Wednesday, June 15, 2011

summer savory

i find it funny how pregnancy can sometimes bring out cravings for foods that i haven't eaten nor thought about in years. back in january, from out of nowhere, i was hit hard with an intense craving for green bean soup, which is something my mom used to make often for dinner. i called her up immediately, asking for the recipe, and as i wrote it down, i was deflated with the realization that the key seasoning ingredient, summer savory is not available down here in southern california. i've looked for it before on grocery store shelves to no avail. my dad would always grow it in the garden and then dry it in the garage so that we'd be well stocked with green bean soup seasoning all winter long. i asked if they could bring me some the next time they drove down, and my dear dad did even better than that: he mailed me a little seed packet so that i can begin to grow and dry my own summer savory.



well, truth be told, he actually addressed the letter to tristan and put him in charge of helping me plant it and keeping it watered. tristan was thrilled to be enlisted to help in such an Important Task, and kept asking me when we were going to plant "grandad's seeds" until finally, last week i got around to it.





i poked the holes in the dirt and he put the seeds in. the seedlings will be thinned once they've sprouted so that there will only be 2 or 3 plants in the planter, which is a good thing since those seeds were tiny and i've got a feeling that many more seeds were scattered than what was intended despite the utmost care taken by my little gardener-in-training.





sowing seeds is very intense work, and by this time it had started sprinkling outside (i know! such wonderful early summer weather for a very pregnant girl!), but he just pulled his hood over his head, sat on a chair and kept working hard.





we set the planter in an empty space in the vegetable garden and made sure that it was near enough to the kitchen window so that tristan can take a peek now and then to see if his seeds need watering. samuel had nothing to do with helping out, but he was there to make sure that the spot we picked was a good one.





grandad had left specific instructions in his letter saying that if any money was leftover from buying the potting soil, that it was to go towards an ice cream cone! and so we happily went through the drive thru and tristan got an ice cream, generously sharing little licks with his brother and mommy.





tristan has been very attentive to his soon-to-arrive plants and is quick to let me know if the dirt is getting dry. i love how he is learning the thrill of watching and waiting, checking every day to see if there are any little green shoots poking up through the soil.

thanks, grandad!

8 comments:

sara said...

Your garden looks so good. I love it!

Unknown said...

That is too cute! I'm interested in your green bean soup... I've never heard of such a thing. Once you make it I would love to know your recipe. :)

Unknown said...

Your yard looks great. How wonderful you are teaching your kids to garden.

Cherie said...

That is so adorable! Tristan is perfect for this! and OH MY WORD I miss Bean Soup!! I've craved it so much in the last year! hmmm so delicious!

Lovella ♥ said...

I love Bean soup too. I have my summer savory growing in my garden too and every now and then I go pinch a bit of the herb and just breathe it in.
I love how Grandad's just know exactly how much cash to include.

Thoughts on Life and Millinery. said...

That's quite a kitchen garden you've got there now Heidi. Your kids have inherited the gardening gene from both sides of the family. What a wonderful thing that is!

Hope the summer stays cool for you!

Unknown said...

Way to go Tristan! I think my Summer Savory came up in a week, and that was with the dreadful spring weather we are getting. He shouldn't have too long to wait.

Anneliese said...

Aw.. this is so special!