Garden Update: Lemon Cucumber

One of the plants from the garden set that I bought my mom was this lemon cucumber plant. I had heard her previously talk about these veggies due to their perfectly sized single-serving cucumbers and the fact that the plant itself can grow to a fairly decent size.

To begin with, we potted our small-sized starter plant with future plans of moving it over to our planter. Looking back, we should have just planted this little guy into the ground because it's growing so fast!

    This was from the first day we planted.

Worried that the lemon cucumber plant wouldn't survive after the planting and 100 degree heat that followed, we found it did the exact opposite. These plants love heat and direct sunlight; infact they need it. Once we realized this necessity, we moved it to a sunnier part of the backyard (the benefit to potting plants). The result was instant!

    Lemon cucumber plant just one week later!

You'll notice that we added a sturdy wire for support, and have actually changed it out to a full, round cage. These plants are very vine-like, which was evident when their tendril began grabbing onto the wired cage within the hour! I personally love the tendril; it solidifies just how very much alive these plants are. 

Today (about two weeks later), we have a small bloom. 

Gluten & Dairy-Free Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats

I'm not going to go into explaining why I bake/cook things gluten and dairy free, so you can just figure that out yourself. But this Memorial Day I decided to use everyone's day off to bake up a quick little dessert. These are perfect little finger treats, and honestly who can turn down a rice crispy treat infused with vanilla cake batter?!

I came across this recipe from a Martha Stewart post, and decided to give my own spin to it. I changed a few of the measurements due to using different ingredients, and felt it came out tasting great (according to my boyfriend).

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp Earth Balance Original Butter
• 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini marshmallows
• 6 cups crispy brown rice cereal 
• 1/2 cup gluten free vanilla cake mix (I used Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/2 cup sprinkles (any color - I used red, white, and blue)

 

Directions:

Spray a 11x7 baking pan with nonstick spray (I used baking Pam). Set aside.

In a very large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the marshmallows and stir constantly. Once the marshmallows are completely melted, stir in the dry cake mix. Remove pan from heat.

Stir in the cereal until it is completely coated with the marshmallow mixture. The result may be sticky, so prepare for a little extra arm work. Mix in half of the sprinkles. 

Press mixture into prepared baking pan and top with the remaining sprinkles. 

When I press the rice krispy treats into a pan, I use a spatula sprayed with nonstick spray, or I found that slightly wetting your hands also does the trick. Make sure not to press down and pack the mixture too tightly as it will harden as it cools. 

Let stand or chill for at least 30 minutes and cut into squares (coating the cutting knife with non-stick spray also). Store at room temperature. 

Garden Update: Cherry Tomatoes

After years of keeping up with HGTV and Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, I decided to plant my first seed (a sunflower seed), and the rest is history.

History goes way back to Mother's Day of 2014 (a few weeks ago), when I decided to force my mom into gardening with me. For her gift I bought her a small starter set of the usual herbs: cilantro, basil, parsley, and red cherry tomatoes. While they all made it through our random 100 degree SoCal heatwave, it wasn't until this week that I saw some early sprouts of veggie life on the tomato plant!

These little yellow flowers are the beginning stages to tomatoes!

So far this tomato plant as been perfect for our small backyard garden. They don't take up much space, and do well whether they're in the ground, a pot, or a windowsill. We make sure it's well watered in the evening or early mornings, avoiding the middle of the day when its the hottest.