Just me, trying to live a healthy and happy life
Unfortunately I’m not growing a veggie garden this summer, but I do have some wonderful strawberries from last season’s plantings (from Farmer Dave).
What a difference compared to my older strawberry plants. The worms still attack the leaves, but the plants are strong enough to fight them to still be healthy.
In just two days, I’ve netted almost 1/2 pound of strawberries.
I’m so happy and proud. I “put up” a good amount of jars this season.
There’s lots of tomatoes (pints & quarts): chopped, roasted, juiced, & slow-cooked, Concord grape jam & juice, peach maple jam, rhubarb chutney, spicy sweet tomato jam, pickled green cherry tomatoes, cortland applesauce, honeycrisp/gala applesauce, tomato jam, and one lone salsa from last year. Plus there was some spring strawberry jam that’s LONG gone because it was so scrumptious.
My freezer stash includes blanched green beans, chopped raw green peppers, raw whole jalapenos, chopped raw celery, celery leaves, lots of bone/veggie stock, and a bit of canning leftover chopped tomatoes.
We had some leftover honeycrisp applesauce for the fridge, and it was absolutely delicious. Probably the best I’ve had! Yum. I’m still contemplating if I should buy another half bushel to can more applesauce in quarts for all the upcoming holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s and Father’s day). I got a decent deal on “seconds” from Mann’s Orchard – $16 for 21+ pounds. Considering, honeycrisp are regularly $2-$4/lb, I was thrilled! I want more!
And I’d love to try a batch of sauerkraut. I’ve previously tried fermented pickles, and one batch was great, while the other spoiled. I’ve recently learned that Diamond Kosher salt (my go-to brand) measures completely different than pickling or table salt, so I wonder if that might have been the problem. I’m feeling brave enough to try on a head of cabbage I just bought at the farm.
Of course, now that I’m totally addicted to homemade water kefir, I think more fermented foods are in order.
Other canning plans? I have been saving many interesting recipes from canning and preserving books (public library I love ya), and I’m hoping I’ll find time to make some sort of hot pepper sauce (fermented perhaps), as well as cranberry relish, beet relish (w/caraway), rosemary onion confit, ginger pear chutney. There are so many wonderful recipes out there, we’ll see what I can do this year.
And well, there’s always next year too!
Finished planting our veggie garden this weekend. I wasn’t sure if I was going to have one this year, but my DH, God bless his sweet soul, borrowed a rototiller and got the soil ready. He even expanded the width of the garden a little.
So we have
I’m hoping to get a photo of the garden soon!
Well my garden is a mess, and I’m feeling discouraged, which makes me not want to plant anymore.
There is a critter eating all my greens. I think it’s a chipmunk(s)
Looking at the positive, the snap peas planted in a large recycling bin are doing quite well, so that should make me happy right?
I’m not. I’m in a garden funk.
My mother-in-law gave us a few of her excess plants, and all I’ve planted were 3 eggplants. I have a couple tomatoes and red peppers to plant, but I just feel sad. I’m not sure what’s wrong exactly, maybe the weather? I’m just feeling discouraged.
I first noticed the Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom, with over 300 Deliciously Simple Recipes book on the library “new books” shelf and it immediately leaped into my hands.
I opened the book and while flipping through only a few pages, I knew this book was something special!
I should first mention that I am a big fan of the author, Deborah Madison. Long ago, I bought her famous “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” cookbooks and I’ve also borrowed the rest of her publications from the library.
I knew as soon as I saw her name on the binding, before I even opened the book, that “Vegetable Literacy” would be something that I needed to read.
The book itself is stunning. It’s a big heavy book, with well-crafted binding. It’s even got one of those fancy ribbon bookmarks (aah, the little things that thrill me!). The book cover is lovely photo of pretty garlic scapes, curling and knotting themselves into unique shapes.
The photographs inside the book are artistic, yet meaningful. What I dislike are photos that are added to a cookbook just for the sake of art, or the author’s ego.
Vegetable Literacy includes photos that describe each vegetable whether just pulled from the ground, flowering, or showcased in a recipe. There is no wasted space in this book.
One of my favorite photos is her “bolting” rainbow chard.
The book is divided into twelve chapters, one for each plant “family”, including:
Each chapter then presents specifics about each plant/vegetable in that particular family, including history, varieties, nutritional benefits, food compatibilities, cooking wisdom, and several intriguing recipes.
The index is extensive so it’s easy to find a recipe ingredient or where a plant is discussed, and I did refer to it when I wanted to read about a specific vegetable.
There are many personal anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book that clearly validate her longtime love and respect for vegetables that she personally grows, or finds at the market. One story that fascinated me was when she forgot garden carrots one fall, they rewarded her with beautiful flowers the next summer.
The only thing missing is detailed growing advice, which she does occasionally offer, but you’re probably better off with a gardening book for that.
She did inspire me to grow grow grow, and to try new things like keeping my carrots in the ground after frost or until January or February! Can you tell I am suddenly obsessed with carrots! ;)
This woman absolutely knows her stuff!
Did you know that the Carrot family includes parley, fennel, and caraway among others. I had never heard of the herb angelica, which looks like parsley, but the flavor is unlike anything familiar.
Chia seeds are part of the mint family and are a compete protein (didn’t know that!) It is sometimes called the “running food” because just a handful sustained Aztec messengers during their extended running bouts.
Rhubarb grown in a greenhouse usually have rosy-colored stalks and they’re milder and more tender than stocks grown in the garden or in the field. A common mistake is assuming green rhubarb is not ripe, it’s is! Never eat the leaves, they are poisonous.
Buckwheat is also a compete protein, containing all eight amino acids. Buckwheat flour might need more liquid when using in batters.
