Blog Number 1

Welcome, friends, to my blog. For my first entry I've decided to talk a little bit about gardening and in particular my urban garden. Upon moving from Harrisonburg to Denver, one of my greatest longings has been fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. Back in Harrisonburg, I would walk eight blocks every Saturday from my house to the local farmer's market and then on Tuesdays I would pick up my CSA share. Fresh tomatoes, a wide range of greens and all the apples I could want were right there, at my finger tips. Here in Denver, it's a little more difficult. The farmer's markets are farther away and the cost for organic vegetables is much higher.

Then one day, as I was walking through my neighborhood with Emma I discovered a small community garden just blocks from my house. I checked into it and discovered an amazing organization called Denver Urban Gardens. Soon I was volunteering to help at a cooking class for 4th graders and purchased my own plot for $20 a year.

Next came the vegetables plants. So I hit up the Denver Botanic Gardens and a friend's school fundraiser. Not knowing what I was doing, I purchased 10 tomato, 2 zucchini, 4 green pepper, 1 cucumber, 4 brocoli, 4 arugula, 4 lettuce, 2 mint and 4 spinach plants. Upon realizing that 10 tomato plants may have been a few too many, I grabbed 6 hot pepper plants and hope to make salsa. A lot of it.

Just this past week I harvested my very first plants. The arugula has been growing fast and furious the entire time (it's the current All Star) and was the first to be ready.


I picked it on Wednesday and made this yummy salad:

Beet and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese Fondue

Beets:
3 pounds medium beets, scrubbed, ends trimmed
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Goat Cheese Fondue:
1/2 cup cream
8 ounces goat cheese

Sherry Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
2 T minced shallot
1 T mustard
1 1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey

And of course, the All Star Ingredient:
1 pound arugula

Preheat oven to 350

Beets: Toss the beets in oil, salt and pepper. Place beets in a deep baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Roast at 350 for two hours or until tender. When cool, peel skin off beets. Chop into 1/4-inch squares.

Fondue: While beets are roasting, prepare the fondue. In a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce the cream by half. Reduce the heath to medium-low and whisk in goa cheese, until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Sherry Vinaigrette: In a mixing bow, whisk together vinegar, shallot, mustard and honey. Slowly whisk in oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Put It Together: Toss the arugula lighly in some of the vinaigrette and arrange on a platter. Toss the diced beets in some of the vinaigrette and spoon over arugula. Drizzle the fondue on the platter. Enjoy! Serves 6.