Challenge yourself

When I first wrote about change back in January, I couldn't imagine the path that would lead me to where I am today, just two days away from a planned 9 week yoga retreat and teacher training seminar in California.
I first became interested in yoga as a way to heal myself because all those years of gardening had taken a toll on my body. My back was strained and my knees were sore. As it turns out, I like practicing yoga as much as I enjoy gardening. So I've decided to take a journey down the yoga path to see where it leads. Although this journey is certain to be physically, intellectually and emotionally challenging, I believe that it will create unimaginable opportunities for self realization and growth. I am a firm believer in challenging yourself. Once again, I am shifting the grain of sand to see what changes lie beyond the dune. Although I am both excited and terrified, this promises to be a very interesting journey.  So, I am taking a break from the blog. I have left the garden in the very capable hands of my husband Larry and I'll see you on the internet when I return in November. In the meantime, enjoy the fall and eat good food.
Peace.

Finished compost

Like magic, the pile of grass, leaves, manure, and garden debris that I created in the spring has transformed into dark, crumbly compost! I was careful this time to keep the pile small (about 6 x 10 feet and no taller than 4 feet high) and I was diligent about layering the ingredients. I also added biodynamic compost starter, a mixture of herbs and bacteria which helped to stimulate the proliferation of beneficial soil organisms and enzymes. The best part of this compost is that I never once had to turn the pile. I have two additional piles cooking and will create another using all of the garden debris from the fall cleanup. I will use this compost to spread on the garden, rich food for the worms and for next year's crops.

Broccoli and cauliflower

I planted the broccoli and cauliflower last month and they have taken off the past two weeks. The buds of the broccoli have formed, but it will take a few weeks more before the heads are large enough to harvest.

Lots of red!

Outside temperatures may have cooled, but inside the garden the colors are red hot!  For the first time ever, I left the peppers on the vine long enough for them to turn red which makes them taste even sweeter! Tonight I'm going to make a red pepper pesto from a recipe that I heard on the Today show.

Red Pepper Pesto

Ingredients:

Several medium sized red peppers, or two large

2 cloves garlic

2 or 3 leeks or onions

Olive oil, about 1/4 cup

Handful of nuts (walnuts, almonds)

Parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Chop garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the peppers, remove the seeds, and slice into strips. Chop the leeks or onions. Saute the peppers and the onions or leeks in olive oil until just cooked through, but not too mushy.

Add the pepper and onion mixture to the bowl of the processor and pulse several times until mixed. Add the nuts and pulse again. Add the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper and pulse again briefly to incorporate all the ingredients. Be careful not to over mix! Serve with crackers. This is also great served with grilled chicken.

As you can see, we are inundated with tomatoes. I probably closed the garage farm stand prematurely, but I needed the time to prepare for my trip out to California (more on that later.) Anyhow, we are making tomato sauce almost every night and putting it all in the freezer next to the ratatouille, caponata, and basil pesto that is already in there. Cooking this winter is going to be a lot more fun knowing that I have the taste of summer stored in there.

As promised, the cooler temperatures have made the flower colors more intense. The zinnias have never looked better and I've been cutting armfuls of them every day to bring into the house. There is no time to waste because in a few short weeks we'll have our first frost and the flowers will be gone.

Winter squash

Just when I think I can not eat another serving of ratatouille, the butternut squash looks like it may soon be ready to pick. I planted Waltham Butternut, a popular variety that has yellow skin, an orange fleshy pulp and a sweet nutty flavor. In order to grow winter squash you need the usual rich, well drained soil and plenty of water, but also lots of room for the long vines and large leaves to ramble. You also need patience as it takes a long time for the squash to grow and mature.  Butternut squash can be harvested any time that the color has gone from light green to a pale, soft yellow, but it should be picked before frost. Butternut squash makes a nice soup, but I prefer to peel and chop it and roast it in the oven with a little olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, and a little brown sugar to taste.

Lettuce likes it cool

The end of summer means cool weather crops like lettuce are happy again. It's going to be a great couple of weeks for salads! This variety is called 'ermosa' which means beautiful, and indeed it is!

