Home Independence

Plant Series: Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli

2012-02-10T10:32:00.000-08:00

Now that many of us are starting our seeds if not already seeing some little sprouts, it is time to really learn about our plants. I have placed my first order with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and I simply can't wait to have the shipment arrive.

Each installment of this series will teach you about a different Heirloom seed plant. Hopefully instilling confidence in you to start your own Heirloom seeds for your garden.

Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli

Photo Credit

"(B. oleracea) An Italian heirloom that was brought to America in the 1880s, 5-8" heads and many side shoots." Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

These two words are simply different varieties of the same kind of plant:

Calabrese-Calabrese heads are on the larger side and are green

Broccoli-produces purple or white heads and is smaller

Most times Calabrese are marketed in the supermarkets under the name Broccoli.

How to Grow:

Calabrese can be planted in Early May, under covers about three weeks earlier. It prefers full sun but will tolerate up to partial shade and still produce nicely. It does prefer a well dug, rich in nutrients soil.

Harvesting/Storing:

For the best Broccoli (all types) begin picking before the flowers start to open. By removing the main head from the plant you will encourage the side shoots to continue producing heads. Both Calabrese and Broccoli freeze really well. All you really need to do is blanch the spears in salted water for about three minutes. Then let them cool out in the room for about five to ten minutes after which you can promptly freeze them. If you prefer to use them right away they will store in your refrigerator for about one week.

BROCCOLI FOLKLORE

The Romans were enamored with broccoli. Pliny the Elder, an Italian naturalist and writer, 23 to 79 CE, tells us the Romans grew and enjoyed broccoli during the first century CE. The vegetable became a standard favorite in Rome where the variety called Calabrese was developed. The Calabrese is the most common variety still eaten in the United States today. Before the Calabrese variety was cultivated, most Romans were eating purple sprouting broccoli that turned green when cooked.

Roman Emperor Tiberius, 14 BCE to 37 BCE, had a son named Drusius who took his love of broccoli to excess. Excluding all other foods, he gorged on broccoli for an entire month. When his urine turned bright green and his father scolded him severely for "living precariously," Drusius finally abandoned his beloved broccoli.

Roman farmers called broccoli "the five green fingers of Jupiter".

How to help keep your house warm-Cooking

2012-01-20T07:01:00.000-08:00

Everyone is always looking to find ways to keep their homes warmer while not breaking the bank. One of the simplest ways to help warm the house is to cook from scratch or even semi-homemade.

You are probably thinking what? cooking? How does that help?

Well if you take a moment to think about it this way. By cooking using your oven and burners you are letting heat into the house without paying extra for it. Not to mention you are being frugal by cooking your own meals instead of taking the drive thru route.

Easy, Isn't it?

So some ideas I have for this weekend's cooking is making some breads or muffins for breakfast this week. We are so busy in the mornings that I am seeing us start to slack when it comes to breakfast. Then I am seeing us going through some drive thru that is taking money out of our pockets that could be better used somewhere else. So here is my favorite MASTER MUFFIN MIX. This recipe comes from Home Joys Blog.

Directions:
Mix up a batch of the master muffin mix.

6 cup whole wheat flour
6 cup white flour
2 cup sugar
4 T baking powder
3 tsp salt

Store your master mix in an air tight container.

When you want to make muffins, choose one of the liquid ingredient options.

Option #1
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Option #2
1/3 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 cup milk or buttermilk

Option #3
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup yogurt

Option #4
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk or buttermilk

Next choose the additional ingredients you desire. The sky's the limit but here is a few variations to get you started.

Almond Poppy Seed
2 tsp almond flavoring
2 T poppy seed
1/3 cup chopped or sliced almonds (optional)

Cheese Onion
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Berry
1 cup blueberry or strawberry, fresh or frozen
2 tsp grated lemon rind, optional

Cinnamon Apple
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped apple

Breakfast
3 slices chopped bacon
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Banana Nut
1 large banana, mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Chocolate
3 T cocoa
1/3 cup additional sugar
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Combine: First mix the liquid ingredients. Then stir in 2 3/4 cup of the dry master mix and the additional ingredients. Combine until just barely moistened.

