Attention those of you that live in my area (you know who you are!). I know of a new CSA that might be starting up next year. I met a farmer at the market a couple of weeks ago and he gave me some information on his potential CSA for 2009. If you might be interested, e-mail me and I will pass along his information so you can contact him to get on the list. It's still in the planning stages right now so he doesn't know the pick up times or locations or even the cost yet. That will be worked out later. Right now you wouldn't have to commit or sign a contract, just let him know you are interested.
Viva CSA!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
CSA: Week 22
I got an awesome CSA share tonight! I drove out to the pick up location, got out of my car with my little bag and walked over to the CSA guy. He took one look at me and my bag and said "Uh it's not going to fit in that bag. You're gettin' a box!"
And a box I got and put in my trunk and drove home. This is what was in there:
Lettuce - a lot
Spinach - a lot
1 spaghetti squash
1 red bell pepper
2 cucumbers
1 zucchini
4 small turnips with greens
4 radishes
3 tomatoes
Sack of green beans
So much! The box was full. I really wanted to take a picture to post but I could not find my camera anywhere. And I've also been having computer issues which is why I haven't posted anything in awhile. See I usually use my work computer for blogging but a few weeks ago I had to download a new program. Ever since then I can't get on the Internet unless I'm connected to my company's network and unfortunately my company blocks Blogger. Arg!
I don't have a personal computer but my husband does have a Mac lappy (laptop). I'm a PC girl so I'm not up on all the Mac stuff. I get frustrated sometimes especially how the Mac doesn't have a right click! I need my right click.
I also don't know how to deal with pictures on the Mac so my next few posts may be without pictures sadly.
I'll try to catch up on the last two CSA weeks soon.
And a box I got and put in my trunk and drove home. This is what was in there:
Lettuce - a lot
Spinach - a lot
1 spaghetti squash
1 red bell pepper
2 cucumbers
1 zucchini
4 small turnips with greens
4 radishes
3 tomatoes
Sack of green beans
So much! The box was full. I really wanted to take a picture to post but I could not find my camera anywhere. And I've also been having computer issues which is why I haven't posted anything in awhile. See I usually use my work computer for blogging but a few weeks ago I had to download a new program. Ever since then I can't get on the Internet unless I'm connected to my company's network and unfortunately my company blocks Blogger. Arg!
I don't have a personal computer but my husband does have a Mac lappy (laptop). I'm a PC girl so I'm not up on all the Mac stuff. I get frustrated sometimes especially how the Mac doesn't have a right click! I need my right click.
I also don't know how to deal with pictures on the Mac so my next few posts may be without pictures sadly.
I'll try to catch up on the last two CSA weeks soon.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
CSA: Week 20
A little catching up! Here's what I received during Week 20:
Cantaloupe!
4 golden zucchinis
3 tomatoes
1 cucumber
tons of green beans
The cantaloupe actually ended up being a little squishy but I was able to salvage most of it. I was intrigued by the golden zucchinis. Some people might look at that and go "it's a yellow squash." No that is not true. A golden zucchini is different from a yellow squash. First of all they are a deeper yellow color than a yellow squash. They are also shaped differently. A yellow squash has a narrow end and a fat end while the golden zucchini is more uniform. I also think that the skin of a yellow squash is a lot tougher than a golden zucchini. The four in the share were pretty small so I actually ended up buying a larger one at the market the following morning:
It was good. Tasted like...a zucchini. :) I am considering growing these next year though to add a little variety to the regular green zucchini. I don't like yellow squash as much as zucchini but I still cook with it to break up the monotony of the always green zucchini. Now that I've found the golden zucchini I can use it instead!
Note - I am actually writing this post after I wrote the post for Week 22, however I am back dating it because I have to have the weeks in order. It would drive me crazy to have Week 20 after Week 22!
Cantaloupe!
4 golden zucchinis
3 tomatoes
1 cucumber
tons of green beans
The cantaloupe actually ended up being a little squishy but I was able to salvage most of it. I was intrigued by the golden zucchinis. Some people might look at that and go "it's a yellow squash." No that is not true. A golden zucchini is different from a yellow squash. First of all they are a deeper yellow color than a yellow squash. They are also shaped differently. A yellow squash has a narrow end and a fat end while the golden zucchini is more uniform. I also think that the skin of a yellow squash is a lot tougher than a golden zucchini. The four in the share were pretty small so I actually ended up buying a larger one at the market the following morning:
It was good. Tasted like...a zucchini. :) I am considering growing these next year though to add a little variety to the regular green zucchini. I don't like yellow squash as much as zucchini but I still cook with it to break up the monotony of the always green zucchini. Now that I've found the golden zucchini I can use it instead!
Note - I am actually writing this post after I wrote the post for Week 22, however I am back dating it because I have to have the weeks in order. It would drive me crazy to have Week 20 after Week 22!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
New Toy! New Toy!
Look what arrived at the house yesterday:
A FREEZER! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am extremely excited about this - can you tell?
We have been shopping for a freezer for what seems like forever. Probably almost 2 months in reality. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to decide on one but there's quite a few options to consider. Upright freezer or chest freezer? Then what size of freezer do we need? Is 7 cubic feet big enough? Or should we go with 13 cubic feet? The 13 cubic foot freezer is not that much more expensive than the 7 cubic foot freezer so maybe we should just get the bigger one. But do we really NEED a freezer that big when there's only two of us? Who has the best prices on freezers? Will we be able to take it home ourselves or do we need to have it delivered? How much does delivery cost? Which freezer is going to last at least ten years? Where will we be in ten years? Will we have kids? How many? Okay maybe we do need the 13 cubic foot freezer...
Whew. See? There's lot to think about! We ended up with a Frigidaire chest freezer. It's 8.8 cubic feet with two baskets. It holds 300 and some pounds of food, and we decided that was plenty of space. We opted for a chest freezer over an upright because they are less expensive for the same amount of space, they are more energy efficient and they can keep lower temperatures.
We really needed this freezer because of the garden. We've thought about getting one before for buying in bulk but this year really sealed the deal with the garden. Our freezer in the kitchen has been completely PACKED for several weeks now. Almost everytime the door was opened, something feel out. We have not had ice for awhile either. The ice maker is broken and there was no room for ice cube trays. This is what it looked like:
Here's the inside of the new freezer:
Look at all that space!
The first thing I did when I got home was move a ton of food out of the kitchen freezer into the new deep freeze. It was four or five bags of food. I had no idea how much I had crammed in there! And there was some stuff buried that I had forgotten about including some break and bake cookies (mmmm).
Here's the freezer all full:
I label everything with masking tape and a Sharpie so I remember what it is. Even if it seems completely obvious and I think of course I will know what this is, I still label it. You never know.
There is still a lot of space left in the freezer which is great. I should be able to put up some more tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and okra before the first frost.