Sweet taste of summer

The hardest part of growing watermellons is knowing when they are ready to pick. There is no real science to it, but over the years growers have come up with some common methods that include checking the tendril nearest to the fruit to see that it has turned from green to brown; turning the melon upside down to see if the bottom has turned yellow where it touches the ground; and rapping it lightly to hear a 'thunk' rather than a 'ping.' For me, the only way I could really tell was to pick one and cut it in half. It was a good guess as the inside was pink, juicy, and perfectly ripe! Now I'm going to celebrate my good fortune by eating it for breakfast!

Circus seal

I planted this topiary form back in May. It is a seal balancing a ball on it's nose and it is the healthiest of a group of several animal forms that I attempted to nurture through the summer. It wasn't easy keeping the topiaries hydrated during this very hot and dry summer. They had to watered, sometimes twice a day, and  also needed regular haircuts and grooming. But once covered, they are fun to look at and are different than the usual pot of geraniums. The base of the seal is covered with a perennial vine called 'creeping jenny' and the top with a creeping thyme. Any plant that vines and grows quickly is good to use. Ivys and myrtles are particularly good choices. Topiaries are tricky and need some maintenance, but they are a good choice if you are looking to try something different and fun.

No tears!

Leeks, or gourmet onions, belong to the Lily family and are closely related to onions, garlic, scallions, shallots, and chives. Leeks produce long edible stems rather than large bulbs. I've been harvesting leeks since the beginning of August and I use them instead of onions in many recipes. Cooking with leeks is a pleasure. For one thing, they don't make you cry when you cut them, and when cooked, leeks have a creamy texture and sweet taste. As only the white and pale green parts of the stalk are used, it is advisable to build up the soil around the base of the plant a few times during the growing season to keep as much of the bottom part of the stalk away from the sunlight. This encourages 'blanching' which makes for a nice long white edible stalk. My leeks are on the thin side, but I think that has more to do with the variety than anything else.  I can harvest leeks as I need them and if there are still leeks in the garden in October, they will survive a light frost. But, I think they'll be gone by then.

Random act of gardening kindness

These are just some of the vegetables that were harvested from my neighbor Jennifer's garden. Her garden was exploding with produce and she was going to be away in Europe with her children and unable to harvest any of it. In fact, her garden, although quite impressive, had become overwhelming to the point where she couldn't even go near it. As a fellow gardener, I could not stand to see all those beautiful, ripe vegetables going to waste so I gathered a small group of fellow gardeners and we headed around the block to her house to harvest what we could and clean up a few overgrown planting beds. We collected baskets and bags full of beautiful produce and donated it all to the outreach center at St. Patrick's church where it was immediately distributed to a very thankful and appreciative group of people. Jennifer planted way more than she and her family could eat and I'm certain that next year she will do it again. I can relate.

Visit the farmer's market

Even though Labor Day is upon us, there is still time to take advantage of local, fresh, and organic produce here on Long Island. There are farmer's markets, dozens of farm stands, mostly on the East end, and CSA's that deliver to multiple sites around the island. Farmer's markets offer a lot more than fresh produce, including local eggs, artisinal cheeses, honey, baked goods, organic meat, homemade jams and preserves, fruit, cider, and flowers. There is nothing I like to do more than visit a farmer's market on a saturday morning. I love that I can meet the farmers and artisans, taste the food, and ask questions about where the vegetables were grown or how the cheese was made. Call me crazy but I get excited about a wheel of goat cheese in much the same way that other people feel about a new pair of shoes! The following Suffolk County farmer's markets are open through mid November:

Hauppage

Huntington

Islip

Patchogue

Port Jefferson

Riverhead

Sag Harbor

Westhampton Beach

Here's to happy shopping and healthy eating!

Basil and basil pesto

There is nothing that says summer more than a plate of sliced tomatoes topped with fresh green basil. I can't think of another herb that packs so much flavor into its leaves. When I'm out in the garden, I'll pick large bunches of basil just so I can bury my nose in it and inhale the fresh scent. I keep a bunch of it in a glass on the windowsill above the kitchen sink and add it to just about all my summer recipes. This is the time of year that basil works mightily to put up flowers and go to seed. Rather than struggling to cut the white flower stalks each day, I've decided to pull the plants and make pesto to freeze for the winter. Basil pesto is easy to make and freezes well and it will remind me of summer long after the garden has been put to bed.

