Garden: After a week of killing frost...

Life is looking a little bleak in the garden.  Many of my frost-hardy plants (including my hardy mums) are not looking so vivacious at the moment.  Afternoon sunshine has not been redeeming the morning chill for many garden plants.  It will be interesting to see what survives this period of chill. 

Garden: First Killing Frost

We had our first real frost last night.  Any lingering squash or tomato plants were starting to liquify this morning as the morning sun thawed them out.  And yet, a few hardy plants can survive.  Onions, kale, peas, carrots, spinach, celery, oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary, and garlic were looking hardy this morning.  I even planted some new Spanish garlic that I picked up (I wanted to make sure to have a large enough crop!).

I need to get busy weeding and spreading mulching-leaves.  Alas, it's COLD out there! I love my garden, but I have chilly children to consider. I'll get it done, it just may take a bit of time.

Squash, Tomato, Kale... a great combo

A great Fall recipe using three of my main harvested crops... winter squash, tomatoes, and kale... Squash-topped Shepherd's Pie.  I used frozen kale, canned tomatoes, and frozen squash.  Maybe next year I'll have enough of my own onions to supply that portion as well.  And, in a few years, who knows, maybe I'll have my own garden beef as well.

Squash-topped Shepherd's Pie

Ground beef
Onion
salt and pepper
Kale
Tomato
Squash
Cheese or fondue

Brown the beef with the onion and some salt and pepper in a skillet.  Add some flour and stir.  Add kale and tomato and simmer until thickened.  Place in the bottom of a casserole dish and top with cooked winter squash.  Top that with cheese or fondue (see squash fondue recipe).  Broil for 15 minutes or until the cheese is browned. 

Putting Summer Away in the Garden

 

October was a doleful month in the garden.  It started with promises of green tomatoes and winter squash and ended with slimy tomato vines and mud, mud, mud.  It's been so gloomy in the garden the last few weeks that I haven't had the drive to venture out even to peek at it.  My goal at the beginning of the month was to ready the garden for Fall and see what could be planted for a Fall/Winter harvest.  Today, when I was forced to venture out for salad greens, I almost cheered for the deer and slugs that had been munching my produce with an "at least someone's using it" attitude. 

What's going on with me?  Is it the rain?  Is it the chill?  Is it the approach of festive seasons that makes me want to focus my attention and energies indoors? 

I have been thinking of my garden even while I have been toiling indoors.  My freezer is full to the brim with squash and tomatoes, but my stash of frozen kale, blueberries, and green onions are nearly depleted.  I've been popping open jars of marinara, pickles, and applesauce and remembering all the warm sunshine and manual labor that went into those jars.  All the energy invested, then gone in an instant.  It almost seems an injustice.  Yet, how much more unjust would it be to let those jars go unopened and unused?  So I pop them liberally and use them generously keeping a thankful heart that I was able to get them "put up" in the first place. 

This is the ebb and flow of house-holding.  The summer drive to put up, the pantry getting full, the greedy search for every nook of freezer space, every half-full jar emptied, cleaned and re-filled until there is just no more space in your house or your heart for any more.  And then the pop, pop, pop as each precious jar of preserved summer is opened and used.  The shelves get more clear and the collection of empties grows.  I feel like Schindler at the end of Schindler's List, "I could have gotten one more!"  If I had only figured out how to do a bit more tomatoes, a bit more kale, a bit more...  Lessons for another year.  Those who have been doing this for years have quotas.  I need 10 quarts of applesauce, 10 quarts of pickles, and so on.  They know what they use, and they can more easily say when enough is enough. 

I need to take heart.  I need to strap on the mud boots and slog out there.  There is gardening to be done!  This is Oregon for heaven's sake!  Today, November 3rd, I rescued some lovely kale, spinach, celery, and arugula from the slugs and deer (and one cucumber beetle).  Not many other states can say the same.  It's been a wonderful year for gardening so far, and the Fall has just begun.  Common lady, get your head in the game!

