July 18, 2013 - The One That Got Away

When I have to wade through these monster plants to get to the zucchini, is it any wonder....

This 4-pound monster, peeking out from behind the crooknecks and strawberries, got away from me?

What to do?  I don't need any more zucchini bread.  I have enough zucchini relish to last me a lifetime.  I can hide the smaller ones by grating them into my coleslaw, but four pounds?  I think not!  I know, let's try Zucchini "Apple" Crisp!  It has rave reviews on Taste of Home, and I trust most of the recipes they publish, so I'm game!

 8 cups peeled and sliced zucchini (cut like apple slices).  I removed the spongy seed cavity, and only used the firm outer part.

 Place sliced zucchini and 3/4 cup lemon juice in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender, about 15 minutes.

 Add 1 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon

 Blend until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. 

  Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan.  (I used 3 small baking dishes....one to eat and two to freeze).

 Combine 1-1/3 cups packed brown sugar, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup rolled oats and

2/3 cup butter, softened.

 Mix with a fork until crumbly. 

 Sprinkle over zucchini.  Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until topping is golden brown. 

 I baked mine for 40 minutes, and I think 30 might have been long enough for these small containers.  Luckily they weren't as dark as they appear in the photo.

The taste test.

Conclusion:  Not bad, but the "apple" filling was a bit too tart for our liking.  I would make it again, but increase the sugar to 3/4 cup.  The crunch topping is delicious. 

Zucchini Apple Crisp 

Yield: 12-16 Servings

8 cups sliced zucchini (cut like apple slices)

3/4 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

TOPPING:

1-1/3 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup rolled oats

2/3 cup butter, softened

Whipped cream or ice cream, optional

Directions 

Place sliced zucchini and 3/4 cup lemon juice in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender, about 15 minutes. Add nutmeg, sugar and cinnamon; blend until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan.

For topping, combine brown sugar, flour, oats and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over zucchini. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream if desired. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Nutritional Facts

1 serving (1 cup) equals 219 calories, 8 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 20 mg cholesterol, 87 mg sodium, 36 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 2 g protein.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/zucchini-apple-crisp

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While I was out in the garden taking a picture of the squash patch, I noticed the butternuts were getting nice and big....larger than my size 7 1/2 foot!

I see a few nice sized cantaloupe developing, too!

July 17, 2013 - It Has Begun!

Tomato season has finally arrived at Granny's house.

Since I planted only determinate varieties this year, other than the cherry tomatoes, I'm not expecting to get a huge harvest.  But it sure is nice to finally see some vine ripened globes of goodness on my kitchen windowsill!  Mr. Granny has requested tacos.

July 15, 2013 - Harvest Monday

 The Velour bush beans were ready for their first picking, so I had both green and purple beans this week.  I'm trying to only dig Red Norland potatoes as we use them, but they are getting quite large so I may have to go ahead and dig the rest of them next week.  At least one plant of the Grand Bell Mix sweet peppers turned out to be a beautiful purple variety.  I also harvested two Quadrato Rosso D'Asti red peppers, a Happy Yummy Sweet (orange) and several green peppers that were suffering from sun scald.  The carrots are still small, but Annie and Otto have begun to expect them for an evening snack.  Luckily a later planting looks to be shaping up nicely, so Mr. Granny and I might get our carrots yet!  Cucumbers, zucchini and crookneck squash are coming on fast.

 The sweet peppers were so pretty, they got their own close-up photo.  Some of them ended up being tossed with a bit of olive oil and cooked on the grill, with sweet onions, zucchini slices and pineapple, and served with teriyaki grilled pork tenderloin and chicken breast.

 A basket of crisp Anuenue lettuce was a welcome addition to our salads this week.  The Fortex beans are slowly yielding, I hope I have better luck with the later planting.  These were from the vines that were ravaged by earwigs, and they never fully recovered.  I'm still getting a few broccoli side shoots from the early broccoli plants.  My experiment with planting potatoes in chopped leaves didn't turn out too well.  I got four potatoes from an entire barrel (3 or four seeds).

 I don't know how many more strawberry shortcakes my body can stand, LOL!  This week I've been eating the berries for breakfast, with vanilla yogurt.