Basil Pesto

2 cups of basil leaves

1/2 cup pgrated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup nuts (pignoli, walnuts, almonds)

2-3 cloves garlic

salt and pepper

Chop garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Add the basil leaves and chop. Add the olive oil in a steady stream until incorporated. Add the nuts and then the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste at the end. You can adjust the amounts according to taste. 

Escarole

Escarole is a variety of endive whose leaves are broader, paler, and less bitter than other members of the endive family. The most desirable part of the escarole is the center where the paler leaves are less bitter than the rest of the head. I was able to cultivate the pale center leaves by putting rubber bands around the heads depriving the center leaves of sunlight. Generally, escarole is tougher than lettuce and more bitter. However, the paler, inner leaves of escarole can be torn into salads for a taste very similar to raddicchio. I prefer to cook it. Last week I made an escarole and white bean dish. I sauteed garlic, onions, celery, and carrots until tender. I added torn escarole leaves to the pan and then added chicken broth to cover. I added one can of white beans and cooked everything for a few more minutes until done. I put half of it in the freezer and ate the rest for lunch. Escarole is high in fiber, folic acid and vitamins A and K. I have several more heads of escarole in the garden that I will try to pick this week and make into something that I can freeze for later this fall.

Blooming color

It has been a bit of a difficult year for dahlias. The lack of rain has stressed the plants, yet the daily wet on the leaves from the irrigation system has caused the leaves to mildew. Deep soaking rains are ideal, at least an inch per week, rather than the daily 20-40 minute rinse they have been getting from the sprinklers.  Despite, the unfavorable conditions, the dahlias are still putting up some pretty spectacular blooms. The best news is that they only get better from now to the end of the season. As the temperatures drop, the flower colors will become more intense. Something to look forward to as the rest of the garden begins to wind down.

Fennel

I like growing fennel. The light green fern- like leaves have an ethereal look that contrast nicely with the other textures and colors in the garden. Rather than hiding underneath the soil, the bulbs grow right on top where I can watch them get larger each day. Fennel, as it turns out, has been around for centuries and has been used as food, medicine, herb, and even insect repellent. Fennel was planted in the temple gardens of Greece and the Greeks wore crowns of the feathery leaves in their celebrations to worship the gods and godesses. Today, fennel is commonly used as seasoning (think fennel seeds in sausage,) but it is also used as a breath freshener and digestive aid. I know vegetarians who chew fennel seeds to help combat gas! Fennel is low in calories and high in vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and iron.

When raw, fennel smells a lot like licorice, but cooking fennel makes it sweet. Fennel is adaptable in the kitchen as it can be eaten raw or cooked, eaten alone or as an ingredient in many recipes. Fennel can be steamed, sauteed, or baked. It is a nice compliment to fish. Try using the leaves as an herb instead of dill. You can add sliced fennel to onions as a base for tomato sauce. Finely chopped fennel stalk is a nice addition to egg salad. You can try fennel orange muffins. Well, you get the idea! I sell fennel bulbs at the garage farm stand, but most people don't know what it is or how to use it. To be honest, I didn't know much about fennel before I started growing it a couple of years ago. As often happens, I tried it and found I like it and have been growing it ever since.

Elephant ears

Remember those huge bulbs that I planted in pots last spring?  It took some time, but they are finally doing their thing. Elephant ears, as they are commonly called, are members of the caladium family. They are tropical plants that prefer sunshine, heat, and humidity to grow well. That was certainly no problem this summer. However, they can also be grown in the shade. In the ground, elephant ears can grow as tall as 5 feet, but because I am growing mine in pots, the plants will be shorter. Each ear emerges from the soil as thin as a pencil and then slowly unfurls like a sail. I have three pots grouped together which makes for a dramatic display on the steps outside the family room door. Caladiums will not survive the winter so after the first frost, I will dig up the bulbs and store them in a cool, dark place until next season when I will plant them again.

