Activities and Events

Ahh, springtime in the Rockies! From plant sales to farmers markets to fairs and festivals, the focus is on the great outdoors. Sample the first vegetables and fruits of summer. Take a cooking or wild edible class to broaden you culinary skills. Wander through the public gardens enjoying the profusion of color and scent. Or escape to the mountains where the generous snowmelt will cause torrential waterfalls and swollen streams. A close favorite is Alberta Falls in Rocky Mtn. National Park, be prepared for snow on the trail.

Upcoming Classes

Fun and interesting group cooking classes, herb walks, and garden consults are available for you, your family and friends. Check www.chrysalisherbs.com or 303-697-6060.

Wild Edibles and Medicinals
Saturday May 7th, 9-11am, Bear Creek Lake Park, Morrison, CO
$19 resident, $29 non-resident, Class #110304-01, lakewood.org, 303-987-5423.
From backyards to wild areas, nature provides us with a bounty of wild plants for eating and healing. Learn local plants, locations and preparation of wild plants for dining and first aid. We’ll discuss responsible harvesting, and the best tools and guides for wild crafting. Discover the amazing plants you’ve been stepping on all these years.

Delicious Dishes from the Garden 1

Monday, May 9th, 6-8pm, Denver Botanic Gardens, $39 member. $44 non-member, 720-865-3656, EdOfficR@botanicgardens.org

In a rut with your fresh veggies and fruits? From Zucchini Provencal to Summer Melon Salsa you’ll learn dozens of delicious new ways to create culinary delights. We’ll use the freshest local produce to prepare a delicious, three course meal and discuss tips for selection and home storage. New Menu every month based on what’s in season. Bring a place setting and your appetite!

May Delicious Dinner Menu

Artichokes with Lemon Butter, Radishes

Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Goat Cheese and Candied Walnuts

Pasta with Shrimp, Peas, Arugula and Sun Dried Tomatoes with an Herbal Lemon Cream Sauce

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

Events

Check out the 24th Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival and Parade downtown on May 7^th and 8^th. Or how about the 11th Annual Indian Market and Powwow , May 14 – May 15, 2011. The Denver Botanic Gardens will be having their annual plant sale May 6-8, www.botanicgardens.org. The Front Range Organic Gardeners and the Rocky Mountain Herb Society have teamed up for a great plant sale on Saturday, May 14, from 9am-1pm with an auction from 11-1pm. It will be held at Denver Presbytery Center, 1710 S. Grant St., Denver. Check www.gardenfrog.org for details.

And don’t miss the kick off for summer 13th Annual Downtown Denver Arts Festival
on Memorial Day Weekend, May 27 – May 30. Check out denver.org for more events.

Gardens

Garden fever is in full swing with plant sales and stocked garden centers and nurseries.
Top 5 hints for plant purchasing success.

1. Have a plan. Do not enter a garden center without a written plan of what you are going to put where. Have a budget in mind and list desired varieties and how many of each you need.

2. Buy from a reputable nursery or check out a plant sale put on by gardeners. We might be in for a hot dry summer so consider drought tolerant, low maintenance varieties. Perennials are always a plus. Check out www.ext.colostate.edu

for pages of information on the best choices for gardening in Colorado.

3. Avoid the crowds and go on Thursday night or Friday for the best selection. Garden centers get their big orders in on Thursdays for the weekend traffic.

4. Pick bushy, healthy plants with buds, not flowers. Check the stems at soil level to make sure they aren’t black, indicating stem rot. Line up your plants in your cart the way you are planning on putting them in your garden or container. Do they work well together? If not, substitute.

5. Do not plant too early. Check the frost dates for your area and plant accordingly. Harden off plants by putting them outside for a day or two but bringing them in at night. Then put them outside up against the house for a night or two before planting. Watch the weather for late frosts and keep some sheets ready for quick cover.

Herb of the Month – Sorrel

French sorrel is one of my favorite garden plants. A perennial, it comes back early every spring and provides season long lemony greens for my salads, soups and other culinary creations.

Sorrel is very easy to grow. Here in Colorado it t prefers a partly shaded, cooler area with adequate moisture in rich garden soil. Once it flowers it will turn bitter so cut it down to the ground and you should have a new crop in a few weeks. Sorrel prefers the cooler temps of spring and fall. Sorrel can be used in the classic French sorrel soup, in salads, omelets; basically anywhere you would use spinach. Leaves have a distinctive lemony taste and are high in Vitamin A and C and a good source of iron.

Potato, Leek, and Sorrel Soup

1 tbs butter

2 bunches leeks, rinsed well and white part cut into coin shaped pieces.

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

4 medium potatoes cut into chunks

1½ quarts chicken stock

2 bunches sorrel leaves

1 cup spinach, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Cream to finish (optional)

Melt the butter in a medium soup pot over a medium heat. Sauté the leeks, garlic, and herbs until translucent. Add the potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the chicken stock and reduce the heat to a simmer for around half an hour, until potatoes are tender. Add the sorrel and spinach and puree in a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You may add a dollop of cream to finish, if desired.

May Recipe

Lavender Strawberry Shortcakes

2 ¼ cup flour

1/3 cup butter cut into small pieces

1/3 cup

2 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp lavender flowers

1 cup milk

1 ½ lbs strawberries

¼ cup sugar

vanilla ice cream or whip cream

Hull and quarter washed strawberries, toss in a bowl with the sugar and let stand so they develop a syrup. Chill.

Preheat oven to 425. In a food processor or with a pastry cutter combine flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, lavender, baking powder, and salt and process until it looks like coarse meal. Add milk and pulse or stir just until blended. Don’t overmix.

Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and pat down to a 4 by 8 rectangle. Cut the dough into eight squares, transfer to a baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar and bake until golden. About 20 minutes. To serve: Cut the biscuits in half, fill with strawberries and whip or ice cream, and top with more berries.

Plan Ahead!

I’ll be heading south to the Sand Dunes for our sold out Zapata Ranch trip this weekend. If you weren’t able to make this trip, consider signing up for our Fall Foliage Adventure in Ouray, CO, the Switzerland of the Rockies. We’ll be staying in deluxe lodging at the China Clipper Inn and enjoying hot springs, ghost towns, waterfalls and gorgeous scenery. Check out Ouray: Autumn Adventure in the Switzerland of the Rockies