Food With Phil

Blog

  • Variety Notes

    Beans

    • Cobra
      • First Harvest: 06/10
      • Taste:
      • Notes:
        • Produced earliest, but none of the bean varieties climbed much before producing.

  • Chicken & Rice

    Ingredients

    • 1 – Chicken Breast (1″ Cubes)
    • 1/8 cup – Peas & Carrots (Frozen)
    • 1/2 – Onion (Diced) or 1/4 tsp – Onion Powder
    • 4 tbsp – Butter
    • 1/4 tsp – Sea Salt
    • 1/4 tsp – Pepper
    • 1 tbsp – Garlic (Minced)
    • 2 tbsp – Chicken Bouillion
    • 2 cups – Water
    • 1 cup – Rice
    • 3/4 cup – Cheddar Cheese
      • Try:
        • 1/4 cup – Cheddar Cheese
        • 1/4 cup – White American Cheese
    • Original (DO NOT ADD)
      • 1/4 cup – Parmesan Cheese

    Instructions

    • Set instant pot to saute on high heat. Melt 2 tbsp butter & saute peas, carrots & onions until softened. About 5 mins.
    • Add 2 tbsp butter, chicken, salt & pepper and cook until chicken is done. About 10 mins.
    • Add garlic & rice. Stir to prevent sticking and cook until rice is just starting to get some color. About 5 mins.
    • Add chicken bouillion and water. Stir to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
    • Cover and pressure cook on high for 10 mins. Instant release once complete.
    • Add half of the cheese and stir to incorporate and release rice from bottom of pan. Add the other half of the cheese and stir to incorporate.

    Notes:

    • Try some white american cheese instead of the cheddar to simulate ACP from mexican restaurants.

  • Italian Pork Chops

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    • Marinate pork chops in enough italian dressing to completely cover. Keep in marinate at least 24 hrs.
      • Most people only do a couple hours, which doesn’t allow the marinate to penetrate.
    • Remove from marinade, season with SPG.
    • Sautee in a skillet over medium/high heat.
      • The sauce should start to darken in the pan as the chops are finishing. Slide the chops around to coat before removing from the skillet.
  • 2026 – April Garden Log

    2026 – April Garden Log

    01

    • Blooming
      • Strawberries
      • White Iris in bottom vegetable garden.
      • Back corner of the house azalea is COVERED in blooms. Beautiful. Research and try to repeat.
        • New growth? Old growth? Variety? Shade or Sun?
    • Grass is 50-75% green.

    08-09

    • Transplanted tomatoes
    • Direct sowed the following:
      • Sunflowers
      • Green Beans
      • Butterbeans
      • Squash
      • Zuchinni
      • Luffa Gourds
      • Birdhouse Gourds
      • Note: Watered daily for 2 weeks until most things had germinated. Now watering every other day.

    16

    • As we built the garden, we dug up a lot of iris and unkown plants. I didn’t want to waste them and didn’t know where to put them, so I got some nursery pots to put them in for now. We were overrun with nursery pots and the yard is hilly, so putting them on the ground didn’t work out so well. I built some garden tables to hold them.

    23

    • Fertilized the following w/ Espoma Garden Tone @ 1 cup per 4′ of row. First true leaves have just started to appear.
      • Sunflowers
      • Luffa Gourds
      • Birdhouse Gourds
    • Fertilized the following w/ Espoma Garden Tone @ 1/4 cup per plant, split between trenches on 2 sides.
      • Tomatoes
        • Note: The tomatoes have not grown any since transplanting. I think the soil was still a little hot (not done composting) and it’s stealing all of the nitrogen because the lettuce has done the same thing. I’m thinking this because it was steaming as we were filling the beds.
    • Fertilized the following w/ Alaska Fish Emulsion at 1 tbsp per gallon:
      • Petunias (Hanging Baskets)
      • 32 Cell Tomatoes
      • 72 Cell Marigolds
      • 72 Cell Snapdragons
    • Direct sowed the following:
      • Pumpkins
      • Watermelon
      • Note: Mixed in 2-3 cups per 8 ft of row in the soil before planting.
    • Blooming
      • Roses
      • Irises (Yellow)
      • White Fringetree

    25

    • Fertilized the following w/ Espoma Garden Tone @ 1 cup per 4′ of row. First true leaves have just started to appear.
      • String Beans
      • Butter Beans
      • Note: Beans don’t usually need fertilizer, especially nitrogen, but everything is indicating there’s a nitrogen issue in this soil, so I added it for good measure. The leaves were also a pale lime green instead of dark.
    • Fertilized the following w/ Espoma Garden Tone @ 1/4 cup per plant, split between trenches on 2 sides.
      • Squash
      • Zuchinni
    • Transplanted the following:
      • Chamomile
      • Greek Oregano
      • Lemon Basil
      • Marigolds
        • Happy Days variety was dispersed throughout the 3 tomato beds. 6 marigolds each.
        • Mission Giant yellow was put in the front flower row on the right side. 7 in a bunch.
        • Sunset Giants were put in the front flower row in the middle and left side, 5 & 6 per bunch.

