How Does You Garden Grow?

 With the last overnight freeze hopefully gone, I'm planting tomatoes and other summer veggies in the month of April. So let's visit my local Nursery in Marina Del Rey, now called Flora Grubb Gardens (the original name was Marina Del Rey Garden Center).

 Last month, I replaced my topsoil with fresh compost that I make from used coffee grounds and veggie scraps. And in the last two weeks, I've made many trips to the Flora Grubb Gardens for tomato, lettuce, and herb seedlings.

And I especially like the variety of lettuce flats -- everything from Mesclun Mix to Red Buttercrunch and Gourmet Salad Blend. They also have a small orchard of budding fruit trees, some starting to bear fruit -- so you know your first crop is definitely on the way.

You can't get fresher produce than growing your own. And in my latest zany film foray, this green-thumbed budget horticulturist takes you on a tasty garden trek, with camera in hand. Now, you know this will not be a typical tour. Where The 99 Cent Chef goes, high jinx follow!

The Flora Grubb Gardens staff is knowledgeable and helpful, while giving you the space to explore on your own. You will see how the Cheapskate Forager takes full advantage of nature's bounty!

It's hard to resist plucking and tasting a tart Kumquat from a branch weighed down with the colorful fruit, and I'm sure everyone has snagged a Strawberry, Blackberry, or a Grape or two from budding bushes displayed for sale. But, no one has gone to the extremes that the Chintzy Gardener goes in this latest docu-comedy video.

This time around, I had some help from a couple of 99 Cent Players. Making her first appearance is Garden Master Elissa (a workmate & cool drummer), while the Omniscient Voice at the end is provided by my neighbor, and frequent contributor, Pete, a comedian and actor. Both Elissa and Pete provided additional camerawork, too. 99 thanks to them, and also to the Flora Grubb Gardens and all their nursery gardeners.

So sit back and let me give you a comedic tour of the Flora Grubb Gardens. It comes with a warning, though: don't try what you see here at your own local nursery -- I'd hate to have to bail you out of the slammer!

Dining in the Flora Grubb Gardens - VIDEO

Play it here. Video runs 4 minutes 45 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Flora Grubb Gardens 

13198 Mindanao Way

Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

hours: 9am to 6pm. Open 7 days.

Phone: 310-823-5956

Website: https://www.floragrubb.com/visit-la

Please note: I brought my own fruit, veggies, and props to the Flora Grubb Gardens. I did pluck a grapefruit from the tree there, but used my own to eat from (there were a lot of grapefruits that had fallen to the ground, so I didn't feel too guilty picking just one -- which I left behind.) Finally, I bought the flat of lettuce used in the video. Although I must fess up to noshing a handful of kumquats during several visits to the nursery.

To make your own Wanted Poster like mine above, click here (and upload a photo.)

My High School Diet 6 During Coronavirus

It's eclectic eats for Day 6 of my High School Meals Series. Today I picked up Mexican sweet bread called Conchas and a Chef's Salad. I consider this a lucky day indeed. I never know what is in store when I drive thru the  Grab & Go line to pick up grub at my local High School.

For this new Food Series, I gave myself the assignment to find out what High School kids are being fed during Covid-19. We here in Los Angeles care about the nutrition needs of young people.

I'll be sharing a different Breakfast and Lunch meal every few days. I think you'll be as surprised as I am of the good, the bad, and the ugly...oh boy.

Click on any photo to see larger.

These meals are Grab & Go from my local High School. I'm sure regular school cafeteria fare is different (better?) than the ones I am getting carryout at the drive-thru lane. You can click here to see the first meal I had at my neighborhood Grab & Go.

The GIF above is a drive-thru Susan Miller Dorsey High School's Grab & Go. 

There seem to be plenty of meal bags laid out on the tables and once I asked if they ever run out and the attendant replied emphatically "Never!"

Breakfast: Conchas Mexican Sweet Bread, Corn Muffin, Apple, Orange, and Milk (always Milk.)

This breakfast is more interesting than typical sugary donuts.

Mildly sweet and a bit dry this sweet bread is of the Mexican pastry variety.  Conchas is a tasty way to start the day.

Go to any Latin market and you will see these in the bakery department. I have found them at my local 99c Only Stores, too.

It's about the size of a hamburger bun. The white stripes on top are sweeter than the interior which makes a nice contrast and overall -- it is a good balance. It's a bit on the bland side but that's okay with me.

