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.