I think I'd also like to get some more baskets for the bottom of the freezer just to keep everything more organized. Right now I just threw everything in the bottom.
I also put the core to my new ice cream maker in the freezer! I got this brand new ice cream maker for Christmas last year and I still haven't used it. I have been dying to use it this summer but once the freezer got full there was no way. The core should be kept in the freezer at all times so that you can make ice cream whenever you want. Now it has a home in the new deep freeze. The core should be completely frozen sometime tomorrow and I plan to make watermelon sorbet. Look for a future post on that!
I read something interesting about freezers the other day. Freezers sales are countercyclical. When the economy is down, freezer sales go up because more people are buying in bulk, gardening and eating at home. When the economy is up, people eat out more and cook at home less, therefore they don't need the extra freezer room. It makes complete sense. I just thought that was interesting. Freezer sales are probably very high this year!
I'd like to give a special thanks to my cat Paulie in helping write this blog by laying on top of my arms while I type so that it took twice as long to write as it normally does. No matter how many times I pushed him off he just kept on coming back. I admire your determination Paulie.
A FREEZER! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am extremely excited about this - can you tell?
We have been shopping for a freezer for what seems like forever. Probably almost 2 months in reality. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to decide on one but there's quite a few options to consider. Upright freezer or chest freezer? Then what size of freezer do we need? Is 7 cubic feet big enough? Or should we go with 13 cubic feet? The 13 cubic foot freezer is not that much more expensive than the 7 cubic foot freezer so maybe we should just get the bigger one. But do we really NEED a freezer that big when there's only two of us? Who has the best prices on freezers? Will we be able to take it home ourselves or do we need to have it delivered? How much does delivery cost? Which freezer is going to last at least ten years? Where will we be in ten years? Will we have kids? How many? Okay maybe we do need the 13 cubic foot freezer...
Whew. See? There's lot to think about! We ended up with a Frigidaire chest freezer. It's 8.8 cubic feet with two baskets. It holds 300 and some pounds of food, and we decided that was plenty of space. We opted for a chest freezer over an upright because they are less expensive for the same amount of space, they are more energy efficient and they can keep lower temperatures.
We really needed this freezer because of the garden. We've thought about getting one before for buying in bulk but this year really sealed the deal with the garden. Our freezer in the kitchen has been completely PACKED for several weeks now. Almost everytime the door was opened, something feel out. We have not had ice for awhile either. The ice maker is broken and there was no room for ice cube trays. This is what it looked like:
Here's the inside of the new freezer:
Look at all that space!
The first thing I did when I got home was move a ton of food out of the kitchen freezer into the new deep freeze. It was four or five bags of food. I had no idea how much I had crammed in there! And there was some stuff buried that I had forgotten about including some break and bake cookies (mmmm).
Here's the freezer all full:
I label everything with masking tape and a Sharpie so I remember what it is. Even if it seems completely obvious and I think of course I will know what this is, I still label it. You never know.
There is still a lot of space left in the freezer which is great. I should be able to put up some more tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and okra before the first frost.
I think I'd also like to get some more baskets for the bottom of the freezer just to keep everything more organized. Right now I just threw everything in the bottom.
I also put the core to my new ice cream maker in the freezer! I got this brand new ice cream maker for Christmas last year and I still haven't used it. I have been dying to use it this summer but once the freezer got full there was no way. The core should be kept in the freezer at all times so that you can make ice cream whenever you want. Now it has a home in the new deep freeze. The core should be completely frozen sometime tomorrow and I plan to make watermelon sorbet. Look for a future post on that!
I read something interesting about freezers the other day. Freezers sales are countercyclical. When the economy is down, freezer sales go up because more people are buying in bulk, gardening and eating at home. When the economy is up, people eat out more and cook at home less, therefore they don't need the extra freezer room. It makes complete sense. I just thought that was interesting. Freezer sales are probably very high this year!
I'd like to give a special thanks to my cat Paulie in helping write this blog by laying on top of my arms while I type so that it took twice as long to write as it normally does. No matter how many times I pushed him off he just kept on coming back. I admire your determination Paulie.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Glamasaurus Rex
Term of the day:
GLAMASAURUS REX
Inferred meaning: to be completely and totally glamourous as in so glamourous that you feel like a million bucks and have extreme confidence.
Discovery of term: "I was in my Glamasaurus rex outfit earlier and I got changed out of it and I'm a little bit more comfy" as said by Anne Hathaway in this interview on MSN.
Used in a sentence: "I was a Glamasaurus rex in my little black dress and purple party shoes at the wedding last weekend."
GLAMASAURUS REX
Inferred meaning: to be completely and totally glamourous as in so glamourous that you feel like a million bucks and have extreme confidence.
Discovery of term: "I was in my Glamasaurus rex outfit earlier and I got changed out of it and I'm a little bit more comfy" as said by Anne Hathaway in this interview on MSN.
Used in a sentence: "I was a Glamasaurus rex in my little black dress and purple party shoes at the wedding last weekend."
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wedding Cupcakes
Here are a few pictures of the cupcakes I did for SIL3's wedding reception a few weeks ago. I made the little cake on top too!
I think the little cake kind of looks like a face. The flowers make the eyes and the ribbon makes the smile. Hehe.
I thought they turned out pretty good. Most importantly the bride was happy with them. Congratulations!
I think the little cake kind of looks like a face. The flowers make the eyes and the ribbon makes the smile. Hehe.
I thought they turned out pretty good. Most importantly the bride was happy with them. Congratulations!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
CSA: Week 19
Only five weeks left of the CSA! Boooooooo!
This week I received:
1 spaghetti squash
1 red pepper
2 large tomatoes
5 roma tomatoes
green beans
I'm super excited about the spaghetti squash. I've always wanted to try it. Supposedly you cook it and then stick a fork in it and it winds up like spaghetti or something. We'll see how it goes.
And a red pepper - finally something other than yellow. I might have to make roasted red pepper something.
The beans looked really good. I already washed, trimmed and blanched them and then mixed them up with chopped red onion, feta and a drizzle of olive oil and balsalmic vinegar. YUM.
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 18
CSA: Week 17
CSA: Week 16
CSA: Week 15
CSA: Week 14
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
This week I received:
1 spaghetti squash
1 red pepper
2 large tomatoes
5 roma tomatoes
green beans
I'm super excited about the spaghetti squash. I've always wanted to try it. Supposedly you cook it and then stick a fork in it and it winds up like spaghetti or something. We'll see how it goes.
And a red pepper - finally something other than yellow. I might have to make roasted red pepper something.
The beans looked really good. I already washed, trimmed and blanched them and then mixed them up with chopped red onion, feta and a drizzle of olive oil and balsalmic vinegar. YUM.
