Do you Grow Your Own?

My friends, my people, you big freaks who are getting all WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL THIS SQUASH THAT I GREW WHEN I THOUGHT MY YARD WAS 10X AS BIG, I want you to tell me (and the Internets) what you're doing with all that stuff you're growing.

Or getting from friends who are growing.

Or picking off your neighbor's tree when they're not looking.

Or whatever as long as you or someone close to you is growing or raising it and you're making it into something fantastic (or, something bad, as the case may be - it's OK when things go awry, we all learn and then make fun of you when you're not around).

Come be a part of Grow Your Own, the "blogging event that celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. "

I'll be hosting the 8/15 rendition of the event, as Andrea has sought out guest hosts to handle the load of entries (it's wildly popular, dontyouknow), and I want to sit here and fawn over the crazy awesome stuff you're making from the fruits, vegetables, herbs, sprouts, edible flowers, nuts, grains, legumes, dairy products, eggs, livestock, etc that you're bringing into the culinary world.

Why?

Because then maybe I'll figure out what to do with all this fucking chard. Not that you have to submit chard recipes or anything, but I'm hoping a little bit that someone does. I'm considering making clothes from it. Or seeing if I can run the Prius off chard power. Or maybe sewing a quilt from it.

OR SOMETHING.

Really though, here's what you do:

• Make a dish that uses at least one item from your very own garden or farm or neighbor's tree and post about it. Container gardens are welcome! If you hunted or foraged, those items are also eligible. You can also use something that was given to you, but the giver must have personally grown or raised the item. If you paid for it, then it doesn’t count.
• Anything edible that you have grown or raised qualifies, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, sprouts, edible flowers, nuts, grains, legumes, dairy products, eggs, livestock, and anything else I might have forgotten. Produce from both indoor and outdoor gardens are welcome! Different regions will have different things available, so feel free to feature things unique to your area. (Rambutan trees, anyone?) We are all about celebrating variety!
• Please make sure your dish is posted during the month of the event because we like to celebrate seasonal items. One post per blog, please.
• As a courtesy, please include a link to this announcement in your blog post, and then update later with a link to the round-up.
• If you want to include one of the Grow Your Own badges in your post, feel free to grab one here. (Please upload to your own server/image repository.) Logos professionally designed by Jeff Meyers.

And if you want to see what others have done in the past, here's a few of the most recent round-ups:

July
June
May

You may notice that my entries have been mostly about chard, but don't let that sway you.

To include your post in the round-up, send an email to me (finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom) by 8/14/08 with:

• Subject line: Grow Your Own #
• Your name and location (country, state if applicable)
• Your blog URL
• Permalink to your post
• A photo of your dish

On 8/15 I'll post the round up and you can all sit back and relish all the new ways to make chard, I mean, the variety of edibles that folks the world over are Growing on Their Own. Or something close to that.

It'll be fun. You'll like it.

Remember: Send Finny your posts about how you're making that stuff you're growing. Chard or otherwise. finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom.

Wuv you.