What's in the Garden? Edible and Not

Almost bursting open sunflower. As Kevin says, my sunflower jungle is alive!

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

I'm amazed at how quickly the garden is taking over the backyard.

I'm sad that several icky pests are winning and eating as much as they can (slugs, earwigs, pill bugs, and aphids). Since I prefer not to spray my garden with pesticides, it's a daily battle to find those critters. Loss is expected.

Strawberries are still blooming, though they are exhausted!

But mostly, I'm happy to see this dirt produce food and beauty for our eyes, nose, hands, and tummies. I supposed I could add ears to that list, as the bees are a humming, though they classify as beauty not food. At least for us. The cats love to snatch and gobble them up.

Here are some things growing in the garden.

Oregano, much loved by bees, is heading towards full bloom.

Tea roses - beautiful though they were plagued by aphids early on in the season.

Creeping thyme, a walkable plant (you can walk on it). But watch out for bees!

Edible thyme is blooming.

Radishes are tasty and almost gone. Mmmm

Sunset lily. I love the color of these blooms.

Ripening Roma tomatoes.

The pumpkin plants that are threatening to take over our tiny backyard. Soon, it will be true.

Poor, sad, dwarfed okra. I've replanted 4-5 times. This is the best so far.

Wax beans love my back yard. Green beans? Not so much.

Dill entices more bees and is ready for canning.

Part of the sunflower jungle.

Lavender and friend.

Raspberries are coming on strong, much to the delight of the icky pests.

Baby zucchini

The parsley is blooming. Those tiny sweat bees love this stuff.

Garlic. I have no idea when it is done!

 

Kale.

Baby yellow squash. If you squint, you can see someone else was impatient to try it. Go away, bugs!

Sage. This is also in bloom. But there is more than enough to go around. Five times around.

That's my garden so far, all from the backyard. I'd be happy to share, especially the herbs. Has anyone else grown okra? What trick am I missing (other than heat, which I think it really needs)?

Happy tasting, smelling, seeing, touching, and hearing in your garden today!

What's Growing in the Garden?

Strawberries, raspberries, lavender, and radishes fresh from the garden.

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

What's growing in the garden? I mean besides cat fur.

The strawberries are slowing down and I think ready for a big break to build up their energy. Whoa! This was the most prolific strawberry (also known as strawbabies and beebes around our house) harvest I have ever had. Not counting the minimal loss from slugs, sow bugs, ants, and raiding grandchildren.

Raspberries are coming on! Beautiful, tasty, sweet-tart lovely bursts of flavor - be still my heart. I love me some raspberries (also known as raspbabies and beebes at our house).

My miniscule crop of French radishes is nearing readiness for being pulled up, roots and all. I planted a roasting pan with radishes in hopes of avoiding above mentioned pests who annually decimate my peppery red and white treats. Take that, you vermin! Today Donavyn and I pulled up a few to check for size. And we gobbled them all up, just like Goldilocks ate Baby Bear's porridge. Just right.

Lavender, one of my favorite flowering herbs, is starting to bloom strong. I haven't seen many bees this spring, so I am pleased the purple blossoms are attracting several from somewhere. If only a swarm would descend in our area and we could capture it . . .

As always, parsley, thyme, dill, and sage are available free of charge to any and all. The sunflowers look like they will put on a great show in another couple of weeks. Birds delight, but beware the two slinking gray girls who blend in to the bricks and sand beneath your dinner table.

One of my failures this year is okra. I really wanted to grow some for my mom who grew up in Missouri. I've done 3 plantings, and there is nothing to be had but munched sprouts. I guess they taste good?

I've also done multiple plantings of echinacea, or cone flowers, for the bees and butterflies. This last batch is finally showing promise. I may just have to buy half grown plants.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row.

There is always a furry body helping me. This one particularly loves to sleep on the strawberries.

My friends, how does your garden grow?

Old Mother Hubbard Says It's Time to Go Grocery Shopping

A sweet potato and a few onions...

