the Old, the Bad and the Ugly

Okay, here we go!

No holds barred, this is my disastrous and overgrown garden.  It once was a teeny little grouping of small pots, yielding mint, cilantro, spinach, lettuce and small herbs.  Then it grew to 20+ tomato plants, 10+ cucumbers, squash, sunflowers, peas and so much more.  We had some great harvesting, but then the heat and, yes, the lack of maintenance (eeks!) led it to grow to this giant mess.  And believe me, I did the noble thing not showing you the rest of our sprawled out urban garden. 

So I couldn't take it anymore.  I have since hacked off all the dead and near-dying plants and recycled the dirt, putting more nutrients in it.  Now, I can start anew.  My goal is to set forth a fall garden having learned what I did from this last.
1) Don't be hasty.  A few plants will go a long way.
2) Don't let the boyfriend put nitrogen where it doesn't belong. Or else your tomato plant will look like the one in the upper left corner of the second picture.
3) Don't let the plant weaken to the point of aphids.  A healthy plant will defend itself, otherwise you'll have to abandon the poor thing at the farthest end of the universe, away from your healthier plants.

Okay, so the next step is to finish hacking through the forest of foliage.  Since I stop every few hours and run into the house at the sight of a spider, it may take me a while.  Until then, I will start planting seeds inside the house, where the temperature is little more stable than Los Angeles.

Welcome!

Welcome to my first ever blog: Roots and Recipedia!  I am a novice (though my boyfriend would say "newbie") to gardening and cooking, but I am determined to succeed in both.  You see, my mom is a very very good chef and my dad has a very very green thumb.  I've inherited a love for the outdoors and an appreciation for great food.  That's why I'm here.

If you're like me, this is how you approach the kitchen: you look in the fridge and see a food item.  You think, "hmm, I need to use this in something..."  You hop on google and search "---- recipes" and you browse for one that doesn't require going to the grocery store.  But what if you had an encyclopedia of recipes (Recipedia!) categorized by ingredient?  With a few clicks you can have dozens of ways to cook your chosen ingredient!  For this blog, I will be choosing one ingredient at a time and posting a marathon of ways to use it.  There will be soups, salads, sauces, desserts, dips, drinks, and more.

And, to grow my own green thumb, I will start with a newly planted fall garden, since my spring/summer garden went just a little nuts.  Pictures to come in the next entry.

I will be tending to my garden and cooking in my kitchen in this domestic diary.  Join me and we'll learn a few yummy things!