Grow and Bake: Herb Bread

Ready-to-eat soft herb rolls.

A great way to make use of your edible garden plants is to improvise in the kitchen once in a while. I love the kitchen and I've made quite a few recipes with our garden fruits (and veggies), some of which I've shared with you such as a basil pesto, and arugula pesto recipe. Today I want to tell you about a bread recipe we tried. A dear friend (you know who you are and we hope you are reading this) came to visit us and he taught us how to do several kinds of bread. Of course, we wanted to use our garden herbs to make them more tasty. We initially used thyme but we have repeated the recipe several times using basil and rosemary. These three herbs are among the Top 8 Herbs to Grow for Bread Baking.

Making bread is tricky. It's not just about following a recipe. You need to familiarize yourself with certain basic concepts and have some specialized equipment at hand. Let's go over them.

Before you even start looking at the ingredients you will need the following equipment: a measuring scale, a mixer, and a baking thermometer. You will need a scale to measure ingredients because their weight is affected by humidity and elevation. The mixer is optional but preferable as it takes a lot longer to knead by hand. The thermometer needs to be able to measure up to 400ºF (200ºC). Beware that most meat thermometers do not reach these temperatures.

The bread recipe we use includes ingredients you are likely not to have at home, so make sure you have all the ingredients before starting anything.

Ingredients:

• 12.5oz (375g) water
• 0.75oz (22g) yeast, fresh
• 1lb 5oz (625g) bread flour
• 0.4oz (12g) salt
• 2oz (60g) sugar
• 1oz (30g) nonfat milk solids
• 1oz (30g) shortening
• 1oz (30g) butter

Mise en place

Perform your mise en place (Editor's note: yes, Jessica also likes the fancy words) by placing each weighted ingredient separately in small bowls. Either by hand or in the mixer start by mixing fatty ingredients such as shortening and butter. This will start breaking the fats which makes everything mix better. Add the salt, milk solids, water, and sugar and start adding little by little some of the flour. After mixing for a minute or two, stop the mixer.

Lay a bed of flour on the top of the mixture and on top of that add the yeast. Note that the recipe calls for fresh yeast but we used instant yeast with no observable differences. You can substitute for active yeast but this is not recommended as the dough will not rise much and the bread will be dense and hard (believe us, we know by experience). You want bread to be soft and fluffy. Top the yeast with more flour and start mixer again. The reason to place the yeast in between layers of flour is because the milk and salt kill the yeast. Add 1/4 of the remaining flour and then gradually keep adding flour. It is possible (although unlikely given Puerto Rico's humidity) that you won't need all your measured flour.

Pay close attention to the dough, it will start to separate from the mixer bowl walls becoming a ball around the mixer attachment. When the dough has detached completely, including from the bottom of the mixer bowl, stop the mixer and do the dough windowpane test. The dough windowpane can be verified by taking a tiny portion of the dough and stretching it between your fingers. You should be able to see the dough stretch about an inch without breaking. If the window breaks it is not ready. Keep adding flour until the mixture detaches from the bottom and the appropriate dough windowpane is observed.

When the dough is ready it is time to add your herbs. About 0.18oz to 0.28oz (5g to 8g) of your favorite herb is enough. Decide based on how strong the flavor of the herb is and the intensity you want on the bread. We used 5g of thyme, about 5g of rosemary and 8g of basil for ours.

Pinch dough while rolling

Fermentation is an important part of the process. Create a ball with the dough, folding the sides over the center towards the bottom part of the dough until you create a seam-free ball. Roll the dough in a tight circle on a flat surface such as the kitchen counter to make the surface as smooth as possible. Don't use too much flour to dust the surface, the dough must stick a little to the counter for the technique to work. Pinch the dough against a flat surface (read: kitchen counter) for better results.

Place the dough on a deep bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it ferment for 1 to 1-1/4 hours at room temperature. If you used fresh instant yeast, the dough should double in size. Remember that with active yeast, the dough won't grow too much (yes, active sucks). When fermentation time has elapsed, punch down the dough allowing air to escape. The punch relieves stress on gluten, squeezes out excess carbon dioxide, and divides air pockets evenly which makes it easier to shape the dough resulting in softer bread.

First fermentation: 1 to 1-1/4 hour

This dough can be used to make loafs, soft rolls and even cinnamon bread. We decided to do soft rolls. Divide the dough into 2oz pieces, it will yield about 20 bread rolls. Roll each piece into seam-free balls as before.

Now we need to perform a second fermentation, better known as proofing, for 15 to 30 minutes in a high temperature, high humidity environment. Tip: You can use your microwave. Bring water to a boil in a small bowl and place your rolls inside. The steam will create enough heat and humidity for this second fermentation.