Bake: Spoon batter into muffin pan. Makes 12 large muffins or 18 smaller muffins. Baking time will vary depending on variation chosen. Bake at 350 or 375 for 15 minutes. Check to see if additional baking time is needed. Muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to sit for a few minutes before removing from muffin pan.

Notes:
These muffins are not very sweet. We prefer our muffins to be more like bread then a cupcake but, if you prefer, you can add more sugar to the master mix.

You may choose to use only whole wheat flour, or only white.

If you want to make one of these muffins but don't have a desire to mix up an entire batch of dry muffin mix, for 2 3/4 cup of mix use 2 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/3 tsp salt.

I have a container that I mix up all the dry ingredients into then depending on the amount of flour will determine how much of the dry mix I use. It makes it quick and easy to mix up a batch of muffins in no time. It also makes it much easier for my chef-in-training aka Daughter to help bake with me.

Seed Starting

2012-01-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

It is really hard to start thinking about Spring and warm weather when the thermometer outside doesn’t even register zero degrees. Brrr its cold, little too cold for even me. So I decided to jump right in and start figuring out my exact dates for seed starting and approximate outdoor planning time.

So first off I had to decide what the hardiness of each plant I wanted to seed was. So here is my brief chart:

HARDY:
Broccoli
Lettuce
Onions
Spinach

SEMI-HARDY (PLANT 1-2 WEEKS BEFORE AVERAGE LAST FROST)
Cauliflower
Potatoes
Zucchini

TENDER ( PLANT ON OR JUST AFTER AVERAGE LAST FROST DATE)
Beans
Corn
Tomatoes

VERY TENDER ( PLANT 1-2 WEEKS AFTER LAST AVERAGE FROST DATE)
Cucumbers
Peppers
Pumpkins
Squash-Summer

If you are like me I had no clue as to what my zone was. So trying to find out the Frost Free Date was next to impossible. So guess what I did, Yup I googled. Actually I used my swagbucks search and found the link that could help me out here.

OK so now I know my Zone and can find out what my Frost Free Dates are.

Here is a chart that gives you an idea of when to start you seeds indoors. This chart is courtesy of North Carolina State University Extension.

I hope this helps you feel good about starting your seeds at home.

Plant	Approximate Number of Weeks Before Last Frost Date to Start Seeds Indoors	Time Seeds Take to Germinate (Days)	Temp. (^oF)	Light/Dark Requirement
Ageratum	8	5 to 10	70	Light
Alyssum	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Aster	6	5 to 10	70	Either
Balsam	6	5 to 10	70	Either
Begonia	12 or more	10 to 15	70	Light
Broccoli	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Browallia	12 or more	15 to 20	70	Light
Cabbage	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Cauliflower	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Celosia	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Centurea	6	5 to 10	65	Dark
Coleus	8	5 to 10	65	Light
Columbine	8	20 - 25	70	Light
Cosmos	4 or less	5 to 10	70	Either
Cucumber	4 or less	5 to 10	85	Either
Dahlia	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Dianthus	10	5 to 10	70	Either
Eggplant	8	5 to 10	70	Either
Geranium	12 or more	10 to 20	70	Light
Impatiens	10	15 to 20	70	Light
Larkspur	12 or more	5 to 10	55	Dark
Lettuce	8	5 to 10	70	Light
Marigold	6	5 to 10	70	Either
Muskmelon	4 or less	5 to 10	85	Either
Nicotiana	8	10 to 15	70	Light
Pansy (Viola)	12 or more	5 to 10	65	Dark
Pepper	8	5 to 10	80	Either
Petunia	10	5 to 10	70	Light
Phlox	8	5 to 10	65	Dark
Portulaca	10	5 to 10	70	Dark
Snapdragon	10	5 to 10	65	Light
Squash	4 or less	5 to 10	85	Either
Stock	10	10 to 15	70	Either
Tomato	6	5 to 10	80	Either
Verbena	10	15 to 20	65	Dark
Vinca	12 or more	10 to 15	70	Either
Watermelon	4 or less	5 to 10	85	Either
Zinnia	6	5 to 10	70	Either