Life is a bowl of cherries

Tomatoes, that is. I keep a big bowl of these cherry tomatoes on the kitchen table to snack on during the day. The tomatoes are coming in strong and I have to make sure to pick them every day because if left on the vine too long, the tomatoes will crack. Of course, I planted way more than we can eat so I've been selling nice sized bags of mixed varieties for a couple of weeks now. I like to mix the colors up to challenge people to try the different kinds. My personal favorite is called Black Prince, a small to medium size tomato that is an unusual mahogany brown color with a distinctively rich fruity tomato flavor. It is the one I choose for my salads and sandwiches every time. I make sure to include one in every bag I sell.

Black Prince

The garage door is open!

Many of my friends and neighbors know by now that I have created a small enterprise in my back yard, selling vegetables and flowers out of the garden. They know that when the garage door is open, they can come in and buy whatever is available on the table inside. I pick and rinse the produce, put it in plastic bags, price it, and leave an envelope on the table for cash. I usually send out an email on the days that I pick to alert people that there are fresh veggies for sale. Everything is sold on a first come, first serve basis. I have several regular customers as well as those who occasionally stop by on their walk around the neighborhood. Most weeks I sell just about everything. The best part of my garage farm stand is that there are no set hours, no marketing costs, no personel issues. No pressure. I sell what I have on the days that I work in the garden. When the garage door is shut, the market is closed. Today was busy at the garage market. Every time I looked out the window, there was another car in the driveway and it looks like I'm just about out of tomatoes.

Some days I think that I ought to spruce up the entrance to the market and paint the garage door, but it has been nice flying under the radar and I don't want to bring unwanted attention to the good thing that I've created. And what color would I paint it anyhow? Any ideas??

Eggrageous!

By now most of you have heard about the huge egg recall that is going on in the U.S. So far, 1300 people have been sickened by Salmonella prompting the recall of more than half a billion eggs. The infected eggs are virtually impossible to track as many of them were packaged as long ago as April and distributed far and wide across multiple states. April? Are you kidding? It is now the end of August. I had heard that grocery store eggs were old, but I had no idea they could be 4 months old or older! Luckily for me I have found a good local source for eggs. The eggs that I pick up from my friend Roxann are just hours or a couple of days old at most. They are a nice light brown color and the yolks are a deep orange. They taste fresh and delicious. I have been selling Roxann's eggs as fast as her hens can lay them out of my garage all summer. It is a little secret I share with my friends and neighbors.

Ratatouille

Everything you see here is from the garden! Onions, garlic, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, and basil. Mixed with olive oil and salt and pepper, and baked in the oven, it makes a great summer meal.

Finally a rainy day!

 I would never complain about a long string of sunny days, but all the beautiful weather this summer has caused me to fall behind with certain tasks, blogging included. And, the plants are parched!  We are experiencing drought conditions. It is easy to forget that we had a pretty wet spring, but this summer has been dry. I've had the irrigation system on every day, sometimes twice a day. But despite the drought, the garden has really exceeded my expectations. We had a great first season. I took this photo out the 3rd floor window.

Eggplant's cool colors!

Look at the great color of these eggplants! Eggplant is one of the more beautiful plants to grow in a vegetable garden. The 3 foot tall plants have large leaves that are tinged with purple along the veins. The traditional oblong fruits have a smooth skin and a deep purple color whereas the thinner Asian style variety is almost neon.  Both eggplant varieties are interchangeable in recipes. It takes a while for the eggplants to get going in the spring as they prefer consistently warm temeratures, but once established, eggplant will produce fruit right up until frost. There are many ways to prepare eggplant. It can be breaded and baked (or fried) for use in a simple parmesan.  It is easy to coat with a little olive oil and throw on the grill.   It is a key ingredient in caponata.  