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 18
CSA: Week 17
CSA: Week 16
CSA: Week 15
CSA: Week 14
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Mini Mees
I have developed a cold. It sucks. I'm laying in bed with a box of tissues, watching my all-time favorite movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, waiting for my nighttime cold medicine to kick in. I also thought I could catch up on some blogs I have had planned for weeks!
This tiny watermelon has been sitting in the garden for awhile now and I finally picked it the other day.
It was about the size of a softball, a bit larger than a tennis ball.
I wasn't sure what would be inside when I cut it open. I've never seen a watermelon this small. Since it was so small I figured there was no way it had developed properly. I fully expected it to be white inside like my first watermelon.
It was ripe! Ha!
It was actually a little too ripe. I cut it up and got about one cup of chopped watermelon. I don't think I will actually eat it though. I did taste a small piece and it was only fair. You can't tell from the picture but it looked a little orange around the edges.
There are a few other small watermelons still sitting in the garden but none this tiny. I need to cut them soon!
I have another plant producing mini mees in the garden. One of my six pepper plants has decided to produce tiny purple peppers. The other five plants produce yellow peppers. Four of those plants I purchased as seedlings, so I knew they would be yellow peppers. The other two plants I started from seeds from a pepper variety pack so I had no idea what color peppers the plants would produce. One of them gives me yellow peppers, much to my dismay, as I already have four yellow pepper plants. The other one gives me these:
I was hoping to get some purple peppers just a little larger. I cut a few open and they are green inside. I have no idea why they don't grow larger like the rest of the plants. It could be because the plant is a lot smaller than the other plants. It may also be too crowded. It is in between two much larger plants and an extremely large clump of marigolds. Note to self for next year - more room between plants!
This tiny watermelon has been sitting in the garden for awhile now and I finally picked it the other day.
It was about the size of a softball, a bit larger than a tennis ball.
I wasn't sure what would be inside when I cut it open. I've never seen a watermelon this small. Since it was so small I figured there was no way it had developed properly. I fully expected it to be white inside like my first watermelon.
It was ripe! Ha!
It was actually a little too ripe. I cut it up and got about one cup of chopped watermelon. I don't think I will actually eat it though. I did taste a small piece and it was only fair. You can't tell from the picture but it looked a little orange around the edges.
There are a few other small watermelons still sitting in the garden but none this tiny. I need to cut them soon!
I have another plant producing mini mees in the garden. One of my six pepper plants has decided to produce tiny purple peppers. The other five plants produce yellow peppers. Four of those plants I purchased as seedlings, so I knew they would be yellow peppers. The other two plants I started from seeds from a pepper variety pack so I had no idea what color peppers the plants would produce. One of them gives me yellow peppers, much to my dismay, as I already have four yellow pepper plants. The other one gives me these:
I was hoping to get some purple peppers just a little larger. I cut a few open and they are green inside. I have no idea why they don't grow larger like the rest of the plants. It could be because the plant is a lot smaller than the other plants. It may also be too crowded. It is in between two much larger plants and an extremely large clump of marigolds. Note to self for next year - more room between plants!
Monday, September 22, 2008
CSA: Week 18
Arg! I'm so far behind on blogging. Here's a quick update on last week's CSA. I received:
2 yellow bell peppers
some tomatoes (I don't remember how many!)
green beans
small jar of blackberry jam!
I think that was everything. If I think of anything else I'll come back and add it later.
I tried the blackberry jam last night on some toast and it was delicious. I wish I had a larger jar of it. When I first opened the jar I thought maybe it had molded or something because the top of the jam was all white. Turns out there was a wax type disc over the jam. Once I pried it out I could see the delicious jam underneath.
I'm going to have to learn how to make jam next year I think.
2 yellow bell peppers
some tomatoes (I don't remember how many!)
green beans
small jar of blackberry jam!
I think that was everything. If I think of anything else I'll come back and add it later.
I tried the blackberry jam last night on some toast and it was delicious. I wish I had a larger jar of it. When I first opened the jar I thought maybe it had molded or something because the top of the jam was all white. Turns out there was a wax type disc over the jam. Once I pried it out I could see the delicious jam underneath.
I'm going to have to learn how to make jam next year I think.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Rain, Rain Go Away!
Until today, I had not been out to the garden since last Wednesday. This is what I found in the rain gauge when I went out there this afternoon:
From last Thursday through Saturday night we got almost FIVE inches of rain. I think it might have been the remanents of tropical storm Lowell (from the Pacific) but I'm not completely sure. It was not the remanents of hurricane Ike. That went east of us.
Needless to say the garden is completely waterlogged. Luckily the plants did not suffer any major damage. A couple were leaning over but that can be fixed.
I snapped a few quick pictures. The beans are pretty much done. They look really, really sad. Mostly just a bunch of dead branches sticking up in the air. Not many leaves left. The only beans that are growing are turning yellow before they get very big.
The watermelon patch is also dying out. I haven't seen any new watermelons for several weeks now. In the picture below the roma tomatoes are to the left and each plant has several dead branches. The zinnias are to the right and they are doing fairly well. I need to cut them back a bit in a next few days.
The sunflowers no longer have blooms. They just have big giant heads. They really did get to be 12 feet tall though which is just amazing.
I also spotted several mushrooms when I was walking out to the garden this afternoon. I'm not a mushroom eater so I have no idea what kind these are.
I just checked the forecast and we are supposed to get sun for the next five days. Thank goodness! Honestly I don't think the plants have enjoyed all this rain.
From last Thursday through Saturday night we got almost FIVE inches of rain. I think it might have been the remanents of tropical storm Lowell (from the Pacific) but I'm not completely sure. It was not the remanents of hurricane Ike. That went east of us.
Needless to say the garden is completely waterlogged. Luckily the plants did not suffer any major damage. A couple were leaning over but that can be fixed.
I snapped a few quick pictures. The beans are pretty much done. They look really, really sad. Mostly just a bunch of dead branches sticking up in the air. Not many leaves left. The only beans that are growing are turning yellow before they get very big.
The watermelon patch is also dying out. I haven't seen any new watermelons for several weeks now. In the picture below the roma tomatoes are to the left and each plant has several dead branches. The zinnias are to the right and they are doing fairly well. I need to cut them back a bit in a next few days.
The sunflowers no longer have blooms. They just have big giant heads. They really did get to be 12 feet tall though which is just amazing.
I also spotted several mushrooms when I was walking out to the garden this afternoon. I'm not a mushroom eater so I have no idea what kind these are.
