OregaNOooo!

Behold the tragic sight of diseased oregano:

So very sad! This little guy didn't last long at all. It is possible that since it was originally an outdoor plant and had more of a living soil as its substrate that it picked up the disease before it was passed on to me, but not likely. A quick search on diseases of oregano plants revealed that the most common diseases are fungal, resulting from improperly drained soil and just general moist conditions. For those of you on the East coast of the U.S., you can attest that the past couple of weeks have been disgustingly humid. And even though we have a small window AC unit that does substantially combat some of the funkiness, it is really no match for air heavily gravid with the clam (aka humidity). 

And so I find myself back at the drawing board once again, an eerie parallel to where I feel I am at in the progression of my life. Is this project a consciously-aware entity that is purposefully mimicking my life? Ah! However (un)likely that is, it does give rise to some serious introspection, of which I'll reserve for the blog I keep in my brain. ;)

Of immediate relevance: What to do next with this project? I think moving it outdoors would be best, but timing doesn't look like it will be right for that this year. With an upcoming trip that will have me gone most of August, if I were to start some seedlings indoors when I got back, they wouldn't even sprout until early September, and then... well, you can see where this is going: running out of summer! Hence, this may conclude any active attempts to cultivate my own plants until the Spring. I'll keep adopting plants from my chiropractor (since she has a surplus anyway) to use up quickly in cooking, but as far as growing my own, it looks like that seed has blown away (ship has sailed?... I tried...). 

Yes, indeed I did try.

CSA Sunday: Photo Appendix

You've been licked by Dragon Tongue beans!

And that's only half the beans and half the potatoes

CSA Sunday

The CSA bounty is amazing! Collard greens, new potatoes, summer squash, cucumber, Anaheim peppers, and Dragon Tongue beans. Plenty of variety and a very generous amount for a small share. Looking at this fresh, edible, vivid rainbow in my bag, I couldn't help but feel cheerful and energized (or maybe I was just feeling the effects of the coffee that I downed on a relatively empty stomach. ;) ).

I already ate almost half of the cucumber as a side with my sandwich this afternoon, and plan on making a potato salad with the potatoes. Once I finish up a quinoa salad that's serving as my dinner, I plan on experimenting with the collard greens, squash, and Dragon Tongue beans. I'm thinking I might just toss them all together in a pan and sautee them with garlic, olive oil, and the oregano as a side dish to to go with some poached chicken breasts or try my hand at making some pan-fried chicken under the guidance of this recipe, and thus incorporating the oregano this way rather than in with the veggies. Not quite sure what I'll do with the Anaheim peppers, but I'm sure I can find some recipe to try.

Short and sweet post today. I was just so excited about this first CSA share that I had to... well... share! =)

Putting the Oregano to Work and Other Kitchen Happenings

One of my favorite things to do is challenge myself to use the remaining ingredients used in a planned dish to create an impromptu, unscripted dish. I do this for various reasons: creative exercise, preventing waste, and uncontrollable frugality (which I swear is a genetic trait I inherited from my mother). Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Monday night it worked quite deliciously, and I got to use my fresh oregano sooner than I thought I would (waiting on those veggies from the CSA). It was just a simple, summer pasta salad made with leftover, precooked pasta from a bolognese dinner, but it totally hit the spot, a quick, fresh meal to end a long day. Since the pasta was already cooked, all I had to do was chop up a (complimentary) tomato, pluck a handful of oregano leaves off the peduncle, slice them into thin strips, and toss the tomato and oregano in the pasta with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Easy, herb-inspired yums!