If you want your rolls to be nice and golden you can brush eggs whites or butter on top of the rolls. Bake at 400ºF (200ºC) until rolls have reached the same internal temperature. To check the temperature place thermometer (finally we get to use the thermometer!) from the side so as not to disrupt the aesthetic of the rolls. The rolls should reach the appropriate temperature in about 15 to 20 minutes.

Let them cool down a little before eating, chemical processes are still happening for several minutes after your remove them from the oven and the flavor would be different. Spread some butter or cream cheese and enjoy!

Update: Our "dear friend" came over to our house and notified us of some errors in this post. So we've made some slight corrections. We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for choosing container gardening in Puerto Rico.

Attack of the Rotten Tomatoes

Blossom end rot on our roma tomatoes.

Dear reader, it seems we never run out of problems in our little garden (Good thing we never said we were experts). Our loss is your gain though. We planted a Roma tomato plant a few weeks ago. Everything was progressing nicely. The plant was growing, flowers were blooming, fruit was growing. How happy we were. That would soon change (yes, I'm being overly dramatic but editorializing is "in" these days).

We started noticing a small dark spot on the bottom of one of the fruits. "No big deal" I thought, probably a bird nibbled on it. It's salvageable. The next day the spot was larger. The day after that the spot was even larger and an adjacent tomato also had a similar spot. Houston, we have a problem. (Good thing I had foreshadowed this in the previous paragraph or you would be in for a surprise at this point).

The problem? Blossom end rot. Actually, if we were to go overly technical (which I tend to) the problem is calcium deficiency. "Blossom end rot" is just a description of what we see. Now at this point you are probably thinking "I'll just add calcium to the soil and fix the problem". Having proper amounts of calcium at the time the fruit sets prevents blossom end rot which is why we recommend placing crushed egg shells near the roots when transplanting tomatoes, peppers or any other member of the Nightshade family. However, more often than not the cause for the calcium defficiency is not a low amount of calcium in the soil but rather one of the following: uneven soil moisture, improper use of high nitrogen fertilizer, or high amounts of phosphorus.

This disorder typically affects the first fruits of the season and once it presents itself it is very hard to overcome. Therefore, the best strategy is prevention. If you use a high quality potting soil phosphorus shouldn't be a problem. Also, if you follow the manufacturer recommended dose and fertilize every other week excess nitrogen shouldn't be a problem. In any case we recommend light fertilization when the first fruit are being set. That leaves us with uneven moisture which is the most likely cause for blossom end rot in the tropics (sure enough this was our problem). Due to the large amounts of rainfall followed by very hot temperatures maintaining a constant moisture level is always a struggle. We offer the following three tips to help overcome this challenge.

1. Mulching - Mulch reduces evaporation and helps maintain moisture in the soil. 
2. Plant placement - Placing your plants in an area where rainfall doesn't fall on them will also help you be in control of moisture rather than being at the mercy of nature. 
3. Watering - Proper watering is very important not just to prevent blossom end rot but to achieve healthy plant growth. Watering is, in theory, simple. Don't overwater your plants and don't let them dry out. In practice, watering requires knowledge, skill, experience, and intuition. A good rule of thumb is to touch the soil. If it feels hot it needs water; if it's cool it doesn't need water. However, each plant has different moisture needs which is why we say several attributes are needed in practice.

We hope you never encounter blossom end rot but if you do we hope this post helps. Just remember to be patient. It takes time to heal after all. 

Thyme

Our little thyme bush.
We've harvested leaves a few times already

Thyme is a perennial herb belonging to the Thymus genus in the Lamiaceae family (aka the mint family). A large variety of species and cultivars are available ranging from woody shrubs to trailing plants. Not all species are used for culinary purposes though as some are used as ground cover or ornamental plants. The most common species (Thymus vulgaris) is the one mainly used in flavoring meats, soups, stews, and even breads (If you ask nicely Jessica might even share the thyme bread recipe on a later post).

If you want to grow thyme you have three options: seeds, cuttings or nursery plants. If you are interested in one of the cultivars such as lemon thyme you will need to obtain cuttings from a fellow gardener or buy plants at the nursery since no seeds are available. For common thyme all three options available to you. Obviously, we chose seeds (If you follow this blog you should know that we love growing plants from seed. If not, what are you waiting for? Follow us...and bring cookies).

