a peek inside the fishbowl

Yesterday I posted a few photos of things that are sprouting around here at Casa Fishbowl. Today I’m thinking a bit beyond that. I’m thinking ahead to the garden.

It wasn’t until after I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
that I realized that I didn’t like gardening and that I had been fooling myself for the better part of this past decade. It was a huge AHA moment for me.

I wish I could find or remember how she put it, but if I’m recalling correctly, she was talking about how we often set ourselves up to like something just because we’re expected to like it. Gardening is one of those things that people (especially women) are expected to enjoy.

We bought our home in 1997, and for years afterwards I told myself I LOVED GARDENING. I told myself so often I started to believe it.

What do I enjoy most about gardening today, in 2013? Let’s review. I love:

• Springtime at the garden centre: the excitement and bustle, new plants, good smells, planning things!
• Sunshine
• New dirt
• Composting
• The miracle of growth e.g. eating a tomato on a plant we tended and grew from a mere twig
• Eating the things we grow, even if it’s something as simple as snipping chives for an omelette.
• Fresh air.
• Watering plants using water from the rain barrel.

Here’s what I don’t love about gardening:

• the hunched over weedpulling backbreaking work
• the knowledge that it’s really just another chore to add to our long list of chores, and it weighing heavily on me if I wasn’t doing it
• watering plants with the hose
• grass stains
• putting all of the tools away at the end of a weeding/gardening maintenance session
• dead plants, and knowing that I was the one responsible for their misery and eventual murder

Are you like me? Always super excited to garden in the May, but as the season goes on, finding yourself not caring one whit about the garden come August? That’s when the weeds take over, making it OBVIOUS that our passion has run dry. And soon afterwards the trees drop their leaves. And then the cycle begins again. Sigh.

So the question remained, what could I do to make me happy in the garden again? It took me awhile to figure it out but I think I’ve hit upon the answer: container gardening.

This is something I can handle.

Last fall I bought a few tall containers on sale at Home Depot and I’m planning on planting some pretty annuals in manageable arrangements. I’ll let you know how that goes, but there’s more to think about here. A whole backyard! It’s going to need some serious help because it’s been a disaster area back there since the reno.

This is what we’re working with (click to embiggen):

We are lucky we have such a large yard, and I think there’s lots of potential here. It’s very shady in the summer, which is very good when we want to stay cool, but it makes growing things quite a challenge.

I’ve decided to try and not let myself be too overwhelmed by it all. Instead, I’m looking at it as a chance to start again. Whatever we come up with needs to be very low-maintenance. I know that now.

The contractor owes us a truckload of topsoil and there’s still grading work to be done. Grass needs to be planted. And there’s also a half-finished flagstone patio back there that needs to be addressed as soon as the flagstone is ordered. (I’m not sure where to get it yet.)

When the grading is being done I think we’ll order some river stones and create a dry stream/rain garden where the sump pump drains out. Sort of like this but on a much smaller scale. We’ve discovered the birds love to drink and bathe in it (it’s clean water) and I like the idea of having a slow-draining water supply that collects rainwater.

I see natural stone or wood paths, and maybe a bench amid some potted herbs and other wild things? I see it as a place that’s bird, dog, and people-friendly… a place to enjoy a quiet coffee and the sounds of nature.

Thoughts? Ideas? Know anyone who can help a gal out?

Guess who we saw in the backyard bathing in the sump pump dump the other day? THIS DOOD:

The arrival of the robins makes it official. It’s Spring, and that means I’m itching to see things growing around the house.

Our Easter tree (really just branches snipped from our lilac tree) is getting green buds. It is lovely. And so springy.

I’m trying something with celery too. Did you know you can transplant celery and grow a whole new plant out of the end of the stalk? Here’s some info.

… and I also have a dish full of broccoli sprouts on the go, a wee project I once wrote about for Canadian Family Magazine:

They are edible!

I also have some chives on the go but there’s nothing worth showing on that front yet.

But this is just the beginning! I have some pretty big ideas as it pertains to the backyard and I’m getting pretty excited about it. But more on that tomorrow.

We’ve been on a Caesar salad kick lately. And I’ve been on a kale kick. So I got to thinking, why not combine the two and see if my family will go for it? And this is what resulted in this happy marriage:

Ohhh, the garlic. And the BACON. And the cheese. (That’s a 30-month old Parmesan from Sobeys!) Those are three of my favourite foods RIGHT THERE. This is a delicous salad, and you know what? Seventy-five percent of available taste testers said they’d eat it again! (In other words, three out of four family members.)

I’d call that a win, wouldn’t you? The youngest even had a second helping. (!)

Here’s a tip: if you’re not sure if your family will willingly eat kale, mix it 50/50 with romaine and don’t say a word. They probably won’t even notice.

This recipe serves four as a side salad.

Andrea’s New Favourite Kale Caesar Salad Recipe

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (don’t cheap out on the cheese – buy the good stuff! It makes a difference!)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

• 1/2 bunch kale, thick stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces.

Top with:

• 4 slices thinly sliced double-smoked bacon, fried and crumbled (this is butcher shop or deli counter bacon yo)
• Additional Parmesan, thinly sliced using the side of your box grater or mandolin
• Your favourite croutons (I like using toasted, day old baguette for this.)

Mix up the dressing in a blender or Bullet and pour it over the kale in a big bowl and give it a good toss. You’ll want to do this about 15 minutes before serving. Top with extra cheese and bacon and croutons, if using.

We served this salad with steak sandwiches and it was AMAZING.

Let me know if you try this recipe. I’d love to hear if your kids ate it too.