I also like substitutes for "traditional" ingredients, and while this isn't herb-related, I'm going to share anyway (because it has potential to be herb-related). This revelation emerged from a culinary situation that was equal parts misfortune and serendipity. Tuna salad is my lunch this week, and as I began to gather the various ingredients (mayo, olive oil) and available accoutrements (onion, celery, salt, pepper), I found that two of the items had gone bad: the celery and the mayo. Celery is an inconsequential ingredient, but something like mayo is pretty important, even though I use it sparingly (that's what the olive oil is for, to add moisture). Son of an orangutan's aunt, I thought to myself. I had just come from the grocery store and really didn't feel like going back out, but I was counting on the tuna for lunch! What to do, what to do? I scanned the fridge, and hidden under containers of hummus and parmasen cheese, I found some idling goat cheese. Voila! Yes! With its creamy consistency and tangy flavor, goat cheese could work as a viable mayo substitute--in concert with the olive oil--and perhaps be even better. I dumped the remainder of the goat cheese in with the tuna and onion, added olive oil, sprinkled in a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper, and mixed up my experiment. Results: total yum! Indeed, I like this version of tuna salad way better than a mayo-based version; it's more flavorful, and the mayo ick-factor is completely eliminated. I'm eager to try it again and experiment with adding some fresh herbs (see, told you I'd tie in herbs some how!). I love how something potentially inconveniencing ended up in a new discovery that improved upon my existing tuna salad paradigm. It's the little things! =)

Oh, Oregeno!

The oregeno is here! I set right to re-potting it into something more comfortable and roomy (actual pot courtesy my mama):

Looking good, right? I hope to keep it that way. I was super excited yesterday because I thought it was my first pick-up day for the CSA I joined recently, and I couldn't wait to find a recipe that incorporated the veggies in my share and my newly-acquired oregano. But alas, I got my days mixed up and when I went to the pick-up site, there were no fresh fruits and veggies awaiting me. Total bummer of my own scatterbrained doing! No worries though: something to look forward to for next Sunday.

What's Your Inflorescence Type?

I've been doing some more botany-focused reading on herbs, and in doing so, have learned a little bit about the botanical terms for the anatomical structures of a plant. Of particular relevance is the inflorescence, or simply the cluster of flowers on the plant. Inflorescences are categorized according to their arrangement off the main stem (peduncle). The image below illustrates a few of the more common inflorescences.

Image reproduced from Kansas Wildflower and Grasses website:
http://www.kswildflower.org/drawings.php?drawingID=5

Even with only a very superficial investigation of inflorescences, it became evident to me that these nine common categories barely scratch the surface of all the different variations of inflorescence arrangements that exist in the natural world. Additionally, some species of plants present with anomalous inflorescence formation, which do not quite fit into the existing categories, and, consequently, are erroneously categorized as one or the other simply for sake of putting them somewhere.

I can't help but see a parallel between this sort of plant classification and classification of human personality (and perhaps even psyche). Perhaps we may fall into general, broad-sweeping categories, but there will always be that about us which remains impervious to the reducible effects of categorizing behavior.

All seriousness aside, let's have some fun with this. I'm sure most of you are familiar with personality typing based on things like color preference, etc., so let's see what your inflorescence preference says about you. Take a good look at the image above and choose an inflorescence that you like best (excluding the compound umbel). Then find the corresponding inflorescence below and discover things about yourself that you never knew. No cheating!

Spike: You are a contrary sort and depending on your mood, this can either work to your benefit and manifest as courage and assertiveness in your dealings with others; or backfire and come across as just plain cantankerousness and therefore repellent to those you encounter.

Raceme: Dynamism defines you. You have a synergistic, lively balance between your creative side and your computational side. There is a strong possibility that you might be perfect.

Panicle: You are eccentric, in taste, style, and mood. To keep up with your varied interests, you always have a lot going on, and it's never the same thing twice. You are prone to abusing substances.

Umbel: Logic and order is the name of your game. You pride yourself on your organizational skills and responsible nature. You readily see patterns in nature, work, and play, and love categorizing any and all material things. This is your favorite post of the entire blog.

Corymb: You are easy-going and level-headed. Nothing seems to ruffle your feathers--er--leaves. You take the ebbs and flows of life in stride, a veritable surfer of the cosmos. Sometimes your carefree disposition leaves you lounging on the beach for too long though.

Cyme: Ambition drives you in most activities. You don't feel satisfied unless you have put in a long, hard-day's work and see results from the work that you've done. Relaxing is not your strong suit. Having a stiff drink from time to time would do you some good.

Cluster: You are plain.

Solitary: Ever so elegant you are. You carry yourself in a sophisticated manner and are privy of all the trends in fashion, music, and food, of which you ravenously indulge. Whether or not you are solitary in your epicurean pursuits is uncertain, but it's quite possible.