What's Fresh April 2, 2012

 

Spring has definitely arrived at Bindweed, just ahead of the Easter Bunny!  And we are ready.  RT, Carey and I have been out trimming, cutting and harvesting and this is what we have for your Easter Baskets.

French Tulips

This is a field shot of Maureen, a very long white French tulip in the greenhouse.  If you look in the upper right corner you just might see our resident Easter bunny, RT.

Grand Style, a long stemmed big French tulip

Big Smile, a long stemmed yellow French tulip

 Happy Generation, a yellow tulip with deep coral stripes

Happy Generation, close-up

Menton, another large French tulip, shell pink and salmon with pink undertones. 

Mystery Yellow tulip.  Really.  This is not a tulip that we ordered or can identify but would love to know what it is because it is a great tulip.  A bit shorter and more compact than Big Smile this tulip has really great foliage, sturdy with this striking yellow edge.

If anyone can identify this tulip variety, please let me know.

Orange Queen, large yellow orange heads with deeper orange accents.

Gavote, a new tulip for us.  It is a smaller tulip but gorgeous.

Gavote, close-up side view.  Gavote is the perfect combination of deep purple and gold.

Sorbet, with very delicate pastel tones this tulip is perfect for spring celebrations.

We have just a few more Spring Green this week.  

Parrot tulips

Flaming Parrot tulip, I wait anxiously for this tulips every year.  It just delights me.

Super White Parrot

We have Super White and White Parrots at the moment.  There is very little difference between them.  The super white is shorter and has a larger head, the white parrot is taller with a more slender profile.

Hyacinths

Carey took this photo of me carrying in newly harvested hyacinth.  We have purple, pink, peach and yellow, harvest with the bulbs intact.

Ranunculus

We have assorted bunches of ranunculus, in the center you can see a bundle of green centered ranunculus.

Anemones

We are still harvesting purple and white anemones daily.

As always, please consult your fax and email for full availability.  Call or email to pre-order for Easter Week.

What's Fresh: March 22

The sunny skies have provided an abundance of beautiful fresh spring flowers and we have

 "Tulip Fever".

I just love to play with the "left-overs".  At the end of the bloom for a particular variety there are always a few odd tulips that I lay claim to.  Yesterday I had a bonus and put this gorgeous collection together.  Look carefully and you will find an Atilla in the center surrounded by Rai Parrots and Rococo Parrots.  There are some stray Menton, Grand Style and Red Impressions too.  What a delight to have these lush rich colors to work with.

I was out this morning photographing tulips as RT was bringing them in.  For this week we have the following:

 Big Smile

Orange Queen

Sorbet

Spring Green

bud stage

Spring Green
 very traditionally shaped in bud form and opens fully to a star-burst tulip

Grand Style
 The pinks have just started to bloom so we have limited numbers.

The Parrots are stunning.

Peach and Apricot Parrot Tulips
I can not tell the difference once they are out of the beds.

Rococo Parrot Tulips, day one

Rococo Parrot Tulips, fully open
This tulip is a painter's dream, well this painter anyway.

White Parrot Tulips

Pink, Peach and Yellow Hyacinths

Ranunculus in green and assorted spring colors.

As always, please consult email and fax for full availability.  We are making regular deliveries to Sun Valley and our good friends at Go fer-it are happy to deliver Monday through Friday from Boise to Jackson.

What's Fresh: March 16

It may be overcast and cold outside but inside the green houses--Spring is here!
RT is cutting tulips every four hours. 

Rococo Parrot tulip

Apricot Parrot tulip

Rai Parrot tulip

We have a colorful selection of hyacinth.

Peach,  Pink  and Yellow.

Clearwater White French tulip

Atilla Purple French tulip

Yellow French tulip

Blue and White anemones and assorted ranunculus.  In the top left corner are the newest Bindweed trial, Green Ranunculus.

Pussy Willow

For full availability please consult your fax and email.  Feel free to call or email an order anytime.  Deliveries to Sun Valley on Monday and our good friends at Go fer-it are happy to deliver just about anywhere between Boise and Jackson, Monday through Friday.