In fact, I'm going to try this recipe for caponata from From Asparagus to Zucchini, a Guide to Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce by Christine Mulvey of MADSAC

Eggplant Caponata

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs eggplant, cubed

2/3 cup olive oil, divided

salt and pepper

3 cups diced red onions

1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 cup green olives

3 tbsp capers

1 cup thinly sliced celery

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Directions:

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Toss eggplant cubes with 1/3 cup olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread on baking tray and roast until brown, about 15- 20 mins, stirring occasionally. Heat remaining oil in skillet and saute onions 10 mins. Add tomatoes, olives, and capers. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook about 15 mins. Add eggplant and celery to the pan and continue cooking, covered for about 8 mins. Remove cover, turn up the heat to high and stir in vinegar and sugar. Cook until vinegar evaporates and all the flavors blend, about 3 more minues. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold with bread, pasta, etc. Makes 8 servings.  

Sweet peppers

This year I am growing two kinds of sweet peppers, bell and lipstick. I've been picking them green, but if left on the vine, both of these types of peppers will turn red. I will leave some on the vine until they change color, but sometimes peppers will succumb to fungus or rot when left on the vine long enough to turn. Sweet peppers add flavor to just about any dish, but tonight I think I'll make a salsa combining peppers, purple onions, tomatoes, oranges, a little orange juice and cilantro. I'll serve it with striped bass if I can find any in the fish store.

Here come the tomatoes!

Finally, the tomatoes have started to ripen! I love the colors, shapes, and sizes of the different heirloom varieties and the taste is amazing! Nothing like the pale dry orbs that are sold in the grocery store. These tomatoes are juicy and bursting with flavor in every bite. I eat a lot of BLT's during the month of August. Sometimes I add avacado to the sandwiches and substitute basil leaves for lettuce. First thing in the morning I'm out in the garden picking cherry tomatoes for breakfast. No need to cook them. I just pop them in my mouth like candy.  

Early red potatoes and kale

I didn't plant nearly enough of these medium sized red potatoes. I ate them for dinner a couple of nights and sold a few more, but I am wishing that I still had them to harvest. The good news is that there are still fingerlings out in the garden that are currently in flower and should be ready in a few weeks. Potatoes are abundant and cheap to buy in the supermarket, but they just don't have the same fresh dug taste as the home grown varieties.  I like to eat my potatoes with pesto that I make with kale, yes kale, the most misunderstood vegetable that I have ever grown. I tried for years to convince farm members of kale's virtues with no success. Nutritionally, kale is vastly superior to most vegetables. It is very rich in vitamins A, C, and calcium. It is also high in B vitamins and protein. It is really versatile in the kitchen with its distinct, but not overpowering flavor and is interchangeable with broccoli and other greens in recipes. I love it also because it is the only plant that can survive a hard Long Island frost. It is possible to harvest kale in your snow boots in mid winter. In fact, kale tastes sweeter and more tender after a few good frosts. I'm sure my preaching is going to fall on deaf ears yet again, but here are a couple of easy things to do with kale:

Kale Pesto

Ingredients:

1- 2 garlic cloves

kale leaves, separated from ribs

olive oil, about 1/4 cup

a handful of walnuts (or amonds, pine or any other nuts)

parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup

Directions: 

In a food processor, chop garlic. Fill processor bowl with kale and chop. Add olive oil in a steady stream. Add nuts and cheese.

Kale pesto is good served with potatoes, on grilled chicken, or with crackers as a snack.

Kale with carrots, potatoes, and bacon

Ingredients:

(exact measurements not needed)

leeks (you may substitute onions or scallions)

carrots

potatoes

chicken broth

olive oil

bacon

salt and pepper

Directions:

Saute leeks in olive oil until soft. Add kale leaves that have been separated from the ribs. Add enough chicken broth to cover. While cooking, add diced potatoes and carrots. Cook until done. Add cooked, crumbled bacon at the end, if desired.

Note: My friend Judy gave me this recipe. She served it to a class of 6th graders who ate it all and were asking for seconds!

Finally, I add raw kale to my breakfast smoothies all the time. Besides kale, this morning's ingredients included bananas, blueberries, peaches, pomegranate juice, and a little vanilla yogurt. A glass of pure energy!

