your $10.00 coupon to spend any way you’d like on the Holland Bulb Farms website!

No need to be shy about your kitchen skills! Hurry on over to the Homegrown Recipe Contest page to enter your own recipe and have a chance at winning one of our $100 gift card grand prizes! You only have until the end of this month so don’t delay!

With hands in the dirt and head in the clouds,

Peppers come in pretty much all shades of the rainbow and range in taste from the hot and spicy Tabasco Premium Pepper to the sweet and tangy flavor of the Red Beauty Bell Pepper! The most interesting thing I find when cooking with vegetables is how some seem to absorb other flavors, therefore accentuating the already present flavors in the dish (such as zucchini, squash, and eggplant) and others, like peppers, are much more aggressive in their flavors, introducing a new taste entirely to a salad, pasta, or appetizer. For instance, I was delightfully surprised the other day when I was trying a Potato Soup recipe for the first time in my slow-cooker. The recipe called for one jar of roasted sweet red peppers. I actually ended up using fresh red peppers which I first roasted  in the oven (super easy to do!) and then added to the soup mixture. The red peppers added such a tasty zing to the soup, completely changing it from a potentially bland potato flavor to a delightfully tangy (and colorful) dish.

Not only do peppers add great flavor and color to many kitchen dishes, they also are packed with nutrients! Even though for a while they were ignored as being a fruit (yes, technically a fruit, not a vegetable) with little nutritional value, they are now being praised for their high levels of antioxidants and various essential vitamins. WebMD states that peppers, whether mild or fiery, are some of the richest sources of vitamins A and C and that just a cup a day can provide more than 100% of your daily needs for these two vitamins! You can’t say that about many foods! The article goes on to say that the noteworthy antioxidant (capsaicin) which hot peppers contain, actually has been recently found to help with weight loss as it slightly curbs appetite and raises the body temperature, creating an increase of calorie burn. Capsaicin has also been shown to “fire a lethal blow”, as the article puts it, to cancer cells in recent studies performed at UCLA. While nothing’s been proven in this regard to humans, it’s still definitely worth looking into. Besides, with the other proven health benefits peppers boast of, you have nothing to lose by adding peppers to your next grocery list!

Now that I’ve told you some of the remarkable reasons I love peppers, I’d like to share just a few of my favorites:

Red Beauty Pepper

Red peppers have always been my absolute fave because of their sweet taste and extra crispy flesh. These add wonderful color to pasta salads — and also the potato soup I mentioned above! They can also be eaten while still green, but are ripest (and tastiest, in my opinion) when bright red.

Big Bertha Premium Pepper

Talk about bang for your buck, this pepper is one of the largest produced! Most times reaching up to 7″ in length, this tender guy is perfect for filling with cheesy beef goodness. Stuffed Peppers, anyone?

Cayenne Pepper

Turn up the heat with this one! If you’re looking to give that pot of chili a little kick, this is the one for you! I personally love this (in very small amounts!) chopped very finely into my homemade salsa — although I usually split the batch and leave one half without for the kids.

Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper

While I have never actually done the canning process myself, these are amazing when pickled in an Italian marinade! Commonly seen on the side of pizza from an authentic restaurant, these peppers are not the hottest out there, but give a perfect little bit of spice with a great Italian dish.

As if that’s not enough, one more thing I have to say about peppers: they are extremely easy to grow and care for. So, if this is your first attempt at your own fruit or vegetable garden, peppers are an excellent place to start!. Just pick your perfect one and you’ll be well on your way to a healthy, flavorful summer!

With hands in the dirt and head in the clouds,