At The Tasteful Garden we love to cook, it is our primary reason for gardening! We love the fragrances of harvesting vegetables and herbs for a meal, preparing foods using the freshest ingredients, and sharing our bounty from the garden with our friends and family.  Other cultures have done this for centuries and our American heritage has always done the same in the past. Unfortunately, the modern family shops at the supermarket and has very little sense of where their food comes from. So much of our produce comes from very far away in other countries which allows us to have a huge selection, but also requires longer storage times and different harvesting techniques which in turn decrease the quality and nutritional value of our food. Vegetable varieties are chosen for their long shelf life instead of the flavor and nutrition they provide.
We want to bring back the family vegetable garden, encourage children and parents to garden together and learn about heritage gardening so that it can be passed along to future generations. The Heirloom varieties of vegetables are still available for us to grow which have better flavors and more nutrition than the vegetables in supermarkets. Spending family time in the garden, in the kitchen, and at the table is good for all of us and should be encouraged in our children.
This page is dedicated to the kitchen and has many wonderful, mostly quick and easy, recipes for using fresh herbs, garden vegetables, quality ingredients such as cheeses, meats, pastas, and breads.
Here is a nice recipe for a cold winter night. Serve it with a nice spinach salad and good bread.
Broccoli Crab Bisque
2 tsp. butter or oil
3 c. broth (fish, chicken, or vegetable)
1 lb. broccoli, stems peeled & sliced, florets reserved
4 med. potatoes, peeled and diced, divided
1 1/2 c. diced carrots, divided
1/4 c. chopped celery
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. salt and a dash of cayenne if desired
2 c. milk or 1 cup Half & Half for a thicker, richer broth
8 oz. crab meat
In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in the butter or oil until
it is soft. Add the broth, broccoli stems, half the potatoes,
half the carrots, celery, pepper, lemon juice, thyme, bay leaf,
salt, and cayenne. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat,
and simmer the soup for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables
are tender.
Remove the bay leaf, and puree the vegetables and broth in a
blender or food processor. Return the puree to the pot. Add the
remaining potatoes and carrots, and cook the soup over a low
heat for about 10 minutes. When the potatoes and carrots are
nearly soft, add the broccoli florets to the pot, and cook the
soup for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender
crisp. Add the milk and the crab meat, and heat the bisque but
do not boil it. Serve the bisque with croutons or good crusty
bread.
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