Foodie Friday: Garden planning starts in your kitchen!

Backyard gardening in Northern BC

Now that the sun is shining and the snow is almost gone here in Prince George, the weather leaves me dreaming about my future backyard garden.

My largest passion in life is connecting people with real food, and growing your own food is a great way to build this relationship. Growing your own food can be a therapeutic, humbling, and nourishing experience that is also, of course, chock-full of lessons to be learned throughout the season. When I lived in Vancouver, I had an opportunity to join a community garden in my neighbourhood with a 4x11 ft raised bed. This was the biggest garden I had ever had, as I was used to balcony gardening- with a few vegetable fails. I stuffed my new garden plot with everything I could imagine and it was my pride and joy over the growing season. I learned consistency of watering (surprise!), weeding, and harvesting were all key in keeping a healthy, beautiful garden space.

Now that we have our own home, top priority this spring is to build garden boxes to continue on with my gardening aspirations. I plan to have two large raised beds - this time with some added fruit trees and bushes, and to cater to our Northern climate when planting.

Now, what to plant?

If you are a seasoned Northern gardener, this may be a silly question, but being new to the North or being an entirely new gardener, this could be a daunting question! Ask yourself: What do I like to eat? What would I like to try cooking with?

Vegetable gardening starts in the kitchen! Try planting things that you enjoy to eat and you may be more motivated to take care of your plants throughout the season and to enjoy the harvest. One of my favourite vegetables to plant is kale because it is easy to grow, holds up against harsh weather, and can be eaten raw or cooked.

Today’s recipe is made with Portuguese kale- it resembles collard greens with large, smooth, and oval leaves that have a perfect chewiness in this salad. Check out this blog post for more ideas on what to do with kale you planted, or your neighbours gave you!

Sesame Kale Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale, sliced thinly
• 1 red pepper, sliced thinly
• 1 carrot, sliced thinly
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• ¼ cup green onion, sliced thinly
• ½ cup cashews, roasted
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 T canola or olive oil
• 1 T apple cider or rice wine vinegar
• ½ tsp soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tsp honey

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add kale, red pepper, carrot, cilantro, and green onions.
2. In a small jar, combine sesame oil, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and honey. Shake to combine.
3. Toss salad with enough dressing to coat the vegetables lightly. You will have left over dressing that can be kept in the fridge to use.
4. Top with crunchy cashews and serve!

I’m sure the years to come will be full of trial and error. I’d love to hear your Northern garden success stories!