The goosefoot and amaranth families include amaranth, beets, chard, lambs-quarters, quinoa, and spinach. For some reason, I thought chard was a crucifer vegetable like kale!
Here’s a recipe from the book I found at Epicurious: Doesn’t Peas with Baked Ricotta & Bread Crumbs sound scrumptious? And the recipe photo is divine!
I admit I didn’t have time to read every single word about every single plant, but I couldn’t believe how much I learned, and how much Deborah inspired me.
Today, I am sadly returning Vegetable Literacy, admittedly a couple of days overdue, with the promise that I’m going to request a copy again very soon, because I didn’t have enough time with it.
If you find a copy of this book, it’s certainly meant to be cherished, and read over and over.
And that’s my Library Monday!
Disclaimer:
I love reading cookbooks, like some people love reading novels! I am inspired by recipes, and enjoy learning ideas from cookbooks, which means I’d rather put my own spin on a recipe than follow it exactly. Please keep in mind that my opinions might be completely different from the other home cooks.
I planted my first seeds a week ago Monday (May 6th) so I figured I’d better post something, along with some gardening plans.
I had three rows of garden last season, along with countless containers. This season, I’m planning on the three rows, and a few containers.
In the row that grew tomatoes last season, I planted my cool-weather crops.
I had opened pea seed packs from last season, so I used those up first. This time I set up the trellises first and then planted the seeds in front and back of each trellis. Last season, my pea plants were all over the place, and they were a jumbled mess.
So, one small row of shell peas in front of first trellis, and snap peas in back of the shell peas, and then more snap peas in two rows front and back of the second trellis. Next week, for the remaining two trellises, I will plant a new batch of snap peas, to help stagger the harvest times.
From last season’s opened seed-packs, I planted beets on the far right end, and then scattered Asian mixed greens seeds over the middle area.
Asian greens just starting to peek:
Beet greens popping up:
The oregano plant looks awesome again this season. It’s so easy to grow, and it just keeps coming back. This will be the third season!
Here’s a full shot of the garden:
It’s difficult to see the first two wire trellises for the peas, but they are on the far left, first row, next to the white trellises.
My plan for the summer is to plant pickling cukes, tomatoes, cabbage, green beans, more beets, and perhaps peppers. I had such bad luck with the peppers last year, I am not sure if I want to try again.
I’m thinking tomatoes along the back fence, and I’d love to put the cukes in the front row, maybe dispersed with the greens and beets. I wonder, by the time the cukes are spreading out, the greens will be spent? I’ll have to look back at my last season photos and figure out how big the cuke plants were in late June.
My containers from last season are a mess with all sorts of weeds growing in them. I’m thinking of removing all weeds, dumping all the soil into my wheel barrow, mixing it up, maybe adding some compost, then adding it back to the containers for new plants.
Anyone have any ideas or plans for their veggie garden this summer? Life is good!
Yesterday, I read a fascinating article at NPR.
There is a new study suggests that organic farms grew tomatoes that were 40% smaller (than conventional), BUT were actually significantly higher in vitamin C, sugar and lycopene.
Their reasoning is because organically farmed tomatoes are “stressed-out” more than conventional due to less pesticides. The organic plants are forced to fight off pests naturally; the additional stress equates to additional production of stress-fighting compounds like Vitamin C and Lycopene.
Yes, we need to further investigate this study’s conclusion, but when I was researching tomato hornworms and cabbage worms last summer, many experienced gardeners advised that it was better for the plants to have a few pests because it made them stronger. It does make sense when you really think about it, doesn’t it?
The extra bonus is there’s so much more to a tomato than vitamin C & lycopene, so just think of all the tiny un-known micronutrients that are bursting from a responsibly-farmed tomato. Can’t get that from a lab-created vitamin!
Yeah, sometimes eating organic gives you a surprise or two.
This afternoon, I was cutting off bits of the farmers market celeriac and plop, out fell a small (dead) worm. SURPRISE! GASP! EEK!
I tossed it in the trash, but then I also noticed another teenie one on the counter that was slightly wiggling. Tossed that one too.
So, what’s more gross? A couple of occasional worms or pesticides? I’ll take the bugs thank you!
Finding them always make me gasp and flutter, but it’s worth it when you know exactly where your food is coming from. Hey and bugs have to eat too, right?
Thanks to Eating Rules, I found this cool project on Kickstarter, so I kicked in a couple of bucks. It’s a wonderful idea, using fish waste water to fertilize the plants!
I love that they want to manufacturer in US, and they really seem to care about the quality of the product. I know I’ve seen their mushroom boxes at Whole Foods. I admit it was always a bit too expensive for my budget, but someday, I might splurge!
I had an over-abundance of eggplant this season. Thankfully I planted the “little fingers” variety which resulted in small thin eggplants.
I added a lot to tomatoes (and peppers) to make sauces, which I froze in freezer bags. But my freezer was getting full, so I searched for a better, more compact way to preserve eggplant.
Yay! Oven drying (or dehydrating if you are lucky enough to own a dehydrator) to the rescue, similar to the process I used for my tomatoes.
First, I chopped the eggplant into smaller pieces. I used my “Vidalia Chop Wizard” – I’ve had this gadget for years. I don’t use it every day, but when I need small, even pieces, it works well. It’s very loud though, when you push down on it.
I scattered the eggplant pieces on a shallow grill sheet pan (included with my countertop oven) covered with parchment paper.
Drying at about 150° in my smaller counter top oven, it took a couple of hours. The pieces should be dried, but not rock hard.
I allowed the eggplant to cool for a few minutes, then scattered them on a large dish and put into the freezer to “flash-freeze” – this ensures they stay as individual pieces when bagged later. I’m storing in freezer to add to winter soups and sauces!
I’ve oven dried several batches of eggplant, and just kept adding to the freezer bag.