House of Bob

Mums and Herbs outside the Garage Workshop

I have been having a pretty bad problem with pests on my rosemary and mint, two plants I thought wouldn’t have pest problems at all. I decided they are packed in too tightly and don’t get enough drainage or enough water, putting them in a vulnerable state. So, I put in new plants among the orange mums outside the garage, and covered it all with a few inches of mulch. The new location next to the hose should allow for more frequent watering, especially with family helping out to water.

This summer seemed to rush by in a blur of heat waves, fires, baby milestones, tomatoes, figs, and long hours at work.  The garden is done for the season, and I’m already thinking about the beets and radishes of fall and winter.

I need to seriously rethink my irrigation system, as the drippers failed right before one of our San Gabriel Valley heat waves.  The tomatoes largely survived, with the Pineapple from Territorial being a standout favorite.  I don’t think I’ll grow the chocolate cherry grape tomato next year, since it took over the 32 sq. ft. veggie bed, climbing up the beanpoles and choking out the eggplant, cukes and squash.

I managed to put by a few pints of fig jam, and dried most of the tomatoes I didn’t eat fresh.  I also harvested some dry beans to plant next year and kept some of the sunflower seeds.  It isn’t enough to warrant roasting and salting, so maybe I’ll just leave it out for the birds.

A brief trip to visit family, and a few hairy deadlines, but the veggie patch is showing no signs of slowing down. The Japanese cuke is well above my head as are the pole beans. I added a crookneck squash and a small pumpkin after my trip so they need to catch up. I have already harvested a good handful of cucumber Alibi, and they made a good, if salty, quick pickle with shiso leaves. I’m not so sure about my grapes- I have a piddly amount of clusters, especially the Kyoho. The Zinfandel is better, but this is the first year after all.

I had planned to start my vegetable garden from seed this year, but the sowbugs had a different idea. The only vegetable seedling to survive was a cucumber, Alibi. I blame myself for having too much organic matter that’s not really broken down yet.  It attracts the bugs and they feast on the tender seedlings.  I’m still the lazy kind of composter – I turn the pile maybe once or twice a year, so it leaves chunkies.  However the newer planting boxes are doing well, and some of the chard I planted from seed is still there – although it is starting to bolt.  I also had a good harvest of lettuces over the winter, all from seed.

So, with Miss Baby down for a nap, I headed off to the nursery for some plants. The place was a madhouse but I managed to pick up some plants pretty quickly. Here’s the list:

Cucumber, Japanese
Pole Bean, Kentucky Wonder
Pepper, Hungarian Wax
Pepper, Anaheim
Bell Pepper, Mandarin
Eggplant, Japanese

A little picked over and overgrown - but new seedlings are popping up.

Gary Johnson investigates the charred earth that is the side yard.

The recent arrivals.

I’ve made several of these, the unsmoked Italian version of bacon, when the temperature is right, around 60-65°F.  The recipe is pretty straightforward, and I’ll direct you the the CHOW website I found it on if you want more information.  I’ve got one curing in the fridge now and I’ll hang it up in a week.  The rosemary, thyme and lavender flowers are from the garden and I collected the juniper berries on my friend’s land in the High Desert outside of L.A.  I think my neighbors/famlily/City of Alhambra might frown on raising pork in the backyard.

The temp is a little high to be hanging one right now, but I’ll take my chances.  This is also the first pancetta I put juniper berries in but I understand it is traditional.  I’ll update when I pull it down.  Here is my recipe for 2.5 lbs:

• 2.5lbs Pork Belly, skin removed
• 1 Tbs Black Peppercorns, cracked
• 1 Tbs Juniper Berries, cracked
• 1/6 Cup Kosher Salt (2.66 Tbs)
• 1.5 Tbs Brown Sugar (I substituted Evaporated Cane Sugar)
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated Nutmeg
• 1 1/2 Cloves Garlic
• 2 Bay Leaves, Crushed
• 1 Tbs Thyme (fresh)
• 1 Tbs Rosemary (fresh)
• 1 tsp Pink Salt (aka curing salt- this is optional if botulism isn’t more dangerous to you than cancer)

Crush the pepper, bay leaves and juniper berries, and add this to the salt, pink salt and nutmeg.  Chop the garlic and herbs and mix all this together.  This is your curing mixture.  Remove the skin of the pork belly with a sharp knife – it also helps if the pork is cold when you trim it- place it in the freezer for 10 minutes while you prep your cure mix.  Rub the mixture all over the pork on all sides and place in a zip-top bag.  After you remove as much air as you can, place it in a dish that is slightly larger than the belly.  Now you will need to weigh the meat/cure mixture down.  I use a loaf pan with two cans of tomatoes, since it fits nicely in the larger container.

Turn the zip-top bag every day (I’m watching) and after 7 days the meat should feel firm.   If it’s not, put it back in for a few days.  When it is ready, rinse it off under cool water.

Now is the time to hang out the pancetta to air-dry.  Some people just hang up the belly as is, but I like the traditional rolled appearance.  Liberally apply some freshly cracked black pepper all over.  Start rolling with the meat side in, very tightly.  Using some twine, tie up the pancetta with a double overhand knot. It will hold itself closed.    Now you can lace up the rest of the way, pulling tightly as you go.  Make a loop for hanging and hang in a cool, slightly humid location for 7 days or so.  I’ve always used the kitchen and haven’t had any problems, other than bumping my head into it when I do the dishes.

I use pancetta in sauces and stews, sometimes just broiled on top of a crusty slice of bread.

I planted the tomatoes this morning. I’m hoping to avoid the spacing problems I had last year by planting way fewer plants.  (Avoid the urge to plant two six-packs of tomatoes- unless you have lots of room!)  You can see the Romas in the right side of the planter- they even have tiny tomatoes already.  You can also see the Cascade Hop vine at the bottom of the bamboo stake.  The Willamette Hop is just starting to poke through.

I’m anticipating a shipment of tomato plants today from Territorial Seed Co. They’ll go in the ground this weekend, sharing some space with the Roma I planted a month ago.  Pineapple, Cherokee Purple, and Chocolate Cherry.  In other garden news, the hop vines are coming up and the artichoke is doing pretty well.  Last year I planted two Globe Artichokes and neither made it.  Speaking of not making it – the Hass Avocado I planted two weeks ago?  I kinda forgot to water it and it has dropped a lot of leaves.  I rigged up a high tech watering device – a 5 gallon bucket with a 1/16″ hole at the bottom.  I fill it and let it slowly water the roots.  I hope it makes it…

For better or worse, my weekend starts on Friday.  My goals for this weekend:  Design meeting in Hollywood with a new client, get that kegerator cleaned out and ready, maybe grab some grains for a brewing session, a little gardening, and maybe a trip to Palm Springs for the Design Within Reach warehouse sale.

beet photo

I pulled out the leggy arugula, snap peas and radishes in anticipation of heirloom tomatoes, okra and peppers.  This is the only beet that made it from the whole packet of seeds, but what a beet!  Ok, so maybe this beet cost 1.50 plus the expense of watering (or lack thereof since only one came up.)   I simply boiled it in a little salted water, and sauteed the tops with some chard.  The raised beds are holding up well and I hope to have a pretty good harvest this year since I added drip irrigation over the winter season.