I dug the rest of the "Yukon Gold potatoes that were not" (mislabeled, probably Russets).  The yield wasn't very good, whatever they were.  I got a lot more from the one row of true Yukon Gold seed potatoes than from a double row of this variety.  We're getting just enough tomatoes for fresh eating now, but certainly not a surplus.  The Sungolds are very flavorful, the others are still a bit mealy and bland, but getting better.  Strawberries were picked six of the seven days this week!  I only missed Tuesday, because I was away from home that day.

 The first crop of bush beans was pretty much kaput, so I pulled them to make more room for the ever expanding squash plants.  Then I decided instead to plant that bed with some leftover early corn seeds, just to see how they do when planted mid-July.  If they grow and produce, fine.  If not, I hadn't planned on using that seed next year anyway.  I pulled these test carrots from the bed that looks to be doing well, and I was pleased to see they are growing straight, with no sign of root knot nematodes.  I think I'm finding the zucchinis before they get too big (like the one last week), but I suppose there are one or two hiding under all that foliage, and they'll just jump out and surprise me someday soon.  Like that one big cucumber in the photo.  I swear, I just checked the vines the previous day, and that thing wasn't there!

 The corn ears of this early variety are so small!  I had to pull a few more carrots from some that were planted (and hiding) under the tomatoes.  Too bad I can't just leave them alone until they are more mature, but I'm impatient.  I should rename my blog "The Impatient Gardener".  Oh heck, that name is already taken!  Two tomatoes and another sweet pepper were promptly eaten for dinner, and I ate the ear of corn as a snack.  Mr. Granny got his share on Sunday.

My all time highest year for strawberries was 24.56 pounds in 2009.  I almost equaled that already this week, with a total for the year so far of 24.54 pounds!  I'm just .02 lb. short of the record, with at least three more months of picking ahead!

We ate well Sunday night, consuming all of the corn, both crookneck squash, and all of the tomatoes.  Everything else got put in the refrigerator....which is packed full of uneaten zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce and beans.  I'll have to eat the broccoli, as Mr. Granny says he'll pass.  This head of broccoli is the first harvest from my second planting.  It's not very large, but with temperatures in the high 90s I was afraid it was going to burst into flower, so I went ahead and cut it.  More strawberries were picked, but not photographed.  They all look alike.  

This Week's Harvest

Beans (bush): 34.4 ounces

Beans (pole): 10.4 ounces

Broccoli: 8.2 ounces

Carrots: 6.1 ounces

Corn: 19.2 ounces

Cucumbers: 95.7 ounces 

Peppers (hot) 5.7 ounces

Peppers (sweet): 32.1 ounces

Potatoes: 213.3 ounces

Squash (summer): 121.1 ounces

Strawberries: 90.4 ounces 

Tomatoes: 37.7 ounces

Total for week: 674.3 ounces (42 pounds)

Total to date: 210 pounds

 Too many cucumber too eat fresh, so 2 quarts of refrigerator dills were made with garden fresh onions, garlic, and dill weed.  The dill seeds are from the 2012 harvest.  I also made two half-pints of Cowboy Candy (hot peppers in a vinegar-sugar syrup) that I'm keeping in the refrigerator rather than canning.  I've never eaten them before, so it's just a test to see if we like them.  You couldn't tell I've given up eating so much white sugar, as the syrup on these two tiny jars consists of 1/2 cup of vinegar to 1 1/2 cups of sugar!  That's a lot of the sweet stuff.

The first ear of corn.  This early variety won't be in next year's garden, as the ears are too small.  That's a salad plate, not a dinner plate.  

Now, if you'll please excuse me......

I'm going to enjoy the fruits of my labors!

Thanks to Daphne's Dandelions for hosting Harvest Monday.

July 9, 2013 - The Summer Garden

 Spacemaster cucumbers growing very nicely in a half barrel.

 The Waltham Butternut squash are overtaking the fence.  I've begun fastening the vines to the chain link with loose cable ties, but I still managed to hit one with the lawnmower and break it off today.

Provider bush beans and a sea of squash.  Jackpot Zucchini and Early Summer Crookneck in the foreground, the Waltham Butternuts  behind them.

