David's Brunswick Stew

Brunswick stew is different for everyone who makes it. There are a few requirements for a real Brunswick stew. These requirements can be ignored and there may still be a good stew. It just won’t be real Brunswick stew. The stew that I am describing is cooking as I write and appropriate substitutions will be noted.
The absolute requirements are:
1) At least three types of meat, at least 1 of which is cured.
2) Okra…A lot of people leave this out; but they aren’t making real Brunswick stew.
3) Tomatoes
4) Corn and Corn meal
5) Beans

My Brunswick stew is always made in a crock pot. A pressure cooker or even a big pot on the stove will work fine. Slow cooking makes it better. The ingredients should be almost unrecognizable in the finished product. Brunswick stew can be eaten almost any time of year. It is best in the Winter; because it really is heavy and warming. Of course that means that it will probably not be made with fresh ingredients from the garden. As much as possible things from the garden that have been preserved should be used.

The beans are the beginning. Small speckled limas are my favorite. Canned or fresh beans could be used. I use the dried beans. A 16 oz. bag is put into the 5 quart crock-pot and rinsed. The beans are covered with water and left overnight to soak. The next day the pot is turned on and about a teaspoon of salt is added. Do not put much salt at this stage; because their may be salt in the meats or vegetables. Seasoning is best left until the end. Cook the beans until they are tender. I usually dump about 1/3 of a cup of coffee in the beans at this point. It is not required. We used to season the beans as they cooked with some type of cured pork. Now, due to cholesterol concerns, chicken bouillon is used.

The meats used are at the discretion of the cook. They will probably be based on what is available. The stew that is cooking right now will have ground lamb, pork neck-bones, pork chops, Colombian chorizo and chicken thighs. These are placed in another crock-pot; but they can be cooked anywhere. They are not seasoned as they are being cooked except for a few sprigs of rosemary. When the meats are cooked they are allowed to cool and the meat is stripped from the bone.

Stewed tomatoes, chopped green chilis, frozen okra, canned creamed corn, diced potatoes, carrots, celery and chopped green onions, including the tops, are thrown into the bean pot after the beans are cooked to the point of being tender. Potatoes should not be added unless the pot is at a rolling boil. Potatoes will have a better texture if they are started in boiling water. When the potatoes are added a little more salt should be added as well. Potatoes tend to soak up the salt from the other foods.

Depending on how much of the vegetables have been used, there is probably not much room in the 5 qt. Pot to put in the meat. No problem. This pot has an excellent vegetable soup. Pull out a bowl or two and eat it to make room for the meat. The juices from the meat should be added to the bean pot as well as the meat itself. When everything comes back to a rolling boil, self-rising corn meal can be added to thicken the stew. Just add a little bit and let it cook some. The corn meal will swell up and it is possible to get too much. Corn meal takes about 30 minutes to cook at a rolling boil.


David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Which Herbs to Plant?

This has got to be one of the toughest decisions of the gardening year. There are so many and so many that I really love. When making a list of favorites, the ease of growing needs to be taken into consideration. Also, is the plant a good companion plant? Will the plant crossbreed with other plants and possibly cause undesirable offspring. How much space is available?

The list of favorites include things like black peppercorn, cumin and curry. Research shows that black pepper comes from the piper tree. These trees are used as street plantings in Santiago, Chile. I brought seeds back on my last trip; but they did not germinate. Curry is actually a blend of herbs. That will require some study. Cumin which is one of the ingredients of curry is widely not considered possible to grow in Charlotte. It is seeded in May and harvested in September. Why can’t I grow it here?

That will be one of my candidates for the herb garden this year. Herb garden should be clarified. We no longer have a herb garden. The herbs are planted in flower beds and as companion plants in the raised beds with other crops.




David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

When it Rains it Pours

The rain barrel was full Saturday morning. Charlotte got 5” of rain Sunday. Should I get another rain barrel? By mid-June, I can almost guarantee the barrel will be empty. Today the sun is trying to shine. The wind is heavy, which will dry the ground some. The sun might raise the greens from the dead.

On Saturday another raised bed was nailed together and some compost was turned. Lots of work got done in the greenhouse. Sunday nothing got done at all. Monday the sun came back out and everything was wonderful again. Unfortunately I had to work late. The pansies did get planted in the “artificial waterfall”.