Green Tomato... soup

Green Tomato soup is the perfect post trick-or-treating meal.  Put it in a slow-cooker, have some delicious bread on hand, it warms you up AND looks kind of spooky.  I got my base recipe from A Householders Guide to the Universe, one of the books I have been devouring this year.  It takes the reader month by month in the garden and kitchen for a full year's guide of what to be growing, harvesting, and "putting up."  And, remarkably, it's written by a woman from Portland, Oregon, so her descriptions of the season are right on for my garden. 

Green Tomato Soup

Green Tomatoes
Salt, to taste
Vinegar, to taste
Umami, to taste


Simmer green tomatoes until reduced.  Add something vinegary.  I used spicy, pickled garlic and bread and butter pickles.  Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.  Add something umami.  I used chopped Italian sausage.  Salt to taste.      

Acorn Squash ... Fondue

Acorn squash... with fondue baked inside!  What!?!  I wish I could take credit for this one, but I only grew the squash. 

Spaghetti Squash

One of the squash I had a lot of success with this year was spaghetti squash.  Unfortunately, I was convinced that they were honeydew melons for most of the summer and was disappointed with their presentation.  So, about half of my crop went into the compost.  All was not lost, they continued to produce prolifically and I harvested more than twenty from my garden.  Do I need more than twenty?  I have no idea.  They are a winter squash, so should keep reasonably well in my outbuilding.  They also have a more generally palatable texture and taste than other squash and can even be a substitute for pasta in some recipes.

Tonight I baked my spaghetti squash cut length-wise and cut into rings.  Both worked equally well.  The rings are supposed to result in a longer squash strand; I didn't really notice a difference.  I then turned the squash into a healthy, fresh- tasting dish with roasted red peppers and fresh parsley. 

Kale and Beet Green Balls

Greens are in the garden, ready to roll.  Get it?  ha! 

Kale and Beet Green Balls

Greens, chopped
Onion, finely minced
Eggs, for moisture
Bread crumbs, for content and texture
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all together, let rest.  Roll into balls.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Green Tomato Heaven

With the quickly approaching season of frost and wet otherwise known as Autumn, I have been watching my tomato plants with suspicion.  The green tomatoes look healthy and plump.  The reddish tomatoes look sad and sickly and not at all the full scarlet blush of mid-summer.  So in preparation for the end of tomato season, I spent today working on three new green tomato recipes.  I was expecting mediocre results but was delighted, instead, with three tantalizing new creations that I can't wait to try in six weeks when they have seasoned.

We all know fried green tomatoes are fabulous.  Green tomatoes can also be wrapped in paper and allowed to ripen slowly in a box or paper bag.  But I was hoping for something more from my green tomato surplus.

I ran across some green tomato recipes in some food preservation books I've been reading that really intrigued me.  Sweet Tomato Wheels are basically a bread and butter tomato pickle.  Piccalilli is a green tomato relish similar to hot dog relish but the recipe I had used slightly more sophisticated spices than your average hot dog relish.  And Green Tomato Chutney is a sweet and savory tomato relish that was amazingly complex tasting!

For these and similar recipes, I have really enjoyed using The Pickled Pantry by Andrea Chesman.  You can also find basic recipes for these doing a basic Internet search.  Make sure to follow all USDA guidelines for canning and safe food preservation.  I canned my tomato creations in a hot-water bath and plan to let them season for at least six weeks until the full flavor develops.  So, basically they will be ready to be cracked open around Thanksgiving.  What perfect timing! 

Acorn Squash

We harvested acorn squash today.  Since I already learned earlier in the year that they don't keep as well as other squashes, I waited to harvest them until I had a fair number.  I decided that I would just  roast them all together and then freeze the scooped-out guts. 