 Broccoli (mixed varieties), Large American Flag leeks, Lemon Drop marigolds, Tristar strawberries, Hearts of Gold cantaloupe, Celebrity tomatoes, Canby raspberries.  There are some spring planted garlic scattered here and there.  There are spaces opening up for fall planting, but I don't know what to plant, if anything.  There's so much food out there already, much more than two old people need!  Maybe I'll just concentrate on amending the soil to get it ready for Spring 2014.  I just pulled out a 6-foot long root that I hit while digging potatoes.  Well, I cut it off at 6', I couldn't pull it any farther without messing up my beans and beets.  I've run into quite a few of those big old roots, the remains of the maple tree that used to grow in this spot.

 Dark Red Norland potatoes, broccoli (mixed varieties), Red Sails lettuce, mislabeled potatoes that are probably Russet (supposed to be Yukon Gold).  I hate the looks of the potato beds as the plants begin to die back!  I'll be happy when they are all dug.

 Super Fantastic tomatoes. I picked my first full sized tomato from here this week, and we'll be eating the first BLT of 2013 for lunch on July 9.  The Red Sails lettuce is holding up well through the heat, a new planting of Chioggia beets is under netting to protect them from leaf miners, and a single row of Provider bush beans, the last of the seeds in the packet, looking like they could use a shot of fish fertilizer.

 A bed of Anuenue lettuce that I'm shading to try to get it through the hot weather.  In the foreground is a small planting of parsnips, a mix of Hollow Crown and Andover.  I planted three rows of carrots behind the lettuce bed, but so far none have germinated.  The triple digit heat of last week may have doomed them.

 The cosmos and marigolds are just about the only color left in the garden.   The hollyhocks weren't as pretty this year as they usually are. 

 Gonzales cabbages and marigolds.

 The corn (Honey Select and Early Sunglow) has tasseled and ears are developing, so it won't be long now!  On the right, the sweet peppers have nearly reached the top of their little 36" high fence, and are loaded with peppers.  Some are already turning color.  Contender bush beans in the foreground, not yet bearing.

 My single row of beans, parsnips and beets continues to struggle to keep ahead of the neighbor's weeds.  I try to reach through and pull the tops off to keep them from going to seed, but I think it's futile to even try.

 The first Fortex pole bean!  I love these beans, so I hope there will be many more.

  The second planting of broccoli is beginning to head.

 Fortex pole beans and Patio tomatoes.  Two other Patio tomatoes suffered in the recent heat, so were moved to a shadier spot.  One looks like it might be OK, but the other is iffy.

The Sungold cherry tomatoes have grown up to the roof of the patio.  

The pot garden is being overtaken by Fort Laramie strawberries.  I still haven't had any berries from these plants, but one is finally blooming and setting fruit. I've had a few Black Cherry and Una Hartsock tomatoes from the plants on this side of the patio, and they were delicious.  By far the best tasting of any of the early tomatoes so far, even better than the Sungolds.  Lettuce seedlings grow here, waiting for a spot in the garden.

That's Granny's summer garden.  There's more in there than I've shown today....carrots, a new double row planting of Fortex pole beans where I pulled the pea plants, more beets, cabbages and broccoli plants, another parsnip bed, more sweet peppers, basil, parsley, dill.  The garden has gone from pretty to productive.  I guess that's a good thing, but I miss the pretty.

July 8, 2013 - Harvest Monday

Early July harvests are bringing more variety to the table.

7/1 & 2 - Peppers, green and yellow bush beans, a few broccoli side shoots, strawberries, potatoes, one cucumber, zucchini, carrots and crookneck squash.

7/5 - A big harvest of green and yellow bush beans, baby beets, Walla Walla onions, red potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, a lone tomato and my biggest picking yet of strawberries.

7/2 - More strawberries, the last picking of raspberries, bush beans, a yellow squash and another single tomato.  7/6 - Way too much parsley and basil, carrots, white potatoes, bush beans and strawberries.  The last sweet onion, two more crookneck squash, a bit of broccoli and the first two Fortex pole beans.

7/7 - The zucchini that got away from me (hello zucchini bread!), along with a normal sized zucchini, one crookneck squash, one cucumber, yellow bush beans (the plants got pulled to make room for the melons that were beginning to grow over them), a big bowl of Red Sails lettuce, and a few tomatoes.  I ate about at least a dozen Sungold cherry tomatoes that didn't make it inside to be photographed.

