Compost...because a rind is a terrible thing to waste

One of the things that we wanted when we purchased our first home was a backyard.  Me, so I could easily let a dog out to do his or her business; my Brooklyn Brownstone-born hubby, so he could try his hand at gardening (mind you, a grassy backyard was a novel concept, as he and his buddies would "Spiderman" up and down the street from stoop to stoop without touching the sidewalk for outside entertainment).  Last year's garden was less than bountiful...and we are continually impressed by how much we have to learn about Mother Earth.


1. Zucchini plants grow FAST and are garden hogs.  Yes, we love zucchini, but easy there Sparky, we do not need 12 plants.  We returned from a two week vacation to find three dachshund-sized vegetables ripe for the picking.  We've learned that the larger the zuccs grow, the more they lose flavor and become rather starchy.  So, it was difficult to find ways to put these guys to use.  Nevertheless, after four batches of delicious zucchini bread, two zucchini lasagnas, sauteed zucchini, and zucchini-pasta pancakes, we lost the will to use all three and sadly, the third massive zucc was wasted :(  Lesson learned: less is more and pay close attention.


2. Before we left on our two week jaunt through California, Brooks wanted to make sure his plants continued to thrive.  What did he do besides water them?  He literally POURED plant food down the throats of our vegetable variety.  This probably didn't do us any favors in the zucchini department, but we were pleasantly surprised by the tomato plants.  The tomatoes continue to do well but HOLY JALAPENO!  There must be at least 70 small fiery peppers on two plants...and I don't even like them.  Lesson learned: patience is a virtue...but Brooks doesn't regret the plant food one bit.


3. I hate to waste anything (thus my guilt in sacrificing the third enormous zucchini).  So, we also decided to try our hand at composting our organic kitchen waste, with the intention of using the compost in the garden at some point.  A few weeks ago, a weed took root in the compost bin, growing out of the holes and loving all of the nutrients.  Today, we noticed a tomato budding on the supposed weed.  Haha...we have a tomato plant growing out of our compost bin.  It must be the happiest plant in the backyard.


4. According to Brooks, one can never have enough basil.  Therefore, once a month, I find myself being asked "pretty please with a cherry on top?" to make pesto out of our literal basil forests.  We had plans to can the pesto but apparently oil-based stuff doesn't preserve well, so if you want to taste some of the goodness that Brooks raves about, it's a house special...come on over.  We have a large freezer stash already (conveniently frozen in individual muffin tin pucks) and the prolific basil crop is not ceasing anytime soon.


The backyard adventure begins a new phase soon...fall seeds will be planted!  Perhaps this year will be successful in the carrot and potato department...