I just checked the forecast and we are supposed to get sun for the next five days. Thank goodness! Honestly I don't think the plants have enjoyed all this rain.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Roasted Eggplant Soup
The eggplant plants have been producing tons of eggplants this year. I've been seeking out eggplant recipes and came across this one for Roasted Eggplant Soup on All Recipes. I'm kind of a soup junkie so I was all over it. I pretty much made it as stated in the recipe except I only used 1/2 cup cream instead of a full cup. I bought a pint of cream from the local dairy farm and it was super thick and rich so I only needed 1/2 cup. Here's how it went:
Roasted Eggplant Soup
4 servings
3 tomatoes, halved
1 eggplant, halved lengthwise (or 2 small)
1 small onion, halved
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
Crumbled goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place tomato, eggplant, onion and garlic on a baking sheet lined with foil. Brush with vegetable oil.
Roast in preheated oven until very tender and brown in spots, about 45 minutes.
Scoop out eggplant pulp and discard skin. Slip skins off tomato halves. Place eggplant pulp, peeled tomatoes, onion and garlic in a heavy saucepan with broth and thyme. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer until onion is very tender, about 45 minutes.
I have to take a minute to say that this soup looked completely disgusting at this stage. Eggplant is not attractive when it is cooked.
Puree in pot with an immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor. Return to low heat and stir in cream. Looks much more appetizing!
Bring to a simmer, thinning with more broth if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with goat cheese.
The result? It was pretty good. It took a really long time to make though. The texture of food is also very important to me and in this soup the eggplant seeds bothered me just a tad. But not enough to not eat the soup. I really liked the goat cheese part too. I froze a couple bowls of this soup (pre goat cheese) and it did well in the freezer.
Honestly I don't know that I'll make this soup again. And that's not because I didn't like it or anything. It was good but it wasn't so good that I see myself craving it. I'm going to hang onto the recipe though. It might end up being one of those "once a year" recipes that I bring out when we have more eggplants than we know what to do with. Kind of like the Mexican Zucchini Casserole I made several weeks ago.
I would like to mention that if you do not own an immersion blender and you cook soup frequently, you need to get yourself one. This is my immersion blender:
It was extremely cheap. I got it on Black Friday a few years ago for $5. It works great. I don't use it all the time, but when I do, boy am I glad to have it. It doesn't take up much space in the kitchen so I don't mind having it around when I don't use it frequently.
Other eggplant recipes:
Summer Stew
Eggplant Croquettes
Roasted Eggplant Soup
4 servings
3 tomatoes, halved
1 eggplant, halved lengthwise (or 2 small)
1 small onion, halved
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
Crumbled goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place tomato, eggplant, onion and garlic on a baking sheet lined with foil. Brush with vegetable oil.
Roast in preheated oven until very tender and brown in spots, about 45 minutes.
Scoop out eggplant pulp and discard skin. Slip skins off tomato halves. Place eggplant pulp, peeled tomatoes, onion and garlic in a heavy saucepan with broth and thyme. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer until onion is very tender, about 45 minutes.
I have to take a minute to say that this soup looked completely disgusting at this stage. Eggplant is not attractive when it is cooked.
Puree in pot with an immersion blender, or in batches in a food processor. Return to low heat and stir in cream. Looks much more appetizing!
Bring to a simmer, thinning with more broth if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with goat cheese.
The result? It was pretty good. It took a really long time to make though. The texture of food is also very important to me and in this soup the eggplant seeds bothered me just a tad. But not enough to not eat the soup. I really liked the goat cheese part too. I froze a couple bowls of this soup (pre goat cheese) and it did well in the freezer.
Honestly I don't know that I'll make this soup again. And that's not because I didn't like it or anything. It was good but it wasn't so good that I see myself craving it. I'm going to hang onto the recipe though. It might end up being one of those "once a year" recipes that I bring out when we have more eggplants than we know what to do with. Kind of like the Mexican Zucchini Casserole I made several weeks ago.
I would like to mention that if you do not own an immersion blender and you cook soup frequently, you need to get yourself one. This is my immersion blender:
It was extremely cheap. I got it on Black Friday a few years ago for $5. It works great. I don't use it all the time, but when I do, boy am I glad to have it. It doesn't take up much space in the kitchen so I don't mind having it around when I don't use it frequently.
Other eggplant recipes:
Summer Stew
Eggplant Croquettes
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Strawberry Corn
Back in week 14 of my CSA program I received three ears of dried strawberry corn in my share. Strawberry corn is basically small ears of red corn that look like strawberries.
The CSA guy said to let the ears sit on the counter for another week and then I could put them in a paper bag in the microwave and the kernals would pop off the cob into popcorn. I finally tried it last week.
I put the ear on the left into a brown lunch sack and folded over the top. I put it in the microwave and set the timer for three minutes. I wasn't really sure how long to set the timer, but I figured I could just listen like I do with regular microwave popcorn.
I started the microwave and listened. Before long the kernals started popping! It sounded just like regular popcorn. Not quite sure if I was expecting a more special popping noise or what.
It only took about a minute and a half before the popping slowed down enough that I stopped the microwave and got the bag out. This is what I found:
About half a cup of popcorn popped off the cob. There were a bunch of kernals that popped but stayed on the cob.
The popcorn tasted ok I guess. I think I overcooked it a bit and it didn't have any seasoning. The strawberry corn was fun to try but I don't think I would want to have it around regularly. It would be a fun project for kids though!
The CSA guy said to let the ears sit on the counter for another week and then I could put them in a paper bag in the microwave and the kernals would pop off the cob into popcorn. I finally tried it last week.
I put the ear on the left into a brown lunch sack and folded over the top. I put it in the microwave and set the timer for three minutes. I wasn't really sure how long to set the timer, but I figured I could just listen like I do with regular microwave popcorn.
I started the microwave and listened. Before long the kernals started popping! It sounded just like regular popcorn. Not quite sure if I was expecting a more special popping noise or what.
It only took about a minute and a half before the popping slowed down enough that I stopped the microwave and got the bag out. This is what I found:
About half a cup of popcorn popped off the cob. There were a bunch of kernals that popped but stayed on the cob.
The popcorn tasted ok I guess. I think I overcooked it a bit and it didn't have any seasoning. The strawberry corn was fun to try but I don't think I would want to have it around regularly. It would be a fun project for kids though!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
CSA: Week 17
A better CSA share this week! I received:
1 zucchini
1 green pepper
2 tomatoes
2 small hot peppers
a bunch of okra
This was perfect timing on the zucchini because I haven't had a zucchini from the garden in several weeks now. I'm just about over my previous zucchini saturation.
I was not so excited to see the plethora of okra as there is a ton of okra from my own garden in the refrigerator right now. I need to find a good recipe to use up all this okra.
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 16
CSA: Week 15
CSA: Week 14
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
1 zucchini
1 green pepper
2 tomatoes
2 small hot peppers
a bunch of okra
This was perfect timing on the zucchini because I haven't had a zucchini from the garden in several weeks now. I'm just about over my previous zucchini saturation.