Acorn Squash (basic)

Acorn squash

Half the squash and scoop out the guts.  Place skin-up in a baking dish and fill with 1.5 in water.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until a fork punctures it easily.  Allow to cool before scooping out flesh. Flesh can be frozen for later use.

I also had the pleasure of roasting the seeds. 

Squash Seeds

Squash seeds
Oil (canola)
Salt and pepper

Rinse seeds to remove squash residue.  Mix seeds with oil, salt and pepper.  Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  If seeds start to brown, mix and flip them on the baking sheet.

Kale Chips

Kale chips are easy to make and all the rage.  I make mine with salt and pepper usually.  But you can get pretty creative and fancy with your kale chipping.  Here is a basic kale chip recipe.

Kale Chips

Kale
Salt and pepper
Oil (canola)

Massage Kale with seasoning and oil.  Spread out on baking sheets.  Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.


For more kale recipes:

Kale and Hazelnut Pesto

Honey

This is my first year with bees.  And I think we did pretty well together.  We had our highs and lows.  I only was stung twice, but I gained a new appreciation for how much it hurts.  All, in all, a success.  And I think the bees and I are prepared for winter, as prepared as we can be that is.  I hear that Oregon is expecting another harsh winter.  So, perhaps it will be 50/50 for the bees.  Hopefully not.  I like these bees.  I'd like to keep them around. 

I took a smidge of honey from the bees this year.  Curiosity got the best of me.  I left them the rest though.  Good job bees.  Making honey is one thing humans will never be able to do (hopefully).

Kale and Hazelnut Pesto

KALE!  My garden is exploding in kale.  It's a tasty super-food to be sure, but what do you do with all that kale?

One solution...  Kale and Hazelnut Pesto.

Hazelnuts are also in season.  These hazelnuts were collected from the orchard behind my house.  Here is a basic pesto recipe.  Pesto can be made and frozen for a quick dinner later this Fall.

Pesto

Leafy green  (basil, kale, spinach, or even mint work well)
Nut (hazelnuts and pine nuts work well)
Garlic
Oil (olive oil is preferred)
Salt and Pepper
Grated cheese (any hard cheese such as parmesan)

Put all ingredients into a food processor and process until desired consistency.  You will need a LOT of leafy greens and less nuts.  I like to omit the cheese to keep it a bit more fresh and leafy tasting. 

What's Growing: September

Folks often ask me: What's growing in my garden?  What to plant?  When to plant?  Here's a peek at what's in the garden.

What's growing?

Tomatoes are going to town!
Cucumbers are winding down.
Gourds, pumpkins, cantaloupe, acorn squash are plugging away.
Kale is tall and lush.
Rutabagas are getting too big.
Celery is still small.


What to plant?

Peas were planted today.  Should be warm enough for them to sprout but hopefully not hot enough to kill the young plants.
Carrots and celery were transplanted into the field from my raised beds.
Cherry tomatoes were squished underfoot while harvesting- a seed bank for next year.



To keep track of this all, I keep it in an Excel spreadsheet.  That keeps a written record of what I've planted, where, and when it came up.  A garden journal would do just as well.

Italian Prune Plums

These longer, less-juicy plums can be correctly called prunes, though I have no idea why.  I do know how excited I got putting them up in sweet syrup and cooking them down into lovely plum jam. 

Plums in Syrup

Plums, halved, pits removed
2 Cups Sugar
3 Cups Water

Pack plums tightly into your containers.  If you cut them and sugar them in the refrigerator the night before, they pack more tightly and easily.  I canned my plums in a heavier syrup 'cause I don't want to mess around with blah, un-sweet plums in a few months.  Plus, heavy syrup can always be used for some yummy concoction. 


Plum Jam

Plums, halved, pits removed
Sugar, for taste and thickening.

Cook plums down and add sugar.  If you weigh your plums, you can get precise amounts of sugar to add.  Or you can just taste it and wait for it to thicken.  Follow USDA approved recipes for food safety.