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

You do know the nursery rhyme about Old Mother Hubbard, right?

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard
To get her poor doggy a bone.

When she got there,
The cupboard was bare,
So the poor little doggy had none.

Presenting, on life's stage, Old Mother Hubbard.
Played by Angie.

Seriously.

Old Mother Hubbard needs to go shopping for groceries. Now.

I resist grocery shopping. I don't know why. I will scrounge, create, and do everything I can to make it last just one more day. All to avoid grocery shopping.

Maybe it's the lines, the crowds, the cost, the forgetting something on the opposite end of the store and making repeat trips, the foraging through produce to find the freshest, the struggle to open produce bags, touching raw meat packages...

Probably it's the having to take it all home and put it away.

But I so love having food to use when I prepare meals!

We are down to wilted celery, one sweet potato, a few onions, and garlic. Oh, I think there may be a dried up bit of ginger hanging around as well and some frozen peas and corn. Almost out of milk, yogurt, and bread.

Two pieces of frozen salmon and one package of frozen ground turkey make up the protein portion of our diet (per what is in the fridge/pantry/cupboard). I suppose I could count the canned chicken and tuna.

Well, that sounds like I have plenty for another day of Grocery Store Avoidance.

Yippee!


Frozen Food Tip:
Guess what?! The package directions actually work for frozen brussel sprouts! I've never even glanced at the directions, but did so last night on a whim. You can MICROWAVE the entire package - and they come out perfectly moist and not soggy and gross!

Ginger Root Experiment

 We live in central Washington. Winters can be brutal to all sorts of crops, from fruit trees to flowers to bulbs and tropical sorts of plants.

But I have discovered success growing ginger! Yes. The root plant from which wonderful flavor and fragrance are imparted to delectable dishes.

Over the last several years, I have been inclined to experiment and see what happens. Usually my idea begins with something that starts to root in the kitchen or a find that needs some sort of immediate attention.

Growing celery from the leftover butt of the plant? Failure.
New garlic from sprouted cloves? Still waiting for results.
Potatoes in a bag? Too hot outside for bags.

Mid-summer or so, I had an overly dehydrated piece of ginger root hanging around with the garlic in the kitchen basket.

Ok. Let's bury it in the garden to see what happens.

Lovely green leaves and shoots grew to about a foot and a half tall. The dried up piece of ginger root seemed to be thriving in the heat of summer. I was desperate to dig up a bit and see how things were going underground, but resolved to wait until we had a good freeze to kill off the top.

Today, after several good freezes and pretty dry conditions, I dug out a portion of that old husk of a hunk of ginger.

Et voila! The citrusy scent greeted my nose as the shovel and my hands scraped away soil. New, fresh ginger root.

People in colder climates, there is hope. Take that old lump and bury it. What can it hurt? A raised bed is a wonderful option.

I left most of the plant in the ground. This is also a continuation of my experiment. I dug out plenty for us to use right now, but left the rest for future consumption. Maybe. If the ground does not freeze solid and destroy the roots.

And then, perhaps, we shall see what comes up next spring.

The experiment that keeps continues on . . .

Dried SPAM Bites?

Dried SPAM bites?

Seriously.

I saw this ad in the coupon section of the Sunday paper. At first, I thought perhaps it was a joke or April Fool's Day.

Now, I haven't looked on any store shelves, but I can find no reason to believe that this coupon is for nothing other than a real SPAM bite product!

There is just something wrong with that. Really wrong.

These snack bites look more like doggie treats.

Don't get me wrong. I love a good fried SPAM sandwich with mustard and cheese. But dried SPAM bites? That sounds like something dropped under the stove or fridge and discovered months later, dehydrated into greasy salt-packed cement blocks.

Uhm. No, thank you.

Coupon anyone?

Tomato Experiment Results

The after picture of heat-dried tomatoes. Yummy, right?

The tomato experiment was a success, though I did dehydrate them a little too long.

Now, instead of sun-dried tomatoes, I have heat-dried tomatoes. Ready for soup, casseroles, meat dishes . . . you name it.