I think this is a Corn Muffin as there is no labeling on the package. Corn Muffin is a bit grittier than a cupcake probable due to the cornmeal base.

You can taste corn in the cake part and every once in a while I thought I got a chewy corn kernel. It is a sweet cornbread and more crumbly than a cupcake. The thin sticky-soft top seemed to hold most of the sugar sweetness. Overall I liked it.

Lunch: Chef Salad and Cookies.

I hit the jackpot today with a Chef Salad and Educational Snacks (cookies).

At almost 8 ounces this is a good-sized green salad with Turkey, Ham, and Swiss Cheese topped with a creamy Ranch Dressing.

Now the green part is just Iceberg lettuce and the label calls it a "Classic Salad" so I expect nothing less.

I like Iceberg for the crunchiness and an almost sweet (green) to a lightly bitter (white) range of chopped leaves. It is the kind of lettuce I grew up with and as far as I'm concerned it will never go out of style.

The segmented top to the salad holds small half-inch bars of lightly smoked ham and turkey.

The turkey is white meat and the ham is very lean. The texture is of real meat, not a processed ground and shaped type. It is a hearty and filling salad.

The Swiss Cheese is shredded and soft in texture and mild in flavor. I would have liked a more intense type of Swiss, but this is fine anyway.

And finally, you can mix in Ranch Dressing. The Ranch is thick and creamy with a slight onion and chive undertaste that comes thru the mayo and buttermilk base. It's a rich dressing and I liked it very much.

The ingredient list is a long one but this salad has everything in it.

If you're vegan then this salad is not for you, but I would line up at the Grab & Go  anytime for this old school Chef Salad

The Lunch Dessert is a bag of smart cookies called Dick & Jane Educational Snacks. They are tasty and crunchy. Not too sweet and similar to Animal Crackers or a mild vanilla wafer - nothing special, just a plain cookie.

I never heard of this brand, but you can click here to find out what Dick & Jane are all about. But basically, the cookies are nut-free (Dick is allergic to nuts,) low sugar. They are distributed through Amazon to the general public and I guess they have a contract with schools.

The cookies I got are a collection of English and Spanish words with the translated image on each cookie. There are other cookie themes like States & Capitals, Presidents, and Food & Nutrition.

They have nutrition and ingredients listed clearly on the package. And it doesn't look bad, mainly whole grain wheat and a few other ingredients including sugar, honey, eggs, whole milk, and sunflower oil.

For reviews or info about the purveyors of these food items you can check out Fooducate, just enter a product food name and see what pops up about it: https://www.fooducate.com/

And you can learn about Los Angeles Unified School District's Cafe LA (which supplies a lot of the packaged food) here: https://achieve.lausd.net/cafela

And do check back in a few days for more of my latest food series High School Meals.

 Be safe & keep your distance!

Yogurt Fruit Cup

I'm sure you've done your own version of a Yogurt Fruit Cup, well here's mine - and I think you will want to make my version some time, too.

I find that yogurt with added fruit, from the grocery cold case, is way too sweet. If you read the ingredients of most brands, you will find sugar, cane juice, and/or fructose near the top of the list.

Click on any photo to see larger.

I prefer plain yogurt with fresh fruit mixed in. That's plenty enough flavor. But if you like your yogurt sweet then add your own favorite sweetener. At least you will know how much you are adding. And use any fave vegan yogurt too.

And, often the fruit on the bottom of the yogurt container is cooked, so it's mushy like jam. Or, if it's not cooked, the texture will still be off.

If the only yogurt on sale has fruit on the bottom then I will spoon out the yogurt and toss the too sweet fruit.

There is a lot of cheap and tasty fruit out there to choose from. So keep an eye open for seasonal fruit that hits the bargain bins at your local grocery store, farmers market, or local fruit stand.

It is quick and easy if you use whole fruit that can be mixed into yogurt, like berries and seedless grapes.

Some fruit will not age well when peeled or sliced, turning brown quickly, like banana and apple, so you want to eat a Yogurt Fruit Cup with these right away. In general it best to make just enough of a Yogurt Fruit Cup to eat in one sitting, as other types of fruit may water down yogurt over a few hours.

Start with a banana, as they are usually the cheapest fruit. During cherry season in May and June (at least out here in Los Angeles) I can find them for around a dollar per pound.

For extra crunch add an on-sale apple. We also get mangoes and peaches cheaply at my neighborhood Latin market.