I was not so excited to see the plethora of okra as there is a ton of okra from my own garden in the refrigerator right now. I need to find a good recipe to use up all this okra.
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 16
CSA: Week 15
CSA: Week 14
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Garden Count Update
I have finally added up my tallys over the past two months and here are the numbers of everything I have picked from the garden so far. These numbers only include good items and do not include anything that went straight into the compost bin.
Zucchini - 77
Bush beans - 2,192
Grape tomatoes - 508
Okra - 98
Watermelon - 7 (102.5 lbs total)
Roma tomatoes - 126
Big boy tomatoes - 33
Yellow bell peppers - 15
Eggplant - 19
Broccoli - 2 heads
Enough basil to make approximately 8 batches of pesto
Several bouquets of zinnias (one or two each week)
Now some of the counts are a bit misleading. The tomatoes and beans would be better presented in pounds instead of eaches since tomatoes and beans can vary greatly in size. However I do not have a food scale so I count them instead.
I want to get some average prices for these items from my local grocery stores and calculate how much this yield is worth. For example today I saw watermelons at my grocery store for $5.99 each! That would mean my seven watermelons above are worth approximately $42.
But would I have actually purchased seven watermelons this year if I didn't have them in the garden? Probably not. However since I did have the watermelon to eat, I'd like to think that I bought less of something else to eat and ate the watermelon instead.
Anyway at the end of the season I will compile that information and post.
Zucchini - 77
Bush beans - 2,192
Grape tomatoes - 508
Okra - 98
Watermelon - 7 (102.5 lbs total)
Roma tomatoes - 126
Big boy tomatoes - 33
Yellow bell peppers - 15
Eggplant - 19
Broccoli - 2 heads
Enough basil to make approximately 8 batches of pesto
Several bouquets of zinnias (one or two each week)
Now some of the counts are a bit misleading. The tomatoes and beans would be better presented in pounds instead of eaches since tomatoes and beans can vary greatly in size. However I do not have a food scale so I count them instead.
I want to get some average prices for these items from my local grocery stores and calculate how much this yield is worth. For example today I saw watermelons at my grocery store for $5.99 each! That would mean my seven watermelons above are worth approximately $42.
But would I have actually purchased seven watermelons this year if I didn't have them in the garden? Probably not. However since I did have the watermelon to eat, I'd like to think that I bought less of something else to eat and ate the watermelon instead.
Anyway at the end of the season I will compile that information and post.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
CSA: Week 16
Kind of a disappointing share this week. I received:
3 tomatoes (one with a bad spot)
2 green tomatoes (as in unripe tomatoes for making fried green tomatoes)
1 teensy banana pepper about the size of my thumb
1 half green, half red bell pepper (already wrinkled in places)
2-3 handfuls of yellow salad tomatoes
Oh well. It is what it is. Luckily I have more than enough yield from my own garden.
Last week I said it wouldn't be too much longer until it started to feel like fall outside. Well today is the day. The remanants of Hurricane Gustav are soaking the midwest with rain. Luckily we are on the edge of the remanants so no flooding yet, however we have had an almost constant drizzle for the past 24 hours, accompanied by temperatures in the low 60s to upper 50s. The garden got 8/10 of an inch of rain yesterday and then another 4/10 today. And it is supposed to rain all day tomorrow too! I probably won't have to water the garden for a week. Which means I won't have to wrestle the 300 feet of hose and that makes me happy. I'll gladly take the rain.
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 15
CSA: Week 14
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
3 tomatoes (one with a bad spot)
2 green tomatoes (as in unripe tomatoes for making fried green tomatoes)
1 teensy banana pepper about the size of my thumb
1 half green, half red bell pepper (already wrinkled in places)
2-3 handfuls of yellow salad tomatoes
Oh well. It is what it is. Luckily I have more than enough yield from my own garden.
Last week I said it wouldn't be too much longer until it started to feel like fall outside. Well today is the day. The remanants of Hurricane Gustav are soaking the midwest with rain. Luckily we are on the edge of the remanants so no flooding yet, however we have had an almost constant drizzle for the past 24 hours, accompanied by temperatures in the low 60s to upper 50s. The garden got 8/10 of an inch of rain yesterday and then another 4/10 today. And it is supposed to rain all day tomorrow too! I probably won't have to water the garden for a week. Which means I won't have to wrestle the 300 feet of hose and that makes me happy. I'll gladly take the rain.
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 15
CSA: Week 14
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Eggplant Croquettes
I found this recipe when searching out ways to use up all the eggplants from the garden. Croquette is just a fancy word for patty.
I actually made this recipe two different ways. The first time I made it I fried the patties as the recipe says.
Eggplant Croquettes
4 servings
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Place eggplant in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium-high for 3 minutes. Turn eggplant over and microwave another 2 minutes. The eggplant should be tender. If not, cook another 2 minutes. Drain any liquids from the eggplants and mash.
Add cheese, bread crumbs, egg, parsley, onion, garlic, salt and pepper to the eggplant and mix well.
Shape the eggplant mixture into four patties. Heat oil in a large skillet. Drop eggplant one at a time into the skillet. Fry each side of the patties until golden brown, a few minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.
They got a little more brown that I had planned, but it didn't matter. The fried version was sooooo delicious. The only thing I didn't like was that my entire house smelled like fried food for two days. At first it smelled yummy but after a while it gets old.
Several of the commenters on the recipe over at All Recipes said they had baked the croquettes instead of frying them to make them a little less bad for you. To bake them I mixed them the same way as before and formed them into patties. Then I baked them at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, flipped and baked them for 10 more minutes.
This time I ate them on a wheat bun with a little bit of light Miracle Whip and some arugula. I also cooked up some broccoli, yellow bell peppers (from the garden), corn (from my CSA), and sun dried tomatoes into a veggie mix to go with it. Very yummy!
I will definitely be making these again. The original recipe says these can be frozen before frying (or baking) and cooked later. On the second time around I froze two of the unbaked patties so we'll see how they turn out later.
I actually made this recipe two different ways. The first time I made it I fried the patties as the recipe says.
Eggplant Croquettes
4 servings
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Place eggplant in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on medium-high for 3 minutes. Turn eggplant over and microwave another 2 minutes. The eggplant should be tender. If not, cook another 2 minutes. Drain any liquids from the eggplants and mash.
Add cheese, bread crumbs, egg, parsley, onion, garlic, salt and pepper to the eggplant and mix well.
Shape the eggplant mixture into four patties. Heat oil in a large skillet. Drop eggplant one at a time into the skillet. Fry each side of the patties until golden brown, a few minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.
They got a little more brown that I had planned, but it didn't matter. The fried version was sooooo delicious. The only thing I didn't like was that my entire house smelled like fried food for two days. At first it smelled yummy but after a while it gets old.