The peas are done

I took this photo of the peas last month when they were in flower and getting ready to produce the tasty pods that we enjoyed for several weeks. You might have guessd by now that I'm catching up on my blog posts with all that is happening in the garden. 
A word about peas: "Peas, like all legumes, are great soil enhancers.Their leaves gather nitrogen from the air, and their roots thread that nitrogen into the soil, right where we want it. Another way to put nitrogen in soil is to inject fields with anhydrous ammonia. We prefer to let our plants do it in their organic, silent, and splendid way." Farmer John Peterson. Whatever anhydrous ammonia is, I'm glad it is not in my soil or on my food.  Anyhow, besides being great for the soil, peas are good to eat, mostly raw, fresh picked off the vine, but sometimes steamed or lightly sauteed. The only problem with peas is that they don't last long, but they were sure great while they lasted!

Keeping the vampires at bay

I harvested about 50  garlic bulbs right around the 4th of July and I've been using them to cook with ever since. I sold a few bulbs, but I'm hoarding the rest because I am getting nervous that I won't have enough garlic to last me the year. Home grown garlic is superior to what is available in the grocery store. The cloves are large and moist and loaded with flavor.

Garlic lore is pretty interesting. Slaves forced to build the great Egyptian pyramids refused to work without a daily garlic ration. Wreaths of garlic were believed to ward off witches and vampires. Jockeys may rub their horses' bits with garlic or tie a clove to the bridle to prevent other horses from passing. Bullfighters may wear garlic around their necks to protect them from the bulls' horns. Garlic is also gaining recognition for its health and healing benefits. Some of garlic's believed therapeutic benefits include fighting infections, cancer prevention, stimulating the immune system, relief of chronic bronchitis, use as an expectorant and decongestant, reduction of blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides.  By the way, to ensure the most medical benefits it is best to use the garlic raw.  Exerpted from Asparagus to zucchini, a guide to cooking farm fresh, seasonal vegetables.

Who cares about a little garlic breath when you can pretty much cure whatever ails you while you are keeping those pesky the vampires away! Bring it on! 

Dozens of cukes!

I am harvesting a ridiculous amount of cucumbers! Not just a few a day, but dozens and dozens of them. I've been selling them and eating as many of them as I can, but really, how many cucumbers can a person eat in one day?  I eat them raw and add them to salads. I include them in my breakfast smoothies. This week Larry made cucumber risotto which was surprisingly tasty. I peeled and sliced a bunch and put them in the freezer to use later. I've never frozen cucumbers before, but I figure I can add them to my smoothies.  I guess I should learn how to make pickes, but I've never been much of a pickle fan. I read  somewhere that you can rub cucumbers on your face to help condition the skin. This could be because they are high in vitamin E. Maybe after yoga tonight  I'll take a cucumber bath, towel off and rub some on my skin and then place a couple of slices on my eyelids for a refreshing spa like treatment!

Carrots

I've been pulling up big bunches of carrots for several weeks and there are still plenty in the garden to last a while. Pulling the bright orange roots from the ground is always a lovely surprise, like stumbling upon buried treasure. Carrots are high in vitamin A and beta carotene, the substance that makes them orange. The carrot is also high in fiber, calcium, potassium, and other trace minerals. I often dust off the soil and eat the sweet, crunchy, raw carrots right in the garden. Last night, however, I simmered them on the stove top in enough water to cover. While they were cooking, I added olive oil, butter,  about 2 tbsps. of brown sugar, and a handful of chopped fresh dill. Once the carrots were cooked and the water had evaporated, the carrots simmered in the butter, oil, and brown sugar until they were slightly carmelized. I served them with grilled chicken and basil pesto, and yellow squash, corn, and scallion saute which made for a colorful summer meal! 

Onions hooray!

This was a great year for onions. It was sunny and hot and the bulbs grew happily undisturbed in the northwest coner of the garden. Once established, onions are not difficult to grow. In fact, because of their shallow root systems, they prefer to be left alone. Once their tops have fallen over, it is time to harvest. We harvested three varieties of onions this week, white 'Superstar',  yellow 'Ailsa Craig', and  red 'Mars.' I cut the tops off the bulbs, dusted them off and placed them on trays in the sun to dry. I was uncomfortable leaving the onions outside over night so I brought them into my den where they are drying in front of the oscillating fan. There is a faint smell of onions wafting through my house, but I don't mind.  It must be because I'm a Taurus that I like earthy smells like onions and horse manure. It is certainly satisfying to have harvested such a large crop of onions after last years poor yield. The drenching rains of last June caused much of the onion crop to rot in the fields.