One pound plastic bins of strawberries cost 99.99 cents at the local 99c only Stores. Whole pineapples even make an appearance there.

You can mix and match any favorite fruit you find. Some fruit may come on sale if it has blemishes. Since you are slicing up the fruit, it won't matter - just cut out any damaged segments.

Start you day with a 99 Cent Chef inspired Yogurt Fruit Cup sometime, especially when fresh fruit is on sale and in season.

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 2 small cartons of yogurt - I used plain, unflavored yogurt. You can use any type on sale. 
• 6-10 cherries - seeds removed. Okay to add more or fewer cherries.
• 1 banana - peeled and sliced.
• 1 mango - peeled, seed removed, and sliced.

Directions
Mangoes are a bit messy and tricky to work with. They should be ripe first, with a slight softness and yellow or reddish color, depending on the type of mango.

I like to peel them this way. First I slice into the skin from top to bottom four times. Make sure to slice intersecting at the top and bottom.

Now just peel each segment to remove half of the skin, at the widest half of mango. The mango seed is flat and wide so you want to slice off the most flesh along the seed. The seed will guide your blade, just follow the seed as you slice.

Once one side is stripped of flesh, then peel the other side and repeat, slicing along the length of the seed.

You can keep slicing around the seed to get all the mango flesh. Now just cut the mango flesh into bite sizes.

You know how to peel and slice a banana, I'm sure. Just make sure it is ripe.

Cherries are easy to peel, but can be messy, so make sure to work on a surface that is washable, as cherry juice will stain your clothes or any porous surfaces.

All I do to remove a cherry seed is cut around the middle of a cherry. Grab each half and give it a twist. One half of the cherry will separate off the seed. The other half will need to be sliced around the seed to finish removing it. Once you've done it a few times, it gets easier and quicker to do.
 
Once all the fruit is prepared, time to add the yogurt. I add some yogurt in the bottom of a bowl.

Next add the fruit. And finally I mix in the rest of the yogurt. 

Fresh Fruit Salad

Cherries are on sale at my local  Latin market for 99 cents per pound! And, they provid the bulk of sweet and tangy produce as well - just read below all the Spanish words of the abundant frutas on sale.

So, now the time is right for my refreshing Fruit Salad. Of course, any seasonal fruit on sale can go into your own citrus salad. I like to mix up crunchy fruit with the soft and juicy.

My fruit salad is minimalist, just whatever fruit I can find on sale. And I give it a generous squeeze of lemon, or lime, to prolong it's freshness, and to cut the sweetness with a little sour.

I always find bananas priced way below a dollar per pound. If you are making a Fruit Salad ahead of time, then don't add sliced banana until you are ready to serve, they turn brown too quickly, even with a lemon or lime bath.

Apples and oranges frequently come on sale. Apples are easy to slice and dice. Oranges can be a little messy, with a slight bitter pith, that separates the skin from flesh. I like to slice off the peel and pith. You could then slice into each orange wedge to cleanly remove the flesh. I don't go that far.

Cherries take the most work, but are worth the trouble. I slice each cherry around the center seed. Twist the cherry halves and expose the seed. Now, it's easier to pluck the seed out. Have a paper towel handy in case juice gets everywhere!

To bulk up a Fruit Salad, add sliced melon or watermelon. If you are from the South, them add some fresh peaches, nectarines, blackberries and strawberries. Northerners get to add some blueberries and all kinds of apple varieties. If you live in breathtaking Hawai'i, add passion fruit, mango,pineapple, lychee nut, papaya and  slivers of fresh coconut.

Whatever the season, keep an eye out for fresh fruit on sale at your local farmers market or roadside fruit stands, then assemble a cheap$kate Fresh Fruit Salad- your way.

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 1 banana
• 12-20 cherries
• 1 apple
• 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice - can add more or less to your taste.
• More fruit to add: peach, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, mango, papaya, pineapple, nectarine, plum, melon, watermelon and grapes.

Directions
For apples, just remove the apple core and stem, then chop.

Cherries are sliced all around the center. You then twist the opposite ends of cherry to expose the seed. Now just pry it out with a knife, small spoon or use your fingers.

I slice an orange in half. Then, slice off the skin and pith to expose the orange flesh. Now just slice of the orange into bite-sizes. Remove any seeds if necessary.

For a banana, peel and slice, but only do it just before serving your Fruit Salad. Bananas do not keep long once the peel is off.

Finally, give the fruit a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. I add about a tablespoon. You can add more or less to suit you own taste.