Dill Pickles

This is my first summer making pickles.  I love them.  I love making them.  I'm just not sure how many pickles I need in my life.  I'm tempted to go conservative and let my one go at bread and butter chips and my one go at dill chips be enough.  Oh, and I also have some fermenting in the pantry.  I almost forgot.  So, three batches.  Three batches of pickles should be enough for one season, right?  The real question is, will I be able to restrain myself?

I should clarify.  I've been reading up on pickling.  And, technically, I'm making pickled cucumbers.  A "pickle" can be anything.  I've only done cucumbers so far.  I fully intend to try cabbage later and I am tempted to try some beets.  Remembering back, I did pickle some pears last year- they were TERRIBLE.  And, Kar and I pickled green beans and garlic this year - which I haven't tried yet. 

Pickles are additionally tricky because the flavor changes over time.  It seems that most pickles need a minimum of six weeks but may become utterly disgusting after four to six months.  Complex.  Maybe that's why I'm enjoying them so. 

Saving Seeds

It's the time of year when gardens start to brown up.  This may send some gardeners into a cutting frenzy, getting rid of all the unsightly, gangly, no-longer-green stalks.  But I have learned to change how I see my garden.  I no longer see a one-season garden but I see the garden preparing itself for future generations.

Cilantro notoriously bolts quickly in Oregon.  I have yet to have a friend or neighbor claim to have an abundant supply.  But, with a little patience, the bolted stalks produce easily harvested ball-shaped seeds.  Known to some as coriander, these seeds will add spice to your cooking or, if planted, produce another crop of leafy cilantro.

Other herbs including dill and parsley readily bolt and seed.  Each plant multiplying itself to produce an abundance of offspring. 

Peas and beans that are left behind or missed shrivel and harden into seeds that can be saved for next year's crops.  Spinach seeds are easily plucked from stalks.

Arugula, radish, mustard, and rutabaga also bolt and are happy to produce seeds.  Unhappily, their seeds are locked inside pods which must be dried before the pin-head seeds can be popped free. 

Cosmos, marigolds, nasturtium, and hollyhocks readily produce seeds for next year. Hollyhocks will self-seed into the soil below, but cosmos, nasturtium, and marigolds do better if seeds are saved and re-planted in spring.

Squashes such as cucumbers and pumpkins and tomatoes also have seeds that can be saved.  However, their seeds are covered in gelatinous materials that must somehow be removed or dealt with. There are several techniques that I have tried, none is necessarily better than the other.  The first is the "wash, rewash, rewash..." method.  Basically you just keep washing the things until they look pretty clean.  This is much easier with pumpkin seeds than with tomato seeds.  The second is the, "spread 'em and dry 'em" method.  This works well with tomatoes on a paper towel but squash seeds tend to mildew.  In either case, you then have to save the paper towel or attempt to extract the seeds one by one.  Having seeds stuck to a paper towel isn't all that bad though.  They store compactly and you can just plant directly on the paper towel at planting time.  The third method is one that I have just tried this year.  So far, I am happy with the results.  This is the "let Nature do the work" method.  You put the seeds in a glass jar with water and let them sit until all the non-seed material has been, basically, composted away.  You can change the water if you would like, it does get a bit stinky.  Also, there are jars of oozy seeds sitting around everywhere so you need surface areas to keep them.  But when you do the final rinse and dry of the seeds, they look like they're just hopping out of a seed packet.

Which brings me to storing seeds.  Once again there are many ideas and methods.  If your seeds are dry enough, they should be able to be stored in glass containers.  If they are super-dry, they should be ok in plastic.  If they are questionable, I'd go with paper (but it might mold).  Some people love to refrigerate their seeds.  Some people like to freeze them (that makes me nervous).  But as long as your location doesn't get too hot or too wet, you should be golden.  Even if your seeds get a bit moldy, most-likely they will still germinate. 

