Becoming a Tree Hugger

Today I finally started the fruit and vegetable garden. We planted strawberries, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, and leeks to go along with the herb garden  (which has red romaine, green romaine, butter lettuce , rosemary, parsley, thyme, and chives) that started this whole thing. I'm posting the pics now, hoping to update them once a week, so you can see the progress (or lack thereof) that I make. Keeping my fingers crossed that this doesn't turn into an epic fail like last year when every single plant I had on my deck died from severe lack of hydration.



There was an older woman buying plants next to me at Home Depot, who shrugged her shoulders and said (out of the blue) "well, it's cheaper than a shrink" so I figure how bad could it go? Ah and just to clear things up, I am not becoming a tree hugger (no offense, Jenna), it'll be a miracle if I end up being able to make one salad out of everything I grow.

In honor of the freshly planted cucumbers, I have included a recipe for the most amazing fresh pickles ever. Even cucumber haters love them, and once you make them fresh you will not want to buy them at the store anymore. Keep in mind that they only last about a week, but after you taste one you'll know why no expiration date is necessary. Enjoy :)

Recipe of the day: Homemade pickles


1 c unseasoned rice wine vinegar

¼ c granulated sugar

1 ½ tsp Kosher salt

1 seedless cucumber, skin on and thinly sliced

½ yellow onion, thinly sliced

Bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring. Remove from the heat. Toss the cucumber and onion in a ziploc bag with the vinegar mixture; squeeze out the air, seal, and place in the refrigerator to chill. Shake the bag occasionally on the first day to make sure the vegetables get pickled evenly.