The tomato experiement before drying

Ready to go experiment some more.

Tomato Experiment

Beautiful tomatoes in the dehydrator

As per many wonderful suggestions on a certain social site, I am embarking on a tomato experiment.

Let me shout out a great big thank you to all who contributed ideas. Thank you!

These ideas are a necessary part of my life right now as I work my way through 50 pounds of potatoes, 50 pounds of onions, and a huge box of Roma tomatoes.

The very ripe tomatoes need immediate processing. One can eat only so many in a day, juicy though they be. Lacking adequate freezer space for that sort of preservation, and an absence of canning supplies, I decided to take the short cut and fill the dehydrator with sliced tomatoes.



Quart-size storage bags of dehydrated onions

What could go wrong except they take days to 'heat-dry' or get all crispy crunchy, which would be odd for tomatoes?

I suppose experimenting with tomatoes could prove disastrous, but I am willing to take a chance. The other viable option is throwing overripe tomatoes at the big black and white bully cat that is daily harassing my kitties and chasing them through the cat door.

So here we go.

Vines in my backyard, gorgeous colors for me to enjoy

Onion update: approximately 8 large onions fill my tiny dehydrator. One dehydrator of dried onions fills one quart-side storage bag to the brim. I now have two quarts of dried onions.

Potatoes: Still considering my options.

In the line-up: sage and parsley. As long as there is no overnight freeze I can safely plan on popping them into the dehydrator ASAP. Alas, an overnight freeze is looming, perhaps this weekend.

The view on my evening walk

Let the tomato experiment commence.

Salmon in Parchment Paper Packets ~ Recipe

Look what delicious-ness came about when I decided to experiment with cooking in parchment paper folded packets! The salmon was super moist and tasty. I think this will stay on our repeat menu list. Enjoy.

Salmon in Parchment Paper Packets

Ingredients:

~ 2 salmon fillets (or however many you need for your household)

~ thinly sliced yellow squash

~ thinly sliced red and yellow peppers

~ diced green peppers

~ thinly sliced onions

~ Mrs. Dash

~ pepper

~ olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut squares of parchment paper, making them large enough so there is extra paper for folding and forming a packet.

3. Place each salmon fillet on a piece of parchment paper.

4. Layer squash, peppers, and onions on each salmon fillet.

5. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over veggies and sprinkle with black pepper and Mrs. Dash. Fold parchment paper closed over the top of the fish and vegetables, making sure no holes are left for steam and juices to escape. (See photo.) Place on a cooking sheet or large casserole dish.

6. Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes.

7. Serve with your choice of sides. Be careful when you open the steaming hot packets!

We just ate the salmon out of the packets, which worked fine. I think I will experiment with other vegetables like cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced potatoes, broccoli, fresh peas - almost anything!

Actually, this is sounding pretty good for dinner. Maybe the chicken will have to wait.

Spicy Pickled Green Beans & Garlic Recipe

Oh, yes! The garden is now in production.

With some surprise, after harvesting raspberries yesterday, I was able to pick a full basket of yellow wax beans and green beans. Time to can some pickled beans! Interestingly enough, I had just been daydreaming about biting into a spicy tangy pickled green bean. And voila' - beans are ready!

This recipe came from Renee, a good college buddy (who happens to be visiting Australia right now, but let's not hold that against her). I, per my usual inability to leave well enough alone, have adapted it to our tastes.

Spicy Pickled Green Beans

You need sanitized and prepared jars, lids, and rings. I used 5 pint jars for this recipe.

Fill jars with:

2 lbs. green beans, washed and cut to fit jars (Khloe and I planted green beans and yellow wax beans this year, so I put a mix of beans in each jar)
2-3 cloves of garlic per jar
1 dried Thai chili per jar
1 dill head per jar (I cut apart several large ones and divided it among the jars)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper per jar
1/8 tsp. crushed red peppers per jar

Pickling liquid (enough for 5 pint jars):

Mix, boil, and pour over beans.