Tomato Jam

Ok, I'm calling it.  September 2, 2014 - peak of the cherry tomato harvest.  Based on quantities and weather, I think this is the max I'll see this year.  Which is neither a good nor bad thing.  I welcome garden abundance. However, all good things must come to an end.  Today I had one bowl of cherry tomatoes in the kitchen.  I picked two more out of the garden. And I could have gotten a third.  Not a bad day.

What did I do with all those tomatoes?  Well, pat on the back to me, they are NOT still hanging around in bowls.  I roasted 5 cookie sheets worth.  I replenished my salsa fresca.  And the rest I made into tomato jam.  "Tomato jam?" you say, "What on Earth is that?"  Well, my friends.  It is not a spread-on-your-toast kind of jam, rest assured.  This is a sweet, tangy, sometimes spicy addition to panini or eggs that adds that extra somethin'somethin'.  This is when you want something a bit more special than ketchup.  This is Tomato Jam!  Here is the recipe I used.


Tomato Jam

Tomatoes, halved or peeled
Lemon juice, splash
Brown sugar and/or pectin (to thicken)
Red chilli flakes (to taste)

Heat all ingredients together.  Simmer to thicken.  Can.  Viola!

Sick... of cucumbers???

Am I sick of cucumbers?  Can it really be true?  I find it hard to believe.  And yet, there is sits, a bucket of fresh cucumbers, untouched with no plans for use. 

Part of the problem could be this lingering summer virus.  It has me low energy.  But I could also be lacking inspiration.  Maybe I should hit the books.  Find something new to do with fresh, delicious, healthy, cucumbers. 

August Day

Another August day.  A great time in the garden.  This morning dawned with a cloudy drizzle.  A nice surprise in the middle of August.  The tomatoes and squash don't love it; but I do appreciate the reprieve from blazing August heat.  The kids and I took advantage of it by heading outside to give the garden the once-over.

First on the agenda: cherry tomatoes.  I love cherry tomatoes.  They ripen quickly, are easy to pick, and taste delicious.  They are also bite-sized and perfect for snacking.  It's a little too bad that both my kiddos say, "yuck" every time they bite a tomato.  But I selfishly don't care - it means Mommy doesn't have to share.  We picked a few buckets full and discovered the most beautiful yellow garden spider hanging out in the morning mist.  What a beauty!  Black and yellow with red legs.  It made my heart especially glad because in my mind, if my garden ecosystem can support such a gorgeous predator, I feel like I have a good thing going.  Go Nature!

We checked the peas- nothing.  Maybe the few days of blazing heat got them.  Peas are not hot fans.

Checked the beans.  A few of those.  I wish more of my beans had sprouted... dang beans.

Checked the corn.  Picked a few ears for lunch.  Corn is almost done.  Only a few ears left.  I've really had a corn craving this summer.  I might have to plant double next year.

Noticed that the potatoes were peeking out of the ground in a few spots.  Very peculiar.  Guess I'll have to do some digging soon.  In the meantime, I re-covered them with dirt as best I could.  Potatoes do NOT do well in sunlight.  They turn green and you're not supposed to eat the green parts.  Green is toxic in potatoes.  I also borrowed some rutabaga leaves for extra shade.  Hopefully that won't make them rot.

Slugs were out enjoying the cloudy day.  The kids had a great time rounding them up, though they missed the giant spotted one somehow.  How can something without legs be so quick?

I harvested and hung the rest of the mustard.  I also picked about 8 more rutabagas but I left the greens this time.  I still have fresh greens from last week.  I'll save myself the work this week.  I also found one good-sized beet.  I definitely need more of those next year! 

We headed in for snack by 9:30am.  Plenty of time left in the morning to roast the tomatoes, corn, and rutabagas and make salsa fresca.