  • Mint & Lime Simple Syrup

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup – Sugar
    • 1 cup – Water
    • 50 – Mint Leaves (about 5 small sprigs)
    • 3 – Limes (juiced)
      • Try: Lime Zest

    Instructions

    • Add Mint leaves & Lime juice to a small pot & muddle.
    • Add sugar & water. Heat on medium-low until all sugar is dissolved. Whisking occasionally.
    • Let cool & store in a jar in the fridge.
  • Mojito

    Mojito

    Ingredients

    • 1/4 cup – Mint & Lime Simple Syrup
    • 10-20 – Mint Leaves
    • 1 – Lime (cut into 4-6 wedges)
    • 4 cubes – Ice
    • 1 can – Soda Water

    Instructions

    • Add Simple Syrup, Mint Leaves & Lime wedges into glass and muddle.
    • Add ice & soda water.
    • Stir & enjoy!

  • Pink-a Colada

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup – Pineapple Juice
    • 1/2 cup – Cream of Coconut
    • 1 – Lime (juiced)
    • 2 – Cherries
    • 4 – Large Ice Cubes

    Instructions

    • Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

    Notes

    • I get a can of pineapple chunks in juice and blend that for the pineapple juice.
    • I blend the can of Cream of Coconut before using because the can will likely have a liquid and solid portion. Blending incorporates all of this for easier measuring.

    Variations

  • Pina Colada

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup – Pineapple Juice
    • 1/2 cup – Cream of Coconut
    • 1 – Lime (juiced)
    • 4 – Large Ice Cubes

    Instructions

    • Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

    Notes

    • I get a can of pineapple chunks in juice and blend that for the pineapple juice.
    • I blend the can of Cream of Coconut before using because the can will likely have a liquid and solid portion. Blending incorporates all of this for easier measuring.

    Variations

  • 2026 – March Garden Log

    March

    Yard

    20

    • Cut grass
      • Rear tires spin a lot. Consider more aggressive tread and possibly narrower tires

    Front Garden

    13

    • Added 5 yards of soil for the initial fill of the raised beds.
      • Used Best Start from Head Lee Landscape Supply at $54 / yd.

    16

    • Added 15 yards of mulch to the entire garden.

    20

    • Added 1 yard of soil to fill all the beds to max.
    • Added 1 yard of mulch to bank next to driveway.

    24

    • Bent 1/2″ EMT into loops to create low tunnels.
    • Put 1.2oz AgFabric Row Cover over lettuce/cabbage/spinach/arugula bed (#7) and over front middle tomato bed (#5). These greenhouse clamps worked great to hold the fabric on the EMT.
    • Planted bed #7 with the following:
      • Lettuce: Little Gem, Burpee Bibb, Black Seeded Simpson, Red Salad Bowl & Buttercrunch
        • Planted 4 per square
        • Most of the Burpee Bibb were tiny so we direct seeded 1 of the 3 squares.
      • Cabbage: Salad Delight & Red Dragon
        • Planted 1 per square
        • Only had 1 seedling, direct seeded the remaining squares.
      • Spinach: Bloomsdale
        • Planted 9 per square.
        • Direct seeded most squares. Only had 3 tiny seedlings.
      • Arugula: Rocket
        • Planted 9 per square
        • Direct seeded all squares.

    30

    • Direct planted Arugula, Spinach & Cabbage have come up.
      • These look like they’ll do better direct planted instead of started inside. If there’s a good 1-2 week weather window, start these directly outside next year.

    Seedlings

    21

    • Brought lettuce trays outside for 2 hours to start hardening off. Placed on rack in shade of back porch.

  • Drunken Noodles

    Ingredients

    Chicken Marinade

    • 2 – Chicken Breasts (Sliced into strips)
    • 1/4 cup – Soy Sauce
    • 1/4 cup – Sugar
    • 1 cup – Water
    • 1 tsp – SPG Seasoning
    • 1 tbsp – Basil (from tube)
    • 1 tbsp – Ginger (from tube)
    • Try: 1/4 tsp – Red Pepper Flakes

    Pressure Cooker

    • 1 – Yellow Onion (Sliced)
    • 1 – Green Bell Pepper (Sliced)
    • 1 – Red Bell Pepper (Sliced)
    • 1 tbsp – Garlic (Minced)
    • 16 oz – Rice Noodles (Fettucini Style)
    • 5 tbsp – Chicken Bouillion
    • 5 cups – Water

    Sauce

    • 6 tbsp – Soy Sauce
    • 1 tbsp – Oyster Sauce
    • 1 tbsp – Fish Sauce
    • 1/2 tbsp – Mirin
      • Substitute: 1/2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar & 1/2 tbsp Sugar
    • 2 tbsp – Brown Sugar
    • 1 tbsp – Basil (from tube)
      • Try: 2 tbsp – Basil (from tube)
    • 2 tsp – Ginger (from tube)
      • Try: 2 tbsp – Ginger (from tube)
    • 1/4 tsp – Red Pepper Flakes

    Directions

    • Pressure Cook 4/3
      • Try: 2/6