Grow Your Own Roundup #24

This was our month of garden planning. We have grown some herbs and scallions indoors and and kept a few things going under our new cold frames this winter. We've laid out the plans for our new raised beds that we'll set up in March, and we purchased most of our seeds and supplies for starting our plants in a few weeks. I'll write a post on how we do that later this month. If you are getting ready for your gardens now, why not share your plans with Grow Your Own?

Thanks to everyone who participated this month. We had 15 participants from eight countries, and we cooked with our own parsley, chives, lemons, thyme, pumpkin, squash, persimmon, olives, olive oil, mango ginger, peppercorns, eggs, basil, tomatoes, chiles, sprouts, kale, and arugula. A warm welcome to our first-time participants!

If you are new to Grow Your Own, visit the Grow Your Own page to learn more about the event. I am the host for February, and the deadline for entries is February 28th. I will post the round-up a few days later. (This is a change from the regular biweekly schedule.) Please send your entries to me. I’m booking hosts for 2009, and anyone who has participated in GYO at least once is eligible to host, so let me know if you are interested. We do have a Flickr photo group as well, so let me know if you wish to join.

And now for the round-up! Click the images to visit the posts. (Presented in the order received.)

French Omelet from Anna of Life's Too Short for Mediocre Chocolate

Anna was inspired by a Julia Child video on You Tube and attempted her own perfect omelet with her homegrown parsley and chives. Anna was busy with Grow Your Own this month and also submitted a lovely lemon cake and a strawberry galette made with her own homegrown lemons from a potted lemon tree.

Sauteed Butternut Squash from Denise of Chez Us

Denise whipped up an easy butternut squash side dish with shallots and garlic and added her homegrown French thyme.

Pumpkin Curry Soup from Zora of Gardenopolis

Zora roasted one of her homegrown pumpkins and made a tasty pumpkin curry soup.

Minestrone from Kristina of Lovely Morning

Kristina made Alice Waters' minestrone with some of her homegrown squash.

Persimmon Bread from Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms

Elle has a persimmon tree in her yard, and she made these beautiful small loaves of persimmon bread.

Whole Wheat Focaccia with Kalamata Olives by Ivy of Kopiaste

Ivy made this lovely focaccia with her homegrown kalamata olives and homegrown olive oil from her family.

Manga Inji (Mango Ginger Pickles) from Jayashree of My Experiments with Food

Jayashree used some homegrown mango ginger and peppercorns from her parent's garden to make pickles. Mango ginger is a rhizome that looks like ginger but smells like mango.

Classic Fried Eggs and Chips with Foie and Truffle from Nuria of Spanish Recipes

Nuria was lucky to get some fresh eggs from her sister-in-law's hens, and she made a simple dish more glamorous with foie gras and truffle.

Pesto Pinwheels from Joelen of Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Joelen grew herbs in her AeroGarden and made some beautiful pesto pinwheels with the fresh basil.

Chili con Carne from Dhanggit of Dhanggit's Kitchen

Dhanggit made her husband happy with a spicy chili from their homegrown tomatoes and chiles.

Lentil Olive Salad from Sarina of Trini Gourmet

Sarina shows us how to grow our own lentil sprouts.

Caldo Verde from Cris of From Our Home to Yours

Cris made this homey comforting soup with the kale that she picked from her mother-in-law's garden.

Fennel Orange Salad from Judy of No Fear Entertaining

Judy made a fresh salad with fennel from her CSA box and arugula from her garden.

Slow Roasted Tomato Hummus from Andrea of Andrea's Recipes

I used some of our homegrown slow roasted tomatoes to make a healthy hummus.