Roasted Tomatoes

Tomatoes, halved
Onion, diced
salt and pepper
Oil
Garlic, minced (optional)

halve tomatoes and place skin-side-up on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with oil, sprinkle salt and pepper.  Roast for ~45 minutes at ~ 400 degrees.

Tomatoes can then be used, refrigerated, or frozen for when needed.

Applesauce

Apples and pears are coming 'round to ripeness.  They are falling off the trees, being squashed and mowed; time for picking.

This morning was dry and sunny.  Perfect picking weather.  My mom and kids headed out to the orchard and easily picked a wheelbarrow full of pears and apples.  The pears were hard as rocks, but they will ripen soon.  The apples were juicy and begged for a crunchy bite.  My children graciously accepted their temptation and we had a dozen or so freshly picked, bruised, and bitten apples. 

We filled the wheelbarrow with water, gave those apples a quick bath, and then set to work coring and peeling.  In no time, we had several naked apples that went right into a sauce pot on the deck to simmer down into bronze applesauce.  We're ready for you Fall.

Applesauce

Apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
Lemon juice, a good squirt
Sugar, a good heap
Powdered ginger, to taste
Ground cinnamon, to taste
Ground nutmeg, to taste

Simmer the apples until bronzed and mushy.  Stir and mush to break up chunks.  When applesauce is looking bronzed, add lemon juice, sugar, and spices.  Cook for another 10 minutes then can or refrigerate.

Storm's a' comin; time to pick tomatoes

After learning about how acorn squash store, I went ahead and baked them all up on the grill.  Three acorn squash created about 2 half-gallon freezer bags of cooked squash.  I put them straight in the freezer as it just seems WAY too hot and humid to be eating acorn squash.  Maybe I can't think of the right recipe though...  Maybe with the next three, I'll try to eat them... maybe.  At any rate, freezing is the only option because thicker veggies like pumpkin and acorn squash can't be canned safely by water-boiling; it's too dense for the heat to penetrate.

It's supposed to thunder-storm tomorrow so I took all my pumpkins inside, brought in my drying mustard seed, picked my cherry tomatoes, and put all my poppy-flower seeds in a jar.  I'm excited for the deep-watering prospect that the storm is supposed to be bringing.  We'll see how it pans out though.  This is Oregon and the weather is unpredictable even from street to street and "rain" might not mean anything gets wet.

Here are some of my cherry tomatoes. 

This first bucket was picked by a 3 and 4 yr-old so... it had a lot of "less than red" tomatoes.  But, a few days and the bucket and they ripened right up.  So, it was actually a good thing.  The ones I picked tonight were pretty red but I'm going to leave them in the bucket overnight to hopefully get to full-strength!

When you pick veggies does affect the taste.  Tomatoes taste the ripest when they have been through the driest, hottest weather.  So always pick before watering or, like I did tonight, before an anticipated wet or cool spell.  Even if they have to sit inside for a few days to get fully red, you will avoid that wet, tasteless, taste.

The first batch of tomatoes I picked went for Salsa Fresca, which is my ultimate favorite way to eat any red tomato.  But, this batch will probably go for Tomatoes Gratin, we'll see if they make it. :)

Salsa Fresca

tomatoes, coarsely chopped
onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper
lime or lemon juice
cilantro leaves-optional
dash of garlic- optional

Mix and refrigerate.  

Grilled Peach Bruschetta

I don't have any peach trees at my house, but Oregon grows some delicious peaches.  A few weeks ago, we went down the road to pick Dixie Gems- which we were told were some of the best.  They were so ripe that some of them were falling apart.  I bought 37! It only took about 20 minutes to pick all them with a 2 and 4 year old helping.  The trees were just the right size for their easy reach.  No ladders needed.  TK Orchards in Aurora

When I got home, I separated the peaches into over-ripe, just-right, and ripe-in-a-day-or-two.  The over-ripe ones I washed, cut out the stone, and put in the fridge with some sugar sprinkled on top.  They, of course, turned to mush which I later turned into peach jam- yum!  The just-right ones we cut in half and grilled to make amazing Grilled Peach Bruschetta.