2-1/2 cup water
2-1/2 cup vinegar
1/8 cup salt
4 tsp. sugar

Wipe jar edges clean. Cover with lids and rings. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and let sit on table undisturbed for 24 hours. Check if jars have sealed. Store in cool, dry place.

Let pickled beans cure for at least 2 weeks before tasting.

Now the hard part - waiting for 2 weeks!

Does anyone know why touching and picking green beans gives me a rash? So itchy! At least it doesn't last, but I am guaranteed some prickles on my hands and arms after perusing the bean bushes.

Raspberry Piggy

I'm sorry. I ate all the raspberries. Ok. MOST of the raspberries. The ripe ones.

I couldn't help it! They are so tartly sweet and delicious. Fresh raspberries taste just like summer. Each flavor burst brings back scenes from my childhood and thoughts of other times when les frambroises passed my eager lips.

So, family and friends. You will now have to wait a few more days to share the bounty, as the bees are busy preparing the next batch.

Signed,

The girl who loves raspberry season

Cinnamon Roll Gone Wild

Would you look at this blueberry pecan cinnamon roll?

A bit frozen from the cold early morning motorcycle ride up Chinook Pass, we decided to stop at Whistlin' Jack Lodge and have a cup of coffee to warm up . . . where we were tempted by warm cinnamon rolls.

Oh. My. We saw that death bomb of sugar and calories covering the plate, actually oozing off the sides, and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into.

We managed only small portion of the treat as we savored the fragrance and flavor. This is truly a minimum of 4-person dessert. Or maybe 2 hungry Taylor's (a rating scale based on our son who adores cinnamon rolls). Definitely worth a coffee break pause or breakfast. But you better bring a few friends.

Bon appetit.

Surprise Gift - Bountiful Basket

Look what we found on our front porch!

A bountiful basket filled with vegetables and fruit. Kevin could not have been happier. He's my fruit and veggies guy.

2 heads leaf lettuce
1 pineapple
2 avocados
2 butternut squash
1 bunch celery
1 bunch broccoli
7 bananas
6 oranges
5 apples
3 fat carrots
2 English cukes

Indeed, a bountiful blessing. I mean basket.

Thanks, friends!

Compliments of Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op. Check it out at www.bountifulbaskets.org to find one near you.

Monet is fascinated by the new smells and textures of our bountiful basket.

Angie Quantrell loves finding new and exciting ways to use fresh fruits and produce. Her bountiful basket, a gift from Heather and Zane, arrived just at the right time. Dinner anyone?

Outlawed - No Kitties at the Baby Shower

This is where they ended up.

That was after they had shown their true five-month old kitty selves to one and all at the baby shower.

What, exactly, does that mean?

We had to set a guard. A person guard. To keep watch over the food table. The food table that had lots of yummy things. Including meat.

The meat was what finally sent them over the edge. It was too much to resist.

I had to run to the loo, so I assigned my sister to be on kitty watch (kitty watch = close proximity to table while holding squirt bottle). I was gone maybe 45 seconds. I walked back into the kitchen to see my sister with her back turned, standing elsewhere in the room.

And where were the kitties?

Well, funny that you ask. One of them, we won't say names (whisper: Mabel) was standing ON the food table and helping herself to sliced ham.

Yes. She was. It's a true fact.

Now, if I had not shrieked, I don't think anyone would have noticed. At all. Everyone was busy visiting and playing games and doing shower stuff.

But I did. I shrilly shrieked, alerting guests to the fact that something was amiss.

I grabbed Mabel, I mean a kitty, and put her on the ground, grabbing for the spray bottle and telling her, "NO!"

Only the ham was touched. I whisked away the platter, removing the licked and tasted meat.

After setting things to right, I checked on the kitties. Constant vigilance was required at all times.

Until finally, after multiple failures to revisit the meat, both kitties gave it up and went outside.

Where they found this lovely perch for an afternoon nap. Complete with a view through the window of the meat platter and food table.

Clever girls.