Herbs and some spring organizing ...

I transplanted the parsley and oregano in bigger pots this afternoon. Boy, were they root bound. Anyway, they are in the back patio area now,there’s plenty of sun there now during the day. I’m going to try the shade cloth thing when the sun is stronger and the heat is here in the back patio.

The container herbs can just be out in the sun for some time each day during the heat and then be put in the shade against the house wall but the shade cloth makes more sense. I'll have to ask a couple of people how that might work.

I went to Safeway to check on produce prices, just out of curiosity. I really haven’t looked at much produce there since I joined the CSA. I have bought some apples and bananas the past 2 months though. All, I can see is that Safeway has slashed prices again or maybe temporarily on most everything especially lettuces. All the kinds of lettuce were like 10 bunches or pounds for $10.00! Everything else, including the sweet peppers, were pretty much the way they were 2-3 months ago.

I checked the jam/jelly aisle and the lentils and bean prices. The jam, at least this week, is lower than I bought the last time I was there. The lentils and beans seemed much the same.

We are fortunate in the Phoenix area to have a lot of competition among several grocery chains. We also have a number of farmer’s markets available valley wide every week almost all year round.

The last few months, Safeway and Basha’s in particular seem to be in some kind of price war. Or at least the Basha’s near me is in a lot of competition with the Safeway a mile away. The Safeway is much bigger and has a wider selection of food but the Basha’s is in very easy walking distance. Basha’s has also filed for Chapter 11 the past year.

I, then, walked around the corner to Whitfill nursery and checked out their herbs. No cilantro there today but I got some English thyme and a “Bronze Fennel.” The fennel is really quite pretty with that bronze color and the slender branches/shoots it sends out. I looked at the French thyme and decided I liked it a lot, too but that’s for another time. I looked at the rosemarys and the lavender, too.

yesterday was a beautiful day for Palm Sunday!

I attached and cleaned out the frige today. I tossed, scrubbed and cleaned out the whole things, crisper, middle and freezer part.

I had to throw out some greens leaves as they were at the end of their lifespan. But I chopped the rest of the chard, Chinese cabbage and spinach together, rinsed them and then decided to just use them as a salad with the rice and lentils that were in the global sun oven today. I mix the lentil dish and the greens together as a giant tossed salad with vinaigrette. Mine was an Italian type but I’m sure other kinds would work well, too.

It was a pleasure to chop all these greens with the new knife. The right tools DO make a lot of difference no matter what you’re doing in life.

Leftover greens get used tonight or tomorrow for a potato and greens dish. Or maybe I’ll just eat them as a salad dish with the leftover lentils.

Used the rosemary and tarragon that I had purchased at the grocery for dehydrating in the global oven. They were getting rid of a lot of packages of herbs at half price, so I figured the purchase was worth a try to dehydrate. Normally, the packages are like a little over $3.00.

peace, Shamba