Sunshine Community Gardens

13 February 2020

www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org

Gardener's Picture page

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If you are signed up to receive the Weekly Weeder and have not been receiving it, here is a troubleshooting page to help. If this doesn't help, please let Sharon at scgardenweb@gmail.com know. Thanks.

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Spring Plant Sale - Saturday, March 7, 2020

PassAlongs for Plant Sale

Sunshine's plant sale every year includes plants donated ("Passed Along") by gardeners and others. If you have cold hardy plants to donate for the Passalongs/Ornamentals table, please begin leaving them on the tables just outside the greenhouse. Cold-tender plants may be put under the tables in the greenhouse. If there's a question please contact Susan Prosperie at dzane@austin.rr.com or (512)762-2587. Thanks for your generosity.

Please Sign Up for Volunteer Duties For Sale

Sign up: If you haven't signed up yet on SignUp Genius, please do so.

Food: Also please look at the signup for bringing food for volunteers on sale day. You can bring something to share.

Mowing: The grass is getting longer every day. Please mow everywhere.

Cleanup Your Plot: Sunshine is on display during the plant sale to all our customers, please clean up your plot and the area around it.

Advertise the sale: There are newly printed posters and postcards available for you to take and give out. They are located on the tables in the trailer. Please take what you can distribute. Remember to tell your friends and family and neighbors.

Workdays for the Sale: There will be two workdays to get ready for the sale, 2/22/20 and 2/29/20, from 8:30-11:30. Please come.

Collect Boxes For Plant Sale: It's time to start collecting boxes for the plant sale. Ideally, members will collect those boxes that retailers use for display. Excellent choices are those from canned pet food and flats used to hold beer or berries. Not as excellent choices are big boxes. When you do collect those boxes, please place them in the trailer on and around the white tables. This will be ongoing until the plant sale on March 7.

Those who help with the sale get to purchase their plants early, Friday evening at 5 pm.

Finally, our fees do not cover our expenses at Sunshine. Let's make the plant sale a success to continue funding what we do.

Silent Auction Items Needed for Plant Sale

Mary Drake says:

Hello to all Members,

It is time again for the SCG spring plant sale fundraiser and I am asking for your help with the Silent Auction. Members can ask their favorite businesses and employers if they would consider providing a donation of gift certificates, products or services to our nonprofit organization. Members can also donate items as there have been some very nice items donated by our members to add to the Auction. I was amazed at how quickly donated garden books, artwork, and other nice items sold last year that were provided by members or friends that had never been used or the members did not need. Please contact me if you have any items to provide.

Thank you,
Mary Drake
rkdrake@comcast.net
301 752 3896

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Next Education Team Event

On February 22 from 2-4 pm SCG will be holding an educational and volunteer opportunity for young elementary-aged children. The Girls School of Austin is sending several of their Kindergarten girls to participate in a tour, basic gardening and light work duties. If you are interested in having your child participate, please RSVP at:

andrea@theandreassens.net

*** Bring your own water bottles and gloves. Please be sure your child is wearing appropriate clothing and closed-toe shoes. In case of inclement weather we will cancel. There will be no make-up day. ***

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Turkey Compost Available Again This Week

Randy Thompson reports that Turkey Compost will be available again this week. The usual rules apply: A dollar a bucket, twenty bucket limit per full size plot and for use only at the garden by gardeners.

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A Recipe Blog by Gardener Maria Beach

Roasted Romanesco with Gremolata

By Maria Beach

Last week a friend and fellow Sunshine gardener gave me an utterly gorgeous organic romanesco cauliflower. This unexpected bounty i nspired me to create a recipe that would do justice to the magnificent vegetable. I wanted something that would be simple enough to allow this splendid, just-picked crucifer to shine, but fancy enough to honor the effort that went into growing this lovely specimen.

Although I call romanesco "cauliflower", it is also called romanesco broccoli, romanesco cabbage, or, like a megastar of the vegetable world, just goes by the one-word moniker romanesco. It is a cruciferous vegetable, part of the diverse Brassica oleracea species that includes the aforementioned broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, but also veggies like Brussels sprouts, collard greens, kohlrabi and kale.

Romanesco cauliflower is a bright chartreuse color. But what truly makes this vegetable a knockout visually is its trippy pattern - its head forms an approximate fractal, with the shape of the head repeated in the florets and in its smaller buds. This is not the end of its impressive geometry. It is also a Fibonacci spiral, a mathematical sequence that starts with 0 and 1 with each succeeding number the sum of the preceding two numbers. Part mathematical marvel and part art, romanesco is simply stunning.

(Read more on the math of romanesco here.)

Romanesco cauliflower is just so darn beautiful that mine sat enshrined in my refrigerator for a couple of days before I could bring myself to cut it up. But the recipe I created was such a hit in our house that I'll eagerly make it again. My spouse, who usually professes that cauliflower is only edible when drowned in cheese sauce and who likes to quote the poet Ogden Nash's observation that "Parsley/Is gharsley", was surprised that a dish primarily comprised of two plants he generally dislikes could be so scrumptious.

Since romanesco is an Italian heirloom brassica that has been grown for at least 500 years, it seemed fitting to highlight its origins by using an Italian condiment. Gremolata is an Italian classic with many variations, but its essence is parsley, lemon peel or zest, and garlic. Most recipes call for flat Italian parsley, but since I already had curly parsley on hand I used that. Roasting the romanesco caramelizes the vegetable and highlights its natural nuttiness, while the gremolata adds a fresh brightness to the dish. The gremolata also settles nicely into the textured surface of the romanesco cauliflower.

This recipe could also be used with regular cauliflower or broccoli if romanesco cauliflower is not available or is not affordable.

Ingredients:

• 1 head romanesco cauliflower
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• Generous pinch of salt
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 2 lemons
• 2 cloves garlic
• Additional salt and/or pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Wash the romanesco cauliflower, lemons, and parsley, and dry the parsley on paper towels or give it a ride on a salad spinner.

Cut the romanesco into florets, and cut larger florets in half. Spread the florets on a sheet pan. (If desired, line the pan with foil or parchment paper to make clean up a breeze.) Drizzle olive oil over the florets, stirring to cover the florets. Arrange the florets are in a single layer and place the halved ones cut side down. Sprinkle salt over the florets and roast, 20-25 minutes until they have browned. Let cool slightly after taking out of the oven.

While the romanesco cauliflower is in the oven, make the gremolata. Finely chop the parsley and place in a bowl. Zest or finely grate the peels of the lemons, avoiding the white pith. (Save the lemon juice for another use.) Mince the garlic and add it and the lemon zest to the bowl.

Sprinkle gremolata over the roasted romanesco florets and taste. Add additional salt or pepper if desired, and serve.

Thank you to Ila Falvey for the exquisite romanesco cauliflower that inspired this recipe!

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