Midwest Mary

We tell our stories around the table, and in our family, that table includes food. Lots of food. We pull everything we have out of the refrigerator and cabinets for our guests.

One of the many projects I’ve been working on is a collection of family recipes. Every extra minute I’ve had for the past year, I typed, edited, and laid out recipes passed on to me by siblings, cousins, aunts, parents, grandparents, and even my children and nieces. These recipes are included in a family cookbook that also contains photos of the family from my Great-Grandmother Clara down through the years until our family picnic last summer.

Recipes are presented with ingredients on the left and directions on the right. The font is fairly large. My goal was to show recipes simply and clearly for easy readability.

I’m now in the process of printing these books and binding them with a thermal binder. Printing takes forever. Binding is quick and easy. It certainly isn’t a professional cookbook, but I think the book looks good for what it is.

On another note, as you may remember from a previous post, I’m experimenting with a hydroponic garden. Here are a few of my findings.

Growing tomatoes, even the smaller ones, isn’t practical in the 8-pod container that I have. The plants quickly outgrow the small space.

I removed the tomato plants from the hydroponic container and transplanted them into a pot with soil. The challenge was that the roots were long and intertwined with the others, and some roots were lost in the process.

However, the cherry tomato plants continue to look healthy. There are a number of flowers right now, and I’m hopeful for tomatoes.

The lettuce grew well but only produced enough to add to a salad. The herbs are taking their time. Without the tomato plants blocking the light, these plants should do better.

I now have all herbs in the pods. If they grow too large, I’ll also transplant those plants. I’ve been searching for microgreen seeds. Their size should work in this plantar. In addition, the lettuce would produce an adequate amount if all pods were devoted to it.

My assessment of the container is that it works well as a nursery to start plants for later transplanting to soil containers. It’s also more productive with a dedicated intention such as all lettuce, herbs, or flowers.

Plants definitely grow well in the water and with the special lighting, and it’s been fun to experiment with especially when the weather prohibits outside gardening.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Erin go bragh!

Needlepoint by Patricia M. Doyle (my mother)

©Mary K. Doyle, 2025