Of Dinners and Aerogardens

[lady_karelia]

I think our guests liked the food. There is about a spoonful of sauerkraut left and two pieces of cake.




Something to nibble on while waiting for the water to boil for the Semmelknoedel (dumblings made with bread, egg, parsley). Oh, yes, those are cars on the table. We had a mini-gourmet present, and he thought it a good idea to decorate the table.


This is the bowl in the middle in the above pic: feta cheese, straight out of the brine, served with a sprinkling of rosemary and virgin olive oil. It lasted about, oh, I dunno, 40 seconds or thereabouts. :P


From left to right: invisible sauerkraut, stuffed mushrooms, Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes), and cheese souffle.


Semmelknoedel


Rahmkuchen (sour cream cake)

And because stefdarlin wanted to know:


The Aerogarden just before XMyth...


... and tonight. The right tomato plant has two green tomatoes, each about the size of a baby's finger nail and several more flowers. The one on the left doesn't show any yet, but it's been growing at a slightly slower pace. The pepper in the front (middle) isn't showing any flowers yet either, but they're all developing quite enthusiastically. :) The light arm is at its highest now, and I have to prune branches about twice a week.

Damn. I forgot to take a pic of the Sauerbraten, the beef that's been lying in a marinade of vinegar, water, carrots, celeriac, and several spices (mustard seed, cloves, bay leaves, salt, pepper).


Okay, my guys obligingly emptied the dishwasher, so I guess I've run out of excuses that justify procrastination... :)

Comments

[mazzy2121.livejournal.com]

I've always really liked the idea of the Aerogarden, but I just can't quite wrap my head around paying hundreds of dollars for something that is essentially a plant pot with a desk light (with a plant light bulb inside) attached to the top of it. Is there more to this than I realize? Something that justifies the high cost of such a low tech item?? I'd reall like to know more about it.

[lady-karelia.livejournal.com]

Vox was saying that she's seen them half price locally, and she lives in your corner of the country, I think.

I don't know how much exactly they are, but I think around $150 to purchase. I bought a seed kit that came with the feeding tablets, not so much out of laziness, but because I'm new to hydroponics, so I figured I'll be learning as I grow the seeds. The kit was $15 and included two tomato and one jalapeno and sufficient feeding tablets for about six months I think. It's been around ten weeks since I planted the seeds, and I expect to have tomatoes within the next couple of weeks. I'll be relishing those at a time when local produce is very sparse. :)

I love the experience of having it. I find the light it gives very pleasant, being able to literally watch the plants grow is incredible, and the sound of the water trickling down the roots is soothing. And then the produce when it's ready, being able to harvest fresh tomatoes in the middle of winter... *yummy*