We've found thyme extremely easy to grow from seed. The only challenge is getting from the seedling stage to the transplant stage. Since the seeds are very small we planted quite a few (As a rule of thumb the smaller the seed the lower the germination rate). When they sprouted we had to thin quite a few to make it manageable. We ended up with three or four plants in a relatively small container (see picture). After that it's smooth sailing. Being native to the dry Mediterranean thyme requires little care and attention. Similar to other herbs thyme does best in well-draining potting soil on a full sun (6+ hours of sunlight) location. Only water when the soil is dry and apply a balanced fertilizer every other week for optimum growth. To harvest just cut the desired sprigs and remove the leaves from the stems before cooking.

Due to its versatility in the kitchen and its low maintenance requirements we recommend thyme for even the laziest of gardeners. And if you have lemon or orange or lavender or any other crazy cultivar give us a shout. We would love to add one to our garden.

Roses are red...

Our polyantha rose in full bloom.

..., violets are blue,... Well, our roses are pink but I guess they come in red too. Roses are one of the most popular flowering plants in the world. They comprise the Rosa genus in the Rosaceae family. Roses come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. Hundreds of books have been written about roses and hundreds more will probably be written in the future. (Unless the world really ends on Dec 21, 2012) We're by no means rose experts. Our intention here is to give you a brief introduction to roses and help you make an informed selection if you plan on growing one (or two, or three). If you need detailed information on roses by all means pick up a book at your local bookstore (reading is always recommended by Container Garden PR) or check out the American Rose Society webpage (http://www.ars.org/).

If you look at a catalog or browse an online store you may be overwhelmed by the large selection of roses. So which one should you choose for your container garden? In order to answer this question we need to talk a bit about rose classifications. We'll keep this as simple as possible (Boy scout promise. Editor's note: Joel was never a boy scout so take this promise with a grain of salt) because if you ask 10 people you can expect 10 different classifications for roses. I'll use the American Rose Society (ARS) classification because it's the most widely used in North America (and because I'm lazy and it was the first one I found online). The ARS classifies roses into old garden, species, and modern roses. Old garden roses refers to any pre-1867 variants, modern roses are any variant after 1867, while species roses are what we might call "wild" roses or any rose that occurs naturally in nature.

That's how the plant looked like when
I bought it for Jessica.

So back to the original question what rose should you choose for your container garden. In my opinion, old garden and species roses are unfit for containers. Others might disagree but I have my reasons. Species and old gardens are large specimens which, in my opinion, are better suited for people with yards or botanical gardens since they require a lot of space either above or below ground. For container gardeners space is usually a premium so who wants to have a 2 feet deep pot in their balcony or small yard? That leaves us with modern roses. Modern roses care broken down into several sub-categories but again I won't complicate matters. Without hesitation we can recommend miniature and patio roses. With some proper planning and careful selection floribunda and polyanthas can also be grown in containers. Miniature roses are just that, a plant that produces a miniature rose bloom. Patios are small shrubs that grow up to 2 feet tall. They bloom continuously which makes them great to give your garden some color all the way to winter. Polyanthas are small (just how we like 'em) shrubs that produce tiny flowers in large clusters at the end of the stems. Floribundas are related to polyanthas in that they bloom prolifically but come in a wider variety of colors. Of the four recommended varieties floribundas require the most consideration since most have a sprawling tendency.

Now which rose variety do we have? We have no idea (I told you rose classifications are confusing and complicated). I bought our rose from the nursery as a gift to Jessica for her birthday because a rose is forever as is as our love (awww...how romantic). Typical to their style the nursery didn't have any identification so we are left to guess from pictures found on the internet. We believe it's some type of polyantha (possibly pink pet) even though we originally believed it to be a miniature. Hey, we never claimed to be experts.

A new rose plant grown from a cutting.

Now that you know which varieties are adequate you need to know how to take care of your plant. First, choose the right container. Recommended sizes will vary depending on the variety but a container 12 inches deep is a good bet. A well draining soil is an absolute must since roses, in general, don't like standing water. Next, when selecting a plant from the nursery make sure you select a healthy looking plant with no signs of mildew or blackspot (a common fungus that affects roses). Place your new plant in an area where it will receive full sun (6 hours of sunlight). To establish the plant keep the soil evenly moist. After the plant is established water occasionally when the soil feels dry. Always water at the bottom of the container and avoid getting the leaves wet. This will minimize the probability of developing the fungi we described earlier. For fertilizing we recommend a balanced time-released fertilizer (You remember what a balanced fertilizer is right?, If not go here). Depending on the variety, a fertilizer with high phosphate can be used to maximize blooming. Finally, pruning is a very important process in maintaining a healthy rose. When blooms are spent cutting the dead flowers (called deadheading) will increase blooming. Also, roses need a good pruning at the end of the blooming season; winter in PR (Editor's note: Joel hates pruning. Jessica takes care of this). Cut back dead wood and prune healthy stalks to a desired shape. Don't worry if you think you cut back too much; it will grow back in spring. Another advantage to pruning is that healthy stalks that you cut can be used to reproduce your plant and #spreadthelove by gifting to a friend. We tried this ourselves with great success (see picture on the right) following the method explained in our previous post on propagation by cuttings.

So, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this introductory course on roses. If you grow roses in containers share your experiences with us in the comments section. Until next time, keep on gardening!

Impossible Seeds

Have you ever wondered why it's impossible to find paprika or curry seeds? Precisely because it is impossible. These commonly used spices do not come straight from a plant. They are, in fact, a mix of other spices. When a certain combination of spices is called for in different recipes it's convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand to eliminate the need for measuring each spice individually. 

One of the most widely-used spice blend is curry powder. Even though curry is commonly associated with Indian food the contemporary English use of the word curry is actually an invention that does not reflect any Indian food. Western curry is a standardized mixture close in flavor to the Indian sambar powder of dried red chiles, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, ground ginger, and ground turmeric.

Paprika is made of ground dried bell peppers or chili peppers, so it can range from mild to hot. Paprika is used as an ingredient in a broad variety of dishes not only to season but also to add color to rices, stews, and soups.

Dry rubs are mixed spices that are rubbed into meat before cooking. There is a wide range of them such as Old Bay, steak and BBQ seasonings, and chili powder (yeap, chili powder is also a spice blend, made of one or more varieties of chili pepper and usually blended with other spices including cumin, oregano, garlic, and salt). Chili powder is sometimes named after the type of pepper used, such as cayenne pepper. Salt is very important on dry rubs as it melts when in comes in contact with meat juices, electrons do their work and the salt, along with the other spices, gets through the meat.

A coffee grinder can be
used to mix spices.

There is a wide variety of other spice mixes such as taco seasoning (chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, cumin, salt), apple pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice) and Chinese five-spice powder (star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, fennel seeds). As mentioned before these are made for convenience but they also provides the opportunity to duplicate certain flavors more successfully.

If you have several spices on your garden and you are into doing the mixed spices yourself make sure to get an electric spice grinder. You can get one for about $25. A coffee grinder works too, just remember not to use the same grinder for spices and coffee, as the taste usually stays on the grinder and either your coffee will taste like spices or your spices will taste like coffee. (Editor's note: I'm pretty sure some people wouldn't mind having everything taste like coffee. Neither of us likes coffee very much though.)  

This is how a pepper should  look while
drying, notice it's all wrinkly.

Just for fun we tried making our own paprika and we failed. The first thing you need is some dried peppers. We grew some cubanelle peppers that resulted too hot to use on everyday dishes so we thought it would be a good idea to make paprika instead. Drying must be done in a dry (obviously, we are drying after all), dark place since sunlight bleaches color away and humidity is bad, I mean the enemy! Peppers in high humidity will get mold. Sadly that's what happened to our peppers. (Sniff sniff) We put the peppers in a brown paper bag and stuck them in the oven thinking they would be safe from the humidity. Not! Moldy peppers don't make for a good paprika. Now we are looking for a way to fight humidity in Puerto Rico as it is usually very very high. We've read that it helps if you use thin-walled peppers; thick peppers have too much moisture. We'll look into it and update with hopefully good news.

Go on, create your very own spice or mix and match for a great dry rub. Use your garden as your ally and do some experiments. Who knows, you might have the next chefs' favorite. Let us know about it, we always like good stories.

Three for the price of one

Our cilantro plants. Notice how the one
in the center is bolting.

Who doesn't like to buy one and get two free? Well that's what you get when you plant cilantro, also known as coriander or Chinese parsley (people like to call the same plant different names just to confuse other people). Cilantro (Coriandrum sarivum) is a cool season annual herb in the Apiaceae family. This family contains many well known herbs and vegetables such as carrots, cumin, dill and parsley.

So what are the three things you can get when you grow cilantro? The most common part to harvest are the leaves. These are usually sold fresh at the supermarket in tight bunches. The second thing you can obtain from cilantro are the dry fruits or "seeds". These are used as a spice in various cuisines. The fruits are usually sold as "coriander" in Puerto Rico and can be found in dried whole form or as crushed powder. The last thing is one that you usually don't find in Puerto Rico since it is mainly used in Thai cuisine, cilantro root. To be honest I've never seen one myself.