Grilled Peach Bruschetta

Peaches

Cream cheese
Thyme
Salt and Pepper
Blue cheese

French bread

Grill the peaches skin side up until grill marks appear.  Mix cheeses and herbs and spread on cut baguette.  Top with peaches.  Enjoy!



2015... Local Peach Comparison... the peach saga continues

Squash Season Begins

I've begun harvesting my winter squash.  They are called "winter squash" because they store so well, you can basically do nothing to them and have them fresh all winter. So far, I have this line-up... I feel like a warden.  The kids LOVE growing winter squash because they grow easily and abundantly, are easy to harvest, (don't have to be eaten that night for dinner), and come in myriad shapes and colors.  My son lined these up for me along the house and gave each one a name as he did so.  My favorite was one of the smaller pumpkins, now known as, "Dr. Shiny Head." 

When harvesting your winter squash, use a pruner to clip them from the vine.  A longer stem is preferable for storage (and for carrying).  Be careful not to bruise them or damage their skin, because that only encourages rot.  What a discouragement to pick up a pumpkin in the middle of winter and have the bottom stay on the ground while the top gets lifted up.  Or, worse yet, get a handful of rotten pumpkin bottom.  Yuck!

They need to have great air circulation and warmer temperatures to cure for a couple weeks.  Keep them out of direct sunlight but also away from damp.  I'm hesitant to put ours in our outbuilding because the roof leaks and it gets so moist in there.  But, I also need to get them up off the concrete slab and onto something porous like cardboard, or even better, straw.  Hmmm, what to do, what to do.

The exception to winter squash curing is acorn squash.  Apparently, they don't really cure and need to be eaten within a few weeks.  That encourages me to leave mine on the vine a bit longer as I'm not quite ready to sit down to an acorn squash.  Doesn't quite seem close enough to Fall yet.

  Most of what you see in the photo are pumpkins.  I have my gourd-like pumpkins on the right - knobby and small; my zucchini-like pumpkins on the left - soft flesh and tall; and my first jack-o-lantern in the middle.  I have some great jack-o-lanterns coming this year.  I'm excited!  The little guy over on the right is another pumpkin, more of a sugar-pumpkin type, he would have gotten orange, but I loved his colors so much, I had to pick him.  Unfortunately, my daughter loves him too and might have dropped him a couple times.  He might not make it to Halloween.  BUT, that's one of the reasons I have a garden: to help people connect to their food - how it grows, what it looks like, what it feels like, what it tastes like fresh, etc.  So, if my daughter wants to form a strong attachment to a pumpkin, so be it! :)

Rutabaga

The conundrum with growing vegetables, is that when you harvest them, you then have to do something with them. We planted rutabagas in April.  Then they grew and grew.  August 7, and a beautiful day, time to harvest.

 Today my son and I harvested six beautiful rutabagas.  It doesn't seem like a big deal to work with six rutabagas, but these are large, dirt-covered objects, not the clean, wax-covered ones you find at the grocery store.  Before they are even brought into the house they must be sprayed with the garden hose until all mud clots are gone.



Now I LOVE to eat my greens.  Rutabagas and beets are double bonus veggies because they provide a delicious tuber and a healthy rutabaga green.  After I bring the rutabagas inside, I separate the greens from the root.  I work with the greens first, because they will wilt.  I give the greens a cold water bath, rinse any remaining dirt off, and then coarsely chop and bag.  One rutabaga will provide just over a gallon freezer bag's worth of chopped greens.  These can be frozen and used in any recipe that calls for spinach.  I like mine in eggs, with cheese in a creamy dip, in lasagna, or even on pizza.  You can also freeze beet greens, kale, and green onions for easy use later.