It seems that so many good meals start with onions sauteeing in the frying pan. Tonight I may add some eggplant and peppers to the onions and see if I can make a simple caponata. Whatever I add to it, the onions will make it smell and taste delicious!

Cabbage leaves for later

I pulled the rest of the Napa cabbage from the garden this morning. The heads were beginning to look tired, and frankly, I was getting sick of eating it. I didn't want to throw all 10 heads in the compost pile so I decided to clean it up and save the leaves for later. I chopped the leaves, blanched them for 2 minutes in boiling water, patted them dry on paper towels and put it all in plastic bags in the freezer. I will use the cabbage leaves in soups and stews during the winter.  I also peeled and sliced about 20 cucumbers and placed those in the freezer. I'm thinking that I can use them in my breakfast smoothies. It takes time to wash, chop, blanch and  prepare vegetables for use later in the season, but next winter after the garden has stopped producing and been put to bed, I'll be happy I made the extra effort to save the fresh taste of summer for later.

Lots of beans!

I've been harvesting green beans for a couple of weeks and I'm starting to feel it in my back. Green beans are difficult to pick. The mature beans hang low to the ground hidden beneath the plant leaves. There is no way around it, you have to bend down low or get on your knees to pick them. There are certain CSA's that offer green beans in their shares only as a pick your own vegetable. Not me. I happily picked them for 50 families for 8 years at my CSA which eventually landed me at the chiropractor's office.

But, I love the taste and crisp texture of fresh picked green beans. So, despite the ache in my lower back, I'm out  in the garden every morning  crouched down amongst the foliage searching for the slender green treasures. I planted Maxiibel, a french filet beans that is easy to grow and produces high yields of the tasty tender beans.

I enjoy eating Maxibel beans raw. But they can be steamed or blanched in less than 5 minutes to make the best of their bright color, firm texture, and fresh flavor. They pair nicely with most herbs, but I seem to choose fresh rosemary more often than not.

zucchini outta control!

This year I planted three types of summer squash and they all matured at the same time! There is only so much zucchini that a person can eat, but I'm trying my best not to let any of it go to waste. Luckily, I've been able to sell some to my gardening friends and neighbors and I've been  scanning the cookbooks for new ways to incorporate this summer vegetable into my menu.

When all else fails, I just chop it up and add it to a giant stir fry along with anything else that I've picked from the garden that day including, scallions, Swiss chard, carrots, peppers, eggplant, and basil.

One day, my houseguest Gay coated slices of zucchini in egg and then in breadcrumbs with dried herbs and baked them in the oven until they were done. Although we enjoyed them as is, I've heard that these taste good served with a basic aioli (garlic) sauce.  I'm going to make the sauce this week and I'll post the recipe if it turns out to be something that I enjoy.

My friend Drew inspired me to try last night's recipe. I sauteed shallots until they were slightly carmelized. Then I added chopped yellow squash and chopped Swiss chard which made a colorful side dish to grilled striped bass and pureed sweet potatoes.

Now that local corn is available, I cut it off the cob and saute it in oil and butter with scallions (chives will work) and grated yellow squash. This dish is so easy and is the perfect companion to any summer meal.

Finally, I took two of the largest zucchini and actually made ten small loaves of zucchini bread! Baking in the middle of the hottest summer on record is a tad challenging, but I froze the bread and I know that I will enjoy it this fall after the garden has been put to bed.

In case you don't have a good recipe for zucchini bread, I'll share one that I got from my former neighbor Ginny Oliver, who brought me a loaf of her zucchini bread the day we moved into our house.

Zucchini Nut Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups zucchini, grated and well drained

3 large eggs

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 cup salad oil

1 tsp salt

3 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups walnuts

3/4 cups raisins

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9- inch loaf pans.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar and mix well. Add zucchini, flour, oil, salt, cinnamon, walnuts, raisins, vanilla, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well. Pour into greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Yield: 2 loaves