The “waterfall” is a stack of concrete blocks, veneered with rocks. The blocks are filled with dirt. Pansies are planted to simulate a water fall. Blue pansies are in the center for water and white pansies are on the edge for foam. I ran out of “water” so I will have to buy some more blue pansies.





David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Yesterday was so beautiful, I had to go home and play in the yard. The hard cold spell that just ended left dead tomato plants (in the greenhouse raised bed) and high gas bills. It also left a bunch of wood ashes. We let the woodstove go out so it could be cleaned. Ashes go in the compost. A little bit of compost got turned as well and the earthworms got fed. The cold weather did not hurt them. They are wiggling away. It is almost time to clean their bin.

I haven’t made up my mind whether to consider the raised bed in the greenhouse as a failed experiment or try again. I will be moving the lights to the bench area for use on the bedding plants. The space where the bed is would make a good spot for a cabinet or a workbench. The little growies are very happy with the warm sunshine. I started some more basil and parsley plants; because there are never enough of them. They are great companion plants.

Today is order day from Burpee’s for the spring seeds and the rest of the greenhouse plantings. I’m so excited. Ordering seeds is one of the most difficult and exciting parts of the spring garden. Seed catalogs really start the dream juices going.





David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Dead Heroes

Some of the winter heroes praised in the last article have fallen in combat against the cold. It is possible they have a little bit of Lazarus in them however. The older kale plants look to be beyond recovery. The newer kale and the mustard and arugula seem to be recovering after the warm spell and a day of rain. The rosemary and thyme actually seemed to enjoy the cold. The onions had no damage from the cold and experienced a growth spurt when the rain came.

The tomatoes in the greenhouse did not fare so well. All but one is totally dead. That one still looks very frost bitten. The bedding plants held up fine. The earthworms enjoyed their protected habitat.

Garden plans for next year are coming along well. 17 boxes for beds have been built. Most have been filled. The lumber for one more is cut and ready to nail together. A list of needed plants and seeds has been compared with the inventory and the order should be ready for Burpee by tomorrow. Bulk seeds will be bought from Renfrow’s as needed. The seeds needed for the greenhouse are not available there. Many plants have been started; but the serious preparation and planting needs to be done this weekend.




David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com/ , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

Winter Heroes

When winter comes and most of the garden is fallow, there are still some heroes that provide fresh vegetables, vitamins and quality meals. These are the members of the crucifer and allium families. The low temperatures here have been in the low twenties and high teens for 4 nights. The rain barrel in the greenhouse has a ¼ “ skim of ice on it. The top 3” of the compost piles are frozen. The wood in the woodpile is stuck together. It is cold!!

The mustard, turnips, arugula and fall planted kale and radishes are still fine. The radishes are not big enough to pull yet and they are growing slow; but they are growing. The greens are tenderer and better tasting. We don’t usually pick them while they are so stressed. We will wait until after a rain perks them up some.

Last nights dinner was spaghetti squash. Fresh green onions from the garden and rosemary and thyme personalized the spaghetti sauce. Rosemary and thyme are winter hardy as are the onions. The only problem with the onions was that extra care was required in pulling them; because the ground was frozen. The spaghetti squash is a winter squash. It was picked in August and has been laying around in the dining room. It would probably keep for several more months. Sadly this is the last one.




David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/

That's Cold

Every weekend morning that I am home, I work in the yard or the greenhouse. We were out of town through Saturday. Sunday I went out to do the routine. Normally the compost turning starts on Saturday. The top of the compost in the 4th bin was frozen. No big deal. It broke apart on the 2”X4” wire than screens it into the 5th (storage) bin. Even with gloves on my fingers got so cold I could not stand to pick up the compost from the top to take it back to the 1st (accumulation) bin.

Perhaps I could work in the greenhouse. The rain barrel inside the greenhouse had a skim of ice on it. The tomatoes planted in the raised bed, looked frostbitten. I turned the heater up a little; but I guess that is like closing the barn door after the horse gets out. The plants for next years garden have bottom heat from pads. I think I will lose some of them as well. Too cold to work in the greenhouse.

I went home early to water the plants; because the enriched water had ice on the top. It was still icy. Plants do not like ice water. It took 2 gallons of hot tap water to bring the temperature in a 5 gallon bucket up to something that would not shock the plants. This morning it was even colder (19 degrees). The winter garden plants did not seem to mind except for the Kale from last spring.


David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/