Next I cut all the roots, fibers, and tough skin off my rutabagas.  You can also scrub them, but sometimes a sharp knife is faster.  I diced them up and added them to some fresh garden potatoes and beets for my delish Root Veggie Bake.

Root Veggie Bake

dice:
     Rutabaga
     Potato
     Beets
     Carrot
     Onion

Drizzle with oil and honey. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Stir.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour. 

Today I also added sprigs of fresh thyme.  Yum!

What to do with all those Zucchini?

So far, in my house-holding life, I have not had to deal with mountains of zucchini.  Last year, I had one plant that produced a zucchini or two every couple days and it was a beautiful relationship.  This year, I had NO zucchini come up!  I was pretty bummed about missing out on that delicious part of summer until I connected with my two beautiful sister-in-laws who are both battling zucchini wars of their own.  I am more than happy to take any excess zucchini off their hands, but then I end up with a mountain at my house.  A happy problem to have.

Tonight I tried something new.  Zucchini Medallions.  Great idea!  You basically chop your zucchini into two inch rounds and scoop out a cup in one side.  You then fill as desired - tonight we did chopped salami, brown rice, a bit of tomato sauce, a bit of onion, and feta - and grill!  I grilled them pretty hot for 15 - 20 minutes, the filling heated up, the medallions softened, and they were a big hit.  I ended up filling three zucchini this way, and we only had three medallions left.

Zucchini Medallions

chop and mix:
     Salami
     Onion
     Brown Rice
     Feta
     bit of tomato sauce to make it stick together

Scoop zucchini out to form a cup.  Fill cup, pressing filling down and heaping up.  Grill at high heat for 20 minutes.

End of Blueberry Season

The beginning of a season is thrilling and hopeful.  The end is satisfying and warmly greeted.  I have picked, eaten, frozen, and canned more blueberries this season than any other so far.

The berries I was working with today were pitiful.  Soft and ranging from green to shriveled way past ripe.  I had already experimented earlier in the season with canning green berries, so I wasn't worried about those, but I tossed any that were past their prime.

Blueberries are probably the easiest berry to work with.  They grow off the ground, don't have thorns, and grow in clusters, so picking is a cinch.  When canning, they usually don't need any extra pectin and lend them selves to a plethora of variations.  Here are some of my favorites: 

Black and Blue Berry (blackberries and blueberries)
Blueberry Lime
Blueberry Vanilla
Blueberry Vanilla w/ cinnamon and nutmeg
Blueberry w/ smokey chili (I actually used Merken, but you can use chili powder)
Blueberry Chili Lime
Blueberry Lemon

Blueberry Mint was terrible! (and required straining out mint leaves).  I was going to try Blueberry Ginger today, but ran out of steam.  Maybe next year. 

Pickles - Bread and Butter Chips

It's August and time to use all those cucumbers! Even the many variations of cucumber salad can become tiresome. Time to try pickles.

I've never pickled cucumbers before, but I have known people who make delicious versions and all my recipe books have their own favorite. I chose to start with a simple bread-and-butter chip pickle recipe in which the first line reads, "Looking for a first pickle to make? Pick this recipe." How could I say, "no?"

The process begins with chopping cukes and onions, salting, and letting rest in an ice bath for two hours. Mine actually ended up in the salty ice for about five hours, just because that's the way life goes. I don't think it affected them one way or another.

I had planned on using mustard seed from my garden in my pickles. Alas, it's not quite ready. So, I used what I had and figured it didn't have to be perfect the first time.

All in all, the process was rather simple. After the cukes soak, they are rinsed and you mix up your pickling brine. The cukes are brought to a boil in the brine, packed into canning jars, and sealed (for proper canning techniques, consult a published recipe). I learned my lesson canning plums; this time I really packed those pickles in the jars. Consequently, there were pickle parts all over the place- thank goodness I had set up my outdoor canning kitchen. The overflow did give me a sneak-peak taste at my new pickles though. Success! I really like them. And I think they look pretty good too.