So how do you grow cilantro? Cilantro is typically grown from seed since it doesn't transplant well. Seeds can be found almost everywhere in Puerto Rico.(Health advisory: Seeds sold for sowing are coated with a poisonous substance to prevent them from being eaten by ants and other animals. Therefore, it goes without saying, do not use them for cooking. Now back to your scheduled programming.) Directly sow your seeds about 2-3 inches apart in a well draining soil or potting mix. Once the seeds sprout move the plants into full sun and make sure the soil is kept moist. Fertilize with a balanced fertilizer or a high nitrogen fertilizer once in the season. Now, when should we grow cilantro? Well, it really depends on what part of the plant you wish to harvest. Since the plant tends to bolt quickly in hot weather (read: typical Puerto Rico weather) it is best to grow it in  late fall, winter, or early spring if you are interested in the leaves. After a plant bolts leaves become bitter and should not be used for cooking. If you are only interested in the fruits/seeds you can grow it in summer. The plant will quickly bolt and you will have flowers, and therefore fruits, faster. For roots you should also grow in late fall/winter/early spring since the roots will have more time to develop. 

Leaves are described as having a citrus flavor. They can be harvested at any time and are used fresh in dishes since heat tends to change its flavor. Sometimes they are just used as a garnish. (Jessica uses cilantro leaves in her patented "sofrito" recipe. Maybe she'll write a post about that later.) Seeds can be used either toasted or dried. Fresh, toasted seeds have a more potent flavor. They are used commonly used in Indian cuisine in curries and in other cuisines for seasoning meats and potatoes. Roots are used to flavor Thai dishes such as soups or curries.

Cilantro doesn't suffer from any major diseases but ours have been attacked by the dreaded aphids. As we've mentioned aphids are usually accompanied by ants. In order to control the aphids you first need to eliminate the ants. Then use insecticidal soap on the underside of leaves.

That's it for cilantro. What are you waiting for? Go out there, purchase some seeds and grow some cilantro. It will be well worth it.

Disease:Cucumber Wilt

Cucumber wilt

A few days ago I arrived to find one of our three cucumber vines extremely wilted. Instinctively, I thought "Did I forget to water them this morning? Did I accidentally skip them in my morning routine? Did I do it subconsciously? Do I hate cucumbers but haven't realized it yet? Am I such a horrible person that I can't take care of my plants properly? Imagine how you will do when you have kids. Nooooo!!! "<end rant>. Then the rational part of the brain kicked in. The other two vines which share the same pot weren't wilted so it couldn't have been lack of water. There wasn't anything wrong with this particular vine. In fact, it was thriving, already having produced cucumbers while the other two hadn't. A mystery. I checked my bible and there was no mention of anything that would affect cucumbers so suddenly. Google time. About 607,000 results (0.28 seconds). Answer - Disease:Cucumber Wilt.

Cucumber wilt (Erwinia tracheiphila)  is a bacterial disease transmitted by the cucumber beetle. This animal (actually these animals since cucumber beetle is a term used for various species of beetle) and its larvae can be found in various plants in the Cucurbitaceae family (squash, cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon, etc). They lay eggs on the underside of leaves. Once the larvae hatch they start feeding on the roots of a plant or on the soft stems of young plants. Today's lesson: "Always check the underside of leaves. Bad critters tend to dwell there. Example: cucumber beetles, whiteflies, the dreadful aphids." <end today's lesson> These beetles can also transmit another nasty disease called cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Hopefully we'll never have to write about that one.

The most obvious symptom of cucumber wilt is vines that have been well watered suddenly wilting. Before this happens though the leaves of your vines will exhibit dull green patches. However, the onset of the disease is so fast that you may never notice this dullness. I know we didn't. After a plant is infected slime clogs the water conducting tissue thus causing the plant to dry out and wilt. Fruits may become wilted themselves. Once a plant becomes infected there is no cure. The best thing to do at that point is to destroy the affected plant. (Doesn't it suck when you realize you are powerless to do anything to save your plants. Lesson: Nature > us)

Prevention is the most important step in controlling cucumber wilt. So how do you prevent it? Healthy plants are naturally more resistant to diseases. Water your plants regularly and inspect them every day. Plants that have been subjected to drought or water stress are more likely to be infected by this disease. If you find any eggs on leaves promptly destroy them by squashing them with your hands. Some sites on the internet suggest putting a cloth or barrier around seedlings and young plants to prevent adults from laying eggs on your plants. Personally, I find this very impractical if you are only planting two or three vines. As a last, last (and we mean last) resort pesticides can be used to kill the eggs and larvae. However, be mindful that at some point you will be consuming fruits from this plant so toxic pesticides should be avoided.

Now you know what to do (or not to do) when you encounter cucumber wilt. If you have experienced this let us know in the comments section. Until next time keep on gardening.