Have you heard about the bees? Are you paying attention to the bees? A few years back Colony Collapse Disorder was identified and got a bit of press, particularly in agriculture circles. Bees in the almond fields of California started disappearing. This affected the bottom line for the almond industry, and when money is on the table, people tend to take notice.

Flash forward to today and all bees are under stress. I've just inherited a P-Patch on top of Queen Anne. I was so excited to see beehives onsite when I took my first tour three weeks back. Yesterday, I received the P-Patch newsletter and I've come to find out our bees are gone. Gone or dead, but they are no longer in the hive. This breaks my heart.

Where have all the bees gone? I heard a little buzz about debilitated populations early this spring and checked in with my favorite beekeeper, Corky Luster of Ballard Bee Company. He echoed my concern, "Want to buy some beehives," he asked me half-kidding. He has lost bees this year, as well. Corky started his business, in small part, to help rescue bee populations. I can only imagine the sinking feeling he has as he walks up to empty hives.

For anyone interested in beekeeping, now may be the time. It's not 'easy', but it's not hard. Not only would you be supplying your neighborhood plants with necessary pollinators, (and grabbing some jars of honey for your pantry) you may actually be helping in some small part. Helping effect the population. Helping beekeepers figure out what the hell is going on. Helping to make a change. Now, more than ever, is a great time to committ. The scale needs tipping.

And for the record, I live in a small apartment. I wanted to put bee hives on my east-facing deck (though I was concerned about them getting enough sun) but my neighbor was really against it. (She asked me to keep guinea pigs or rabbits instead!) Some people just don't like bees, I dig it. But now is a great time to figure out just how sweet they can be.

In Urban Pantry, I share practical ways to create a full and delicious larder by keeping essential pantry ingredients on hand for enticing meals and snacks. Ericka & Heather do the same thing. It's a great match and I'm thrilled. “Amy’s book is a perfect complement to our core beliefs here at the cafe,” says chef/owner Ericka Burke.  “We are excited to collaborate with her and looking forward to showcasing some of our garden produce at the dinner.”

Join us ladies for a multi-course family style dinner on Sunday, August 8.  Dinner begins at 6pm and cost is $65/person, which includes a selection of organically produced wines from Snoqualmie winery and a signed copy of Urban Pantry. Space is limited and reservations are required. Please call the cafe at 206.328.3155 for reservations.

Seriously...........how good does this sound? They ACED the menu. Hope to see you all there. oxo ~ amy

I plant borage in most of my gardens*. Borage grows quit tall and produces pretty blue spiked flowers. The leaves are edible, tasting vaguely of cucumber, though they are prickly and best eaten when young. I wrote about borage for GOOP.com, if you want to know more about growing the plant. The thing is, while I think borage is tasty, most of my clients don't eat it. I think they just don't get it at all. It's completely new and foreign. Chief among the confused and disinterested is Chef Mark Fuller of Springhill in West Seattle. I grow food for his restaurant in his backyard. We're able to produce a lot in a small space, but the borage always gets neglected.

With Mark in mind, I set to finding some sort of restuarant-approved recipe wherein he can use borage. No small task, as Mark is a stellar chef. I mean, a seriously stellar chef. The way his mind works in the kitchen is amazing. Regardless, he is tough to impress, but I kept it simple and came up with this easy recipe.

I used this cheese as a layer in a zucchini tart. Using store-bought puff pasty, I smeared a layer of cheese, sauteed some leeks and diced zucchini and added that, then covered the whole thing with thin shaves of zucchini in a criss-cross pattern across the top of the tart. Gave it a quick egg wash brush and baked it for about 25 minutes. You can also use this as a ravioli filling. I'm going to try it in a fresh layered 'lasagna' next.

Borage Ricotta

2 cups ricotta

50 borage leaves (from 2 full grown plants), minced

2 teaspoons chives, finely chopped

1 teaspoon black pepper, ground

zest of one lemon, finely grated

Stir to combine all ingredients. Keeps in fridge for up to 5 days.

*A note about why I grow borage when no one seems to like it: In order to plant organically, I follow crop rotations and intersperse families of plants in all of my gardens. There are crop rotations (which rotate around brassicas or nightshades) and then there is a fertility rotation (which rotates plants based on nutrient requirements). In short, I plant in the following order: leaf, root, flower, fruit. Borage is used for my flower rotation.

Twitter is a great resource for information, though some may debate. I set up a Twitter account over a year ago (thanks to some friendly plying from my fab chef friend, Becky) and it's been a wonderful site to both read from and post to. This week, I had a handful of questions regarding potatoes. Potatoes are an elusive plant, as the good stuff happens underground. When to harvest them is a real brain-teaser that leaves new gardeners questioning their skills. With that, here (in 140 words) is all you need to know about getting those sweet tubers out of the ground and on to your plate:

When to harvest potatoes - after they are done blossoming. Don't water - let skins dry. Harvest only as needed - the ground acts as storage

Twitter: @gogogreengarden

This morning, my lil' book Urban Pantry received some AWESOME coverage that I am thrilled to share. Gwenyth Paltrow, as you know, is an actress, but she also hosts this bomb website GOOP.com. I was an early fan of the site (Thanks for turning me on to it, Nga!) and so I sent her a copy of my book when it came out. Today, Urban Pantry got full coverage in her newsletter and a personal shout out! Thrilling because........uh........it's GWENYTH PALTROW, but more importantly because this girl knows her stuff. She is a food person through and through and if she found something that resonates with her amongst the pages of Urban Pantry, I am so pleased.

Check it out at GOOP.com.