This July 6 photo, taken at the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, N.C., shows a Three Sisters Garden which is a traditional grouping of corn, squash and beans that thrive when planted together. (Dean Fosdick via AP)

This July 6 photo, taken at the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, N.C., shows a Three Sisters Garden which is a traditional grouping of corn, squash and beans that thrive when planted together. (Dean Fosdick via AP)

For easy meals, plant ‘menu gardens’ of favorite foods

If you’re looking for fresh meal ideas, consider planting “menu gardens.” Grow a few of your favorite foods together in pots or raised beds, following a theme — salad-bar fixings, for example, or pizza toppings, or juicing ingredients.

Meal preparation will be simpler, cheaper and healthier.

“Even if you have land to grow a large garden, one advantage of growing a few edible plants in a small space or container close to the kitchen is that it makes it easier to pull together a fresh recipe,” said Patrice Powers-Barker, an extension educator with The Ohio State University.

“The entire family meal doesn’t have to be created from scratch,” she said. “Make some of your easiest go-to recipes and then dress them up with fresh herbs on top, or add fresh seasonal vegetables to your traditional side salad.”

Be creative. Add, subtract or substitute the edibles you grow in much the same way you modify food recipes.

Some specialty gardens that can spice up family meal planning:

SALAD BAR GARDEN: Combine leaf lettuce, sprouts, kale, arugula, romaine, baby carrots, cucumbers, spinach and parsley in a single garden plot. Or go Asian and plant bok choy, red mustard, coriander, radish and Thai basil.

PESTO GARDEN: “Even though basil is probably the most popular leaf to add to pesto, it can be made with all different kinds of plants: parsley, mustard greens, tomatoes,” Powers-Barker said. Don’t forget the garlic.

PIZZA GARDEN: Group cherry tomatoes with onions, oregano, basil, bell peppers, fennel and parsley. The possibilities are endless.

TACO GARDEN: Plant some tomatoes in a large pot with cilantro, jalapeno and lettuce.

JUICING GARDEN: Carrots, cabbage, watercress, Swiss chard, cucumbers, sweet potato, celery, zucchini and mint. Use the mint for garnish.

PICKLING GARDEN: Cucumbers, mustard, cabbage, beets and dill.

STIR FRY GARDEN: Snow peas, Chinese mustard, green onions, bok choy, baby carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli.

THREE SISTERS GARDEN: A traditional Native American grouping of corn, beans and squash. They complement one another nutritionally as well as when grown together on the same hill.

CULINARY HERB GARDEN: Dill, thyme, fennel, tarragon, oregano, mint, parsley, sage, basil and rosemary.

TEA GARDEN: Mint, passionflower, rose hips, chamomile, Echinacea, lavender and basil among a great many others.

HALLOWEEN GARDEN: Pumpkins, squash and corn.

Want more?

“How about a Just Jammin’ garden with strawberries and raspberries?” said Dixie Sandborn, an extension specialist with Michigan State University. That would be a more permanent garden.

Or , she suggested, “maybe a kaleidoscope garden using vegetables with unusual colors? Carrots, eggplant of several colors, tomatoes — red, yellow and orange striped.

“‘One potato, two potato’ or some other catchy name for a potato garden featuring several varieties of potatoes grown above ground in wire or barrels,” she said.

Menu gardens can be fun for families with kids, Powers-Barker said. But their appeal is broader than that: “As older adults transition from serving many people to making recipes for one or two, a small garden can be a nice way to prepare meals in smaller batches,” she said.

Online: For more about creating menu or theme gardens, see this Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet: http://u.osu.edu/powers-barker.1/files/2015/04/1—Theme-Garden-handout-2015-tn1zbd.pdf

For easy meals, plant ‘menu gardens’ of favorite foods

More in Life

Luminaria light the path of the Third Annual StarLight StarBright winter solstice skiing fundraiser at the Kenai Golf Course in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Winter solstice skiing fundraiser delayed until January

StarLight StarBright raises funds for the Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society

File
Minister’s Message: The opportunity to trust

It was a Friday night when I received a disturbing text from… Continue reading

tease
Peanut butter balls for Ms. Autumn

This holiday treat is made in honor of the Soldotna El secretary who brings festive joy

Map courtesy of Kerri Copper
This map of Tustumena Lake was created in 1975 by John Dolph as he planned an Alaska adventure — and delayed honeymoon — for himself and his wife, Kerri. On the upper end of the lake, Dolph had penciled in two prospective camping sites.
The 2 most deadly years — Part 5

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The two most deadly years for people on or near… Continue reading

Marathon Petroleum Kenai Refinery General Manager Bruce Jackman presents a novelty check for $50,000 to the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank at the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Marathon donates $50,000 to Kenai Peninsula Food Bank

Funds were raised during fishing fundraiser held this summer

Blue sits for a photo with Santa during Bark, Block and Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022 at the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Food bank to host Christmas meal, Santa photos

The Kenai Peninsula Food Bank will this month host an opportunity for… Continue reading

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
Life in the Pedestrian Lane: A Little cheese with the whine?

No matter which side of the political fence we stand on, as a generation we are intolerant of pity parties

Photo by Clark Fair, 1990
This is the cabin on Pipe Creek, along the north shore of Tustumena Lake, where Harold Galliett sought shelter after surviving a commercial airlines crash in the lake in September 1965.
The 2 most deadly years — Part 4

The two most deadly years for people on or near Tustumena Lake were 1965 and 1975

File
Minister’s Message: Living out the incarnate love of Christ

Jesus showed the compassionate love of God to all He met

Most Read