What's Fresh: March 12

With the bright warm days the tulips have gone crazy.  We are out harvesting three times a day and have an excellent variety. 

Apricot Impression tulips

Red Impression tulips

Atilla tulip

Clearwater tulip

We had Parrot fever when ordering last spring, consequently we have an abundance of gorgeous tulips.

Apricot Parrot tulip

Salmon Parrot tulip

Rai Parrot tulip

Red Cap Parrot tulip

We also have hyacinths in blue and peachy pink.

Ginger Peach Gelato

We have the most gorgeous peach tulips blooming right now and so thus inspired I made some ginger peach gelato.  We had a good crop of peaches on our little trees this year, way too many to use before they were over-ripe so I peeled, quartered and froze some. 

I put a good sized cupful in my blender with about a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, a cup of cold water, 2/3 cup of sugar and a cup of milk.  Gave it a good buzz and then put it in my "Big Chill" and we had gelato for dessert.  (Rene found some "Big Chill" ice cream makers on ebay for under $20!)

Ginger Peach Gelato:

1 cup peach puree
1 TB ginger, freshly grated
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup milk

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until completely pureed.  Put puree into an ice cream maker if you have one and if not put it in a large metal bowl and put it in your freezer.  Freeze for two hours, remove from the freezer and whisk the gelato or stir it vigorously with a fork to break up the forming ice crystals.  Return gelato to the freezer and repeat this process until you have a soft ice cream texture. 

What's Fresh: Tulips!

Yep, we have tulips.  With the bright light we have had over the weekend and today we have tulips.  So long brushes, good-bye to sleeping in,  time to be a farmer again.  I will be delivering to Sun Valley in less than two weeks.

A stand of Red Impression, one of the earliest bloomers.

 

 

Red Impression tulip

Apricot Impression tulip

And coming soon, new varieties of parrot tulip.

To order please email Bindweed or call me.

Quinoa and Blackbean Salad

I adore quinoa.  It is a small grain that has been eaten for hundreds of years.  It is high in fiber and nutrients and is free of gluten.  Several years ago I had my first taste at a great sandwich place in downtown Boise.  That intriguing side salad made such an impression that I have reproduced it several times.  This recipe has a decidedly Latin swing but with slight adjustments you can spin it any way you like.


Put one cup quinoa in a large bowl and cover with cold water.  Let this soak for an hour.  Using a small screen sieve, pour out the water and rinse the quinoa in running water for 30 seconds.  Put quinoa into a med. saucepan and cover with water by ½ in.  Bring the quinoa and water to the boil, add ½ tsp. salt, cover saucepan and cook for 10 min., or until quinoa is tender to the bite.  When tender, remove from heat and let any extra water be absorbed.   Let cool and refrigerate.

While the quinoa is cooling make the dressing.

Honey-Lime Dressing

juice from 2 limes, measuring ¼ c.

¼ - ½ t. salt

½ t. garlic powder

1 heaping teaspoon cumin

¼ - ½ t. chili powder

1 tb. Honey

¼ c. olive oil

Put all ingredients except the olive oil into a med. bowl.  Mix well, until honey is dissolved and incorporated into the juice.  Taste and adjust any seasonings.  Add the oil and whisk the dressing until emulsified. 

Now open a can of black beans and rinse and drain them well.  Add them to the quinoa.

For a colorful and delicious salad add diced red, orange and/or yellow peppers and celery to your salad.  I always wash and add the leafy green tops of the celery too.

Stir in your dressing and adjust any seasoning.  Wash and mince fresh cilantro and add it to your salad.

 

Perfect.

 Ingredient list for salad:

1 cup quinoa (I use a mix of red/black and white quinoa because it's colorful.)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well

1 red pepper, diced

1 orange pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

4 stalks celery, diced

¼ c. fresh cilantro, minced

Quinoa is a very versatile grain and takes on a variety of flavors very well.  I have made this salad substituting red kidney beans or garbanzo beans for black beans and used a variety of fresh vegetables, what ever I had on hand.  I have also used various dressings, all citrus based, but with different flavor profiles.  It is fun to mix it up.