The catalogs, that is.  In January, my mailbox is stuffed with gardening offers, and today brought a fantastic catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I’m still shaking my head at how expensive it must have been to produce and mail, because it’s oversized, with glossy, magazine-type pages. And it’s packed with so many intriguing flowers, fruits, and vegetables, it’ll make you want to run straight to the garden and start growing something.

Here are just a few items I’m putting on my list to order:

• Mississippi Silver Hull peas, a runner type that produces very well here in the South.  The beans are large and tan and delicious.
• D’Alger melons. I’ve never eaten this kind of melon, but it sounds great.  The catalog says it’s a “colorful, ancient, French cantaloupe (possibly from Africa)…(T)he flesh is highly perfumed and very smooth and creamy.”  The photo shows a dark green-black rind with silvery splashes.
• Sugar Snap peas.  These are for my hubby, who loves to eat them sauteed or raw in salads.  I like that they’re produced on bushy vines that don’t need staking.


Hungry? Try sugar snap peas in Chicken Marsala. Then visit the show to get more ideas on cooking from your garden!

There are lots more things I want to grow, but Thai Long purple eggplants won’t make my list.  We grew them last year and I found them annoying skinny and too bland.

The Baker Creek catalog has many exotic seeds for sale.  For tips on using unusual fruits or vegetables in your kitchen, don’t miss the cooking demonstrations coming up at the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show. On Wed., Jan. 28, you’ll hear from Chef Linton Hopkins, owner of Restaurant Eugene, about “Cooking From the Garden.” He’ll speak at 12 noon on the Home Depot Stage. The next day, Jan. 29, Laurie Grizzle, of the Mustard Seed Cafe, will also talk about preparing homegrown produce. She’ll speak at 12:30 P.M. from the Demo Stage.

When you visit the show, be sure to bring your questions for these knowledgeable cooks.  See you there!

Lynn

Author, Gardening with Heirloom Seeds

Tags: cooking, Fruits, Vegetables

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 7:47 PM and is filed under Fruits, Vegetables. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.