TikTok Tuesday: Farm Tour

@wdcgardener

A summer visit to the UMD Central Maryland Research and Education Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. ##gardendc ##farmtour ##hayride ##agresearch

♬ original sound - Kathy Jentz

By Molly Cuddy

Two weeks ago, Jackie, one of the other summer interns, and I went to the Central Maryland Research and Education Center (CMREC) Upper Marlboro Farm for the Twilight Tour and Ice Cream Social. The farm is part of the University of Maryland extension, and is 30 minutes from campus. 

The night started off with an ice cream social, where we were able to get some homemade vanilla ice cream. It was super good and a great treat in the summer humidity. 

Then, we loaded onto the four tractors they had for the event, and took a hayride around the farm facilities. Both agricultural students and professors from UMD, as well as employees from the farm, all presented on what they have been growing and even gave out informative papers about their findings. We even got some free flowers and I was able to take home some delicious tomatoes that were grown on the farm.

It was a wonderful night! The weather was perfect, and the sunset over the farm was gorgeous. If you’re in the area, and they ever do a farm hayride tour again, I would absolutely recommend going! You can check out my TikTok here to get a feel of what the farm tour was like.

This is also my last ever TikTok Tuesday, as my internship with Washington Gardener is coming to an end. I hope you all have enjoyed my blog posts and TikToks as much as I enjoyed making them every week!

About the Author

Molly Cuddy is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this summer with Washington Gardener. She is also a campus tour guide and will be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester.

TikTok Tuesday: Zucchini Bread

@wdcgardener

Zucchini grown in our garden plot transferred into a delicious bread - yum! ##gardendc ##growyourownfood ##zucchini ##zucchinibread ##gardenrecipe ##dmv

♬ original sound - Kathy Jentz

By Molly Cuddy

This past week, I tried making zucchini bread for the first time! I got this large zucchini from our community garden plot. (It was way more zucchini than I needed for this recipe!) Since I love to bake, I knew I had to make zucchini bread. My good friend Casey sent me her recipe. I’ve been making her banana bread recipe for over a year now, so I knew I could trust her zucchini bread one too! 

Casey’s recipes made two loaves of bread. I only wanted to make one, so I adjusted the recipe a bit. Here’s what I used:

• 1.5 cups of shredded zucchini
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour
• ½ vegetable oil
• about 2 ¾ cup of white sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• ½ teaspoon of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• about a teaspoon of cinnamon
• chocolate chips (if you want!)

Right as I got ready to make the bread, I realized our apartment baking soda had gone missing! I couldn’t find it anywhere. So I just added more baking powder and hoped for the best. I think it still came out great for my first try! It’s super flavorful and moist. I love having a piece for dessert or with a cup of coffee. 

Washington Gardener's editor, Kathy, also sent me her favorite recipe for chocolate zucchini bread and that looks super good as well, I just didn’t have any cocoa powder on hand this time to make it.

Check out my TikTok video here on my process of making the bread.

About the Author

Molly Cuddy is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this summer with Washington Gardener. She is also a campus tour guide and will be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester.

TikTok Tuesday: Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

@wdcgardener

Looking for a beautiful public garden to explore in the ##DMV/##dc area? Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna VA is a great spot! ##gardendc

♬ original sound - Kathy Jentz

By Molly Cuddy

This past weekend, we visited Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. Washington Gardener’s 15th annual Garden Photo Show is on display there and Sunday afternoon was the opening reception. The winning images will remain there until the end of August. 

If you happen to be going to Meadowlark, make sure to stop by the display to see the beautiful winning photos!

After meeting many of the photographers and looking at all the photos, I also got to check out the garden as well. It was a pretty gloomy day, but thankfully it stopped raining for long enough that I could take a quick walk around. It was a nice and cool day too, the perfect weather for exploring a garden!

My favorite part was definitely the fairy garden, which is right outside the visitor center. It was so cute and unique. 

You can check out some more of the garden in my Tiktok here and posted above, but make sure you visit Meadowlark yourself for the full experience!

About the Author

Molly Cuddy is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this summer with Washington Gardener. She is also a campus tour guide and will be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester.

TikTok Tuesday: Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

@wdcgardener

A visit to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardrns in Washington, DC. It is a national park property and is free and open to the public. ##gardendc ##publicgarden

♬ original sound - Kathy Jentz

By Molly Cuddy

This past week, we visited Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, which is a national park located in northeast Washington, DC. It was a super quick and easy drive from my apartment in College Park, because it’s so close to the Maryland border. The garden spans several acres along the Anacostia River. It’s awesome that DC has that much public green space for gorgeous, spacious gardens.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens is filled with lotus and waterlilies as well as lots of wildlife. The best time for spotting birds is early in the morning. 

Entry is free to the gardens and it is open 8am-4pm daily (except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day). The U.S. National Arboretum is nearby (literally just across the river), so you could easily check out both in one day.

My TikTok video linked here shows a preview of what the garden looks like in mid-July. The video doesn’t even do all of it justice, so be sure to go to the aquatic gardens when you can; it’s a perfect summer day activity. 

About the Author

Molly Cuddy is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this summer with Washington Gardener. She is also a campus tour guide and will be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester.

TikTok Tuesday: Wilted Swiss Chard with Garlic

@wdcgardener

Harvesting Swiss Chard from the garden and preparing it wilted with garlic and shallots. ##gardendc ##garden101 ##recipe ##swisschard ##eathealthy

♬ original sound - Kathy Jentz

By Molly Cuddy

We harvested swiss chard from the garden yesterday and I wanted to make something simple, but flavorful. I had never had Swiss chard before, so I didn’t want to make anything that would mask its flavor, but instead compliment it. I found this recipe, which is an easy and quick one you can pair with any protein. I had just got home from work when I whipped this up, and it took less than 10 minutes to make, which is perfect after a long day. I also already had all of the ingredients on hand, and I’m sure you probably do too!