Several of the commenters on the recipe over at All Recipes said they had baked the croquettes instead of frying them to make them a little less bad for you. To bake them I mixed them the same way as before and formed them into patties. Then I baked them at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, flipped and baked them for 10 more minutes.
This time I ate them on a wheat bun with a little bit of light Miracle Whip and some arugula. I also cooked up some broccoli, yellow bell peppers (from the garden), corn (from my CSA), and sun dried tomatoes into a veggie mix to go with it. Very yummy!
I will definitely be making these again. The original recipe says these can be frozen before frying (or baking) and cooked later. On the second time around I froze two of the unbaked patties so we'll see how they turn out later.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
I'm Choppin' Broccoli....
Friday's harvest (08/29/08):
That large dark green round blob on the left is a 24.5 pound watermelon! That's 9 pounds bigger than the previous record holder. I haven't cut into it yet so hopefully it is ripe. I can't imagine that it wouldn't be. It's been sitting in the garden for quite a while.
Now the green thing in the back on the right is the first head of BROCCOLI! I'm so excited that I actually got a head of broccoli out of the garden. I ate half of it with dinner last night.
Wheeeeeeeee!
One year ago today:
Pizza Dough - the best pizza dough ever (also makes calzones)
Pizza Sauce - sauce to go with the above dough recipe (extremely easy to make)
That large dark green round blob on the left is a 24.5 pound watermelon! That's 9 pounds bigger than the previous record holder. I haven't cut into it yet so hopefully it is ripe. I can't imagine that it wouldn't be. It's been sitting in the garden for quite a while.
Now the green thing in the back on the right is the first head of BROCCOLI! I'm so excited that I actually got a head of broccoli out of the garden. I ate half of it with dinner last night.
Wheeeeeeeee!
One year ago today:
Pizza Dough - the best pizza dough ever (also makes calzones)
Pizza Sauce - sauce to go with the above dough recipe (extremely easy to make)
Friday, August 29, 2008
Mexican Zucchini Casserole
I made this recipe several weeks ago when I had overflowing zucchini in the fridge. I found it on All Recipes and was intrigued at putting zucchini into a Mexican type dish. The original recipe can be found here. Below is the way I made it, with a few modifications to suit my tastes.
Spicy Mexican Zucchini Casserole
8 servings
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium to large zucchini, cubed
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 cup cooked long grain rice
1 can black beans
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and onions; cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with garlic salt, paprika, oregano and cayenne pepper and continue cooking and stirring until fragrant. Mix in the rice, beans and tomatoes and cook until just heated through. Remove from heat. Mix it one cup of cheese until well blended. Transfer to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Cover the dish with a lid or foil.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with tortillas.
I basically used this casserole as a filling for tacos. I'm not sure how it would be to just eat it plain. Actually when I ate this casserole the night I made it, I only thought it was fair. I didn't dislike it enough to throw it out or anything, but there was something about the zucchini mixed in with the rice and beans that just didn't sit well with me. However I liked it better over the next couple of days when I took the leftovers in my lunch. Not sure why. Maybe I was just more used to the idea of zucchini in a Mexican dish.
The recipe was easy and it is a good way to use up an abundance of zucchini from the garden. I think I might make this again next year, especially if we're completely sick of eating all my usual zucchini dishes. I don't know that I would seek out a zucchini so I could make this dish though.
Other zucchini recipes:
Summer Stew
Zucchini Pie
Zucchini Cake
Zucchini with toasted walnuts
One year ago today:
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting - mmmmmm. This is my go-to recipe for buttercream and I use it all the time. I think I actually have some extra in the fridge right now. Maybe I should go get a spoonful...
Spicy Mexican Zucchini Casserole
8 servings
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium to large zucchini, cubed
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 cup cooked long grain rice
1 can black beans
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and onions; cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with garlic salt, paprika, oregano and cayenne pepper and continue cooking and stirring until fragrant. Mix in the rice, beans and tomatoes and cook until just heated through. Remove from heat. Mix it one cup of cheese until well blended. Transfer to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Cover the dish with a lid or foil.
Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with tortillas.
I basically used this casserole as a filling for tacos. I'm not sure how it would be to just eat it plain. Actually when I ate this casserole the night I made it, I only thought it was fair. I didn't dislike it enough to throw it out or anything, but there was something about the zucchini mixed in with the rice and beans that just didn't sit well with me. However I liked it better over the next couple of days when I took the leftovers in my lunch. Not sure why. Maybe I was just more used to the idea of zucchini in a Mexican dish.
The recipe was easy and it is a good way to use up an abundance of zucchini from the garden. I think I might make this again next year, especially if we're completely sick of eating all my usual zucchini dishes. I don't know that I would seek out a zucchini so I could make this dish though.
Other zucchini recipes:
Summer Stew
Zucchini Pie
Zucchini Cake
Zucchini with toasted walnuts
One year ago today:
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting - mmmmmm. This is my go-to recipe for buttercream and I use it all the time. I think I actually have some extra in the fridge right now. Maybe I should go get a spoonful...
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Harvest 8/27/08
Here's what I harvested yesterday:
The peppers are looking better and better. The first few I picked about a week or 10 days ago were not looking so hot. And before that there were several that rotted right on the plant that had to go straight to the compost.
That's the biggest quantity of big boy tomatoes I've picked at one time so far. Tonight I turned them all into diced tomatoes for the freezer. That was an extremely time-consuming and messy process. I'll have to post about that some other time.
The beans are still producing very well. I picked over 100 almost perfect sized beans.
Speaking of beans, so yesterday evening I'm out in the garden picking beans. I'm knee deep in the middle of the bean plants, bending over at the waist to paw through the bean plant leaves when I hear a loud buzzing. At first I think maybe it is a motorcycle on the nearby road (there's a biker bar not too far away from the house). But then I feel something very large and vibrating land on my back.
OMG!
I screamed so loud, threw beans into the air, and began scrambling out of the bean plants flailing my arms about. I didn't see what actually landed on my back, but I'm assuming it was a hornet of some sort because I have seen them flying around the garden before. If my neighbors saw me I'm sure they now think I'm a complete lunatic.
At this point I was ready to pack up and go back in the house. I do not like things that buzz and sting. I'm a huge baby when it comes to bees, wasps, hornets, etc. However I had not picked beans the day before and I already saw tons of perfect sized beans that were ready to be picked and could not wait another day. So I forced myself to go back into the garden and get the beans.
That darn hornet buzzed me at least three more times (but he didn't land on me again thank goodness). My hands were shaking and I was thinking to myself, "I'm sacrificing my life for these beans!" A bit dramatic, yes. Everytime the hornet buzzed me I would jump out of the beans and run out of the garden. Then I would have to wait a few minutes to calm down and coax myself back into the garden. I finally got through the beans and ran back to the house without being stung or bitten, whatever hornets do.
