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Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)

Posted on May 1, 2018September 25, 2019 by Mostly Greek (Dorie)

20180304_101138_001 Not only is this a ridiculously easy plant to grow, but it’s tasty, nutritious, and can be used as a functional part of a water feature in your landscape. Score one for versatility!

Continue reading Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)

Posted in Gardening, Shade, The Plants We Grow, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Water PlantsTagged Gardening, organic gardening, organic produce, Vegetables, water gardens, Water Plants9 Comments

Welcome to Mostly-Greek! I’m a Greek mom and yiayia (grandma), living the suburban life with my family in the heart of California like it’s a Greek village!

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The most wonderful time of the year is not Christmas, like the song claims, it's right now! Why? Because each day a new seed catalog comes in the mail, of course!! 🤪 I love scrolling through the pages looking at all the lovely pictures of aaaaallll the veggies I could grow. Of course, I can't grow all of them, but I'll sure try to get a lot. For whatever reason, growing cabbage is just kind of fun for me. My climate doesn't allow me to get really huge heads, but I've had enough success to make several batches of cabbage rolls, cole slaw, and cabbage soup. Even the leaves on the side of the head make a great side dish when steamed and drizzled with olive oil and lemon. I have a post with info on growing these big balls of joy on my blog, so come on over and we can drool over seed catalogs together. 😊

Once upon a time, if you had told me that I would like cabbage rolls to the point of making them... on purpose, even, I would have thought you were off your rocker. Thankfully, kids grow up and realize what good food actually is. These cabbage rolls embody sooo much of that goodness in a multitude of ways. They are filled with a tasty mix of rice, herbs, and seasoned beef and topped with tangy avgolemono sauce (Greek egg and lemon sauce). It's a complete meal full of flavor and dare I say, it's healthy, too! The recipe is up and running, so come on over and let's make something together!

Every so often I surprise myself with something I put together. My family generally likes what I make for them to eat, but there are definitely times where their response is a little less than enthusiastic. They don't hate it, but they may not love it. When I put together this cauliflower soup, seasoned with thyme and white wine, I really wasn't sure how well it would be received. I mean, cauliflower is not generally something people get super excited about. I was more than pleasantly surprised when everyone, including my youngest who's my toughest critic, EVERYONE went back for more. I guess it's good!! It's easy to prepare, and tastes so good with a sprinkling of sharp cheddar and a little dab of sour cream. The recipe is ready to go, so let's enjoy a delicious bowl of comfort together!

Once upon a time I dreamed of living someplace where it would snow. It has snowed exactly once in my lifetime here, and it would take scraping the whole front yard of what fell to make a snowman three inches tall. It was exciting, but not a winter wonderland by any stretch of the imagination. As an adult though, I am a little more content to know that I don't have to worry about digging out my driveway to get to the store. Yet, the mountains still call me to come visit in the winter and I'm more than happy to oblige. This year's snow has been good so far, but we are now on track to have one of the driest January's on record, as in no rain at all for the entire month. I put a short post on my blog that explains the significance of the last picture here and how it all ties in to what we've been experiencing. So come on over for a visit, it's story time!!

Seriously so very satisfying!! But there's nothing like working with citrus to help you find every little nick and cut on your skin. 🙄 Any guesses as to what I'm making?? Put them in the comments!

Perhaps you've heard the phrase "let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food". It's often attributed to Hippocrates, the ancient Greek who founded western medicine, though he may not have ever made the statement. Regardless, it's very sound advice. Not only is the food you eat a component of your overall health, but what you add to your food is just as important. I'm fortunate to have the space to grow a lot of my own herbs to season my dishes with, but there are many plants that can be grown in pots if space is limited. Even things that can be huge can be kept small. This plant is Grecian laurel, also known as Bay Laurel, and Sweet Bay. It's the plant that winners at the Olympics of ancient Greece would be crowned with, and it's the same one used for adding flavor to many soups and stews. It also can grow a whopping 50 feet tall! Mine has been kept to a dainty 2 feet, a far more manageable size and still quite abundant in flavorful leaves. I have information to help you grow your own bay leaves, along with other gardening tips on my blog, so come on over and let's take a stroll through the garden together.

I have been having some cravings for a good slice of beef lately, not sure why, but I'm not going to fight it. 😄 There's a cut of beef that I love that not too many people outside of California are familiar with, called the tri-tip. It's super easy to work with and is often less expensive than many other beef roasts. It takes well to marinating and can be cooked up in the oven in about an hour. One of my favorite marinades is this one with onions and whiskey. The onions caramelize and the whiskey blends with the juices from the roasting meat to make the most wonderful sauce. Get yourself a chunk of bread ready, because you won't want to waste a single drop! The meat pairs so well with a wide array of cool weather veggies like broccoli, roasted carrots, etc. So come on over for the recipe and let's continue to enjoy winter meals together!

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