I made it for myself, so this recipe serves one. I added my own spin to it as well, so here’s my take on the recipe:

• About 2 whole Swiss chard leaves (they’re huge, if you’ve never seen them, so this is plenty!)

• 2 cloves of garlic 

• Olive oil

• Half a shallot

• Red pepper flakes (a lot of them if you like it spicy)

• Salt to taste

I cut the swiss chard leaves into more manageable strips and sautéed them with the garlic, shallots, and olive oil for about 5 minutes until the Swiss chard was wilted. You can see my exact steps for this recipe in the TikTok video posted here. 

If I make this again, I would use less garlic and shallot or add another Swiss chard leaf.

It was truly the perfect simple side dish and had so much flavor! I love garlic and spice, so if you do too, definitely try out this recipe for yourself.

About the Author

Molly Cuddy is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this summer with Washington Gardener. She is also a campus tour guide and will be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester.

TikTok Tuesday: Lavender Simple Syrup Used Two Ways

By Molly Cuddy

This week, I decided to make a lavender syrup using lavender from the home garden of Washington Gardener's editor, Kathy Jentz. I have been seeing these trendy lavender oat milk lattes everywhere on the internet, and I wanted to try and recreate the drink myself at home.

 

Lavender simple syrup
Photo by Khloe Quill

In this week’s TikTok video, I show myself making homemade lavender simple syrup and demonstrating how I made the coffee drink. The syrup was super simple (probably why they call it a "simple syrup," now that I think about it): just water, sugar, and the sprigs of lavender. 

I don’t have an espresso machine at my apartment, so I just used normal brewed coffee, which still turned out great. I put in oat milk, the lavender syrup, and also a hint of vanilla syrup which I figured would pair well with the lavender.

 

I liked the drink a lot! I was skeptical that I would like it since I haven’t used lavender in many foods before, but I definitely will be trying more foods and drinks with lavender now. It was super earthy, and the lavender paired so well with the bold coffee taste and creaminess of the oat milk.

If coffee mixed with lavender doesn’t sound like your thing, you’re in luck, because we have another recipe using lavender this week. I got in contact with last semester’s Washington Gardener intern, Khloe Quill, who also recently made lavender syrup to make a lavender lemonade for the Fourth of July. She even made freshly squeezed lemonade! She used this recipe, which makes a delicious and gorgeous-looking drink, perfect for any summer barbeques or garden parties you may have.

As always, let us know if you try either of these recipes using lavender from your own garden.

About the Author

Molly Cuddy is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this summer with Washington Gardener. She is also a campus tour guide and will be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester.

TikTok Tuesday: The Black-Eyed Susan Cocktail

@wdcgardener In the mood for a #cocktail? Try out the Black-eyed Susan, official drink of the Preakness Stakes and named after Maryland’s state flower. #gardendc ♬ original sound - Kathy Jentz

By Molly Cuddy

For a garden media event we attended last Tuesday at Ladew Topiary Gardens in Harford County, we decided to make a cocktail inspired by the Maryland State Flower, the Black-Eyed Susan. We were inspired by this recipe, but switched up a few ingredients of the drink to make it closer to the "Official Drink of the Preakness" version.

For our recipe, you’ll need:

• Vodka

• St Germain Elderflower Liqueur

• Lime juice (fresh-squeezed, if you have it)

• Orange juice, mixed with pineapple juice

• Maraschino cherries for a garnish

You can check out our TikTok video here to see how we make this drink. We didn’t use any exact measurements, but it still turned out wonderfully and everyone enjoyed the drink.

For anyone who may not be 21, or for those who don’t/can’t drink, we also crafted a non-alcoholic version of this drink. Add the orange juice and lime juice, and top it with some club soda. And make sure to garnish it with a cherry!

Hopefully, in the future, we’ll have some more flower-inspired cocktail recipes we can post! Until then, enjoy the Black-Eyed Susan and let us know if you try it.  

About the Author Molly Cuddy is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this summer with Washington Gardener. She is also a campus tour guide and will be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester.

TikTok Tuesday: Fava Bean Hummus

@wdcgardener

Fa-va-voom! We grew, harvested, and processed fava beans to make a tasty green hummus with them. ##gardendc ##fava ##gardening101 video by @mollycuddy

♬ original sound - Kathy Jentz

By Molly Cuddy

As a summer intern with Washington Gardener, I have a semester-long project that I’ll be working on, and for it I decided to do weekly blog posts. “TikTok Tuesdays” will feature our own TikTok videos on the Washington Gardener account, where we will document what’s happening in our community garden, local events, garden cocktail recipes, etc. Some weeks, I may highlight a creator on the app who posts gardening and/or foraging videos. 

If you’re unfamiliar with TikTok, it’s an app where people can post short videos about pretty much anything. We’ll be posting videos there as much as possible, so you should follow us at @wdcgardener.

This week, as you may have seen in the Fenton Friday blog post, we harvested the Fava beans that had been planted by spring intern Khloe Quill. I took some footage of the other interns, Kathy, and myself getting the beans out of the pods. Kathy blanched the fava beans at home, referencing this Youtube video, and was able to make a delicious green hummus out of the beans and garlic also grown in our plot. You can check out the recipe here: https://ellerepublic.de/en/fava-bean-dip-green-hummus/.

Make sure you to check this blog and our TikTok account next week for another Tiktok Tuesday!

About the Author Molly Cuddy is a journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an intern this summer with Washington Gardener. She is also a campus tour guide and will be a teaching assistant for a professional writing class next semester.