GREEN AND GROW #12

August 26, 2006

No Guest Host

I’m ready to get back into the garden now that the hot weather has broken!
So, in honor of the upcoming Labor Day Holiday, I plan on being in labor
in my own back yard.  My Mother redecorated her kitchen. The old kitchen had the
sink facing a plaster wall.  She had the sink moved  under the window so she could
have a view. Unfortunately that view is of dust and 3 panting dogs right now.
She wants a vista I hope to be able to give that to her. I plan on sharing my
tips for gardening with three dogs in the coming weeks.
We harvested our first compost cantaloupe! That would be a cantaloupe we put
in the compost and seeded itself, without any help and grew and produced the
sweetest best tasting cantaloupe you ever had!

Heavy Petal, our plant pick of the week: Scott McMahan of McMahan’s Rare Plant Nursery.
Scott’s pick is Lespedeeza, a semi shrubby plan with long racemes of pink and white flowers and _Little Honey’, a yellow foliaged oak leafed hydrangea. For more information
go to www.mcmahansnursery.com or call 770 983 3666.

Creature Feature: Dr. Nancy Hinkle, a Veterinary Entomologist at the University of Georgia’s School of Veterinary Medicine, talks to us about  _Wolves’.
Why would an Entomologist (Dr. of bugs) talk to us about wolves? Because
as Dr. Nancy Hinkle explained, wolves or Bot fly, the common name, given to a type of fly,
that causes those sore’s on squirrels. They lay their eggs on squirrel nests and
the larva deposit themselves onto the squirrel as they go in and out of their
nests.  The larva burrow into the squirrels skin, digesting the blood and then
crawling out after they have turned into  a large fly. Dr. Hinkle explained that
they don’t usually cause the squirrel any harm and that it’s just one of those
quirks of nature. For information go to www.uga.entomology.org

Our Product of the week: (Is more of a service) - it’s _Bartlett's Tree Care Experts’, with certified arborist Dan Bauer.
I thought, with this drought we’re having, and going into _hurricane season’ , it might be
a good idea to check in with a tree expert.  Dan discussed with us the signs of stress to look
for and how to prevent the problems of it.  For more information go to  www.bartlett.com.

Special Guest: Mike Sikes of McCorkles Nursery
Mike was our first roving correspondent.  He brought us news from the Garden Writers Convention being held in Philadelphia, PA.

Special Segment on Organic Farming with _Farmer D’, Darn Joffe, of _Farmer D Organics’. Darn discussed his recipe for success in growing
tomatoes organically!
Recipe of the Week brought to You by Virginia Willis:
Producer - Author - Editor - Food Stylist
Virginia Willis is a cook, recipe developer, teacher, author, editor, and culinary television producer. Her newest book Bon Appetit Y'all is due out the fall of 2007. Currently she is producing the smash hit Home Plate, a show about new Southern cooking on Turner South. A graduate of L'Academie de Cuisine and Ecole de Cuisine LaVarenne, Virginia honed her attention to detail as the Kitchen Director for Martha Stewart Living Television where she supervised the food segments for the Emmy-award winning television show. With MSLTV, Virginia had the opportunity to execute private meals and events for Martha and her guests -- including among others, President Clinton, Aretha Franklin, and Julia Child.

As Executive Producer for Epicurious on The Discovery Channel, she traveled the world taping fantastic stories about food - from harvesting capers in the shadow of a smoldering volcano to making authentic mustard in Dijon. With Epicurious she was also responsible for directing and producing instructional video as well as developing several impromptu gourmet dinner kits.

A tester and editor for The All-New Joy of Cooking, author of Pasta Dinners 1, 2, 3, and co-author of Home Plate Cooking, Virginia's wide and varied food career started in Atlanta as an apprentice to Nathalie Dupree. She worked with Dupree on four PBS series and cookbooks, including the James Beard award-winning Comfortable Entertaining. She also spent several years as an editorial assistant with culinary authority Anne Willan on various projects including Cook It Right, an exhaustive tome that documents the various states of "doneness" (and over- and under-"doneness") of everything from whipped cream to braised pheasant.

As a nationally recognized culinary professional her client list includes
Atlanta Bread Company, Cargill/Honeysuckle White, Coca Cola, Denny's, FoodMatch Inc., Waffle House, and Whole Foods Market.

Virginia is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, The Southern Foodways Alliance, and the Whole Foods Market Culinary Advisory Panel
Virginia’s recipe: Eggplants

Virginia Willis Culinary Productions
 For more great recipes go to http://virginiawillis.com