Beans, blanched and waiting to be put on a tray.  They were frozen, then bagged.  The strawberries that escaped being eaten in shortcakes were also frozen and then bagged, waiting to be made into yummy smoothies.  This is the second one-gallon size bag I've put in the freezer so far.  

This may be the best year yet for strawberries.  I pick every day or two, and they are still loaded with green berries and blossoms, and should continue producing until October or November.  I've already harvested 19 pounds, and my very best year gave me 24 pounds.  I think I'll easily beat that!

The raspberries are done, and the old canes have been pruned out.  It wasn't my best year for raspberries, but it was pretty good.  I picked 12 pounds, which was more than double what I picked last year.  In my best year, 2011, the patch yielded 17 pounds.

The last of the apricots that were gifted to me were made into more Apricot-Pineapple jam.  I think I have a lifetime supply of it now, as I had a few jars left from last year.  Those, with the 14 jars I made this week, gave me 23 pints total.  

This Week's Harvest

Beans (bush): 88.1 ounces

Beets: 20.3 ounces

Broccoli: 2.9 ounces

Carrots: 17.9 ounces

Cucumbers: 47.7 ounces 

Herbs: 37.5 ounces

Lettuce: 14.2 ounces

Onions: 86.9 ounces

Peppers (sweet): 18.1 ounces

Potatoes: 101 ounces

Raspberries: 6.8 ounces

Squash (summer): 148.3 ounces

Strawberries: 80.1 ounces 

Tomatoes: 17.3 ounces (several more eaten and not weighed)

Total for week: 687.1 ounces (42.9 pounds)

Total to date: 167.98 pounds

Be sure to check out Daphne's Dandelions to see what others have harvested this week!

July 5, 2013 - Jammin' It

Yesterday my youngest son came in with a dishpan full of lovely apricots, so this morning I managed to round up enough sugar, lemons, pectin and crushed pineapple to make the first batch of apricot-pineapple jam.  Of course, I first had to find the old food grinder, because my 6-month old %^#*@ piece of crap Cuisinart $$$ food processor broke a couple of weeks ago, while grating some soft Mozzarella cheese.  It had been a few years since I'd used the grinder, so I had to look all through the kitchen, then out in the garage, then back deeper into the kitchen cabinets before I finally located it.

 Everything's ready, let's get cooking!

 How cool are these old food choppers?  This one belonged to my Mother, and could possibly be as old as I am!  It probably didn't cost over $5 new, and gave her and I both many, many years of service without breaking, unlike my 6-month old %^#*@ piece of crap Cuisinart $$$ food processor!  Do you sense I might be just a tad unhappy with Cuisinart?

 I still have the original instructions.

Of course, there is a bit of mess involved that one doesn't have to contend with when using a food processor.  A thick towel, strategically placed on the floor, takes care of that little problem.

Six pints of jam, cooling on the counter.  Now I have to go to the store and stock up on more sugar, lemon juice, pineapple, pectin and jar lids.  Or freeze the remaining apricots and deal with them later.

July 1, 2013 - What Have We Here?

My two favorite open pollinated cherry tomatoes are Black Cherry and Una Hartsock.  I've grown these varieties the past two years, and last year I was careful to save seeds from them.  This spring, I planted two of my sturdiest Black Cherry plants and the strongest Una seedling.  All three are growing well, and have set fruits.  But.......what have we here?

This is definitely not a Black Cherry tomato!  The fruit is much too large, and the color is completely off.  It must have crossed with a nearby variety!  I grew Victor very close to it last year, but the plant is much too tall to be Victor.  It's nearly 6' high already, and Victor was a rather compact plant.  Will I have Victor tomatoes on a Black Cherry plant?  Who knows!  The second plant looks like it has normal sized Black Cherry tomatoes on it, but none have yet begun to ripen, so I don't know if they will be the proper color or not.  The seeds were all from the same tomato.

I think the official high temperature was around 105 today, it was 103.8 in the shade of the patio, but I went out to pick beans and it felt much hotter than that.  I took the indoor/outdoor thermometer out and set it in the strawberries, and here's what it read:

It was 116.1 in the sun, and the patio temperature has gone up another degree since then, so I imagine it was around 117 in the garden.  Pretty dumb of me to be out there picking beans, but it's done now and I've guzzled three tall glasses of iced tea since I came back in.  I might have to take a flashlight out and pick strawberries in the dark!  It's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow.