Cooking for myself is usually an excuse to do something really weird.  I like strange combinations of stuff, like tangy, spicy and savory, and I’ve been really into curry lately.   I mean, like, making it every night kind of stuff.   So tonight I kinda threw everything I felt might fall under that category into the pot and went with it.  Check it out:

Curry 2.0

That’s carrots, sweet potato, onions, garam masala, garlic and egg, with my old friend Sriracha Sauce on the top.    Accompanying it are two crescent rolls filled with fresh basil and neufchatel, to cool things down.

OK now the verdict - was it delicious?  YES.  Would I serve it to company?  Probably only the people who actually read this post.

Well, new house, so I’m planting a new garden.  Since it’s late summer already, my options are slim.  So far, I’ve got lettuce, spinach, basil and peppers.  I’m planning for cabbage, but I still have to find the seeds or seedlings for those.  Anyway, here are some early pictures of Garden 2.0:

That’s not a dirt pie you see, readers.  (Although it was in the oven earlier - for sterilization.)  It’s potential.

Seedling bed

I guess you can tell I’m definitely back in Manhattan when even the basil plants are purple.

And here, something a little further along:

Poblanos - to ensure my food will have a nice kick.

More of the new garden to follow.  Don’t miss out!  Yes, it is that thrilling!!!

This weekend I came home to a surprise:

One ripe tomato!!!

There’s another one that’s about to be the same way, but it’s so nice to finally have something that looks like I could eat it.  I am a little disappointed though, because these things are like, the size of a golf ball.  What am I supposed to do with those?

Well spring is coming along and so is the ol’ garden on the balcony.  A southern orientation and decent weather has helped a whole lot with making sure the plants grow up and green instead of down and brown.  It’s pics time:

Box O' Carrots

Basil - I pick it almost every other day, so it's not a full as usual

Little Bit of Lemon Thyme

To-mah-toes

Compost - In the corner for a reason!

Spring has come and it’s time to do some planting.  This weekend at Slightly Stellar Headquarters I got out the planters and pots and got going.

On the decorative side, I got some Dutch iris bulbs, because I love irises, and they were magically the cheapest bulbs.  I like to think someday I’ll have all sorts of crazy varieties of irises in my fantastic yard in my fantastic house, but for now, I’m poor and I live in an apartment without an actual garden, so I’ll work with the Home Depot variety for now.

I found a Bush Goliath tomato plant, which is supposed to be good for growing tomatoes in a container.  Also it has a cool name, and I’m always judging stuff by ridiculous factors like that.  It says it reaches maturity in about 68 days, so I’m guessing sometime in May I should end up with lots of tomatoes.  I’m reminded of when I was young, and my family always had a big garden.  Year after year, Dad planted more tomatoes than any family of four should have, and he’d have my sister and I try to give them to our neighbors.  Unfortunately I was paralyzingly shy and terrified of approaching my adult neighbors.  I’m not sure what Ashley did, but I just set the tomatoes in an attractive pile on the porch, ring the doorbell, and run for cover faster than a scared mouse.  I always wondered what my neighbors though about that.

I also got some lemon thyme and parsley plants to start off an herb planter.  I would have gotten the basil plants too, but there weren’t any on the shelves at the store, so I just figured I’d try to grow my own.  I’m really crossing my fingers that maybe growing up on the balcony will make the basil a little more hardy than the basil plants I usually get at the grocery store.  Those things are always so finicky about getting watered, and I do my best but they’re always withering away.

Some carrot seeds came home with me too, hopefully they’re not going to be difficult.  The one I’m really nervous about is the artichoke seeds.  I didn’t really know anything about growing artichokes, but it sounded like something I wanted to be involved in.  I got the seeds, and figured I’d look into it when I got home.  As it turns out, it’s a couple months too late to plant the seeds to actually be able to get the plant to flower, meaning no delicious artichokes for me yet.  The thing is though, they’re perennial plants, so maybe I keep a few of them through till next year and BAM I’ll be in Artichoke City, baby!  Sounds like a good town to me.  Ok I’m making myself hungry so I’ll just post the picture of the always classy Stellar Farms operation and get going on my dinner.

Stellar Farms