Teff and The Garden



Teff: Before we went to Ethiopia, my sweet friend dropped off a yummy delicious banana bread and homemade granola, along with a bag of teff grain.   She said that she just threw in a cupful of the tiny grain when making her normal recipes because it's a nutritional powerhouse.   Looking at the label, it's true.  It's high in protein, fiber and iron, which we need more of around here.   When we were in Ethiopia we were introduced to injera, made from teff.  Injera is interesting, a kind of moist and spongy sourdough flatbread.  Since I'm not ambitious enough to make injera at home, the teff is going into other things.  My mom added teff to muffins and made teff porridge with dates and honey (the recipe on the back of the package).  Today I experimented with zucchini bread from here, substituting other sweeteners for the sugar and adding about a cup of teff. 



It turned out pretty good, although the minute my kids heard "zucchini," the poor bread had three strikes against it.   When, oh when will I learn?!  One of these days I'll learn to keep quiet when I'm asked, what's in that?   At least Gia loved it.



Here's her teff baby food (gross, says Christian) with some garlicky asparagus.  I am totally taking advantage of her inability to say "gross"!



Gardening: Every year we plant a vegetable garden, the kind where you do the best you can and end up with more weeds than vegetables, but those juicy summertime tomatoes are always faithful nevertheless and make it all worthwhile.  This plot is not at our house; we don't get enough sun.  My neighbor graciously lends me some space at his business, so the veggie garden is smack dab in the middle of an industrial parking lot with semis occasionally rolling past.  It's sunny dirt and works just fine.  Plus the truck drivers don't care about weeds.  There is no one to impress.   I love it.   My neighbor grows tons of vegetables too and we get to share the bounty.  I have barely been out there this year (been a little busy), but a ripe tomato and summer squash were left on my doorstep last night. 
I can grow herbs at home and some lettuce. This year I was inspired by my in-laws’ community garden in Michigan and came back dreaming of a couple small raised beds.  One woman's plot had six or so of these, and the companion plantings were so beautiful.

William made me a couple of small beds for radishes, beets, greens and carrots.  We'll see how they turn out, since it is the middle of July!  Yes, it needs to be thinned.  No, I do not plant in neat rows. 

There is something so encouraging about seedlings.  Peeking at their progress every morning reminds me of what the seraphim in Isaiah say:
"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory!"

Comments

hh said…
Teff and gardening....our new tradition! I love the pics of Gia on the next post...just looking at her makes me smile! I miss her!
love mom

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