I remembered later that evening that I had read an article in a magazine (probably Real Simple) about how to have a great picnic. One of the tips was to NOT bring a brightly colored blanket to sit on because bees and wasps are attracted to the bright colors. Well yesterday I had a bright purple t-shirt on when I was out in the garden. That was probably like wearing a sign that said "hornets please buzz around me!". Note to self - no more purple shirts in the garden (or any other bright color for that matter). Note to hornets - please do not buzz me anymore! Stay over in the sunflowers where you belong and leave my veggies alone.
One year ago today I posted:
Homemade Granola
Hmm...I haven't made a batch of that in awhile and it sounds really good. Maybe I'll make some this weekend...
The peppers are looking better and better. The first few I picked about a week or 10 days ago were not looking so hot. And before that there were several that rotted right on the plant that had to go straight to the compost.
That's the biggest quantity of big boy tomatoes I've picked at one time so far. Tonight I turned them all into diced tomatoes for the freezer. That was an extremely time-consuming and messy process. I'll have to post about that some other time.
The beans are still producing very well. I picked over 100 almost perfect sized beans.
Speaking of beans, so yesterday evening I'm out in the garden picking beans. I'm knee deep in the middle of the bean plants, bending over at the waist to paw through the bean plant leaves when I hear a loud buzzing. At first I think maybe it is a motorcycle on the nearby road (there's a biker bar not too far away from the house). But then I feel something very large and vibrating land on my back.
OMG!
I screamed so loud, threw beans into the air, and began scrambling out of the bean plants flailing my arms about. I didn't see what actually landed on my back, but I'm assuming it was a hornet of some sort because I have seen them flying around the garden before. If my neighbors saw me I'm sure they now think I'm a complete lunatic.
At this point I was ready to pack up and go back in the house. I do not like things that buzz and sting. I'm a huge baby when it comes to bees, wasps, hornets, etc. However I had not picked beans the day before and I already saw tons of perfect sized beans that were ready to be picked and could not wait another day. So I forced myself to go back into the garden and get the beans.
That darn hornet buzzed me at least three more times (but he didn't land on me again thank goodness). My hands were shaking and I was thinking to myself, "I'm sacrificing my life for these beans!" A bit dramatic, yes. Everytime the hornet buzzed me I would jump out of the beans and run out of the garden. Then I would have to wait a few minutes to calm down and coax myself back into the garden. I finally got through the beans and ran back to the house without being stung or bitten, whatever hornets do.
I remembered later that evening that I had read an article in a magazine (probably Real Simple) about how to have a great picnic. One of the tips was to NOT bring a brightly colored blanket to sit on because bees and wasps are attracted to the bright colors. Well yesterday I had a bright purple t-shirt on when I was out in the garden. That was probably like wearing a sign that said "hornets please buzz around me!". Note to self - no more purple shirts in the garden (or any other bright color for that matter). Note to hornets - please do not buzz me anymore! Stay over in the sunflowers where you belong and leave my veggies alone.
One year ago today I posted:
Homemade Granola
Hmm...I haven't made a batch of that in awhile and it sounds really good. Maybe I'll make some this weekend...
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
CSA: Week 15
Wow 15 weeks of my CSA program are already over. I can't believe how fast the summer has flown by. Not too much longer until it starts to feel like fall outside. That will be nice.
This week in my CSA I received:
1 cucumber
2 banana peppers
1 jalapeno pepper
1 green bell pepper
3 small-ish big tomatoes
a handful of yellow and red cherry tomatoes
a jar of pickles
a dozen eggs
A jar of pickles! Now that's kind of fun. I haven't tried them yet. Hopefully they are delicious. I took a picture of the share items this week but I'm currently using a computer I'm not too familiar with so I'll have to post the picture later.
Update: here's the picture:
I think the CSA people are frustrated with their crops this year. They have mentioned several times that they have had trouble getting veggies to grow. I know they tried eggplant twice and it all died. They also mentioned that their broccoli plants grew beautifully but never produced any broccoli. Honestly though I haven't felt jipped or cheated at all. That's what a CSA is all about. You get a part of what the farm grows. And this is their first year growing on a larger scale. There's bound to be some trial and error. Hang in there guys!
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 14
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
This week in my CSA I received:
1 cucumber
2 banana peppers
1 jalapeno pepper
1 green bell pepper
3 small-ish big tomatoes
a handful of yellow and red cherry tomatoes
a jar of pickles
a dozen eggs
A jar of pickles! Now that's kind of fun. I haven't tried them yet. Hopefully they are delicious. I took a picture of the share items this week but I'm currently using a computer I'm not too familiar with so I'll have to post the picture later.
Update: here's the picture:
I think the CSA people are frustrated with their crops this year. They have mentioned several times that they have had trouble getting veggies to grow. I know they tried eggplant twice and it all died. They also mentioned that their broccoli plants grew beautifully but never produced any broccoli. Honestly though I haven't felt jipped or cheated at all. That's what a CSA is all about. You get a part of what the farm grows. And this is their first year growing on a larger scale. There's bound to be some trial and error. Hang in there guys!
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 14
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Garden: Welcome Broccoli
Finally some pictures of the garden. A lot has happened in the past month. I've been picking TONS of vegetables - tomatoes, zucchini, beans, okra, watermelon, eggplant. I have been writing down everything I've picked and I want to go through and add it all up to see just how much the garden has yielded so far.
The pole beans have been removed from the garden. They grew too much and formed a big matted mess. Then they got so heavy they collapsed their support system and became a haven for pests. And I never really got any beans from them anyway! Hmpf.
One hill of zucchini plants has completely died and been removed. The other hill had one or two plants hanging on but they started to wilt this weekend so I'm guessing we will pull them out of the ground soon.
The peppers are starting to ripen! Several of them have rotted or had rot spots on them but yesterday I picked the first one that did not have any bad spots. Then one of the pepper plants that I started from seed has started producing peppers. They are tiny purple peppers. I picked one yesterday and I can't wait to try it.
The eggplant has been going crazy. The plants have tons of fruit on them. I've picked at least one eggplant the past three days and now have four of them in the refrigerator. I'm going to be researching eggplant recipes this week.
The okra plants are getting really big and yesterday one had a full open bloom that was really pretty.
Finally the plant I am most excited about is BROCCOLI! If you remember I tried to start broccoli from seed back in March. When I transplanted them to the garden in May they all died. So I direct sowed the seeds into the garden in July for a fall crop. They were growing pretty strong and then were infested with little green caterpillars who chewed the leaves into lace. I wasn't sure if they were going to make it but then just about a week ago I noticed a little broccoli floret in the middle of the plant. And then yesterday it looked like this:
Yipee! I can't wait to pick it. There are four broccoli plants total and they all have a small broccoli head growing in the middle. Here's the plant from farther away.
