With a bok bok here and a bok bok there..

Here a bok, there a bok... Ok, you know what, why don't you go bok yourself? This is the first time the hero boyfriend will hear about my unhappiness with our bok choy. I know, it's not fair to blame my crankiness on the bok choy, it's not the vegetable's fault. Like most things, I am projecting. But, what the bok?!?! I sow, nurture, weed, water and even praise the leafy greens (yes, I proclaim their greatness out loud and tell them what a good job they're doing.) So you can imagine the crushing disappointment I felt after I harvested my very first crop and prepared it for dinner to have it all fit in one bowl. This was suppose to be a special moment for me, like a dance recital or spelling bee. No, I hadn't been practicing for months, but I had certainly been preparing for months and there was potential for interpretive dance. Mark this as my first official blog garden complaint.

I was going to do it right. I had the white porcelain bowl out, you know, so I could show off the rich greens in the bok choy and it seemed kind of high brow (something I imagined Gwyneth Paltrow would tell me to do. No, I don't think she would stop at telling me what to eat, I count on her to tell me what to eat it in, too.) And by the time I'm done typing this blog post an island nation will have been able to eat 7,000 acres of bok choy. I know, that statement makes no sense...Neither does growing bok choy. Here's my advice, buy it.

Ok, it's not all bad. It did make enough for dinner and two lunches the next day and it did taste like all kinds of healthy. Since I didn't get around to writing this blog before the hero boyfriend went to Home Depot I now have at least one other bok choy harvest coming my way. He picked up more bok choy seeds which I have already planted and have begun to sprout. The blog garden comes full circle in the pictures below, enjoy!

Bok Choy beginning to flower












Urban Farm Girl


Bikini: Mara Hoffman
Yoga Pants: Victoria's Secret
Flip-flops: Crew Cuts by J.Crew (yes, I wear kids clothing. You should see me at Target. Kid meet Candy Store.)

*Again, please read with irony




Bok Choy on its way to becoming dinner
























Clean and prepared, almost ready for dinner













Bok Choy all over again...




("Asian Vegetables" = Bok Choy)

From Seed to Table

(Mom, Santa Monica beach 1970-something)

The first thing I recall planting are tulips with my mom in the front yard when I was 7 or 8. What I can't remember is whether or not they ever grew... My mom was the city girl to my dad's little bit of country. He has a remarkable green thumb (he manages to grow organic starfruit in California), which I not so secretly hope I've inherited, while my mom's gardening adventures once led to the emergency room. BUT on Mother's Day I remind her of only her strongest qualities.

Before the hero boyfriend and I made the Saccharin-y Hallmark holiday pilgrimage to see my 365 days a year wonderful mom, I reluctantly made my first attempt to harvest arugula seeds. After a minor concussion, late night soccer game and baking up two batches of homemade brownies just a dozen hours earlier I was feeling like a cranky (though not hostile) martyr. Since the world needs another martyr the same way it needs more particulate matter in the air I had no choice but to say, "Suck it up Urban Farm Girl."

Arugula. The President likes it. Who doesn't love the vitamin C and potassium laced peppery tasting leafy green? (I'm not sure about the statement regarding the President, it's just a vague campaign trail memory at this point, kind of like universal health care.) Arugula seeds come from arugula seed pods which grow from the arugula plant. So basically what I don't eat goes to seed and I'm guilted into efficiency. I mean, it's a recession (I don't care what you say National Bureau of Economic Research, it's still a recession) and I can't allow the next arugula harvest to go to waste because I'm desperate to go to the beach, surf and have a rum drink, right? RIGHT? Waste not, want not. Below, you'll find the abridged process in pictures. Being the lucky Urban Farm Girl that I am I have amazing help from the endlessly patient hero boyfriend and the chickens...even Kevin.

Lastly, my mom said, unprompted, at lunch today that she loves my arugula and continued to criticize iceberg lettuce for its lack of nutrients. She's been doing this my whole life, supporting my interests by educating herself on whatever silly, quasi-viable adventure I was embarking on. For almost 30 years she has encouraged me to fight for the things I believe in and chase the things I can't live without. I feel the most beautiful when I catch a glimpse of her in me. Thank you, mom, for bringing this seed to the table (without being a cranky martyr.) I'll be paying it forward my whole life. I love you.

Harvesting Arugula:


Sidewalk Garden Update:




Bok Choy









Mixed Greens










Red Onions









Tomatoes