Grow Your Own Round-up #8

Thanks to everyone who participated in March! We have some wonderful dishes to sample from! I also want to send special thanks to a few people who have helped me with Grow Your Own.

• Thanks to Susan of Farmgirl Fare for writing a post about Grow Your Own on her blog In My Kitchen Garden.
• Thanks to Sally of A Year of Eating Seasonally for writing a post about Grow Your Own.
• Thanks to Andrew of Spittoon Extra for adding Grow Your Own to Is My Blog Burning? The submission form on the old site never worked for me, and Andrew graciously added the event each month. (Now that the site has had a total makeover, we can add events ourselves. How cool is that?)
• Thanks to Cate of Sticky Date for adding Grow Your Own to the calendar each month.
• Thanks to Lisa of La Mia Cucina, one of the beloved founders of The Daring Bakers, for adding the logo to The Daring Bakers site each month.

If you know of any blog posts or articles written about Grow Your Own, please send the links my way so I can properly thank the author.

And now the roundup! Click the photos to visit the posts.

What to do with a bunch of lemons from a friend's tree? Jessica of Finny Knits (California, United States) made some tasty Crisp Lemon Wafer cookies. Jessica's husband "is a one cookie man", and she wrote a hysterical post about making his favorite cookies. He actually ate 11 dozen--yes, 132 of these on a road trip to Reno!

Hank Shaw of Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (Orangevale, California) does a great job of pairing wild game with homegrown produce. He roasted some barn pigeons and served them up with a delicious green sauce made from parsley, oregano, and garlic chives from his garden. For a side, he roasted and mashed some of his kabocha squash.

I confess to having garden envy when I read White on Rice Couple (Southern California, United States). Todd and Diane have a lovely and prolific garden and many of their blog posts are about the dishes they make with homegrown produce. They took some of the Fremont tangerines from their tree and used them in a Silky Chocolate Whiskey Tangerine Pie which they described as "creamy, sexy…naughty." How could any sane human being turn that down?

Have you ever had a head of garlic start sprouting and wondered what to do with it? Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi (Northwestern United States) stuck the sprouting cloves in a pot of dirt, watched them grow, and then used the green sprouts, parsley, and walnuts to coat a log of goat cheese. What a delicious and easy appetizer!

I love pickled fruits and vegetables, and Gay of A Scientist in the Kitchen (Philippines) made a hot and spicy one called atsara using fresh papaya, ginger, chilis, and lemongrass, all from her own backyard. She recommends pairing it with fried or grilled meats. Yum!

When she goes to visit her in-laws on their farm in Brazil, Cris of From Our Home to Yours always manages to find some garden treasures and make something delicious. This time she used a variety of peppers and turned them into a wonderful spread for bread or grilled vegetables.

Jennie of Straight from the Farm (Philadelphia, PA) gets very creative with rutabagas. She made a tasty Herbed Rutabaga Couscous Salad using Israeli couscous, bacon, Parmesan cheese, and a simple vinaigrette. So easy and looks delicious!

This dish looks like a plate of comfort food to me. Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska (Anchorage, Alaska) used some frozen sugar snap peas left over from her summer garden and combined them with fresh mushrooms and parsnips from her CSA box and created a lovely parsnip gnocchi flavored with basil and garlic.

Preserved lemons are common in Moroccan cooking, and Jen of Modern Beet (Los Altos Hills, California) used homegrown blood oranges and Meyer lemons she got from friends and a work colleague to make this simple and tasty treat. While you are there, check out her Fresh From the Farmer's Market Blog Carnival.

Kim of Live, Love, Laugh, Eat (Hampton Roads, Virginia) grows fresh herbs in her garden at this time of year. Her rosemary plant is in bloom, and she used it as well as fresh thyme and parsley to make a simple herb-crusted roast pork which she served at a dinner with friends. The whole meal sounds really good!

And from my kitchen comes a peppercorn and herb crusted leg of lamb we roasted for Easter dinner. I used fresh herbs from my indoor garden. Michael is not a fan of lamb, but he said he liked how I prepared it and two of my boys ate at least three helpings each. I call that a success!