Beef Stew

The sage herbs you cook with in the kitchen also a makes a delicious addition to dry gardens. They grow to a height of three feet tall and almost as wide.  The stems are square and woody, usually covers with short hairs.  All parts of this grayish green plant are aromatic.  Salvia leaves are long and thin, up to 4 inches long and 1/2 inch across.  They are crinkly, fragrant and sticky and can be used in cooking either fresh or dried. Culinary Sage or salvia officinalis is native to the Mediterranean region, making it a perfect plant for dry gardens.  Sage grows in full sun to partial, dappled shade, and are hardy to about 20 degrees.

Laura Zinkan is a writer in California. Drop by her southern California gardening blog at http://thegardenpages.blogspot.com to read the latest plant profiles and find out what's flowering now. She also cooks up http://www.MomsRetro.com where you can find retro decor and kitchen tips for busy cooks.  Copyright 2010 by Laura Zinkan. Article may be reprinted if author credit is given with a website link.  All rights reserved.

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Rather than making a canned pumpkin soup recipe the next time you fancy this warming dish, how about making a classic pumpkin soup with your own produce? You can grow pumpkins from seeds or from baby plants which are available from the nursery. Pumpkins are a long season crop but growing your own can be very rewarding.

Sow the seeds directly in the earth after the last frost, in manure and compost-enriched, well-draining soil, somewhere that gets full sun. The seed packet will tell you how much space to leave between the plants because there are different pumpkin varieties. Once the plants start to grow, use organic matter as mulch to deter weeks and keep the soil moist.

Beef Stew

More Tips for Healthy Pumpkin Plants

Give the pumpkin plants a couple of inches of water every week, especially when the fruit starts to appear. Use seaweed extract or compost tea to feed them every couple of weeks.

When the fruit appears, pinch the vines back to stop them growing too much. It is a good idea to put boards underneath any big pumpkins to keep them off the wet ground. This stops them from rotting. Orange pumpkins should be picked before the first freeze and after the vines have dried up. White pumpkins should be picked when their skins are streaked with green lines.

Recipe for Pumpkin and Beef Stew

Once you have grown your own pumpkins, you will be anxious to make some tasty recipes with them. The following recipe combines beef, garlic, vegetables, tomatoes and more and this wonderful beef stew recipe is served inside a pumpkin bowl. This pumpkin recipe feeds four to six people and is a real winter warmer.

What you will need:

• 2 lbs stewing beef
• 4 minced cloves garlic
• 1 cup water
• 4 sliced carrots
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 sugar pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 chopped green bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 peeled, cubed potatoes
• 14 1/2 oz can chopped, peeled tomatoes
• 1 chopped onion

How to make it:

Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to a pan and heat it over a medium high heat. Cut the beef into 1 inch cubes and add it to the oil. Brown the beef cubes all over. Add the carrots, potatoes, water, garlic, salt, pepper, onion and bell pepper to the pot.

Bring the stew to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer it for a couple of hours. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Stir in the bouillon granules and tomatoes. Cut the top off the sugar pumpkin and take out the pulp and seeds, leaving an inch thick wall. Chop the pulp and add it to the beef stew.

Fill the pumpkin shell with the beef stew and brush the rest of the oil over the pumpkin exterior. Bake for a couple of hours or until tender. Serve the stew from the pumpkin, scraping out more of the pumpkin flesh from inside the shell.

Growing Pumpkins at Home

Growing pumpkins is easy and you can make a classic pumpkin soup with your homegrown pumpkins, as well as many other recipes. Out of season you might need to make a canned pumpkin soup recipe instead but all pumpkin soup recipes are full of flavor, no matter which you choose. Find all the best pumpkin soup recipes at PumpkinSoup.org.

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Rather than making a canned pumpkin soup recipe the next time you fancy this warming dish, how about making a classic pumpkin soup with your own produce? You can grow pumpkins from seeds or from baby plants which are available from the nursery. Pumpkins are a long season crop but growing your own can be very rewarding.

Sow the seeds directly in the earth after the last frost, in manure and compost-enriched, well-draining soil, somewhere that gets full sun. The seed packet will tell you how much space to leave between the plants because there are different pumpkin varieties. Once the plants start to grow, use organic matter as mulch to deter weeks and keep the soil moist.

More Tips for Healthy Pumpkin Plants

Give the pumpkin plants a couple of inches of water every week, especially when the fruit starts to appear. Use seaweed extract or compost tea to feed them every couple of weeks.

When the fruit appears, pinch the vines back to stop them growing too much. It is a good idea to put boards underneath any big pumpkins to keep them off the wet ground. This stops them from rotting. Orange pumpkins should be picked before the first freeze and after the vines have dried up. White pumpkins should be picked when their skins are streaked with green lines.

Recipe for Pumpkin and Beef Stew

Once you have grown your own pumpkins, you will be anxious to make some tasty recipes with them. The following recipe combines beef, garlic, vegetables, tomatoes and more and this wonderful beef stew recipe is served inside a pumpkin bowl. This pumpkin recipe feeds four to six people and is a real winter warmer.

What you will need:

• 2 lbs stewing beef


• 4 minced cloves garlic


• 1 cup water


• 4 sliced carrots


• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper


• 1 sugar pumpkin


• 2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules


• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil


• 1 chopped green bell pepper


• 2 teaspoons salt


• 3 peeled, cubed potatoes


• 14 1/2 oz can chopped, peeled tomatoes


• 1 chopped onion

How to make it:

Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to a pan and heat it over a medium high heat. Cut the beef into 1 inch cubes and add it to the oil. Brown the beef cubes all over. Add the carrots, potatoes, water, garlic, salt, pepper, onion and bell pepper to the pot.

Bring the stew to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer it for a couple of hours. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Stir in the bouillon granules and tomatoes. Cut the top off the sugar pumpkin and take out the pulp and seeds, leaving an inch thick wall. Chop the pulp and add it to the beef stew.

Fill the pumpkin shell with the beef stew and brush the rest of the oil over the pumpkin exterior. Bake for a couple of hours or until tender. Serve the stew from the pumpkin, scraping out more of the pumpkin flesh from inside the shell.

Growing pumpkins is easy and you can make a classic pumpkin soup with your homegrown pumpkins, as well as many other recipes. Out of season you might need to make a canned pumpkin soup recipe instead but all pumpkin soup recipes are full of flavor, no matter which you choose. Find all the best pumpkin soup recipes at PumpkinSoup.org.

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