All in all I'd say the garden has been a big success this year. Even if everything died right now and I didn't harvest one more thing, we've still gotten enough out of it to make it worth all the work. I'm already excited about planting new things next year.
The pole beans have been removed from the garden. They grew too much and formed a big matted mess. Then they got so heavy they collapsed their support system and became a haven for pests. And I never really got any beans from them anyway! Hmpf.
One hill of zucchini plants has completely died and been removed. The other hill had one or two plants hanging on but they started to wilt this weekend so I'm guessing we will pull them out of the ground soon.
The peppers are starting to ripen! Several of them have rotted or had rot spots on them but yesterday I picked the first one that did not have any bad spots. Then one of the pepper plants that I started from seed has started producing peppers. They are tiny purple peppers. I picked one yesterday and I can't wait to try it.
The eggplant has been going crazy. The plants have tons of fruit on them. I've picked at least one eggplant the past three days and now have four of them in the refrigerator. I'm going to be researching eggplant recipes this week.
The okra plants are getting really big and yesterday one had a full open bloom that was really pretty.
Finally the plant I am most excited about is BROCCOLI! If you remember I tried to start broccoli from seed back in March. When I transplanted them to the garden in May they all died. So I direct sowed the seeds into the garden in July for a fall crop. They were growing pretty strong and then were infested with little green caterpillars who chewed the leaves into lace. I wasn't sure if they were going to make it but then just about a week ago I noticed a little broccoli floret in the middle of the plant. And then yesterday it looked like this:
Yipee! I can't wait to pick it. There are four broccoli plants total and they all have a small broccoli head growing in the middle. Here's the plant from farther away.
All in all I'd say the garden has been a big success this year. Even if everything died right now and I didn't harvest one more thing, we've still gotten enough out of it to make it worth all the work. I'm already excited about planting new things next year.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
CSA: Week 14
In week 14 I received:
8 ears of corn (sheesh!)
6 tomatoes
1 butternut squash
2 green onions
3 ears dried strawberry corn
I was really surprised that I received so many ears of corn. They said it was the last of the corn though so I'll have to make sure to enjoy it. I was really excited to get a butternut squash. I love winter squash.
So what's strawberry corn you ask? Well it's a teeny tiny ear of red corn. It basically looks like a strawberry. It still has the husk attached and has been dried out. The guy from NV Ranch (the farm that provides my CSA) said that I should leave the ears on the counter for another week to finish drying out. Then I can put them in a paper bag and microwave it and it will POP OFF THE COB. So it's popcorn!!! How fun. I haven't tried it yet but I probably will in the next day or two. I'll be sure to take some pictures and post them on here.
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
8 ears of corn (sheesh!)
6 tomatoes
1 butternut squash
2 green onions
3 ears dried strawberry corn
I was really surprised that I received so many ears of corn. They said it was the last of the corn though so I'll have to make sure to enjoy it. I was really excited to get a butternut squash. I love winter squash.
So what's strawberry corn you ask? Well it's a teeny tiny ear of red corn. It basically looks like a strawberry. It still has the husk attached and has been dried out. The guy from NV Ranch (the farm that provides my CSA) said that I should leave the ears on the counter for another week to finish drying out. Then I can put them in a paper bag and microwave it and it will POP OFF THE COB. So it's popcorn!!! How fun. I haven't tried it yet but I probably will in the next day or two. I'll be sure to take some pictures and post them on here.
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 13
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
CSA: Week 13
In week thirteen I received:
3 ears corn
3 tomatoes
1 cucumber
green beans
The corn was great but the tomatoes were fair. They were kind of banged up by the time I got them home but I'm not sure if they were like that before or if they got knocked around too much in my bag on the way home. The green beans were actually not very good at all. Some of them were already wrinkly and shriveled. The ones that were still good were really poofy - by that I mean the pods were mostly air. The beans inside were pretty small. I ate some of them but then put the rest in the compost. I have much better beans growing in my own garden!
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
3 ears corn
3 tomatoes
1 cucumber
green beans
The corn was great but the tomatoes were fair. They were kind of banged up by the time I got them home but I'm not sure if they were like that before or if they got knocked around too much in my bag on the way home. The green beans were actually not very good at all. Some of them were already wrinkly and shriveled. The ones that were still good were really poofy - by that I mean the pods were mostly air. The beans inside were pretty small. I ate some of them but then put the rest in the compost. I have much better beans growing in my own garden!
Previous CSA posts:
CSA: Week 12
CSA: Week 11
CSA: Week 10
CSA: Week 9
CSA: Week 8
CSA: Week 7
CSA: Week 6
CSA: Week 5
CSA: Week 4
CSA: Week 3
CSA: Week 2
CSA: Week 1
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Bridal Shower 2
Bridal shower round two. Actually this is round four for 2008, but only the second round of bridal shower cupcake pictures I am posting. The first bridal shower of the year was for SIL2 (I'm going to number them according to age from now on) who got married in Vegas in February. That was such a fun trip. I did make cupcakes for that shower but did not take any pictures.
Bridal shower number two was in April for my good friend Kelly. I was not the hostess so I did not make any cupcakes for that one. Bridal shower number three was for my BFF Beth in St. Louis and was hosted by all the bridesmaids, including me. I did make some very pretty cupcakes for that shower which was really fun.
Now SIL3 is getting married in less than a month and MIL, SIL2 and I hosted a bridal shower for her this past weekend. I made cupcakes of course as I am pretty much expected to do these days. I made the standard white and chocolate cupcakes. I thought about making something different or more fancy but I just couldn't get it together in time.
SIL3 is doing orange, brown and a tealy-bluey color for her wedding. She bought some orange sprinkles to use on the cupcakes for the shower. At first I wasn't too sure about them. They seemed really bright. However after I got them all set up with some orange roses on the brown stand, I thought they turned out pretty nice.
The wedding is going to be really pretty and also pretty fun too! I'm looking forward to it.
Bridal shower number two was in April for my good friend Kelly. I was not the hostess so I did not make any cupcakes for that one. Bridal shower number three was for my BFF Beth in St. Louis and was hosted by all the bridesmaids, including me. I did make some very pretty cupcakes for that shower which was really fun.
Now SIL3 is getting married in less than a month and MIL, SIL2 and I hosted a bridal shower for her this past weekend. I made cupcakes of course as I am pretty much expected to do these days. I made the standard white and chocolate cupcakes. I thought about making something different or more fancy but I just couldn't get it together in time.
SIL3 is doing orange, brown and a tealy-bluey color for her wedding. She bought some orange sprinkles to use on the cupcakes for the shower. At first I wasn't too sure about them. They seemed really bright. However after I got them all set up with some orange roses on the brown stand, I thought they turned out pretty nice.
The wedding is going to be really pretty and also pretty fun too! I'm looking forward to it.
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