Oklahoma Paw Paws

" Pickin' up Paw paws. puttin' 'em in my pocket....."

These tasty fruits remind me of mango, banana, persimmon.  They are rare ...so far... as they don't travel well and are difficult to preserve.  Here is what I did with mine.
squish them through a sieve, add white wine vinegar and oil to the golden colored fruit for a pretty, sweet,and delicious salad dressing.  Pictured here is some freshly picked curly dock that will also make it into the salad.

an interesting lunch

A few unusual things going from the garden for lunch. Mint for tea, ground cherries add to strawberry pie seedpods from radishes for a salad, broccoli leaves, For cooked greens along with Polk sallet that have already been boiled twice and lambs quarter greens. Do you think that the good greens will counterbalance the bacon grease that I'm adding to the mix?

Basil Pesto w wild greens

Today I am making a new spin on the traditional basil pesto.  Mine has the addition of Lambsquarters and broccoli leaves.  This adds nutrition without changing the taste.  I also grabbed a jalepeno as I walked through the garden and threw that in as well.  I swap out pine nuts for a less expensive, walnuts this time around.  I often substitute roasted almonds or cashews but I had a lot of walnuts on hand so they got thrown into the mix.

making Curly Dock Flour today

I didn't actually use a flour grinder for this as from what I can glean from others, the seed, husk, and of course, the leaves are all edible I decided to blend them all together and use rather than separate the three.  I will keep you posted on how it goes as far as using it.  I suppose one could still grind further and sift to get a finer flour but I will probably use it as I use flax seed meal, just as kind of a filler and not a solo flier.

The Habitat Tour

                                the good folks at Oxley Nature Center on the front porch

Wild plant sellers in the driveway

The yard is all dressed up and ready.  The peonies are gone but last week's painting is still here.

 

We had nearly 1000 people on the tour.

Jess and Megan from the Oklahoma Wildcrafters made the front porch a prettier place.  They had lots of educational stuff for our guests to see.  They brought many edibles from their front yard on the way over.

Our garden is on the Habitat Tour

If you are in the area this weekend, be sure to stop by.  I will have copies of Claire goes Foraging for sale as well.  Oxley Nature Center ( a favorite walking trail) will be here as will Okklahoma Wildcrafting.  Should be lots of fun.

24th Wildlife Habitat Garden Tour & Plant Sale

Saturday, May 20 9 am - 5 pm 
 Sunday, May 21 Noon - 5 pm
(Rain or Shine)
Adult Admission Donation $6 Children under 13 Free
Featuring 5 northwest Tulsa Gardens with Native Plant Sales and additional information at each garden:
546 N. 27th W. Ave.
Wild Things Nursery, Oklahoma Native Plant Society, Monarch Watch

1424 W. Easton Pl.
 Duck Creek Farm, WING-IT

639 N. Cheyenne Ave.
Utopia Gardens, Bird Houses by Mark

1135 N. Denver Ave.
Pine Ridge Gardens, Oxley Nature Center, Oklahoma Wildcrafting

636 N. Denver Ave.
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery, Tulsa Audubon Society, Northeast Oklahoma Beekeepers Association
For complete information and maps see tulsaaudubon.org/wildlifehabitatgardentour.htm or call 918 521-8894

GALLERY.MAILCHIMP.COM

Permaculture in the hood

These guys and gals are creating a permaculture urban forest/garden smack dab in the middle of our neighborhood.  We already have an urban food forest just behind this new garden.  The food forest lines a highway and serves not only to employ our youth ( gathering fruit, nuts) but also serves to feed the community and offers a buffer zone between the highway and our neighborhood that is both beautiful and works to decrease the sound from the highway